Tag: Exclusive

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Lightyear’ Director Explains How Han Solo Inspired Film

Lightyear is set to be Pixar’s first science-fiction action film, and it’s director pulled out all the stops when looking for inspiration. Angus MacLane is a self-proclaimed nerd, who can reference almost any sci-fi movie or anime an interviewer might throw at him. The former Finding Dory filmmaker has name dropped countless projects as research material in the past, but chief among them has always been Star Wars.

In multiple interviews, MacLane described Lightyear as the galaxy far, far away within the Toy Story universe. Sitting down for an exclusive chat with Murphy’s Multiverse, the director was asked if Harrison Ford‘s Han Solo served as a specific inspiration for Chris Evans‘ Buzz Lightyear. While it turns out this wasn’t his original idea, he did admit that it might be true in a more unintentional way:

That’s a really interesting observation. I think it was sub-conscious. Han was the character I liked the most as a kid, because of his braggadocio. I think there are some very Han-like moments in the film…there’s very much an echo of that in the first act of our film. But for me, it was important to tell a story about an adult.
Angus MacLane

He continued to elaborate, further explaining the purpose behind following an adult character:

The movies that I related to as a kid, the character I wanted to hang out with was the adult. It was aspirational in that way, instead of the kid. Luke I didn’t relate to, I wanted to be Han Solo. In Aliens, I wasn’t following the kid, I was following Ripley. You know what I mean? There’s something about that that was important to me for this film, and I think that’s what you’re picking up on. I wanted to tell a story about a character who had a lot of arrogance and was humbled by their own hubris.
Angus MacLane

MacLane might be onto something, as characters like Han Solo and Ripley have grown to become some of pop culture’s most iconic protagonists. Buzz Lightyear is already pretty well-liked in his own regard, and hopefully the director’s new take only serves to make him more popular when Lightyear flies into theaters on June 17th.

June 11, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Grace VanderWaal on Tackling the Leading Role in ‘Hollywood Stargirl’

Hollywood Stargirl is a special kind of sequel. While it continues the Disney+ film from 2020, which was only known as Stargirl, it takes a very different direction. In a world where adaptations tend to follow the books closely, director Julia Hart wanted to take the character in a very different direction. Instead of sticking to the small town of Arizona, Stargirl Caraway is heading to Hollywood.

In an exclusive interview with Stargirl herself, Grace VanderWaal, I got the chance to ask her about taking on the leading role from Graham Verchere, who played Leo Borlock in the first film. She shared about what it was like taking on that responsibility and also prepared herself for taking on the bigger role going in.

It was a lot of pressure because the first movie has a lot to do with Leo. The movie is called Stargirl but I feel like I wasn’t the main character. So, just personally, like professionally, I was preparing myself for that amount of work and being in every scene and all that. Just taking on that responsibility. But it was so fun, it didn’t feel like hard work.
Grace VanderWall

She also shared about what it was like finding out that they wouldn’t be following the books but rather taking a different direction. she also highlighted that to her it was “the right thing to do.”

All I know is that I wasn’t really surprised when I was told what it was going to be different from the books. I don’t know what I expected but It felt right, it felt like the right move when I heard about it. I don’t know why, but that makes like perfect sense, that was the right thing to do.
Grace VanderWall

It definitely takes the story in an interesting new direction and offers something unique to those that followed Stargirl’s story in Jerry Spinelli‘s novel, Love, Stargirl. VanderWaal is joined by a new cast consisting of Elijah Richardson, Judy Greer, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Uma Thurman, Judd Hirsch, and more. The film will release on June 3rd on Disney+.

May 31, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Sam Raimi Was “Always Pushing for a Shorter Runtime” for ‘Multiverse of Madness’

With the once-secretive Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness finally in theaters, reactions have been somewhat mixed, but the film has been extremely successful at the box office. While much of the debate among fans has centered around certain groups’ expectations about rumored cameos that in reality never existed. Perhaps the second-most contentious point among fans prior to the film being released was its runtime. While the sequel clocked in at over two hours long, many felt that a longer runtime would be needed to adequately showcase the speculated story.

