Tag: Space Jam

Gabriel Iglesias Calls His ‘Space Jam’ Speedy Gonzales Casting a “Big Brown Shield”

Space Jam: A New Legacy brought back an iconic franchise that saw the Looney Tunes reunite with a famous basketball player. While Michael Jordan didn’t return, LeBron James took center stage and played a game with the famous cartoon characters against a group of unlikely foes. In the case of the Loony Tunes, they did continue the classic voices of many characters, with Eric Bauza continuing to voice characters like Bugs Bunny.

Yet, they did end up recasting some members such as Zendaya taking over the role of Lola, which recently got reinvented by Kristen Wiig on The Looney Tunes Show. Another new casting was in the form of famous comedian Gabriel Iglesias as Speedy Gonzales. He recently appeared on The Late Show and discussed his role in the film with Stephen Colbert, where he revealed some curious decisions made for his casting as the iconic character. First off, he didn’t have to audition for the role, and they offered him to change the iconic voice of the character.

I thought that was pretty awesome that they would give me that power. And I said ‘No. When people think of Speedy Gonzales, I don’t want them to think of me, I want them to think of Speedy Gonzales.’
Gabriel Iglesias

He goes on to reveal that even though he was already cast as the character, they weren’t sure if he could to an impression of him. It was a rather surprising inquiry as he already got the part before someone revealed that:

The question was asked, ‘Can you do Speedy Gonzales?’ And I’m like, ‘How did I get the part? Oh, they needed a big brown shield.’
Gabriel Iglesias

It’s a curious way for Warner Bros. to handle the casting, but there have been many controversies surrounding the character and the stereotypes he portrayed. Iglesias did go on to make the joke after they loved his performance that “I have been Mexican a long time.” before he showed off his vocal performances on the show. He also highlighted the fact that he and his family loved growing up with the character.

If you are interested, you can check out the original interview here:

Source: Complex, YouTube via Hollywood Reporter

August 12, 2021
‘Jungle Cruise’ Nabs Decent $34M in Domestic Box Office and Another $30M on Disney+ Premier Access

It looks like the Box Office still requires more time to heal after all. As the Delta variant rages across the world, the latest Disney movie entered cinemas with a decent $34.2M opening. As Forbes points out, it’s in line with Dwayne Johnson’s most non-Fast and Furious films. In a way, it’s on par with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. In addition, Disney also released their income through Disney+ Premier Access, as they gained an additional $30M.

The film did manage to pass Space Jam: A New Legacy‘s $31M, but it can only hope for a leggier post-launch to ensure it makes back its expensive $200M budget. Overall, the trend continues as the film’s second weekend sees a sharp decline. Last week’s Old dropped by around 70%, while Snake Eyes plummeted by 79%. In a way, we should continue to expect these kinds of drops in future releases.

Black Widow earned another $5.8M, with only $2M keeping it from surpassing F9’s domestic total. As such, it seems likely it’ll hold the title as a domestic top performer for some time. It may remain Marvel Studios’ third worst-performing film due to the current situation, but it still is showing some legs. Of course, the lawsuit surrounding Scarlett Johansson adds some questions on how to perceive its “success.”

Jungle Cruise’s advantage moving forward is it doesn’t have any direct competitors. So, there’s a chance it could leg out like Black Widow is currently. The curious aspect about the Box Office development is that it still seems the overall trends between films are on par with pre-pandemic numbers. Disney releasing their Disney+ numbers only for the opening weekend is curious and opens up a question regarding transparency. We never heard how much about Raya and the Last Dragon, Mulan, or even Cruella‘s numbers. Moving forward, transparency from streamers will be a big question mark.

Source: Forbes

August 1, 2021
‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’s Malcolm D. Lee Reveals the Michael Jordan Cameo That Never Happened

There will be spoilers for Space Jam: A New Legacy in this article. Only continue at your own risk.

