Year: 2018

Categories
Awards

He’s absolutely right. 100% correct!!

Steven Spielberg says Netflix movies aren’t Oscar worthy

Steven Spielberg might like watching TV on his iPad, but when it comes to Netflix movies and the Academy Awards he’s of one mind: they shouldn’t be eligible for awards.

The Oscar-winning director was speaking to ITV as part of the promo train for this week’s Ready Player One release, and he didn’t mince words when asked about the differences between theatrical releases and films only available on Netflix and other streaming platforms.

“It is a challenge to cinema,” Spielberg says, acknowledging the threat posed by Netflix, which notched Oscar nods for Mudbound at this year’s ceremony after a limited theatrical release.

“Television is greater today than it’s ever been in the history of television,” Spielberg says. “There’s better writing, better directing, better performances, better stories are being told. Television is thriving in terms of quality and art, but it poses a clear and present danger to filmgoers.”

But he staunchly believes films launched on streaming platforms should not be given Oscar consideration.

“Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie. You certainly, if it’s good, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don’t believe that films that are given a token release in a couple of theatres should qualify for an Academy Award nomination.”

Spielberg lays studios are partially to blame for smaller films landing distribution deals with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu (they’d rather make big, tentpole action movies), but reflected on his own experience last year making a film with neither superheroes or special effects.

“I’ll still make The Post and ask an audience to please go out to theatres and see The Post and not make it for Netflix,” he says.

Last fall, chief content officer Ted Sarandos said Netflix is planning to release 80 original films in 2018.

According to Variety, the streaming service ended 2017 with 117.6 million streaming members worldwide.

Spielberg’s comments echo a recent move made by the Cannes Film Festival. Starting this year, Netflix films will not be eligible to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or prize.

In 2017, two Netflix films – Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories – were allowed to compete, a decision that festival director Thierry Fremaux said “created an enormous controversy that has echoed around the globe.”

“Last year, when we selected these two films, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in theaters,” Fremaux told Le Film Francais magazine. “I was presumptuous: they refused.”

Categories
Movies

No movies for me this weekend, I was in New York City seeing Bruce Springsteen On Broadway!!!

Pacific Rim Uprising dethrones Black Panther at the box office

It took a squad of giant humanoid robots and a few massive monsters to finally topple Black Panther at the box office. Universal Pictures and Legendary Entertainment’s rock ’em, sock ’em sequel Pacific Rim Uprising is on track to earn about $28 million at 3,708 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, dethroning Disney’s superhero blockbuster after five weeks at the top of the chart.

Although Uprising‘s opening is enough to dislodge Black Panther, the sequel is trailing its 2013 predecessor, which bowed to $37.3 million and went on to gross $411 million worldwide. In foreign territories — where the original Pacific Rim proved more popular than at home — Uprising is poised to earn about $122.5 million this weekend, with $65 million coming from China.

Directed by Steven S. DeKnight and produced by original Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro, Uprising stars John Boyega as Jake Pentecost, a second-generation mech pilot who helps defend the planet from massive interdimensional beasts known as kaiju. The movie, which reportedly cost about $150 million to make, took a pounding from critics, while audiences gave it a so-so B CinemaScore.

Black Panther, meanwhile, continues to show impressive staying power with an estimated $16.7 million in North America and $12.9 million overseas. That brings the film’s worldwide total to nearly $1.24 billion and cements its status as the highest-grossing superhero movie ever in the U.S.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as the titular superhero, a.k.a. T’Challa, who leads and protects the secretive, technologically advanced nation of Wakanda. The cast also features Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Andy Serkis, and Letitia Wright. The film garnered glowing reviews and an A-plus CinemaScore.

Also holding steady is Roadside Attractions’ faith-based film I Can Only Imagine, which is set to gross about $13.8 million at 2,253 theaters in its second weekend. That figure is good for third place and represents a mere 19 percent drop from its debut last week.

