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Monday, December 7, 2020

Next? When Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker's Full Length Trailer May Be Coming

Next? When Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker's Full Length Trailer May Be Coming
Rey In Star Wars; The Rise of Skywalker

Fans waiting for their first look at Star Wars Episode IX were finally rewarded over this past weekend as we finally got a teaser, and official tittle, for the new movie. The footage of Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker looks great, but if what we just saw was simply a "teaser," then when are we actually going to get a full trailer for the film? If past is prologue, then don't expect to see it anytime soon, because it may not be showing up until October.


While there's eight months between now and the release of Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, the fact is that Star Wars really doesn't need to do all that much marketing. The franchise is incredibly popular already and we don't need trailers to keep the hype going. This has been clear in the way that the previous two Star Wars films released their trailers.


Star Wars: The Force Awakens did release its first teaser trailer in November of 2014, more than a year before the film debuted, but considering it was the first Star Wars movie in years, a little extra push is to be expected. The film then released a second teaser in April of 2015, during Star Wars Celebration that year. This was then followed by a full trailer for Star Wars; The Force Awakens that arrived in October, less than two months before the movie would hit theaters.




The difference between a teaser and a full trailer is somewhat semantic, but in the case of the Star Wars films, the teaser tends to give us footage, but largely without any context. We get to see some cool stuff, but we don't know what any of it means. The full trailer, while certainly not giving away the game, tends to include more character dialogue if nothing else, which can help us at least try to make sense of exactly what it is we're looking at.


This same process of teaser and trailer would be followed two years later when Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released. The teaser was unveiled during the Last Jedi panel at Star Wars Celebration. Then, coming in October, we would get the only full trailer release we would see for the film.


Now, in the case of the third film in our trilogy, we once again got our teaser at Star Wars Celebration, so there's every reason to expect the full trailer will also be released in October.




Part of the reason to expect that is that something else happened in October alongside the trailer release, tickets went on sale for the films.


Tickets for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are unlikely to go on sale before October and we should absolutely expect a trailer to hit alongside the announcement. All the more reason to expect that this footage is all we're going to get for the next several months.


Still, there's always the possibility that things will be different this time around. In previous years, we'd always received the title for the new movie before the release of the teaser, so previous marketing schedules are not gospel.




Is this going to be enough to keep you excited until October?

Details About John Wick 3's Villain Have Been Revealed

Details About John Wick 3's Villain Have Been Revealed
Zero in John Wick 3

Through the first two chapters of the John Wick franchise, Keanu Reeves’ legendary assassin has yet to come across a foe that can take him down, with only a few even providing a challenge to the lethal Baba Yaga. But in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, John Wick will find himself outgunned like never before, on the run and with the world’s assassins united against him. The main villain in the film is one of those assassins, Mark Dacascos’ Zero.


Mark Dacascos has an extensive list of film and television credits like Cradle 2 the Grave, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Brotherhood of the Wolf, where he has showcased his stylish martial arts skills. He will bring those skills to bear again in John Wick: Chapter 3 as his character Zero tries to collect the $14 million bounty. Zero represents the biggest threat to Keanu Reeves exhausted hero who just wants to retire and play with his dog.


Zero will be John Wick’s greatest adversary, but it sounds like he won’t be a villain in quite the same way that the slimy Santino D’Antonio was in John Wick: Chapter 2 or Alfie Allen’s Iosef Tarasov was in the first film. Mark Dacascos told Empire Magazine that although rivals, Zero has respect for John Wick. He said:






He’s a huge John Wick fan, so you’ll see an essence of, ‘I have to kill you, but you know if I didn’t have to do that, we’d be besties!’



The brief shots we see of Zero in the trailer for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum make him look like the Terminator, a stoic killer who never stops, so hearing this adds another interesting level to his character. We know that John Wick commands tremendous respect in the underground crime world and it sounds like Zero not only respects John, but also almost wishes he didn’t have to kill him (or try at least) so they could be friends.


I’m sure the fact that Zero is a fan won’t make John Wick feel any better when he’s trying to kill him, but I guess it is nice to be respected by one’s peers.





