A new adventure for Luke and Leia begins this December
Marvel’s STAR WARS comics have pulled back the curtain on fan favorite Captain Phasma, introduced the world to rogue archeologist Doctor Aphra, and crafted stories that have enthralled fans across the galaxy.
This December, even more secrets will be revealed when Marvel releases STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI – STORMS OF CRAIT #1. Written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker (Star Wars: Join The Resistance) with art by Mike Mayhew (Star Wars, The Star Wars), the new mini-series gives fans a look behind the curtain at one very special planet in the galaxy: the mineral planet Crait.
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it becomes a battleground between the Resistance and the First Order, but that wasn’t the first time Crait became a place where heroes and villains clashed in their fight for the galaxy.
The next chapter of the sleeper hit John Wick series is officially in the works, and will now open within the heat of summer movie-going season as Lionsgate has set a release date of “John Wick: Chapter 3” to May 17, 2019, this according to Hollywood Reporter.
The film is currently the only major studio film unveiling on the date before the big Memorial Day weekend which will see Aladdin and Minecraft open.
The release date demonstrate how the series evolved into a summer tentpole from its humble beginnings. In 2014, the first Wick film was a surprise boxoffice hit, grossing $88 million worldwide on a $29 million budget, while the first sequel earlier this year grossed $171.5 million. Critical response to both films were also positive.
Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first two installments, will return to write Chapter 3. Director Chad Stahelski helmed both Wick films with David Leitch co-directing the first installment.
The action packed neo-noir thriller John Wick focused on retired hitman John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) as he seeks vengeance for the theft of his car and death of his puppy. Wick returned in the sequel, this time on the run after a large bounty is placed on his head. There are currently no plot details about Chapter Three.
The 3-year hiatus is a long and complicated one for music lovers. On one hand you don’t want to risk being annoyed with your music obsession after only one year, because you want to give them time (it’s an artist thing) and you don’t want to hate them (it’s a Stan thing). But on another hand, you also don’t want them to play around with your musical hearts, and instead let you consume the product that they so carefully place in front of you. 2 years is sufficient because it allows breathing time and a moment of clarity for both you and the artist. But three years?
That’s completely insane. What could possibly be so important for a 3-year break in recording and releasing new music? It seems like the best musical growths we’ve seen in the music industry happen around a 3-5 year hiatus. And these are of course by the top-ranking artists we’ve had in the last ten years. That’s Bruno Mars, Adele, Beyonce, and even Taylor Swift, who recently abandoned her 2-year break method to approach us with her new upcoming album. Apparently for rock band The Script, it can mean a lot. And 4 albums previously in your discography is a good excuse for a well-deserved break.
For those of you not who don’t listen to musicians hailing from Ireland, The Script is a lovely band from Dublin, who rose to fame in the late 2000’s with their self-titled album. They have also shown a legitimate knack for songwriting with their early hits “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”, “Live Like We’re Dying” (which was later covered by American Idol winner Kris Allen), “Hall of Fame”, and everyone’s personal favorite (including yo momma’s) “Breakeven”, which has been the subject of many popular YouTube and singing competition covers around the world. Although the band hasn’t made a huge international impact in the same way other similar bands have, the work that they have done for heartwarming rock ballads have given them a solid fan base that’s allowed them to tour and release more chart-topping albums in those few years.
Which is why their new album, Freedom Child, comes at such a big surprise in the midst of all the pop, hip hop and r&b overload that’s come out recently. It’s almost a bit surprising that they did come back in the way they did, and during the time that they did. It’s even more surprising that they didn’t include a hip hop guest contribution, considering how many of our most traditional musicians are adapting to the hip hop aesthetic. Continue reading →
James Franco’s latest directorial effort “The Disaster Artist”, is getting plenty of acclaim following its world premier Monday at the Toronto Film Festival. A24 has now released a full trailer (below) and its both hilarious and bizarre, showing a long-haired Franco with a strange accent, devouring ramen, awkwardly throwing football and shooting himself, all of which weird yet amusing; appropriate given the film’s eccentric subject.
The film chronicles the making of the 2003 independent romantic drama The Room, a critically lambasted film written, starred and directed by Tommy Wiseau. Often pilloried as “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” The Room was pulled from theaters after just a couple of weeks and prompted refunds from audience.
In spite of that notoriety, or maybe because of it, the film’s love triangle tale managed to garner a cult following, and later inspired a video game and a live play/reading based on the original script.
One of the actors in The Room was Greg Sestero, who wrote a memoir of his experience during the troubled production of Wiseau’s vanity film. Titled The Disaster Artist, the book was published to critical acclaim in 2013 and received various literary awards.
That biographical memoir is the basis of James Franco’s eponymous film, which he developed with comedian/filmmaker Seth Rogen, with Franco playing Tommy Wiseau while his brother Dave plays Sestero. Writing partners Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (The Fault in Our Stars) penned the script.
“The Disaster Artist” marks the first time that the Franco brothers are working together in a film, and a good timing it is now that Dave made good on his own following appearances in Now You See Me, Neighbors, 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie, all of which received a sequel, with The LEGO Ninjago Movie out next weekend. The film also stars co-producer Rogen, as well as Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, Jacki Weaver and Zac Efron.
Not only is the film scoring well with critics (currently 96% on RT), many speculate James Franco’s efforts in front and behind the camera could be a player come awards season. The film’s work-in-progress version also received similar reception when it screened early this year at South by Southwest Festival in Austin.
The Disaster Artist is scheduled for theatrical release Dec. 1.
