G.H. Hat’s English Lyric Version of “Sukiyaki” had a 10 week run on on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs (Top 50) peaking at #19. You can listen to the song and watch the video on YouTube:…
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Director’s Commentary of the Day:
For the New York Times, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie talks about the Halo jump stunt scene in Mission: Impossible – Fallout:
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Redone Trailer of the Day:
Darth Blender recreated the new Shazam! trailer using footage from the 1970s Shazam! TV series for a retro look:
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Reimagined Movie of the Day:
Speaking of going retro, with Ready Player One now on home video, Damien Kazan imagines the movie as an older title with a VHS release:
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Remade Movie Scene of the Day:
Huxley Berg Studios has released a NSFW clip from its upcoming full-length Lego version of Deadpool:
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Video Essay of the Day:
This Renegade Cut video explores the idea of inherited poverty as presented in The Place Beyond the Pines:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who turns 71 today, in a fat suit with director Paul Verhoeven on the set of Total Recall in 1989:
Filmmaker in Focus:
For Fandor, Q.V. Hough showcases why Agnes Varda is considered the mother of the French New Wave:
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Character in Close-Up:
In this video essay, Nerdwriter explores what makes Star Wars villain Darth Vader such an iconic character:
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Cosplay of the Day:
Here’s MineralBlu’s video highlighting the best cosplay of this year’s Comic-Con, including get-ups inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy, Back to the Future, Mary Poppins, Inside Out and the upcoming Alita: Battle Angel:
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Classic Trailer of the Day:
This week marks the 35th anniversary of the release of National Lampoon’s Vacation. Watch the original trailer for the classic comedy below.
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Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
BIG NEWS
Robert De Niro joined DC’s standalone Joker movie: Robert De Niro, star of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, has joined the cast of the DC Comics villain spin-off Joker, which is said to be inspired by Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. And he’s playing a character clearly modeled after one from the latter. Read more here.
GREAT NEWS
Toronto and Venice Film Festivals announced this fall’s big awards contenders: Even if you’re not able to attend the big fall film festivals, you have to get excited for the movies they’ve just announced because the best of them will be released in theaters soon enough and could be major awards contenders. Find out which ones to put on your radar, including the Coen Brothers’ latest, which is now a movie, not a TV series, here.
SURPRISING NEWS
Ryan Reynolds is sorta remaking Home Alone: Wait, what? Yes, that’s right, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds is producing a new twist on the plot of Home Alone, only this time it’s centered on a grown-up (not likely played by Reynolds) who is also a paranoid stoner and it’s called, of course, Stoned Alone. Read more here.
COOL CULTURE
Deadpool and His Super Duper Band: Speaking of Ryan Reynolds, at Comic-Con, Fox released a video promoting the upcoming home video release of the Deadpool 2 Super Duper Cut, and it’s literally just Deadpool participating in an animatronic band’s lip-sync cover of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” Watch it below.
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EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
James Wan explains the Aquaman trailer: We met with Aquaman director James Wan during Comic-Con, and he gave us a lengthy explanation of everything in the movie’s first trailer, which debuted last weekend. Read that interview here and check out the Aquaman trailer and more from Comic-Con below.
MUST-WATCH TRAILERS
Aquaman could be the coolest Worlds of DC movie: The first trailer for DC’s Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, who is returning as the titular underwater superhero last seen in Justice League, dropped during Comic-Con, and it looks epic and awesome. Watch it below.
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Shazam! looks amazing!: Warner Bros. and DC also unleashed the first trailer for Shazam! at Comic-Con, and it’s a lot lighter fare than we’re used to from the Worlds of DC franchise, more laughs but still plenty of amazing and fun superhero spectacle. Watch it below.
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Godzilla: King of the Monsters is going to be huge: Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the sequel to the 2014 Godzilla remake, also premiered its first trailer during Comic-Con, teasing its addition of classic creatures Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah. Watch it below.
