Robert Rodriguez Really Loved Picking James Cameron’s Brain During Alita: Battle Angel

Robert Rodriguez Really Loved Picking James Cameron’s Brain During Alita: Battle Angel

At this point in his career, Robert Rodriguez is hardly a newbie. It was nearly 30 years ago that he directed his first feature, 1992's El Mariachi, and he's made close to 20 features in that time. He is most definitely regarded as a veteran in the filmmaker community - but apparently that status did absolutely nothing to stop him from constantly looking to the legendary James Cameron in the making of Alita: Battle Angel:

Jim’s like the ultimate Yoda. First, he’s like, ‘You don’t need guidance. Stop calling me a mentor, you don’t need any mentoring.’ You know, he’s just totally empowering. He does it without even trying. If I ask him a question, he will give you back a really thoughtful Jim Cameron answer.

Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron had the opportunity to work together closely in the making of Alita: Battle Angel, as the former directed a script written by the latter, and clearly Rodriguez truly loved the time they spent together, and the wisdom he gleaned. It was a subject he discussed with apparent enthusiasm during a recent interview with Indiewire.

Being a significant part of the 1990s indie director movement, Robert Rodriguez has a number of titles on his resume that are beloved by certain cinephiles, including Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Grindhouse, but there's also no real arguing that James Cameron operates on a different level. You can't even properly list the game-changing titles on the man's resume because it gets too unwieldy in text and you have to make controversial omissions.

I think it's safe to say that any of us put in Robert Rodriguez's position would treat James Cameron's eminence the same way, and one extra benefit is that Rodriguez made an effort to permanently capture the pearls of wisdom Cameron had to offer:

So I just have it on record. I turn my phone recorder on, because it’s like some of this will go right over my head and I’m going have to go back and study it. He’s so freaking brilliant.

It seems like the collaboration will be one that Robert Rodriguez will long cherish - and there's still a lingering question mark regarding whether or not he will get the chance to work alongside James Cameron again. Following pessimistic early box office prognostications, Alita: Battle Angel has turned into an impressive hit, to date making $360.3 million worldwide (though only $74.7 million comes from domestic grosses). At this point we're still waiting to see if there will be an opportunity for the project to produce a sequel, but the possibility definitely exists.

Even if Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron never get to work together again, though, at the very least it sounds like Rodriguez made the most from the time.

For those of you who have not yet seen it Alita: Battle Angel - starring Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, and Mahershala Ali - is now playing in theaters worldwide.

How Much Toy Story 4 Could Make Opening Weekend

How Much Toy Story 4 Could Make Opening Weekend

This summer is absolutely stacked with movies, and one of the most high-profile is Toy Story 4. It's been nine years since Toy Story 3 and the new film in the series will find Buzz and Woody reuniting with Bo Peep and trying to find their way back to Bonnie. There's a lot of love for the Toy Story franchise and it sounds like the new film is in for a pretty healthy opening weekend, should all go well. Early tracking for Toy Story 4 has the movie opening to as much as $130 million.

Everybody is talking about Avengers: Endgame and how that film is breaking every record under the sun, but this is only the start of the summer season. There are plenty of other movies that are aiming for box office supremacy, and Toy Story 4 has a solid shot at becoming the highest-grossing animated film of the year.

While we are still a good distance away from the film's June release date, early tracking for Toy Story 4 is already in progress. According to Box Office Pro, the film could open within the range of $105 million to $130 million.

There are a number of factors that could swing this projection. The Toy Story franchise has a lot of nostalgia attached to it, and given the nine-year gap between films, older fans may want to bring kids who were born after Toy Story 3 and introduce them to the franchise. Additionally, reactions to trailers and other footage have been positive, as well as reactions to new characters like Forky.

However, Toy Story 3 is seen as the perfect conclusion to the series by some viewers, so they may not feel compelled to check out the latest adventure. This wouldn't really deter younger fans, but interest in the film amongst older generations isn't as high as it was for Finding Dory and Incredibles 2 by this point, according to Box Office Pro.

