I, quite honestly, can’t help but think that for most of the Spring I’ll have to sit back, at the comfort of my own home, and catch up with a bunch of gems from the ‘40s and ‘50s. With the exception of J.C. Chandor’s “Triple Frontier” (March 13th) and Jordan Peele’s “Us” (March 21st) I have absolutely no excitement for the slate of studio films coming out between now until the end of April. I mean, unless you’re pumped for “Captain Marvel” (March 7th), “Dumbo” (March 29th) and “Avengers: Endgame” (April 26th), this is going to be a very stale season for cinephiles until Cannes kicks off in May. Maybe I should just go to SXSW.
Paramount Cancels David Fincher's ‘World War Z’ Sequel
David Fincher’s sequel to the 2013 zombie flick “World War Z” has been cancelled, The Playlist reports
Paramount is halting pre-production on the sequel due to “budgetary issues.” The sequel was supposed to start shooting this spring in Atlanta. There are no efforts to revitalize the film, at least as of this moment. This means Fincher is free as a bird to pick his next project. He has already wrapped up the second season of his Netflix show “Mindhunter” but hasn’t released a feature-length feature since 2014’s “Gone Girl.”
Is Liam Neeson's Career Damned? Calls For Him to Be Digitally Removed From 'Men In Black' after Controversial comments
Martin Scorsese's “The Irishman" will arrive on Netflix in October, theaters in late September
Martin Scorsese's “The Irishman” will be coming to Netflix this October. That is, at least, what I was told by a member of the cast/crew at Sundance last week. And which has been all but confirmed by star Sebastian Maniscalco on the Joe Rogan podcast, this afternoon by saying "It's coming out in October."
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci will star in the gangster film, based on the book “I Hear You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt and tells the tale of gangster/assassin Frank 'The Irishman' Sheeran.
Liam Neeson: “I Am Not Racist”
On Monday morning, Liam Neeson admitted that 40 years ago, when he was in his mid to late 20s, he walked the streets of black neighborhoods with a weapon around 40 years ago, hoping to look for the black man that raped a female friend of his. “After [learning of the rape] there were some nights I went out deliberately into black areas in the city looking to be set upon so that I could unleash physical violence,” he said. “And I did it for maybe four or five times until I caught myself on, and it really shocked me, this primal urge I had. It shocked me, and it hurt me. I did seek help.”
Read moreAlfonso Cuaron wins the DGA for “Roma”; Well-Positioned to Win Second Best Director Oscar.
Alfonso Cuaron has won the DGA for “Roma.” This doesn’t necessarily mean his film is now the one to beat in terms of Best Picture odds, but it does position it quite well in the grander scheme of things, and as a natural adversary of current frontrunner “Green Book.” Cuaron beat out "A Star Is Born‘s Bradley Cooper, Green Book‘s Peter Farrelly, BlacKkKlansman‘s Spike Lee and Vice‘s Adam McKay. The latter is a film that has been unfairly shunned by critics, despite the industry’s liking of it. I believe McKay’s film will age like fine wine. McKay did get the award for Television directing for his excellent work in one of last year’s very best shows HBO’s “Succession.”
In other news, Bo Burnham won best first feature for “Eighth Grade” actually beating out Bradley Cooper and “A Star is Born.” INSANE.
Christopher Nolan's next movie will be released July 17th, 2020
Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be an IMAX event movie scheduled for summer 2020, July 17, 2020 to be exact. That’s according to a press release by the filmmaker earlier on Friday.
We know NOTHING else about the title or plot of the project. We don’t even know the genre he will be tackling, especially since Nolan went out of his comfort zone with his last film, 2017’s ‘Dunkirk,” which earned $526.9 million worldwide, and received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Nolan’s first Best Director nod.
Quentin Tarantino's ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ Has New Photos
The questions remains as to exactly what kind of film Quentin Tarantino is making with the upcoming "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood." The film will either be a) an absurdist revisionist genre film like 'Inglourious' and 'Django' or it'll be b) A film grounded in the dark, realist violence of "Reservoir Dogs," "Jackie Brown" and "Pulp Fiction." Something tells me it's the latter. QT has even mentioned that '‘Once Upon A Time’ is “probably the closest to ‘Pulp Fiction’ that I have done.”
Read more‘Breaking Bad' Movie Reported Cast List Includes Bryan Cranston, Jesse Plemons, Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks
A few months back we were one of the first sites to report that Vince Gilligan was going to shoot a “Breaking Bad” movie in New Mexico. However, there wasn't much to report beyond that, no plot details were mentioned. However, Bryan Cranston's Walter White died in the series finale and I had mentioned that, if a film were to be made, chances are it could revolve around Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman.
Read moreDirector Charles Burnett to Direct Amazon Slavery Drama
Charles Burnett is one of the great, unsung directors of the last 40 years. The fact that “Killer of Sheep” and “To Sleep With Anger” are two of the finest films ever directed by an African-American director is enough reason to celebrate this latest news.
Read moreThe Simpsons Nears Renewal for Seasons 31 & 32; Once Classic Show Continues to Gorge Itself.
