Disney CEO Says It'll Be Difficult To Keep Filming In Georgia If Abortion Law Takes Effect

Disney CEO Says It'll Be Difficult To Keep Filming In Georgia If Abortion Law Takes Effect

While Disney has always been a powerhouse of entertainment, the past decade has seen the company become even more massive in scope. With the acquisition of Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney has had the ability to grow and make even more money at the box office. The MCU has found its home in Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, although recent legislation in the state may result in production pivoting to a different location.

Tons of TV and film projects regularly film in Georgia, as the tax breaks allow production to save some much needed funds during the shooting process. The state recently introduced a potential new law that would essentially ban abortions, and make it a felony for any doctors to go forth with the procedure. Its a decision that has caused some production companies and actors to speak out against working within state lines, and now Disney CEO Bob Iger has revealed that the House of Mouse may pull out of its Atlanta home. When he was asked if they'd stay in the city's Pinewood location, Iger said:

I rather doubt we will. I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully.

Well, that's quite the definitive statement to Reuters. Moviemaking is ultimately about making money, and filming within the state lines of Georgia allow for budgets to be stretched. While Disney is obviously focused on making a profit on its countless blockbusters, it seems that Bob Iger and company are going to listen to the concerns of their employees when it comes to the state's new abortion legislation.

When Georgia's elected officials first introduced the potential new ban on abortion, there were calls from the filmmaking community to pull productions from the state. Because while movies and TV benefit from the tax cuts that are available, the money spent on making projects like Avengers: Endgame and shows like Stranger Things also funnel large funds of money into the state. Plus, plenty of locals are hired for the cast/crew, adding jobs to the local economy as well.

This seems to be the leverage that filmmakers are hoping to use against the abortion law's potential passing in the state. A few projects have already pulled out of Georgia, but Disney's possible inclusion would be a major development. On top of the massive amount of money the studio puts into its Marvel blockbusters, it's also possible that other major studios would follow suit. After all, Disney has been known to start trends in the filmmaking world.

As of now, nothing is official in regards to Georgia's new ban on abortion, and the affect that might have on Disney's upcoming blockbusters. But CinemaBlend will be sure to monitor the situation as it unfolds. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Wait, MoviePass Stock Is Up 40%?

Wait, MoviePass Stock Is Up 40%?

Around this time last year, MoviePass was still flying high, disrupting the industry and helping millions of subscribers to see more movies than ever before. Then came the Mission: Impossible – Fallout incident, which sparked a series of public and costly stumbles that dragged down the service and saw its parent company’s stock plummet along with it. Now MoviePass is rising like a phoenix from the ashes…okay, well maybe not exactly, but MoviePass stock is up 40%.

Shares of Helios & Matheson Analytics were up over 40% yesterday in over-the-counter trading, rising above a penny and reaching 1.23 cents per share before the close of the day according to Deadline. The day also saw triple the normal volume of the company’s shares changing hands. This comes after Helios & Matheson shares were delisted from the NASDAQ last month due to the foibles of its MoviePass unit, which saw the company’s shares trade under $1 since last July.

So what changed? Well, it all comes down to the new business strategy MoviePass will be employing going forward. Helios & Matheson still plans on spinning off its MoviePass business into its own public traded company, to help distinguish the beleaguered movie service from the data analytics firm and the other parts of its business.

That new company, MoviePass Entertainment Holdings will be made up of three separate pillars, each addressing a different part of the business. MoviePass Films will be the company’s production arm, producing new movies under the MoviePass banner; the MoviePass subscription service and app for which the company gained its name; and the Moviefone brand that Helios & Matheson and MoviePass acquired from Verizon last year.

MoviePass said that this new three-pillar model would generate its own revenue, without reliance on studios and exhibitors. This is in stark contrast to the MoviePass of a year or so ago that entered the room with all the subtlety of the Kool-Aid man and wanted to strike deals with studios to promote movies and get a share of tickets and concessions from theater chains.

The idea is that the three parts of the business will work in concert, sharing each others resources in an ecosystem where each part benefits the others. The MoviePass Films arm will make movies with an eye towards transcending theaters, and get deals for home video releases and international distribution. That should then help the MoviePass theatergoing subscription service to grow. The Moviefone digital platform will then be used as a promotional tool for the other two pillars.

MoviePass admits it has made mistakes and it appear to be trying to remedy them with the hard-learned lessons of 2018. The MoviePass subscription service recently relaunched with 3 new pricing plans and now this new business model is another attempt by the service to regain its footing.

