Etiqueta: Featured

In that same interview, Greta Gerwig delved into the history of the Barbie doll itself, large plastic breasts notwithstanding. As she noted, the toy’s creator was inspired to create something different after seeing her daughter — Barbara, who ultimately became the namesake for the doll — and her limited toy options.

«The insight that [Barbie creator] Ruth Handler had when she was watching her daughter play with baby dolls, is she realised, ‘My daughter doesn’t want to pretend to be a mother. She wants to pretend to be a grown woman,’» Gerwig told the radio program. Not only is the director well versed in the history of Barbie, she goes so far as to include Handler in the film, where she’s played by Rhea Perlman and acts as a sort of deity towards Margot Robbie’s Barbie. At the end of the film, Ruth even helps Barbie become a real woman and transcend her identity as a «perfect» doll.

With all of this in mind, Gerwig told the BBC that the doll’s history is what inspired her. «Barbie has been around since 1959… she’s been a villain and she’s been a hero, but it felt like in a way, even though it’s so seemingly superficial, that it was such a rich place to start.» Clearly, Gerwig thought the concept of Barbie through quite thoroughly and went well beyond the doll’s physique … no matter what Jo Koy said during his monologue.

With the power of a million exploding suns and more god-like abilities than practically any Marvel hero, the Sentry’s powers are largely unrivaled. Unfortunately for the world and universe, the incredible powers of the Avengers’ Golden Guardian come with an evil opposite named the Void, an entity that represents the hero’s darkest side.

Debuting in «Sentry’ #1 (by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, Jose Villarrubia, Richard Starkings, and Wes Abbott), the Void is a being the Sentry (and the rest of the Avengers) have gone to great lengths to repress. The Void possesses many of the same powers as Sentry, but as dark reflections of his most heroic form. That means the entity has similar god-like abilities, but instead of using them for good, it prefers to try to destroy the Marvel Universe — and is fully capable of doing so.

If the Sentry loses control, the Void can take over the hero’s body and cause significant damage. While it can be killed, its return is always inevitable. The Void’s potential emergence is so dangerous that Sentry has teamed up with his fellow heroes to wipe his mind in an attempt to completely bury his entire super-powered self, as the risk of the Void emerging is simply too much. At full power, even the mightiest Avenger stands little chance against it.

The Sentry is set to appear in the upcoming «Thunderbolts» film, despite Steven Yeun walking away from the project after initially being cast as the complex hero. Regardless of who plays him, viewers will likely see Sentry’s dark side emerge, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe will feel the wrath of the Void.

Having consistently played Wolverine for 17 years — 2000 to 2017, specifically — Hugh Jackman understands the rigorous preparation required to get ripped for the character. In fact, it should be — pardon the pun — muscle memory for the actor at this point. However, before appearing in James Mangold’s «The Wolverine,» which required a lot of shirtless screen time, Jackman reached out to the walking mountain of muscle known as Dwayne Johnson for advice on how to get bigger and better for his role. These tips have served him well for his «Deadpool 3» preparations, too.

Speaking to Access Hollywood in 2013, Jackman revealed how he was set to do «Les Misérables» and «The Wolverine» right afterward. However, he had one problem: He was supposed to drop weight for the musical then get in shape for the superhero flick, so he rang up The People’s Champ. Jackman explained what Johnson told him, saying: «First of all, he said, ‘When you’re lean-ing down, still keep your strength. You can still go in and push weights, so that as soon as you start eating again you’ll go back quickly.’ But, he said, ‘You gotta eat 6,000 calories a day, you’ve gotta train three hours.’»

Jackman added how these 6,000 calories consisted of him eating a lot of chicken and fish, as per the advice of Johnson who stayed in regular contact with him as he got into tremendous shape for «The Wolverine.»

While it’s true that most iterations of the Hulk depict him as Bruce Banner’s scientifically personified anger issues, there’s at least one version of the story that supports this Redditor’s fan theory. In 2000, Marvel Comics introduced the Devil Hulk, and he’s exactly what he sounds like. Bruce encounters the literal demon in his mindscape, a soul plane littered with struggling Hulk personalities. This version of Bruce contains many Hulks inside him, each fashioned to cope with a different trauma from his childhood, and sometimes they fight because comics are weird and beautiful that way. 