After a long wait, Space Jam finally got a sequel. Yet, there was a noticeable absence of 1996’s leading man. The first film’s leading man, Michael Jordan, did not return, but the Looney Tunes sure did. LeBron James took over as the central character, whose relationship with his son gets tested when a rogue algorithm tries to take over his status as king. Trapped in the Warner Bros. ServerVerse, he joins together with the classic Looney Tunes to take on Don Cheadle‘s Al-G Rythm and the Goon Squad in a basketball game of the century.

There are various references throughout the film to the original film, but no sign of the former NBA star. According to director Malcolm. D. Lee, there were plans for him to appear in a post-credit sequence, even if the chances were slim to none. It would’ve even referred to the 202 mini-series The Last Dance by ESPN Films and Netflix by echoing one of his iconic lines from the documentary.

We were holding out hope, but also knew that the likelihood was going to be very remote. Especially after The Last Dance came out, I was like, we’ve got to be able to do something, even like a tag at the very end after the credits with Bugs showing him the movie and saying, ‘What do you think, Doc?’ And just Jordan going, ‘I took that very personal.’ I wanted to do it! It would have been fantastic, but our movie is our movie and Space Jam is Space Jam

Luckily, the team did get visits by another Jordan, Michael B. Jordan. It seems he was shooting a project and dropped by the project to hang out with LeBron James. This coincidence led to one of the film’s best jokes when Sylvester gets him mixed up with the first film’s protagonist.

But it’s one of the greatest jokes that I’ve ever put in one of my movies — and it’s super unique to Space Jam. There’s no other movie where you could play this joke. Warner Bros. wanted really badly to use it in marketing, and I was like, you cannot do that, because this joke is too good to sacrifice.

It’s sad they couldn’t get Jordan to return, but it did make way for a very unique joke that, as the director points out, only Space Jam could make. Luckily, they talked the marketing team out of wasting it in the trailers. The film managed to beat out Blck Widow at the Box Office, but it’s uncertain if we might see this franchise return with more entries moving forward. Still, it was great seeing Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of the Looney Tunes back on the silver screen. Even if this franchise doesn’t continue, it’s about time they get more films.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

July 20, 2021
‘Black Widow’ Drops 67% in its Second Weekend as ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Takes Top Spot

Black Widow was a very frontloaded release, which got boosted by their Disney+ Premier Access release. There was some uncertainty if it’ll have a strong second weekend or face a steep fall. Sadly, it seems the latter has come to pass as its new release Space Jam: A New Legacy took the top spot with $32M. While nowhere near the Marvel Studios’ release, it is still the year’s fourth-best release ahead of Godzilla Vs. Kong‘s 31M. The film is also the biggest family-focused film launch since Pixar’s Onward in March of 2020. Still, early predictions did believe the Scarlett Johnasson-run film would keep the top spot.

The bigger shock is that the film’s international presence also took quite a hit. It barely scratched the $30M, which is on par with F9‘s current running after a two-month release. However, if you take a closer look at its international presence, Black Widow has yet to release in China. The latest Fast and Furious entry has been very dominant in that market throughout its run. The theatric-only release has been playing well into its hand and gave the film some considerable legs, especially as it rolls out into other markets.

Here's a grim box office stat: BLACK WIDOW earned $29.9 million overseas this weekend, which is just barely above the $28.6 million earned by F9 (which began two months ago) as the latter opened in Germany and France.

— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) July 18, 2021

The second weekend was a 67% drop for the Marvel Studios film, which some expected. The Friday 79% drop was the worst the franchise has ever seen and is on par with Batman v Superman or Man of Steel. To offer a pandemic comparison, F9 dropped 67% and Wonder Woman 1984 around 67.1%. The last two Marvel films to see that kind of drop were quite leggy experiences and managed to hold over quite a bit over their total runtime. So, theories are that the film could still manage a $200M+ domestic launch. If you include their Disney+ numbers, they add another $60M on top, which also doesn’t have to get shared with theaters. Sadly and expectedly, Disney has not released the numbers for their second weekend.

