Categories
Movies

Get this movie made!!

Black Widow Has Reportedly Looked At A Huge Number Of Directors

Ever since she debuted in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, has been one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s key heroes, whether it’s as a supporting character in another hero’s movie or being part of a big ensemble. Eight years after her introduction, it sounds Marvel Studios is finally ready to spotlight the KGB agent-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D. operative-turned-superhero in her own story, as it was reported back in January that a Black Widow movie is in development. While we don’t have a timetable yet on when this movie could come out, evidently Marvel isn’t sparing any effort with finding the right person to helm it, as the studio has reportedly met with more than 65 directors.

This information comes to us from Variety reporter Justin Kroll, and while we don’t know most of the names that are on this list, it was revealed last week that Mustang’s Deniz Gamze Erguven, The Rider’s Chloe Zhao and A United Kingdom’s Amma Asante are among the candidates. Whether the directing job goes to one of those three or someone else we haven’t heard about yet, it sounds like Marvel’s been quite thorough with its search. With a character like Black Widow, who’s both been an important player in the comics and an integral member of the MCU, it’s important to ensure that her standalone movie is the best it can be. If that means chatting with upwards of 65 directors, then by all means, schedule those meetings!

All we know for sure about the Black Widow movie, aside from Scarlett Johansson obviously reprising the heroine, is that it’s being written by Jac Schaffer, who also penned Olaf’s Frozen Adventure and The Hustle. However, it was recently rumored that rather than being set after the events of Avengers 4, it would be a prequel following Natasha Romaoff approximately 15 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. That would place the movie around 2006, a couple years before her appearance in Iron Man 2. Assuming this is true, it’s unclear if at this point in time she was still working for Russian intelligence or had already defected to join S.H.I.E.L.D., but since Sebastian Stan has expressed interest in appearing in the Black Widow movie, perhaps the tale could chronicle Natasha’s first encounter with The Winter Soldier.

Assuming that Black Widow is released during Phase Four, that makes it the third movie that’s confirmed for this slate of films, following Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (an Eternals movie is also in consideration). We here at CinemaBlend will keep you updated on how the Black Widow movie is developing as more information becomes available, including who scores the directing gig. In the meantime, Black Widow can currently be seen alongside most of the MCU’s other heroes in Avengers: Infinity War, and you can look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what other projects this franchise has in the works.

Categories
Business

It’s called “negotiating”. Good luck, Ryan!!

Ryan Reynolds Teases ‘Deadpool 2’ Could Be End of Franchise

Although “Deadpool 2” is tracking for an enormous opening weekend of $150 million and the first film broke records, Ryan Reynolds isn’t sure whether there would be a third movie in the franchise.

“I don’t know that there would be a ‘Deadpool 3,’ I really don’t,” Reynolds told Entertainment Weekly. “I feel like the character, in order for him to function properly within his own universe, you need to take everything away from him. I don’t think that you can keep doing that.”

However, while Reynolds isn’t sure whether Deadpool would get another solo film, the actor does see the Merc with a Mouth as part of a team.

“I do see him as being a part of X-Force, obviously. I would love to see him in a team-up sort of thing, like a mano a mano or a great female character from the X-Men universe,” he said. “I just think if you’re going to do another Deadpool solo film, you’ve got to really, like, get that budget down to nothing and just swing for the fences, and break all kinds of weird barriers, and do stuff that no one else can do.”

Reynolds is already part of the “X-Force” film that Drew Goddard will write and direct. Zazie Beetz and Josh Brolin are also already attached as Domino and Cable, respectively. The film was originally announced in 2013 with “Kick-Ass 2” director Jeff Wadlow attached to direct.

For now, Reynolds will reprise his role as the character in “Deadpool 2,” which will hit theaters on May 18. Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Beetz and Brolin also star.

Categories
Television

Amazing news!!

Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon’s Cord & Tish to return for Royal Wedding

And you thought Cord and Tish went gaga over flowers…

“Saturday Night Live” alumni Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon will reprise their roles of Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan, respectively, for a live HBO special tied to the upcoming British royal wedding.

