Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ Considered Casting Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale to Play Nicolas Cage

    ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ Considered Casting Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale to Play Nicolas Cage

    It’s never easy to write a film script with a specific actor in mind. There’s always a chance that they’d have no interest in the project, or potentially even end up missing out due to scheduling conflicts. Luckily, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which was written with Nicolas Cage playing a fictional version of himself, managed to get the actor to join the project. One of the writers of the script, Kevin Etten, who wrote it alongside Tom Gormican, shared that they almost didn’t get the actor to join, as Cage was hesitant at first.

    We were told that Nick has done these projects before and he’s not wild about Nick as Nick. And we weren’t two guys who had a huge body of work that you could point to and be like, ‘No, trust us. The funny part about that was we have a bunch of studios interested in the script. But there’s an asterisk on all of this meaning if he doesn’t want to do it, your sale goes away. Like, by the way, we don’t want this fucking thing if he’s not in it. There is no other version of it. When he was reading the script it was like this sort of double anxiety. It’s not like if he doesn’t do it, we’ll offer it to somebody else. It was gone

    Kevin Etten

    Once it seemed uncertain if the actor would join, they’ve also considered casting someone else in the role, which seemingly included Daniel Day-Lewis and even Christian Bale. Luckily, we know that Cage ended up joining the cast and bringing the fictional version of himself to life.

    There were times when I think I… was trying to talk myself into other ideas. The only actually good idea — I don’t know whose it was — was to have either Christian Bale or Daniel Day-Lewis playing Nick Cage.

    Kevin Etten

    Even if we got the original vision, it would’ve been fun to imagine just how crazy it would look if someone else took on the role. Though, it would be fun to explore the concept with different actors, which could create some interesting scenarios and very

    Source: IndieWire

  • Robert Eggers Teases His Next Film After ‘The Northman’

    Robert Eggers Teases His Next Film After ‘The Northman’

    Robert Eggers has made quite the splash in the industry with his work in his films The Witch and The Lighthouse. Now, he is also going to leave his imprint on Viking stories with The Northman, which sees Alexander Skarsgard in the role of Amleth on a path of vengeance. While he seems quite proud of his story, he still has openly talked about the hardships of not only working with a larger budget but also the stronger involvement of the studio. So, in an interview with CQ, he highlights that he’s moving his focus to a smaller production once again.

    Right now, I definitely want to do something smaller, where it won’t be as painful, or I’ll have full control. There’s always give and take and studio notes. There always is. There was on The Witch. I didn’t have this much gray hair when we wrapped photography. It’s all from post-production.

    Robert Eggers

    If you’re wondering what he might be focusing on, he highlighted that he definitely has no interest in filming something in the modern age. A big part of what he enjoys is “doing all this historical research” to bring his films to life. So, he goes on to highlight that he has a disconnect on filming modern technology.

    If I was making a contemporary film, what am I supposed to do with myself? Obsess over wallpaper swatches, until my eyes fall out? It’s just not interesting. For whatever reason, it just does not inspire me. And you can’t shoot something that doesn’t inspire you.

    Robert Eggers

    He does hint that he’s been listening to “lots of lutes” as he is starting an Elizabethan phase. So, we might expect that era to become the main focus of his next story. So, we’ll see where his research leads him next, and taking a step back with his budget gives him a project that may lead to fewer grey hairs.

    Source: GQ

  • ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ No Longer Releasing in Egypt

    ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ No Longer Releasing in Egypt

    Once Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was banned to release in Saudi Arabia, it was only a question of time before other countries would follow suit. IMAX Egypt took to its official Twitter account to announce that the screenings for the Doctor Strange sequel have been canceled in the country. While no explicit reason is stated, it’s very likely due to the fact that Marvel Studios refuses to remove LGBTQ elements. Xochitl Gomez will play the character of America Chavez, who has been openly gay in the comics.

