“Black Panther” overtakes “The Avengers” to become the highest-grossing superhero film in domestic box office history ($630.9 million) and the #5 highest grossing domestic movie of all time

The "Panther" keeps boomin'. Ryan Coogler's groundbreaker has just surpassed “The Avengers,” to become the highest-grossing superhero film in domestic box office history. Its total $630.9 million now makes it the #5 highest grossing domestic movie of all time. We are expecting the film to probably surpass “Jurassic World” and “Titanic” at #4 and #3, respectively in the coming weeks.  Can it surpass "Avatar" we're not too sure about that, but it seems like#3 domestically is a no-brainer. Groundbreaking indeed.

1. Pacific Rim: Uprising — $28M 

2. Black Panther — $16.7M ($630.9M Overall)

3. I Can Only Imagine — $13.7M 

4. Sherlock Gnomes — $10.3M 

5. Tomb Raider — $10M 

6. A Wrinkle in Time — $8.1M

7. Love, Simon — $7.9M 

8. Paul, Apostle of Christ — $4.95M 

9. Midnight Sun — $4.2M 

10. Game Night — $4.1M 
    

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens —$936.6M

2. Avatar —$760.5M

3. Titanic —$659.3M

4. Jurassic World —$652.2M.

5. Black Panther —$630.9M

6. The Avengers —$623M

7. Star Wars: The Last Jedi —$619M

Simon Pegg says “Star Trek 4" Script Was Written Before Quentin Tarantino Was Involved

Star Trek star and co-writer of Star Trek Beyond Simon Pegg spoke to Geek.com, and said that Star Trek 4’s screenplay existed way before Quentin Tarantino showed interest: “There’s a script that’s been written,” Pegg revealed, “and there’s also the story of Quentin Tarantino coming and chatting with JJ about an idea that he’s had for a long time. That idea is going into the writer’s room to be looked at.”

After the massive disappointment of beyond it would take a Tarantino to kickstart the series back on track again: “I think it might take something like him to restart it,” Pegg says. “It’s an interesting proposition, although I don’t know if that means everybody will be blowing each other’s heads off with phasers and calling Klingons mother f*****s, but, who knows, that could be fun.”

Pegg had mentioned last week the idea of an R-Rated QT screenplay: “I don’t think he’s written an R-rated Star Trek script,” Pegg told Hey U Guys at the Empire Awards. “I think what happened is he went to JJ with an idea that he has had for a while. I remember he told us about it a long time ago. I think he told me and Edgar [Wright] about it a long time ago. He just put it to JJ and JJ is considering putting it into a writing room. We got an email just saying ‘Guess who came into the office the other day!’ So, I don’t know much about it, other than the fact that it is sort of in the mix. So, we will see.”

“Paramount originally announced Star Trek 4 just prior to the theatrical release of Star Trek Beyond. The announcement suggested that the film would bring back Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk, Captain James Kirk’s father, who died in the opening moments of the first Star Trek reboot movie in 2009. Star Trek Beyond’s disappointing returns caused Paramount to lose confidence in the franchise and put it on pause. 

Hemsworth hasn’t heard anything about the movie since then."

[Comic Book]

Cannes officially bans Netflix movies from competition

It didn’t take much time for the screening of Bong Joon Ho‘s “Okja” to create a stir last may at Cannes. Booing happened for the reason we all thought it would: the Netflix logo appearing on the screen. Noah Baumbach‘s Netflix produced “The Meyerowitz Stories” premiered two days later and was booed again. The hate was due to the streaming company refusing to play by the rules of the French movie system, which says that every movie playing competition at Cannes has to be released theatrically. Of course, as we know, Netflix doesn't release its films in movie theaters. It’s an issue that has caused so much controversy in the French movie industry, that Cannes effectively barred Netflix from having any films premiering in competition.

Cannes head Thierry Fremaux hasn't really given his full thoughts on the ban until now, promoting the upcoming festival, which this year will take place from May 7th to the 18th, Fremaux insists that any possible admission for a Netflix-produced film would have to come with a theatrical release:

 “The Netflix people loved the red carpet and would like to be present with other films. But they understand that the intransigence of their own model is now the opposite of ours,” Fremaux said.

