Frank Oz Still Liked The Last Jedi, Doesn't Think The Audience Expectations Matter

Frank Oz Still Liked The Last Jedi, Doesn't Think The Audience Expectations Matter

This December will mark two full years since Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrived in theaters, and the fandom hasn't stopped discussing and dissecting Rian Johnson's wild sequel. The director purposefully subverted fan expectations, and challenged everything we were meant to believe about the galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm was clearly happy with Johnson's work, as he's been given his own trilogy to develop within the Star Wars universe.

But The Last Jedi seemed to split the fandom, and is arguably the most divisive installment of the beloved space opera. Some fans took umbrage with the risks and changes to the Star Wars canon, while others appreciated Rian Johnson's vision and the challenging material. The legendary Frank Oz returned to the franchise to play a Force Ghost version of Yoda, and the Muppets icon recently spoke to his feelings about The Last Jedi, and the idea of living up to fan expectations. He said:

I love the movie. All the people who don’t like this ‘Jedi’ thing is just horse crap. It’s about expectations. The movie didn’t fill their expectations. But as filmmakers, we’re not here to fulfill people’s expectations.

Spoken, Yoda has. While Star Wars is a franchise that is beloved by generations of moviegoers, Frank Oz doesn't think that should expect the creative process. Instead, directors should make their own Star Wars movie, regardless of what the fandom wants. What's more, this isn't the first time he's defended The Last Jedi.

Frank Oz's comments to IndieWire once again echoes how everyone involved in The Last Jedi is ultimately proud of the movie that hit theaters. While it was subject to extreme trolling and backlash by angry fans, Oz is fond of the most recent Star Wars sequel, and doesn't seem to be worried about things like fan expectations. After all, that's just not what filmmaking is about to him.

The stakes were high for The Last Jedi, after J.J. Abrams did a ton of set up in the Force Awakens that needed to be resolved. Rian Johnson purposefully went against popular fan theories, challenging what the franchise was capable of. Luke Skywalker was a jaded recluse, Leia was revealed to have Force Abilities, Supreme Leader Snoke was unceremoniously killed off, and Kylo Ren revealed that Rey's parents were nobodies who dumped her on Jakku. Fans couldn't have predicted all these plot twists, and some purists had issues with the liberal changes made to the official canon.

Regardless of backlash, everyone involved in the Star Wars franchise seems pleased with The Last Jedi, and Rian Johnson's work. The cast and director came to the film's defense when trolling happened, and Jonson is still moving forward with his own trilogy. So in the end, Frank Oz's comments may be right.

The Skywalker Saga will come to an end when J.J. Abrams' Episode IX arrived in theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The 10 Best Morgan Freeman Movies, Ranked

The 10 Best Morgan Freeman Movies, Ranked

This is a tough list to make. The list of Morgan Freeman movies that stand out above all the rest. He has had so many great performances and played so many beloved characters over the years, is it even possible to break them down and pick a top ten?

Of course it is! For a man who didn’t really have his big break happen until he was 50 years old, Morgan Freeman has put together an amazing career. His dedication to acting shows in every role he takes and the world -- or at least Hollywood --is much better for it. He can be funny or serious and his God-like voice is both powerful and soothing.

So here it is, the best of the best – and it is the best of the best, his filmography was difficult to cull down, but in the end, we did and here are the choices!

10. Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)

This version of Robin Hood gets trashed these days, but unfairly so. It probably has something to do with Kevin Costner’s accent, which is admittedly terrible, but there are some amazing performances in the film, like Alan Rickman as the Sheriff Of Nottingham and certainly including Morgan Freeman’s role as Robin Hood’s faithful friend, Azeem.

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves was a really big deal when it was released. Mel Brooks even made a parody of it, and though it doesn’t get much respect today, it’s worth a second watch if it’s been a while since you last saw it. Especially for the great cameo at the end that the movie managed to keep a secret from most people in those halcyon pre-Twitter, spoiler-free days.