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Glass promises a perfect follow-up to Unbreakable and Split: Comic-Con also saw the debut of the first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, the sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, and it seems sure to please fans of both of those previous installments of the original superhero trilogy. Watch it below.
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The first wave of big movies premiering at the Toronto and Venice film festivals have been announced. Soon, we’ll also hear about the full slates debuting at Telluride and the New York Film Festival and the rest of the major fall cinematic showcases. Most of next year’s Oscar and Golden Globe nominees are sure to be among these titles.
We’ll have to wait to hear from critics and festivalgoers which ones are strong contenders when they do actually screen at these events, but for now, it’s time to just put them on your radar. As the season approaches, we’ll be tracking when and where and how you can see them for yourself.
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL (August 29 – September 8)
22 July (aka Norway)
United 93 director Paul Greengrass takes on another tragedy with this drama about the terrorist attacks in Norway on July 22, 2011. Release date: November 2.
American Dharma
The latest from documentary legend Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War) revolves around an interview with former Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon. Release date: TBD
At Eternity’s Gate
Willem Dafoe stars as Vincent Van Gogh with Oscar Isaac as Paul Gaugin and Rupert Friend as Theo Van Gogh in this biopic about the artist from filmmaker Julian Schnabel (Basquiat). Release date: TBD
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The Coen Brothers are back with another Western, this an anthology of stories featuring Tim Blake Nelson, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson, James Franco, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits. Release date: TBD — debuts on Netflix this fall.
Charlie Says
Mary Harron (American Psycho) directs this drama about the three women sentenced to death for their part in the Manson Family murders. Release date: TBD
Double Vies (aka Non-Fiction)
Juliette Binoche reunites with filmmaker Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper) for a drama set in the Parisian publishing world. Release date: TBD
Dragged Across Concrete
S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk) directs this action thriller in which Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn play cops suspended for using bad tactics who continue to work a case. Release date: TBD
The Favourite
Olivia Colman stars as Queen Anne opposite Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in the latest from filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster). Release date: November 23.
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First Man
Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle follows up La La Land with a biopic about astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling). Release date: October 12.
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Monrovia, Indiana
The latest from documentary master Frederick Wiseman (Ex Libris, Titicut Follies) showcases the titular small Indiana town. Release date: TBD
The Mountain
Jeff Goldblum stars as a fictionalized version of Dr. Wallace Fiennes, the pioneer of the lobotomy, opposite Tye Sheridan in the latest from Rick Alverson (The Comedy). Release date: TBD
The Nightingale
Jennifer Kent follows up The Babadook with this drama about a woman seeking revenge against a British officer in 1825 Tasmania. Release date: TBD
The Other Side of the Wind
The final movie by Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), about a Hollywood director attempting a comeback, has finally been finished after being started more than 40 years ago. Release date: TBD – debuts on Netflix this fall.
Peterloo
The latest from filmmaker Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky, Secrets & Lies) depicts the 1819 Peterloo Massacre involving British soldiers and a peaceful rally in Manchester, England. Release date: November 9.
Roma
Alfonso Cuaron finally follows up Gravity with a return to his roots and a 1970s-set drama about a middle-class family in Mexico City. Release date: TBD – debuts on Netflix this fall.
The Sisters Brothers
Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal and John C. Reilly are the titular siblings in this partly comedic Western from filmmaker Jacques Audiard (A Prophet). Release date: September 21.
A Star is Born
Bradley Cooper makes his feature directorial debut while starring opposite Lady Gaga in the latest musical telling of a story of the rise of a singer and actress. Release date: October 5.
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Suspiria
From Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) comes a remake of the Dario Argento horror classic of the same name, this version starring Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton and Chloe Grace Moretz. Release date: November 2
Ying (aka Shadow)
The latest from filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Hero, The Great Wall) is about an ancient Chinese king who attempts to reclaim his homeland. Release date: TBD
Vox Lux
Natalie Portman stars as a pop singer with unexpected fame in this musical drama also featuring Jude Law and Jennifer Ehle. Release date: TBD
TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL (September 6 – 16)
Beautiful Boy
Recent Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet plays a recovering meth addict while Steve Carell goes dramatic as his father in this adaptation of two memoirs of the same events from different perspectives. Release date: October 12.
