In the ‘90s, after the success of Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart, David Lynch almost made a live-action adaptation of Otomo Katsuhiro’s manga Domu: A Child’s Dream. It’s not as well known or popular as Katsuhiro’s own Akira, but it’s still considered a major work. And in a number of ways, this movie adaptation almost happened because of George Lucas.
Recently, on the Filmumentaries Podcast, Nilo Rodis-Jamero related a piece of this story, but /Film followed up with him to ask more about the project and why it fell apart.
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Regina King’s One Night In Miami has a fascinating approach to iconography. It anachronistically re-stages Muhammad Ali’s famous underwater photo by Flip Schulke three years after it actually happened, in order to move the photography session to the day of his historic fight with Sonny Liston. This is the day the film takes place, unfolding largely in real time in and around a single hotel room after the bout. The film, by creating a proximity between the photo and Ali’s poolside strategizing about the optics of Malcom X accompanying him to the fight, invites us on an imaginary journey through moments that unfolded in between historic photographs, conjuring questions about the lived realities behind the curtain of recorded history. It even places a camera in Malcolm’s hands throughout much of the film.
King and screenwriter Kemp Powers — upon whose play the film is based — fictionalize a real-life meeting between civil rights leader Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), soul singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), NFL player-turned actor Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and boxing champion Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), who was still going by Cassius Clay at the time. The filmmaking is precise, shifting narrative point-of-view subtly and deftly between its four leads, but its biggest strength is the way it enhances each performance — especially that of Ben-Adir, who explores Malcolm X through body language and a series of gestures. Read More »
Ever since District 9 hit theaters in 2009 and marked the arrival of a promising new director, Neill Blomkamp has entertained the idea of making a sequel, alluding over the years to ideas he had for the project regularly — but not officially — referred to as District 10. But the timing was never right, and most rumblings about a possible District 10 died down a few years ago. But Blomkamp gave a surprise update on the long-awaited District 9 sequel, revealing that he and writing partners Sharlto Copley and Terri Tatchell are in the process of writing a District 10 screenplay.
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Hello all, and welcome to your weekly recap of whatever wildness occurred on the latest episode of WandaVision. These are meant to be read after watching, so they will go deep into spoiler territory. You have been warned!
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When you have a beloved animated show like The Simpsons that has been credited with predicting the future over and over again, it should come as no surprise that when they finally get around to turning it into a movie, they’ve already covered all the same ground before. The Simpsons Movie Honest Trailer reminds us about all the plot points in the movie that we’ve seen in episodes of The Simpsons, but ultimately admits that it doesn’t stop anyone from wanting to see a sequel. Read More »
The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.
In this edition, find out why Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar stars Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo got fired from The Crown. Plus, see how Saturday Night Live‘s most seasoned cast member Kenan Thompson handles the wings of death on Hot Ones. And finally, check out some of the royal props from Disney’s coming-of-age teen comedy The Princess Diaries. Read More »
Want to see a new TV spot for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Care to try your hand at getting a WandaVision poster by Matt Ferguson? Want to see concept art of an alternate design for Cyborg that appears to return in Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Who is interested in starring in the Blue Beetle movie from DC Comics? When did James Gunn consider making a Krypto movie at one time? All that and more in this edition of Superhero Bits. Read More »
As we wait for the anticipated open-world Star Wars video game to come together, Lucasfilm Games will be trying to keep us busy with some other gameplay in a galaxy far, far away. Along with the recently announced competitive arena combat title Star Wars: Hunters, gamers will soon be treated to a remaster of one of the most revered Star Wars video games of the 2000s.
Star Wars: Republic Commando was a first-person shooter on Xbox and Microsoft Windows that played a lot like a Star Wars version of Halo. Now the game is being remastered and re-released this spring on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Read More »
It’s been eight years since Dexter went off the air. And in those eight years, what has the vigilante serial killer been up to? According to the divisive finale for Clyde Phillips‘ Showtime crime drama, working as a lumberjack, or something. But the Dexter revival, an upcoming Showtime limited series which will supposedly “make right” the maligned ending of the series, will show exactly what Dexter has been doing for the near-decade that he’s been off the air.
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Cool Posts From Around the Web:
Bright and early this morning, I was awakened by the shouts of a newsie in the streets outside my home, yelling, “Extra! Extra! The Twilight Zone reboot canceled by Paramount+!” I can only assume this happened nationwide, so we’re probably all on the same page there. But in any case, that story is slightly more complicated than that shrill child made it seem. Jordan Peele‘s Monkeypaw and Simon Kinberg‘s Genre Films, the production companies behind the CBS All Access revival of the classic Rod Serling sci-fi show, issued a statement today clarifying that the show was not technically canceled – it actually ended on their own terms.
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