Netflix, or any streaming service, can still show their films out of competition, but the actual competition? fuggedaboudit. That and today's newly added "selfie ban," have been met with mixed reaction stateside. Over in France, filmmakers and unions were enthused with the Netflix ban as they had heavily protested the inclusions of 'Okja," and "The Meyerowitz Stories" at last year's festival. 

Fremaux goes on to mention his decision last year to include the two aforementioned films in competition as a "risk" he took, and that it was because he didn't want the festival to become "stagnant." Whatever that means. Also, the fact that both films were from well-respected auteurs (Baumbach and Joon-Ho) probably didn't hurt either. Still he admits to his "error" and says that he truly thought Netflix would "bend the rules" and give in by playing both films theatrically:

 “Last year, when we selected these two films, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in cinemas. I was presumptuous, they refused. We have to take into account the existence of these powerful new players: Amazon, Netflix and maybe soon Apple. Cinema [still] triumphs everywhere even in this golden age of series,” he said. “The history of cinema and the history of the internet are two different things.”

Netflix probably doesn't care about any of this, and, most likely, are having a chuckle or two about it. Truth be told, the average Netflix viewer doesn't really care if a film competed for the Palme D'or. After all, if you look at the numbers, Adam Sandler movies and the critically panned "Bright" are what's racking in the dough for them, not "Okja" or "Mudbound." We know where all of this is heading though, cinema that is, the walls will eventually close in, the algorithms will prevai,l and the definition of "cinema" will be too blurry to decipher . After all, Martin Scorsese's next movie "The Irishman," starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, will premiere on Netflix. The compelte shift is inevitable.

Disney removes laser blasters from “Solo: A Star Wars Story” posters

If you know your “Star Wars,” and its freewheeling character Han Solo, you know the “Han shot first” slogan coined after George Lucas re-edited and created the “Star Wars” Special Editions much to the chagrin of millions of fan. It’s led to a bunch of memes and hilarious, sometimes angry, conversations, about whether Han shot Greedo first in the cantina or not. Obviously, Han shot first, but Lucas sanitized the scene in the Special Editions and made it appear as the smuggler fired back in self-defense. Well, a new blaster-centric controversy has begun around the latest “Solo: A Star Wars Story” posters and it’ll make you wonder if Han shot at all.

The newly released ‘Solo’ posters have erased an important object off of its pages. The new posters look the same, but the main difference is that there are no more blasters in each of the character’s hands.  The erasure of the blasters is no doubt related to the recent tragic, high school shooting in Parkland, Florida and, ever since then, the intensified gun debate in the United States which culminated with a nationwide march this past weekend. 
Han just looks lost without it. The photoshopping looks terrible. Disney has not yet confirmed or denied the reason for the disappearance of the blasters, but the reasoning seems quite clear. They are understandably playing it safe here. The first pulpy character posters for “Solo” debuted in February, to near acclaim for their retro aesthetic, which was beautifully rendered by Artist Hachim Bahous (until the posters were marred in controversy about plagiarism anyhow). The posters were one of the few things fans could overwhelmingly agree about the upcoming “Solo” movie which has been plagued by reshoots, the firing of its original directors and the mid-shoot addition of an acting coach for its lead star Alden Ehrenreich.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” will be released on May 25th.

Best consecutive great movie streak a director has ever had? Stanley Kubrick 1962-1980 (Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining)

Jeffrey Wells had a fun way of wasting time the other day over at HE. The finest 3-4 consecutive "great" movie streaks from directors. I mean, in all honesty, the game is an absolutely empty exercise in comparing art, which is sacrilege to many, alas I gave in and it is absolutely impossible to find a director that had more than 5 "indisputably great" movies in a row, only Kubrick's done it, in my books at least. Coppola came close. So did Allen. 

Francis Coppola: 
The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now

Stanley Kubrick: 
Lolita,  Dr. Strangelove, 2001,  A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining.