    Currently, the film is banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar but the United Arab Emirates is still seemingly open to showcasing the film. Even Eteranls, which also included an openly LGBTQ character, was released on the market. These two films refused to adapt their offerings and are some of the few films moving away from this trend. Warner Bros. still removed LGBTQ scenes for the Chinese release of Fantastic Beast: the Secrets of Dumbledore. claiming it won’t change the film’s score, which adds some questionable aspects about how these story elements are so easily removed.

    It’s not been easy for LGBTQ representation worldwide, and there are still markets where these discussions aren’t at a stage that one might expect. As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently sticking to its guns, we will also very unlikely see the film release in China, which hasn’t let in any of the last few Marvel films. It’s great to see the film stick to its guns and not adapt its film to just add to its box office worldwide. We’ll see just how big the film might end up being though, as it currently is doing quite well in its presales.

    Source: Twitter

  • EXCLUSIVE: Disneynature’s ‘Polar Bear’ Directors Reveal the Most Impactful Moments

    EXCLUSIVE: Disneynature’s ‘Polar Bear’ Directors Reveal the Most Impactful Moments

    Disneynature has created quite the collection of wildlife documentaries over the years. The next installment, Polar Bear, tells the story of a new mother whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today.

    Polar Bear is narrated by two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener and helmed by Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson, the directing team also behind Disneynature’s Penguins. The documentary is full of moments in the polar bear’s life that will surely make viewers experience a wide range of emotions. In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, directors Fothergill and Wilson revealed some of the moments that impacted them the most. Fothergill recounted a moment when a polar bear was filmed doing an “aquatic stalk”:

    For me, the moment when the female was hunting the seal—they’re doing their what’s called an aquatic stalk—which actually, interestingly, has become more and more common with climate change. But that moment when she was so so carefully and quietly, trying to push herself out of the water, so she could grab the hooded seal. We were there and the cameraman and I, literally, were holding our breath. And we held our breath for a long time because it’s a very long shot in the film. And then she goes back down so quietly and sneaks under the ice flow and tries to grab the shield that fails. That, for me was an amazing moment. Never been filmed like that before.

    Alastair Fothergill

    Both directors note moments that they experienced which had never been caught on film before. While Fothergill described a hunting moment affected by climate change, Wilson recalls a particularly joyful moment:

    [For me,] the serendipity of finding a sperm whale carcass washed up with 20 Bears feeding off of it. It’s something that completely was beyond my wildest dreams. And so to be there and to witness that…And a well fed bear is a happy bear and a happy bear as a playful bear. And there are some very, very unique and special and never been seen before kind of behaviors that are happening around that where you just have 20 bears who come together and play together and almost like a pool party, or barbecue, you know, that just that is so special and so unique that you know, that’s going to be forever seared into my memory as as an experience.

    Jeff Wilson

    Viewers can experience these moments and more for themselves when Disneynature’s Polar Bear launches exclusively on Disney+ on April 22, 2022—Earth Day.

  • New ‘Kraven the Hunter’ Set Photos Offer First Close-Up of Aaron Taylor-Johnson

    New ‘Kraven the Hunter’ Set Photos Offer First Close-Up of Aaron Taylor-Johnson

    It was back in March when we got our first look at the production of Sony’s Kraven the Hunter film. Their next attempt at a Spider-Man universe is well underway in production and sees former Quicksilver Aaron Taylor-Johnson taking on the role of the titular hunter. We only saw an action sequence of him holding unto a car. Now, JustJared has shared a few new photos that offer a better close-up of the actor in the iconic Marvel villain role.

    As we can’t share photos from JustJared, you can check them out by clicking here.

    What stands out is that he has the classic beard of the hunter, as well as hair that is similar to the comics. The image of him in a suit showcases that he has a necklace with a claw of some kind attached, which is probably a way to pay tribute to his necklace in the comics that usually consists of multiple claws. His other outfit seems a bit more militarized with the necklace and a strange brown bracelet on one of his wrists. It’s unclear what the event is that he is attending.