“The Royal Wedding Live With Cord and Tish!,” which the premium cabler announced Tuesday, will air Saturday, May 19 at 7:30/6:30c, with a primetime replay that day at 9:45 pm.

Shannon and Ferrell introduced the characters in “The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish,” an Amazon parody special that streamed live in January.

Rose Parade correspondent (and fellow former “SNL”-er) Tim Meadows, as well as other guests, will be on hand to help with the coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding procession. A release for the special promises that Tish and Cord will relay the big event “with their trademark dignity and grace.”

Ferrell wrote and will executive-produce the special with Andrew Steele (“SNL”), Mike Farah (“Billy on the Street”) and showrunner Bellamie Blackstone (“@midnight”); Shannon will produce. Funny or Die will produce.

Categories
Television

Bring it on, baby!! Bring it on!!!

‘Arrested Development’ Season 4 Getting A “Remix” Before Season 5 Hits

There’s good news and bad news about “Arrested Development.” The good news is that season 5 is coming. And apparently its right around the corner. The bad news is…well not really that bad, honestly. The second bit of news is about season 4.

To say that Season 4 of “Arrested Development” wasn’t as well-received as previous seasons would be a gross understatement. The story of the Bluth family was widely regarded as one of the best comedies on TV, which led Netflix to revive the show for the ill-fated season 4. Unfortunately, a variety of behind-the-scenes circumstances led to the series being presented in an odd way, or as the series creator Mitch Hurwitz says, “a ‘Rashomon’-style of storytelling. Needless to say, fans weren’t very pleased.

But never fear! Hurwitz is back and wants to make things right. Or at least give it a valiant effort before season 5 of the series makes its triumphant return later this Summer.

In an open letter tweeted out by Hurwitz, he describes an effort to recut and “remix” season 4 to be told in a more simple, chronological way. While he readily admits that his main driving force was money (“I mean, who am I kidding, I want this thing to syndicate eventually.”), he says that he found other purposes to remix and re-edit the season.

“But I also pursued it as a comedic experiment to see if new jokes and a new perspective would emerge from a remix that features all the Bluths in every episode, and where the simultaneity of the story plays out chronologically,” explained the creator. “And I’m really excited about the final result.”

Let’s be real, Hurwitz did this to win back favor from the fans before season 5 is released. Speaking from my own personal experience, I didn’t even finish the fourth season because it was so lackluster. However, with the “remix” scheduled to hit Netflix this Friday, May 4, I might go back to see if I initially misjudged the series.

“Arrested Development Season 4 Remix: Fateful Consequences” will hit Netflix on May 4, followed “real soon” by season 5.

Categories
Awards

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!!!

Mean Girls, SpongeBob lead Tony Award nominations with 12 nods each

NEW YORK—Tina Fey’s musical Mean Girls, which she adapted from her much-beloved and oft-quoted 2004 high school comedy movie, and the goofy undersea adaptation from the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical lead the Tony Award nominations with dozen nods each.

A British revival of Angels in America, Tony Kushner’s monumental, two-part drama about AIDS, life and love during the 1980s, grabbed 11 nominations — the most for any play — 25 years after it first appeared on Broadway. The shimmering, grown-up musical The Band’s Visit also earned 11 nods.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise extended its magical touch to Broadway, with a two-part stage play featuring the bespectacled wizard earning 10 nominations, as did a revival of My Fair Lady.

Best new musical category is filled by The Band’s Visit, Frozen, Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical. Those musicals that failed to make the cut were the Hal Prince revue Prince of Broadway, the Jimmy Buffet musical Escape to Margaritaville and Summer, about disco diva Donna Summer.

The two-part Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which picks up 19 years from where Rowling’s last novel left off and portrays Potter and his friends as grown-ups, won nine Olivier Awards in London before coming to America and bewitching critics and audiences alike. It now will face The Children, Farinelli and The King, Junk and Latin History for Morons for best new play.

