We’ve reached Disney live-action fatigue, and no one’s feeling it more than the directing duo behind some of the biggest Disney animated classics. Disney Legends John Musker and Ron Clements have directed acclaimed Disney animated films like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid and they have a few opinions about the House of Mouse’s slavish recreations of their greatest animated hits. Not all of them good.
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On the January 27, 2020 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor-in-chief Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film weekend editor Brad Oman and writer Hoai-Tran Bui to discuss the latest film and tv news, including Obi-wan, Uncharted, Anaconda, Mean Girls, Marvel TV, MGM, Criterion Collection and Bambi.
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(Welcome to Now Scream This, a column where horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato tell you what scary, spooky, and spine-tingling movies are streaming and where you can watch them.)
Matt: HOW IS IT ONLY, LIKE, TWO WEEKS INTO 2020 AND I’M ALREADY THIS EXHAUSTED?! Maybe because we’re in the cinematic “Ides of January,” looking at you Dolittle – but that’s poppycock because Underwater rules and none of y’all showed up. This is why we can’t have good aquatic horror things! In any case, all this stalling is to say Chris and I decided we’re just going to throw some random picks against the wall in favor of trying to get a little more sleep this year. The sacrifices we make for you, dear reader. Where else would you get your streaming horror recommendations? (No answer needed!)
Chris: Welcome back, folks. We’re all just trying to get through this month (almost there!), so Matt and I decided to take things easy and just give you a grab-bag of titles. No theme here – except the theme of having a good time watching some unpleasant films.
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The streaming wars are really heating up now that Apple TV+ is a key player alongside the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. It’ll soon get even more crowded with the upcoming arrival of Peacock from NBCUniversal and HBO Max from Warner Media. But not every content provider out there has the money to create their own streaming service, which means some studios are in the market to work out deals for their content libraries, or perhaps even selling the entire studio. That’s what MGM might be looking to do, and conversations with Netflix and Apple have already taken place. Read More »
(Welcome to Scariest Scene Ever, a column dedicated to the most pulse-pounding moments in horror. In this edition: John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness kicked off the second act with a memorable introductory scene to the insanity ahead.)
The cosmic terror that permeates throughout H.P. Lovecraft’s work tends to make for a tricky task when it comes to cinematic adaptations. Vast, shapeless creatures from beyond that are too horrible and strange for the human mind to comprehend, let alone describe, was the favored style of Lovecraft’s horror. That means it’s up to the reader’s imagination to fill in those blanks, which conflicts with the visual art form of film. Thus far, it seems the best approach to creating the distinct brand of Lovecraftian horror for the big screen is with an original story inspired by the author’s works.
John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, penned by Michael De Luca, wove in various references to Lovecraft stories but created an original plot that perfectly captured the unsettling, indescribable cosmic horror that shatters the minds of those who encounter it. In the Mouth of Madness announces the surrealism ahead in its opening moments. Still, it’s the simple, memorable scene that kicks off the second that chills with an unnerving declaration that Carpenter fully grasps the mind-breaking nature of Lovecraftian horror. From this moment on, reality ceases to be what it used to be.
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The 2020 Sundance Film Festival is underway, and we’ve already seen a lot of great movies in the mountains of Park City, Utah. But this year, studios and distributors are being a little more cautious when it comes to picking up any of the buzzed about movies playing at the festival. Last year saw some big deals result in disappointing box office returns, and without many big movies garnering loads of attention, the Sundance market is moving at a slower pace than usual. But even so, there are already some movies that have been picked up, and we’ve got a list of them rounded up below that will be continuously updated. Read More »
In 2011, writer/director Sean Durkin left his mark on the Sundance Film Festival with Martha Marcy May Marlene, an intense cult drama that introduced the world to Elizabeth Olsen and won Durkin the festival’s U.S. Dramatic Directing Award. It’s been nine years since he’s made a movie, but he hasn’t missed a beat. Durkin has finally returned with his second feature, The Nest, which turns his focus to money – more specifically, one man’s desire for it and the chances he’ll take to get it. Read More »
The music stars turned out for the 2020 Grammy Awards, but a few movie stars got their time to shine on music’s biggest night. Two of those with “star” in their name: A Star is Born and John Williams’ instrumental track composed for Disney’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theme park land in Walt Disney World and Disneyland were among the 2020 Grammy Award winners Sunday night. The night’s biggest winner, disruptive pop force Billie Eilish, swept the top awards just as she prepares to be the youngest Bond theme song singer.
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Well, that certainly was a lot. Doctor Who has been firing on all cylinders this season after a lackluster season 11, and the latest episode “Fugitive of the Judoon” was the most explosive yet. It’s a wildly marked difference between seasons for showrunner Chris Chibnall, who seems to be taking critics’ words to heart after his inaugural season of underwhelming standalone episodes; this time, it’s all season-long mysteries and arcs, baby. But can Chibnall pull off such an ambitious arc that involves the Master, the destruction of Gallifrey, and now a brand new Doctor? Time will tell.
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Cool Posts From Around the Web:
There are more than a few films out there about the artistic struggles of filmmakers and writers. Outside of the films themselves, many creatives get their start directing shorts while others come out of the gate swinging with a full-on directorial feature…and the practice of abandoning projects due to lack of funding, rejection, or shifting passions is all too familiar. Having previously worked on two short films that premiered at SXSW, director Gillian Wallace Horvat tackles filmmaker frustrations and ambitions in her directorial debut, I Blame Society.
We’re pleased to premiere the first poster for the film, which you can check out below.
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