Why The Men In Black/Jump Street Crossover Fell Through

Why The Men In Black/Jump Street Crossover Fell Through

Back in late 2014, we first heard about the strange possibility that the dormant Men in Black franchise and the 21 Jump Street franchise could get a crossover movie from Sony Pictures titled MIB23. Despite some signs that this mashup had a real chance at happening, it never did and Men in Black moved on without the Jump Street crew. So why did it fall through? Well, according to producer Walter Parkes, it simply didn’t work, as he explained:

It was more of a Jump Street movie, honestly. With those guys doing the Men in Black. But I wasn’t surprised that we couldn't get really there on the script because the two franchises have such utterly different tones. You know, Jump Street kind of takes very classic, you know cop things and plays it very crazy and out there and broad. And we sort of take very strange situations, kind of cop science fiction situations, and try to play it very straight. So it was very hard to try and find a tone that worked. But the theory of it was great.

Based on what Walter Parkes told CinemaBlend during our visit to the London set of Men in Black: International, the Men in Black/Jump Street crossover fell through kind of for the reasons it seemed like such an odd idea in the first place: the two franchises are too different. It might have initially sounded like an idea that was so crazy it just might work, but ultimately it died on the page.

As Walter Parkes said, the Jump Street franchise is very goofy with silly characters in ridiculous situations. Although still a comedy, the situations in Men in Black are serious within the world of the film. It might be a fine distinction, but there was apparently no way to make the two mesh together without losing part of what makes each work on its own. Jonah Hill himself cited some of these concerns in the past and doubted if the crossover would get made.

By the sound of it MIB23 wouldn’t have been a true crossover anyways. It would have been more of a Jump Street film, which makes sense to a degree given that that was the more recent and prominent franchise at the time. Regardless, it didn’t work. That struggle to find the right tone doomed the project and honestly it sounds like it was for the best.

The studio liked the idea and the concept certainly had potential, but if there was no way to make it work and work well, better not to force it simply so you could capitalize on two name brands. The people working on the project could have phoned it in and slapped the logo on it and we’d all be saying the franchises should have stayed separate, but they ultimately came to that decision on their own.

Although MIB23 will go into the halls of Hollywood’s weirdest and most fascinating what-ifs, the franchises will continue to live on separate from one another. Sony is moving forward with a female-centric 21 Jump Street spinoff movie. As for the Men in Black organization, it’s getting some new blood and going global in F. Gary Gray’s Men in Black: International, starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson.

Men in Black: International opens in theaters on June 14. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all the biggest movies headed your way in a stacked summer movie season.

David Harbour Responds To Black Widow Rumors

David Harbour Responds To Black Widow Rumors

It's an extremely exciting time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with just one blockbuster left in Phase Three. 21 movies and a decade of filmmaking will come to a head when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters, picking up on the action after the devastating loss to Thanos in Infinity War. But aside from Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel Studios' plans for the future are largely a mystery.

There are some exciting projects being developed, even if their release date is currently unclear. Chief among them is the Black Widow movie, which will finally give Scarlett Johansson the chance to lead a Marvel blockbuster. Director Cate Shortland seems to be making some steps toward casting the movie, with the latest report indicating Stranger Things favorite David Harbour landed a role. Now Hopper himself has responded to those reports, saying:

Yeah man, like I want to do the movie. [Marvel would] kick me out so fast…[if I reveal anything]. Look here's what I will say. It's being directed by this woman Cate Shortland who is a phenomenal director. She directed a movie called Lore. She's a phenomenal director, so what's really exciting to me about it is it's gonna be like a real deep, interesting film. And so yeah, I'm just excited for it as a film as well as a superhero movie

While clearly nervous to anger the Marvel gods before he can even begin, David Harbour confirmed his excitement about the Black Widow movie, especially when it comes to working with the director. Fresh off his debut as Hellboy, the Golden Globe nominee is going to head to another comic book adaptation.

David Harbour's comments to ET are sure to excite his many fans, who are hoping to see more of him on the big screen. His debut as Hellboy will arrive in theaters shortly, offering an R-rated romp free disconnected from Guillermo del Toro''s previous set of movies. But Harbour joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe is perhaps more exciting, especially with the future currently so unclear.

Black Widow's movie has been a long time coming, and David Habour's comments make it seem like nothing we've ever seen before in the MCU. Scarlett Johansson's signature character has been a major presence in the shared universe, but she's never gotten her own time to really shine. This is especially hard because Widow is one of the most complicated and badass Avengers, and we've gotten only small glimpses into her sordid past. But according to Harbour, the movie is going to be an intimate look at the character.

For now we'll have to wait as Black Widow's movie is developed, and hope for details regarding the cast, plot, and settings. Because depending on her fate in Endgame, a prequel film might not be out of the question.

Black Widow will return to theaters when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th, and you can catch David Harbour in Hellboy on April 12th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

6 References To The Original Dumbo In The New Live Action Remake

6 References To The Original Dumbo In The New Live Action Remake

The following contains SPOILERS for the new live-action Dumbo.

