Movie News

Florence Pugh may soon be touching down in Arrakis.

The Oscar-nominated star of “Little Women” and “Black Widow” is in negotiations to join the cast of “Dune: Part 2,” Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.’ follow-up to the critically acclaimed, commercially successful (for a pandemic) “Dune.” If the deal closes, Pugh will play Princess Irulan Corrino, a royal who becomes romantically entangled with Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. It’s a critical role, one with the potential to grow if “Dune” stretches deeper into novelist Frank Herbert’s literary canon.

Production on the sequel is expected to start this summer, and the film is slated to hit theaters on Oct. 20, 2023. It brings back much of the ensemble from the first film, including Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya and Javier Bardem. Denis Villeneuve, credited with making a book thought to be un-adaptable into something cinematic and comprehensible, returns as director.

The entertainment world has always been filled with a wild bunch of characters. But we're not just talking about the iconic personas of Ferris Bueller, Lucy Ricardo, Tony Montana, or Ellen Ripley. Sometimes the people behind the scenes are just as interesting as the larger-than-life roles they present to the public. And this especially applies to musicians.

Over the years, musical biopics have told the remarkable true stories of the artists that created our favorite songs. "Selena," "La Bamba," "Amadeus," and "Sid & Nancy" immediately come to mind, but newer hits like "Get On Up," "Straight Outta Compton," and "Love & Mercy" are excellent...

The post Piano Man: Billy Joel is Getting the Biopic Treatment With New Film appeared first on /Film.

In a welcome casting decision that I doubt anyone could have anticipated, Christopher Nolan's World War II drama "Oppenheimer" has added former child star and star of the short-lived "Turner and Hooch" reboot series, Josh Peck to the film. Peck has been brought on to play Kenneth Bainbridge, a scientist who historically worked on the Manhattan Project, the code name used for America, the United Kingdom, and Canada's research and development undertaking during the second world war to produce the first nuclear weapons. Peck is joining the already ridiculously stacked cast featuring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist whose research led to...

The post Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Adds The Wackness Star Josh Peck appeared first on /Film.

The cast and filmmakers behind Disney/Pixar’s upcoming animated feature “Turning Red” have spoken out to tout its universal coming-of-age themes after a review posted by outlet CinemaBlend on Tuesday generated online backlash. The review, written by the site’s managing director Sean O’Connell, was pulled by the outlet after press on social media took issue with the article for its perceived sexist and racist viewpoints.

The film, directed and co-written by Oscar winner Domee Shi, centers on a 13-year-old girl named Mei Lee, who is torn between family loyalty and the chaos of puberty and the growing pains of middle school. Along the way, she routinely turns into a giant red panda.

“Throughout ‘Turning Red,’ Domee Shi and her co-screenwriter Julia Cho pepper in jokes and references that will speak directly to teenage girls, be it their bonds over sappy pop songs, or their heated lust for older teen dudes,

On paper, the prominent use of sensitive American singer-songwriter music from the 1970s and ‘80s in a modern Norwegian romantic comedy might seem rather incongruous, if not downright anachronistic. But five decades on from some of their biggest successes, Art Garfunkel, Todd Rundgren, Harry Nilsson and Christopher Cross are back on the big screen helping soundtrack Danish/Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s acclaimed “The Worst Person in the World,” which is nominated for best original screenplay and best international feature film at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Co-written by Trier and longtime collaborator Eskil Vogt, “Worst Person” has already won best foreign language film from the New York Film Critics Circle and garnered Renate Reinsve the best actress award at Cannes. The movie follows Reinsve’s Julie as she navigates the restless transition from her 20s into her 30s, spanning two long-term relationships that conjure tough existential questions about love, fidelity,

It's hard to believe that the Joker has been around for over 80 years. Since the character's inception, he's become one of the most iconic villains in all of media, and has proved compelling enough to captivate audiences in stories that don't even feature his arch nemesis, Batman. "The Joker is so weird his very presence virtually assures an unusual story," wrote former DC Comics senior editor and director of development Mike Gold in his forward for the 1988 collection "The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told."

Like the Dark Knight, part of the Joker's eight-decade legacy is the character's malleability. Over the years, writers and...

The post The 16 Best Joker Comics you Need to Read appeared first on /Film.

Updated March 9: In winning the photoreal feature VFX prize at the 20th Ves Awards on March 8 (at the Beverly Hilton), “Dune” is now a step closer to winning the VFX Oscar. It also collected three other awards for model (Royal Ornithopter), effects simulations (Dunes of Arrakis), and compositing & lighting (Attack on Arrakeen).