In the last film we saw that Common’s Cassian had respect for Baba Yaga, but when he went after John, it was for revenge for killing Gianna-- whom he was charged with protecting. When Zero goes after John, it seems that it will be absent emotion, a strictly business situation where Zero wants to collect on the $14 million, even if he actually really likes and respects John.


It’s an interesting dynamic and I’m curious how much we’ll find out about Zero and if he and John Wick have any history. Were they contemporaries who came up in the world of assassins at the same time, each making a name for themselves? Or did Zero come in after, idolizing John Wick and looking to match him?


Mark Dacascos and Keanu Reeves are basically the same age so it may not be a case of the young lion eating the old, but as an assassin who is a John Wick fan, Zero undoubtedly wants to be the one to claim the achievement of taking out Baba Yaga.





John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum opens in theaters on May 17. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Triple Frontier Has A Donkey Scene That Was Hilarious To Film

Triple Frontier Has A Donkey Scene That Was Hilarious To Film
Triple Frontier Charlie Hunnam leads a donkey through the jungle

In the new Netflix action thriller Triple Frontier, there’s a serious montage of scenes where, as part of said montage, actors Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund are seen shepherding a couple of donkeys across a river in the South American jungle. So leave it to their animal co-stars to make things interesting when it came time to actually shoot those scenes, as the actors recently spoke with CinemaBlend about a particularly hilarious day on set involving donkeys, water, and bathroom humor. Here’s how the actors described the scenario, when asked what day on set made them most feel like an action hero:



Hunnam: Probably the day we had to swim with the donkeys, right?


[Hunnam and Hedlund break into laughter]


Hunnam: Garrett and I picked the short straw. Or, I guess, in his usual Machiavellian way, J.C. [Chandor] went and asked all of us, independently, if we would be prepared to swim across the length of a swimming pool with a pack of mules. And everybody else said no, apart from, I guess, Garrett and I.


Hedlund: It was more of a fecal matter issue for some of the cast.



While the finished product is a sobering experience, when the heroes at the center of Triple Frontier are at a particularly difficult time in their heist, the story above is anything but. And watching Hunnam and Hedlund laughing it up during the telling of said story only makes the tale that much more interesting.





This is only compounded by the fact that, of course, this story involving animal actors contains a moment where the donkeys involved had to relieve themselves. It's a classic trope in humor that has legs, and for very good reason. At this point, the story gets even more interesting as this old saw gets a new spin through some colorful descriptions from Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund. The Triple Frontier co-stars elaborated on this story with the following:



Hunnam: Well it was when we got into the pool, and they started defecating all over the place.


Hedlund: The fun thing is, my donkey had to go first, and when a donkey gets in the water, they tend to try and get to the other side…


Hunnam: That’s going to be the name of your biography, ‘My Donkey Had To Go First.’


Hedlund: ...so if a donkey gets in the water, they tend to try and get to the other side as quick as they can. So trying to see Charlie keep up with his donkey, following my donkey, was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life.



It’s certainly not the easiest thing in the world to work with an animal actor on a set such as the one for Triple Frontier. Considering they’re one of the two types of performers that have historically been on the list of collaborators not to work with, you can kind of see why. Just imagining two actors such as Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund, trying to get through the day of shooting with a donkey that really had to go is enough to break even the most stoic spectator into a fit of laughter.





Of course, describing their humorous reactions to filming this particular stretch of Triple Frontier is one thing. But if you want to watch Hunnam and Hedlund really delight in the reveal of this story, you can see it all for yourself below.


Don't let that story about the donkeys fool you, as the behind the scenes story you've just experienced doesn't sour the Triple Frontier experience at all. If anything, it proves that all involved, particularly Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund in this specific instance, are total professionals. It takes an extremely focused actor to portray a dramatic scene of crime and consequences, while wading through donkey dung; and this cast passes that test with flying colors.


Triple Frontier is in theaters now, with its Netflix streaming debut set for March 13th.




Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Has Screened, See What People Are Saying

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Has Screened, See What People Are Saying
Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the filmmaker’s ninth directorial effort, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and while it’ll be another two months before the general public gets to see it on the big screen, they can at least start getting a sense of how his latest offering was received over in Europe. Social media reactions to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are pouring in, and evidently it was quite the hit at Cannes, earning a six to seven minute-long standing ovation from those in attendance.