Best male acting nominations for a play include Denzel Washington, starring in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s epic The Iceman Cometh. The 2010 Tony winner for Fences will have to face-off against Andrew Garfield in Angels in America, Tom Hollander of Travesties, Jamie Parker of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Mark Rylance in Farinelli and The King.

Michael Cera of Brampton, Ont., received a nomination for best featured actor in a play for his role in Lobby Hero.

Amy Schumer, who made her Broadway debut in Steve Martin’s comedy Meteor Shower, won a nomination for best actress in a play. Others in the category include Glenda Jackson from Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, Condola Rashad in Saint Joan and Lauren Ridloff in Children of a Lesser God.

Carousel, My Fair Lady and Once on This Island make up the best musical revival category, mostly because they’re only eligible nominees.

The best play revival category is filled by Angels in America, Three Tall Women, Lobby Hero, Travesties and The Iceman Cometh.

Bruce Springsteen, whose solo show mixes songs and stories from his bestselling memoir Born to Run and has been banking over $2 million (U.S.) each week he’s onstage, will be granted a special, non-competitive Tony, along with John Leguizamo for Latin History for Morons.

Plenty of nominations don’t necessarily lead to actual wins on Tony night. While Hamilton was nominated for 16 awards in 2016 and went on to win 11, just last year Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 earned a leading 12 nominations but got just two technical awards on the big night.

Categories
Music

This is very, very cool!!

ABBA Reunite in Studio After 35 Years to Record Two New Songs

Legendary Swedish pop quartet ABBA have answered their fans’ decades-long wish and reunited to record two new songs. The “Waterloo” group announced on Friday morning (Apr. 27) that they have written and recorded their first new tracks in 35 years. “The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence. We all felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio,” they wrote in a statement about the songs. “So we did. And it was like time had stood still and we had only been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience!”

They revealed the name of one of the songs, “I Still Have Faith in You,” which will be featured in an NBC/BBC special that is slated to air in December. The group — which includes Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältsko, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad — hinted at the sound of the new music, saying, “We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good.” The two-hour TV special co-produced by NBC and BBC will feature the group’s avatars performing their greatest hits; the avatars are slated to launch a world tour next year.

ABBA notched 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1974 and 1983, including the No. 1 “Dancing Queen” in 1977. They also claimed top 10s with their debut hit “Waterloo” (No. 6), “Take a Chance on Me” (No. 3) and “The Winner Takes It All” (No. 8). They claimed 13 entries on the Billboard 200 albums chart, including the top 20 sets Arrival, Voulez-Vous and Super Trouper. Their Gold – Greatest Hits album has spent more than 130 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly 6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.

The group formed in Stockholm in 1972 and rose to international fame two years later when they won the Eurovision song contest in Brighton, England, with their breakout hit “Waterloo.” They had a string of global smashes throughout the next decade before splintering in 1983. Though generous sums have been dangled before them to reform for decades, the quartet had resisted reuniting until 2016, when they performed together at a private event in Stockholm.

Categories
Movies

Wow! Look at that AVENGERS movie! That movie’s huge!! Can’t wait to see it again.

Box Office: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Passes ‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ With Record $250M U.S. Bow

The superhero mashup also scores the biggest opening ever globally with $630 million — almost $100 million than the previous record holder.
The galaxy has a new ruler.

Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War kicked off the summer box office in high style, opening to a record-setting $250 million in North America and $380 million overseas for a global total of $630 million, the top worldwide start of all time. The superhero mashup accomplished the feat without China, where it doesn’t unfurl until May 11.

Fellow Disney title Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million) was the previous record holder for biggest domestic opening, while Universal’s The Fate of the Furious had held the record for biggest global start ($541.9 million). As in North America, Infinity War set a slew of industry records overseas.

Infinity War’s box office victory was aided by the biggest Saturday of all time in North America ($83 million), reflecting a strong family turnout. The tentpole cost close to $300 to produce before a major marketing spend.

