#movie:sicario

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'Sicario' Screenwriter Talks 'More Unsentimental, More Vicious' Sequel

Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro in ‘Sicario’ (Photo: Lionsgate)

When last we heard about Soldado — the planned sequel to last year’s war-on-drugs thriller Sicario from director Denis Villeneuve starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin — its director, Stefano Sollima, was talking about his film as a stand-alone work focused on Del Toro’s hitman and Brolin’s CIA agent. While those plans remain in place, the writer of both Sicario and Soldado, Taylor Sheridan, has now given some additional details about the new project, indicating that it won’t shy away from its predecessor’s uglier aspects.

Related:  ‘Sicario’ Star Emily Blunt on Ditching the Movie’s Nude Scene

At an event for Hell or High Water — the Sheridan-penned bank-robbing saga starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges — the screenwriter discussed with Collider’s Tommy Cook the ways in which he’ll be upping the ante for the next episode in his drug cartel-fixated franchise.

“Lionsgate understood that they bought something that was a spec [on the first film]. So there was a certain amount of latitude they had to give me [on the sequel]. What usually would be a long meeting about what’s this character about, what’s his arc—we didn’t have that. They trusted me to just go do it, and with Sicario, which I’m really proud of, it really approaches some difficult subjects. I didn’t want to demean that with the second one. So I really wrote something I double dared them to actually make. Ten times more unsentimental, more vicious and really reflective… It’s funny a lot of people think Sicario’s about the drug war and the cartels. It’s not. It’s a movie about American policy and the way that we police and [Sicario 2] is that on steroids.”

Related: See Emily Blunt Get Ready for a Gunfight in ‘Sicario’ Clip

While it’s debatable that Sicario wasn’t about the drug war and the cartels — and that its critique of American policy was, along with Emily Blunt’s federal-agent protagonist, its weakest element — it sounds as if the sequel will be an even tougher, more rugged ride into the narcotics underworld. While it has no firm release date, Soldado will reportedly be the second chapter of a planned trilogy, with Blunt possibly returning for its concluding installment.

‘Sicario’: Watch a trailer:

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'Spotlight,' 'Mad Max,' and 'Sicario' Among Producers Guild Film Nominees

By Hilary Lewis

The Producers Guild has announced its nominees in the categories of theatrical motion picture, long-form television, digital series and sports programs.

The 10 nominees for the PGA's best film award, officially known as the Darryl F. Zanuck award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures, include both indie and studio fare. Indies Brooklyn, Ex Machina, Sicario and Spotlight will face off against studio releases The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant and Straight Outta Compton.

In what's been a wide-open awards season so far, the inclusion of the sci-fi tale Ex Machina was something of a surprise —while it received strong reviews when released by A24 back in April, it hasn't appeared on most of the progosticators' tout sheets. Noticeably left off of the PGA's list were Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Room and two of The Weinstein Company's Oscar hopefuls: Carol and The Hateful Eight. Netflix's first original feature film Beasts of No Nation also failed to score a nomination and neither did Bleecker Street's Bryan Cranston starrer Trumbo.

The guild also announced its five animated nominees in the category of outstanding producer of animated theatrical motion pictures: Anomalisa, The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out, Minions and The Peanuts Movie. Missing from the list is animated frontrunner Shaun the Sheep Movie.

Related: Producers Guild Announces TV Nominees

At the ceremony, the PGA will also honor Jim Gianopulos (Milestone Award), Shonda Rhimes (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), David Heyman (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), The Hunting Ground (Stanley Kramer Award) and Industrial Light & Magic (Visionary Vanguard Award).

The guild previously announced its feature documentary nominees and nominations in a number of TV categories. All Producers Guild award winners will be announced on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

The PGA also unveiled its nominees in the longform television category, including a nomination for the poorly received second season of HBO's True Detective. Other nominees in the category, which recognizes miniseries and movies of the week, are ABC's American Crime, FX's American Horror Story: Hotel and Fargo and Netflix's holiday special, A Very Murray Christmas.

