Disney And Fox’s Merger Is Officially Complete

Disney And Fox’s Merger Is Officially Complete

Back in November 2017 the first news leaked revealed the Walt Disney Company had been in talks with Fox to purchase the company's film and cable television divisions. It was massive news from both a business and entertainment standpoint. Over the next few weeks, the potential merger seemed to become more and more likely. It was only a month later that the two sides came to agreement. A year after the deal was struck, the respective shareholders of the two companies approved the merger. Now it's official. 21st Century Fox is part of the Walt Disney Company. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Officially, the ownership transition will happen at 12:02 a.m. eastern time on March 20th, but for all intents and purposes, the deal is done, according to a press release from 21st Century Fox.

There's really no understating just how big a deal this is in the entertainment industry. A company that used to be one of the major film studios in the world, one of the "big six," is now a subsidiary of another. Whatever your thoughts on Fox or Disney, there's now less competition among the remaining film studios. That's not necessarily a good thing. If nothing else, it's a major change to the industry landscape that will surely have repercussions, some we may not even be able to predict.

On the content side, there certainly are some potentially good things on the horizon. Fox had the rights to make and distribute films about Marvel's X-Men and Fantastic Four as part of a deal the company had made before being acquired by Disney. This deal will bring the rights back to Disney, setting up the opportunity to see all the characters become part of the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, which certainly has the potential to add new and interesting stories.

Fox also had a number of rights attached to the original Star Wars movie, which will now also revert to Disney, who acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012.

While the merger may be done expect for the ink drying, it will likely still be some time before we really begin to see it have an impact on the industry. Fox has numerous films in various states of production that will almost certainly continue forward and be released just as they would if 21st Century Fox was still an independent entity.

Of course, it's also possible Disney could hit the ground running. We will likely see some changes to the release calendar, if only to see Fox and Disney films moved around the schedule so that they don't compete with each other too much. There's also the question of the two oft-delayed X-Men franchise films, Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, it's been suggested that one or both movies could end up being moved to a streaming service like Disney+ or Hulu. If something like that is in the cards, those announcements could come as early as tomorrow.

Tomorrow, everything changes. It's the end of an era, as a company that's been around since 1935 becomes part of the Disney machine.

How Shazam! Managed To Keep Its Major Spoiler A Secret

How Shazam! Managed To Keep Its Major Spoiler A Secret

Warning: spoilers for the third act of Shazam! are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, please bookmark this article, and come back once you’re caught up.

Despite the fact the comic history behind Shazam! has integrated the idea of an entire family of heroes, all signs pointed to the DC Comics film being centered solely around Asher Angel’s Billy Batson and his super heroic alter ego played by Zachary Levi. Prior to the film’s release, there wasn’t even a whisper about the rest of the family’s eventual appearance during a pivotal moment in the third act. This is a pretty rare occurrence in this modern age of spoilers and leaks, and director David F. Sandberg recently revealed the following strategy was what made such a unique surprise possible:

We cast the kids first, and then sort of looked for a physical resemblance. And then, to keep things under wraps, just because things leaked as much as they do, we actually wrote custom scenes for each character that weren't from the movie. So the people who came in to audition had no idea that they were basically reading for a superhero.

As seen in this weekend’s #1 movie, Shazam! eventually expands the roster of superheroes to include Billy Batson’s five foster siblings. Just as Asher Angel and Zachary Levi were cast to be the mortal and magic halves of the child/hero coin, there was obviously a need for other adult versions of all the other children in the family. Which eventually lead to the need to cast said adults, without letting them in on any big secrets that could accidentally leak into the world.

It’s an ingenious move that other top secret productions have used to help throw off the scent of any potential spoilers. Basically, instead of having actors like D.J. Catrona or Adam Brody reading for the big showdown at the Chilladelphia Winter Festival towards the end of Shazam, fake scenes were written so the actors would get the gist of their characters during auditions, without revealing the big secrets.

One can never be too careful when it comes to a project as high profile as Shazam!, or any superhero franchise entry for that matter, because while it’s easy to discredit any leaks under the guise of fake spoilers, the eventual truth comes out once those first showings hit. David F. Sandberg not only understands this, but he also broke down the strategy, and one of the alternate scenes written, in the example from his talk with Screen Rant:

It was just sort of everyday scenes with characters that had the traits of them. So for Darla, Meagan Good, she read for a scene with a girl that's doing a driving test, and she's like a fast-talking character... I hope we can maybe put that on the Blu-ray or something, because they're fun scenes with these great actors.