Directed by the Russo brothers, Avengers: Infinity War is most ambitious amassing of superheroes in history, and comes as Marvel Studios — led by Kevin Feige — celebrates its 10th anniversary. In 2009, Walt Disney Co. chief Bob Iger paid $4 billion to acquire Marvel Entertainment, even though many of the superhero characters in Marvel’s stable were unproven.

Infinity War is the first film to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras. IMAX theaters in turn delivered $41 million of the total global gross, the biggest showing ever for a Marvel title. The U.S. share was $22.5 million.

Infinity War follows the massive success of Marvel’s Black Panther, a cultural phenomenon and fanboy darling that currently ranks as the top-grossing superhero film of all time in North America with $688 million in ticket sales. The superhero, played by Chadwick Boseman, appears in the Avengers film and was no doubt a boost for Infinity War.

In a surprise twist, interest in Black Panther — now in its 11th weekend — once again spiked as Infinity War debuted. Black Panther moved back up the chart from No. 8 to No. 5, earning $4.4 million.

Marvel Studios is unrivaled in its success, boasting six of the top 10 opening weekends of all time. The Avengers ($207.4 million) previously held the record for the biggest superhero launch, followed by Black Panther ($202 million). They are the only two superhero titles to have crossed $200 million in their first weekend.

Infinity War also continues Disney’s domination at the box office. The studio has bragging rights to nine of the 10 biggest domestic openings, including the top three; Infinity War, Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 million). Universal’s Jurassic World ($208.8 million) is No. 4.

Nabbing an A CinemaScore, Infinity War reunites the Avengers gang and friends, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Panther (Boseman), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), as they join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew to stop the evil intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin).

Black Panther stars Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright and Winston Duke also appear in Infinity War, the third outing in the Avengers series. Other characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe making a play include Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper are some of the stars from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise appearing in Infinity War.

No other wide release dared open opposite Infinity War. Save for Black Panther, most holdovers felt the pinch, although Paramount’s hit horror film, A Quiet Place, still made noise, grossing $10.7 million for a domestic total of $148.2 million. Overseas, the film earned another $6.6 million for a foreign total of $87.2 million and $235.4 globally.

A Quiet Place easily came in No. 2 domestically, followed by Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty, which tumbled 49 percent in its second weekend to $8.1 million for a total $29.6 million. STX and Voltage are partners on the film.

Dwayne Johnson’s action-adventure appeared to be the hardest hit by Infinity War, falling 65 percent to $7.1 million for a domestic total of $77.9 million at the end of its third weekend.

In a smart counter-programming move, Bleecker Street opened LGBT drama Disobedience in five theaters. The film, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, grossed $241,246 for a strong per screen average of $48,255, the second best of the year to date for a specialty pic behind Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. The film made its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, and also stars Alessandro Nivola.

Disobedience played to a predominantly female audience with a strong LGBT base, according to Bleecker Street. It also played well in art houses.

Weekend Box Office 4/29/18
3-Day Weekend Box Office Estimates
WEEKEND CUME THEATERS WEEK
1. Avengers: Infinity War $250M $250M 4,474 1
2. A Quiet Place $10.7M $148.2M 3,565 4
3. I Feel Pretty $8.1M $29.6M 3,440 2
4. Rampage $7.1M $77.9M 3,508 3
5. Black Panther $4.4M $688M 1,650 11

Categories
Movies

I saw Avengers: Infinity War, and when you’ve seen it we should talk. Until then, I’m saying nothing.

Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige on the future of the Avengers

LOS ANGELES — Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has a lot to smile about.

The 44-year-old producer is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Marvel Studios and the release of Avengers: Infinity War — the 19th film in an interconnected series that has included such heroes as Iron Man, Captain America and, more recently, Black Panther.

Over the last decade, Feige has essentially built up Hollywood’s most bankable brand that has fetched over $14.8 billion in worldwide box office with every new release branded an “event.”

“I would say we dreamed of this,” Feige tells Sun Media in a Beverly Hills hotel.