Directed by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin and starring J. Michael Finley, I Can Only Imagine chronicles the story behind the MercyMe song of the same name, the best-selling Christian single of all time. Like Black Panther, the movie received a rare A-plus CinemaScore.

In addition to Pacific Rim Uprising, this weekend’s new releases include Paramount’s animated movie Sherlock Gnomes, which will earn about $10.6 million; Sony’s biblical drama Paul, Apostle of Christ, which will earn about $5 million; Open Road’s teen romance Midnight Sun, which will earn about $4.1 million; and Bleecker Street and Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Unsane, which will earn about $3.9 million.

Rolling out in limited release is Wes Andseron’s Isle of Dogs. The stop-motion movie, distributed by Fox Searchlight, will take in about $1.6 million at 27 theaters, for an impressive per-screen average of $58,148. Isle will expand in the coming weeks.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 2.5 percent year-to-date. Check out the March 23-25 figures below.

1. Pacific Rim Uprising — $28 million
2. Black Panther — $16.7 million
3. I Can Only Imagine — $13.8 million
4. Sherlock Gnomes — $10.6 million
5. Tomb Raider — $10.4 million
6. A Wrinkle in Time — $8 million
7. Love, Simon — $7.8 million
8. Paul, Apostle of Christ — $5 million
9. Game Night — $4.2 million
10. Midnight Sun — $4.1 million

Categories
Television

So excited for this!!!

Judd Apatow doc takes deep dive into Garry Shandling’s life

Comedian Garry Shandling’s untimely death, in March 2016, extinguished the brilliant creative mind behind groundbreaking TV classics “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and “The Larry Sanders Show.”

Shandling’s passing, at the too-young age of 66 (from a pulmonary thrombosis), left a complicated legacy: he was embracing yet distant, philosophical yet cutting, gregarious yet extremely private.

Few people felt they really knew what made him tick.

“There were aspects of his life he was struggling with, and part of working on this documentary was trying to figure that out,” says noted comedy writer/producer/director Judd Apatow, who takes a deep dive into his mentor’s life in HBO’s “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling,” airing over two nights (Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m.). “Zen” uses Shandling’s personal journals, home movies, audiotapes and recollections from Jim Carrey, Jay Leno, Sarah Silverman, David Duchovny, Kevin Nealon and ex-girlfriend Linda Doucett — among many others — to map the arc of the comedian’s life.

“All Garry cared about was honesty and the truth,” says Apatow. “ ‘Here’s my life, my struggles, here’s how I dealt with it, how I tried to evolve as a person.’”

Apatow grew close to Shandling while working on “The Larry Sanders Show,” HBO’s satiric comedy series about a neurotic, insecure late-night talk show host (played by Shandling) that ran for six seasons (1992-98), won a slew of awards and established the cringe-worthy comedy template for, among others, Ricky Gervais’ BBC series “The Office.”

“I felt that as close as I was to Garry, there was more to know that he hadn’t shared with me,” Apatow says. “He was always very sweet and giving but was also distracted and consumed, and you knew there were other things on his mind.”

Shandling’s diaries, spanning from 1977 to his death, provide a valuable peek into the comic’s complex psyche. “It’s so rare that you know exactly what somebody was thinking during most of the important moments of their life. It’s a real blessing when you can have that type of insight,” Apatow says of the journals, which came to light when Shandling was going to share them in another project that never came to fruition. “We realized that Garry was up for revealing parts of his journals,” says Apatow. “So I took that as sort of permission to use them in the documentary.”

The journals also reveal Shandling’s lifelong battle with finding closure over the passing of his beloved older brother, Barry, who died (from cystic fibrosis) when Garry was 10. Shandling’s parents, Irving and Muriel, rarely talked about Barry thereafter and kept Garry away from his funeral. Apatow unearthed a clip of the Shandlings being interviewed about Garry, when the subject turns to Barry.

“In that footage you see his mom refusing to talk about [Barry] passing away and the effect it had on Garry,” says Apatow. “And you realize, ‘Oh, she did that to Garry his entire childhood,’ so he was never able to work through that grief at a very important time in his youth. I do think it led him to being obsessed with the truth and presence and love, because at an important time of his life he didn’t get that the way he needed it.”

