Aaron Sorkin on Writing & Directing his Timely “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
When writer/director Aaron Sorkin started writing The Trial of the Chicago 7 over 12 years ago, he had no way of knowing how his script based on a real-life conspiracy trial for men accused of inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention would parallel current events in 2020. Now, his film is set to premiere on October 16th on Netflix, only weeks before the most important election of our time. His sophomore directorial effort following the success of 2017’s Molly’s Game features a stellar ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden,...
Moff Gideon Claims Baby Yoda in New “The Mandalorian” Teaser
Season one of The Mandalorian was essentially an extended tutorial on becoming a father (of sorts). The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), the galaxy’s most capable bounty hunter, ended up breaking his own code to protect The Child (Baby Yoda, obviously), defying his paymasters. Throughout season one, Mando fought off one bad guy after another to keep The Child safe. In season two, one of the bad guys coming to collect the little guy is Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), arguably the most formidable opponent Mando has faced...
Enter Princess Di in “The Crown” Season 4 Teaser
The Crown‘s season 4 teaser is a thing of tensely coiled beauty. Centered firmly on the pending marriage of Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Princess Diana (Emma Corrin), the narration, pulled from their wedding, gravely informs the newlyweds that their journey is only just beginning. We all know the tumultuous trajectory of their marriage and Diana’s tragic fate, all of which lends season four an especially melancholy air. Yet in the years leading up to their wedding (which took place on July 29,...
Why Radha Blank’s “The Forty-Year-Old Version” Resonates
For people in their 40s, life can often feel like it’s still waiting to start. Some are struggling to figure out what’s next for them professionally, others are contemplating starting a family — and for many (especially now), the uncertainty can feel overwhelming. For Radha Blank, her 40th year was supposed to mark her arrival as a successful playwright, but life has a way of not delivering the way we want it to. In Blank’s new Netflix film The Forty-Year-Old Version,...
Alan Baumgarten on Editing Aaron Sorkin’s Rapid-Fire Dialogue in “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
For his latest feature coming to Netflix on October 16th, writer and director Aaron Sorkin shifts his political eye from the West Wing to the US government’s judicial branch. In The Trial of the Chicago 7, Sorkin revisits the drawn-out trial of a group of Vietnam War protestors, including Abbie Hoffmann and Tom Hayden, accused of inciting violent riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The crux of the trial turns on whether the men conspired in their actions,...
“The Mandalorian” Drops Season 2 Posters
If there was one thing this Monday morning could use, it would be Baby Yoda. To that end, Disney+ has revealed a slew of new character posters for The Mandalorian season two, featuring everybody’s favorite baby Jedi and his closest pals. Straddling the line between photorealistic and hand-drawn, the new posters remind us that Disney+’s most popular series is set to return in just a few weeks for its second season.
We know that season two will track the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal)’s journey to help reunite The Child (Baby Yoda,...
DP James Kniest on Netflix’s New Horror Series “The Haunting of Bly Manor”
The question central to Henry James’ horror novella “The Turn of the Screw” is whether a nanny who tries and fails to protect her young charges from ghosts ever really saw the ghosts, or if she’s gone mad and is thereby herself at fault for the two children’s’ demise. In Mike Flanagan’s loose adaptation of this and other horror works by James, the creator zooms out, asking instead whether all the occupants of Bly Manor might be losing it. The series premiered on October 9 and is now available for anyone looking to get their Halloween scare on early...
Patty Jenkins & Gal Gadot Re-Teaming For Paramount’s “Cleopatra” Biopic
Paramount now has the perfect pairing to tackle one of history’s most compelling characters. Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins and her star Gal Gadot are joining forces once again to tackle a biopic about the legendary Queen of Egypt for the studio, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.
Jenkins will direct off a script written by Laeta Kalogridis, with Gadot playing Cleopatra, of course, in a role that was immortalized by Elizabeth Taylor in director Joseph L...
Pixar’s “Soul” to Premiere Christmas Day on Disney+ for All Subscribers
Another big release will debut on Disney+. Pixar’s latest original animated film Soul will be premiering on the streaming service on Christmas Day, yet unlike their release of Niki Caro’s Mulan, subscribers won’t have to pay a penny more to see it.
For international viewers who don’t currently have access to Disney+, Soul will still be released theatrically, with those release dates to be announced soon.
Soul looks like another must-see from Pixar,...
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange Joining “Spider-Man” 3
Well, this is intriguing. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will be joining Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3. Strange will ostensibly be filling the mentor role that Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury previously held for the young web-slinger. The Hollywood Reporter revealed the news yesterday, promising another tasty crossover between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.
Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was Peter Parker’s original mentor, beginning with 2016’s Captain America: Civil War (Tony rather selfishly recruited Spidey to help him battle Captain America in Germany),...