Devil Hulk is a proud, vengeful creature, who renames himself the Immortal Hulk after his first victory over Bruce’s numerous Hulk personas. Unlike his other personalities, though, the Immortal Hulk does not originate from within Bruce. He is a denizen of the Below-Place, which isn’t a euphemism for the Christian Hell because it is canonically lower in the bedrock of reality than the biblical realm of fire and brimstone. Bruce is connected to this malevolent domain by the Green Door, a portal he tore into existence when his gamma bomb project went sideways.

This version of Bruce’s story deals heavily with demonic possession because both the Immortal Hulk and the One Below All, the Below-Place’s deity, use the Green Door to control Gamma Mutates like Bruce.

The good news for character actors is this: they work a lot. A super-casual term for an actor could be «that guy» or «that girl» as they seemingly pop up in everything as a standout supporting player. Think Kathryn Hahn before she took leading roles in projects like the upcoming Agatha Harkness spinoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the original series «Tiny Beautiful Things.» Greta Lee, too, broke out of character actor status when she took on a leading role in Celine Song’s «Past Lives,» for which she’s earned several major award season nominations. J.K. Simmons, who also falls in this category, won a best supporting actor Oscar for playing the main antagonist in «Whiplash.»

Judy Greer is another perfect example. She rarely plays a lead role, but she adds her considerable talent to any ensemble she joins, whether she’s a sidekick in romantic comedies like «The Wedding Planner,» «27 Dresses,» and «13 Going on 30» or flashing unsuspecting businessmen in «Arrested Development.»

Popular actors who are eminently recognizable but not household names are the very definition of character actors. These include Luis Guzmán («Wednesday»), John Carroll Lynch («American Horror Story»), Lorraine Toussaint («The Equalizer»), Margo Martindale («Cocaine Bear»), and Becky Ann Baker (literally everything, including «Girls,» «Freaks & Geeks,» and even «Ted Lasso»). Martindale, in fact, is referred to as «Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale» on the animated series «BoJack Horseman,» where she voices an especially unhinged version of herself.

It’s definitely not a bad thing to be a character actor; it ensures you stay booked and busy if you can deliver a wide range of performances at the drop of a hat.

Meanwhile, u/jpence1983 shot for the stars with their idea to bring science fiction elements into the «28 Days Later» universe. They suggested a new franchise entry that would focus on a struggle between space-dwelling humans who fled Earth to escape the outbreaks and left-behind survivors: «When the colonists return, they come as invaders: their resources have begun to dwindle, and their gene pool has become thin as attrition of illness and starvation takes its toll.»

Though this could be too big of a change compared to the smaller-scale scope of the first two films, it’s worth noting that returning screenwriter Alex Garland has written some great science fiction, including «Ex Machina» and «Annihilation.» On the other hand, u/BusinessPurge offered the idea that the rage virus has destroyed all but island nations.

«A new UN of island nations puts together a joint strike force/scientific team to finally formally investigate the science facilities where the Rage virus may have been created,» they suggested. «Civilization has been rebuilt enough that they have the luxury of ‘pursuing the origins.’» 

While we still don’t know what the upcoming «28 Days Later» sequel will be about, these ideas have definitely got us excited for whatever is coming down the pipeline.

While Pedro Pascal spends much of 2024 bringing life to a stretchy superhero and a melancholy survivor of an apocalypse, he has two more projects on his plate, one officially announced and one potential. 

The confirmed project is «The Mandalorian and Grogu,» which the official Star Wars website reports will go into production sometime in 2024. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, does not have a cast nailed down yet, but presumably Pascal will appear somewhere within the picture as Din Djarin. The actor has played the titular Mandalorian since the Disney+ series began streaming in 2019 and has popped up in multiple franchises related to the series.

The potential project, titled «Eddington,» is «Midsommar» director Ari Aster’s story of a couple who meet with peril when they pull off the road to get help in a seemingly friendly small town. Pascal had reportedly been offered a role in the project before the SAG-AFTRA strike put it on hold, but there’s no word as to whether or not he’s accepted the part. Any way you slice it, it looks like Pascal will be quite the busy man over the next couple of years.

Strangely enough, Tom Cruise’s break with Paramount in favor of Warner Bros. is not the first time that the actor and Mission: Impossible studio have moved away from one another. Back in 2006, The Guardian reported that Paramount had fired Cruise over a number of the actor’s public-facing controversies, including his affiliation with the Church of Scientology and a bizarre incident in which he jumped on a couch during an interview on «The Oprah Winfrey Show.» «His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount,» Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone said at the time. According to The New York Times, representatives for Cruise pushed back on the idea that he was fired, instead arguing that he quit after Paramount lowballed the actor on his contract renewal.