Related: ‘The Hunting Ground’ Among PGA Documentary Film Nominees

The theatrical motion picture nominees are:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: The Big Short Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Bridge of Spies Producers: Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger

Brooklyn Producers: Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey

Ex Machina This film is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

Mad Max: Fury Road Producers: Doug Mitchell & George Miller

The Martian Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam

The Revenant Producers: Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon

Sicario Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith

Spotlight Producers: Michael Sugar & Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagon Faust

Straight Outta Compton Producers: Ice Cube & Matt Alvarez, F. Gary Gray, Dr. Dre, Scott Bernstein

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Anomalisa Producers: Rosa Tran, Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman

The Good Dinosaur Producer: Denise Ream

Inside Out Producer: Jonas Rivera

Minions Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

The Peanuts Movie Producers: Craig Schulz, Michael J. Travers

The television nominees are: The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television: *The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.

American Crime (Season 1) This show is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

American Horror Story: Hotel (Season 5) Producers: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Brad Buecker, Tim Minear,   Jennifer Salt,  James Wong, Alexis Martin Woodall, Robert M. Williams Jr.

Fargo (Season 2) Producers: Noah Hawley, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Warren Littlefield, Kim Todd

True Detective (Season 2) Producers: Nic Pizzolatto, Scott Stephens, Steve Golin, Aida Rodgers

A Very Murray Christmas This show is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program: Back on Board: Greg Louganis E:60 Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Houston Texans Kareem: Minority of One Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

The Award for Outstanding Digital Series: 30 for 30 Shorts Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Epic Rap Battles of History Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Double Agent This American Life Presents: Videos 4 U

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Weekend Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Is Scorchin', and Johnny Depp's 'Black Mass' Brings in the Mobs

Jacob Lofland, Alex Flores, and Dylan O’Brien in a scene from ‘Maze Runner: Scorch Trials’

By Pamela McClintock

Fox’s YA film adaptation Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials won the North American box-office race with $30.3 million from 3,796 theaters, while Johnny Depp’s violent crime drama Black Mass delivered the actor a needed win with $23.4 million from 3,186 locations as awards season gets underway.

Scorch Trials came in just behind the first film, which debuted to $32.5 million on the same weekend a year ago. The good news is that the sequel is pacing ahead of the first overseas.

From Warner Bros., Black Mass, starring Depp as infamous Boston’s Irish-American mobster Whitey Bulger, is counting on a long run throughout awards season. One question mark is the adult drama’s B CinemaScore; many expected the R-rated title to get a better grade after a whirlwind tour on the fall festival circuit and generally positive reviews from critics.

Warners has had plenty of luck with fall adult dramas in the past. Martin Scorsese’s The Departed opened to $26.9 million in early October 2006 on its way to grossing $132.4 million domestically, while Ben Affleck’s Argo launched to $19.5 million in October 2012 on its way to earning $136 million (both films took home the Oscar for best picture). Black Mass, directed by Scott Cooper, cost $53 million to produce.

Related: ‘Black Mass’: Venice Review

Depp, who stars opposite Joel Edgerton and Benedict Cumberbatch, needed to make a strong showing after suffering a string of box-office disappointments, including Mortdecai and The Lone Ranger. Black Mass skewed notably older, with nearly 90 percent of the audience over the age of 25, and male (56 percent). It also overperformed in Boston, where Bulger ruled before going on the lamb.

Watch an interview with the cast of ‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ below:

Maze Runner, rated PG-13, relied on younger consumers, with 65 percent of the audience under the age of 25. Females made up 53 percent ticket buyers.

Wes Ball returns in the director’s chair, along with actors Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario and Patricia Clarkson. Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Pepper and Lili Taylor are among those joining the franchise. The $61 million sequel picks up immediately after the events in the first film, as Thomas and his fellow Gladers try to survive the Scorch, a desolate, dangerous landscape, while continuing to battle the W.C.K.D.

Related: ‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’: Film Review

Black Mass competed with Baltasar Kormakur’s adventure Everest for males. In an unusual rollout, Everest only debuted in 545 Imax and premium large-format theaters a week ahead of its nationwide launch. Placing No. 5, the action-adventure film grossed $7.6 million for a location average of $13,867.

Everest — which, like Black Mass, made its world premiere at the 2015 Venice Film Festival — stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington,Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal. Working Title, Cross Creek Pictures and Walden Media partnered with Universal on the $55 million film, with Cross Creek and Walden co-financing.

Internationally, Everest opened in 36 markets this weekend, earning an estimated $26.5 million, including first-place finishes in Mexico, Argentina and Australia.