Starting off, Deadline’s Joe Utichi praised Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as one of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies yet, saying:



Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is so gloriously, wickedly indulgent, compelling and hilarious. The film QT was born to make. The world is a more colourful place in Quentin Tarantino’s twilight zone. Round two, please.





Quentin Tarantino might not have the largest directorial resume in Hollywood, but all of his solo directing work over 25+ years has been met with mostly positive reception. So to say that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the film he was born to make is high praise indeed.


That Shelf managing editor Jason Gorber was also pleased by Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, although he admitted that not everyone will feel the same way:



Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Historically dubious, thematically brilliant, QT finds his form in film that could win Palme d'Or or be picketed by audiences, or maybe both. Thrilling, provocative, blackly comical, intensely unsettling masterwork.





Sometimes you can summarize your feelings for a movie in just a few words, and that’s just what Thrillist’s Emma Stefansky did with her praise for the latest Quentin Tarantino movie:



I reeeeally liked Once Upon a Time in Hollywood



But not everyone was willing to declare that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a success across the board. The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan was more measured with his reaction:





There will be many, many hot takes to come on the new Tarantino but I don’t mind letting mine cool off on the counter a little longer. I know it’s more relaxed than I was expecting, and that DiCaprio is terrific, funny and poignant. The rest, I’m gonna mull over.



Indiewire’s Erick Kohn also felt into more mixed territory with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, though he did appreciate the Easter eggs and lead performances:



Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a meandering Tarantino hangout movie, plays w/history, celebrates the art of the TV western & the creative thrill of performance. DiCaprio & Pitt are better than ever. Lots of nostalgic Easter eggs. It’s fun! But manage expectations.





FirstShowing’s Alex Billington noted how as has been made clear in the marketing, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood delves deeply into the culture that Quentin Tarantino grew up with:



As expected, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino referencing other films and TV and old Hollywood and good times in the 60s. Digging into his past and showing us, through perfectly crafted cinema, his feelings about moviemaking and artists and the Manson murders and more.



Torontoist contributor Jesse Hawken said that fans of some of Quentin Tarantino’s most famous movies will appreciate what he delivers in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:





Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: fans of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill know what to expect from Quentin Tarantino and once again he delivers! A hip, cool joyride that injects a shot of classic Hollywood cool to the multiplex. Leave the kids at home for this one, folks!



Finally, Anne Thompson, also of Indiewire, complimented Once Upon a Time in Hollywood not just for its premise, but also for what the lead actors brought to the table:



Tarantino’s gorgeous Once Upon a Time in Hollywood lovingly recreates a showbiz period that is long past, of cowboys, manly men and crazy hippies. DiCaprio and Pitt are funny and brilliant, as is Margot Robbie as sweet Sharon Tate. It’s an elegy.





So while it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, as is frequently the case with Quentin Tarantino’s filmography, it sounds like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is another winner for the director. Considering that its only opening weekend competition in July is the animated Wish Dragon (another Sony release), that, along with these positive reviews, ideally bodes well for its box office performance, although there will still be The Lion King to contend with, as it opens the weekend before.


It’s also worth mentioning that there was a bit of a ruckus surrounding Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Cannes screwing. Deadline reports that hundreds of ticket holders were turned away from the premiere. These tickets cost as much as $1000+ each, and even though they were scanned, the holders were held at the edge of the red carpet until being told there was no more room left in the theater, despite the fact that some people had arrived early. This is evidently one of several disorganization issues that have popped up during the festival.


Set in 1969 Los Angeles, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows a television actor and his stuntman trying to navigate the changing Hollywood landscape, all as The Manson Family is up to its illicit activities. The sprawling ensemble cast also includes Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Timothy Olyphant, Al Pacino, Luke Perry, Lena Dunham, Damian Lewis, Bruce Dern and many, many more. It is Quentin Tarantino’s first movie not to be associated with Harvey Weinstein, with Sony Pictures winning the distribution rights.