The film will also open two weeks after The Secret Life of Pets 2, which could cause Toy Story 4 to have a deflated opening if the Illumination sequel is well-received.

Comparatively, this opening projection is fairly in line with Toy Story 3, which grossed $110 million opening weekend. However it falls behind two of Pixar's most successful films box office-wise. Finding Dory opened with $135 million while Incredibles 2 was Pixar's best opening ever with $182.7 million. However, it's still fairly early, and projections tend to change the closer it gets to the release date.

Will Toy Story 4 be able to escape the Oscar-nominated shadow of Toy Story 3? We'll know for sure when the film arrives in theaters on June 21, 2019. For everything else coming to theaters this year, check out our 2019 movie release guide.

Captain Marvel Just Crossed Another Box Office Milestone

Captain Marvel Just Crossed Another Box Office Milestone

When Captain Marvel hit theaters, it was far from a shock that the movie made money. That's pretty standard for Marvel Studios at this point. However, exactly how much money it was going to make, nobody could be quite sure. Nearly two months later, the answer is, quite a lot.

In its seventh weekend of release Captain Marvel hit another major box office milestone by breaking the $400 million mark in domestic box office totals. When combined with the nearly $700 million the movie has made overseas, that brings its global number to just short of $1.1 billion.

Captain Marvel actually made more money this past weekend than it did the weekend previous, even though it was on 300 fewer screens, coming in at over $9 million. It also jumped up to being the fourth highest grossing movie of the weekend. It's never been lower than the sixth spot since it opened.

Basically, Marvel has owned the box office for the last two months, and that's not going to stop with Avengers: Endgame set to debut this Friday.

Considering how strongly Captain Marvel is still performing, it will be interesting to see how the movie performs next weekend. Many of those who have been going to see Captain Marvel may be doing so to make sure they're caught up on the MCU before Endgame hits. Once it does, all attention will probably shift there.

It makes one wonder if Marvel Studios is currently wishing it had released Captain Marvel earlier in the year so that it could have made even more money before Endgame came out. The movie is only $12 million short of overtaking Wonder Woman at the domestic box office. It might have had an easier time doing that without another Marvel movie to compete against.

While Captain Marvel hasn't done nearly as well as Black Panther did domestically last year, the newer film has a slight edge over Panther internationally. Either way, both movies have been tremendous hits. Captain Marvel is the highest grossing movie of the year both domestically and internationally by a wide margin. While that will almost certainly change over the next couple of weeks, Marvel will be more than happy to see its current number one replaced by its new number one.

The fact that Captain Marvel not only started strong but has had legs that have kept it going for the last two months is great news for Marvel. While we still have no idea what's in store for us in the next phase of the MCU, the expectation is that Captain Marvel as a character will be a big part of the future, the fact that the movie has done so well is an indication that the audience is on board with that idea.

And since Captain Marvel as a character will still be a part of Avengers: Endgame, the character will be at the center of the two highest grossing movies of the year very soon.

Jordan Peele Says He Isn't Interested In Casting A White Dude As The Lead In His Movies

Jordan Peele Says He Isn't Interested In Casting A White Dude As The Lead In His Movies

Jordan Peele's movies have a lot that set them apart from the pack, but one of the most obvious is the fact that, in the cases of both Get Out and Us, the lead characters were African-American. In a Hollywood that is still largely focused on white men, Peele's movies are an anomaly, but the director doesn't expect that he'll ever make a movie with a lead actor that looks like so many other lead actors, for the simple reason that it happens so frequently. According to Peele...

I don’t see myself casting a white dude as the lead in my movie. Not that I don’t like white dudes. But I've seen that movie.

While Hollywood diversity is always improving, the vast majority of films still star white dudes. Beyond the simple benefits of diversity, the fact is that Jordan Peele's movies standout because they aren't simply another movie about a white guy. The relationship between black people and the horror genre specifically is such that it is often the subject of jokes. Peele's interest in making horror films with black actors means that he gets to battle these tropes and give the entire genre a new look.

And for Peele, it isn't that he simply likes to cast black people. In Get Out especially, the fact that the main character is black is a key part of the story. It simply doesn't work any other way.