Watch an interview with the ‘Black Mass’ cast below:

Paramount also entered the fray this weekend with faith-based drama Captive, starring David Oyelowo and Kate Mara (the studio acquired the film this spring after working with Oyelowo on Selma). Captive is only playing in 806 theaters, earning an estimated $1.5 million and putting it at No. 10.

The $2 million film is based on the true story of Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols, who took Smith hostage in her own apartment. During the ordeal, Smith turned to Rick Warren’s inspirational book, The Purpose Driven Life, for guidance to startling results for both herself and Nichols. Smith later wrote a book, Unlikely Angel.

Related: 'Everest’: Venice Review

At the specialty box office, two high-profile awards contenders debuted: Denis Villeneuve'sacclaimed crime-thriller Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin; and Edward Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice, starring Tobey Maguire as chess champion Bobby Fischer and Liev Schreiber as his Russian rival, Boris Spassky.

Lionsgate launched Sicario in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles, where the movie proposed for a screen average of at least $65,000, the top showing of the year so far.

Pawn Sacrifice, rolling out in 33 locations, opened to $206,879 for a theater average of $6,269 for Bleecker Street.

Watch an interview with the ‘Sicario’ cast below:

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Josh Brolin on His Secret Punk-Rock Past

As the son of a famous actor, Josh Brolin could have been a stuck-up Hollywood kid — but instead, he rebelled and joined the punk-rock scene. In an interview with Yahoo Movies, the Sicario actor goes into his drum-playing, mohawk-wearing past as a founding member of the hardcore band Rich Kids on LSD. Watch the video above.

“I was in the epicenter of it, you know?” Brolin says of the ‘80s Los Angeles punk scene. “Here [in New York] it was CBGB’s and in L.A. it was [the nightclub] Godzilla’s. And Rich Kids on LSD was the band that I helped start. And it became a very big band… We were in Santa Barbara at the time, we’d sneak out of the house every third night or whatever, and go down to Godzilla’s. It was pre-grunge, but it was real punk at the time.”

Though Brolin rarely talks about his punk-rock past — as evidenced by the surprised reaction of his Sicario co-star Benicio Del Toro — he looks back at it with some nostalgia. “It was a really fun time in my life. Creatively, it was amazing,” he tells Yahoo Movies. He notes, however, that the drug-filled culture was also “very destructive,” and that “most of those guys that I knew are gone” (including his teenage best friend, Rich Kids on LSD vocalist Jason Sears).

Only recently has Brolin opened up about his youthful punk-band years. A few of his interviews from the past decade mention Rich Kids on LSD (though members of the band don’t appear to have confirmed Brolin’s membership). According to a 2007 GQ profile, Brolin was the drummer when the group opened for Black Flag. He clarified during an interview with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross last year, “I was part of the garage band that first started playing. And then they went to be known with other drummers and other musicians as R.K.L. And they actually became a fairly well-known punk rock band.” And in a 2010 New York Times Magazine story, Brolin offered up a detailed description of his teenage mohawk.

“[I wore] a peacock — which is a very high mohawk. And I bleached the top of it, which burned my head…That’s when I had a white mohawk,” he told the magazine. “Back in the ‘80s, we weren’t so ecologically worried, and I just used a lot of hair spray. It would stay all day.”

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'Sicario' Cast on Stumbling Around in the Dark for That Tense Tunnel Scene

(Warning: This story contains relatively minor spoilers.)

The new drug war drama Sicario features several nerve-rattling moments — and one of the most intense sequences comes near the end of the film, when a group of CIA and FBI agents invade a cartel's secret cocaine-running tunnel that runs beneath the U.S.-Mexico border. The scene takes place in the dead of night, with a combat unit led by Josh Brolin's CIA agent making their way through the potentially booby-trapped passageways. And just as the characters didn't know what to expect inside the tunnel, neither did the actors.

Related: 'Sicario' Trailer: Emily Blunt Gets Embroiled in a Brutal Drug War

"We shot the exterior of the tunnel, the lead-up to entering the tunnel, in a dried up riverbed, and we shot at night in pitch black," Emily Blunt, who plays the somewhat naïve FBI agent Kate Macer, told Yahoo Movies (you can watch the interview above). "That was a little dangerous for the actors … we were staggering around in the pitch black trying to look cool with all of our tactical gear on."