9. Invictus (2009)

Morgan Freeman’s brilliant portrayal of South African President Nelson Mandela in this not-really-about-sports sports movie is what elevates Invictus. It doesn’t matter you don’t like sports movies, or rugby, this is a movie about redemption and overcoming the suffocating history of apartheid in South Africa.

Morgan Freeman’s co-star, Matt Damon, is also masterful in this film. Both were deservedly nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes for their performances. Clint Eastwood’s direction is, as usual, excellent and also elevates the performances, but it’s really all about Freeman’s performance as the beloved South African leader that keeps audiences entranced.

8. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Morgan Freeman credits Street Smart (below) as his breakout role, but for most audiences it was his performance as the chauffeur to Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) that really put him on the movie star map. Driving Miss Daisy won four Oscars and was nominated for another five, including Best Actor for Freeman, though he didn’t win.

Driving Miss Daisy is another example, like Robin Hood, of a performance and a film that is often overlooked today, but it’s a really well made film with wonderful acting performances from Jessica Tandy, who won an Oscar for her role as Miss Daisy and Morgan Freeman, as well as Dan Aykroyd, who were also nominated!

7. Street Smart (1987)

Morgan Freeman considers this his breakout role and he's also has said that Street Smart is his favorite movie that he has made (sorry Shawshank fans). In the film, Freeman plays a pimp named Fast Black who is suspected by the police of murder. Morgan Freeman’s co-star Christopher Reeve plays a struggling newspaper reporter who fabricates a story about a pimp the police believe is Fast Black and Fast Black believes is about him as well, setting up the conflict between Morgan and Reeve.

Street Smart resulted in Freeman’s first Oscar nomination and set him on the path to stardom. At age 50, it's remarkable this was the movie that really got his career going like gangbusters. It's hard to image there was a time when Morgan Freeman movies were the norm! Everyone can thank Street Smart for all the Morgan Freeman in our lives. Thank you Street Smart!

6. Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins is really just the best way to represent Morgan Freeman’s role as Lucius Fox, the loyal employee of Wayne Enterprises who works with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) to develop and reconfigure all kinds of technology for Wayne’s alter ego, Batman in the Christopher Nolan directed Dark Knight Trilogy.

In Batman Begins, Freeman’s character has been demoted in Bruce’s absence. He is stuck in the Applied Sciences division where the current bosses think he’ll be out of the way, but it turns out that it’s the perfect position for Fox to help Bruce Wayne/Batman. Morgan Freeman’s signature calm-but-firm demeanor is perfect for the loyal and dedicated Fox and his inclusion in the film, while it may be fleeting, is perfect.

5. Glory (1989)

Glory is an incredible and powerful movie. It toes the line between being important and fun brilliantly and Morgan Freeman’s role is critical to that. Freeman understood how important a movie like Glory was from the beginning and he gives it his all in his performance. Glory, believe it or not, was the first time, even in 1989, that many people ever heard the story of African-American soldiers fighting for the Union during the Civil War.

While all the actors in the film played their roles well, not surprisingly it was the two African-American leads, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, who were at the heart of this cast. Washington won a richly deserved Academy Award for his performance as a disillusioned private under Mathew Broderick’s command and it would have been perfectly acceptable had Freeman won one too.

4. Seven (1995)

Seven, was a big film for a lot of big stars. While it wasn’t Brad Pitt’s breakout role, it was the first time he was taken seriously as a lead actor. The movie is, however, Gwyneth Paltrow’s breakout role and behind the both of them, like a rock keeping calm in a sea of crazy, is Morgan Freeman's Detective Somerset.

Directed by David Fincher, the film is masterful and Morgan Freeman excels in his performance as a detective on his last case, catching a serial killer. That is the kind of role (and trope) that many actors would phone in or overact in, but not Freeman, he doesn’t overplay the “I gotta get out of here” vibe, but you can feel the pain in his character as he deals with one last psychopath.