And if you're worried, the position of white people in Jordan Peele's movies is improving. In Get Out they were evil, but in Us, they're not the bad guys, they're just assholes.

At the same time, the writer/director told a group of students at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (via THR) that he also wants to cast black people in his films because he's in a unique position to be able to do so...

The way I look at it, I get to cast black people in my movies. I feel fortunate to be in this position where I can say to Universal, 'I want to make a $20 million horror movie with a black family.' And they say yes."

For a director who has only made two movies, Jordan Peele has had an incredible amount of success. His first movie won him an Academy Award for writing and his second movie is now the hottest thing at the box office. The fact is that other filmmakers could potentially have trouble casting minorities in major roles in movies because there's frequently a feeling that can limit a movie's appeal, but nobody is going to tell Jordan Peele no at this point. One hopes that Peele's success will help open the door to others, as he is helping to shatter those Hollywood casting myths.

To be fair, Jordan Peele simply says he doesn't see himself casting a white actor in a lead role because he's seen the movie before. If he came up with a way to do it that we hadn't seen before it could happen. Still, Peele's movies are terrifying and provocative just the way he makes them, so I'm certainly not hoping for a major shift any time soon.

Those Pulp Fiction Nods In Captain Marvel Might Not Have Been Intentional

Those Pulp Fiction Nods In Captain Marvel Might Not Have Been Intentional

Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for Carol Danvers' origin story!

While journeying back to the 1990s in the MCU’s Captain Marvel, some eagle-eyed fans noticed that the film contained what appeared to be a few nods to one of that decade’s most iconic films, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. A shot of Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos sipping a shake through a straw was reminiscent of hitman Jules menacingly washing down Brett’s Big Kahuna Burger with a Sprite. And shots of Nick Fury and Phil Coulson in their car looked very similar to shots of Jules and John Travolta’s Vincent Vega driving through the Valley in a Chevy Nova.

Given that Captain Marvel is set in the 90s and Samuel L. Jackson is in both films, these Pulp Fiction nods seemed intentional. But that might not be the case. Speaking exclusively with CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast, Captain Marvel cinematographer Ben Davis addressed the apparent Pulp Fiction nods:

I think those are more coincidences. I mean the fact that Sam [Jackson] is driving the car [laughs] may be a reason why — There’s only so many places you can put a camera to cover a car scene. And a young Samuel L. Jackson’s driving the car, I think that’s purely coincidence. Ben [Mendelsohn] drinking the shake, I think that was pure Ben. And, you’ll have to ask him that question, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he wasn’t riffing on that idea.

Ben Davis seems to think that it is perhaps the coincidence of seeing Samuel L. Jackson driving the car and looking younger that creates a natural association in your head with one of the prolific actor’s most iconic roles. And as Ben Davis told ReelBlend, there are only so many places you can put a camera to film a shot of two people in a car, so the similar framing is more a product of practicality than anything else.

You could probably find shots from a dozen other movies that look just like the one in Pulp Fiction, but they didn’t have a young Samuel L. Jackson driving a car so the possible reference wasn’t noticed. As far as Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos drinking the shake in Maria Rambeau’s home, Ben Davis suspects that action was purely the product of Ben Mendelsohn, who was a highlight of the film as the Skrull Talos.

Ben Mendelsohn may have had that iconic Pulp Fiction scene in mind but if so he wasn’t made aware of it. Though Ben Davis concedes that these nods may have been intentional:

No, there are — well there may have been between Ben, and Anna [Boden] and Ryan [Fleck]. That may well have happened, that conversation, but not that I was aware of. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all.

If there was a conscious effort to pay homage to Pulp Fiction, it seems that Captain Marvel’s cinematographer wasn’t let in on it. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t the case though. As Ben Davis said, the framing for the car scene was one of a limited number of setups you can do but it is possible that directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck gave Ben Mendelsohn the direction to emulate Jules from Pulp Fiction.

You can listen to Captain Marvel cinematographer Ben Davis’ entire conversation with ReelBlend below.