When director Sam Raimi stated that the first cut of the film was significantly longer, it added to some fans’ cries that Marvel was not allowing the beloved director’s vision to come to fruition. In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, the Doctor Strange sequel writer Michael Waldron revealed that Raimi was actually always pushing for a shorter runtime:

Sam [Raimi], to his credit, was always really pushing for a shorter runtime. And, you know, he felt that the movie needed to move because of just how it was structured. It’s a chase movie, it’s an adventure, [ ] it’s got some Jurassic Park DNA…and so in a movie like that, it just didn’t feel like we needed three hours of it.
Michael Waldron

Waldron perfectly articulates how and why Multiverse of Madness is so fast-paced. Rather than being shorter for the sake of it or because tons of pieces were cut, the film moves to pull off and complement its “chase movie” structure. The writer went on to describe how his lack of tolerance for boredom may have played a role as well:

My threshold for boredom is [ ] astronomically low, and so I just have a phobia of the movie becoming exhausting. And so yeah, once we’re off to the races in this one, we just wanted to get on the ride and go on the ride, and when it’s over, get out of there.
Michael Waldron

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters worldwide.

May 12, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Brother Voodoo Was Never Planned for ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’

Even by Marvel Studios standards, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a film shrouded in secrecy up until its release. The promise of secrets and surprises mixed with the multiversal nature of the movie led to plenty of rumors and speculations ahead of the release. Now that audiences have had a chance to experience the Doctor Strange sequel, fans are getting plenty of information about the actual contents of the film as well as the process of bringing them to the screen.

Possibly above all else, fans are debating how the surprise appearances of certain characters, such as the Illuminati, compared to some of the widespread rumors of certain cameos being in Multiverse of Madness. In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, the film’s writer Michael Waldron spoke on the secrecy involved in making the film and the Illuminati.

But Waldron also spoke on rumors that certain characters from the comics would play major roles or supporting leads in the Doctor Strange sequel that ultimately did not. In particular, the writer discussed the characters of Clea and Jericho Drumm, also known as Brother Voodoo. As we know from the mid-credits scene, Charlize Theron did make a brief and teasing appearance as Clea, but whether or not she was ever meant to be a significant character is unclear. Waldron simply noted that “I think Clea has always been on the table.”

When asked about the rumor that Jericho Drumm had a role in the film, Waldron revealed that Brother Voodoo was never a part of Multiverse of Madness:

I think there was definitely a discussion of Jericho Drumm, but never anything that I worked on.
Michael Waldron

The speculation that Drumm would make his way to the MCU made—and still makes—plenty of sense. First appearing in Strange Tales #169, the Haitian-born Jericho Drumm left for America to become a psychologist. Upon returning home, he found his brother, Daniel, dying from a spell cast on him. Daniel made Jericho promise to study to become a Houngan, starting his path towards eventually replacing Stephen Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme. We already saw Daniel be killed in the original Doctor Strange as the keeper of the New York Sanctum at the time.

Alas, Brother Voodoo did not make an appearance in Multiverse of Madness, though his connections to Doctor Strange still make him a strong choice for future stories, including Doctor Strange 3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters worldwide.

May 11, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Diab On Layla’s Missing Ending in ‘Moon Knight’ Finale

The Moon Knight finale, “Gods and Monsters”, provided the MCU’s first Egyptian superhero in May Calamawy’s Layla, who became the avatar of the goddess Tawaret. As Tawaret’s avatar, Layla became the Scarlet Scarab and teamed up with the re-resurrected Moon Knight to stop Arthur Harrow from unleashing Ammit’s preemptive justice on the world.

While the episode gave closure to central plot of the series and left Marc and Steven in a seemingly good place, what it did not give was any sort of closure to Layla’s arc, leaving fans wondering what’s next for the newly empowered hero. According to director Mohamed Diab, the open-ended nature of Layla’s journey was intentional:

I would say that it’s left open so we can play with it the way we want. She can stay in Egypt. She can go back to London. She can be a superhero. I can’t wait for myself to see her and Taweret on a journey driving each other crazy. I think it’s left open for a reason because in the next journey, you need to think of all those things and flesh them out in a very thorough way.

Diab’s creative decision is smart in that it doesn’t paint him, or whoever picks up the character next, into any corners. By letting Layla walk away without any hints as to where she might turn up next, there can be no sense of expectations on the part of audiences as to what “should” be next for the Scarlet Scarab, only myriad possibilities of what COULD be next, as Diab indicates. Whatever is next for the hero, Calamawy’s turn in Moon Knight has set her star in the sky and provided another new hero whose importance off-screen transcends whatever comes next on-screen.

May 5, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: J.J. Abrams and HBO’s ‘Demimonde’ Series Eyeing September Production Start

Bad Robot has been busy with various projects as part of their deal with HBO and HBO Max. We’ve been recently hearing more rumblings on their adaptation of Constantine, but they also have quite a few original projects also lined up. Just recently, we got an update on the HBO sci-fi drama Demimonde, which is a French word meaning a part of society that is isolated with a bad reputation. It has found its leading role in Danielle Deadwyler and they hinted that the limited series, which was initially ordered straight-to-series all the way back in 2018, is still in early pre-production even though it was initially believed to start production next week. We can exclusively share that the production is currently eyeing a start in September.