You can judge Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for yourself when it’s released in theaters on July 26. For now, you can look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are opening later this year. As for Quentin Tarantino, he hasn’t officially announced what movies he’ll work on next, although he did say that his Star Trek movie is still a “very big possibility.”

Yes, Kyle Chandler's Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Character Really Hates The Titans

Yes, Kyle Chandler's Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Character Really Hates The Titans
Coach Taylor is extremely unhappy with Godzilla calling the plays

In the trailers and clips we have seen from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the human reactions to the existence and prevalence of the Titans has ranged from shock and awe to fear and reverence. But for Kyle Chandler’s character, Dr. Mark Russell, his overriding emotion towards the Titans is one of hatred. Addressing why Mark Russell hates the Titans so much, Kyle Chandler said:



Because they're mean, ugly, dangerous, and they caused havoc with my family. You learn, as the character goes along, his relationship to Godzilla and the other creatures and his wife and his past with this situation over the past many years and the loss that he's encountered.



At first, Kyle Chandler leveled some superficial criticisms of the Titans, saying that Mark Russell hates them because they are obviously dangerous and far from cute and cuddly creatures. But those are reasons that anyone could hate the Titans, and when he says a little more, we learn that Mark Russell’s hatred for the Titans isn’t just that they are dangerous creatures wreaking havoc throughout the world. His hatred is more specific and personal.




Kyle Chandler told Comicbook.com that the Titans have caused havoc with his family and he has suffered loss in the past that has fueled this hatred. If I had to speculate based on what we’ve seen in the trailers so far, I would guess that Mark Russell lost a child to the Titans, either directly or indirectly. The Russell family is at the center of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, with Mark Russell, Vera Farmiga’s Dr. Emma Russell and Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison Russell.


However, while those three are featured in the trailers, in the first King of the Monsters trailer, we see Madison looking at a family photo on the lock screen of her iPad that shows her, Mark, Emma and a boy, presumably her brother. So something must have happened to her brother. Perhaps he was killed as a result of the events of Godzilla, and the loss of his son is why Kyle Chandler’s character hates all of the Titans.


That initial hatred may become more nuanced though as Kyle Chandler elaborated:





And so that's his dichotomy, what he feels through the storyline. And you get to learn what his emotional drive is through the story. So there's a learning curve through the story, it's not just a hatred toward monsters.



It sounds like Dr. Mark Russell will go hating the Titans unilaterally, but perhaps his relationship to Godzilla will change. From what we’ve seen, his wife seems to be advocating using the Titans or working with the ones that are trying to protect humanity against the ones who aren’t.


If Godzilla was responsible for his son’s death, this will be a tough pill to swallow that would obviously cause strife between Mark and his wife. That may be his internal emotional struggle, hatred and desire for vengeance for a personal loss versus the current needs to survive against an existential threat.




Godzilla may be on the side of humanity, but he’s preserving the species, not individual lives. Like Superman versus Zod in Man of Steel, his fights in Godzilla undoubtedly cost many people their lives, so it is hard for their family members to see his work for the greater good through their own personal pain.


It will be interesting to see how Mark Russell learns and works through this over the course of the film. Maybe by the end, he puts on his Coach Taylor hat and starts calling plays for Godzilla and Mothra to get that championship against Ghidorah and Co.


Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens in theaters on May 31. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.



Chris Evans Reveals His Favorite Captain America Scene

Chris Evans Reveals His Favorite Captain America Scene
Captain America in the elevator

Chris Evans is no stranger to superhero roles, as he played the Human Torch prior to his iconic tenure as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Evans' time as Cap is coming to an end with Avengers: Endgame, after appearing in seven movies (in addition to a few cameos). As such, Evans has been reflecting on his time as Steve Rogers, especially as the press tour to Endgame goes into full swing.


Chris Evans has been leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, and fans have seen the title character have a massive narrative arc. He's also been in countless action sequences, both small and epic in scale. But there's one that stands out to the 37 year-old actor, as he recently revealed:



I'm partial to that fight scene in the elevator. That was the first scene in the second Captain America movie. It was my first time working with the Russos. It was the first time where it felt like Cap was on his own. The first cap movie, you really feel like everyone was holding my hand. The first Avengers movie I just did my best not to get in the way. The second Cap movie is the one where I really felt, I suppose pressure, and that first elevator fight scene came out really great in my opinion.