“I would say while we were doing the first Iron Man film, there were two thoughts in our heads. One was, ‘Get it done and get it in theatres.’ The other goal was, ‘Make Tony Stark a household name. We wanted to get people who didn’t read the comics or see him in the cartoon series to realize he’s one of the coolest superheroes that’s ever existed.”

To play the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man, the studio tapped Robert Downey Jr., who a decade ago was only a few years removed from two drug arrests in 2000 and 2001.

But Downey and Feige succeeded in making Iron Man a hit, giving birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“The secondary goals that we dreamed about was to bring the interconnected universe from the comic books up on to the big screen,” he continues.

“At that point, Avengers 1 was a far-off distant dream, but this has always been in the back of our heads.

“When we were casting Guardians of the Galaxy and looking for Star-Lord, we were saying things like, ‘You know, if things go right, we have to find a great actor to play Peter Quill because someday that actor might have to do scenes with the Avengers.’

“We sat around and said things like that. And now, here it is.”

Feige, whose comic book chops helped land him an associate producer credit on 2000’s X-Men movie, is now eyeing a Marvel movie slate that goes well into the 2020s.

And thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Fox (which owns Marvel characters like X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool), he might just be making superhero movies until the day he dies.

This summer, Marvel will release Ant-Man and The Wasp and next year it will release Captain Marvel (with Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel) before Avengers 4 closes out what he calls a “22-film narrative arc.”

A sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming with Tom Holland will kick off a whole new slate of Marvel stories in July 2019.

With Infinity War eyeing a record haul at the global box office this weekend, Feige talked about making the biggest superhero movie of all time and what’s next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Q – The MCU kicked off 10 years ago with Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man. What made him the perfect actor to front Marvel’s superhero franchise?

A – He’s an unparalleled talent. He’s an amazing actor. He has an amazing personality and an amazing persona that we thought could be tapped into in an amazing way.

We knew he was a great actor and we knew he was unbelievably charismatic and he’d be able to bring Tony Stark to life in an unbelievable way.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the MCU would not exist without Robert Downey Jr.

Q – You’ve been building up this world for 10 years. What does Infinity War and next year’s Avengers 4 represent to fans?

A – I think with Infinity War and Untitled Avengers 4 next year, certainly for us, we have two of the biggest and most unique adventure films that have ever been made. We’re certainly working with the biggest canvas that we’ve ever painted on. At the same time, I think it’s an amazing honour to have so many characters that so many people care so deeply about.

And while the spectacle and action is fun and is required, it’s seeing these characters and seeing them change and seeing them grow and seeing them interact with heroes they’ve never met before that’s the real fun of these movies. I hope people will watch Infinity War and then perhaps watch the next Avengers film next year and realize that what they’ve seen over 10-plus years is an unprecedented character arc, at least for film. Unprecedented character arcs for these heroes, whether they’ve been around for three years, five years or all 10 years.

Q – You’ve talked to me about Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 kicking off something new. I know on our visit to the set of Infinity War last year, Robert Downey talked about tapping out. Are the changes that are about to happen in Infinity War and Avengers 4 finite?

A – I would say that almost all of them are permanent changes. We pull examples from comics all the time and I would say in the comics sometimes characters come back to life the next day, and sometimes characters that they swore would never come back — Bucky Barnes will never come back to life — come back and it’s awesome like in the Winter Soldier. I don’t know what’s going to happen in five years or 10 years, but in terms of the more immediate future that we’re building and creating now, they will be finite.

Q – How different will Infinity War and Avengers 4 be from one another and is Thanos the main villain in both?

I don’t want to be that specific about it. I will say that tonally, in ways that people will not be able to tell until they see Avengers 4, tonally they are very different movies by design. But they connect very directly; as directly as any of our films have been connected. So Infinity War is a complete story, but people are going to want to know what happens next right away.

A – How do Ant-Man and The Wasp and Captain Marvel connect Infinity War and Avengers 4?

You’ll see. For the most part they are very much their own adventures, they’re very much their own standalone stories, but they will connect in ways that will be apparent when you see them and will be very apparent in Avengers 4.

