Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • Former VFX Artist Shares Experience Working for Marvel Studios

    Former VFX Artist Shares Experience Working for Marvel Studios

    There have been many discussions made on Social Media in regards to Marvel’s use of CG. While some tend to drag it down for one reason or another, there’s been an overall industry issue at play for quite a few years now. One former VFX artist for Marvel Studios has opened up on the experience on Twitter.

    Druv Govil has shared his side of working on a Marvel TV series and how that experience also led to him leaving the industry. He calls the production house as a “horrible client” but also highlights that this is mostly due to their deep pockets that they support the industry with.

    https://twitter.com/dhruvgovil/status/1546256207219871745?s=21&t=T61Lp8NE3FTG9kj1wqDSQw

    We, of course, have no detailed insight into how exactly Marvel functions. Yet, there are instances that hint at them having the habit of changing elements shortly before release, which would naturally slam any industry.

    There will likely be people who had positive experiences as well, as we’ve seen in the past such as some statements. Everyone’s mileage can vary but there definitely is an industry problem with VFX agencies. We’re seeing many face issues throughout and might see more statements in the future.

    Stranger Things recently was highlighting how their VFX teams worked until even after the series released on the show. Only to push a tweet claiming that Vecna’s design is without CG. Cats’ production even re-released a version after hitting theaters with better effects.

    This issue is also sadly not unique to the VFX industry, as a rise in demand for cheaper and cost-effective services has become the norm in many others. The advertising industry also works on a sink-or-swim survival tactic with the biggest clients inquiring last second changes repeatedly. Internal management also plays a big role as works get dumped on the various team that have little to no say. We’ll have to see if this current movement will potentially be the point where the VFX industry unionizes.

    Source: Twitter

  • Daniela Melchior Teases “Epic” ‘Fast X’ With New BTS Video

    Daniela Melchior Teases “Epic” ‘Fast X’ With New BTS Video

    the latest entry in The Fast Saga has been going through quite the rough patch after director Justin Lin left production just as it was getting started. Rumors had pointed to what was the cause, especially with internal strife in regards to its main star Vin Diesel, but they swiftly added Louis Leterrier to pick up the pieces.

    We haven’t heard much since on how the project is progressing, but things have seemingly died down quite a bit. That was until actress Daniela Melchior took to Twitter to share a video from the ongoing production. It doesn’t show much outside of a shot of her driving, as she jokingly points out she can’t really share more but wanted to let everyone know that “Fast X is gonna be EPIC.”

    https://twitter.com/MelchiorDaniela/status/1546099198365503489

    It’s great to see that production has not slowed down since Leterrier joined the production, as there were hints that every day without a director costs the production teams millions. It’ll be interesting to see how much pressure will be on the film to pull at the box office, especially as Lin was originally also going to direct its sequel and final entry in The Fast Saga.

    Melchior has been swiftly making her mark in Hollywood after a kickstart with her work on The Suicide Squad. Joining a franchise as big as The Fast Saga was that extra push she needed and we’ll likely see a lot more of her in the future. It’ll be interesting to see what role she has in Fast X and if she might also return for the sequel as well.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Pulls in $300M Worldwide, Third Highest Domestic Opening of 2022

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Pulls in $300M Worldwide, Third Highest Domestic Opening of 2022

    The numbers are finally in and it looks like even with what some deem mixed word-of-mouth, the film has already pulled in $300M worldwide. While the film is on the lower end of its predictions, the film pulled in $143M domestically, which is certainly shy of the $150M to $170M projections. In a way, it’s closer to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s release which is fitting given some of the discussions surrounding the latest entry. Still, the film has pulled in the third highest opening of the year just behind fellow Marvel release Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Jurassic World: Dominion, which it was only $2M shy of passing it.