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Ben is Back
Julia Roberts is the mother of a troubled young man (Lucas Hedges) in a Christmas Eve-set family drama by Dan in Real Life writer/director Peter Hedges (father of Lucas). Release date: December 7.
Giant Little Ones
Kyle McLachlan and Maria Bello are the adult stars of this teen drama. Release date: TBD
The Hate U Give
Based on the bestselling YA novel, this coming-of-age drama follows a young girl (Amandla Sternberg) who becomes an activist after witnessing her best friend shot and killed by a police officer. Release date: October 19.
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High Life
Acclaimed French filmmaker Claire Denis (Beau Travail) ventures into sci-fi territory with this movie about a father and daughter’s survival in deep space. Release date: TBD
Hotel Mumbai
The true story of the 2008 attacks in Mumbai is dramatized in a movie starring Armie Hammer, Jason Isaacs and Dev Patel. Release date: TBD
The Hummingbird Project
Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgard and Salma Hayek star in a drama involving a fiber-optic cable deal from filmmaker Kim Nguyen (War Witch). Release date: TBD
If Beale Street Could Talk
Moonlight director Barry Jenkins follows up his Best Picture win with this James Baldwin adaptation about a man wrongfully accused of a crime. The drama stars Kiki Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal and Dave Franco. Release date: November 30.
The Land of Steady Habits
The latest from Nicole Holofcener (Friends With Money) stars Ben Mendelsohn as a recently retired man who leaves his wife and embarks on a life of freedom. Release date: TBD
Life Itself
This star-studded multi-generational drama tracks a couple from college through parenthood and features Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Cooke, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas and Mandy Patinkin among its ensemble cast. Release date: September 21.
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Maya
The latest from acclaimed filmmaker Mia Hansen-Love (Goodbye First Love) is about a reporter taken hostage in Syria. Release date: TBD
Red Joan
Dame Judi Dench stars in this topical drama directed by Sir Trevor Nunn (Twelfth Night) about the KGB’s oldest serving British spy, a fictionalization of the real-life Melita Norwood. Release date: TBD
The Wedding Guest
The latest from Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart) follows Dev Patel as a mysterious man traveling across India and Pakistan. Release date: TBD
Where Hands Touch
Amandla Sternberg, Abbie Cornish and Christopher Eccleston star in the latest from Amma Asante (Belle), which is about a mixed race girl in Nazi Germany. Release date: TBD
Widows
From director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) comes a remake of a 1980s British miniseries about widows finishing a heist their husbands all died attempting. The title characters are played by Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo, and the cast also includes Colin Farrell, Liam Neeson, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Bernthal, Andre Holland and Jacki Weaver. Release date: November 16.
Also playing: Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Cold War, Colette, Everybody Knows, First Man, Jason Reitman’s The Front Runner, Galveston, The Kindergarten Teacher, Olivier Assayas’ Non-Fiction, David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun, The Public, Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, A Star is Born, Zhang Yimou’s Shadow, Shoplifters, The Sisters Brothers, White Boy Rick and Paul Dano’s Wildlife.
NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL (September 28 – October 14)
World premieres to be announced.
Also playing: The Favourite and Roma.
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See details.
Masters of surprise on the big screen, Joel Coen and his brother Ethan Coen (Hail, Caesar!, above) announced in January 2017 that they had written and planned to direct The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, described as an “event anthology set in the Old West.” Later in the year, we heard that Netflix acquired the series and that it would feature six episodes. Tim Blake Nelson was set to star as Buster Scruggs, with the series expected to launch in 2018.
Now — surprise! — we’re hearing that the series will be, instead, a movie. Here’s all we know about The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
How did the series transform into a movie?