Based on the results shown in the film, this method paid off, especially in the case of Good’s portrayal of Darla, because it bases itself off of the very same sort of principal that any good comic adaptation like Shazam! builds its proper screenplay around. While nailing the look of a hero is important, getting the language and feel of the story into the script is paramount as well. If you can put that to bed easily, then you can write the characters you’re tackling in any context, as seen here.

With Shazam! in theaters now, and Shazam! 2 retaining that first film’s screenwriter, it’s probably a safe bet that whomever auditions for crucial roles in that film’s narrative might not even know it until they’ve signed on. So if you happen to be auditioning for Warner Bros and/or David F. Sandberg in the near future, you’ll probably want to make sure you take that SAT prep scene uber-seriously.

Looks Like The Oscars Might Stay Hostless For A While

Looks Like The Oscars Might Stay Hostless For A While

Nobody knew quite what to expect going into this year's Academy Awards telecast as the show would be going without a host for the first time in years. However, most would probably agree that the show went pretty well, all things considered, and a significant ratings jump for the show would seem to indicate the audience was into the idea. Now it looks like the hostless show worked out so well, that the Oscars could end up sticking with that format for the foreseeable future.

The head of ABC Entertainment Karey Burke, the network that has the deal to broadcast the show until 2028, tells Deadline that the network was happy with this year's show, and has no interest in changing next year's show. According to Burke...

I believe we will not mess with that format to the best of our ability. We're extremely proud of how the show turned out creatively.

Going without a host for this year's Oscars was never the intention, but after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made the decision to remove Kevin Hart as host amid controversy, it seems the Oscars organization was simply unable to find a replacement. The lack of host was a necessity, but one that ended up working out largely in the show's favor.

Of course, just because ABC is ok with there not being a host doesn't mean for certain that's the way things will go. The host is actually hired by the Academy, and while ABC certainly has some influence over how the show goes, the Academy doesn't have to listen. The word is ABC was the force behind some of the recently  proposed changes, like a new "popular film" Oscar, and while that idea was not implemented this year, it doesn't mean it might not be incorporated in the future.

This year's Oscars received a 12% increase in viewership over the previous telecast which hit an all-time low in the ratings. While it's hard to know for sure exactly why more people tuned in for this year's show, it's certainly understandable that ABC would be afraid to change anything for fear of losing that ratings boost.

Of course, at the same time, it's unlikely that we'll simply be getting a carbon copy of this year's Oscars over and over again into the future. While this year might have seen a much needed ratings bump, it doesn't mean this year's ratings were all that impressive. ABC is going to want to build on the success, not simply let it ride.

I'm certainly in the camp of people who wouldn't mind seeing the show stay without a host. As a movie fan, I'm there for the awards and anything that helps to keep them front and center is a good thing. I'd rather the winners be given every possible second of time to give their speeches. While there's nothing wrong with having a host, this year's show did make it clear that one isn't needed, which at least leaves that option open if the right host isn't available.

Zack Snyder Wants Fans To Be "Open To Other Things" Beyond Marvel

Zack Snyder Wants Fans To Be "Open To Other Things" Beyond Marvel

Comic book movies are a massive force in the modern blockbuster world. Studios are producing nearly 10 of them per year at this point, but far from over-saturating the market, they are instead regularly making money hand over fist. Zack Snyder, of course, has been a key figure in the middle of it all - having made half of his movies based on material from the printed medium - but in an interesting twist, the filmmaker has recently called for audiences to expand their horizons beyond big screen superheroics.

Per a video found on Twitter, Zack Snyder recently took part in a panel discussion, and had a few things to say about where comic book movies stand in the current market. We're not sure what the question was that inspired the response, but the quote is interesting nonetheless. Specifically citing the overwhelming pop culture presence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Justice League director explained,

The thing with comic book movies is… you know I’m a fan. I go and see them, and I love them. I don’t have a… you know, I go and see all the Avengers movies, and I go, and enjoy them. I love it. You don’t have to not enjoy them, but you also have to be open to other things as well.

Anyone who regularly follows box office patterns likely sees that Zack Snyder has a point here. While the timing of the statement is a bit funny, as Jordan Peele's Us just set opening weekend records for an original property this past weekend, there is little question that superhero movies typically get more heat than most other releases from Hollywood. Perfectly illustrating that point is the fact that four out of the Top Five films of 2018 were examples of the genre, and six of the Top 10.

