Martin Scorsese admitted on Sunday, at Marrakech Intl. Film Festival, that he still watches many films, but now mostly at home. He says that he does miss the audience experience: “The cinema of the past hundred years has gone,” he said. “It’s changed."
Read moreDe Niro: ‘The Irishman' Will Be Released Theatrically; Confirms He Will Star With DiCaprio in Undisclosed Scorsese Project
Robert De Niro, speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival on Sunday, confirmed that Netflix will release Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman," set for release next year, "the way it should be, in a theater."
Read moreArgentine TV Uses Picture Of Apu to Announce Indian PM's Arrival at G20
Indian PM Narendra Modi arrived in Buenos Aires on Thursday to take part in the G20 summit. His arrival prompted a local Argentine news channel to use The Simpsons character Apu as a means to announce Modi's entrance. Argentinian channel Cronica TV immediately received backlash for their headline which read "Apu Arrives" as PM Modi reached Buenos Aires for the international summit.
Stemming from "The Simpsons," Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a convenience store owner and sports a heavy Indian accent. Apu has been the subject of much debate the last year, with "The Simpsons" going as far as completely scrapping the character from the show due to complaints that the character was reinforcing stereotypes of the Indian-American.
“This couldn’t be true, right?” Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu tweeted after seeing a report of the Apu image on Argentine TV. Kondabolu is an American stand-up comic, actor, filmmaker, and podcast host that directed a documentary called “The Problem with Apu,” which kick-started a campaign to deal with the cultural stereotype of The Simpsons character.
Neil deGrasse Tyson To Be Investigated After New Sexual Misconduct Allegations Emerge
This will never end. Harvey Weinstein was just the catalyst that was needed for all of this illicit behavior to come out wide into the open.
Read moreBFI Will No longer Fund Films Which Star Villains With Facial Scarring To “Remove Stigma Around Disfigurement"
Films that have facially-scarred villains will no longer be able to receive funding from the British Film Institute (BFI). This is part of a campaign to remove the stigma around disfigurement.
Ben Roberts, the BFI’s deputy CEO, announced the news yesterday by stating that “This campaign speaks directly to the criteria in the BFI diversity standards, which call for meaningful representations on screen. We fully support Changing Faces’s #IAmNotYourVillain campaign, and urge the rest of the film industry to do the same,” he went on to add that “film is a catalyst for change and that is why we are committing to not having negative representations depicted through scars or facial difference in the films we fund,” says Ben Roberts, the BFI’s deputy CEO.
The fun police strike again. I fear this generation is going to censor everything. However, this does beg me to ask the question: Are bald people next? All joking aside, I do hope people realize that the Joker is a villain not because he has facial scars, but because he's a terrorist.
Director Paul Schrader doesn't think Kevin Spacey should be punished for his art
Judging by what he just posted on Facebook, and has since deleted due to backlash, I don't think Paul Schrader gives a damn about Oscar consideration.
Read moreDespite Mixed Reviews, Can Bohemian Rhapsody Earn a Best Picture Nomination?
You can't escape the fact that "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been such an immense success with audiences nationwide. The Queen biopic has delivered great numbers at the box-office with close to$155M grossed domestically thus far -- cue in all the Hollywood execs greenlighting rock biopics left and right. Not to mention 'Rhapsody' garnering a rare A grade on CinemaScore and an astonishing 8.4 rating on IMDB (based on 127k votes).
Read moreNetflix Cancels Its Most Popular Marvel Shows (‘Daredevil' and ‘Luke Cage') As it Gears up for Streaming War Against Disney+
Marvel’s recent run on Netflix had an impressive array of popular shows like “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist,” “The Defenders,” and “The Punisher.” Had is the key word, as Netflix has already cancelled 4 of those 6 shows, and will probably ax the remaining two (“Jessica Jones” and “The Punisher”) in the coming months. There is no doubt in everybody's mind why Netflix would go through cancelling some of their most popular Marvel shows and that reason is quite simple: Disney+.