    As pointed out by Forbes Scott Mendelsohn, July releases aren’t as dominant as the pre-summer blockbuster releases and have showcased better legs. What is helping Marvel’s latest release is the fact that its only four-quadrant competition will be Black Adam in late October. While the smaller jump of 17% from Thor: Ragnarok isn’t their usual power push but the film wasn’t sold in the same way as the franchise changers like Captain America: Civil War and Multiverse of Madness.

    Even if it’s on the lower end of projections, closer to the conservative ones from Marvel and Disney, the big question is where does it head from here. A harsh drop in the second weekend has become a norm for the franchise, but if it does end up sticking around 60% like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ant-Man and the Wasp could get it to $400M. Yet, that B+ CinemaScore is likely going to drag it down a bit as those films bounced back. Yet, the lack of any real competition outside of Bullet Train and still ongoing power players Minions 2 and Top Gun Maverick.

    At the moment, it does seem like the film will likely end domestically somewhere beyond $300M domestically. The film is also still showing a strong international release and won’t find its way to China and Russia, where the previous entry made around $135M. So, if the current film passes $715M worldwide it’ll still be a strong showing alongside other releases this year like No Time to Die ($774M) and The Batman ($770M). So the lowest bar to pass would be F9‘s $721M.

    Source: Forbes, Twitter

  • ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Production Budget Among Marvel Studios Highest

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Production Budget Among Marvel Studios Highest

    Currently, Thor: Love and Thunder is setting the box office ablaze and making its mark among the Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings. While not a critical darling, it does seem that audiences have enjoyed the film for the most part going by its 83% liked rating on Google and 81% Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was once again a Marvel film that pulled in a B+ after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Eternals both landed in that category. Many have been pointing to a doom and gloom scenario for the future of the franchise.

    In the many discussions online in regards to the quality of the film’s overall effects work, Variety has revealed that the film’s budget has topped the previously assumed $200M and now stands at around $250M. While from a box office perspective, this merely adds weight to the project needing to at least hit $500M, which also doesn’t include the marketing costs. There’s no definite reason given why the production budget for this film ballooned up to this price mark but it should be noted that VFX isn’t the biggest part of the pie.

    Given that they’ve done reshoots on the film with some rather expensive cast, it wouldn’t be too surprising that they may have wanted to invest slightly more. It’s only speculation mind you, but it’s interesting if you consider Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still reported with a $200M budget. There’s also the chance that the use of the Volume has skyrocketed due to the rising interest. It does put the film on the same level as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers.

    Yes, people will probably boggle down this to “why the VFX looks bad if that’s the budget” but there’s a lot we don’t know about how this production came together. Marvel films also have the added benefit of profiting off of merchandise sales that aren’t a key factor in its box office dominance. The bigger question remains if the current phase is still the aftermath of films being shot during COVID and that is a leading cause for many qualms people have; especially as it is something that’s affecting many films throughout the industry.

    Source: Variety

  • REPORT: Christophe Beck Returning to Compose ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Sequel

    REPORT: Christophe Beck Returning to Compose ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Sequel

    We’ve heard surprisingly very little of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While the film has finished production and some spoilery rumors are making the rounds, Marvel Studios has been mainly focused on its 2022 releases. Plus, there’s still some time before the film hits theaters in February of next year. Yet, it seems one detail has managed to find its way online through Film Music Reporter.

    If the report is true, it seems that Christophe Beck has returned to once again score an Ant-Man film. He previously worked on the first two entries of the trilogy, but also went on to work on WandaVision and Hawkeye, where he collaborated with Michael Paraskevas. This actually matches with a recent tease from Beck that he’s already involved with a Marvel project.

    Beck has left quite an imprint on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it’s exciting to see him back. He’s also the first to get to score Kang the Conqueror’s theme, which will likely become a recurring one throughout the future franchise. So, we’ll see what he’ll bring to this thrid entry, especially with the promising new additions that could set up some exciting future developments.