If intentional, this wouldn’t be the first Pulp Fiction reference in an MCU movie either. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury’s tombstone has part of the quote from Ezekiel 25:17 that Pulp Fiction’s Jules recites before putting a cap in someone and philosophizes about at the end of the film.

Ultimately, even if there was no plan to reference Pulp Fiction, the shots now stand as a happy little accident, evoking a 1994 classic in a film set in 1995. But if Carol Danvers shows up in Avengers: Endgame and shoves a needle full of adrenaline into someone’s heart, you know someone at Marvel is probably stoked to see Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.

Captain Marvel is now playing. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies and to continue to follow the path of the righteous man by staying tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.

How Scarlett Johansson Got Fit To Play Black Widow In Avengers: Endgame

How Scarlett Johansson Got Fit To Play Black Widow In Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame has just reached one full week in theaters, and is making an insane amount of money both domestically and overseas. With so many characters turned to dust at the end of Infinity War, The Russo Brothers were able to take special care and give focus to the original members of the team. This includes Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, who made her whopping seventh appearance in the MCU (aside from a few cameos).

Natasha Romanoff had a very strong showing in Avengers: Endgame, with Scarlett Johansson bringing a layered performance to the OG female Avenger. Paying Black Widow requires plenty of action sequences and physical work for the actress, and now Johansson is revealing how she got into superhero shape for Endgame.

Physical trainer Eric Johnson has been working with Scarlett Johansson since before she made her MCU debut as Black Widow in Iron Man 2. And now Johnson has spoken about the intense regiment he had the 34 year-old actress. Since ScarJo is playing someone larger than life, she had to train like a superhero. As Johnson puts it:

What is the Black Widow able to do? Lift 500 pounds. We're trying to create this crazy comic book hero in real life with somebody who's normal.

Well, that's certainly one way of looking at it. And while Scarlet Johansson wasn't expected to have the same physical capabilities and sharpshooting of Black Widow, there is a full body transformation that goes into inhabiting the character onscreen. And it's an intense one.

Eric Johnson and Scarlett Johansson spoke to THR about her physical journey toward becoming Black Widow, with the actress going so far as to call it "one of the best parts about working for Marvel." Giant blockbusters are a good reason to get healthy, and it seems like Johansson has welcomed the training she's gone through over the years.

In the expose, it was also revealed that Scarlett Johansson's fitness journey as Black Widow isn't about a number weight or body fat percentage. She's trying to become as strong as possible, and be able to roll with the punches and stunts that Natasha requires of her. And that comes with a ton of exercise and a strict meal plan. In fact, it's all in THR's article.

Related: The 25 Most Emotional Moments In Avengers: Endgame

The Black Widow diet is hardcore and includes some intermittent fasting. The food plan was laid out in full, including lots of lean protein and actually nothing fun. But Scarlett Johansson is also able to bring a physicality and presence in the role, which seems to be the goal for the actress and her trainer.

Smart money says Scarlett Johansson will continue collaborating with Eric Johnson, as she's set to produce and star in her own solo movie sometime in Phase Four. A cast has been assembled, and given the events of Endgame, the fandom will be eager to see what comes next for the fan favorite character.

You can catch Scarlett Johansson in Avengers: Endgame in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

How Will Disney+ Impact The MCU?

How Will Disney+ Impact The MCU?

The following contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame**, but not until the last paragraph.**

Avengers: Endgame is here, and with it comes the closing of many stories that began as many as 11 years ago. While we know that Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on its way, we have very little detail regarding what it will look like, what movies will be part of it or what order we'll see them in.

We actually might know more about the new MCU projects coming to Disney's streaming service, Disney+, than we do about the future of theatrical releases. Three different series projects have been confirmed (four if you include the What If? animated series) and others are being rumored. Marvel Studios clearly has a lot planned for Disney+, as studio head Kevin Feige said during the Disney+ reveal event that the service would be a key part of the future of the MCU:

A post-Endgame MCU will be extremely different and extremely focused on Disney+ tying into our future movies.