Alfred Hitchcock:
Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho and The Birds

Martin Scorsese:
Raging Bull, The King of Comedy and After Hours

Joel Coen:
Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink

Frederico Fellini:
Nights of Caribia, La Dolce Vita, and 8 1/2

Woody Allen:
Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters and Radio Days

Billy Wilder:
Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like it Hot and The Apartment

Paul Thomas Anderson: 
Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will be Blood, and The Master

Steven Soderbergh: 
Out of Sight, The Limey, Eric Brockovich, Traffic and Ocean's Eleven

Quentin Tarantino: 
Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown

Terrence Malick: 
Badlands, Days of Heaven, and  The Thin Red Line 

Charlie Chaplin: 
City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator

Steven Spielberg: 
Saving Private Ryan, A.I, Minority Report, and Catch Me if You Can

Steven Spielberg: Netflix Movies and Streaming Services ‘Deserve an Emmy, but Not an Oscar’

Steven Spielberg wants you to know that he doesn't believe Netflix movies should qualify for Oscars. Instead, he believes that Netflix and other streaming services that produce movies should opt for Emmys because they are "TV Movies.

At least that's what the venerable director said during an interview with ITV News while promoting “Ready Player One” (via Business Insider).

“I don’t believe that films that are just given token qualifications, in a couple of theaters for less than a week, should qualify for the Academy Award nominations,” Spielberg said.

“Fewer and fewer filmmakers are going to struggle to raise money, or to compete at Sundance and possibly get one of the specialty labels to release their films theatrically,” he continued. “And more of them are going to let the SVOD [Streaming Video On-Demand] businesses finance their films, maybe with the promise of a slight, one-week theatrical window to qualify for awards But, in fact, once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie.”

What exactly do these sentiments amount to? Nothing more than petty, elitist, nonsense. Theatrical releases are about connections, money, but don't have that many differences when it comes Netflix or Amazon flicks. In essence, his entire argument is that these streaming services are making it too easy for these new filmmakers to gain exposure. As I said, elitist thinking.

Spielberg, despite the 71 years of age, is no slouch when it comes to being ahead of the curve, he's been an innovator throughout his 4+ decade moviemaking career, however, the times may have caught up with him as he is on the wrong side of the argument here. 

We have seen more and more filmmakers, mostly old-timers, saying that a film must be theatrical to be deemed a "movie," there was already an argument late last year when "Twin Peaks: The Return" was popping on all these critics ten best lists and people were saying "It's not a movie!"

Drew Barrymore says Adam Sandler is a more talented actor than Jake Gyllenhaal

Barrymore appeared on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” where she was forced to play a game entitled: Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts, a kind of rancid take on truth-or-dare in which guests have the choice of either answering an embarrassing question or eating something disgusting. 

Barrymore had to choose between ranking the talents of Adam Sandler, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Hugh Grant or eating a turkey testicle shake; She chose the former, of course. That's not what was surprising, what most surprised us was the fact that she ranked Sandler as the most talented actor. I mean, we know Sandler can act ("Punch-Drunk Love," "The Meyerowitz Stories," "The Wedding Singer," "Funny People," "Reign Over Me") but this comment will certainly draw major ire towards Barrymore.

“When I run into him next time, I’ll be like, ‘Dude, it was selling you down the river or eating turkey’s balls,'” she said of Gyllenhaal. “And by the way, I don’t even care if he hates me…I’m literally doing this because I won’t make it. I’m gonna puke all over the place. I’ll say Adam, Hugh, Jake. I’m sorry, Jake!”

Cate Blanchett breaks her silence on Woody Allen allegations: “Social media is ‘not the judge and jury”

We've been covering the Woody Allen saga left and right ever since Dylan Farrow's sexual abuse allegations against her 82-year-old father were reignited courtesy of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements late last year. Mia Farrow and her kids Ronan and Dylan have vehemently stayed true to their convictions, even as Alec Baldwin was condemning them as basically liars earlier this month,  and that has no doubt raised a spark akin to a domino effect in the industry with Ellen Page, Greta Gerwig, Rebecca Hall, and Timothée Chalamet all expressing remorse in having worked with the director in the past. Allen's reputation has taken a major hit that will no doubt have Amazon wondering what their next move should be in regards to that nice, big contract Allen signed with them a few years back. Will they change their tune on the director? Who knows.

