Charles Bramesco
J.J. Abrams Wants Out of the Reboot/Remake/Re-Whatever Business
J.J. Abrams made his bed, stuffed it with money and gold bricks, but now he‘d rather not lie in it. The director has risen to the top of Hollywood’s most-wanted list in recent years as a serviceable conductor of franchise pictures; he did right by the Mission: Impossible series, then moved on to mount the massive Star Trek resurgence, and brought Star Wars back to the grateful people of Earth with Episode VII. But this whole money-in-the-bank reputation comes with its downsides. Speaking with People, Abrams indicated that he‘s had his fill of franchise pictures and would prefer to explore some original concepts in the years to come.
This Fan’s Chinese-Dialogue-Dubbed Edit of ‘Revenge of the Sith’ Is the Best ‘Star Wars’ Prequel
Among the many problems of Revenge of the Sith — Hayden Christensen’s hair, overly tidy plot resolution, a marked lack of Darth Maul — was the wooden dialogue. One fan, however, has found a workaround to the stilted conversations that the boy who would be Vader has with everyone in his orbit; Youtube user GratefulDeadpool re-dubbed the entirety of Episode III using an automated translation from the Mandarin bootleg, creating a word-salad edit of the film that makes even the most tedious moments into something surreal, entertaining, and occasionally hilarious.
Is Ben Affleck Trying to Distance Himself from ‘The Batman’?
Rough year for Ben Affleck, noted Jennifer Garner spouse and one-time star of Gigli. His big starring vehicle Batman v Superman made a whole lot of money but was critically reviled almost across the board, his latest directorial effort Live by Night got a quiet and unceremonious limited release that was buried in the holiday craziness, he was spotted sadly vaping in a car, and now a pall of uncertainty has been cast over his future. He’s confirmed for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Justice League crossover, but Affleck’s relationship with the Dark Knight’s cowl and cape may be getting a bit strained. In a new interview, Affleck indicated that what was once presumed to be set in stone is, in fact, still up for debate.
IMDb’s Top 10 Movies of 2016 List Is… Interesting, Let’s Just Put It That Way
The Internet Movie Database is a fount of helpful information. With a few simple clicks, users can learn who shot the Miley Cyrus vehicle So Undercover (Things to Come cinematographer Denis Lenoir), which sequel in the Hellraiser franchise featured a performance from a young Adam Scott (the fourth one), or how old Taraji P. Henson is (who looks that good at 46?!). As a repository for loose factoids from in and around the world of screen entertainment, it can’t be beat. As a source for critical perspectives on those same films, however... hoo boy. Just take a gander at any comment section for a movie’s page and marvel at the IMDb is the site where rabid anti-Ghostbusters zealots congregated to downvote Paul Feig’s movie into oblivion weeks before its actual release, and the newly-released IMDb Top 10 provides an even clearer view of its user base.
Jason Momoa Reveals New ‘Justice League’ Behind the Scenes Footage, Loves His Family
How much does Jason Momoa, hulking star of the upcoming Aquaman and eventual Justice League member, love his family? So much that he cut together an 8-minute video about his devotion and commitment to his beautiful children, and then ensured that millions of people would have to watch it by nestling some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the set of Justice League along with the golden-hued shots of his children playing in what appears to be the wheat field from Gladiator. The things we do for our kid
Slow-Motion Run, Don’t Walk, to the First ‘Baywatch’ Trailer
It has become increasingly apparent that the best thing a revival of a tired ‘80s pop-culture artifact can be is the neo-21 Jump Street, judging by the new trailer for the Dwayne Johnson-fronted Baywatch. The parallels are striking: we’ve got the central odd couple in the Rock’s bombastic beach hero and Zac Efron’s hard-partying young gun, light meta touches about “reviving the brand,” some playful winks to the core goofiness of the source material (the “why does she always look like she’s running in slow motion?” line may be the best of the clip), even a scene where our heroes are dressed down by a furious black cop. You may call it derivative, but I call it a good start.
James Gunn Wants You to Know He’s Worked Real Real Hard on ‘Guardians Vol. 2’
Dangerous business, making trailers these days. When a beloved franchise unveils the first look at its latest installment, they can be sure that the devoted fanbase will go through each and every frame with a fine-toothed comb, on the hunt for any context-free images that may hint at a new character, location, or plot development. In the worst cases, a trailer becomes a maddening game of keep away between the editor cutting it and the fans itching to strip-mine it for spoilers. James Gunn, as he’s readied the first trailer for his upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, has had to learn this the hard way.
Try to Make It Through the ‘Beware the Slenderman’ Trailer Without Freaking Out
Even for a case in which a 12-year-old girl gets stabbed nearly 20 times, it was particularly heinous: young Payton Leutner of Waukesha, Wisconsin was recovered bleeding out in the woods near a slumber party she had been attending in 2014. Her attackers were two of her good friends, fellow middle schoolers. What could have possessed a couple of innocent kids to suddenly turn psychopath without warning and leave their pal for dead in the middle of the night?
‘John Wick’ Director David Leitch Now Frontrunner for ‘Deadpool 2’
It’s been a rough week for the nascent Deadpool franchise. Last weekend, the original film’s director Tim Miller announced that he would not return to helm the planned sequel despite his fanbase’s widely held assumptions. Miller never signed any paperwork committing him to the project, and clarified his position on Saturday, citing creative differences with star Ryan Reynolds as the key reason for his abstaining. It left the producers in something of a bind, scrambling to lock down new talent before principal photography gets going early next year.
Superman Only Has 43 Lines of Dialogue in ‘Batman vs. Superman’
Superman hardly speaks at all in what is ostensibly his own film (only 452 total words, more than 200 less than Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Terminator 2’).
Man Arrested For Failing to Return VHS Copy of ‘Freddy Got Fingered’ 14 Years Ago
In precisely the sort of absurdist mix-up that sounds like something Tom Green would come up with, a North Carolina man has been arrested for failing to return a VHS copy of the Tom Green comedy Freddy Got Fingered 14 years ago. The Wrap relays the odd tale of James Meyers, the unfortunate soul that checked out a tape of the widely reviled but cult-beloved surrealist comedy at a video store in Kan
Michael Mann Launches Book Imprint, Will Release ‘Heat’ Prequel
Michael Mann has always been a skilled translator of prose to the screen, having adapted such literary standards as The Last of the Mohicans, Manhunter, and Collateral for moviegoers too cool to be bothered to crack open a book, because reading is for nerds...