A24 Reveals Trailer For Lee Isaac Chung’s Exceptional “Minari”
You can now have your first look at one of the best movies to come out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari. Powerhouse studio A24 has released the first trailer for Chung’s moving portrait of a Korean family moving to Arkansas in the 1980s, and their struggles to craft their own version of the American dream.
The reviews for Minari coming out of Sundance were stellar,
Zendaya to Play Ronnie Spector in A24 Film
Recent Emmy-winner Zendaya (the youngest actress to ever win Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and only the second Black woman to win the category, no less) will play singer Ronnie Spector in a film about her life for A24. Deadline broke the story that the rising star will play Spector after a deal was closed to the singer’s life rights and for her memoir (co-written with Vince Waldron) “Be My Baby.”
Get Excited About Barry Jenkins Directing “Lion King” Sequel
Barry Jenkins is a phenomenal director. So there’s your first and most obvious reason that today’s news that Jenkins been tapped to helm a Lion King sequel (!!) is good for Lion King lovers in particular and film lovers in general. Deadline broke the story that the director of the sensational, Best Picture-winning Moonlight (Jenkins and his co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney also won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay),
Gillian Anderson is Margaret Thatcher in “The Crown” Season 4 Images
The cast of the splendidly written, gorgeously produced, exquisitely attired The Crown has been so good for so long it’s almost easy to take it for granted. For example, the recent news that the extremely talented Elizabeth Debicki would be playing Princess Di for The Crown’s final two seasons added yet more acting firepower to a show that’s already lousy with it. Yet still, it’s pure joy to get a glimpse of a bevy of new photos for season 4,
Watch “The Mandalorian” & More With Friends Via Disney+’s New GroupWatch Feature
Disney is unveiling GroupWatch, a brand new feature on Disney+, that will allow up to seven subscribers to simultaneously watch and react to a series or movie. With many theaters closed and social gatherings largely reduced, GroupWatch will give Disney+ the most developed social viewing option available for a streaming service at a time where we could all use as many remote social options as we can get.
Of course,
“The Boys in The Band” Director Joe Mantello on Adapting Broadway’s Groundbreaking Play
Mart Crowley’s 1968 play The Boys in the Band is an undisputed milestone in gay history. Produced a year before the Stonewall rebellion, this story of an Upper East Side birthday gathering was groundbreaking, with gay men overtly representing themselves onstage, and asked to be seen as themselves, nothing more or less. This was a first. It was also a massive hit. For its 50th anniversary, producer Ryan Murphy revived the play on Broadway,
“Lovecraft Country” DP Michael Watson on Lensing HBO’s Multi-Genre Hit Series
If you’ve been watching Lovecraft Country on HBO, you’ve seen one of the most sublimely ambitious series on TV this year. Stripping the legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft for parts (the man was a seething racist and anti-Semite), creator Misha Green’s 9-episode series is equal parts horror, drama, sci-fi, and social commentary. Lovecraft Country is the show 2020 needed but probably didn’t deserve.
Cinematographer Michael Watson lensed four of Lovecraft‘s episodes,
Director Julie Taymor on The Many Perspectives of Her Gloria Steinem Biopic “The Glorias”
Director Julie Taymor’s latest feature, The Glorias, celebrates the life of a living icon of our time, Gloria Steinem, but she tells Gloria’s story in her utterly singular way. The director uses four different actresses to represent the famed women’s rights activist at different times in her life. There are imaginative, surreal sequences that express Gloria’s inner dialogue. There’s a sort of metaphysical bus, which carries Gloria through her journey, sometimes accompanied by her older or younger selves (played in the film by Ryan Kiera Armstrong,
M. Night Shyamalan Reveals Title & Poster For New Film
The title, poster, and cast for M. Night Shyamalan‘s new film have been revealed. Shyamalan’s latest is called Old, and Collider broke the story that the film is based on a French graphic novel “Sandcastle” by Pierre Oscar Levy and artist Frederick Peeters. Collider learned that Shyamalan received “Sandcastle” as a Father’s Day gift and was so enamored with the premise that he purchased the rights to it,
James Cameron Reveals “Avatar 2” is Done & “Avatar 3” is 95% Finished
Who better for James Cameron to reveal the nearly complete status of his next two Avatar films than old buddy Arnold Schwarzenegger? That’s precisely what happened when Cameron sat down to have a virtual chat with Schwarzenegger during the 2020 Austrian World Summit. Cameron was speaking with his old Terminator and T2 collaborator from New Zealand, where he said he was “100% complete on Avatar 2 and sort of 95% complete on Avatar 3.”