Stéphane Célérier, who is the head of Mars Films, which is France’s longtime distributor for Woody Allen’s movies, vehemently defended the director in an editorial for the French weekly news magazine Le Point.

“I have been shocked by the wave of hate provoked by the Woody Allen affair, particularly in the United States and on the social networks, and by the lack of rigor by certain media outlets and the pack which condemns without looking into the full facts,”Célérier wrote.“That is the approach I have decided to take. Simply to get to the bottom of the truth, to understand whether I’ve been working closely with a pedophile all these years.”

“This affair makes me think of the case of the Witches of Salem which Arthur Miller used so expertly in his play [‘The Crucible‘] as an allegory for McCarthyism,” wrote Célérier.

“It seems clear to me that Woody Allen should not be classified in the same category as the sexual predators recently denounced by Hollywood and end his days as a pariah whose work should be burned.”

I posted a rant on Facebook a few months ago now:

"Disgusting, bullshit...McCarthyism...people crumbling and turning out of fear...mass public shaming....this is a disgraceful moment. Will Woody get hounded out of moviemaking? I don't know. I hope not. That would honestly crush my heart. I mean, I feel there are European financiers that would fund him. People know that Mia is a brainwasher who abused her kids. But they CAN'T SAY THAT Because that would be BLAMING THE VICTIM. I think we are fucked. The more times Trump does something like "shithole"...all white males pay. You can protest Trump 24 hours a day...you will still pay."

It's complicated today, impossible even, to stand-up for Woody Allen’s innocence. Now Cate Blanchett has had to chime in as she was a guest on CNN’s “Amanpour,” where the host, Christiane Amanpour asked her about Woody.

“How do you juxtapose being a #MeToo proponent, a Time’s Up proponent, and staying silent or having worked with Woody Allen?” Amanpour asked.

“I don’t think I’ve stayed silent at all. At the time that I worked with Woody Allen, I knew nothing of the allegations,” Blanchett responded. “At the time, I said it’s a very painful and complicated situation for the family, which I hope they have the ability to resolve.”

“If these allegations need to be reexamined which, in my understanding, they’ve been through court, then I’m a big believer in the justice system and setting legal precedents. If the case needs to be reopened, I am absolutely, wholeheartedly in support of that.”

“Social media is fantastic about raising the awareness of issues, but it’s not the judge and jury,” said the actress. “I feel that these things need to go into court, so if these abuses have happened, the person is prosecuted and so someone who is not in the shiny industry that I am can use that legal precedent to protect themselves. Always, in my industry or any other industry, they’re preyed upon because they’re vulnerable.”

Something tells me this is a a defense of Woody. The politically correct way to defend him. I'm sure Blanchett would like to say a few more things, but given the Robespierre mobs on social media, she can't. 

From HE:

The Vulture guys ran a real Robespierre headline a couple of hours ago, to wit:

“Blanchett Says She Didn’t Know About Allegations Against Woody Allen Before Blue Jasmine.” That is not the gist of what she said to Amanpour, assholes. That is a fragment of what she said. This is one of most full-of-shit, deliberately misleading headlines I’ve read in a long while. The author of the Vulture story is Hunter Harris.

Cate Blanchett on the Woody Allen case: "If these allegations need to be re examined, that in my understanding they've been through court, then I'm wholeheartedly in the support of that. Social media's fantastic about raising awareness about issues but it's not the judge in jury" pic.twitter.com/18tn7UnQg0

— dani⛧ (@TowerwhiteDani) March 21, 2018

Roger Ebert called 1998 shot-by-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” pointless and invaluable

Fifty-eight years ago Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" would change cinema forever. 38 years later, a shot-by-shot remake helmed by Gus Van Sant would be the whipping boy of the critical community.

When deciding to take on this remake, Van Sant insisted that the film be untouched, a few small lines thrown here and there to modernize some things (“let me get my Walkman”). Even weirder, the score by Danny Elfman was note-for-note the same as the Bernard Hermann original. So what went wrong? Just about everything.