Despite this heated split, the ensuing years demonstrated an enduring desire between Cruise and Paramount to continue collaborating on projects like the Mission: Impossible franchise. With this context in mind, it’s possible that Cruise’s move to Warner Bros. doesn’t spell the end of the relationship between the star and the studio. After all, the two parties have made it through arguably more dire straits in the past.

To be fair to the conditions on the «Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness» set, Patrick Stewart’s disappointment wasn’t necessarily the result of a creative decision. The choice to separate the actors making cameos was perhaps partially a COVID safety measure or a means to work around each performer’s schedule. Nevertheless, Stewart found the situation challenging.

Anson Mount, who reprises his «Inhumans» role of Black Bolt in «Doctor Strange 2,» shared a similar account in an interview with Esquire. He suggested the filming conditions were meant to leave room for edits and reshoots. «That was a very interesting shoot because my role came up in the reshoots. As you can imagine, several of the actors were quite busy. Patrick [Stewart] was not there … We had actors playing those roles, knowing that they were going to either be substituting their shots or transplanting faces. I’ve never done anything quite like that, and I was in disbelief of how well it cut together.»

While Mount wasn’t quite as critical of his «Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness» experience as Stewart, he seems to have found his role disorienting at the very least.

Catherine Hicks’ starring role opposite William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and their fellow co-stars on «Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home» was unique in that she knew nothing about the franchise before she auditioned to play Dr. Gillian Taylor. Luckily, Hicks’ director also happened to be one of the major faces in the «Star Trek» movies and TV series, and she said he was more than game to tutor the actor on-set to bring her into the know.

«At my audition, Nimoy would keep stopping me and explain things,» Hicks recalled for Star Trek.com. «I didn’t rent all the episodes or movies before we started shooting. I just used my natural ignorance of ‘Star Trek’ [during filming], and it worked. I was in Disneyland. I didn’t know what they were talking about. I didn’t know the ear jokes. I didn’t know what ‘beaming up’ meant. And I kept that.»

Hicks also noted that Nimoy helped her become aware that special effects would be rendered in postproduction and told her not to stop shooting her scenes if she didn’t feel the scene was playing out in her mind.

The film was a memorable experience for Hicks, as well as an accidental actor who mistakenly found her way onto the set. As such, «Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home» spawned an infamous extra story for fans about a one-time background artist, Layla Sarakalo, who ad-libbed a line during a brief scene with Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and Walter Koenig (Chekov) on the streets of San Francisco.

Lupe Vélez is likely a familiar name to sitcom fans who grew up in the ’90s, as «Frasier» isn’t the only show to make a reference to the urban legend connected to her death. In «The Simpsons» episode «Homer’s Phobia,» John (John Waters) takes the family on a tour of Springfield’s most «ludicrously tragic» places. During it, he points out the store where Vélez allegedly bought the toilet she drowned in, to their delight.

In reality, Vélez’s career wasn’t faltering when she passed away. The circumstances behind her suicide continue to be a topic of debate — biographer Michelle Vogel believes Vélez had untreated bipolar disorder. She also may have despaired when her attempt at convincing Ramond to marry her for love failed, whether or not he was the biological father of her child, a topic that has also been posthumously debated. But whatever the reason for her choice, the actress was actually found at the scene of her death just as she wished to be  — calmly composed and in bed. This was confirmed when The Huffington Post ran rediscovered crime scene photos in 2013. Vogel has also pointed out that the pill Vélez took, Seconal, was a highly powerful barbiturate, and an overdose the magnitude of which Vélez took would have rendered her dead within a matter of minutes.

Hopefully, future audiences will rediscover Vélez’s prodigious comedic gifts through her films, which continue to shine decades after Anger’s book got the ball rolling on an urban legend that refuses to flicker out, no matter how untrue it is.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

As with prior MonsterVerse installments, «Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire» not only serves as a rock ‘em sock ‘em monster bash but also aims to further explore this ever-evolving cinematic universe. With its premise indicating that the film will dive deep into the origins of Skull Island and the war between the Titans, fans can expect another kaiju-sized helping of world-building. Interestingly enough, Kong’s power-packed B.E.A.S.T. glove also hints at an interesting development following the events of «Godzilla vs. Kong» according to a statement from director Adam Wingard. 