Updated February 9: Denis Villeneuve’s sweeping “Dune” (Warner Bros.) leads the way as the frontrunner in the VFX race. The other nominees include “No Time to Die” (MGM/UA), “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (Marvel/Disney), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Marvel/Disney), and the surprising “Free Guy” (20th Century/Disney).

Dneg created imaginative VFX for the otherworldly “Dune” (overseen by two-time Oscar-winning production VFX supervisor Paul Lambert and Oscar-winning SFX supervisor Gerd Nefzer). Shot in Budapest, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Norway, the work is both epic and intimate, from the wind blown sand,

The Coen Brothers' 1998 film "The Big Lebowski" has become a cult hit of the highest order, inspiring annual conventions in both Louisville, Ky (Lebowski Fest) and England (The Dude Abides). It's odd that such a nonchalant feature film should move so many to such passion -- surely the more appropriate response would be hole up with a White Russian (if you're over 21!) or an edible (if you're of age and they're legal in your area!) and try to get on the same lazy wavelength as The Dude. 

This part is well known: The Dude (a.k.a. Jeffrey Lebowski), played by Jeff Bridges in the film, was inspired...

The post The Classic Crime Novel That Inspired The Big Lebowski appeared first on /Film.

“House of the Dragon” — HBO’s upcoming prequel to its wildly popular “Game of Thrones” fantasy series — is coming.

Anticipation for “House of the Dragon” has been high since the show was unveiled by WarnerMedia in October 2019. Most details about the project have been under wraps since its initial reveal, but bits and pieces about the show have been teased in recent months. “House of the Dragon” is among HBO’s most high-profile upcoming series and has massive shoes to fill, given the success of the premium cabler’s “Game of Thrones,” which earned 59 Emmys throughout its eight-season run. Both series are based on hit fantasy novels from George R.R. Martin.

“Game of Thrones” concluded in 2019, and speculation about its successor series has been rife since the show’s conclusion. “House of the Dragon” is just one of the multitude of “Game of Thrones” spinoffs that HBO has in the works.

“Drake and Josh” star Josh Peck has joined the sprawling cast of Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic “Oppenheimer.”

He will play Kenneth Bainbridge, a real scientist who was involved in the Manhattan Project, the code name for America’s effort to develop nuclear weapons during the second world war.

Cillian Murphy is starring as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the movie, which examines the physicist whose contribution led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Murphy will be surrounded by an A-list ensemble, including Emily Blunt as biologist and botanist Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves Jr. and Robert Downey, Jr. as founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Lewis Strauss.

There are at least a dozen other recognizable actors already on board. Florence Pugh will play psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie will portray theoretical physicist Edward Teller and Josh Hartnett will embody pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.

After producer Adam McKay revealed that his latest HBO series, “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” was made without the NBA’s involvement, Magic Johnson has spoken out on the series’ failure to capture the true Showtime era of the 1980s Lakers.

“It’s hard. I won’t watch it because it’s hard to duplicate,” Johnson told Entertainment Tonight at the Los Angeles premiere of Apple TV+’s “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.” “You can’t duplicate Showtime.”

Based on Jeff Pearlman’s book, “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty,” the 10-episode first season stars John C. Reilly as former Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, with newcomer Quincy Isaiah playing Earvin “Magic” Johnson and former Harlem Globetrotter Solomon Hughes portraying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Johnson continued, “I’m not gonna watch. Now, if the Lakers or myself or some Lakers have something to do with it,

Today Prime Video released the trailer for the upcoming series "Outer Range" starring Josh Brolin. I'll admit that this wasn't on my radar, and the title didn't quite give me the impetus to watch. The trailer, however, absolutely does. Let me give you the logline so you have an idea of what I'm talking about:

A rancher fighting for his land and family stumbles upon an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming's wilderness, forcing a confrontation with the Unknown in ways both intimate and cosmic in the untamable American West.

See? Unknown is capitalized! What starts out sounding like we're getting some sort of "Yellowstone" spin-off show...

The post Outer Range Trailer: Spooky Doings Out on the Ranch appeared first on /Film.

For the first time possibly ever, horror fans can breathe a sigh of relief over a remake of a beloved property not earning a hard R-rating. Known for his foul-mouthed, ultra-gory, nudity-filled horror films like "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects," Rob Zombie's long-awaited film adaptation of "The Munsters" is staying true to form and has been given the family-friendly PG rating. Any diehard "Munsters" fans that were fearful Marilyn was going to have matted white-girl dreads or Herman was going to call someone a mother f***** can now rest easy because Zombie is clearly sticking to his word and treating his dream...