According to the Coen brothers themselves (per Variety): “We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme. Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”
So, it’s not clear at what point, exactly, the Coen brothers decided that their stories would work better as one film rather than six episodes of a small-screen series, with themselves (i.e., “the best directors working today”) at the helm. We’re delighted, nonetheless, that we’ll have the opportunity to see their latest work on the big screen.
What’s it about?
The film runs 132 minutes and is structured like an anthology, with multiple chapters. Beyond that, and it’s description as a Western, we know little about the plot so far. The Coens remade the Western drama True Grit back in 2010, starring Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.
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True Grit earned 10 Academy Award nominations. Judging by the awards chatter, their new film sounds like a solid bet to join the Oscar race.
Who is starring?
As previously announced, Tim Blake Nelson stars as the titular character. Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits and Liam Neeson have also been announced as costars.
When will it premiere?
The film will enjoy its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in Italy, which runs this year from August 9 to September 8. It could show up at other major festivals, such as Toronto or New York, after that.
Will it still show up on Netflix? If so, when?
Yes. Per Variety, the film will debut on Netflix by the end of the year. It’s expected to have a limited theatrical release before that, though, so we should be seeing it in theaters sometime this fall.
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:
Lip Sync Performance of the Day:
From Comic-Con, Fox shares a video of Deadpool and his Super Duper Band promoting Deadpool 2‘s Super Duper Cut:
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Easter Eggs of the Day:
The first trailer for Shazam! debuted during Comic-Con over the weekend, and it features tons of DC comic book and movie Easter eggs, which Mr. Sunday Movies amusingly highlights here:
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Fake Documentary of the Day:
In honor of Comic-Con, Conan O’Brien made a fake trailer for a music documentary about the Cantina Band from Star Wars:
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Cosplay of the Day:
Speaking of Comic-Con and Star Wars, The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson shared a group photo of Rose Tico fans, many cosplaying as the character:
???????????? https://t.co/GzuATWYxod
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) July 21, 2018
Fan Theory of the Day:
Just in time for the Glass trailer debut, That Film Theory explores the idea that Split is a sequel to more M. Night Shyamalan movies than just Unbreakable:
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Vintage Image of the Day:
Emil Jannings, who was born on this day in 1884, won the first Academy Award for Best Actor for his performances in The Last Command and the lost film The Way of All Flesh, pictured below.
Actor in the Spotlight:
With The Dark Knight celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, Jacob T. Swinney and Fandor showcase Christian Bale’s work as an actor there and elsewhere:
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Filmmaker in Focus:
The latest video essay from Channel Criswell focuses on the deep honesty of screenwriter and filmmaker Charlie Kaufman:
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Mashup of the Day:
Dimitri Bitu pieces together depictions of the assassination of Paul Castellano from the unrelated 1996 and 2018 Gotti movies plus Witness to the Mob and Boss of Bosses:
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Classic Trailer of the Day:
This week is the 30th anniversary of Big Top Pee-wee. Watch the original trailer for the cult classic Pee-wee Herman movie below.
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Every year, Comic-Con is a source for lots of movie news. Studios announce the latest superheroes heading to the big screen. Productions announce the casting of previously announced comic book adaptations. Sometimes we get more information on a highly anticipated release.
This week, from Wednesday’s preview night through Sunday’s panels, we’ll be updating this post with the biggest and best revelations out of the convention.
Bumblebee pays tribute to the ’80s Transformers
During Paramount’s presentation and panel for the Transformers spin-off prequel Bumblebee, we learned that the movie will honor the original cartoon series (and toys, comics, etc.). That’s already been partly a given with the Volkswagon Bug version of the titular Autobot, but there will be at least a glimpse of the original look of Optimus Prime.