The cast members did wear night-vision goggles, but apparently, they were just for show; both Blunt and Brolin said that their equipment didn't work. Benicio del Toro, on the other hand, did have a functional pair of specs — but as he notes above, that’s cold comfort when you’re stuck in the middle of a dark tunnel at 4 o’clock in the morning.

Sicario is in theaters now.

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'Sicario' Sequel Director Reveals Plans to Make a Third Film

Josh Brolin (front) and Benicio del Toro (rear seat, at right) in ‘Sicario’ (Lionsgate)

For those who couldn’t get enough of the Mexican drug cartel-related action delivered by last year’s Sicario, there’s good news — according to the project’s new director, you’ll be getting two more films in its universe.

Related: ‘Sicario’ Cast on Stumbling Around in the Dark for That Tense Tunnel Scene

In a recent chat with Jacob Stolworthy at The Independent, filmmaker Stefano Sollima (best known for his Italian crime drama TV series Gomorrah, based on the acclaimed 2008 film of the same name) reveals plans to follow up Denis Villeneuve’s 2015 thriller with both his upcoming Soldado as well as a third film. Moreover, neither will focus on Emily Blunt’s government agent protagonist (who may appear in the third movie, albeit in a peripheral role), but rather will revolve around Benicio Del Toro’s hitman Alejandro Gillick and Josh Brolin’s CIA chief Matt Graves.

As Sollima sees it, each of the three movies ultimately will share some characters, but otherwise stand on its own. Of Soldado he says:

“It's absolutely a standalone movie — a completely different story with just two of the characters that you met in Sicario. It's not a real sequel. The antagonists are now absolutely the main characters."

Related: ‘Sicario’ Star Emily Blunt on Ditching the Movie’s Nude Scene

Sollima’s idea of what constitutes a sequel (and “antagonists”) seems a bit fuzzy — and further comments about his approach to the film (written by Sicario screenwriter Taylor Sheridan) contain praise, as well as a not-so-subtle dig, regarding the first film, which was acclaimed for its gorgeous Roger Deakins-shot widescreen style:

"I loved Sicario. I feel the movie was quite similar to my approach so, to me, I'm just shooting another movie. Soldado will be much more cinematic than Sicario was; it's got an incredible amount of huge action sequences in there. It will be a different journey in the same world. Even the theme is different — it's not drug dealing, it's more on immigration." 

Whether that new thematic angle will prove fruitful won’t be known until Soldado arrives in theaters some time in the unspecified near future. For now, you can click over to read all of Sollima’s interview here.

‘Sicario’: Watch a trailer:

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Josh Brolin on His Dad's Brush With James Bond

James Bond has never been played by an American actor — but that almost changed in 1982, when James Brolin auditioned for Octopussy. It’s something that his son Josh Brolin, who was a teenager at the time, remembers well. While promoting his new film Sicario (in theaters now), Brolin talked to Yahoo Movies about his father’s near-Bond experience. Watch the interview, plus clips of James Brolin’s sexy Octopussy screen test, above.

“I remember hearing him, because he was in the bedroom next to me, and I remember hearing him try to do the accent,” Josh Brolin tells Yahoo Movies.

In clips from his screen test, which involved a shirtless love scene, James Brolin doesn’t speak in a British accent — so that idea must have been abandoned at some point. Nevertheless, producers were impressed enough to cast him… until Roger Moore agreed to come back.

Josh Brolin (left) and James Brolin in his ‘Octopussy’ screen test (right)

“He got the role. And then Roger Moore came back and decided to reprise it,” Josh Brolin confirms.

Moore did return for Octopussy, his sixth and penultimate film as James Bond. (Timothy Dalton would take over for the remainder of the 1980s.) So James Brolin never got a chance to introduce himself as “Bond, James Bond” — but, as Sicario star Emily Blunt points out in the video, he did give his son lots of opportunities to say the word “Octopussy.”

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'Sicario' Sequel Already in the Works

Benicio Del Toro in ‘Sicario’ (Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival)

By Brent Lang

Lionsgate is developing a sequel to Sicario that will center on Benicio Del Toro’s mysterious hitman.