Q – Why did you choose to set Captain Marvel in the ’90s?

A – The answer is, you’ll see in the storytelling of the movie (laughs). But it allows us to play in an area that we have never played in before and tapping into a ’90s action genre was fun for us and being able to see an earlier part of the MCU before Nick Fury knew anything about aliens or anything about super-powered people and also tapping into the Kree-Skrull War, which in the comics was a huge part of the comic mythology, seemed like a fun thing to try and a fun way to give Carol Danvers her own standalone origin story.

Q – Black Panther was a massive hit, both with comic book movie fans and casual moviegoers alike. Are you constantly looking for ways to bring new people into the MCU?

A – Absolutely. We’re trying to appeal to people who just want to go see a movie on a weekend and we want to appeal to people like us who want to delve deeper. The movies need to work for both, and since Iron Man 1 that’s what we’ve wanted to do. Really, it was only comic book fans that knew who Iron Man was back in 2008. Even a lot of comic book fans didn’t know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were in 2014. So we always want to tell stories as if no one knows who they are. We approach it as if there’s no fan base. Let’s make a movie that’s going to build that fan base. At the same time, we’re fans, so we’re not going to do anything that betrays what the core elements of character are in the books.

But certainly Panther is a wonderful example of attracting people who not only aren’t fans of comic book movies, they’re people who hadn’t been to a movie in a long time, period! Selfishly, as the producer, I love that, and I hope all those people come out to see Infinity War and get invested in the MCU going forward and then look back and say, ‘What have I missed?’

Q – I always ask you about the blueprint. Going forward, the movies that Marvel has coming five, 10 years from now, are they always going to be threaded back to the beginning? Is the MCU a world with no real end?

A – Yes. … It’s a world I hope continues far into the future in the same way all of these storylines have continued in the comics. We’re one decade in. In the comics, some of these heroes are five, six, seven decades in. So I do hope they continue for a long time.

But, storylines can come to an end. The best stories do come to an end. Return of the Jedi was an ending for a long time and as a 10-year-old in 1983 that carried me through 30 years until there was a sequel. That hasn’t happened before in the superhero genre. A new actor comes in and a new storyline starts right away. We wanted to do it this way because we think that the best stories have a definitive ending to a storyline. That’s certainly what’s going to happen next year with Avengers 4.

The Universe, the world, many of the characters we’ve introduced will continue onward in unexpected ways, some of which I don’t even know yet. But bringing a definitive conclusion at the 22-film mark, and just over 10 years, seemed like the right thing to do.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theatres now.

Categories
Awards

What a horrible idea!!

Colin Jost and Michael Che won’t save the Emmys

It doesn’t matter that “Saturday Night Live” cast members and “Weekend Update” anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost have been named to host the 2018 Emmy Awards on Sept. 17.

No one’s going to watch them.

NBC is clearly trying to capitalize on the renewed popularity of “SNL” in the Trump era by naming young co-hosts who will punctuate the bestowing of trophies with political jokes. And it might be amusing — for the first half-hour of the ceremony, which usually lasts three hours total.

Like the Oscars and the Golden Globes and other ceremonies of yore, the Emmys is an antiques roadshow — a throwback to an era when people had nothing better to do than to sit for an entire evening and watch some actor win a prize and act surprised.

The public’s increasing indifference to such showboating is made evident by the steep decline in ratings for such events. Numbers for the Grammys dropped 24 percent this year; also distressing, the Oscars lost 20 percent as the extravaganza produced one predictable winner after another. Last year’s Emmy awards drew a dismal 11.4 million viewers, compared to 11.3 in 2016.

By contrast, last week’s episode of “Roseanne” drew 13.2 million viewers. The glamour-free ABC sitcom, which co-stars an ugly old couch, knows something about how to attract an audience.