The upcoming Disney streaming service is bound to become an arch nemesis for Netflix. The cancellation of “Daredevil,” Netflix’s most popular Marvel show, will no doubt have fans raging, but chances are that the series will come back on Disney+ in 2019, a streaming site that is set to have all the Marvel, Lucasfilm, Disney and 20th Century Fox films (when that merger eventually happens.)
In news that had rocked the industry to its core, Disney announced late last year that it would, eventually, be pulling its movies from Netflix and start a new streaming service solely composed of the Disney content — past, present, and future — which actually is pretty gigantic and could easily fill any streaming service. Netflix decided that instead of Disney pulling the shows and embarrassing them, it is all about power after all with these billion-dollar companies, it would just cancel the shows.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that Disney+ would be would feature "new, original shows and movies, including original Marvel and Star Wars series" and the entire Disney back-catalog, which is a huge selling point for audiences.
Forget about Amazon Prime, Netflix has finally found its match, a true competitor to dethrone their crown. If there wasn't a legitimate streaming war, or anyone seriously contending for Netflix' crown, that is a thing of the past now because a battle between the mouse house and Netflix is inevitable. Let's get ready to rumble.
End Notes:
The 20th Century Fox back catalog, which Disney+ would receive once the deal is done includes TV shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Modern Family, This Is Us, The X-Files, Scandal, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Prison Break, American Dad, Glee, Empire, The Americans and much much more.
On the movie side of things, Disney would acquire franchises such as the X-Menmovies, Fantastic Four movies, Star Wars (the rights to the original and prequel trilogies),Deadpool series, Avatar series, Planet of the Apes series, Night at the Museum films, and the Home Alone films.
Lars Von Trier’s ‘The House That Jack Built’ makes more in one night than half of what ‘Nymphomaniac’ grossed overall
Lars Von Trier has built a solid cult fanbase since his 1984 debut "Element of Crime" and that was proven once again this week with the one-night-only debut of his first film in over 4 years. This Wednesday “The House That Jack Built,” a film which prompted hundreds of walkouts at Cannes this past May, amassed more than half the U.S. total gross of von Trier's previous film, “Nymphomaniac: Volume II.” All of this on its one-day-only preview engagement (showing on 140 screens).
Read moreTrailer for Alice Rohrwacher's Hypnotic and Surreal ‘Happy As Lazzaro’
I dug this film when I saw it this past May at Cannes. No surprise, Netflix picked it up and has launched a full-on awards campaign for Alice Rohrwacher's hypnotic, surreal and sensual "Happy As Lazzaro." The film won the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes, and its just-released trailer evokes everything I loved about it; moody atmosphere delivered through the mysteriously dreamy ambiguity of the narrative. The film takes a major detour in its second half, one which I will not reveal, but that's when the film really gets going and becomes damn-near Bressonian.
Read moreSundance 2019 Line-Up is Woke but Lacking in Big Names
The just-announced 2018 Sundance Film Festival slate has a competition slate that is 53% female (nine of the 17 directors). It looks like another progressive-minded festival edition is on tap again this year. I have no problem with that, especially if it means the same quality as last year's films, which was an abundance of riches that included stuff like "Eighth Grade," "Hereditary," "Leave No Trace," "Sorry to Bother You," "Won't You Be My Neighbor," "Mandy," "The Tale," "Wildlife," "Three Identical Strangers," "Private Life," "Tully," "The Guilty," "The Kindergarten Teacher," and "RBG." What a great edition.
Read moreNew York Film Critics Name Alfonso Cuaron's ‘Roma' Best Film of 2018
The New York Film Critics Circle has named Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" the Best Picture of 2018. Cuaron also nabbed the best director and Best Cinematography prizes for his film, which is a deeply personal portrait of his childhood in 1970s Mexico and a heartfelt tribute to the maid that raised him.