If this strategy works as intended, MoviePass can generate its own revenue and won’t be burning cash with the hopes of striking lucrative deals with entrenched parts of the industry. It’s obviously too early to say if that will be the case and one day’s stock increase is no guarantee that MoviePass has turned a corner, but it’s still a positive sign that shows that there is some optimism in the financial sector that this is a step in the right direction for the service.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news and check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of the biggest movies headed your way this year.

Unused Avengers: Endgame Photo Gives Pepper And Tony An Epic Moment

Unused Avengers: Endgame Photo Gives Pepper And Tony An Epic Moment

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame debuted in theaters over a month ago, and has amassed a giant sum of money in the process. The Russo Brothers crafted a complicated narrative that was built on the previous 21 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plenty of major payoffs were included, especially in the epic final battle sequence in the ruins of the Avengers facility.

The final battle allowed Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts to become a bonafide superhero, taking on the mantle of Rescue after suiting up in armor that Tony custom made for her. It was an epic moment, and she even personally blasted Thanos alongside Wasp and Shuri. And now an unused promotional image has surfaced, which puts Rescue and Iron Man together. Check it out below.

I'm not crying, you're crying. Pepper Potts and Tony Stark are one of the true love stories of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which made the ending of Endgame all the more tragic. Gwyneth Paltrow's character encouraged her husband's superheroic ventures throughout the blockbuster, and was left mourning after the battle against Thanos was finally won.

This image comes to us from Marvel Studios artist Liz Georgoff, who stepped into Rescue's armor for a promo shot. Gwyneth Paltrow was presumably only on set for a limited time, so she wasn't going to be available for images that might have never seen the light of day. Georgoff has been involved in the MCU since Iron Man 3, so this moment must have been an exciting one.

Marvel fans had been waiting for Pepper to suit up as Rescue since the Marvel Cinematic Universe's inception. She's become the heroic superhero a few times throughout her tenure on the page, so it seemed like only a matter of time before Rescue finally took flight. But the wait ultimately lasted a decade, as she didn't get the iconic blue armor until Endgame arrived in theaters.

Those eagle-eyed fans might have seen this coming during Avengers: Endgame, as Morgan Stark made her debut wearing the helmet Tony created for her mother. And while Pepper stayed out of the Time Heist sequence, she joined the battlefield alongside most of the MCU's characters after Hulk snapped everyone back to life.

Related: Gwyneth Paltrow May Have Revealed A Big Avengers Spoiler

Rescue and Iron Man never met on the battlefield in an embrace like the above image, but they had some seriously epic shots together during Avengers: Endgame's epic last battle. They fought Thanos' forces back to back, and Pepper Potts used the suit's abilities in a variety of ways throughout that epic sequence.

Pepper was still in the Rescue armor when Tony managed to swipe the Infinity Stones from Thanos, and snap the Mad Titan and his forces out of existence. Iron Man saved the entire galaxy in that moment, and sacrificed his life for the one chance to defeat Thanos once and for all. Her armored hand was over his heart as the light on the Iron Man suit went out, signaling that Tony's body had succumbed to the radiation and trauma of the stones.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts has the distinction of being one of the very first characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She was a love interest and business associate of Tony's in the original Iron Man, and moviegoers were able to watch as their relationship developed over the years. Although after starring in the Iron Man trilogy and the first Avengers movie, Paltrow started stepping back from her signature Marvel role.

That eventually changed as we got deeper into Phase Three, with Gwyneth Paltrow returning for some cameos in the final installments of the current slate of films. Pepper made a brief role in Spider-Man: Homecoming, revealing that she and Tony had patched things up and were back together following an unseen breakup prior to Captain America: Civil War.

Pepper also had a brief scene in Avengers: Infinity War, shown jogging with Tony in Central Park before Doctor Strange appeared to whisk of the hero to the Sanctum Sanctorum. It was unclear if Ms. Potts had survived Thanos' snap, until character posters for Endgame confirmed she had made it out without being dusted.

Her role was eventually expanded in Avengers: Endgame, first popping up at the Avengers facility when Captain Marvel towed The Benatar (complete with Tony and Nebula) to Earth. And when the time jump happened, it was revealed that the couple got married and had a daughter named Morgan.

It should be interesting to see how the legacy of Pepper Potts continues on through Phase Four, and if there's any possibility for Gwyneth Paltrow to return to her role in the future. The 46 year-old actress has stated that she'd be open to more small roles in the future if the studio needed it. And although Tony Stark's fate is sealed, the fandom will no doubt be curious to how she and Morgan are getting on in the wake of his death.