The fact that Van Sant decided to make his film both an homage and a duplicate was the mistake.  "Psycho," despite being a timeless cinematic endeavor, could not be modernized, it's a product of its time. The addition of color was blasphemous, the black and white in the original is such an important tool for Hitchcock, with its usage of shadow and light bringing more vulnerability and creepiness to the surroundings.  If Van Sant would have resorted to the basic tech that was available back in 1960, the cameras, the lighting, no-color, maybe his film would have been more interesting. Take for example the lighting in the bathroom scene, which was "white space," a flood of light in the ceiling that renders it almost laughable. 

Another major issue: The casting. Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche as Norman and Marion. Viggo Mortensen played the boyfriend, Sam and Julianne Moore as Marion’s sister Lila. William H Macy was also Arborgast. Great talent, but miserable casting. If Van Sant tried to approach the material in a way that was similar to the original, the actors decided to do the reverse. They tried to interpret their characters in new ways. This contradicted with the whole point of the film, which was that it was meant to be a duplicate, the actors thought of it as an homage.

Vaughn had none of Perkins' charm, Heche’s Marion wasn't as likable in the least bit. Norman's innocence was turned into a sex-obsessed nightmarish figure that masturbated to Marion undressing through a peephole. Why give away that he's a creep when Hitchcock only revealed him as the antagonist at the end of his film?

20 years after its release, Van Sant's intentions still seem blurry. The problem of duplicate vs homage left the remake with no identity whatsoever. All it reminded us was just how great the original was.

Roger Ebert famously said the 1998 shot-by-shot remake was pointless and invaluable, as it demonstrated that "genius apparently resides between or beneath the shots, or in chemistry that cannot be timed or counted." Well said.

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Roger Ebert

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“Deadpool 2" Trailer: It’s Reynolds vs Brolin

“Deadpool 2" will most likely kill it at the summer box-office. There’s no way it doesn’t, even with an R rating stamped on its poster.

Tim Miller, director of the original, left the project due to “mutual creative differences” with actor/producer Ryan Reynolds. Trust-worthy reports had Miller wanting style and Reynolds a more thorough focus on comedy. They didn't compute. Miller left. Enter stunt choreographer extraordinaire David Leitch, who did wonders with Keanu on those "John Wick" films. The transition wasn't, as Zohan would say, "silky smooth," reshoots happened, but yesterday we reported excellent test screening scores that were actually better than those given to the original.

This latest trailer for “Deadpool 2" is the most detailed about the plot thus far. It works. I had some reservation about the original, but still liked it, this looks to be around the same kind of joint, maybe with better action and stunts because, you know, David Leitch.

Chris Evans Says He’s Done Playing Captain America For Marvel After “Avenger 4"

We know a lot is going to change for Marvel's cinematic universe, with the upcoming two ‘Avengers’ films basically signaling the end of an era. However, we didn't expect Chris Evans to blatantly just say it: This is his last hurrah as Captain America.

Doing press and speaking to The New York Times in a new interview, Evans basically said this is it for him “You want to get off the train before they push you off,” he said. The report says Evans “expects that planned reshoots in the fall will mark the end of his tenure in the familiar red, white and blue super suit.”

Cap was the heart and soul of the MCU, who will take over? Black Panther? Spidey? Captain Marvel? Evans' Captain America stole Iron Man's thunder and quickly became the go-to-hero for the Marvel movies. It helps that "The Winter Soldier" and "Civil War" were two of the very best movies of the universe, maybe the two best alongside 2008's "Iron Man."

First Poster - David Robert Mitchell’s “Under The Silver Lake” | Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, Topher Grace

Henry Cavill Makes Fun Of Justice League CGI moustache removal

I mean, at this point, you might as well be a good sport about it. It was a hilarious situation that Cavill found himself in back at the end of last year when he had to sport a mustache for Mission: Impossible - Fallout but also had to return on-set of "Justice League" for reshoots.

The very idea of them digitally removing Henry Cavill's mouth brow was a running joke for many fans and, surprise surpise, a major qualm for the many more that saw "Justice League." If you look closely you can definitely see the CGI erasement, of course, one can just let go and, you know, watch the film instead of focusing on Cavill's upper lip, but it turned out to be quite the distraction for many.