3. Unforgiven (1992)

In Unforgiven, Morgan Freeman plays sharpshooter Ned Logan, a loyal and longtime friend to Clint Eastwood’s Will Munny in this epic western. Logan joins up with Munny to help a young man called “The Schofield Kid” track down a gang a vial cowboys accused of torturing a prostitute.

In a film filled with some of the best actors of their day, including Clint Eastwood (who also directed), Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris, Morgan Freeman more than holds his own with his brilliant performance. In fact, Unforgiven might just be his best performance that he WASN’T nominated for any major awards for.

2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Ah yes, that TNT Sunday afternoon special. A movie so important, you can find it somewhere on cable at almost any time of the day or night, every single day. If you took a poll on the street of people asking them for their favorite Morgan Freeman movie, it’s a safe bet that The Shawshank Redemption would far and away be the most popular answer. For a movie that was a disappointment at the box office, that is pretty amazing.

Freeman plays Red, a man whose been in jail for a long time when Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins arrives after he is sentenced to life for murdering his wife and the man she was having an affair with. Red mentors Andy and their friendship grows. It’s a wonderful movie and Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of the convicted criminal with a heart of gold made millions of Gen Xers and Millennials who grew up watching the movie on cable consider Freeman one of the most beloved actors of all-time.

1. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

If you are counting, Million Dollar Baby is the third time a Morgan Freeman performance in a Clint Eastwood-directed film is on the list. It has been one heck of a partnership over the years, to say the least. Million Dollar Baby and its story of redemption is everything viewers could want from a serious and personal movie.

The acting in the movie, by Eastwood, Hilary Swank, And Freeman are as good as you will find in any movie, anywhere, in any time in Hollywood history. It’s a masterclass by all three and it makes even this sad, tragic story a true joy to watch.

It’s amazing to think of how many other movies and performances aren’t on this list also. Great films like The Power Of One and Lean On Me or powerful films like Amistad. Morgan Freeman’s remarkable career also, of course, includes his stellar voice over work in documentaries like March Of The Penguins.

At 81-years-old, Morgan Freeman is still going, still playing roles that audiences will appreciate for years to come. He is truly a remarkable actor.

New Avengers: Endgame Clip Proves Iron Man Missed Captain America

New Avengers: Endgame Clip Proves Iron Man Missed Captain America

After a long year of waiting, it's finally happening. This week will bring the highly anticipated debut of Avengers: Endgame, picking up the narrative after Thanos snapped his fingers and destroyed half of all life. Fans are eager to see how the surviving heroes manage to turn things around, and eventually bring the fight back to the Mad Titan. How this'll happen is largely a mystery, especially thanks for the cryptic marketing campaign for the film.

Marvel Studios has been methodically releasing new Avengers: Endgame to the footage, keeping the secrets of The Russo Brothers' upcoming blockbuster in the process. A new TV spot recently arrived, which showed that Tony Stark has missed Steve Rogers during their years apart since Captain America: Civil War. Check out the clip below.

Captain America and Iron Man haven't shared any scenes in the MCU since the ending of Civil War back in 2016. They're the biggest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the Sakovia Accords and Bucky's brainwashing put a serious wedge between the two Avengers. Now they've got to bury the Stormbreaker if the surviving heroes are going to stand a chance against Thanos.

This new trailer shows Tony safe back on Earth, after previously being stranded in space alongside Nebula. It's unclear how he makes it home, but the mismatched duo of characters are presumably going to need some rescuing. Despite their fractured relationship, Cap and Iron Man seem to be on good enough terms, presumably since The Decimation made their tiff look like child's play in comparison.

Related: 4 Shots In The Avengers: Endgame Trailer That Will Break Your Heart

In the Avengers: Endgame trailers, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers seems a bit less jaded than his appearance in Infinity War, and is once again trying to inspire Earth's Mightiest Heroes to rise up and fight the good fight. While this is a habit that previously rubbed Tony Stark the wrong way, the above clip shows he's done an about-face, and is now appreciating Cap's never-ending optimism.