It's currently unclear if the Iron Man franchise would continue. While Steve Rogers passed on the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson in Avengers: Endgame, no one has take on the role of Iron Man. Spider-Man: Far From Home looks like it'll address that issue, as Peter Parker is rocking the Iron Spider suit during its first trailer.

Morgan also seems like a prime candidate to be the next Iron Man, especially if there's another time jump that can move her aging process forward. If Morgan ever ends up returning to the MCU, it would be logical that her mother might as well. But as of now, there's no telling what Marvel Studios is planning for the shared universe beyond Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Regardless, fans will be happy to have seen Tony and Pepper get their happy ending. They were extremely lucky in the wake of Thanos' snap, and lived a happy life in their lake house with their daughter. And while that makes Tony's death all the more tragic, Pepper seemed to understand that her husband needed to do the right thing in hopes of bringing back the dusted denizens of the galaxy.

You can watch Rescue's long awaited MCU debut in Avengers: Endgame, in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan our next trip to the movies.

Eagle-Eyed Fan Seemingly Spotted A Touching Avengers: Endgame Nod To The Dusted Characters

Eagle-Eyed Fan Seemingly Spotted A Touching Avengers: Endgame Nod To The Dusted Characters

It was shocking to see half of all life in the universe turn to dust at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, but it was arguably equally as devastating seeing the reactions of those who survived having to watch their loved ones disappear. Avengers: Endgame showed the survivors coping with these losses five years later, and in Rocket Raccoon’s case, it appears he paid tribute to the fallen Guardians of the Galaxy, namely Peter Quill, with a wardrobe choice, as you’ll see below.

Over on Reddit, an eagle-eyed Marvel fan noticed that Rocket Raccoon is wearing the same crimson scarf that Peter Quill wore in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, or at least one that looks just like it. I’m leaning towards the former, because Quill wasn’t wearing that scarf during Avengers: Infinity War, so it wouldn’t have turned to dust with him.

Those familiar with the Guardians of the Galaxy comics, particularly the ones from before the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie’s release, will recognize that Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon finally wore the same costume as his comic counterpart did. The scarf isn’t part of that ensemble on the printed page, but it’s a subtle, yet nice way for him to honor the Guardians, i.e. his family.

Rocket Raccoon was one of the only two Guardians who survived Avengers: Infinity War, Nebula being the second. Those two were hardly close in the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, they held hands in grief over their fallen allies.

In the following five years, it looks like those two worked closely together on various missions, and when the opportunity to came to time travel through the Quantum Realm, retrieve the Infinity Stones and snap the dusted back into existence, naturally both were on board with the plan. Rocket accompanied Thor to 2013 Asgard and Nebula joined War Machine on Morag in 2014.

One time heist and massive battle against 2014 Thanos and his army later, and the Guardians of the Galaxy are whole again. Peter Quill, Drax the Destroyer, Groot and Mantis were among the many heroes who arrived during the portals sequence, and while the present day Gamora is still dead, her 2014 self followed in her earlier self’s footsteps and betrayed Thanos, which luckily meant she wasn’t turned to dust when Tony Stark sacrificed his life to destroy the Mad Titan and his forces using the Infinity Stones.

Even though it’s been five years since Rocket Raccoon last saw the Guardians of the Galaxy together again, he didn’t miss a beat getting back into his usual rhythm with them, offering knives to Peter Quill and Thor for a fight to decide who will lead the team. I also wonder if Quill is going to ask for his scarf back or let Rocket keep it.

Now that all the Guardians of the Galaxy members are back in action, that sets the stage for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is rumored to begin filming sometime next year. No plot details have been revealed yet, but along with Thor potentially coming along, it also looks like we’ll follow Peter Quill searching for the past version of Gamora, who doesn’t have that history with the Guardians that her older self did.

You can still see Avengers: Endgame in theaters now, and we here at CinemaBlend will let you know once Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has an official release date. For now, you can browse through our Marvel movies guide to learn what other movies this superhero franchise has coming up.

Jennifer Lawrence Wouldn't Return For Dark Phoenix Unless Simon Kinberg Directed, He Says

Jennifer Lawrence Wouldn't Return For Dark Phoenix Unless Simon Kinberg Directed, He Says

After writing and producing several of the X-Men movies, Simon Kinberg finally sits in the director's chair for Dark Phoenix, the last film of Fox's superhero franchise. This is Kinberg's feature debut, and while taking on the final film in the saga may seem like a daunting task for a first time director, Kinberg had full support from the cast. In fact, Jennifer Lawrence apparently wouldn't return as Mystique unless he was the director, Kinberg recently said.

