Martin Scorsese‘s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon has the great director working with two of his most famous collaborators, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. You’d think that would be enough to sell any studio on the project, but Paramount had serious issues with Scorsese’s $200 million-plus budget. In order to get the film made, Scorsese took the movie to Apple, who will pay the budget in full while Paramount remains involved only as a partner. So what happened? Why did Paramount end up getting cold feet? A new report reveals that when DiCaprio decided to play a villainous character instead of the film’s hero, the studio got nervous.
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Few could have guessed that a simple BBC travelogue series that followed two British comedians riffing and doing Michael Caine impressions would take off, but the Trip movies have been a comforting part of our pop culture landscape for the past decade. Like a warm blanket. Or a nicely grilled scallop. For 10 years, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have been traveling across Europe, feasting on local delicacies while exchanging hilarious banter and ponderous musings about life and aging. It’s a formula that has worked for the past three movies, and which director Michael Winterbottom repeats again with a heavier dose of melancholy in The Trip to Greece.
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Shirley, a fictional portrait of The Haunting of Hill House author Shirley Jackson, is one of the year’s most fascinating movies, and it comes accompanied with an unconventional, hypnotic score courtesy of Tamar-kali (Mudbound). Ahead of Shirley‘s impending release, we’re debuting an exclusive track from the Shirley score. Hear it below.
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This week, the gang at How Did This Get Made? covered Megaforce (1982), an over-the-top action film directed by famed stuntman, Hal Needham.
The first person I got in contact with was Megaforce’s producer, Al Ruddy. But unfortunately, he replied, “I’m participating in a German-produced documentary on the film currently and with my other projects, I simply have no spare time.”
I thanked him for the quick reply and then assumed we’d never cross paths again. But less than 24 hours after he had declined, I received a new email from him that said: “Just had a couple thoughts…call me.”
What were those thoughts? And what had changed in the course of a day? In a nutshell, Ruddy had done a little research and really liked the idea of this series—the idea of going behind-the-scenes to answer how did various movies get made. “But,” he explained, “for what you guys are doing, I think it shouldn’t just be about the losers.” The point he wanted to make (and which led him to agree to this interview) was that even the “winners” go through their fair share of chaos, struggle and backroom drama. And, well, if anyone would know that to be true, it’s Al Ruddy.
Because while it was Megaforce that led me to Ruddy, he’s best known for producing a different class of films. Several of which we talked about during our interview—beginning with a little film called The Godfather…
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Faster than you can say “gotta go fast,” a Sonic the Hedgehog sequel has been greenlit. Paramount Pictures and Sega Sammy announced that development has begun on a sequel to 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog, after the incredible box office success of the video game adaptation earlier this year, despite being cut short by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read More »
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian continues a deep dive into the making of the first live-action Star Wars series that’s available on Disney+. After last weekend’s episode proudly displayed the innovative new virtual set technology known as The Volume, the fifth installment of the documentary series shines a light on the practical effects. That includes the creation of the adorable puppet known as “Baby Yoda,” or as he’s officially been designated, The Child. Not only does this episode reveal some of the alternate Baby Yoda designs, but it shows how he evolved from the script to the screen.
See the alternate Baby Yoda designs below and find out what else we learned from Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian. Read More »
Nick Offerman is appealing to America’s funny bone to feed people in need. The actor, writer, comedian, producer and woodworker is putting three of his comedy specials for sale on his website, with 100% of the proceeds set to benefit America’s Food Fund, which aids people struggling with food scarcity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Series: Frozen II
Where You Can Stream It: Disney+
The Pitch: The sequel to the definitive modern Disney film continues the story of Elsa, Anna, Olaf and the rest of the crew in a new musical adventure. And while the box office tells one story (this movie is the reason the original is now the second biggest animated film in Disney’s catalog), the reaction seemed non-plussed and often tepid when it opened in theaters late last year. That’s weird, because Frozen II isn’t just a very good movie, it’s one that stands tall above its predecessor, fixing everything that didn’t quite work the first time around.
Why It’s Essential Viewing: A classic Disney Animation film has to please everyone and it has to do so invisibly. The best of them are stirring adventures, touching romances, madcap comedies, and more, all while feeling cohesive. Frozen managed the balance effectively enough. Frozen II, though, is more confident: it’s more adventurous, more touching, much funnier and, rare for a franchise sequel of any kind, prepared to radically reshape its world in ways that cannot be undone for a sequel.
Oh, and the songs are better.
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Hasbro’s Star Wars Black Series line of figures have been a hit with collectors of all ages. But the packaging for the 6-inch action figures inspired by the movies and TV shows of Star Wars always left something to be desired. It appears Hasbro felt an update was in order, because they’ve created an entirely new design for the box art that is much more collectible friendly, and it even shows which Star Wars title each figure comes from with a new colorway classification system.
Besides the new Star Wars Black Series packaging, there are also a handful of new figures on the way. Star Wars Rebels is completing the show’ss main character roster with the arrival of Zeb, and the previously revealed Black Series additions of Admiral Ackbar, Teebo the Ewok, The Mandalorian in Beskar armor, and more will be released in the new packaging as well. Check them all out below. Read More »
Cool Posts From Around the Web:
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, watch the next chapter in the Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back, featuring Luke Skywalker seeking out a Jedi master on Dagobah. Plus, listen to a production designer talk through famous movie mansions and houses from The Royal Tenenbaums, Clueless, Love Actually, and more. And finally, watch Shrek making a boss battle in a Resident Evil video game even more terrifying. Read More »