Cameron and his Avatar 2 and 3 cast and crew had lost about four and a half months due to COVID-19.
Downtown Disney Unveils a Stunning Chadwick Boseman Mural
Author and artist Nikkolas Smith created a powerful, gorgeous tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Smith’s work was unveiled at Downtown Disney on Thursday, showing Boseman exchanging the Wakanda salute with a young child wearing a Black Panther mask. It’s a lump-in-your-throat kind of work, simultaneously reminding you the type of person that we lost and the massive impact that he made with his time.
“This one is special. My King Chad tribute is now on a wall on display at Downtown Disney,”
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” Review Roundup: Aaron Sorkin’s Timely Film Resonates
The reviews are out for writer/director Aaron Sorkin‘s The Trial of the Chicago 7, a film that’s painfully timely. Sorkin’s second directorial effort is a look at the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which escalated when the Chicago Police Department and National Guard descended and turned what was a peaceful gathering of Americans making use of their First Amendment rights into a violent clash. Sound familiar?
“The Queen’s Gambit” Trailer Reveals Netflix’s Stylish Chess Drama
As we noted yesterday there is a ton of good stuff coming to Netflix in October. One of those titles is The Queen’s Gambit, a new limited series drama based on Walter Tevis’s novel of the same name. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy who wades into the male-dominated competitive chess world with her immense, undeniable gifts.
Beth’s journey into the world of competitive chess begins at an orphanage in Kentucky,
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” Planning Reshoots With Original Cast
If there was one thing that seemed certain about Zack Snyder’s Justice League—and not much did—it was that there would be no reshoots. When the world learned that the long-awaited Snyder Cut was really coming to HBO Max, we weren’t sure in precisely what form (we know now—in 4 installments), or when, but we were told that Snyder would use existing material, special effects, and additional dialogue recording to unveil his vision for the film he never got to make.
John Cena’s “The Suicide Squad” Character Gets HBO Max Show
In case you missed this bit of wild news yesterday, Warner Media revealed that John Cena‘s The Suicide Squad character Peacemaker is getting his own HBO Max show. The streamer has given a straight-to-series order of 8 episodes for the first season, with Cena reprising his role from the film, and with The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn penning all 8 episodes.
Everything Coming to Netflix in October
Drama. Comedy. Documentaries. Horror. Animation. The works. While we’re all pretty much white-knuckling it at this point, having a bevy of streaming options is one way to take our minds off, well, everything. To that end, Netflix has released a helpful video that details every new title coming this October. From the majestic and soothing (if you don’t think about climate change) in David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet to director Glean Keane‘s gorgeous Over the Moon,
HBO Max Reveals Trailer For 4-Part Docu-Series “Equal”
HBO Max has released the official trailer for Equal, their four-part docu-series chronicling the untold events leading up to the Stonewall Uprising in New York City that began on June 28, 1969, and marked a massive shift in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The series is narrated by Emmy, Tony, and Grammy-winning performer Billy Porter (Pose, American Horror Story: Apocalypse), and will likely introduce viewers to a wide range of LGBTQ+ leaders and visionaries for the first time—portrayed by an incredible cast.
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” Trailer Reveals Aaron Sorkin’s Timely Feature
Aaron Sorkin’s second directorial effort, The Trial of the Chicago 7, comes to Netflix at a time of upheaval the United States hasn’t seen to quite this degree or intensity since the events depicted in the film unfolded. Those events cover the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago when peaceful protestors led by some of the country’s most prominent activists marched on the city, and the Chicago Police Department and the National Guard swept in to crush them.
“Wonder Woman 1984” Japanese Trailer Features More Golden Eagle Armor Goodness
While we wait to see if Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters this year (it’s currently slated for a December 25, 2020 release, after being shuffled a few times due to the pandemic), we’ll take any new glimpse of the film we can get. This means that a Japanese version of the trailer that includes a bit more footage of Diana Prince, better known as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) in her Golden Eagle armor definitely qualifies.
Why I’m Thrilled About Netflix’s All-Black Western “The Harder They Fall”
As a kid, I enjoyed spending quality time with my grandfather. I remember imitating a lot of things he did, like driving his white Ford pickup truck with the hatch removed, or reading the newspaper alongside him after school. Little did I know he was setting the tone for what would lie ahead for me today. He didn’t watch much TV, but one thing he always enjoyed was a good western movie. Every Christmas, birthday,