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola gives fans their first glimpse of David Harbour as Hellboy on Wednesday, posting a photo of the actor in character on social media. “Holy crap… first look #hellboy,” Mignola posted with the photo.
Harbour’s version of the powerful demon looks accurate to comics, and is not entirely a different look from that of Ron Perlman who played the role in the 2004 original and on it’s sequel in 2008, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
The character’s latest iteration does look grittier and imposing, more realistically muscular, and has longer locks of hair .
Set to be directed by Neil Marshall, the currently untitled Hellboy reboot also stars Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Sasha Lane and Daniel Dae Kim.
With the release of the image, production is moving quickly as principal photography expected to get underway this month. The film is expected to be shot in U.K. and Bulgaria. The film is set to be released next year, but no specific release date has been announced.
LOS ANGELES (September 12, 2017) – XLrator Media has acquired global distribution rights to the science-fiction thriller INFINITY CHAMBER and will release the film in U.S. theaters on September 15 and on VOD and iTunes September 26. The film will roll out internationally later this year and early 2018.
INFINITY CHAMBER was written and directed by Travis Milloy (writer and executive producer of the Dennis Quaid-Ben Foster sci-fi actioner Pandorum) in his feature directorial debut and produced by Laurie Sheldon and Tom Eberts. The film stars Christopher Soren Kelly (Ink), Cassandra Clark (“Englishman in L.A.”) and Jessie Arrow.
The film soundtrack by Jacob Yoffee will be available on digital services September 25.
INFINITY CHAMBER is set in a fully automated government prison in the future. Subjected to relentless computer interrogation, a wrongfully imprisoned man must outwit his captors and escape to the outside world that may already be wiped out. Continue reading →
“With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy,” said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
JJ Abrams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a dynamite at the boxoffice, $2.06 billion worldwide making it the third highest-grossing film of all time, including unadjusted $936 million domestically, above Titanic and Avatar.
As such, the director responsible for reintroducing the beloved characters of the franchise to a new generation of fans is arguably a perfect choice to close the trilogy. Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio.
Last week, Lucasfilm announced that Colin Trevorrow will no longer be directing Star Wars: Episode IX. According to the statement, the split was a mutual decision.
Abrams is currently not attached to direct any film, which makes one wonder why he was not initially pursued. Though its possible his involvement with Mission: Impossible 6 and HBO’s Westworld as producer might have something to do with that.
Principal photography for Star Wars: Episode IX is expected to start early 2018 with the film’s release scheduled to be May 24, 2019.
TORONTO, CANADA, September 11, 2017 – Focus Features has acquired international rights to Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed directorial debut Lady Bird, company chairman Peter Kujawski announced today. A24 and IAC Films are partners on the movie. Focus will be handling distribution in all territories outside of North America. Lady Bird has emerged as one of the biggest breakouts of the fall season, winning rave reviews from its screenings at both the Telluride and Toronto International Film Festivals. Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O’Neill are the producers.
“With Lady Bird, Greta has proven herself to be both a brilliant illusionist and a towering filmmaker. She tricks us into believing this is an intimate story about a specific character, time, and place until the culmination of the laughter and the tears makes you realize it’s actually a grand epic that is as universal, relatable and emotionally powerful as any story of mothers and daughters that has ever been put on film,” said Focus Chairman Peter Kujawski. “We couldn’t be more honored to team with Greta and our friends at A24 and IAC to share her incredible work with audiences around the world.”
In Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig reveals herself to be a bold new cinematic voice with her directorial debut, excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter. Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird’s father (Tracy Letts) loses his job. Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, amidst a rapidly shifting American economic landscape, Lady Bird is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home.
Jenkins led Wonder Woman to critical and commercial success this summer, and on Monday, the director officially closed the deal to helm the sequel after a lengthy negotiation process, Variety reported.
To fans, this is more of a confirmation and less a surprise as Jenkins was widely speculated to return. While Wonder Woman broke multiple boxoffice records during it’s theatrical run, its been reported that Jenkins was already working on a script.
What is a revelation however is the amount she’s expected to receive for the job. According to the report, Jenkins is said to be paid “in the $8 million dollar range to write, direct and produce.” A substantial jump from the $1 million she was paid for the original.
This makes her the highest paid director of all time, above Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give and The Holiday), who reportedly earned $5 million per film during her heyday. And as with similar deals, her fortunes could rise further given the “back-end of boxoffice grosses” deal included in the contract.
Gal Gadot is also set to reprise her role as the Amazonian warrior princess, and will next be seen in this November’s Justice League superhero team up. Wonder Woman 2 is currently scheduled to open in theaters on December 13, 2019.
The time is almost among us again, the Monterey Jazz Festival is set to take place September 15th – 17th in Monterey, California. The Jazz Festival in Monterey is a little different this year as it is celebrating its sixtieth birthday. It is amazing that in today’s era of music, there is such anticipation for a Jazz Festival. Jazz music is still a very big part of Monterey culture, which is an area that is right near one of California’s most beautiful beaches. The festival which has been held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds has been held at the same location for sixty years.
The Jazz festival is more than just a musical gathering though; there are also different food vendors who specifically come to the festival once a year. You can taste a variety of different local seafood from the San Francisco Bay Area, urban cuisine, Italian cuisine, and even street food like some of the best local hot dogs that you will ever taste. For the 2017 even there are a couple of new artists who are set to perform, GoGo Penguin is a group who is based out of Britain who specializes in a unique acoustic sound. This is a wonderfully unique smooth jazz sound, and a group who definitely deserves more recognition in the states. Continue reading →