    We don’t know if we’ll get to see Kraven wear his iconic fur coat made from a lion he hunted. There’s a lot we don’t know about this project, especially how they might explore his potential connection to the setup from Morbius‘ post-credit sequence. The fact they are building a team to take down Spider-man without ever interacting with the character does add some confusion to what the endgame of this universe may end up being, especially as we don’t know which Spider-Man exists in this timeline.

    Source: JustJared

  • Saudi Arabia Bans ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ 

    Saudi Arabia Bans ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ 

    Once again, Saudi Arabia is refusing to show a major Marvel blockbuster. The Hollywood Reporter has officially confirmed the rumors that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been banned from playing in the Middle Eastern country, reportedly due to the inclusion of an openly LGBTQ character. This is the third time in recent memory that something like this has happened, with Marvel’s Eternals and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story also receiving bans for endorsing the LGBTQ community. With Eternals, it was said that Marvel had been told the film could play in Saudi Arabian theaters if the studio cut a certain amount of unapproved footage, but Marvel and Disney declined and pulled the project from release instead.

    The LGBTQ character in Doctor Strange will be Xochitl Gomez‘s dimension-hopping America Chavez. Making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with this movie, Chavez originally appeared in the pages of Vengeance #1, created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta, in 2011. The character is known to be gay in the comics and is expected to be portrayed as such in the film, too.

    While tickets are no longer available for purchase for cinemas in Saudi Atabia, Kuwait and Qatar, they are still available in the United Arab Emirates, suggesting that an edited version of the film could be shown there as was the case with Eternals.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on May 6th.

    Source: THR.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Disneynature’s ‘Polar Bear’ Director on the Film’s Hopeful Ending

    EXCLUSIVE: Disneynature’s ‘Polar Bear’ Director on the Film’s Hopeful Ending

    Disneynature’s latest documentary, Polar Bear, tells the story of a new mother whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today. While the film has many uplifting and joyous moments, it takes place against the background of climate change in the Arctic that is threatening the survival of polar bears.

    Still, Polar Bear ends on a noticeably optimistic note, with the mother bear (in the form of the voice of two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener) expresses that she and her cub will persevere and survive the changing and dangerous environment. In an exclusive interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, directors Jeff Wilson and Alastair Fothergill were asked why they chose to end Polar Bear in that way. Wilson stated:

    I think it’s important for our audiences to have a sense of empowerment and hope at the end of the film, because we believe that that’s the greatest emotion that will drive people to take action. And that really helps us get our message across.

    Jeff Wilson

    Wilson went on to describe one particular moment in the film that embodies that spirit of hope and resilience:

    [The] extraordinary images of the mother bear climbing the iceberg…it’s so impossibly beautiful that you’d never imagine that would happen. But when you film something like that—and you realize at that moment in time when you’re filming it—the power of those images, and the power of the metaphor of what is happening there, you do suddenly the chemistry of script and narration and music and and just the serendipity of capturing that unique moment. [It] gives you the power to take hope, and plant it firmly in the audience’s lap and say, hey, look, this, there is hope here. But you know, there’s also uncertainty.

    Jeff Wilson

    Viewers can enjoy the documentary’s story and powerful moments when it releases on Earth Day. Disneynature’s Polar Bear launches exclusively on Disney+ on April 22, 2022.

  • James Gunn Name Drops a Marvel Hero That “Almost” Made It Into ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’

    James Gunn Name Drops a Marvel Hero That “Almost” Made It Into ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’

    Production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is coming to a close and when it hits theaters just over a year from now, director James Gunn has said it will close the book on the version of the team that first came together in 2014. Given how wildly and unpredictably successful the franchise has been, however, that doesn’t mean a new collection of Cosmic heroes won’t come together to continue their good work. Over the years, Gunn has talked openly about some heroes that, for one reason or another, haven’t made the cut, which leaves the door open to them joining that new team of heroes. Adam Warlock, who will be played by Will Poulter in Vol. 3, used to top that list, along with Bug, ROM, Quasar and a handful of others rounding it out and now Gunn has added one more name to the list: Darkhawk.