In an interview with TotalFilm, Wingard hinted that the B.E.A.S.T. glove has ties to a nefarious force. «And though Apex isn’t in this story in a literal way, we kind of hint that Monarch absorbed a lot of the Apex technology after the last film,» he shared. «The glove Kong is wearing, it’s somewhat insinuated that’s Apex technology.» Apex Cybernetics served as Monarch’s rival in «Godzilla vs. Kong,» with the tech corporation causing worldwide chaos with the creation of Mechagodzilla. It’s safe to assume that Apex didn’t last much longer following the mass destruction caused by its robotic Godzilla doppelgänger. 

Monarch now appears to be using Apex’s technology for good and it will be interesting to see how the organization further utilizes these resources. If Kong’s mighty B.E.A.S.T. glove is any indicator, Monarch may now have the upper hand against new threats. 

In the 2010s, it was rare for Disney to not blow audiences away at the box office. Some of the decade’s biggest films included Disney productions, like «Avengers: Endgame,» «Star Wars: The Force Awakens,» and «Frozen II.» However, one surprising flop was 2015’s «Tomorrowland,» an original sci-fi film based on one of their theme parks directed by Brad Bird, who helmed successes like «The Incredibles» and «Ratatouille.»

With a cast including George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, and Britt Robertson, it came as a shock that the film was a financial loss of nearly $150 million for Disney in 2015. Its total box office gross worldwide ended up just over $209 million, a poor profit from its budget of $190 million. This failure could be attributed to the film’s mixed critical response, which labeled its storytelling as uninspired amidst dazzling visuals, with The New York Times stating, «It’s not another glib, phoned-in piece of franchise mediocrity but rather a work of evident passion and conviction … What it isn’t is in any way convincing or enchanting.»

Despite the negativity that followed «Tomorrowland» — and perhaps the impact it had on Disney’s risk-taking — Bird expressed pride in the finished film, comparing it to another box-office bomb of his that later found its audience: 1999’s «The Iron Giant.» He said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, «[Now] it exists, and people can discover it. The movies outlast the criticism of the moment. They exist separate from all that, in time.»

In Trump’s red carpet scene, then-E! News personality Steve Kmetko asks a number of celebs what they think of Zoolander, including Victoria Beckham, Tom Ford, Christian Slater, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Natalie Portman. Trump, as Stiller explained, serves to indicate the scope of Zoolander’s fame: real estate moguls have as much a stake in the guy as actors and fashion designers. Moreover, Trump had a vested interest in the intersection of money and, to quote Zoolander, being really, really, ridiculously good-looking: until his presidency, Trump was a longtime producer of the Miss Universe broadcast.

Despite only appearing in a few seconds of «Zoolander,» Trump kept his finger on the pulse of the film and its 2016 sequel, even chit-chatting with former MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews about its shortcomings. Amid a conversation about women’s reproduction rights and nuclear war, Trump switched topics to «Zoolander 2» during the commercial break. Matthews shared the details later on «The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,» where Stiller caught wind of Trump’s criticism.

«Apparently Trump said it didn’t bomb because it wasn’t funny or anything, but because nobody cares about male models anymore in the zeitgeist,» Stiller said at the 2017 Nantucket Film Festival (via Page Six). «And all I’m thinking is … a) Trump’s right, maybe we should go a little easier on him on this whole Russia thing. And b) why are you doing this, Chris? Why are you dredging up my pain!?»

Following «Star Trek» in 2009, J.J. Abrams’ film spawned two sequels in the new Kelvin timeline –  this is an alternate reality created by the destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin that’s different from the Prime universe. First came «Star Trek Into Darkness» in 2013, then «Star Trek Beyond» in 2016, and ever since, word of a fourth «Star Trek» feature has floated around the Internet. Now, almost a decade after the release of «Beyond,» production on the sequel remains slow going, with few positive updates to keep fans happy.

Thankfully, according to Deadline, fans don’t have to worry about Toby Haynes’ film getting in the way of «Star Trek 4.» Both features are distinct from one another and in active development at the same time, so fans of the Kelvin timeline can look forward to two new installments in the coming years. One can only hope that «Star Trek 4» can make some steady progress soon and that Haynes’ prequel feature won’t suffer the same fate of being trapped in development limbo for years on end.

Toby Haynes’ «Star Trek» feature currently lacks a release date.