While the new live-action Dumbo may technically be considered a remake, it is, in many ways, a re-imagining. The new film has several entirely new characters and plot threads that never appeared in the original 1941 animated classic, and it also eliminates characters and sequences that were there the first time along.

However, just because the new Dumbo is a very different thing doesn't mean it forgot its roots. There are several great easter eggs and references to the original Dumbo inside the new Tim Burton film. Here are the biggest ones.

Casey Jr.

One element that hasn't changed between the animated original and the brand new Dumbo is the method the circus uses to get from place to place. Casey Jr. is the name of the train. We see the name Casey Jr. on the side of the locomotive as the circus is getting underway at the beginning of the movie. The live action version even has a slightly discomforting face on the front of the locomotive, even more than the animated train does.

Of course, if the train is being used is the same, does it really count as a reference? Maybe not, but what absolutely does is the music. "Casey Junior" is actually one of the songs in the original Dumbo, and one of the better ones, in my opinion. You can hear some pieces of the original music in Danny Elfman's score for the new Dumbo's opening scene. In addition, Danny Devito's character, ringmaster Max Medici, breaks into a chorus of the song at a couple points. Why he came up with a song about his own train, I can't say.

Timothy Q. Mouse

The single biggest change to Dumbo between the two versions of the story concerns the characters that surround the title elephant. In the new movie, it's the family of Holt Ferrier and his two children. However, in the animated classic, Dumbo has no human caretakers. Instead he makes friends with a small mouse who comes to Dumbo's defense when the other elephants of the circus shut out the newborn.

Timothy Q. Mouse spends most of Dumbo in a circus ringmaster's costume. While he might not be a character this time around, we still see a mouse dressed as a ringmaster, as a homage to the character. He's one of the pet mice kept by Holt Ferrier's daughter, Milly.

The Stork

Both the original Dumbo and the new remake start by introducing us to Dumbo's mother, Mrs. Jumbo, before the flying elephant is actually born. Of course, the Disney animated movie isn't going to get into the whole question of where babies come from, so the film introduces us to a stork character who actually delivers little Dumbo to his mother.

While the new Dumbo doesn't dwell on where Dumbo came from exactly, Mrs. Jumbo is already pregnant when we meet her, and we assume she gave birth the old fashioned way. However, before she does, we see her looking out her window, where she spots a stork land just for just a moment before taking flight again and joining its flock. Maybe the stork delivered Dumbo in this movie after all.

The Magic Feather

In the original Dumbo, the elephant and his mouse friend find themselves up a tree after a night of accidental heavy drinking, where they meet a group of crows. While the less said about the crows, the better, they are important for the story because they're the ones who first give Dumbo a feather and claim it has the magic power to make him fly.

In the new Dumbo, there's no belief that the feather is actually magic, but there is a feeling that when Dumbo inhales a feather it grants him his ability to fly. In this movie as well, that turns out to not be true, but the connection is there. Also, the first feather that Dumbo inhales up his trunk which initially launches him into the air is a simple black feather, meant to remind viewers of the crow feather from the original movie.

Pink Elephants on Parade

One of the most famous sequences in the original Dumbo is one that probably gave you nightmares if you first saw it as a child. Dumbo inadvertently drinks some water that has been spiked with booze and the elephant gets drunk. He then blows a large bubble out of his trunk that becomes a group of pink elephants, which then begin to sing and dance and otherwise be terrifying. We have witnessed Dumbo's alcohol-induced hallucination.

In the new Dumbo, we get a similar pink elephant scene. Once again the elephants are created from bubbles. Only this time, the bubbles come from wands being waved by some of V.A. Vandevere's circus performers. Exactly how the bubbles then begin to dance is far from clear. But they do, all while the same music plays. It comes across a bit more as "somebody spiked the popcorn with LSD" than "I really need to quit drinking," but multiple people see the elephants, so it appears that they're quite real.

When I See An Elephant Fly

While Disney has gone ahead and made some live-action remakes like Beauty and the Beast full musicals, Dumbo is not one of those. However, as mentioned, some of those songs are referenced in the new film in other ways. The same crows that give Dumbo his magic feather sing a song in the film, which has a few lines borrowed in the new movie as part of an unexpected cameo.

Famed boxing ring announced Michael Buffer appears as the announcer for V.A. Vadevere's Coliseum, and as part of his build up, he makes references to unlikely things we've all seen fly, such as seeing a "dragon fly" a "horse fly" or a "house fly." These same lines are part of the intro of the song "When I See an Elephant Fly" from the original film. The crows are laughing at the idea of seeing an elephant fly, though they admit they've seen some strange things fly in their time.

In order to turn the brief story of Dumbo into a modern feature film, the story certainly needed work, so it makes sense that a lot of changes and additions were made. However, for the generations that grew up on the previous version, there are a few items to keep your eyes open for.

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.