Without a China release, it’s unclear if Black Widow will manage to pass F9‘s total Box Office, which seems likely at around $700M. China’s Hi, Mom is currently the top grosser with $825M. Many factors have been influencing its growth, such as international markets fearing the rise in COVID’s delta variant and the return of harsher restrictions. The film has shown some commendable Monday to Thursday performances, which could be the film’s saving grace, as it topped $100M in record time domestically.

Disney+’s Premier Access also hurts the film’s legs if you consider that a one-time payment includes multiple viewings at your leisure. Why should one risk going to the theaters again if I can watch it from the comfort of my home? Plus, piracy is a growing issue with this approach to film releases. If Disney simply accepted the risk, they might be looking at a much stronger second weekend. Still, the lack of transparency after boasting the numbers may leave a sour taste and it’ll be interesting to see if Jungle Cruise follows the same drop once it releases later this month to have a direct comparison.

Source: Forbes (Space Jam), The Numbers (F9), Forbes (BW), Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, The Numbers (BW)

July 18, 2021
‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’: Zendaya Voicing Lola Bunny

Here’s an interesting surprise. It looks like the upcoming Space Jam sequel has recast the voice of Lola Bunny. Entertainment Weekly has unveiled that Spider-Man actress Zendaya will be the new voice for Lola Bunny. She is joining the LeBron James-led project that will introduce us to the Serververse of Warner Bros. The first trailer teased an all-star cast of iconic WB characters making an appearance. Director Malcolm D. Lee has been vocal about the fact that he wants to fully realize the character since he saw her portrayal in the first film in 2019. He gave the following statement during the Space Jam: A New Legacy cover story.

Lola was not politically correct. This is a kids’ movie, why is she in a crop top? It just felt unnecessary, but at the same time, there’s a long history of that in cartoons. We reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice. For us, it was, let’s ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others.

The way he describes the character makes Zendaya the perfect choice to tackle the character. She has been considered a leading voice of her generation with her work on Euphoria. She is taking over the role that Kath Soucie made iconic in the original 1996 film. Kristen Wiig gave the character a unique spin in The Looney Tunes Show, which was a personal favorite. We cannot wait to see the actress lend her voice and bring the character to life in the upcoming legacy sequel.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

April 3, 2021
First Look at ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Teases LeBron James’ Biggest Game Yet

Warner Bros. has quite the line-up planned for 2021. We will see the return of some iconic franchises. They recently released a new Tom and Jerry film, and Godzilla vs. Kong will release in the coming weeks. There is one more legacy franchise making a grand return, and that is Space Jam. The Looney Tunes are back in action with a new basketball star to help them defeat the latest threat in a game of basketball. LeBron James is joining the franchise that started with Michael Jordan back in 1997. After a long wait, we finally got our first look at the film in some new images and the film’s main story. It also finally teases who the enemy team will consist of, and it seems like we have Warner Bros. attempt at a basketball version of Avengers: Endgame.

Space Jam: A New Legacy LeBron James and Director Malcolm D. Lee on set

If you take a close look at the blurry background, you’ll notice some Warner Bros. icons hiding in the background. Entertainment Weekly also confirms that characters like Batman and King Kong will be courtside watching the biggest game of James‘ life. He will face the Goon Squad, which consists of a variety of powered-up pros. The story will see him play himself, as he and his onscreen son end up trapped in a strange digital world, where they meet a rogue artificial intelligence.

He is struggling to connect to his son, who ends up getting the attention of Don Cheadle‘s Al G Rhythm, who wants to obtain the king’s massive follower count. To find a way out of the virtual world, LeBron must gather the Looney Tunes to face the Goon Squad. So that he can accomplish this task, he will be traveling through various classic franchises, but they wouldn’t confirm which ones we can expect. They confirm that this isn’t a sequel but rather a brand new entry using the same template.

Source: Entertainment Weekly (Interview), Entertainment Weekly (Pictures)

March 4, 2021