The post Rob Zombie's The Munsters Will Officially Be Rated PG appeared first on /Film.

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

More new concept art from "The Batman."

That "Shang-Chi" concept art featuring Deadpool gets cleared up.

Zoe Saldana hypes up the greatness of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."

A new "Morbius" TV spot.

All that and more!

Joe Barton was the man who was...

The post Superhero Bits: More The Batman Concept Art, Gotham Knights Finally Gets A Release Date & More appeared first on /Film.

One can't help but assume that "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" was the result of a fan write-in campaign. The kicker at the end of the final episode of the first season of "Star Trek: Discovery" was that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the U.S.S. Discovery met up with the U.S.S. Enterprise, leaning as hard as possible into the show's ever-present nostalgia factor. Given the timeline of "Discovery," James T. Kirk would not yet be captain of the enterprise, but Christopher Pike — originally seen as the lead character of "Star Trek" in the unused-for-many-years 1966 pilot — would be.

We met Capt. Pike...

The post Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Trailer Breakdown: Worlds Both Familiar and New appeared first on /Film.

“Turning Red” cast members spoke up in support of the new Pixar film and its universality following a controversial review for the animated movie that was published by CinemaBlend. The review was pulled offline after being called “sexist,” “racist” and more by members of the press. CinemaBlend managing director Sean O’Connell wrote the review, saying that the film’s appeal was limited because it’s set in the Asian community of Toronto.

“I recognized the humor in the film, but connected with none of it. By rooting ‘Turning Red’ very specifically in the Asian community of Toronto, the film legitimately feels like it was made for [director] Domee Shi’s friends and immediate family members,” O’Connell wrote in the since-pulled review. “Which is fine — but also, a tad limiting in its scope.”

O’Connell doubled down on his opinion of the film in a since-deleted tweet that accompanied his review.

"Our Flag Means Death" isn't about the thrills of the pirate's life on the high seas. The underdog story is more about the moments in between the action, with a band of pirates trying to keep the ship and each other's spirits afloat. Creator David Jenkins' ("People of Earth") workplace comedy finds the hilarity in the mundane, not the adventure. 

Above all else, it's the story of a very charming anti-hero, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby). Based on a real figure from history, Bonnet flees from his wife and kids to live out his dream as a pirate. For Jenkins, the facts from history sort...

The post Our Flag Means Death Creator David Jenkins on The Freedom of Not Doing Research [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Over 100 years after explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance was shipwrecked, The New York Times reported on March 9 that the ship has been discovered. The miraculous story is now set to become a NatGeo documentary.

Airing as part of the network’s “Explorer” franchise this fall, “Endurance” will chart the discovery of Sir Shackleton’s shipwrecked Endurance, which sank in the Antarctic in 1915. The ship was located at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, east of the Antarctic Peninsula, using undersea drones. The Endurance22 search expedition team had been searching for more than two weeks in a 150-square-mile area around where the 144-foot wooden ship went down. The wreck was found at a depth of 3,008 meters.

NatGeo is partnering with ABC News, Snow’s History Hit, All3Media label Little Dot Studios, and Consequential for the feature, directed by BAFTA nominee Natalie Hewit.

The Endurance initially sank in 1915 after being “crushed

It's a wild time to be a fan of the animated "Star Wars" TV shows ... and a confusing one for those unfamiliar with that side of the franchise. "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett" brought several beloved characters created exclusively for the animated series "Star Wars Rebels" and "The Clone Wars" into live-action, be they noble warriors (Ahsoka Tano), cutthroat crooks (Cad Bane), or individuals whose morals are a bit more flexible (Bo-Katan Kryze).

That trend will continue with the incoming "Obi-Wan Kenobi." The limited series will pick up with the titular Jedi-in-exile 10 years after his Padawan and friend Anakin Skywalker turned to...

The post Who Are the Inquisitors? The Obi-Wan Kenobi Villains Explained appeared first on /Film.

If there is one core intrigue at the heart of the science-fiction franchise “Star Trek,” it is the thrill that comes from the exploration of new galaxies, lavish worlds, and fascinating alien species. Inside everyone is the drive “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

If the show’s title is any indication, then the upcoming “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” from Paramount+ will be going all into that fascination.

Continue reading ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Trailer: Anson Mount & Rebecca Romijn Star In ‘Star Trek’ Prequel & Spin-Off at The Playlist.