The production will start later this year and run from September until May of 2023. The production will be traveling the world, as they aim to film in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe. The series is still actively adding to its supporting cast and is currently casting under the production title “Contraband.” It’s interesting to note that producer J.J. Abrams hinted that they’ve already written the scripts for the sci-fi series back in May of 2019, but they may be rewriting elements of it.

Kira Snyder, Rand Ravich, and Far Shariat are serving as showrunners on the project, which will follow Deadwyler’s Olive Reed. When she was torn away from her husband and daughter after a strange accident, she is left to her own devices to uncover the conspiracy and hopefully reunite with her family once again. Abrams and Ben Stephenson are producing the series for Bad Robot with Rachel Rusch Rich aboard as co-executive producer.

April 28, 2022
First Story Details for HBO Max’s ‘Constantine’ Reboot

J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot made quite the deal with HBO as the production company was able to make an exclusive deal for three projects, which includes a Stephen King-inspired story called Overlook and Duster. Yet, the biggest surprise was that they are also adopting an iconic Justice League Dark member. It wasn’t until February of this year that we uncovered it was going to be about Constantine with UK writer Guy Bolton attached to write the series. Now, the first details have found their way online.

The 8-episode series is set to combine elements of body horror, supernatural and urban action in the streets of London. They are currently casting a character by the name of “Akara” who is a young 10-year-old Cambodian and will be the heart of the story. She’ll be cast alongside her grandfather “Pich.” A sudden encounter with the girl will throw the life of John Constantine upside down, as he falls down a rabbit hole of dangerous encounters and the occult. As these characters are cast under fake names, Akara could end up being Astra Logue from the Hellblazer comics.

The project is currently being cast under the working title “Blood Work” and, as mentioned by Illuminerdi, will start production later this year in the Fall. They shared that the production would work under the title “Chimney” as a cute callback to the character’s smoking habits. It’ll run until February of 2023, as it aims to shoot in London and Morocco. There’s still no word yet on who will take on the role of John Constantine, as Bad Robot has been actively looking to fill the role and is open to diverse casting.

It isn’t the first adaptation of the popular Hellblazer comics, as 2014 saw a one-season adaptation by NBC with Matt Ryan in the titular role. The series was simply titled Constantine but didn’t manage to land a second season renewal. Yet, Ryan’s portrayal was met with a lot of fanfare, which led to him joining CW’s Arrowverse, where he became a member of the Legends of Tomorrow series. It’s unclear if this new adaptation for HBO Max will become part of the bigger DC Extended Universe, or remain a self-contained story.

Source: KnightEdgeMedia

April 15, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Reed’s Point’ Was Originally Part of the ‘Very Frightening Tales’ Anthology

Horror movies remain all the rage for any production no matter the budget. Reed’s Point joins the list of countless horror films, as it explores the legend surrounding the mysterious Jersey Devil and a mysterious accident. Two friends decide to return to the scene of the crime to uncover what truly happened that day and find their missing friend Kesley.

We got a chance to sit down with actress Madison Ekstrand, who plays the character of Kelsey in the film, to talk about her experience with the project, especially as she is also working with director Dale Fabrigar on his upcoming anthology series Very Frightening Tales. In the interview, she revealed that Reed’s Point was originally part of that series before becoming its own feature film.

I think Reed’s Point was originally going to be part of Very Frightening Tales, but the story was just too good to put into a short film. So, they wanted it to be a feature film.
Madison Ekstrand

She also revealed that they’ve actually started work on the anthology series of shorts before they tackled the feature film. Ekstrand offered a little insight into how different the experience was working on the film in comparison to the

I actually did the TV series and then I hopped into the feature film. It was different because in the little shorts I did, you’re more working with the director. It was me and maybe two other cast members. So, you got all this time with the director. But with Reed’s Point, you have to worry about the other people.
Madison Ekstrand

It certainly sounds like jumping from the smaller format into a full feature film was a different experience. She shared her enthusiasm for potentially working with director Fabrigar again, and perhaps there are other shorts that have the potential of growing into a larger production. You can read our review of Reed’s Point right here if you are interested to get our thoughts on the film.

April 13, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Currently Casting Key Members of the Northern Water Tribe

Netflix has been quite busy with their live-action adaptations of classic animated and Anime projects. Most notably, they are currently in production on an adaptation of One Piece and Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Especially the latter has been in production since last year, as it’ll tackle one of the most populated Western animated series. Luckily, we can offer an update on the project which is currently starting to cast some key members of the Northern Water Tribe.