While we’re on the subject of comedy, it’s fair to ask if Jost and Che have the chops to make their “Weekend Update” rapport go the distance. Their “SNL” skit is a mainstay of the show, but their predecessors in those anchor seats — Tina Fey, Chevy Chase and Seth Meyers, among many others — have been more memorable. Perhaps Jost’s stature as movie star Scarlett Johansson’s boyfriend elevates him to snaring this kind of high-profile gig.

This year’s Emmy Awards executive producer Lorne Michaels’ other proteges, Jimmy Fallon and Meyers, have hosted the show in the past. Michaels will reportedly get other members of the “SNL” cast to pop in during the broadcast to make this less-than-dynamic duo not seem stranded up there with all those boring categories.

Like “SNL” itself, you can always catch up with the worthy bits a day later on YouTube.

Categories
Movies

I live less than two blocks from a theatre, with showtimes all day and into the evening, but yet I can’t seem to get over there to see a movie!!! Oh well, I bet that all changes next weekend with the new AVENGERS movie.

A Quiet Place reclaims box office crown, besting Rampage and I Feel Pretty

A Quiet Place is still making noise at the box office.

In its third weekend in theaters, Paramount and John Krasinski’s nearly dialogue-free horror movie is on track to earn an estimated $22 million from 3,808 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, reclaiming the No. 1 spot from the Dwayne Johnson-led action movie Rampage and holding off Amy Schumer’s new comedy, I Feel Pretty.

Through Sunday, A Quiet Place will have grossed about $132.4 million in North America, plus $74.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of about $207.2 million. The film, which cost a modest $17 million to make, is now Paramount’s highest-grossing domestic release in nearly two years, since Star Trek Beyond in July 2016 (which earned $158.8 million).

A Quiet Place tells the story of a family living in silence in order to hide from aliens that hunt their prey by sound. Krasinski directed and costars with his wife, Emily Blunt.

Narrowly missing out on the top spot is Warner Bros’. Rampage, taking in an estimated $21 million (from 4,115 theaters). That works out to a drop of just 41 percent from last week’s debut and brings the movie’s domestic total to $66.6 million after 10 days in theaters.

The movie — which stars Johnson as a primatologist and ex-soldier dealing with mutated mega-animals — will need to perform well overseas to be considered a success, and this weekend it will add about $57 million from 61 foreign markets, lifting its international total to about $216.4 million.

Debuting in third place, STX’s I Feel Pretty will gross about $16.2 million, from 3,440 theaters. While that figure is slightly above industry projections, it’s also lower than the $19.5 million managed by Schumer’s Snatched and the $30 million collected by her hit Trainwreck.

Written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, I Feel Pretty stars Schumer as an ordinary woman who struggles with her self-image until she hits her head and wakes up feeling beautiful and confident. The movie has received poor reviews from critics, but moviegoers gave it a decent B-plus CinemaScore.

Another comedy debuting this weekend and garnering a B-plus CinemaScore is Fox’s Super Troopers 2, landing in fourth place with an estimated $14.7 million. The sequel, which hails from the Broken Lizard comedy group and was partially crowdfunded, will far exceed industry projections, which put it in the range of $6 million to $8 million.

Jay Chandrasekhar directed and costars in the movie, which centers on a motley crew of state troopers embroiled in an international border dispute. Reviews have been largely negative.

Blumhouse and Universal’s horror holdover Truth or Dare rounds out the top five with an estimated $7.9 million, while Lionsgate’s crime thriller Traffik, starring Omar Epps and Paula Patton, will open with about $3.9 million — in line with expectations and good for the No. 9 spot.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 2.2 percent year-to-date. Looking ahead, next week brings the release of Disney and Marvel’s presumptive juggernaut Avengers: Infinity War.

Check out the April 20-22 figures below.

1. A Quiet Place — $22 million
2. Rampage — $21 million
3. I Feel Pretty — $16.2 million
4. Super Troopers 2 — $14.7 million
5. Truth or Dare — $7.9 million
6. Ready Player One — $7.5 million
7. Blockers — $7 million
8. Black Panther — $4.6 million
9. Traffik — $3.9 million
10. Isle of Dogs — $3.4 million