Cap and Tony's reunion is one of the most highly anticipated aspects of Avengers: Endgame, as they've been kept apart for years. This includes the events of Avengers: Infinity War, as The Russo Brothers put them in two separate conflicts during the massive ensemble movie. The Black Order arrived in New York just before Tony called Steve Rogers, and Iron Man eventually followed Ebony Maw into space. Meanwhile, Cap stayed on Earth and helped lead the Battle of Wakanda.

After Doctor Strange sacrificed the Time Stone to save Tony Stark, the OG Avengers all miraculously survived Thanos' snap. This should allow Endgame to focus on the original members of the team, although they'll get help from Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Rocket, War Machine, and Nebula.

Avengers: Endgame will finally arrive in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, fill out CinemaBlend's Endgame death pool, and check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The Cool Fight Scene That Had To Be Cut From Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

The Cool Fight Scene That Had To Be Cut From Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

Successful blockbuster action flicks are often the result of a miraculous balancing act. With Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the filmmakers were tasked with showing off the legendary Kaiju in a refreshingly terrifying light and bringing in King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan for him to clash with. Oh, not to mention the ensemble of humans to bounce between as well.

By the looks of early reactions to King of the Monsters, the new Godzilla manages to offer up an exciting new entry to the long-running mythos. However, not everything originally in the script will make it to the big screen this weekend. During CinemaBlend’s exclusive interview with Millie Bobby Brown, the young actress revealed one cut scene she was sad to see not make the theatrical release. In her words:

Oh yeah. There was this full fight montage that I had done. It was a fighting, full-on MMA on this guy, this man-guy. [It was] cool. They cut it! So bummed out about it. … By the way, I never got to see it, but I would have loved to see it, too. And I’m sure everybody else would.

This is a bummer! It would have been a treat to see the 15-year-old Stranger Things star show off some badass MMA skills in the Godzilla movie. The actress likely had to go through some intense training in order to pull off a scene that may never see the light of day.

Here’s hoping the bonus features allows Millie Bobby Brown and fans to see her take on this “man-guy” she speaks of. Movies such as this one have big scenes cut all the time. Her big fight sequence was likely taken out to make room for more action between Godzilla and the titans he goes up against.

The lost scene does have us thinking about who exactly Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison Russell is. What 15-year-old knows MMA? As far as we know, her character is the daughter of Vera Farmiga’s Dr. Emma Russell, who is a paleobiologist involved in research on Kaiju creatures and Kyle Chandler’s Dr. Mark Russell, a former Anthrozoologist. Perhaps this is her particular family talent?

The film’s script may have originally developed Madison’s character further by showing off her MMA skills but there wasn’t enough room in the film to fit everything. Brown is also among an ensemble including Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson and Thomas Middleditch. So, there were a ton of performances to fit in.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows the events of 2014’s reboot as the mighty Godzilla must face-off against three ancient super-species in order to restore balance on Earth and reign at the “king of the monsters”. The movie hits theaters this Friday, May 31.

Disney’s Alan Menken Thinks One Animated Blockbuster Is Too Controversial For Live-Action

Disney’s Alan Menken Thinks One Animated Blockbuster Is Too Controversial For Live-Action

Disney has found a goldmine in the form of remaking the studio's animated classics. Movies like The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast have been massive box office smashes. It looks like Disney may have another hit on their hands with Aladdin opening this week, and other remakes, like The Lion King and Mulan are waiting in the wings.

With several other remake projects rumored, we know Disney is going to be continuing this franchise for quite some time, however, Alan Menken, the Academy Award winning songwriter of many of Disney's Renaissance classics, thinks there's one animated Disney movie that likely won't get the remake treatment, 1995's Pocahontas. According to Menken...

I don't know if we'll ever be able to do Pocahontas. I think that story is going to be difficult. With modern sensibilities, it'd be hard – you're going to offend somebody – so I don't know.

It's not hard to believe that Alan Menken is correct in his comments to Express. The fact of the matter is, Pocahontas was criticized for its depiction of Native Americans when it was released in 1995, so doing a note-for-note adaptation of the film now would certainly cause similar complaints, only more so.

At the very least, an adaptation would need to go through some major modifications. Considering how close movies like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin have stayed to the source material, a version of Pocahontas that was significantly different doesn't seem like the sort of movie Disney would want to make, but if they also can't make the original version again, the movie gets stuck in limbo and probably never gets made.

It's not the first time that the test of time has not be kind to a Disney movie. Dumbo had a collection of crow characters back in the 1940s that included a character that was actually named Jim Crow. Needless to say, the recent live-action remake of that movie did not include that scene.

Song of the South is a movie that Disney would probably rather we all forgot existed. The depiction of African-Americans during Reconstruction was also criticized in its day, but that criticism has only grown over the years and the film has never been released on home viewing in North America. Disney has confirmed the film will not even be released on the Disney+ streaming service.

Pocahontas isn't Song of the South bad, Disney hasn't disowned the film, but it's still another example of a movie that simply hasn't aged well. The fact that Moana another Disney animated film focused on a cultural minority group, has a largely similar story, but is viewed much more positively, makes it feel like the film was an attempt to make up for the missteps of Pocahontas.

Disney's live-action remake slate currently includes The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Mulan, and Cruella on the big screen as well as Lady and the Tramp coming to Disney+. We also know that The Little Mermaid is a project currently in development. Other projects that have been rumored include Pinocchio, Snow White, and Sword in the Stone.

Pocahontas hasn't even been rumored as a potential remake, which would seem to confirm Alan Menken's feelings. Al;though, after all the other remakes have been made, Pocahontas might start to look like a more attractive option.

Bond 25’s Ralph Fiennes Still Doesn’t Know Anything About The Movie

Bond 25’s Ralph Fiennes Still Doesn’t Know Anything About The Movie

We’re almost a year out from the release of the film still known as Bond 25. What's even scarier is the fact that the film is starting to get ready to shoot within the next couple of weeks, and it sounds like some key actors still haven’t been brought up to speed on what the film will be about. At least, that’s what Ralph Fiennes is saying, as he was recently asked about what his newly installed M might be doing in the next adventure.

How or why Fiennes could be left in the dark on Bond 25’s goings on might feel like an interesting turn of events, but we know exactly why the Academy Award winning actor is absolutely clueless on what he’s doing. In his own words, Ralph Fiennes provided his reasoning:

I don't know the name of the film, I haven't had access to a screenplay yet... Honestly, I'm not being coy. I don't know when it starts or what the story is.)

So a couple weeks before this would-be blockbuster of 2020 is set to get serious about giving fans what they’d want out of Daniel Craig’s final round as James Bond, his spymaster boss doesn’t know what orders he’ll be giving out in Bond 25. This might sound like a rather troubling turn of events, but thinking things over a little longer, it's not much of a surprise.

While The Telegraph is reporting that Bond 25’s script, which has recently undergone some retooling by writer Scott Z. Burns, still hasn’t made its way into Ralph Fiennes’ hands, it might be because he’s not on the earlier side of the shooting schedule. And besides this script revision, one of the many changes triggered by previous director Danny Boyle’s departure from the project, there’s more reasons why he might Fiennes might not be in the loop quite yet.

Most importantly, this could be a side effect of Ralph Fiennes’ schedule taking yet another recent turn, as the untitled prequel to the Kingsman universe moved to the very Valentine’s day release date that Bond 25 vacated. So why give the poor man a script when he’s already busy working one out at the moment? Also, taking into account the events of the previous film, M’s role may still be firming up in the newer script.

When we last left him in Spectre, the man previously known as Gareth Mallory had been promoted to the post of M, head of MI6’s operations in British intelligence. And judging by what he went through in that film’s adventures, as well as the fact that his predecessor was removed from her post due to her untimely death, he’ll undoubtedly be vetting his co-workers a little harder. So the return of Fiennes’ fellow franchise co-stars Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris should help narrow down the list of people who can be trusted, and those who he needs to talk to.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is undoubtedly working very hard on Bond 25, which is scheduled to head to theaters on April 8, 2020. It’s definitely going to keep him busy for the next couple of months, but we’d like to assume that at some point soon, he’ll be able to pop that script into the mailbox in order for Ralph Fiennes to start learning his lines.

Todd Phillips Releases Moody New Joker Image, Confirms Editing Is Underway

Todd Phillips Releases Moody New Joker Image, Confirms Editing Is Underway

Todd Phillips' Joker wrapped filming a few months ago, and now the director has shared a moody new image of Joaquin Phoenix in character from the production, along with confirming that he's deep into the editing process. As was to be expected from this totally non-DCEU origin story for The Joker, the photo Phillips posted gives us plenty of gritty mystery to sink our comic obsessed brains into. Take a look:

As you can see, the black and white image of Joaquin Phoenix in character as soon-to-be-Joker Arthur Fleck is giving off many vibes without him doing much of anything at all. Actually, this shot, which was helpfully posted on Todd Phillips' Instagram page, could easily be a photo of Phoenix's Oscar nominated performance as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. Arthur is clearly dressed for success, even though he doesn't look very happy, with his dress shirt, vest, slacks and slicked back hair. But, something is off...and I'm going to say it's the slightly clown-like dress shoes with what appear to be regular, I'm-going-for-a-run socks. Yeah, nothing about that sock and shoe combo would sit well with Mr. Cash.

Upon taking a closer look at the image, Arthur, who is a bit slumped over and way too close to that TV (You'll ruin your eyesight, man!), is doing two things that lead me to believe he's already begun his downward "I'm gonna need to cause some destruction" spiral. First, he's smoking, which, sure a lot of smokers do when they're bored, but many people also head for the fire sticks when they are seriously stressed out.

Secondly, remember how he's all slumped over and sitting too close to the television? Well, an inspection of the VHS tapes on the floor, two of which appear to be labeled things like "Murray #237" and "Murray #42," make me think that this is a scene where Arthur is going over and over recordings of his favorite talk show host, and it's probably the one who will be played by Robert De Niro and somehow lead to Arthur's future as a criminal mastermind.

When Todd Phillips confirmed that Joker had wrapped filming back in December, he did note that his work wasn't quite finished yet, as he still had to put all that, greatly revised, footage together to give us a film we didn't even know we needed. And, as you can see by his caption on this post, he's been doing just that. Now that Phillips has seen fit to show us this additional snippet of production, I'm really hoping that this scene is actually in the movie. It's looks pretty heavy and seems like it could be important to the story over all, but also I'd really just like to brag about correctly guessing what this scene is about.

Speaking of what this scene may be about, we don't exactly know how all the pieces of Joker will fit together, but we do have some idea of what the movie will be about. Joker, which takes place in the early 1980s, will follow Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck, a failed stand up comedian who will be driven insane during the course of the film and turn into the crazed, clown makeup-wearing supervillain we all know and fear. And, again, while this movie is totally unconnected to what we once knew as the DCEU, there will be other familiar names from the comics appearing.

The rest of the cast of Joker will include Brett Cullen as a still-alive Thomas Wayne, Dante Pereira-Olson as a super tiny and adorable young Bruce Wayne and Douglas Hodge as trusted Wayne family ally Alfred Pennyworth. In addition, of course, to De Niro, the cast will be rounded out by Zazie Beetz's "cynical" single mom turned Arthur's love interest, Frances Conroy as Arthur's mom Penny, Marc Maron as an agent who works on the talk show hosted by De Niro's character, Bill Camp, Glenn Fleshler, Shea Whigham, Bryan Callen and Josh Pais. I don't know about you, but with Bruce still a little child person during Joker, I'm expecting most of these folks to turn up very dead by the end of the film.

We don't have too much time left now until we can feast upon Joker in theaters everywhere, because the film that finally nails down a backstory for one of DC's most popular villains will be out on October 4, 2019. More details are sure to be coming soon, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest information!