This isn't to say that audiences are totally ignoring original movies and offerings from other genres. John Krasinski's A Quiet Place was an absolutely massive surprise last year, and features like Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born and Bryan Singer's Bohemian Rhapsody were not only award-nominated, but made north of $215 million domestically. Still, the lion's share of worldwide attention is primarily pointed towards caped crusaders and masked vigilantes - and with upcoming titles like Shazam!, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Dark Phoenix, and more peppered across the rest of this year's release calendar, things aren't exactly slowing down in 2019.

Hearing Zack Snyder take this point of view, one has to wonder what it could mean for his potential future as a director. A lot of his success has come thanks to his work adapting stories from comics, and the truth is that it's been nearly a decade since he made a film not based on the material (2011's Sucker Punch). However, he does seem to be moving away from that arena with his in development projects. We know he is doing a zombie action movie called Army Of The Dead as his next feature (a movie he's been wanting to make for a long time), and he is also working on making an adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. Could his desire to see fans open themselves up to material beyond the comic book realm be a reflection of his own trajectory?

You can make your own judgments watching Zack Snyder speak in the brief clip below:

Zack Snyder doesn't currently have any films in production, but he is certainly never shy about sharing his comic book movie thoughts, and you can continue to regularly find them here on CinemaBlend.

The Hulk Originally Could Have Turned To Dust In Avengers: Infinity War

The Hulk Originally Could Have Turned To Dust In Avengers: Infinity War

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a serious roll in Phase Three, as every new blockbuster has been met with critical and box office success. The last decade of filmmaking will come to a head when Avengers: Endgame arrives in a matter of days, picking up the narrative from the shocking ending of Infinity War. The Russo Brothers broke fans hearts by wiping out half of all life, as moviegoers watched countless fan favorite characters fade to dust.

I didn’t know until I saw the movie. For one take, I did disappear, and then the other one I didn’t.

Well, this is wild. Bruce Banner/Hulk has been in every Avengers movie, so it's hard to imagine Endgame without the big green guy. But it looks like that was on the table for a while, as The Russo Brothers had Mark Ruffalo film a dusting scene of his very own.

In the end, all of the OG Avengers managed to survive The Decimation, along with supporting characters like War Machine, Rocket, Okoye, and Nebula. But it turns out that Bruce Banner could have perished, as Mark Ruffalo filmed both endings for his character. Ruffalo recently revealed this, saying:

Mark Ruffalo's comments to Yahoo are sure to puzzle cinephiles, given how Infinity War and Endgame were filmed directly after each other. As such, Hulk's fate presumably was only a question for a limited time. Because The Russo Brothers had the scheduling nightmare of working out shooting for Endgame, and would need Ruffalo to clear up his schedule in order to play Banner/Hulk alongside the rest of the living heroes.

The ending of Avengers: Infinity War was truly devastating, as the fandom didn't expect Thanos to win and exterminate so many iconic characters. And it seems The Russo Brothers experimented a bit with who would be a victim of the snap, and fade to dust before our eyes. Instead of merely being phased into a rock in the Hulkbuster armor, Bruce Banner could have also faded to dust from within the suit. And with that ending, Hulk wouldn't have gotten another chance to face off against the Mad Titan.

Luckily, Bruce Banner survived the snap, and should have a meaty role alongside the rest of the survivors when Avengers: Endgame finally hits theaters. Fans are especially eager to see Hulk return to the screen, as he was largely absent in Infinity War after losing a fight in the film's opening scene. As a reminder, you can check out that scuffle below.

Merchandise from Avengers: Endgame hints at a rematch for these two powerful characters, so it's a good thing that Hulk wasn't dusted during The Snap. It's also poetic to see the original team reunited in the upcoming blockbuster, allowing The Russo Brothers to end the narrative that started back with Iron Man in 2007.

Answers will come when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Daniel Craig Thinks James Bond Could Change Gender Or Race

Daniel Craig Thinks James Bond Could Change Gender Or Race

Daniel Craig is coming back to play James Bond one more time, but the actor admits that this is almost certainly his last go-round as the super spy. That means the part will need to be recast for the film that comes after Bond 25, and when that happens, some have suggested that the part should go to a woman or a person of color. Craig himself seems quite open to that possibility, saying that nobody should be eliminated from consideration for the part automatically. According to Craig...

The right person for the job, I think that's what it should be. I think that everybody should be considered.

Since the character's inception, James Bond has always been a white dude. While the actors who have played him have come from all parts of the UK, and even once from Australia, the rest hasn't changed much. However, James Bond, being part of one of the longest running film franchises ever, has now become more icon than man, and there are those that believe that the character can move forward as a different race or even a different gender and still be James Bond.