Read moreNew James Franco-Directed Film Discreetly Shown at Torino Film Festival Last Week; No American Media Coverage
The film "Pretenders," directed by James Franco and written by Josh Boone ("The New Mutants," "The Fault In Our Stars"), was apparently screened at the Torino Film Festival last week, but don't look for any information about it on a website that isn't Italian. Yes, it's rather odd, especially since since Franco and Boone are well-known and the cast of the film stars Franco, Juno Temple, Dennis Quaid, and Brian Cox.
My two cents on this is that the film had a low-key premiere in Italy to help build buzz despite theaccusations surrounding Franco. It was probably meant as a fall festival film first but the accusations made it practically impossible and difficult to get into TIFF and Telluride.
Film Critic David Edelstein Fired by NPR Over ‘Last Tango' Joke
A lot of writers have been very careful in their eulogy-writing about the death of legendary Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci. New York critic David Edelstein was not one of them. Edelstein jokingly stated, referring to the Marlon Brando-Maria Schneider anal sex scene from Last Tango in Paris, that “even grief is better with butter.”
Read moreRose Byrne Thinks It's Too Soon For A Louis C.K. Comeback
Louis C.K. has become a kind of taboo subject matter within the industry. People are torn as to whether or not he should do these unannounced comedy sets that he's been doing the last year or so, what with all the controversy that surrounds his past sexual behavior towards women. Does he deserve a comeback after admitting to sexual misconduct last year? Rose Byrne, who starred in the comedian's directing job "I Love You Daddy" has taken issue with the unannounced comedy sets.
Read moreTrailer for ‘Vox Lux' Reveals Brady Corbet's Beautiful, Dark and Twisted Nightmare of Fame
Neon is campaigning very hard for Natalie Portman to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar this year, her chances aren't very high given how polarizing nature of Brady Corbet’s "Vox Lux" is. The academy would no doubt put ahead of her stalwart performances such as Regina King's (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Claire Foy's (“First Man”), “The Favourite” duo Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz and Amy Adams as Lynn Cheney in "Vice."
Read moreSylvester Stallone Retires From Rocky Balboa Role
In a video posted this morning, which was shot during filming on the last day of “Creed II,” actor Sylvester Stallone revealed that he’s hanging up his gloves with “Creed II” serving as his final performance as Rocky Balboa. In the video he speaks with the the cast and crew of the film:
Read moreRachel Weisz Wants Journalists to Stop Asking Actresses What It’s Like to Work With Other Women
“The Favourite” actress Rachel Weisz attended the 2018 Gotham Awards, and she used her acceptance speech, for the film's Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance award, to send a message to the press:
“I hope one day in the not-so-distant future we don’t get asked what it was like to share the screen with other women,” Weisz said “Because I don’t think you ever ask men that. But I could be wrong.”
Does she really think her male colleagues are never asked what it’s like to work with this or that guy? I'm honestly dumbfounded by what she said.
‘Wrath of Khan' director wasn't impressed by Star Trek Into Darkness, found it “gimmicky"
"Star Trek Into Darkness" was met with glowing reviews back in 2013 but over time the film has become a letdown for many Trekkies who saw it as a gimmick rather than an evolving continuation of their beloved franchise. Indeed, 'Into Darkness' was a movie where you could tell the screenwriters had no idea what they actually wanted with the story. The film was a beautifully shot, well acted but abominably written film.
Read moreDoes the average ticket-buyer no longer want to pay for serious-minded adult dramas?
At this time of the year there usually are a few adult dramas succeeding at the box-office. October, November and December are supposed to be the months where serious-minded fare takes over mainstream cinema, where Oscar contenders get made. However, this year, a concerning trend has evolved, that of the film festival bomb. Most of the well-reviewed movies from this year's fall film festival circuit have landed with a thud at the domestic box-office. I'm thinking of "First Man," "Widows," "Green Book," "Boy Erased," "The Front Runner," "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," "Beautiful Boy," "Suspiria," all underperforming and being overshadowed by"Ralph Breaks the Internet," "Creed II," "Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch," "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," "Instant Family," "Bohemian Rhapsody," and "A Star Is Born," the latter two of which are the sole adult-dramas that have done very well for themselves.
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