The project is being overseen by Taylor Sheridan, the writer of the acclaimed thriller. Director Denis Villeneuve is also involved, although it’s early in the process and it’s not clear if he would come on board to direct. Black Label Media, which backed Sicario, is co-financing the development of a follow-up.

“Before the release of this movie, I was talking to Denis and I said what happened to this character?” said Patrick Wachsberger, co-chair of the studio’s motion picture group. “Where is Benicio going?”

The studio executive was thrilled Monday after Sicario debuted to a sizzling $401,288 last weekend from just six theaters. Its per-screen average of $66,881 is the highest of the year.

Related: ‘Sicario’s’ Emily Blunt: ‘I’m Happy to Contribute to the New Wave of Kick Ass Roles for Women’

The film centers on a steely FBI agent (Emily Blunt) who finds herself involved in an off-the-books operation to bring down a Mexican drug kingpin. Josh Brolin co-stars as a morally flexible government operative. Lionsgate is planning an Oscar campaign, Wachsberger said.

“This movie has multiple Oscar potential — best movie, best director, best cinematography, best music, and, of course, the actors,” he said. “All of the characters feel real.”

He added that he hoped that Sicario with its eerie shots of nighttime raids and violent border confrontations might finally score an Oscar for Roger Deakins, who is zero for twelve despite nominations for the likes of Unbroken, Fargo, and Skyfall, calling the award, “past due.”

Related: ‘Sicario’s’ Ominous Score Aims to Match Film’s Brutality

Wachsberger also agreed with critics who have been predicting Oscar love for Blunt and calling her performance as tough agent forced to question her beliefs one of the finest of her career.

“She is totally credible,” said Wachsberger. “You end the movie wondering what’s going to happen? What happen to her character? Is she becoming a wolf?”

Despite the strong box office response, Lionsgate is going to roll out Sicario at a deliberate pace. It expands to eleven cities and roughly 65 locations next weekend, before going wide on Oct. 2.

“This is a movie that needs word of mouth,” said Wachsberger. “It’s not an easy title. Sicario? You have to Google that. You’re not going to wear a t-shirt of that.”

Watch the trailer:

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'Sicario' Trailer: Emily Blunt Gets Embroiled in a Brutal Drug War

By Dave McNary

Lionsgate has released a violence-laden trailer for drug trafficking drama Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin and Jon Bernthal.

The trailer opens amid ominous music with the warning, “In Mexico, ‘sicario’ means hitman.”

The story, set in the lawless border area between the U.S. and Mexico, centers on an idealistic FBI agent (portrayed by Blunt) who’s exposed to the brutal world of international drug trafficking by members of a government task force — played by Brolin and Del Toro — who have enlisted her in their plan to take out a major Mexican cartel boss.

Prisoners helmer Denis Villeneuve directed from a script by Taylor Sheridan. The film premiered last month in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Producers are Basil Iwanyk, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill and Edward McDonnell.Production companies are Black Label Media and Iwanyk’s Thunder Road Pictures.

Sicario opens Sept. 18 limited release followed by a wide release on Sept. 25.

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Should Drugs Be Legalized? 'Sicario' Cast Weighs In

Sicario tackles the brutal drug wars between Mexican cartels and U.S. authorities as seen through the perspective of a naive FBI agent, played by Emily Blunt, and doesn’t shy away from the deadly stakes. So when Yahoo Movies sat down with the cast, we had to ask them: Should drugs be legalized?

As you can see in the clip above, Blunt, perhaps preempting any PR gaffes, stayed mum. But her co-stars, Josh Brolin (who plays the federal official who recruits Blunt’s agent into a stealth task force) and Benicio Del Toro (a mercenary who guides the team through hostile land) didn’t shy away from answering.

“I think it’s awesome!” joked Brolin, who has admitted to using drugs and has done time in alcohol rehab. “Of course I’m going to get in trouble [for saying that]. But I always get in trouble.”

Brolin then provided some nuance, explaining that legalizing drugs would reduce the power of the cartels and limit the violence in the region.

“I agree,” said Del Toro, cautioning that he was for blanket legalization. “Not every drug is the same.”

The film, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners), premiered at Cannes and most recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in theaters Oct. 2.

Watch: Emily Blunt Prepares for Gunfight in Exclusive ‘Sicario’ Clip: