You'll Never Guess Who Inspired Lupita Nyong’o's Raspy Us Voice

You'll Never Guess Who Inspired Lupita Nyong’o's Raspy Us Voice

The following contains spoilers for Us**.**

There are many terrifying parts of Jordan Peele's new film, Us. However, one of the most chilling aspects of the story has to be the performance of Lupita Nyong'o's dark doppelganger, Red. She moves with a inhuman smoothness which will be enough to make your skin crawl on its own. However, it's when Red speaks that she truly terrifies.

Red's voice has a raw and raspy quality. The words come out clearly enough, but with a methodical slowness, like she has to fight to make every word work. Jordan Peele apparently gave Lupita Nyong'o a very basic understanding of what he wanted from Red's voice, in part because he was keeping aspects of the story itself hidden from her early on. Nyong'o says she eventually found inspiration for her character after hearing, of all people, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak. This led the actress to investigate the affliction more in order to better understand it. According to Nyong'o...

I was fascinated, and I started doing research. I met with people who have the condition and built it from there.

Kennedy, the son of the former Attorney General of the United States, suffers from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia. It's part of a group of neurological disorders which cause muscles to spasm involuntarily. When those muscles are in the throat and vocal chords, it results in a voice that comes out uneven. Lupita Nyong'o tells the New York Times that she found the vocal irregularity inspiring and began to study it more in order to learn as much as she could about it.

As it turns out, little is known about how the condition comes about, but Lupita Nyong'o felt that it made sense for the character of Red. According to the actress...

It’s not really understood why it happens, or how it happens. It could be a trauma in your life — someone dying, or a physical assault. It varies. For me, it felt very organic as an inspiration for Red, who’s had this kind of strangled past.

Lupita Nyong'o stops short of stating that Red suffers from this particular affliction. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't, but it's not hard to see how the concept inspired the way the character speaks. Red is a dark and twisted opposite of Nyong'o's other character, Adelaide. It makes sense that Red's speech would be just as twisted as everything else about the character.

There are reasons for Red's unusual speech pattern, of course, but to understand them you need to see Us and there's no need to spoil the details of the film anymore than is absolutely necessary. Although, it appears a lot of people saw the film over this past weekend.

There are many aspects of Us that are likely to remain with you after you see the film, but the voice of Red is absolutely one of them. Us is in theaters now.

Alien Had To Change Its Terrifying Eggs To Not Resemble Lady Parts

Alien Had To Change Its Terrifying Eggs To Not Resemble Lady Parts

Sci-fi has been a popular genre in filmmaking since it was first introduced, and still finds a way to captivate moviegoers. Aside from blockbusters like Star Wars and Star Trek, one of the most popular sci-fi properties also contains elements of horror: the Alien franchise. Xenomorphs have terrified generations of moviegoers, with the most recent installment being 2017's Alien: Covenant. Every facet of the Xenomorphs are scary, even before their born. Because we all know what happens when you get too close to an alien egg.

Eggs in the Alien franchise are nearly as iconic as the full grown Xenomorphs themselves, as they've been known to scare audiences and take the life of various characters. Facehuggers live inside the pods, and they hatch and immediately begin thirsting for blood. But it turns out the eggs' appearance needed to be altered for the original 1979 Ridley Scott film. According to art director Roger Christian, they originally looked a bit too much like female genitalia. As he explains it:

The first ones he did looked much more like a woman’s private parts, and the producers all worried. Giger said, ‘Well, if it’s a cross, then it’s religious, and people don’t worry about that.’

Well, that's not a problem you hear about everyday. It looks like the eggs in the Aliens franchises could have looked much different than the ones that eventually became iconic and nightmare-inducing. They were actually going to resemble lady parts, so much so that it worried the film's producers.

Roger Christian's comments to EW show how much things change during the development stages of major blockbusters. While the Alien franchise wasn't the beloved horror staple it is now, special care was taken to create the visuals of the sci-fi world for the first groundbreaking movie. That includes the Xenomorph eggs, and their penchant for bloody murder. But they looked too much like female genitalia, and adjustments were made at the behest of production.

What makes this story so hilarious is that Roger Christian maintains that offending religious moviegoers was less of a concern than having visuals that resembled the female form. The Xenomorph eggs must have been seriously phallic (yonic?) in order to illicit that type of strong reaction. One can only imagine the eggs looked like, and how their appearance altered the birthing of facehuggers.

The eggs have been a recurring presence in the Alien franchise, including a few years ago with Covenant. They typically bring a sense of unease to each blockbuster, as the action temporarily slows to display them in their eerie glory. But that breather usually ends tragically, as facehuggers fly out of the eggs and murder the nearest victim.

The future of the Alien franchise is unclear, as Alien: Covenant failed to deliver a box office or critically. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Wait, Is Dazzler In Dark Phoenix?

Wait, Is Dazzler In Dark Phoenix?

While superhero movies are everywhere, there was a time when studios weren't so keen on shelling out massive budgets to bring comic book characters to life. 20th Century Fox (RIP) took a big chance by bringing 2000's X-Men to theaters, and it's a franchise that has never been far away from theaters in the decade and change since. The long-running property is set to have its finale Simon Kinberg's Dark Phoenix, in the second attempt at adapting the iconic comic book plot line.

The stakes for Dark Phoenix appear to be super high, as Sophie Turner's Jean Grey battles against the dark cosmic power inside her. While the fandom is eager to catch up with the First Class characters, there will be some new faces. And a new music video tied to Dark Phoenix may have revealed that Dazzler will appear in the blockbuster. In the video for Emeli Sandé's "Extraordinary Being", there is a quick glimpse at a character who looks an awful lot like the character. Check it out.

While not confirmed, the above shot sure looks a lot like Dazzler's comic book appearance. The unknown actress is shown wearing the character's signature white jumpsuit, and is even surrounded by sparkles and light-- reminiscent of signature Dazzler's mutant ability. And that should get the hardcore X-Men fans very excited.

Dazzler might not as popular an X-Men character as Wolverine or Storm, but she's had a long tenure in the comics, and has a unique origin. Dazzler is a professional singer, who has the ability to convert sound vibrations into powerful energy blasts. Her career and powers go hand in hand, and she's had a life in the comics beginning in 1978.

Aside from her tenure on the page, Dazzler has also appeared in some small screen X-Men projects. Most notably the animated series, although she wasn't a main member of the team. But she is perhaps most known as being a playable character in the X-Men arcade game, which is still available in arcades now.

Related: Lana Condor Hopes She Can Play X-Men’s Jubilee Again In The Future

If the character above does end up being Dazzler, it will mark the first time the X-Men character has been adapted into live-action. Although she was featured in an easter egg during X-Men: Apocalypse. When Jean, Scott, and Jubilee traveled to the mall in the film's second act, they go to a record store. And one of Dazzler's records is present, alluding to the fact that she exists in the current timeline.

You can check out Emeli Sandé's new video, featuring plenty of Dark Phoenix footage-- and possibly the first glimpse at Dazzler.

Looks like her, right?

If Dazzler ends up having a role in Dark Phoenix, it should be interesting to see how she factors into the narrative of the movie. It looks like Jean Grey's cosmic powers will divide the mutants, as the superpowered characters decide what to do with their fallen X-Man. The trailers make it seem like a story wholly focusing on the starring cast we've seen in three previous movies, so who knows how singer/mutant Dazzler could come into play.

All will be revealed when Dark Phoenix arrives in theaters on June 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

That Viral Alien Theatrical Play Is Coming Back

That Viral Alien Theatrical Play Is Coming Back

This year marks the 40th anniversary of sci-fi horror classic Alien, which has since inspired a slew of sequels, prequels and played a vital part in shaping the genre since. The blockbuster franchise was even the subject of a New Jersey high school’s theatrical production, titled Alien: The Play, last month. The play became the talk of the internet and even received praise from the 1979 film’s director Ridley Scott and star Sigourney Weaver.

Thanks to its viral attention, the students of North Bergen High School will be returning to the stage to reenact the space thriller for a special encore performance next week! Check out the announcement from the Alien Anthology’s Twitter below:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never wanted to attend a high school production more! The encore performance will be returning to North Bergen, New Jersey on April 26, also known as Alien Day. That's the official day dedicated to the franchise for special releases and named after the moon that Aliens is set on, LV-426.

The general admission tickets went on sale this morning at 10 a.m. and have already sold out. However, there will be resident tickets made available in the next couple days on the North Bergen Theater and Arts Foundation website. Following the announcement on Twitter, fans have been asking for a livestream of the encore performance as well, but it’s unclear whether the production will opt for recording it so it can reach a wider audience for Alien Day.

When Alien: The Play went viral online after its initial performances on March 19 and 22, it caught the attention of Ridley Scott, who personally penned a letter to the students to show how impressed he was with their imagination and the production value on a small high school theater budget. He also included word that his production company Scott Free would be sending along some financial help for an encore performance.

Sigourney Weaver also showed her support for Alien: The Play with a video complimenting the production's amazing alien design. While the director and iconic Ripley star heard of the first performances after the fact, maybe this time they will make it out to go see it live… that is, if they can score tickets.

Proceeds from ticket sales are going back to future plays, art projects and student scholarships. The teachers involved in the production have also created a foundation to support the kids in light of all the attention Alien: The Play has been receiving.

Since the encore performance is being promoted by the Alien Anthology and 20th Century Fox, who knows, there may be more surprises to the New Jersey show come next Friday! There is still reportedly a sequel to Alien: Covenant on the way, though it looks to be still in early stages of development.

The 10 Best George Clooney Movies, Ranked

The 10 Best George Clooney Movies, Ranked

George Clooney is the perfect definition of a movie star. He’s a bit of a throwback to Old Hollywood, with his dashing good lucks and his undeniable charm. Before starring in huge hits like Ocean’s Eleven, Gravity and Michael Clayton, he found work as a humble struggling actor.

He started his career in the eighties, appearing in bit parts on sitcoms like The Facts Of Life and Golden Girls before his breakout role, as Dr. Doug Ross on NBC’s ER in the mid-nineties. Since then his star has only grown brighter.

George Clooney has won multiple Oscars, both as an actor (Syriana) and a producer (Argo) and starred in both big budget blockbusters and smaller indie films. He’s also had his fair share of misses in his career, most infamously, his turn as the Caped Crusader in Batman & Robin, a movie so bad, it killed the franchise for a while.

Yet his successes far outnumber his bombs, so we’ve put together a ranking of George Clooney’s 10 best movies, a couple of which you might have missed along the way. Take a look.

10. Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (2002)

George Clooney directs this fantastic film about '70s game show host Chuck Barris (played by Sam Rockwell). Barris got famous by producing and hosting The Gong Show, a show so ridiculous, it’s amazing it was as popular as it was (its influence over TV is still evident today). Barris figured out that a lot of people in the world were desperate for their 15 minutes of fame, even the wildly untalented, and millions of people tuned in to watch those people fail on the small screen.

However, there was a whole lot more to Chuck Barris than being a simple game show host, at least Barris would have you believe anyway. Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind is based on Barris’ “unauthorized biography” of the same name written by the man himself. Sam Rockwell stars as Chuck Barris, who is portrayed as an alcohol-soaked jerk with delusions of grandeur. Clooney played CIA agent Jim Byrd, who recruits Barris to be an undercover agent.

Among the many outrageous claims Barris made about himself in the book was that he was a CIA hitman who used his cover as a game show host to travel the world and assassinate America’s enemies. Rockwell’s performance captures Chuck Barris’ erratic and sometimes insane behavior perfectly. If you’ve never seen it, you should. The film also stands out as Clooney’s debut as a director, something else he does very well here, and he'd continue with another movie that ends up on this list.

9. Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton came at a peak in George Clooney’s career. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and it came in the midst of other award-winning films in the same time period, like Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck.

In this gripping story about a high-powered New York attorney who gets caught up in life-threatening controversy, we get a corporate cover-up over a cancer-causing weed killer and a fellow partner losing his mind ( and eventually being murdered) to keep the story out of the press.

George Clooney is left as the only person who can break the story open in a harrowing, classic tale of one man taking on big business and winning.

8. Three Kings (1999)

It’s easy to dismiss Three Kings today. Its style and its plot are both a little dated. For one, the film is a heist film set during the first Persian Gulf War and it was released three years before the second invasion of Iraq. So in terms of history, the perspective is very different today than it was 20 years ago.

The film’s style, driven artistically by director David O. Russell, was groundbreaking at the time, but it’s been so influential, it almost seems contrived today. With a heavy use of handheld steady cams and oversaturated colorizing, the movie’s look is like many other films today, but at the time, nothing else looked or felt like it.

As for George Clooney’s performance in Three Kings, it is masterful. In it, viewers can see the actor blossom into the movie star he was destined to become. Despite legendary arguments with Russell, George Clooney’s performance, alongside his co-stars Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg and Spike Jonze, radiates with his trademark charisma.

7. Up In The Air (2009)

Up In The Air won’t change your life. It won’t make you question all your beliefs or inspire you change the world. What it will do is delight you and allow you a wonderful break from the heaviness of the real world.

Up In The Air, and George Clooney’s performance in it, is light and, pardon the pun, airy. That’s not a bad thing, it is a very good thing. The film, like Clooney himself, is undeniably charming.

It follows the story of George Clooney’s character as a downsizer who travels the country as a corporate consultant who specializes in laying people off. He travels all week, never spending more than a night or two in anyone place, living the high life on the road taking full advantage of his frequent flier status on American Airlines. He’s a man who never settles into a place called home, for him, home is on the road.

Up In The Air was nominated for a slew of awards, including George Clooney himself for his performance, as well as Anna Kendrick in a star-making role for her as a young apprentice to Clooney’s character.

6. Gravity (2013)

2013’s Gravity found George Clooney in full movie star mode. Maybe it was his portrayal of a cowboy-ish astronaut that did it, but it’s Clooney in full confidence of his abilities. Starring alongside another bonafide movie star in Sandra Bullock and directed by the brilliant Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity has all the components of a blockbuster.

Gravity was nominated for an astounding 10 Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Actress for Sandra Bullock, Best Direct for Cuarón, and most of the technical awards for its gripping story of two astronauts stuck in the vast emptiness of space.

It’s a movie that is beautifully shot and remarkably tense. While it is not the most demanding acting job George Clooney has ever had, it is worthy of inclusion on this list for being the incredible movie that it is.

5. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Can you take a devastatingly handsome leading man like George Clooney and put him in a movie where you never see his face and still have huge success? The animated masterpiece Fantastic Mr. Fox, directed by Wes Anderson, proves that you can.

The thing is, George Clooney’s irrepressible charm comes through even when it is just his voice. Although he’s playing an animated fox, viewers are keenly aware that it is, in fact, George Clooney.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is Wes Anderson’s first animated movie, but it reads just like live-action Anderson film, complete with the same perfectly balanced camera shots and an excellent soundtrack. It is as charming and as fun as any other of the best Wes Anderson movies and the same can be said about George Clooney’s performance. And yeah, it’s better than Up, the movie that stole all the awards that year in animation.

4. Good Night, And Good Luck (2005)

Good Night, And Good Luck marked a big change for George Clooney. It wasn’t the first feature film he directed, but it did establish him as a big time director as he was nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards.

Set during the Red Scare and with the backdrop of the infamous anti-communist hearings by Senator Joseph McCarthy, the film, shown in back and white, explores the early days of television news, focusing on CBS’ legendary news achor Edward R. Murrow, played by David Strathairn in a brilliant performance.

George Clooney’s directorial masterpiece took a lot of risks, not the least of which was to release the film in black and white and his talents really shine through in this dramatic retelling of a pivotal time for the country and for journalism in America.

3. Syriana (2005)

Syriana is a complicated film that requires the audience to play close attention. Because of this, it can also be a little confusing. In fact, in many of the (mostly glowing) reviews, this potential confusion is a recurring theme. But if you follow it, it’s brilliant.

George Clooney’s performance is one of the finest of his career and earned him his first, and to date, only, Academy Award for acting, when he won for Best Supporting Actor.

The movie follows multiple narratives through multiple locations throughout the Middle East starring George Clooney as a CIA agent trying to stem the flow of illegal weapons into the Middle East and also features excellent performance for an excellent cast, including Matt Damon, Christopher Plummer, and Jeffery Wright.

2. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

O Brother, Where Art Thou? marks the first collaboration between George Clooney and the Coen brothers and it truly is a brilliant performance by the actor. Clooney plays a con man who has recently escaped from prison in order to get to a pile of money he buried before being arrested in an area about to be flooded with the building of the dam.

Based on Homer’s The Odyssey, George Clooney and his two accomplices, played by John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson, find themselves on an adventure through a Depression-era Mississippi, in a tale that twists and turns and finds them encountering all manner of weird and wonderful characters.

The actor's role as the hilarious con man with a “gift for gab” is simply wonderful. The audience hangs on every single brilliant sentence that the Coen brothers constructed and George Clooney flawlessly delivers. O Brother is a movie finds a whole bunch of really talented filmmakers and actors at creative peaks.

1. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Ocean’s Eleven takes the top spot for one reason, in a movie filmed with the biggest movie stars of the day, including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Andy Garcia, and Julie Roberts, George Clooney is the standout star. It’s not easy to stand out in that crowd and Clooney does it with ease.

It’s hard to image anyone stealing the show, and yet somehow George Clooney, as the Danny Ocean, the leader of a first rate crew of thieves pulling of the heist in the vault of three casinos, does exactly that. His confidence and swagger as the leading man among leading men oozes through the character and his performance fits the movie’s fun vibe perfectly.

It is easy to see that Clooney and the rest of the brilliant ensemble had a blast making the movie and its success, along with the success of its two sequels truly established George Clooney as one of the biggest stars of his day and, indeed, of all time.

As you’ll probably note, there are a couple of movies that didn’t find their way onto this list, movies where George Clooney had stellar performances, like his role as the doomed captain of a fishing trawler in The Perfect Storm and his Golden Globe-winning performance in The Descendants.

It’s not that they don’t deserve to be on any list of George Clooney’s best films, but it is a testament to how many great movies he’s made and how many great performances he’s shined in over the years. George Clooney is a movie star’s movie star and he continues to prove it over and over again. Even if he was the worst Batman ever.

Millions Sent Back To Malaysia In Wolf Of Wall Street Case

Millions Sent Back To Malaysia In Wolf Of Wall Street Case

With one of the biggest financial scandals of all time linked to the funding of its production, The Wolf of Wall Street has come back into the public eye. As the trial against former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is proceeding in court, another part of the investigation into Red Granite’s alleged impropriety has proceeded, because Malaysia has been given several million dollars back from its raided 1MDB fund.

The United States government has returned $57 million to the Malaysian government, thanks to production company Red Granite paying $60 million in a recent settlement. The gap in funds returned, amounting to around $3 million, was due to the FBI and Department of Justice recovering funds for their investigative efforts.

While that’s a drop in the bucket when compared to the $4.5 billion that was taken from Malaysia’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, it’s a start to recovering the money that was funneled into Najib Razak’s high living lifestyle, which included funding fancy parties, large ticket purchases of artwork and luxury properties.

Razak also invested in the funding of films like The Wolf of Wall Street, Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home. Najib Razak was able to do so, courtesy of his step son Riza Aziz, who was one of the founders of the Red Granite company. The scandal was so huge that it's taken almost five years to work through the legal proceedings, and now it feels like justice is finally starting to be served.

The Hollywood Reporter also mentioned in its reporting on this recent development that $322 million has been recovered so far, with another $139 million in the process of being returned back to Malaysia’s government. While it didn’t take too long after the production of The Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To to start the investigation into Red Granite’s financing practices, we’re now finally seeing the concrete results of those efforts being paid back to the people of Malaysia.

Tommy Thomas, Malaysia’s attorney general, is confident that continuing efforts to recover the improperly channeled 1MDB funds will yield more payouts into the country’s investment fund. But for the time being, the $322 million recovered is the start of those promised recoveries.

Even Jordan Belfort himself couldn’t help but feel that The Wolf of Wall Street was being made with illicitly-obtained money, and if that’s not a sign of this entire enterprise being worth the effort, then we don’t know what is. Naturally, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any further developments in terms of the 1MDB funds being returned, and should any other updates come through on the matter, we’ll report back with the findings here at CinemaBlend.

The Wolf of Wall Street is currently available on home video and streaming platforms.

The Lion King’s Mufasa Is Barely Being Changed For The Remake

The Lion King’s Mufasa Is Barely Being Changed For The Remake

Disney is moving through the “circle of life” with its remake slate this year and using new talent to tell their familiar stories. However, for The Lion King, director Jon Favreau enlisted the original Mufasa, James Earl Jones, to voice Simba’s father among a fresh cast including Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa.

While Jon Favreau recently promised that the remake won’t be a shot-for-shot of the original and will surprise audiences, when it came to Jones reprising his iconic voice role, fans should expect the Mufasa they know. In Favreau's words:

So many of his lines have not actually changed that much, because that’s the one role where it really didn’t feel dated at all. All of the speeches Mufasa makes during the film are timeless and apply to each age, whereas with the humor, the music, some of those other aspects, there were opportunities to update. But with him, that role stayed as close to the original as any.

Why would they? James Earl Jones’ Mufasa is perfection. It's a voice seared into many of our brains since childhood and holds up really well! There’s not much room for growth or change in a performance such as this. Just take a look and listen at this scene from the 1994 original and tell me what’s missing:

Chills! Jon Favreau made a good call casting James Earl Jones again for the role, but the director did admit in his Entertainment Weekly interview that he was surprised he agreed to take it on again 25 years later. Mufasa has the legacy of being one of the most recognizable and treasured cartoon character voices of all time and certainly brings in nostalgia from the ‘90s. The director felt this during their recording sessions too. Here’s what he said:

He would do a take and then he would ask me for direction and I honestly couldn’t give an answer! I was like, ‘You’re Mufasa.’ Far be it from me… Everything he said sounded perfect because it was him saying it.

How does one give notes to Mufasa? While fans can expect a lot of the same performance for Mufasa, perhaps there are a few extra lines here and there the “live-action” version builds upon before the character receives his fate from Scar.

On the other paw, it may feel off-putting to hear James Earl Jones’ Mufasa and not hear Jeremy Irons’ Scar, as this new version of the character will be voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Some have already voiced their distaste with the new take on the movie’s villain after the first full trailer dropped a couple weeks ago.

It looks like the new Lion King will tread the line between doing justice to the beats we all hold dear from the original and offering something fresh and new to the story that will hopefully make the movie’s existence feel earned. Jon Favreau is a huge fan of the classic animated feature who still feels like it holds up well, but wants to deliver on expectation on this version and astonish audiences when it comes to theaters on July 19.