First Trailer for “Mank” Reveals David Fincher’s First Feature in 6 Years
The first trailer for David Fincher’s Mank—his first feature film since 2014’s Gone Girl—looks ravishing. Fincher’s film is based on a script from his father, Jack Fincher, about the screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman), a talented but tortured soul battling alcoholism, a gambling addiction, and the pressure of trying to script what will become one of the most groundbreaking films ever made. That film is Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane. ...
Natalie Portman Reveals Jane Foster “Thor: Love and Thunder” Storyline
One of the most intriguing bits of news to come out of San Diego Comic-Con way (way) back in July 2019, was that Natalie Portman would be playing Mighty Thor in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok follow-up Thor: Love and Thunder. The specifics of Portman’s role have been—and will continue to be—closely guarded secrets, yet Portman did confirm one piece of her character’s storyline that is really intriguing.
Waititi teased only the broadest outline of his Love and Thunder script this past April during an Instagram Live viewing party of Ragnarok...
Director Angel Manuel Soto on His High-Octane HBO Max Feature “Charm City Kings”
In some ways, it’s a story that director Angel Manuel Soto knows little about. But it’s also one he knows only too well. Centered around the urban dirt bike culture in Baltimore, Maryland, Charm City Kings, making its debut on HBO Max, is a raw, coming-of-age drama based in a culture where respect is earned through stunt riding.
Take the bikes out of the equation, and it is remarkably similar to how Soto felt growing up in Puerto Rico...
David Fincher’s “Mank” Gets December Release on Netflix
As we wrote earlier today, we’re taking any good news we can get on the film release front. While we’re duty-bound to share some of the bummer news, we’re thrilled to report that David Fincher’s first feature film in six years will be released on Netflix this December 4. And Mank is not only loaded with talent on camera and off, but it also looks, at least from the images we’ve seen, to be dizzyingly gorgeous...
“Godzilla” Anime Series Coming to Netflix
While we keep having to share the bummer news of film releases being pushed back, from The Batman and Dune to the latest big change, Jurassic World: Dominion (moved from summer 2021 to a 2022 release), there is still good news in the entertainment world to share. One bit of it is this—a brand new Godzilla anime series is coming to Netflix. The new show will be called Godzilla Singular Point and will be a brand new thing...
Netflix Reveals Trailer for NYC Set High School Drama “Grand Army”
The first trailer for Katie Cappiello’s new Netflix series Grand Army is a gripping glimpse at a promising new show. Set in Brooklyn’s largest public school (a fictional behemoth called Grand Army High), and set against a backdrop of America’s many flashpoints, Grand Army looks like the kind of high school drama built for both high school-aged viewers and adults alike. Centered on five students at the school, the trailer is short on plot details but rich with teenage atmospherics and New York-specifics (including great shots of Grand Army Plaza at the northern corner of Prospect Park,...
Netflix Reveals First “Selena: The Series” Teaser Starring Christian Serratos
Netflix has revealed the first trailer for director Hiromi Kamata’s Selena: The Series starring Christian Serratos (The Walking Dead) as Selena Quintanilla, the Texas-born Tejano music star who went from being a beloved but little known singer to a star with chart-topping albums. Selena is considered one of the most famous Mexican American entertainers of all time, with her album “Selena Live!” winning a Grammy in 1994. The last time her story was told was in Gregory Nava’s 1997 film Selena, ...
Warner Bros. Moves “The Batman” Release Date
Well, we can’t say we didn’t see this coming. Warner Bros. is moving Matt Reeves’ hotly-anticipated The Batman from October 2021 to March 4, 2022. The news follows the recent reshuffling of Denis Villeneuve’s equally eagerly anticipated Dune from December 2020 to October 2021. It makes sense that the studio wouldn’t be eager to release both The Batman and Dune in the same month, so now we’ll have to wait that much longer to see Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne...
Check Out The First Trailer for Star-Studded Spy Thriller “The 355”
Co-writer and director Simon Kinberg has assembled an A-list cast to lead his original espionage thriller The 355. The premise is simple and potent—a multi-national team from America, Germany, England, and Colombia have to team up to take down some seriously bad dudes and their top-secret new weapon. Your heroes are CIA agent Mason Brown (Jessica Chastain), German agent Marie (Diane Kruger), former MI6 agent and computer specialist Khadijah (Lupita Nyong’o), and Colombian psychologist Graciela (Penelope Cruz)...
New Set Photo From “Mission: Impossible 7” Shows Another Epic Tom Cruise Stunt
It was a little less than a month ago when we shared the news that Mission: Impossible 7 had returned to filming. Now writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has shared a new photo from set, and wouldn’t you know, it reveals Tom Cruise in stunt mode (one of his favorite modes!). The image shows Cruise on top of a train (McQuarrie’s up there, too) filming one of the franchise’s signature sequences—the epic stunt.
“Norway’s scale and beauty have left an indelible and defining imprint on our film and reminded us that anything’s possible,”...