It looks like Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes the cake for Chris Evans, specifically the epic elevator fight sequence during the film's second act. You can't blame him, as it's a thrilling sequence in the beloved sequel.


Chris Evans' comments to THR highlights what a significant moment The Winter Soldier was for both his characterization, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. The movie brought new colors to iconic characters like Cap, Black Widow, and Nick Fury, while also welcoming Bucky back to the shared universe. But aside from how those heroes were progressing, The Winter Soldier also marks The Russo Brothers' Marvel debut. And we all saw how that turned out.


The Russo Brothers did excellent work with Captain America's sequel, and the duo of directors ended up having a significant role in the MCU as a whole. They did the impossible with large ensemble movies like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, and will end the shared universe as we know it with next month's Endgame.




As a reminder, you can check out the elevator scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier below.


All of the action in Winter Soldier is great, but this sequence is something else. The stakes felt high, as it soon became clear that Captain America wasn't safe anywhere. And seeing him dispatch a group of enemies in such a small space (and with magnetic cuffs) is pulse pounding action.


Captain America's story will come to a close when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters on April 26th. The fandom generally believes Steve Rogers will perish during the upcoming battle with Thanos, but we'll see what The Russo Brothers have in store shortly. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.



Saturday, December 5, 2020

Idris Elba Will Replace Will Smith As Deadshot In Suicide Squad 2

Idris Elba Will Replace Will Smith As Deadshot In Suicide Squad 2
Will Smith and Idris Elba

When it was reported last week that Will Smith was not going to be available for James Gunn's The Suicide Squad due to scheduling issues, it didn't seem like that big of a deal. After all, previous word about the project suggested that the new movie was going in a different direction than the first, and there was an assumption that the blockbuster could simply use another character instead of Deadshot and save Will Smith's second DC Extended Universe appearance for an alternate project. It turns out, however, that isn't going to be the plan going forward, as the latest news says that Idris Elba will be taking on the role of Floyd Lawton in the 2021 feature.


According to THR, Idris Elba has entered talks to take over as the DCEU’s new Deadshot. Elba reportedly met with James Gunn last Friday and that encounter went so “swimmingly” that conversations with Warner Bros began “in earnest.” While a deal hasn’t been finalized just yet, the studio is apparently quite keen on having Elba come aboard The Suicide Squad, with him being “the first and only choice.” So unless there’s a massive shakeup in the eleventh hour, the odds are looking good that Elba will fill the assassin’s shoes.


Of course, this won’t be Idris Elba’s first time lending his talents to the comic book genre. Along with appearing as Moreau in 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, he played Heimdall, the all-seeing sentry of Asgard, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Heimdall was killed at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, and unlike the character’s who were turned to dust by Thanos at the end of that movie, there hasn’t been an expectation that the Asgardian warrior will be resurrected during Avengers: Endgame. So with his work in the MCU apparently done, Elba is free to move to the DCEU and take over as Deadshot, one of the Suicide Squad’s most frequent members in the comics.





Initially best known for his TV work like The Wire and Luther, Idris Elba has become a movie star in the last decade with projects like Pacific Rim, The Jungle Book and Star Trek Beyond, to name a few. Later this year, he’ll be pitted against Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in Hobbs and Shaw. and he’s also attached to play Macavity in Cats.


Along with Deadshot, Harley Quinn is expected to return for The Suicide Squad, with Margot Robbie reprising the role. There are conflicting reports about whether or not Rick Flagg, the government operative assigned by Amanda Waller to keep Task Force X under control in the field who was played by Joel Kinnaman in Suicide Squad, will be back as well. For the most part, though, since The Suicide Squad is being envisioned more as a relaunch than a direct sequel, most of the cast will be comprised of brand-new faces.


The Suicide Squad is set for release on August 6, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. Don’t forget to look through our DC movies guide to learn what else is in development for the DCEU.




 

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