“The Franchise” Trailer Unveils HBO’s Superhero Comedy From “Veep” and “Succession” Alums
How delicious is the concept for The Franchise, HBO’s new series from Veep creator Armando Iannucci, Succession writer Jon Brown, and Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes? Well, first, take a second glance at that list of creators, and then consider that Warner Bros., the home of Superman and Batman (via DC Studios), is behind a biting comedy about the superhero movie business. Yet The Franchise isn’t here to besmirch the cinematic universes conjured by Marvel and DC,
“Agatha All Along” Creator Jac Schaeffer on Setting off Marvel’s Witching Hour
Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer explores the witchy side of the Marvel Universe just in time for Halloween. The timing of the show’s release is a happy accident for Schaeffer, who also directed the first two episodes. In bringing the titular witch, Agatha (Kathryn Hahn), back from WandaVision, Schaeffer and her team have made a series with a playful spookiness centered on an irresistible Hahn,
“Wolfs” Stunt Coordinator George Cottle on Designing Superlative Stunts For George Clooney & Brad Pitt
For stunt coordinator George Cottle, it started on a warm summer’s day in Los Angeles. He and director Jon Watts were shooting an episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew when Watts mentioned a film idea he was developing to star Brad Pitt and George Clooney. Watts asked Cottle if he’d like to be involved.
“I’ve done three Spider-Man’s with him. I love the way he works,” says Cottle says.
Fellow Stars Pay Tribute to the Late, Great Maggie Smith
The great Maggie Smith passed away on Friday, September 27, at the age of 89. Her astonishing career on stage and screen played out over seven decades, as she became one of Britain’s most beloved, recognizable, and prolific performers and a two-time Oscar winner to boot—she’s one of the few actresses to win both a Best Supporting Oscar and Best Actress Oscar. Her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin shared this statement with the BBC said on the day of her passing: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.
Batman Supervillains Bane & Deathstroke Getting Their Own Movie at DC Studios
Two iconic Batman supervillains look to be getting their own film in what could be an epic bad guy team-up film.
With writer/director James Gunn’s Superman done filming and currently in post-production, Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios has arguably the biggest name in all of comics leading off their upcoming slate, titled Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, which includes both feature films and TV series.
Alan Tudyk Has Secret Role in James Gunn’s “Superman”
James Gunn’s Superman might have wrapped filming this past July, but new revelations about the cast are apparently still possible. Deadline scoops that Alan Tudyk, no stranger to epic sci-fi and action films (he voiced the beloved droid K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and reprised the role in Tony Gilroy’s excellent Disney+ series Andor), is involved in Superman.
Ana de Armas is En Pointe in First Trailer for “John Wick” Spinoff “Ballerina”
Vengeance has a new face.
Ana de Armas is ready to take her place in the John Wick universe, one brutal takedown of a would-be assassin at a time. The first trailer for Ballerina finds our new heroine, Eva Macarro (de Armas), as she begins training as an assassin in the traditions of the Ruska Roma. Ballerina is set during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,
“The Last of Us” Season 2 Unveils Haunting, Taut New Trailer
We’ve got our first look at The Last of Us season 2, and it’s a taut, tense glimpse at one of television’s most compelling series next move. The trailer opens with Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller and newcomer Catherine O’Hara as the two sit for what appears to be a therapy session. Heaven knows Joel needs it—the last time we saw him, he was seeing red in a brutal, vengeful bloodbath at a hospital where his charge,
The Streaming Innovation Alliance’s Mission Continues
The Streaming Innovation Alliance turns a year old today. If you haven’t heard of SIA, you’ve certainly been impacted by its commitment to giving streamers a unified voice so they can keep creating the films and television series you love – and delivering them to audiences when, where, and how they choose to watch. Once viewed as an upstart to traditional entertainment, streamers have become a beloved part of the visual storytelling landscape. As the advent and deployment of digital film capabilities upended but did not replace the use of film on film and TV sets,
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Production Designer Mark Scruton’s Masterful Marriage of Art & Architecture
“It was going to be a continuation of the first film and not some sort of reboot,” production designer Mark Scruton says about Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to the 1988 cult classic that reunites the absurdly talented Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder as everyone’s favorite goth-undead will they won’t they couple.