Apatow says he decided to make the documentary after Shandling’s memorial service. “When people spoke at the memorial they were so funny and insightful and his life added up to a very inspirational message,” he says. “People left and felt like they’d been through a religious experience.

“A lot of us were sad we didn’t know more [about Garry] and maybe we weren’t there for him or understand him as much as we would’ve liked to,” he says. “I feel Garry would like his life to be a lesson to other people, to help people. All he wanted was to use his pain and try to spread a very simple message, which is that we shouldn’t be all about egos — we should care more about connecting and loving other people.”

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

Please, please, please, please, please, please, please let me get a code to get a ticket this time!!

Here’s Why Bruce Springsteen Decided to Extend His Broadway Run

Forget Vegas. Bruce Springsteen may have found a new home for big musical acts.

The Boss has announced a third extension to his perennially sold out Springsteen on Broadway show, which will keep him playing the Manhattan gig through Dec. 15, 2018.

What’s the appeal of Broadway vs. a stadium tour, though? For Springsteen, it could come down to a few factors.

Springsteen’s The River anniversary tour in 2016 was the year’s top grossing concert, bringing in $268.3 million, according to Pollstar. Springsteen on Broadway, meanwhile, has had box office receipts of $44 million during its five-month run.

But the Broadway show has considerably lower expenses. There’s no band to pay, nor roadies or hotel bills, or any of the other costs of traveling around the country. And even by Broadway standards, it’s a cheap show, since there’s no supporting cast and a small crew required to run it. The profit margins are significantly higher.

Springsteen plays five shows a week. The rest of the time, he can skip hotel life and head home to his equestrian ranch in Colts Neck, N.J., roughly an hour from the theater. That’s appealing for anyone, especially a 68 year old.

Tickets for Springsteen on Broadway have been red hot from the moment they went on sale—and Springsteen hates to leave fans disappointed. The only people who will have a chance to pick up seats to these extra shows will be those who had earlier registered to buy, but weren’t able to get them. (Well, and people willing to pay outrageous amounts to scalpers.) Springsteen says this will be the final extension of the show.

Categories
Star Wars

Very cool.

How Solo: A Star Wars Story Is Crediting Phil Lord and Chris Miller

In Hollywood, it’s not uncommon for a director to leave a movie before production begins, but rarely does it happen in the middle of when the cameras are rolling. Alas, that’s what went down last summer with Solo: A Star Wars Story, as Phil Lord and Chris Miller exited the movie due to creative differences with Lucasfilm. With Ron Howard being quickly brought aboard to assume directing duties, the question arose of how Lord and Miller could be credited when the movie finally arrived. Now we have the answer: they’re being labeled as executive producers. Miller said:

“We were really proud of the many contributions we made to that film. In light of the creative differences, we elected to take an executive producer credit.”

Phil Lord and Chris Miller revealed their new status on Solo: A Star Wars Story while speaking at the third annual GLAS Animation Festival Friday (via Variety). Lord and Miller first boarded the Han Solo movie back in July 2015, and by the time they departed the spinoff movie two years later, approximately 75% of the movie had been shot. While Ron Howard subsequently added his own unique touches to Solo: A Star Wars Story during the remaining weeks of principal photography and the extended reshoots (like reworking the Dryden Vos character), Lord and Miller’s fingerprints are still all over the movie, so them being credited as executive producers seems more than fair.

Publicly, Phil Lord and Chris Miller attributed their departure from Solo: A Star Wars Story to simply wanting to make a different movie than what Lucasfilm had hired them to make. However, shortly after the news of their exit first came out, it was reported that among the issues that popped up during their time on Solo: A Star Wars Story included the duo taking an improvisational approach with shooting scenes and butting heads with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan on the London set. In the end, it just wasn’t a good fit, but at least Lord and Miller are being properly recognized for the work they poured into the project.