    Source: Film Music Reporter

  • ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Director Spills the Beans on [SPOILER]s Casting

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Director Spills the Beans on [SPOILER]s Casting

    The following article will contain spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder’s post-credit sequences. If you want to avoid spoilers, only continue at your own risk.

    Thor: Love and Thunder may have expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe in smaller but relevant ways. Not only did we meet other god pantheons, but we even got a glimpse on how they act when it comes to those they were meant to protect. After getting tired of their arrogance, thor seemingly kills Russell Crowe’s Zeus. Yet, the post-credit sequence reveals he survived and also introduced us to the MCU’s Hercules.

    The biggest surprise comes in the form of him being played by British actor, famous for his work on Ted Lasso, Brett Goldstein. They keep the door open on how exactly he will return but it turns out that his casting was something Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige wanted to make happen according to director Taika Waititi.

    Kevin really wanted him to do it, and yeah, Brett’s amazing. He’s great.

    Taika Waititi

    He also goes on to highlight that Hercules’ future in the MCU isn’t truly set in stone outside of what Feige might be planning for the cahracter.

    And I don’t know if that’s to do with Thor, or if it’s to do with how that will develop. Because, obviously, Hercules, there’s a character from the books as well. And so, yeah, this will be interesting to see because Kevin, he’s obviously the mastermind of all of these threads and how they’ll tie up and how they meet, mix and match. So I’m curious to find out myself.

    Taika Waititi

    Goldstein is definitely a great get for Marvel Studios, as he’s hot off of the success of Ted Lasso and likely going to become a bigger name in the near future. It’s unclear if Hercules might get his own series or film leading into a fifth Thor film, or if that might generally be their take. For now, we’ll have to wait and see where the future might lead him to.

    Source: Uproxx via The Direct

  • Russell Crowe Was Originally Going to Play Satan in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Russell Crowe Was Originally Going to Play Satan in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Here’s a rather massive surprise but it looks like Zeus wasn’t always on the table for Thor: Love and Thunder. As revealed by artist Miles Teves, it seems that Russell Crowe was originally going to play a completely different character. While it’s uncertain at what point was he going to play this character, it seems they’ve envisioned him as the Devil or Satan at one point. Not just that, but eves also shared some artwork highlighting the design.

    There’s also a second piece showcasing a more relaxed version of the character, but just with more added color and highlighting his lazy nature. It’s unclear if he would’ve had the same role in the story or if that was also changed while rewriting it.

    It’s definitely a surprise that the character was almost featured in the film, and it adds more to the theories of Mephisto making his appearance at some point. Many believed he was the mastermind in the first Disney+ series, WandaVision but were surprised when he never even showed up. While the character here is being called the Devil or Satan, it could’ve been that they considered adding him in as Mephisto for a later storyline. Yet, as we now know how the story goes, we learn that they set up something quite different going into the post-credit sequences of this film. Still, it’s always interesting to see what almost was or could’ve been.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Eyeing to Surpass ‘Thor: Ragnarok’s Opening Weekend With $135M+

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Eyeing to Surpass ‘Thor: Ragnarok’s Opening Weekend With $135M+

    With the Friday number sin, we’re getting a better vision of where the box office for Thor: Love and Thunder is heading. After taking in a strong Thursday Preview with $29M, the film has ended up kicking off its box office run at around $69.5M on Friday, which includes the previews. As of now, it is seemingly heading towards a $135M with a potential $145M if it picks up some pace over the weekend. It’ll be the best opening for a Taika Waititi-directed project and even beat out Natalie Portman‘s best release which was Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith with $108M back in the day.

