Matthew Monagle
Martin Landau, Oscar Winner for ‘Ed Wood,’ Passes Away at Age 89
This just isn’t fair. Only hours after we found out that horror icon George Romero has passed away, we’ve also learned that the world has lost veteran character actor Martin Landau at the age of 89. According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, Landau passed away unexpectedly after a short illness, leaving behind a legacy of television and film work that any actor would be proud to call their own. From his breakout role in North by Northwest to his regular work with Tim Burton, Landau has been a versatile
Check Out These Gorgeous New ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Character Posters
While Disney might be holding back some of its best stuff for Comic-Con this year, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few Star Wars: The Last Jedi teasers that they could share at this past weekend’s D23. Just yesterday, we were treated to a new featurette that went behind the scenes of the production; right on the heels of that comes these new character posters, a beautiful new mix of familiar faces and bright colors. It’s not exactly the brand new trailer that some were hoping for, but it should keep us occupied until the next opportunity presents itself.
Say Hello to the First Female Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’ History
You know those rare moments when everyone on the internet seems to be talking about the same thing? Sports, politics, entertainment, whatever… those are the moments that make social media both a blessing and a curse. Take, for instance, a talented (if not slightly unknown) actress named Jodie Whittaker. If you were to go to Google Trends right now and look up her name, you’d see a sudden spike in searches, indicating that everyone everywhere is suddenly obsessed with learning more about her career. Why on earth could that be?
Kate Upton and Alexandra Daddario Throw Down in NSFW ‘The Layover’ Trailer
If you’re like me, you probably watched the first trailer for The Layover and thought, “Huh, they’re doing comedy?” The movie offers a strange mix of talent both behind and in front of the camera. William H. Macy isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind when you think of raunchy sex comedy directors, nor are Lance Krall and David Hornsby household names as writers, but when you look at their combined track records the past few years - a whole bunch of Shameless and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - the pieces for humor are most definitely there.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Despicable Me 3’ and ‘Baby Driver’ Open at the Top
It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, Edgar Wright fans: did the filmmaker’s action-packed Baby Driver score big with audiences? Or does this weekend belong to sequels, sequels, and more sequels? This weekend was always going to belong to Despicable Me 3— it’s a big hit with the kiddos, don’t you know— but there’s definitely some room for optimism in how the rest of the weekend Top 10 shook out. Here’s the numbers as of Sunday afternoon:
‘Power Rangers’ Director Claims That PG-13 Rating Hurt His Film
Alright, I’m going to be completely honest: when I saw that Power Rangers director Dean Isrealite had commented on his film’s PG-13 rating, I thought we were in for another round of confusing comments about the need for R-rated summer movies. Given the worldwide success of Deadpool, we’ve seen plenty of studios succumb to the siren song of mature adaptations. Warner Bros. has openly pledged to make more R-rated DC animated movies. 20th Century Fox will reportedly push for an R-rating with its upcoming Venom cinematic universe. Even Marvel, the current lead dog of superhero films, has felt compelled to weigh in on the issue (spoiler alert: it’s not going to happen). So sure, why not add Power Rangers to the mix?
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Cars 3’ Dethrones ‘Wonder Woman’
It’s a pleasant Sunday afternoon in the world, which means it’s time for your weekend box office updates! While this was a disappointing weekend overall for a handful of new releases, there’s good news to be had: after a disappointing $144 million total gross last weekend, the box office bounced back to $187 million total over the past few days. That takes some of the pressure off Wonder Woman to, you know, save the summer blockbuster as we know it. Here’s the totals as of Sunday afternoon:
Weekend Box Office Report: Tom Cruise Is No Match for ‘Wonder Woman’
If you only look at the surface numbers, this was a pretty predictable week at the box office. Wonder Woman did well, The Mummy did not, and everything else shook out accordingly. That being said, there’s some pretty interesting narratives emerging in the how and why of this weekend’s box office report. Let’s take a look at the rankings as of Sunday afternoon and dive into some of the specifics:
Hailee Steinfeld Is in Talks to Join Paramount’s ‘Bumblebee’ Spinoff
While fans might be a little cynical about a Transformers multi-verse, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about their planned Bumblebee prequel. For one, Christina Hodson’s script has widely been praised as a standout in the franchise thus far. For two, the film will serve as the live-action directorial debut of Kubo and the Two Strings director Travis Knight, whose visuals in that film — and whose overall body of work with animation studio Lakia — make him a name to remember in future projects. Oh, and there’s this small little tidbit: the movie may now be adding a pretty talented star as its (human) lead.
‘The New Mutants’ Adds a ‘Stranger Things’ Star
For a movie that hasn’t even begun production yet, we certainly seem to know a lot about Josh Boone’s The New Mutants. We know that Boone has pitched The New Mutants as an X-Men take on a “full-fledged horror movie.” We know that James McAvoy will probably appear as Charles Xavier at some point. We know that the Maisie Williams and Anya Taylor-Joy, two of the biggest rising stars in Hollywood, have joined on to play Wolfsbane and Magik, respectively. And now we know who will be playing Cannonball, a fan favorite from the original series.
Patty Jenkins and Ryan Gosling May Team Up for ‘I Am Superman’
Have a week, Patty Jenkins. With Wonder Woman already a big hit with critics and a global blockbuster in the making — early projections suggest the film could earn as much as $95 million domestically in its opening weekend — now is the perfect time for Jenkins to start blowing the dust off some of the films she couldn’t get made before she was a big-time superhero director. And although one such project may sound like it belongs in the DC Cinematic Universe, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. To hear her say it, Jenkins might finally be teaming with Ryan Gosling to get one of her biggest passion projects off the ground
Patty Jenkins Is ‘Very Interested’ in a ‘Wonder Woman’ Sequel
Over the past few weeks, we’ve quickly cycled through the various stages of superhero hype with Wonder Woman. First it was judging the trailers, then guessing at the potential box office, then responding to the initial buzz. And now, with fans and critics alike praising what Patty Jenkins and her team have put together, we can move to the final stage of the process: openly discussing the possibility of a sequel. Oh, those folks who haven’t seen the movie will catch up eventually. Right now it’s all about the next one.