Over on Reddit, the VFX artist in charge of Cavill's mustache said the WB offered Paramount the option to digitally create a CGI mustache for the Mission: Impossible film, in return for Cavill to shave the damn thing. It was obviuously a pain and very complex process to digitally remove the mustache, but Paramount didn't budge, they said Cavill keeps the lip rug:

“A mix – to some people it’s a cool little project to get stuck in to and another problem to solve, which is what a lot of VFX is about. Challenging. To me, as a fan, I was annoyed haha Paramount should’ve shaved him and stuck a fake one on for MI6. Ridiculously petty of them. We did tests on already shot footage of Superman to add a beard as well to show the MI6 team at Paramount it was loads easier, and Warner Bros offered to pay for all the beard adding shots in MI6. They said no.”

How important could the dirty Sanchez Cavill was sporting be for the plot of "Mission: Impossible 6"? We won't really know until the film is released next summer, but suffice to say it was important enough that the WB had to go through a digital removal of it and be the butt of jokes of many film fans.

The results are, quite frankly, frightening

In “The Truman Show,” Truman’s neighbor is holding up trash can in a specific position to get a nice shot of Truman sitting in the car.

Frank Oz Says Yoda Needs To Be CGI IF Potential Spinoff Movie Happens

Frank Oz, the man behind Yoda, came back to the franchise with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” in what was a secret cameo.

Interviewed by IGN, Oz spoke about the cameo and how it happened:

“Several years ago I had lunch with Rian [Johnson], and Rian asked if I could do Yoda in the next ‘Star Wars,’ and I said ‘Sure,’ because I thought it was just CGI. And then [Lucasfilm president] Kathy Kennedy, who I’ve known for quite a while, who’s fantastic, she called me about it and then I realized that it wasn’t CGI, that it was actually the character,” Oz said.

I personally love puppet Yoda much better than CGI, both have their strengths, but Oz does admit it's much tougher to work with the puppet than the computer effects-driven version:

“I said, ‘Kathy, do you have any idea what’s going to happen here? This is tough!’ and she said ‘That’s okay, let’s do it.’ So, you know, the workshop made him and everything, and did a fantastic job,” Oz continued.

They also had to keep the cameo a total surprise, which meant Oz had to pretend he wasn't part of the movie on the Disney lot:

“I was told that that was going to be the surprise of the movie, so when I went to Pinewood I had to be a secret there. Although if people saw me… people DID see me, but if they questioned me it would have been fine because I shot ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ … there, and could have just said I had some meetings for movies. But the idea was to keep me off the credits. I was asked, ‘Could you have your name off the poster?’ and I said ‘Sure.’ So the idea was that that would be the surprise.”

As for a possible Yoda spinoff movie, he doesn't know anything about that but it sure as hell won't be a puppet movie:

“Believe me. That’s way too difficult for me. I rehearse a long time just to do one line of dialogue [as a puppeteer]. It would have to be [CGI], yeah. It would have to be. It’s far, far too difficult because I’m doing it with three other people. So it’s four people and you can’t just wing it. You’ve got to study every single word with four people.”

“Justice League” Ends Officially Lowest-Grossing DC Universe Film Worldwide As Petition for Snyder Cut Intensifies with more than 175k Signatures

Oh, “Justice League.” The Blu-Ray is about to be released, whcih means its theatrical run is all but done-zo. The final tally? $657.9 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film at the box office out of five DC films. We are told the film will not turn a profit, but migth after home video sales. Yikes. 

The film had a budget of $300 million. Marketing usually costs upwards of $100+ Million, and theates usually take half of ticket sales, yeah, not fun for WB. The fact that "Justice League was supposed to be "The Avengers" of the DCEU, which means its most profitable movie makes this sting even more, after all "Wonder-Woman," Batman," Superman," were all in this movie together.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” $874 million 
“Wonder Woman’s” $822 million 
“Suicide Squad” $747 million 
“Man of Steel” $668 million. 
"Justice League" $657 million

We all know of the crazy reshoots the WB/DC were doing on “Justice League” for its November release and it seemed like they were axing Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor from the project entirely. The “Justice League” reshoots have been a source of controversy for the WB, who had to contend with Zack Snyder leaving post-production for personal reasons, later claimed that he was also fired beforehand, and Joss Whedon (“The Avengers“) taking his place to finish the movie. Whedon went on to service a remolding of the film, with the aforementioned reshoots, after WB execs reportedly deemed a rumored first cut unwatchable. That is if you believe the swirling and rampant rumors in the first place.