James Bond certainly isn't the same character today that he was when Sean Connery originated him for the screen. The character has evolved with the times and there's no reason the character couldn't continue to evolve in this way.

At the same time, while Daniel Craig says that everybody should be considered for the role of James Bond, he also tells ET that the larger issue is that the number of great roles for women and African Americans is more limited than it should be. He seems to feel that this is part of the reason there is interest in roles like James Bond.

For women and for African Americans, there should be great parts anyway, across the board. It shouldn't have to be Bond that takes... it doesn't need to be Bond. It just needs to be written -- some good parts.

At the end of the day, the fact that James Bond as a character has survived and thrived for so long, and that there is no equivalent character played by a woman or a person of color, is certainly part of the issue. All actors want to play great roles, but some of them, surely, want to play popular ones too, and there are few bigger than James Bond. At the end of the day, whether a person can play James Bond should come down to a talent and not the happenstances of birth.

Hopefully, as Craig says, everybody will be considered and when the time comes to find a new James Bond, the right person will get the job. Until then, we have one more adventure with the current Bond, that will hit screens next year.

Sinemia Has A Brand New Plan To Compete With Stubs A-List And Other Movie Ticket Apps

Sinemia Has A Brand New Plan To Compete With Stubs A-List And Other Movie Ticket Apps

Although they’ve been around for years, movie theatergoing subscription services only really rose to prominence in the past year or two. And the market still seems wide open with plenty of room to grow and multiple competitors vying for the top spot. One of those competitors, Sinemia, has just announced a brand new plan to compete with the likes of AMC Stubs A-List and MoviePass by offering something different from everyone else.

Sinemia’s newest offering is called the Sinemia Limitless plan, and it is quite different than what we are accustomed to seeing with theatergoing subscription services-- mainly because it is not a subscription. The plan provides a 30% savings, allowing you to get $100 worth of movies for $70, no subscription or app required. The plan also allows you to get an additional 5% discount on tickets purchased at Sinemia partner theaters through the company’s direct ticketing feature.

The way the plan works is that for $70, you get $100 to spend on movies delivered to you via a digital card, or if you prefer, a physical one. The digital card allows you to buy tickets online, which it should be noted, would still be subject to the convenience fees associated with online ticket transactions. The physical card can be used to buy tickets online, or at the box office, where they wouldn’t incur a convenience fee.

Sinemia Limitless is a one-time payment that is valid for one year, so you’d want to make sure you spend that $100 within a year. After the year is up or after you’ve spent the $100, you can sign up again for the plan, but as it is not a subscription, there is no recurring payment. Additionally, those who are already Sinemia subscribers can add the new Limitless plan at any time rather than renewing their existing plan.

Unlike certain subscription plans that Sinemia and other companies offer, Sinemia Limitless allows you see any movie, at any theater, in any format, at any time. No blackout dates or restrictions on premium screenings. The other big differentiator is that you can purchase multiple tickets per day and you can use Sinemia Limitless to buy tickets for your family and friends.

This is an interesting value proposition from Sinemia that eschews the subscription model most theatergoing subscription services, including Sinemia, made their name on. Nowadays it seems like most forms of entertainment require some sort of subscription, a guarantee that your bank account will be a little bit smaller each month.

Some moviegoers are tired of the commitment that comes with subscriptions, and would rather just pay a chunk of money up front and that’s what Sinemia Limitless is offering. It’s essentially just you buying tickets in bulk at a discounted rate and for some people that may be exactly what they are looking for.

There is a simplicity to this plan in that there is no smartphone requirement, no checking in or guesswork about what movies you can and can’t see and when. It would also be a good option for people who want to see more movies but aren’t sure they will actually go and don’t want to commit to a subscription just yet.

Sinemia Limitless is one of the least risky offerings in the space right now for consumers, who will get their money’s worth as long as they use the $100 within a year, which considering you can bring guests shouldn't be difficult at all. The average ticket price rose to $9.11 last year so at that rate, Sinemia Limitless would get you about 11 tickets for $70, before any extra discounts at Sinemia partner theaters.

Sinemia still has quite a few subscription plans available and this newest offering just goes to show how all of these companies are trying things out and experimenting to see what works, what’s sustainable and what consumers are looking for. MoviePass has relaunched and is trying to pull itself back up and AMC Stubs A-List is flying high. If nothing else, Hollywood should be encouraged that people are trying to see more movies, even if they are trying to do it on the cheap.

You can check out Sinemia Limitless and the company’s other plans on its website. To see how fast you could blow through $100 worth of movies, take a look at our 2019 Release Schedule.