The series, which is currently in production under the working title Blue Dawn, is looking to cast recurring guest performers of Indigenous descent to appear in approximately two episodes. While the characters are being cast with code names, their descriptions give us hints on who exactly they are playing and confirm that they are key roles for the adaptation of the Sieg of the North storyline from Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s first season.

Let’s start off with a character by the name of “Chief Red Crow.” They are actively looking for an Indigenous actor in his 40s up to his 50s. As his name implies, he’s the leader of his tribe, and the description highlights that he’ll lead his people into a battle. He also has a daughter named “Grace” that is the most important thing to him, as he wants to make sure she is happy. The description matches the Northern Water Tribe’s Chief Arnook, especially with the mention of his daughter who is likely Princess Yue.

Yue’s code name is also once again mentioned with the character of “Henry.” Not only is the battle mentioned again, but he is highlighted as in love with Grace, while she has eyes for someone else. Henry isn’t too far away from the character of Hahn. He was a strong warrior that was arranged to marry Yue. The only difference is that the character was quite self-centered and egotistical in the original series, who was interested in Yue due to her being the chief’s daughter. He was constantly fighting Sokka, who is played by Ian Ousley, who is the “other” mentioned in the description.

The next major casting is for the role of “Brother Rain.” The character is the village’s “martial arts master” and the teacher of the village’s warriors. This description matches Pakku, who was the one to teach Aang (Gordon Cormier) how to master their waterbending techniques. There’s also a line that highlights he loves “adhering to tradition over progress” which would hint that Pakku’s storyline of only teaching male waterbenders will also have a role in the upcoming adaptation.

He’s not the only teacher in this village, as there’s also the character of “Ayana.” The description highlights her as a healer that teaches women of their tribe. The description perfectly matches Yugoda, who thought Katara (Kiawentiio) some healing techniques while she also continued to pursue Pakku to break his tradition to teach her. The castings are currently hinting that the Avatar Team’s visit to the Northern Water tribe will take place over approximately two of its eight-episode run, which is quite substantial and highlights we’ll get to see quite a bit of this cast.

Recent rumors have pointed to the upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender to have a budget that is on par with projects like The Mandalorian, Marvel Studios’ various Disney+ series, and even Game of Thrones. The Siege of the North won’t be a cheap sequence to recreate, as the entire Water Tribe fights off the invasion of the Fire Nation. Plus, it’s when Aang enters his Avatar State, which will definitely be quite the visual spectacle. It’ll be interesting to see how they bring these iconic characters to live-action and who they might cast in the respective roles.

March 23, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 4 to Introduce Casey Brinke

Doom Patrol might be one if not the strangest DC series that is streaming on HBO Max. The series follows an unlikely team of emotionally damaged individuals with fantastical abilities. After facing their own trauma and self-worth, we spend time with them facing off against a reality-shattering Mr. Nobody, travel through time, and turn into zombies only to kill a bunch of Were-butts. Yeah, that last sentence is real and it’s still weird to explain, but it’s part of Doom Patrol‘s charm. The series got a renewal for a fourth season during DC FanDome and we can exclusively share that one iconic comic character from the comics is finally joining.

Season 4 will introduce the character of Casey Brinke. The heroine known as Space Case had to face off against her father, who turned into the villain Torminox due to a virus. Her mother was the one to take him out by sacrificing herself leaving her daughter behind. It’s a tragic backstory for the young heroine and happens to be fictional. You see, Danny the Street, who has appeared throughout the series, actually created the comic book she lived in and gained the ability to bring her into reality. As such, she had to come to grips with her life being fiction.

The crew behind the project are actively casting a female actress between the age of 20 and 30. They are sticking to her origins as a fictional comic book character, but she will be Dorothy’s favorite superhero. The upcoming season will see her face off against her father Torminox, who may have a bigger role in the story, as she comes to the rescue when he is attacking Dorothy. Her time in the real world will also force her to grow out of making corny catchphrases and hero poses to understand what it means to feel pain and loss.

The character will be added as a major recurring guest star in Doom Patrol’s fourth season, which just recently started production. She will make a great addition to the team, especially if they are building to her arc from the comics. The last tie we saw the Doom Patrol, they were embracing their heroic side with Cliff Steele stuck in the body of a giant robot. Dorothy has left the team to join the Dead Boy Detectives. As she has the ability to bring her imaginary friends to life, she may be the one to bring Casey into reality this time around. Her addition will be an exciting prospect for comic fans, and another character questioning their own existence fits perfectly into the team.

February 25, 2022