Fans are rallying behind an online petition demanding Zack Snyder’s original director’s cut. The film’s cinematographer has also added his voice to the mix, hoping to see Snyder’s fully realized film. The petition creator is now claiming "victory." Of course, take this with a grain of salt. This is super cryptic and the commenters on the petition are calling him on being vague. Could be he’s claiming victory because they hit 175 K signatures. Could be he’s heard something. Who knows. But it's no secret that a Zack Snyder director's cut would make sense.

To shoot UNSANE, Steven Soderbergh used three iPhone 7 Plus phones, with three Moment lenses (18mm, 60mm, a fisheye) and the $15 FiLMiC Pro app. “I think this is the future,” he said.

Fresh off her triumphant turn as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Crown," Claire Foy is about to take cinema by storm. This fall Foy will star in Damien Chazelle's "First Man," and she is also set to play Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl in the Spider's Web." In the meantime, she stars in the Steven Soderbergh-helmed iPhone movie "Unsane." That's right, Soderbergh shot his psychological thriller on an iPhone, Sean Baker-Style. The film has Foy's Sawyer Valentin involuntarily committed into an insane asylum, she seems to think it's a mistake and pleads for her case, to no avail. Soderbergh, un-retired last year with the light, entertaining "Logan Lucky," has this latest endeavor taking him on a darker path.

The movie “Unsane” most resembles in terms of story is obviously Sam Fuller’s “Shock Corridor.” However, everything else about the newly un-retired writer-director’s latest film feels modern and of its era. Foy's Valentin, God I love this actress, plays a smart, highly successful, blunt-speaking data analyst whose mounting paranoia about being stalked by a family friend has had her on edge for years.

Hell, she's even moved to Pennsvlvania from Boston, but he finds her there. She refuses to tell her mom (as played by Amy Irving) about the creep, but soon finds counseling at the Highland Creek Behavioral Center, where, in what should have been a healthy vent of bottled frustrations, she admits to having had suicidal thoughts. She involuntarily signs her way to being committed for 24 hours, which is then extended for a week when her violent protests make deem her too mentally fragile to reenter society. And so, Sawyer's fight against this repressive system, which has the psychiatric hospital holding patients until their health insurance runs out, welcome to America, is filled with beautifully developed hallway shots and an eerie uncompromising claustrophobia that holds the viewer to a grip for its first 70 minutes. 

It doesn't help that a violent patient (Juno Temple) has taken a disliking to Valentin inside the facility, but our heroine does find comfort in smooth-as-ice Nate (Jay Pharoah), a patient that clearly knows a thing or two about the corrupt system he's been framed in. Every scene Pharoah's in shimmers with energy, known for a 7 year stint on SNL between 2010 and 2016, the actor's chemistry with Foy here is palpable and almost, dare I say it, erotic. 

Things get tense when Valentin soon realizes that male nurse George is actually her stalker David Strine (Joshua Leonard). She tells the doctors and nurses there, but they don't believe her, they just think she's a loon and send her down to solitary confinement after she punches George.

The "Shock Corridor" comparisons have to do with the fairly pulpy, claustrophobic story of institutional oppression. Just like Sam Fuller's classic, this is a messy, unnerving, sometime shocking, psychological affair. 

The screenplay by James Greer and Jonathan Bernstein isn't anything special, it encompasses familiar genre tropes that will not make this a Soderbergh essential by any stretch of the imagination. The film does fly off the rails in its last 20 or so minutes, but it's Foy and Soderbergh that carry it down to the finish line with the kind of director/actress partnership that's all too rare these days.