Taking place in the early years of the Empire’s reign across a galaxy far, far away, Solo: A Star Wars Story follows Han Solo making a name for himself in the seedy galactic underworld, and along the way, he’ll meet Lando Calrissian, obtain the Millennium Falcon pull off a dangerous train heist and more. The main cast includes Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo and Paul Bettany.

Solo: A Star Wars Story blasts its way into theaters on May 25. As for what else this year has in store for the silver screen (which includes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which Phil Lord and Chris Miller wrote and executive produced), you can find release date information on our 2018 premiere guide.

Categories
Star Wars

It’s a great scene, Mark.

Mark Hamill can’t watch emotional final scene with Carrie Fisher

Mark Hamill can’t watch his final Star Wars: The Last Jedi scene with his longtime movie sister Carrie Fisher – because it really was the last time they saw each other.

Hamill’s character Luke Skywalker is reunited with his sister, Princess Leia Organa, for a touching scene towards the end of the sequel, which was filmed shortly before Carrie’s death at the end of 2016.

And when the film came out a year later, suddenly the siblings’ fond farewell on the big screen took on an emotional new meaning.

Hamill admits he still has no idea why he kissed Fisher on the forehead in the scene – as it wasn’t in the script.

“I didn’t decide it and say, ‘Can I do this…?’” he explains to Entertainment Tonight. “I don’t know if we rehearsed it or not, but it just happened. I was standing up and they weren’t ready for it. They said, ‘No, do that again’. And we did it for a second take, and like I said, it was just spontaneous.”

That scene has now become “really momentous” for him as he was literally kissing Carrie goodbye – as well as his character’s sister.

“I can’t watch that scene,” he adds. “It’s just, you know, takes me out of the movie completely. I’ll get over it, but she’ll be forever missed and she’s irreplaceable.”

Fisher died in December, 2016 after suffering a massive heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles.

Categories
Movies

Does this mean Cap dies? Or someone else does?!? Can’t wait to see the films and find out for myself!!

Chris Evans Says He’s Done With Marvel After ‘Avengers 4’

Marvel Studios has been incredibly open about the upcoming two ‘Avengers’ films marking the end of an era. While they’re definitely not closing up shop and stopping production of Marvel Cinematic Universe films after the untitled ‘Avengers 4’ hits theaters in 2019, they have been clear that the landscape of the MCU will be different than what fans have seen so far. One of those big changes has been the assumed departure of actor Chris Evans, aka Captain America.

In a new interview with the New York Times, Evans pretty much guarantees that’s the case. “You want to get off the train before they push you off,” he said. The report makes it brutally clear that he is speaking about the MCU, and his role in it, in particular. The article says Evans “expects that planned reshoots in the fall will mark the end of his tenure in the familiar red, white and blue super suit.”

Can’t get much more definitive than that.

As mentioned above, this is something that fans have been expecting, but secretly hoping wasn’t true. Captain America has risen from a silly WWII-era character with a stupid costume to become the heart and soul of the MCU. This is, without a doubt, because of Evans’ performance as Steve Rogers. While Tony Stark gets all the funny lines, and the flashy suit of armor, Captain America, as played by Evans, is the perfect mix of “aw shucks” and badassness. He’s always been the real hero of the Marvel Universe.

Now, the real question is who takes over for Evans as the heart of the MCU? If Marvel Studios follows the comics, both Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, and The Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan, have picked up the shield and become Captain America. But perhaps that’s not Marvel’s plan at all.

With the emergence of “Black Panther” as a phenomenon, maybe the King from Wakanda will take the reins of the superhero universe. And with Brie Larson in “Captain Marvel” coming in 2019, maybe we don’t need a Captain America anymore. Maybe a Captain Marvel will do just fine.

For Evans, now the only issue is how everyone he meets will think of him as Captain America. For better or worse, this is the role that will no doubt shape his career. But apparently, he’s not worried about being mobbed on the streets for the rest of his life.

