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Tag: Movie News

  • ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Rights Up for Sale, ViacomCBS Interested

    ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ Rights Up for Sale, ViacomCBS Interested

    Alvin and the Chipmunks have been a childhood classic for years. Now, it seems that the current owner Bagdasarian Productions is aiming to sell the iconic singing chipmunks for around $300M. Currently, ViacomCBS is interested in purchasing the rights, which includes all the films, songs, and TV shows that starred Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and their expanded family. The company is run by Ross Bagsdasarian Jr. and his wife Janice Karman. They’ve already actively had talks with buyers but no agreement has come as of now.

    The current price is at $300M but it’s uncertain if that will remain as such moving forward. Many streaming services are eager to add any potential streaming service to their repertoire. So, it’ll be interesting to see who is interested in ensuring they can bank on adding this franchise. While it did have some films, the series is mostly known for its young demographic.

    Netflix has quite the interest in these types of IPs, such as the recent purchase of Roald Dahl‘s children’s books which cost upward of $700M. Ross Bagdasarian Sr. created the characters in 1958 for a children’s music act. It wasn’t until 1961 that the original three chipmunks Alvin, Simon, and Theodore made their official first appearance. Depending on who garners the rights, they’ll have a lot to play with. In a way, Disney might have their eye on the franchise as it plays into their all-encompassing approach to media and intellectual property.

    Source: CNBC

  • Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ Adds Sofia Boutella

    Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ Adds Sofia Boutella

    It looks like Zack Snyder‘s upcoming film has found a new star, as Sofia Boutella will join the Netflix production of Rebel Moon. The film will be written by Snyder alongside Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad. Some time ago, the project was once planned to be a Star Wars film that was rewritten. The director made a deal with the streamer after the success of his film Army of the Dead, as he also recently produced the first spin-off based on this new zombie-filled cinematic universe.

    The film will explore a peaceful colony in the galaxy that is suddenly threatened by a tyrant known as Regent Balisarius. Their only hope is a young woman that is set to find warriors to take a stand. It wasn’t an easy process, as they’ve met with talent for months before settling on Boutella for the lead role. According to Deadline, her performance wowed the Justice League director and convinced him she was perfect for the role.

    Boutella has made a name for herself with her performances in Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond, and Atomic Blonde. The former was her breakout role in Hollywood that got her various roles in the industry. She recently appeared in Wyatt Rockefeller‘s debut Settlers. We cannot wait to see what she brings to the role in this new take on a sci-fi epic.

    Source: Deadline

  • Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon Join Christopher Nolan’s ‘OPPENHEIMER’

    Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon Join Christopher Nolan’s ‘OPPENHEIMER’

    Christopher Nolan‘s ensemble for his biopic on the project that led to the creation of the atomic bomb just got two atom bombs of star power. Deadline is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon are in talks to join Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer.

    In addition to that report, THR is saying that Robert Downey Jr. is playing Lewis Strauss, a commissioner who put Oppenheimer on the stand and questioned his loyalty to the US, while Damon is playing Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer marks Downey’s first project with Nolan and Damon’s second following Interstellar.

    Cillian Murphy is set to play the titular scientist while Emily Blunt is to play Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty Oppenheimer.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Eternals’ Script at One Point Included 12 Main Characters

    ‘Eternals’ Script at One Point Included 12 Main Characters

    We are only a few days away before Marvel Studios’ next entry, Eternals, finally makes its way to the silver screen. It’ll introduce the world to ten new and unlikely heroes that are part of the titular alien race. They come to Earth to battle the Celestials and nudge humanity into their development. Chloé Zhao had no easy task ahead of her introducing ten characters in one film, but it looks like there were more at one point, as she points out in an interview with Fandom:

    There was 12 characters when I first read it; 12 Eternals. We had to let two go along the way.

    Chloé Zhao

    Luckily, our very own Charles Murphy has the answer to who the two cut characters were. In his piece, he originally released on That Hashtag Show, the characters of Zuras and Elysius were mentioned. It’s unclear how big their role was, but they were scrapped once Zhao tackled the script. It made sense to cut down as a dozen is quite the challenge to adapt. She even goes on to share how she approaches giving each of the current ten members a time to shine.