Soderbergh is once again his director of photography here under pseudonym Peter Andrews, (and as his own editor, using the pseudonym Mary Ann Bernard), and he really does serve us a masterclass of how to use the iphone camera in ways we never thought were possible with such limited tech range.

To shoot Unsane, Soderbergh used three iPhone 7+ phones, he outfitted them with three Moment lenses (18mm, 60mm, and a fisheye). On occasions, he used the phone’s standard lens, and it some scenes it shows but it never distracts or prevents us from being gripped by the film.  The 4K resolution of the iPhone used is actually fairly close to a film camera as Inverse says "in all its 4,000 glorious, horizontal pixels that there’s no difference on the big screen." That's why people watching this film and not knowing it was shot on an iPhone wouldn't tell the difference. This is groundbreaking stuff and almost makes you want to go and make your own movie, it just feels so effortless and easy in how "Unsane" is delivered.

Inverse had this to say about the film’s technology: “To record these intimate, sometimes distorted scenes, Soderbergh used the $15 video app FiLMiC Pro, also used by Baker to shoot Tangerine. Soderbergh also used the $10 FiLMiC Remote app, which allowed him to view the video being shot from one phone on a different phone, if the shooting phone was positioned so that the screen wasn’t easily viewable (like if it was on the floor). “We have seen pictures in articles showing him shooting with FiLMiC Pro, and this is one of the highpoints in the journey of our company,” Neill Barham, CEO of the Seattle-based FiLMiC, tells Inverse, adding that the app has “seen exponential growth in the last few years as the mobile filmmaking trend has exploded.”

“I think this is the future,” Soderbergh said at the Sundance Film Festival in January. “Anybody going to see [Unsane] who has no idea of the backstory to the production will have no idea this was shot on the phone. That’s not part of the conceit.”

Simon Pegg Says Quentin Tarantino’s “Star Trek” Movie Isn’t Rated R

Quentin Tarantino‘s quirky “Star Trek” project, an allegedly R-Rated version of the beloved franchise, is quite real, even with Tarantino making a pitch to “Star Trek” director/producer J.J. Abrams and then the writer of “The Revenant” being hired.

Simon Pegg, when interviewed by Hey U Guys,  isn't buying the R rating but he does believe the film could happen:

“I don’t think [Quentin Tarantino has] written an R rated Star Trek script,” Pegg stated. “I think what happened is he went to J.J. [Abrams] with an idea that he’s had for awhile. I remember he told us about it a long time ago. I think he told me and Edgar [Wright] about it a long time ago. He just put it to J.J. and I think J.J.’s just considering putting it into a writing room. We got an email just saying ‘Guess what? Guess who came into the office the other day?’ So I don’t know much about it other than it’s in the mix, so we’ll see.”

“Deadpool 2” breaking score ratings at test screenings, even outscoring the original

"Deadpool 2," will open on May 18th, but if you're expecting no buzz to come from this movie, think again. It is already scoring high marks at test screenings conducted by Fox.

According to THR, "The Fox film received as high as 98 in recent test screenings.The Ryan Reynolds-fronted sequel has been tested three times, with the scores for the first two screenings coming in at 91 and 97. The final test, which occurred in Dallas, tested two separate cuts simultaneously, which scored a 98 and a 94. The 98-scoring cut is the version the team is using, a source with direct knowledge told THR. The crew attended the final screenings in Dallas, and a source in the audience of the 98 screening describing the environment to THR as being electric and akin to watching the Super Bowl."

The original Deadpool scored a 91 at test screenings, which is still very high, according to insiders that spoke to THR. We all know what happened after that as the film would go on to gross $783M worldwide, unthinkable success for an R rated film. 

If you remember, Deadpool 2 has had reshoots, but not the negative kind, for six days last month in Vancouver the filmmakers added "more of what test screening audiences enjoyed." They also had time to add a "secret cameo."

Ryan Reynolds will be back as the titular antihero, new to the cast are Josh Brolin (Cable), Zazie Beetz (Domino) and Julian Dennison,  returning cast members include Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), T.J. Miller (Weasel), Stefan Kapicic (Colossus), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Leslie Uggams (Blind Al) and Karan Soni (Dopinder). 

[THR]