Considering how much more we know about the Disney+ than we do about the future of the films, one has to wonder if, at least at first, Disney+ might actually become more important than the theatrical films.

Could the MCU Take A Break On the Big Screen?

Shortly after the official unveiling of Disney+, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed what many had been suspecting: that the Star Wars franchise would be taking a "hiatus" from the big screen following the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

This came as little shock because if we were going to get a new Star Wars movie in 2020, as had been previously stated, that movie would need to be in pre-production and on its way to begin shooting very soon.

The good news for Star Wars fans is that they won't be starving for new material. because we know that new Star Wars series are coming to Disney+. The Mandalorian will actually debut before The Rise of Skywalker, and that series will be followed by the Rogue One prequel series with Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk. It's set to begin shooting later this year, which means that right around the time fans might might begin jonesing for Star Wars, a new series will arrive to scratch the itch.

One has to wonder if something similar is planned for the MCU. None of the three announced Marvel series, WandaVision, Falcon and Winter Soldier or the Loki series, have been announced as launch products for this fall. However, one of them could certainly be ready with a few episodes by say, this time next year.

Marvel currently still has a theatrical release date being held for May 1, 2020, but at this point, no movie has been put in that slot, even though it's only a year away. Unless Marvel has been filming something in secret, it's highly unlikely the studio could still hit that date even if something began shooting right now. This will be the first time the MCU hasn't seen an April or May release since 2009.

So what if, instead of releasing a new movie 12 months from now, the MCU dropped one of these announced series on Disney+?

Disney wants everybody and their sister to subscribe to the new service, and that means every Star Wars and Marvel fan the company already has. That's why these new original series exist. Let's just say it's a fairly odd coincidence that Star Wars will be taking a break from the big screen just as these new streaming series are debuting. Lucasfilm may truly be taking time to re-calibrate and find a new direction for the franchise, but the fact that fans looking for more Star Wars will need to subscribe to Disney+ is no coincidence.

Something very similar could be happening with Marvel. If we don't get a new movie in 12 months, but we do get a series, then people who are used to watching a new movie every May will need to drop the Disney+ subscription fee to get the next story in the franchise. It's one thing if Disney+ feels like it's an addition to the existing MCU, but if, instead, it feels like a partial replacement, then the content could feel that much more necessary to fans.

Could We See Fewer MCU Movies?

Currently, the MCU only has two dates carved out for new films in 2020, in May and November. However, in 2021 and 2022, they go back up three movies a year, with both years seeing releases in February, May, and November. Since all of the new Disney+ series are being produced by Marvel Studios, all that work is on top of the film schedule. That seems like a lot.

Two films, one in May (or earlier) and one in November, makes a lot of sense. That put the films about six months apart so we get a steady stream of regular content. The various Marvel series could be placed in between these dates, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of these Marvel movie dates fall off the calendar entirely and are replaced by series.

Seeing three MCU movies plus, say, one eight-ten episode series run per year is a lot of content. If the events of the series are going to be important for a future movie, those things have to be released with enough time to give audiences enough time to watch the series before the film comes out. You don't want fans to stay home from opening weekend because they haven't finished their binge yet.

These issues certainly can be overcome, but the more time given between films and series, the easier they will be to deal with and the easier it will be to handle any problems that arise if one project or another gets delayed.

This also creates time for these shows to be released and for Marvel Studios to be able to focus on them and promote them to the fans that want to see them. The series can get the same promotional push that a film would get, which would make sense considering the series are all supposed to be just as important a part of the franchise.

What's certainly clear is that for fans who want to follow the entire MCU going forward, you'll need a subscription to Disney+. Characters from the films will have entire stories on the service that could change them significantly before we ever see them again on the big screen. New characters could be introduced on Disney+ before they ever appear in theaters.

And of course, on top of that, it's likely not a coincidence that all three of the announced Disney+ series involve characters who have seen major changes happen between Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Vision and Loki are both dead within the main MCU timeline. Sam Wilson is no longer simply Falcon, but apparently the new Captain America. How will these facts impact the new series? Clearly, you'll need to watch them to find out.