    Some characters don’t need the most screen time, it’s about what they do with the screen time. They have to be memorable. And when we looked at these 10 unique individuals, we thought about how they represent 10 aspects of human nature. They’ve been here for so long, who they become today is a big part of who we are. And so it was actually equally important that they remain memorable. All 10 of them had the same weight; not necessarily screen time, but the weight.

    Chloé Zhao

    It’s certainly a great approach to ensure that none of the characters are left behind in the limited time a film offers. Sadly, the director doesn’t give away what exactly their role was in the story. Here’s hoping that we might get a glimpse once the film drops and if there’s a set-up that could bring in these characters later on.

    Source: Fandom

  • New ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Set Photos Tease Thor and Jane on a Date

    New ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Set Photos Tease Thor and Jane on a Date

    We’ve recently gotten some set video from Thor: Love and Thunder that confirmed the production has entered reshoots. It’s quite the common practice for Marvel Studios at this point and it seems that they might be using this chance to add some flashbacks into the production. New photos have surfaced featuring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman with their look from Thor: The Dark World. Not just that, they also seem to be out on a date of some kind with hot dogs. So, we might finally find out why they went their separate ways at some point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The images are provided by Twitter user @lovethundernews.

    Love and Thunder has a very telling name. It’ll be interesting to see how they integrate these flashbacks especially with Jane Foster’s new role in this story. Portman‘s return came with the confirmation she’ll wield Mjolnir at some point in the story. It’s unclear what that entails especially as his hammer was destroyed back in Thor: Ragnarok. Plus, we never found out why they went their separate ways in the franchise. The film will be our first look into it which might also be one of the core emotional anchor for Thor in this new storyline.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Overlord’s Julius Avery to Direct Sony’s Adaptation of Popular Manga ‘Gantz’

    ‘Overlord’s Julius Avery to Direct Sony’s Adaptation of Popular Manga ‘Gantz’

    It looks like the current wave of anime adaptations continues, as Deadline reported that Julius Avery of Overlord fame is going to tackle the popular sci-fi manga Gantz next. The story written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku will be penned by Marc Guggenheim with Temple Hill set to produce. The project is currently in its earliest form of development and has no production start date yet.

    Ganzt explores the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato. Shortly after their apparent death, they awaken in a strange room with strangers and a ominous black orb. It grants them futuristic weapons that allow them to take on aliens that have invaded Earth and may unravel a dangerous game for the safety of humanity.

    The series has gotten a few spin-offs over the years and even some live-action, as well as animated adaptations. What is interesting is that they also can tackle a different corner of this universe, as we later learn that these black orbs exist across the world. So, we may get to explore a similar story from the perspective of another country as it starts to unravel moving forward.

    Julius Avery is a great choice fro this adaptation, as his film Overwatch has the perfect vibe that could make a brutal story like this work in live-action. He also has experience with effects-heavy work. He’s also currently set to tackle Van Helsing for James Wan and Universal with his action-thriller Samaritan eyeing a release in the summer of 2022.

    Source: Deadline

  • Chris Pratt Voicing Garfield in A New Animated Film

    Chris Pratt Voicing Garfield in A New Animated Film

    It looks like Chris Pratt has become Hollywood’s go-to actor to voice ongoing projects. He recently was announced to tackle Mario in the long-awaited Illumination animated film based on Nintendo’s popular Super Mario Bros. franchise. Now, it seems he’ll also bring another childhood classic to life, as Alcon Entertainment and Sony Pictures hired the Guardians of the Galaxy actor to voice Garfield in an upcoming animated feature. Oscar nominee David Reynolds wrote the script and Mark Dindal is set to direct the upcoming adaptation.

    The duo worked on the fan-favorite The Emperor’s New Groove, which the upcoming film might take some cues from given their work on it. Reynolds also worked on Finding Nemo for Pixar while Dindal had some experience with Disney adapting the Chicken Little film. It’s not a small task to adapt Jim Davis‘ popular creation that has existed since 1978. Alcon currently holds the rights to the project with Davis acting as an executive producer alongside Amuse’s Bridget McMeel and Craig Sost.