Since X-Men: First Class, the X-Men franchise has been led by Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Nicholas Hoult. The actors signed deals for three movies, and it was unclear if any of them would return for Dark Phoenix after X-Men: Apocalypse. Eventually, all of them eventually signed on for one more ride, and while it was unclear to all of us what was going to happen, Kinberg didn't doubt they'd be back.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Simon Kinberg revealed that they had always written drafts of the script expecting the actors to return. Kinberg knew they would be back because they had told him they would as long as he directed.

We presumed the First Class core cast — Fassbender, McAvoy Jennifer, and Nic [Hoult] were coming back for this film. Part of the reason I presumed that was at the end of finishing X-Men: Apocalypse, when it was clear Bryan Singer was not going to direct the next movie, it was the actors that approached me about directing the next of the X-Men movies. Jennifer especially. Jen said she wouldn’t come back for another movie unless I directed it. So, I had a lot of support from them.

With Bryan Singer -- who is the subject of multiple cases of alleged sexual assault on minors -- not returning for Dark Phoenix, Simon Kinberg was the logical choice to take the reins. He likely knows these characters inside and out, and the actors clearly had an admiration for him if he's the whole reason they came back.

Ultimately, everyone is back for one last hurrah. While this will be the last of Fox's X-Men movies, it wasn't always clear that would be the case. The Disney-Fox merger seemed to put an expiration date on the franchise, but according to Simon Kinberg, he went into it knowing that this would likely be the end.

I feel as though the notion of this being the last of this cycle of X-Men movies is tied for a lot of people, at least in the industry, to the Disney-Fox merger. In truth, when I sat down to write this movie, which was three years ago, I thought about it as the culmination of this cycle of X-Men movies.

The X-Men will one day be seen in the MCU, but until then, Dark Phoenix arrives in theaters on June 7.

Daisy Ridley Doesn’t Want Rey To End Up With Kylo Ren

Daisy Ridley Doesn’t Want Rey To End Up With Kylo Ren

We have no idea what the future has in store for our favorite Star Wars characters when The Rise of Skywalker arrives later this year. Fans have been coming up with ideas and theories almost since the beginning. However, the other thing fans have been doing since the beginning, because this is the internet, is building relationships between characters.

Many are deeply invested in whatever is going on between Finn and Poe, but just as many are wondering what might happen between Rey and Kylo Ren. However, one person who is not into "Reylo" is Daisy Ridley herself. According to the actress...

I do know about Reylo. I don’t know how I feel about it, because everyone’s talking about the toxic thing of a relationship when it’s essentially emotional [abuse]. It’s a tricky road. I do feel like, deep down, Kylo thinks what he’s doing is right and he doesn’t think he’s wrong, but he has also killed so many people. So I can’t really get behind it, no, in a personal way.

And just like that, millions of 'shippers cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

Daisy Ridley just isn't on board with the idea of Rey and Kylo Ren getting together romantically. She recognizes that whatever sort of relationship the two do have isn't exactly healthy. Ben Solo, however right he may feel he is, has left a lot of bodies in his wake to get to where he wants to go, including one who was his actual father. While Ridley, of course, stays quiet about what we will actually see in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, she tells Steele Wars that personally, she doesn't support the relationship.

Daisy Ridley does tease that redemption for Ben Solo, or at least exploration of the idea of redemption, might be part of the new film. Star Wars: The Last Jedi even teased the idea with Kylo Ren killing Supreme Leader Snoke, and fighting alongside Rey, though it eventually turned out that ultimately that was all for his own selfish reasons.

Ren wanted Rey to join him and use the First Order to remake the galaxy. Now Ren leads the First Order and with The Rise Of Skywalker seeing a significant jump in time after the events of The Last Jedi, it's likely much will have changed in the organization when we see it next.

Thus far the new Star Wars trilogy has been decidedly light on romantic entanglements of any kind. At the end of The Last Jedi we saw that Rose has feelings for Finn, but where that will go, and if relationships are in the cards for any of our other characters, we'll have to wait and see. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives December 20.

Wait, Was Captain Marvel’s Mid-Credits Scene Darker Than We Thought?

Wait, Was Captain Marvel’s Mid-Credits Scene Darker Than We Thought?

Spoilers ahead for Carol Danvers' origin story.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong for well over a decade, and Phase Three brought a new success to the massive franchise. Every single blockbuster in the current slate of films has been a financial and critical success, as Disney continues to bask in the winning nature of the MCU. This includes the newest release, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel, which is earning a ton of money at the box office and breaking new ground for the shared universe.