“The Simpsons,” as it happens, is a textbook-perfect example of postmodern entertainment. A pastiche of pop culture sources and meta-commentary, it was originally conceived as a satire about the American family’s relationship to their televisions. Of course, The Simpsons has outlived the phenomenon of “television addiction” (thanks to the internet), but it was still one of the most – if not the most – relevant comedy of the 90s (only “Seinfeld” can claim to be in that same league). It has also been the subject of several academic articles and papers. The show’s artistic techniques have become canonical examples of postmodern television production. The show’s thematic resonance even inspired a book on the series’ relationship to philosophy. In The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’Oh! of Homer, several academics explored the show’s relation to classic and contemporary philosophy alike, proving the series’ lasting relevance Also, Mark Liberman, director of The Linguistic Data Consortium has stated that “The Simpsons has apparently taken over from Shakespeare and the Bible as our culture’s greatest source of idioms, catchphrases and sundry other textual allusions”. There are many other substantial reasons why The Simpsons will always be better, more important, and more iconic than Family Guy.
Read moreBryan Singer Denies Allegations Against Him In Atlantic Report, Decries “Homophobia"
Director Bryan Singer has responded to an exposé report published by The Atlantic today, which deduced, from multiple sources, that the “Bohemian Rhapsody” director had sex with underage boys and that he fondle a 13-year-old child on the set of a movie.
Read moreJames Gandolfini's Son, Michael Gandolfini, Will Play Tony Soprano Role in Upcoming ‘Sopranos’ Prequel Film at HBO
The Sopranos creator David Chase has found his Tony Soprano and it is none other than Michael Gandolfini, son of the late great James Gandolfini who originally played the part for six seasons on HBO’s The Sopranos.
Read moreSNL Writer Offers Oral Sex For Anyone That is Willing to Punch A Covington MAGA Kid
One of the stranger reactions to the whole viral video controversy, which arouse this past weekend next to the Lincoln Memorial, was that of Saturday Night Live comedy writer Sarah Beattie offering oral sex to anyone who was willing to punch a Covington High child in the face.
Read moreSpike Lee Scores His First Oscar Nomination Ever for Best Director
Spike Lee's “Do The Right Thing” was the most powerful cinematic experience I ever had in my lifetime. In fact, it still is socially relevant and shocking to this day. His take on race relations in America is as scathing as its ever been.
Read moreBrad Bird Says Fired Pixar Boss John Lasseter Should Not Be Compared to Harvey Weinstein
Here's a refresher course in case you're not entirely familiar with the John Lasseter story.
Last year, THR detailed Pixar‘s Lasseter taking a leave of absence for behavior for which their source qualified as “missteps” but which also left the staff Lasseter was working with feeling “disrespected or uncomfortable.” When more details came to fruition, it turned out that Lasseter was accused of “grabbing, kissing, making comments about physical attributes” towards women, "to the extent that employees created a move known as “the Lasseter” to avoid having him touch their legs." Actress Rashida Jones, a credited writer on the upcoming “Toy Story 4,” left the project due to “creative differences” which also turned out to having to do with Lasseter's aforementioned "missteps." Lasseter eventually stepped down from the company.
Read moreJudd Apatow says “sometimes your humanity is more important” than crossing the line and telling a politically incorrect joke
What is going on with Judd Apatow these days that he needs to so vehemently declare his support of #MeToo any chance he gets? Don’t mistake me for being anything but supportive of the movement, but Apatow seems to have been injected with some Me-Too steroids, he’s ready to go to war for it any chance he gets. With all the grandstanding that the Writer-Director has done, you start to realize that guys like Apatow, who over-virtue signal, are often hiding something. Hell, the guy even lashed out at poor Diane Keaton a few months back for, shock, supporting Woody Allen’s case against the Farrows. "I see a man who wanted what he wanted and didn’t care that he was having an affair with a 19-year-old when he was 54 who was also his daughter’s sister," tweeted Apatow back in January of 2018.
Read moreDirector Paul Feig Defends His Movie and Leslie Jones' Reaction to New Ghostbusters Reboot
Because we’re getting a new Jason Reitman-directed “Ghostbusters” that will completely ignore director Paul Feig’s all-female cast, there will no doubt be contentious, but unnecessary, debate as to whether or not it is a warranted path for Sony to jump into. I won’t delve into the nitty-gritty, but will mention that Leslie Jones, who starred in Feig’s 2016 film, was none too happy hearing the news this weekend, tweeting that it wa sunfair to ignore the 2016 edition and that it reminded her of something Donald Trump would do. Whatever that meant.
Read moreTerrence Malick Shot His WWII Epic “Radegund” Almost Three Years Ago, It Still Hasn't Been Released.
The Independent had ran with a story last fall that we could expect Terrence Malick's “Radegund” to premiere either at Toronto or Venice. That didn't happen. Neither did Berlin, which announced its program a few weeks ago, so what's the deal? Is Cannes going to be the place we see Malick's latest opus? “Radegund” follows the real-life story of Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, who, famously, was a conscientious objector and refused to fight for the Nazis during World War II.
Read moreThe Guardian asks “Is Standup Comedy Dead?"
I wrote a similarly topical article last month,"The 2010s: A Decade When Comedy Lost Its Mojo, which laid the ground for a potential comedic doomsday, which we're quite clearly headed at if the "era of outrage" continues:"Comedians like to push and push and push until that very fine line of what is deemed acceptable and unacceptable is somewhat squeezed to its very limit. As George Carlin once said, “It’s a comedian’s duty to find the line and deliberately cross over it.” That, to me at least, is what some of the very best comedy can do. Regardless of the situation that we find ourselves in today when it comes to what can and cannot be said, which has its pros and its cons, we need to be grateful that a movie such as Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" was considered fine to exist in multiplexes, albeit more than 10 years ago.The release of the comedy classic happening the same year President Obama got elected as the 44th President of the United States. And so, this was before Obama would amplify into the mainstream the idea of identity politics and further promote the acceptance and meaning of such terms as "white privilege," woke," "the patriarchy," "victim-blaming" ... you get my point."