“There were meetings with Marvel about ‘Loki’ that we didn’t even take,” Scheinert said in an interview alongside Kwan at the SXSW Film Festival. “We were trying to make our own multiverse movie,” Kwan interjected. “No, the meeting was set, and we went, but by the time we went we said we probably weren’t going to do it,” he said. “We were trying to shoot our own movie at the same time....
As he has said in the past, McGregor reiterated to THR the nightmare experience of acting opposite VFX blue-screens during the production of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Lucas relied on CGI more and more with each installment, so much so that physical sets and backdrops were replaced entirely by blue-screens by the time filming was underway on “Revenge of the Sith.” “He wanted more and more control over what we see in the background,” McGregor said....
A new report from The New York Times reveals Universal Pictures and its streaming service Peacock “have closed a $400 million-plus megadeal to buy a new ‘Exorcist’ trilogy.” The price tag is at the same level that Netflix paid for Rian Johnson’s two “Knives Out” sequels earlier this year. Morgan Creek Entertainment has held the rights to “The Exorcist” franchise and is working with Green and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum on the new movies....
Surprised? Close observers of the film industry have spent much of the past year wondering what Warner Bros. could do about “The Flash.” The DC film has become a public relations headache for the studio due to star Ezra Miller’s increasingly erratic public behavior. Over the past several years, the actor has come under scrutiny for choking a woman in Iceland, been accused of grooming children, faced multiple arrests for assault and burglary, and reportedly housed a mother and three young children on an unlicensed cannabis farm despite protests from their father....
There’s simply no room for filler in a market dominated by auteur passion projects and compelling genre packages. The unusually robust pool of offerings is the strongest vote of confidence yet that the business has moved past production-insurance roadblocks and theatrical despair and is ready to turn up the taps of creativity and cash. “We’re coming out of a period of companies putting their heads down, focusing on development, and now bringing forth really strong material,” said Cinetic Media’s Steven Farneth....
The “Dune: Part Two” star is confirmed to lead a Netflix limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden,” with Zoe Kazan writing and executive producing. Netflix landed the limited series after a competitive bidding war. Kazan’s grandfather Elia Kazan first adapted “East of Eden” for Warner Bros. in 1955, with James Dean starring in his first major screen role. The Netflix limited series will explore themes of trauma and repair, love and betrayal, duty and free will, as did the original novel and screen adaptation....
Farnsworth and Lowe are each charged with one count of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. Farnsworth additionally surrendered himself to authorities in Washington D.C. on Friday following the charges, IndieWire has learned. According to court documents, the Department of Justice indictment says Farnsworth and Lowe falsely claimed that MoviePass’ $9.95 “unlimited” plan – in which new subscribers could see unlimited movies in theaters with no blackout dates for a flat monthly fee – was tested, sustainable, and would be profitable or break even on subscription fees alone....
Fred Ward is survived by his wife of 27 years, Marie-France Ward, and his son, Django Ward. On screens since the early 1970s after serving in the U.S. Air Force and stints as an order cook, boxer, and a lumberjack in Alaska, Ward was known for his versatility in both comic and dramatic roles. He could play author Henry Miller in “Henry & June,” the world’s first NC-17 movie, or a dirt bike rider in “Timerider: The Aventure of Lyle Swann....
Waddingham and Headey recently looked back on the scene in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly timed to Waddingham’s Emmy nomination for “Ted Lasso.” “I wanted to ask you, which we never really talk about because I think both of us found it quite traumatic at the time: Our waterboarding, or rather wineboarding, scenes,” Waddingham said to Headey. “People are always quite shocked that that actually did happen in reality and there was nothing CGI’d....
“Not to be bitter or anything, but the people that are actually in the movie, I believe died,” Torres said. “And the people that aren’t didn’t. So that’s all I have to say about that. I’m so curious about where they’re going with this. And what’s their jumping off point and what story they want because it just felt like they told it.” Looking back at her involvement with the original “Matrix” trilogy, Torres remembered Laurence Fishburne telling her about the first installment and her reaction being, “Sure, good luck with that....
“There are few people with a career like Halle Berry. She’s an award-winning actress, producer and as audiences saw this past week, she’s an incredible director. We’re thrilled to be in her corner as she delivers power in front of and behind the camera in ‘Bruised’ and look forward to telling more stories together,” said Scott Stuber, Netflix’s head of global film. “Bruised” got a limited theatrical release from Netflix November 17, and started streaming November 24....
He added, “I am anticipating ‘House of the Dragon’ pretty eagerly myself, for what it’s worth. Okay, I am hardly objective. And I know a lot of what you will be seeing. (I, um, wrote the book). Also … mum’s the word now, don’t tell anyone… I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy....
Two powerful producers, Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) and Charles King (“Mudbound”), backed director Shaka King, who kept on track a complex story that kept changing, especially after two people joined the team who knew it better than anyone: Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and his mother, Deborah Johnson, now known as Akua Njeri. This collaboration yielded a film that debuted at Sundance 2021 to rave reviews, landed in theaters and HBO Max on February 12, and on March 15 earned six Oscars including Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield), Original Song, and Cinematography (Sean Bobbitt)....
That dream had nothing to do with movies. The playwright was focused on making his play a success, moving it from regional theater to the Great White Way. “One Night in Miami” made it to the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2016, where it was nominated for an Olivier for Best New Play, but never transferred to the West End or Broadway. After 17 years of listening to people talk as a reporter, Powers said, “I learned to write in different voices....
Now, with billions of dollars invested in interactive online media and Zuckerberg rebooting Facebook as Meta, the festival can take plenty of credit for showcasing innovation that led to this moment. The pitch for the metaverse — a loosely defined network of digital environments where people can work, socialize, and create online — has the potential to employ many of the tech-savvy creatives in Sundance’s orbit. But some of the stalwarts of that community aren’t exactly thrilled about it....
That’s something that the British Film Institute aims to change via BFI Player Classics, the organization’s upcoming American streaming service. BFI Player Classics, which launches on May 14 and will cost $5.99 per month, will offer consumers a library of over 200 British films from a range of genres and filmmakers. Though BFI Player Classics is launching in an incredibly crowded industry that doesn’t lack for specialization — established streaming services such as BritBox and Acorn TV are exclusively focused on British programming — the platform’s highly-curated library and singular focus on well-received British films could cause it to stand out from competing streaming services....
Dexter is back with a new name and location, but will he kill again? Find out how the story unfolds when “Dexter: New Blood” premieres on Showtime November 7. If Showtime isn’t on your channel lineup, don’t worry, you can stream the revival series and anything else on cable network, from any compatible device. And it’s free for the first month. “Dexter: New Blood” picks up a decade after the events that took place in the 2013 “Dexter” finale....
“Luca” is a wholesome animated film for the entire family to enjoy. If you’re not already signed up for Disney+, join today so you can watch it from the comforts of home. Since it’s not a Premier Access movie, you can stream “Luca” exclusively on Disney+ at no extra charge. The coming-of-age movie, which arrives on the streaming network on Friday, is about the unlikely friendship between young shapeshifting sea monsters....
Brewer is still riding high from his first Eddie Murphy collaboration — the widely successful “Dolemite Is My Name,” a light-hearted biopic of blaxploitation icon Rudy Ray Moore that garnered the best reviews of the filmmaker’s career while ushering a comeback for Murphy. An ‘80s cinema fanatic, “The Breakfast Club” and “Purple Rain” greatly impacted the Memphis filmmaker, as did John Landis’ 1988 comedy about an African prince from the imagined country of Zamunda traveling to Queens, NY in search of a bride....