The story picks up years after the events in Beetlejuice and sees the Deetz family – Ryder’s Lydia,
Prime Directive: “Transformers One”‘ Writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari on Crafting an Epic Origin Story
When it comes to toy-inspired movie franchises, Hasbro’s Optimus Prime beat Mattel’s Barbie to the punch by several decades. The franchise includes a 1986 cartoon feature, five Michael Bay movies, and two spinoffs. The seemingly never-ending battle between Autobots and Decepticons finally gets its backstory in the animated prequel Transformers One. Featuring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, and Keegan-Michael Key, the movie follows a young Optimus Prime (Hemsworth) and Megatron (Henry) before they become arch-enemies.
“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” Casts Matthias Schoenaerts as the Villain
One of the biggest movies not named Superman currently brewing in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios is director Craig Gillespie’s (I, Tonya, Cruella) Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. The upcoming feature stars House of the Dragon‘s Milly Alcock as Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, in a film inspired by Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s well-regarded, rough-around-the-edges comic about Kara’s hard-scrabble life and her immense powers.
“Sinners” Trailer Reveals Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan’s Mysterious Horror-Thriller
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s mysterious feature has finally been revealed. The trailer for their latest collaboration, Sinners, is here, revealing Coogler’s original horror-thriller set in the 1930s Jim Crow-era South. Coogler took to social media yesterday to reveal the film’s poster (which, naturally, features Jordan) and the caption “Dance with the devil…and he’ll follow you home.”
View this post on Instagram“My Old Ass” Writer/Director Megan Park on Magic, Mushrooms, and Meeting Yourself
In Megan Park’s wide-eyed, warm-as-the-waning-summer-evenings sophomore feature, My Old Ass, time itself is a trip.
When Elliott (Maisy Stella) ushers in her 18th birthday with a camping excursion à la psilocybin-laced mushrooms, the last thing she expects is her psyche to conjure up an “old ass” version of herself (at 39 years old), portrayed by Aubrey Plaza. With her last summer in the picturesque lakeside town of Muskoka, Canada, before she heads off to the University of Toronto,
“The Perfect Couple” Showrunner Jenna Lamia on Meghann Fahy’s Mesmerizing Merritt Monaco
In part one of our interview with The Perfect Couple showrunner Jenna Lamia, she discussed adapting Elin Hilderbrand’s novel, character development, and writing the script. Now we move on to some of the specifics of how Lamia stuck the landing, delivering a satisfying whodunit on the picturesque island of Nantucket, the playground of the uber-wealthy Winbury clan.
In the final shot of the penultimate episode of The Perfect Couple,
Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” Unsheathes Ferocious New Trailer
A bloody, bold new trailer for Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited followup to his Best Picture Winner, has arrived. The new look is the longest, bloodiest, most thrilling yet. We’re introduced to the art of choosing gladiators, as explained by Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, who is usually sorting through prisoners of war and who sees something special in Paul Mescal’s Lucius, a young man with the requisite rage to survive the Coliseum, and all the lesser,
Marvel Reveals First “Thunderbolts” Trailer Unleashes the Bad Guys on the Worse Guys
We now have our first peek at Marvel Studios’ upcoming antihero team-up movie Thunderbolts.
The trailer opens with a family reunion—former Black Widow and all-around butt-kicker Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) arrives at the door of her father, Alexia Shostakov (David Harbour), better known as the Red Guardian. The last time we saw these two together was in Black Widow, the one and only stand-alone movie for Scarlett Johansson’s Avenger and former Black Widow herself,
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Hair and Makeup Head Christine Blundell on Bringing Out the Dead
Almost four decades after the original, Tim Burton’s follow-up, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, is a hit for Warner Bros. Reprising their original roles, Winona Ryder’s Lydia is now a television talk show host ghost hunter, Catherine O’Hara’s Delia is still a daffy cosmopolitan creative, and Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice remains an undead charlatan pining for Lydia. Lydia also has a teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who misses her late dad, Richard (Santiago Cabrera),
“The Perfect Couple” Showrunner Jenna Lamia on Her Nicole Kidman-led Whodunit on Nantucket
When showrunner Jenna Lamia set out to bring Elin Hilderbrand’s beloved novel The Perfect Couple to life, we were just getting reacquainted with our obsession with mystery and drama. The limited series format, which has seen success in shows like Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, and The White Lotus, ushered in an era of mystery, scandal,
“Transformers One” Director Josh Cooley on Humanizing the Origin of Optimus Prime and Megatron’s Ancient Feud
Transformers One isn’t the first animated Transformers film, but it has achieved multiple firsts for the iconic franchise.
The science fiction action film is an origin story that focuses on the early relationship of Orion Pax and D-16, how they changed the fate of their home planet of Cybertron, and how they became Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively. Directed by Josh Cooley, best known for helming Oscar-nominated Toy Story 4,