The movie will also showcase the Transformers planet, Cybertron, in all its glory. Meanwhile, Bumblebee also involves two main villain Decepticons, which take the form of muscle cars, specifically a Plymouth Satellite and an AMC Javelin, voiced respectively by Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is full of fan-favorite characters
From Sony’s presentation and panel for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, we got the full scope of Spider-Verse characters involved in the animated feature. Recently, we heard that Nicolas Cage would be voicing Spider-Man Noir, but the latest footage also introduces Spider-Gwen, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, who had already been known to be the voice of regular Gwen Stacy.
Also part of the ensemble of heroes is the two-dimensional anime version of Spidey called Peni Parker (Komiko Glenn) and, craziest of all, the anthropomorphic pig Spidey, Spider-Ham, aka Peter Porker (John Mulaney). In case the pig doesn’t make it clear, these are all incarnations of Spider-Man from other dimensions and all fan favorites that are sure to delight audiences this December.
The Clone Wars returns
While celebrating the 10th anniversary of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lucasfilm announced the show will be returning next year. New episodes of the series, which had seemed to be finished four years ago, will debut this time on Disney’s new streaming service, which also arrives in late 2019.
Check out a trailer for the return of The Clone Wars below.
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Annabelle gets a sequel and a peer
Warner Bros. and New Line announced a third Annabelle movie is on the way, this time with a present setting. The sequel to the Conjuring spin-off prequel — which itself spawned last year’s prequel Annabelle: Creation — will mark the directorial debut of Annabelle and It screenwriter Gary Dauberman. This time the possessed doll is targeting the now-grown daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Meanwhile, on the eve of Comic-Con, occasional Conjuring franchise director James Wan and producer Jason Blum announced another killer doll movie unrelated to the other series. This one, titled M3GAN, is about a lifelike doll with artificial intelligence, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, it will be directed by New Zealand filmmaker Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) from a script by Akela Cooper (Luke Cage).
Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
BIG NEWS
DC’s standalone Joker movie sets 2019 release: After officially greenlighting the movie last week, Warner Bros. set an October 2019 release date for their Joker origin movie, which will be simply titled Joker. Also this week, they cast Deadpool 2‘s Zazie Beetz in a major role opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s “clown prince of crime.” Read more here and check out a fan-made trailer for the movie here.
GREAT NEWS
Timothée Chalamet to star in Dune: Fans can already expect a quality adaptation of Dune with filmmaker Denis Villeneuve at the helm of a two-part project, but now there’s even more prestigious talent on board as recent Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) is going to star in the sci-fi spectacle. Read more here.
SURPRISING NEWS
Zombieland 2 is finally happening: It’s been a long time coming for fans — it’ll be 10 years in fact to the month — but Zombieland is finally getting a sequel. Zombieland 2 has been set for release in October 2019 with the main foursome returning and new “evolved” zombies. Read more here.
EXCLUSIVE BUZZ
Aquaman set report: We visited the set of Aquaman and have been able to share all kinds of facts about the DC movie, including all you need to know about how it’s different from all other superhero movies. Read our two-part report here and here and see the movie’s first poster in full here.
COOL CULTURE
The Dark Knight vs. Batman: In honor of this week’s 10th anniversary of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Screen Crush created this video definitively showcasing the similarities and differences between the movie and Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. Watch it below.
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MUST-WATCH TRAILERS
Bohemian Rhapsody will rock you: The first full trailer dropped for the Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and it’s sure to be a box office champion by the looks (and sound) of things. Watch it below.
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Robin Hood looks like a jolly good time: The first full trailer also arrived for the latest telling of Robin Hood, starring Taron Egerton in the title role and introducing the iconic character as a thief in training. Watch it below.
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Overlord seems terrifying for multiple reasons: The J.J. Abrams-produced Overlord debuted its first trailer, showing that the secretive movie is your typical World War II action drama, and then the Nazi zombies show up. Watch it below.
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Welcome to Marwen promises a magical and inspiring true story: The second trailer for Robert Zemeckis’ Welcome to Marwen, a remake of the documentary Marwencol, spotlights more of the women cast this time around, and the movie still looks absolutely magical. Watch it below.
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