Speaking to Total Film, director David Fincher explains why his latest black and white passion project, “Mank,” would have been impossible to greenlight without the backing of streaming giant Netflix:

I will follow writer-director Jordan Peele whichever direction he chooses to go to next in his career. After all, his first two films, “Get Out” and “Us,” weren’t just box-office smashes, but worthy examples of top-tier socially-conscious horror. Now comes the news, via Deadline, that Peele is getting ready to shoot his third film, this one, again, will likely be surrounded by an insane amount of secrecy. The report mentions this untitled film as taking place within the “horror” genre, with a July 22nd, 2022 release date.

Jeff Nichols, the director of “Midnight Special,” “Take Shelter,” “Mud,” and “Loving,” is set to direct … “A Quiet Place Part III”? What? Deadline is reporting that Paramount has brought on Nichols to write and direct the third film in the “A Quiet Place” franchise. Actor-filmmaker John Krasinski helmed the first two. The plot and title of the film are still unknown, and Deadline can’t even guarantee that this film is actually a sequel and not some sort of spinoff. Regardless, Nichols coming into a franchise basically means that the opportunities to make personal arthouse films these days is scant to none. I’m not surprised. The COVID-19 pandemic has transitioned the movie industry into an alternate universe.

Warner Bros. has decided that the personal issues Johnny Depp has had these last few years are going to keep him from staying a part of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. How grotesque. According to an open letter posted on his Instagram feed, Depp was essentially forced to announce his resignation from his role in Warner Bros. ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise.

There was good news today regarding the Vanessa Kirby-starring “Pieces of a Woman,” it has just been dated by Netflix to be released in select theaters on December 30th, and will be available via streaming on January 7th, 2021. I saw this fantastic movie at this past September’s digital edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, Kirby is almost guaranteed an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, here’s a snippet from my review:

What’s On Netflix is reporting that an untitled Netflix film directed by Noah Baumbach is set to begin filming and could possibly be ready by the end of 2021. We also know that Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig are currently attached to play the two lead roles in the new film, which still has no plot details.

John Boyega is not going to take any “Star Wars” criticisms you might have against him. In fact, he’ll call you out as racist and maintain that any negativity you may have against his performance is because he is a person of color. Yes, the mass online detractors that Boyega garnered when he was part of the Star Wars Disneyverse were primarily due to the fact that he is a black actor and the British-born actor wants better protection from the studio the next time around [via Variety]

Denis, a formidable filmmaker that can easily stand with any of the greats from the last 30 years, has shown remarkable resilience in her career to never conform to the norm. She’s an everlasting troubadour, walking the high-wire of creative risk-taking with each movie she makes. I spoke to her last year about “High Life,” starring Robert Pattinson, her first English-language film and a twisted, kinky version of a deep space opera.

The movie business doesn’t necessarily need to revolve around the American box-office, just ask Christopher Nolan whose sci-fi epic “Tenet” was released during a pandemic and only grossed $53 million dollars domestically, but made an astounding $300 million globally in two months — prompting debates of whether it should be called a success or failure.

As we speak, “Wonder Woman 1984” is still set for a global Christmas Day release. That is clearly going to change in the coming days. The Gal Gadot-starring movie is not being released this year, don’t get your hopes up, COVID-19 cases are on the rise in almost every state and so is the wall-to-wall panic-inducing coverage in the media. That won’t end post-election, it could even intensify.

J.D. Vance’s bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” is adapted to rigorous Oscar-bait effect by Oscar-nominee Vanessa Taylor (“The Shape of Water”). The result is the kind of big studio crowd-pleaser that used to be the norm in the ‘90s. Ron Howard, a consummate professional who’s been going at it as a director now for four decades, aims to add to his Oscar-nominated filmography that includes the likes of “Apollo 13,” “Frost/Nixon” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Rush” and “Cinderella Man.”

Alice Winocour’s “Proxima” posits itself as an intimately feminist space opera; ambitious astronaut Sarah (Eva Green), chosen as a replacement for an astronaut who wasn’t cleared for flight, finally gets chosen to be part of the last exploratory mission for the first manned mission to Mars. The problem is that Sarah’s maternal care gets in the way.

The Oscar-winning actor Sir Sean Connery passed away earlier today at the age of 90, his family confirmed to the BBC.

“No Time To Die” was supposed to be released this past April, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed it until November, and when that date got postponed to the Spring of 2021, well, MGM panicked. The Bond studio is now very serious about selling the right to their latest James Bond film to, gulp, a streaming service. Their asking price is rumored to be $650-700 million.