Captain Marvel introduced Brie Larson's Carol Danvers to audiences, after fans waited years for the origin story to finally arrive in theaters. The film also brought the cosmic side of the MCU back to the silver screen, as Captain Marvel and her new buddy Nick Fury got involved the Kree/Skrull War. She ultimately navigated her memories and awesome powers, and even shared a brief scene with the surviving heroes in the mid-credits scene.

Its the mid-credits scene fans have been waiting for for nearly a year, after Nick Fury heralded Captain Marvel right before fading to dust during the final moments of Avengers: Infinity War. Carol Danvers was finally brought to the present MCU timeline, and is shown rocking longer hair than in Captain Marvel. She arrives at the Avengers facility seeking Nick Fury, but a new theory indicates her meet-cute with the surviving heroes might be darker than we thought.

The Captain Marvel mid-credits scene shows Carol Danvers coming face to face with Black Widow, and immediately asking where Fury was. But a new theory indicates it might not be Carol at all, but yet another shape shifting Skrull. This would indicate a major twist ahead for Endgame, as well as a stronger tie-in to the events of Captain Marvel. And perhaps the real Captain is still somewhere in the cosmos, and therefore able to rescue Tony Stark and Nebula from their precarious position stranded in space.

Of course, there is one major factor that may stop this fan theory, (which comes to us from THR) from gaining more steam: the characterization of the Skrulls in Captain Marvel. While they were set up to be villainous shape shifters, it turns out that the Skrulls were actually a refugee alien race who were simply trying to live our their time in peace, away from the Kree War. As such, it might be unlikely that they end up being imposter villains in Avengers: Endgame.

Then again, Endgame is set decades after the events of Captain Marvel. While Ben Mendelsohn's Talos and his compatriots were friendly Skrulls, things may have changed in the years that Carol Danvers has been in the cosmos. What's more, the Skrulls are an entire alien race, so there could still be some bad guys out there. And the idea of Captain Marvel starting off Endgame as an imposter would certainly be a fascinating plot twist.

The war between the Skrulls and Kree framed the narrative of Captain Marvel, while the title character attempted to navigate her memories and mysterious past on Earth. The trailers and first act of the movie make the shapeshifting aliens the enemy, as Carol Danvers is seen scrapping with a seemingly innocent old lady, that turned out to be a Skrull in disguise.

But Talos and the rest of the green aliens got a much more sympathetic edit in the final product, as it was revealed that they're refugees trying to escape Carol Danver's alien allies, The Kree. In the end, Captain Marvel herself was a victim of the Kree, who manipulated her into joining the Star Force, and used a disrupter to tone her abilities down. Carol Danvers ultimately sided with The Skrull, while laying the beat down to Ronan's forces and Jude Law's Yon-Rogg in the process.

It should be fascinating to see how Captain Marvel and her supporting characters continue to factor into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Carol Danvers' origin story has already made a ton of money during its first week at the box office, all but guaranteeing a sequel in the process. Phase Three also introduced Black Panther and Spider-Man, who have quickly become major presences in the overall franchise. Smart money says Captain Marvel follows suit, especially given how many OG Avengers' contracts will be up with Endgame.

Brie Larson was announced as Captain Marvel years ago, so her Marvel debut has been a long time coming. The character is teased to have a major presence in Avengers: Endgame, especially after so many heroes turned to dust as a result of Thanos' finger snap of death (aka The Decimation). The surviving heroes are going to need all the help they can get if they hope to vanquish the Mad Titan, and reverse the affects of the snap. Luckily, Captain Marvel has been teased as the most powerful hero in the MCU, so they've got the big guns. As long as Carol Danvers doesn't end up being a Skrull in disguise, that is.

With just one movie left before Phase Three concludes, it seems like just about anything is possible in the future of the MCU. Marvel Studios hasn't revealed its plans after Spider-Man: Far From Home, guarding the next slate of films until Endgame hits theaters. But Kevin Feige has teased that the cosmic side of the shared universe will be a focus in Phase Four, with Captain Marvel helping to expand the fictional galaxy. Smart money says we haven't seen the last of the Skrull or Kree races, although whether or not they factor into Endgame remains to be seen.

Luckily, the wait is almost over for Avengers: Endgame. Anticipation has been at a fever pitch, and things should only get crazier for the rabid fanbase in the month leading up to its release. Thanos' snap seriously upped the stakes, and fans are eager to see how it all turns out.

Captain Marvel is in theaters now, and you can see Carol Danvers return to the silver screen when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.