Charles Bramesco
Universal Sets Release Dates for ‘Minions 2,’ ‘Secret Life of Pets 2,’ ‘Sing 2’
Look, you can’t blame a studio for taking notice when something is working and wanting to replicate their own success. Sequels wouldn’t get greenlit unless someone, somewhere, wanted them. It makes perfect fiscal sense for upstart animation studio Illumination to follow up on their blockbusters Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing. But, god, did they have to announce them all at once like that?
It’s Official: ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Is Titled ‘The Last Jedi’
We’ve got 11 long months to go before anyone will get a look at Star Wars: Episode VIII, so Lucasfilm has tried to pace itself with leaking details of the hotly anticipated upcoming release. Today, however, they dropped a big one: on the official Star Wars web site, a new announcement revealed the subtitle for the eighth installment in what the site refers to as “the Skywalker saga.” The post declared, “We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI.”
Smurf Party USA! Julia Roberts Joins Cast of ‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’
Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts announced today that she’ll head out on a smurfin’ safari as a cast member in the upcoming feature Smurfs: The Lost Village.
Robert De Niro Responds to Meryl Streep Speech with Letter of Support
When Meryl Streep took the stage at the Golden Globes ceremony and delivered an impassioned speech calling out President-Elect Donald Trump as an overbearing bully, everyone had their reaction. Many rose up in support of the esteemed actress, celebrating her fiery diatribe as a heroic display of speaking truth to power. Others took issue with her anti-Trump stance, painting the woman as another pampered Hollywood liberal trapped within her bubble of privilege. A third, smaller faction of mixed martial arts enthusiasts took grave offense to Streep’s fleeting diss leveled at MMA and NFL football, and invited the multiple Academy Award winner to settle the matter in the octagon.
Apple Plans to Break Into Hollywood with Original Movies and TV Shows
Chances are, you’re currently reading these words on a phone, computer, or tablet manufactured by Apple. Maybe on your morning commute, you listen to music downloaded from the ITunes Music Store. If you are an on-the-go sort of person who’s not afraid to be made fun of, you may have an Apple Watch wrapped around your wrist right now. The tech giant’s influence has permeated so many facets of modern life, and as we patiently await Apple’s big foray into the burgeoning field of teledildonics, they’ve announced plans to plant their flag on one more heated battlefield.
‘Moana’ Sailing Back Into Theaters with Special One-Day Sing-Along Version
Among the most difficult aspects of parenting is the matter of simply filling the hours in a day. Kids become bored after approximately twenty unstimulating minutes, so moms and dads have to constantly plan out diversions to keep their offspring occupied. Disney just did the parents of America a real solid, however. Animated movies have long been a go-to option for parents hoping to run out the clock, and they’ll be able to go back to Moana for seconds later this month, when the film re-enters theaters for a one-day sing-along engagement.
Geoffrey Rush Plays Albert Einstein for Ron Howard in ‘Genius’ Trailer
It was only a matter of time. The long string of biographical depictions of troubled geniuses, an ignominious tradition more recently carried on by the likes of The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything, had to inevitably yield an Albert Einstein biopic...
‘Blade Runner 2049’ Will Be One of the Priciest R-Rated Independent Films Ever
The first trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s hotly anticipated Blade Runner 2049 materialized earlier this week, giving sci-fi diehards an eyeful of one of next year’s biggest-name tentpoles. There were appetizing visuals aplenty, a foreboding showdown between stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, reprising his role as Rick Deckard, and yet still so much remains unknown. What will this film’s rating be? How dreamy will Ryan Gosling’s eyes look, on a scale from 9 to 10? Will the blades get runned? Those last two will remain up in the air until the film’s release on October 6 of next year, but we do have a definitive answer for that first one.
Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn Are the Sexual Equivalent of Melted Candles in ‘Snatched’ Trailer
The public’s first look at Amy Schumer’s upcoming crime-comedy Snatched came a couple of months ago, when she posted that video of her and her costar Goldie Hawn doing a lightly choreographed dance routine tribute to Beyoncé’s “Formation” and instantly earned the ire of the internet. Somewhat less likely to earn her charges of cultural appropriation, however, is the official red-band trailer for that movie, which Schumer released today in the hopes that she has not yet fallen entirely out of favor with the general public. The people will most likely smile more kindly on Schumer when she’s getting a beverage spat on her instead of putting her face on an anthem for black womanhood — the spit take can bridge any cultural gap, truly.
Spidey Gets an Upgrade Courtesy of Tony Stark in First ‘Homecoming’ Teaser
For a fresh start with Spider-Man, Sony had to give him something distinctive. To set Tom Holland’s take on the webslinger apart from Tobey Maguire’s (and way, way apart from Andrew Garfield’s), the studio sent the hero back to high school and returned him to his teenage roots. Spider-Man: Homecoming aims to be a new take on the comic-book mythos all over, in fact — a new girlfriend in pop star Zendaya, the first onscreen appearance of the villainous Vulture, and with a new teaser unearthed today, we learned that a key piece of latter-day Spidey tech will make it movie debut as well.
The New Willy Wonka Prequel Movie Might Be an Origin Story
We were all so busy scrambling to avert one apocalypse today, we didn’t even see another one rearing its head in the distance. SlashFilm recently spoke to power-producer David Heyman at the junket for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and questioned the Hollywood player about the plans for Warner Bros.’ impending Willy Wonka film. Without making any concrete announcements about what to expect from the early-in-development project, Heyman did drop one rather ominous prophecy when asked whether the script would be a remake of the popular Gene Wilder-starring film or the Tim Burton-directed version.
Benedict Cumberbatch Had a Secret Second Role in ‘Doctor Strange’
Reptilian thespian Benedict Cumberbatch scored a true box-office smash this past weekend as the headliner of Doctor Strange, a long-time-coming solo film for one of Marvel Comics’ most outré heroes. In addition to the distinction of being the first performer in the history of cinema to successfully pull off a cape-and-goatee combo, Cumberbatch proved his bona fides as an honest-to-god movie star with this pivotal role. But a new piece from IGN today reveals that in addition to the Sorcerer Supreme, Cumberbatch also played a second, uncredited role in the Doctor Strange production. (Here be SPOILERS. Continue at your own risk.)