    In response to a tweet encouraging Gunn to take on a Darkhawk solo project, the director casually mentioned that the character “was almost in (Guardians of the Galaxy) Vol. 2.”

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1517347586818162688

    The character of Darkhawk has undergone some big changes since first being introduced in 1991. Teenager Chris Powell became Darkhawk when he stumbled upon an amulet that allowed him to suit up in an incredible suit of armor. For the majority, perhaps entirety, of the first 15 years worth of appearances, Darkhawk was an Earth-based hero who joined the New Warriors and teamed-up with the West Coast Avengers, Runaways, Spider-Man and over the years. During Marvel Comics Cosmic renaissance in the late 2000s, led by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, the character was overhauled significantly and became a major player in 2009’s War of Kings. It’s almost certainly this retconned version of the character that would be of interest to Gunn.

    With Gunn revealing the character was on the short list for an appearance in Vol. 2, the door is open to him popping up in the near future. Could he be among the heroes called to serve at the end of Vol. 3 or would a solo project be more in order. In August of 2021, writer Kyle Higgins launched a new Darkhawk series that put a new character in the familiar armor, so it is possible that Marvel was looking to get the character back in the spotlight ahead of a potential MCU appearance. With Marvel Studios now having access to all the major players of the Realm of Kings/War of Kings events and a Nova project in the works, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him enter the MCU in the near future.

  • ‘Pig’ Director Michael Sarnoski to Adapt ‘Sabrina’ Graphic Novel

    ‘Pig’ Director Michael Sarnoski to Adapt ‘Sabrina’ Graphic Novel

    Here’s an interesting surprise as it looks like Michael Sarnoski, the director of the Nicholas Cage-led film Pig, will be quite busy soon. In January, we learned that he was in talks to direct A Quiet Place spinoff. Yet, it looks like he has already set his eyes on another project, as Deadline has just reported that he is going to adapt the graphic novel, Sabrina. He’s currently set to write and direct the feature film based on Nick Drnaso‘s work with New Regency and RT Features involved.

    While I made the mistake of thinking it might be related to Sabrina Spellman, the graphic novel is about a man whose girlfriend went missing. After moving in with an old friend from the Air Force, a strange videotape finds its way online and goes viral. Sabrina’s vanishment becomes a headline and the two become the focus of conspiracy theorists going wild with theories on what really happened that day.

    Sarnoski made quite the splash with his work on Pig, which was a critical and audience darling when it was released. He even received the National Board of Review Award for Best Directorial Debut. So, it’s no wonder that people are lining up to get him to tackle their next project. We haven’t heard much on his A Quiet Place spinoff. So, we’ll see what his schedule will look like in the near future.

    Source: Deadline

  • Netflix No Longer Developing ‘Bright’ Sequel

    Netflix No Longer Developing ‘Bright’ Sequel

    We’ve long wondered what exactly happened to the sequel of Bright. The 2017 film starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton may haven’t received a lot of critical acclaims, but it was still one of Netflix’s most-streamed films at the time. Many were wondering when the sequel of the modern take on a fantasy world would end up starting production, but it seemingly kept getting dragged out. Sadly, it seems that Netflix has pulled the plug on the project.

    Will Smith has been losing one project after another due to the infamous slap during the Oscars. It turns out, however, that Bright’s cancelation has nothing to do with it. In a post by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw in relation to an article where National Geographic delayed their nature series starring Smith, he highlighted that Bright was abandoned for unrelated reasons.

    Of course, this opens up the question of why they’d pass on the project. They just released Bright: Samurai Soul last year, which was an animated spinoff of the film. Perhaps they are looking to continue the franchise through that medium, as demand and costs for Smith would otherwise blow up the production costs.

    Yet, you’d think that one of their most successful films would end up getting a sequel. Sadly, Netflix has developed this habit of swiftly canceling its projects which may have played a part in its current troubles.

    Source: Bloomberg, Twitter