    It doesn’t seem like the film will potentially outpace Jurassic World: Dominion and will have to settle for the third biggest opening of the year so far. Still, the reopening for Marvel Studios’ first fourth entry in a franchise isn’t doing too badly as it’s ahead of the $122M opening for Thor: Ragnarok. While it’s unclear if it’ll surpass that film’s total box office, especially with the now CinemaScore B+ rating potentially slowing down its legs, the sequel still managed to reach $950M when it was initially released with a B+ rating. Still, the film has been doing pretty well overseas as well and is already on its way to $300M opening.

    there are quite a few theories going around on what this means for the Studio as it’s another B release after Strange and Eternals. Some are questioning if Marvel is overdoing it with Disney+ or generally if this is a sign of audiences being tired of the franchise. One could easily point to Deadline’s analysis from RelishMix which has looked at Social Media’s stirring with the controversy of Portman‘s return as a “gender-bent” version of the character and a surprising backlash to Waititi‘s trademark humor. With a horror film and a rom-com/comedy, it’s still a bit tough to really nail down if this is an issue on Marvel’s side or just everyone getting back into the swing of things.

    Source: Deadline, THR

  • ‘Blue Beetle’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Kord Industries

    ‘Blue Beetle’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Kord Industries

    Blue Beetle has been busy filming for some time, as we got our first look at how they’ll adapt his iconic design in live-action some time ago. Things have calmed down since the project but it looks like a new group of set photos shared by Twitter user @DcversoMidias have offered a new look at what’s to come in the film. While it’s not a new look at our heroic Blue Beetle, it is our first look at Kord Industries. Not only do we get a first look at the company’s logo but also what seems to be a station built by or for the company.

    That is not all, as it seems that Kord Industries is not just all about clean energy development but also offers a hotel of some kind. An additional billboard includes the names of famous DC cities, Central City, Gotham, Metropolis, and more

    It’ll be interesting to see how Kord Industries will connect to the overarching storyline, especially as we don’t know if the former Blue Beetle will also have a role in the film. There was once a rumor making the rounds on Jason Sudeikis playing the character, which ended up getting quickly denied. So, we’ll see what the project has in store for us once we see more from the set or even the first trailer drop at some point in the future.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Nabs B+ CinemaScore, Same as ‘Doctor Strange 2’

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Nabs B+ CinemaScore, Same as ‘Doctor Strange 2’

    The CinemaScore has finally arrived, which mostly reflects how the general audience feels about a film’s release. Unlike normal ratings, the films are mostly skewed heavily with A being the general goal for any release. Marvel Studios famously stuck around to this area as a “crowd-pleasing” offering but that has changed with Phase 4. Some of their releases have landed the B rating, most notably Eternals being the first to do so. Thor in 2011 also received a B+ rating. Now, Thor: Love and Thunder has also joined the B+ club.

    https://twitter.com/CinemaScore/status/1545634584313970688

    CinemaScore has just released the fact that the general audience has given Thor: Love and Thunder a B+ grade. Now, the internet is already in a panic about this being the sign that Marvel Studios has lost its grace with the general audience, but there’s a lot more at play with this rating. Yes, it is normally a higher rating, anything with a C+, such as Morbius, is a sign that the film may not leg out

    Yet, considering that the film currently holds an 84% like ratio from Google Users, stands at 7.1 on IMDb, and even has an 83% Audience Score on RottenTomatoes, you start to see the bigger picture. The only indication this value has is a hint at the legs a film will have at the box office, and if Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is anything to go by, a B+ won’t stop it too much. Yes, it won’t have the same momentum that could push it past its initial release but we may see a harsh drop in the second weekend.

    Also, most indie releases end up in this ranking, which generally is a sign of how audiences consume media. If it is mindless fun, they’ll tend to give it a higher ranking and Marvel Studios still has an A ranking for films like Shang-Chi, Black Widow, and especially Spider-Man: No Way Home. Plus, the lowest ranking films also include strong horror and gore elements, such as Doctor Strange with Love and Thunder also includes some “bloody-esque” kills plus LGTB representation that is more dominant than a blink-and-you-miss-it kiss like in Lightyear. And if we want Marvel Studios to experiment (as has been proclaimed by many over the years), they will face a slight disconnect with general audiences at times.

    Source: Twitter, CinemaScore