    It’s not the first adaptation by Hollywood to bring the character to life. He famously was voiced by Bill Murray in the 2004 live-action hybrid film and even in its sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle the famously lazy cat and his general attitude in a film. There’s also his extensive cast of characters introduced with later works that may or may not appear in the project. It’s still in early development. So, we’ll see what is in store for this project.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • For Three, My Lord, For Three: ‘Boondock Saints’ Threequel in the Works

    For Three, My Lord, For Three: ‘Boondock Saints’ Threequel in the Works

    The MacManus brothers are back! According to a trade report, director Troy Duffy and stars Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery have come back together for Boondocks Saints III. News of the new film, set to go into production next May, comes as a bit of a surprise. The original debuted in 1999 but it wasn’t until it hit the shelves at Blockbuster that it started to grow into the cult classic it is today. The 2009 sequel, Boondock Saints: All Saints Day, perfectly set up the third film but the third film seemed doomed when Reedus and Flanery washed their hands of it in 2017.

    It’ll be interesting to see if the third film makes good on the last film’s ending which saw Willem Dafoe’s Agent Smecker make a surprise appearance after having faked his death. Smecker, always a fan of the brothers, has developed a support network for them and preps to break them out of prison. Reedus‘ star has risen enormously since the release of the 2nd film but it’s satisfying to see him return to the project that introduced him to so many. We’ll continue to cover this story as it develops.

  • Kit Harrington is “Ready to Rock” The Black Knight Outfit

    Kit Harrington is “Ready to Rock” The Black Knight Outfit

    When it was revealed that Kit Harrington was cast as Dane Whitman in Marvel Studios Eternals, fans loved the idea of Jon Snow swinging another famous fictional sword and claim his birthright, this time as the Black Knight. Harrington’s casting certainly seems like one with a long future in mind, and according to an interview with Comicbook.com, the actor is ready to don the gear of the Black Knight, whichever version that is.

    “I’m ready to rock any outfit. Whatever you want to put me in, you put me in, ” said Harrington when asked if he would be willing to sport one of Whitman’s more modern comic looks that featured a leather bomber jacket and an Ebony Blade that resembled a lightsaber more than not.

    Just when Harrington’s Whitman will make that jump remains to be seen, but according to the actor, Whitman’s journey may not be as similar to Snow’s as we all think…and that’s what he drew him to the role:

    It’s the first time Marvel have spoken to me about any character. And this character, obviously there’s a lot you can read on the internet about who he is or what his background is. As far as this movie goes, he’s a human who’s in love with Sersi and represents humanity. You know, as far as any future goes, I can’t really comment on that, but I don’t think there’s any… I actually think there’s quite a big difference between him and Jon Snow. There’s not a lot of similarity there, which if there had been too much, I probably wouldn’t have been interested.

    Harrington’s doing a great job dissembling here as it’s highly unlikely an actor of his caliber signed on with Marvel Studios without knowing what’s next but it’s good to know he has an idea of what interests him about the character so that when he does take those next steps, he’ll be invested in him.

    Eternals opens in theaters this weekend!

  • REPORT: Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Tower of Terror’ Eyeing Taika Waititi to Direct

    REPORT: Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Tower of Terror’ Eyeing Taika Waititi to Direct

    After Scarlett Johansson‘s legal outing with Disney, it was a bit questionable if they’ll move forward with the Tower of Terror adaptation that she was set to lead. Luckily, it seems that all qualms have been squashed and they are moving forward with the film as Taika Waititi may be eyed to tackle the project. Our friends over at DisInsider shared the news that he’ll adapt the film based on a script by Toy Story 4‘s Josh Cooley. It’ll continue their trend of turning their popular theme park rides into films, such as they did recently with the Jungle Cruise.

    This is not the first time the Tower of Terror got its movie, as it was a made-for-television release back in 1997. D.J. MacHale directed a film starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst. It was even filmed at the attraction in Orlando back in the day and is technically the first time Disney adapted one of their rides into a feature film.

    They have been seeing a lot of potential in this new direction, as they are running dry with their remakes of classic Disney films. Waititi is a great choice to bring such a wacky concept to life and he might inject some life into a rather simple horror storyline. Of course, they kept the story tightly under wraps, which opens up the question if they’ll once again have the actual ride as its setting. It’s very likely that they want to make use of a haunted theme ride so it’s not too similar to the upcoming Haunted Mansion adaptation.

    Source: DisInsider