«The Beekeeper» opens with Clay taking care of bees on Eloise Parker’s (Phylicia Rashad) remote land. Though he’s awkward and not especially talkative, she still invites him over for dinner. In fact, according to Clay, she’s the only person who’s ever taken care of him, making her suicide after falling for a phishing scheme hard for him to handle. Parker’s daughter Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman), an FBI agent, is understandably upset about her mother’s death too, and as eager as Clay to find out why she died. The two have very different ways of going about it, however. While Clay is eager to kick ass until he reaches the top of the organization responsible for what happened, Verona is more willing to take a measured approach that employs things like the rule of law. That puts the two on something of a collision course.

If that weren’t enough, more than a few people are gunning for Clay. Though Clay used his skills as part of the organization called the Beekeepers for years, he’s now retired. So while he’s doing what he was trained to do, he’s not doing it under the Beekeepers’ authorization. That causes everyone from the FBI to the CIA to the Beekeepers themselves to look for him. Of course, none of them are any match for Clay, who is the best of the best at what he does — even better than the insane Beekeeper with a giant gun strapped to the back of her truck who’s sent after him.

While Clay’s skills are never in doubt, there are still too many scenes woven into the movie to make sure the plot is sticking together, and that may be this film’s biggest flaw. That’s especially true for sequences with Verona and her partner, Matt Wiley (Bobby Naderi), as the two follow Clay’s antics from afar and then up close. That said, the two are funny together, which makes the characters more palatable, if not entirely necessary.

Then there are the sequences of the people carrying out the phishing scam. While you might think they’re small actors working in tiny offices, in this movie they’ve gone corporate with at least two offices in the Boston area, lots of people at desks, and a de-facto frontman hyping everyone up so they can steal old people’s money with a lot of gusto. This defies logic, especially when Verona notes that her team hasn’t been able to make much headway in finding the perpetrators of this scheme.

The phishing scam is masterminded by Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), the 28-year-old nepo baby who’s just taken over as the head of Danforth Enterprises because his mother (Jemma Redgrave) has been sworn in as the president of the United States. This leaves a problem for Jeremy Irons as Wallace Westwyld, the head of Danforth Enterprises’ security detail and the man in charge of keeping Derek safe. Wallace doesn’t like Derek, who rides around the office on a skateboard and doesn’t appear to do much but enjoy the company’s perks, but he admires Derek’s mother, and because of her, he does what he can to keep Derek safe. Both men, in very different ways, are funny in their roles: Hutcherson because Derek is so spoiled that it’s disgusting, and Irons because Wallace is so unimpressed by Derek that his delivery drips with barely concealed sarcasm.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

The way Kevin Costner envisions «Horizon: An American Saga» is as a film franchise. But unlike a typical movie series, he wants just months, rather than years, between each entry. Then, after the planned four films premiere, Costner thinks they can be split into television episodes. «It will eventually be cut up into [hour-long episodes] or 42 minutes — however TV works,» he told Variety. «But their first viewing of it will be as four 2-hour and 45-minute movies. And every three months, one will come out.»

Costner also told Variety at that time — in June 2022, about two years before «Horizon» Chapter 1’s theatrical release date — that he sold the project as an «event television movie.» Now that Chapters 1 and 2 will premiere in theaters, those plans have changed. Given that he’s still seeking funding for Chapters 3 and 4, the ambitious release schedule he envisioned is also out the window. That said, the first two «Horizon» films will still be released just three months apart, so at least some of Costner’s grand vision persists.

Since Costner has significant financial stakes in «Horizon,» the disappointing trajectory Matthew Belloni predicted could impact the actor’s career and everyday life. Of course, it’s still possible that «Horizon» is the next «Yellowstone» and catches on in a way few have foreseen.

«Star Wars» is a massive franchise that aims to please the widest audience possible. Whoever takes the reins to a project set in this universe is required to abide by guidelines put forth by Lucasfilm and Disney. However, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss seemingly disagreed with these requirements, and «The First Jedi» wasn’t greenlit.

While speaking about the project, Benioff said that they weren’t willing to compromise their creative vision for the machine. «[Lucasfilm] ended up not wanting to do a First Jedi story. We had a very specific story idea in mind, and ultimately, they decided they didn’t want to do that. And we totally get it. It’s their company and their IP, but we weren’t the droids they were looking for.»

Interestingly, another «Star Wars» project is in development that seems reminiscent of «The First Jedi’s» basic concept. James Mangold’s «Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi» will reportedly take place 25,000 years before «Star Wars: A New Hope» and chronicle the discovery of the Force. That project is still in the early stages of development, though, and it remains to be seen if it will make it to the screen.