“People don’t recognize me at all,” he said. “I can look them right in the eye — it’s like I’m invisible.”

Categories
Movies

Here’s a movie I hope never happens. Let’s just leave the series alone.

Steven Spielberg Reveals ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Production Start Date

Steven Spielberg has teased the production start date for “Indiana Jones 5,” saying that he will start filming the next adventure next spring.

According to multiple media reports, the director confirmed at the Rakuten TV Empire Awards on Sunday night that he will begin production next April in the United Kingdom.

“It’s always worth the trip when I get to work with this deep bench of talent coming out of the UK,” Spielberg said during his acceptance speech, according to ComicBook.com. “The actors, and the crew, the chippies, the sparks, the drivers — everybody who has helped me make my movies here, and will continue helping me make my movies here when I come back in April 2019 to make the fifth Indiana Jones movie right here.”

Previously dated for July 19, 2019, the film was pushed to open on July 10, 2020. Spielberg is set to return to direct and executive produce star Harrison Ford. The “Star Wars” actor will be 76 when the movie starts shooting, and 77 when it opens. The project was announced in 2016.

Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will return to produce. The films have grossed roughly $2 billion at the global box office.

For now, Spielberg will next release “Ready Player One” on March 30. He most recently directed “The Post,” which was nominated for two Oscars and won the AFI Award for Movie of the Year.

Categories
Television

Sounds like the show is in a pickle, Rick!! :D

According To Creator Dan Harmon, The Future Of Rick And Morty Is In Jeopardy

For those of you Rick and Morty fans who have been wondering what is going on with Season 4 and the future of the season, Dan Harmon has offered an update and it’s not good. After a disgruntled fan complained to Harmon for not working on the new season of Rick and Morty, Harmon confirmed that Adult Swim hasn’t officially picked up another season of the show yet. Here’s what the fan tweeted to Harmon:

“Quit wasting time and go finish the next R&M season, you lazy alcoholic. Run the Jewels can get the animators to make a music video, but we’re waiting on them for the next season? Nah, we’re waiting on you to finish writing it, like that fuckin book.”

Then Harmon replied with the following:

I hear ya, tough spot. On one hand, it can be challenging, especially with crippling lazy alcoholism, to write a show that hasn’t been ordered by a network. On the other hand, the thought that fans like you pay the price…I mean…I’m gonna grab a drink

It’s strange and a shame that Adult Swim is dragging their feet on this. Rick and Morty is a wildly popular show! How have they not greet lit a Season 4 yet!? I don’t have an answer for you. I’m just as confused as the rest of the fans.

The first three seasons have been so freakin’ funny and entertaining. I hope someone eventually pulls their head out of their ass to push Season 4 forward, but even if that happens, since no work has been done on it, it’s gonna be a long ass time before we see any new Rick and Morty episodes.

In the end, I’d rather wait for new episode than not have any new episodes at all.

Categories
People

After my untimely demise you can use my likeness in ads for Swiss Chalet, Pibb, Twizzlers, Dr. Pepper and just about anything. If someone asks, why not!!

Stars are rewriting their wills to include CGI do’s and don’ts

Hollywood stars can now be digitally recreated so convincingly, that actors are reportedly specifying in their wills what they’ll permit their images to do — long after their death.

“We can recreate dead actors,” Mike McGee, co-founder of the special effects company Framestore, told The Daily Telegraph.

“Actors alive now are already selling their image rights for films which will be made when they’re dead,” McGee says. “In their will, they have decided what constraints they want.”

Framestore recently set up a commercial for a chocolate bar using a digital recreation of Audrey Hepburn, after her sons approved it.

But some actors don’t want to leave their post-mortem script decisions to chance or their families.

The technology is advancing at breakneck speed, McGee says. New developments might pair digital representations of dead actors with artificial intelligence, he says.

“If you add it all together, they [dead people] can begin to have new consciousness,” he says. “It’s only a small step to interactive conversations with holographic versions of dead celebrities or historical figures.”