Charles Bramesco
‘Pacific Rim 2’ Takes on ‘Spartacus’ Creator Steven S. DeKnight as Director
A quick refresher for those not up on the brief but troubled history of the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s kaiju-throwback Pacific Rim: First, the notorious G.D.T. confirmed that the sequel would be here by April 2017. The production team had plans to beginning shooting back in November, but by September, presiding studio Universal had deemed a Pacific Rim sequel a low priority and placed it on the proverbial back burner. After indefinitely halting production on the film in mid-September, Universal took the film off of its release calendar at the end of that month. As recently as last month, Universal stated it had no interest in producing the film on its own — perhaps due to Crimson Peak’s sadly lackluster showing at the box-office — but apparently the project has taken on a new life due to Legendary Pictures. (Worth noting is that Legendary was recently acquired by China’s Wanda Pictures, and that Pacific Rim played like gangbusters overseas.)
USC Study Exposes Hollywood as Overwhelmingly White, Sky Blue, Grass Green
There are some folks out there who remain unconvinced that there’s a problem of homogeneity in Hollywood. These folks stuck to their convictions, unswayed by this year’s all-white slate of Oscar nominees.
Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ Begins Shooting in April
The DC Cinematic Universe is real and just a few weeks after ‘Batman v Superman,’ the big guns join forces for an epic superhero blockbuster.
Two Original Song Performances Cut From Oscars Broadcast
In a Variety exclusive late on Friday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences announced that they had dumped two of the five scheduled performances of the Best Original Song nominees from this Sunday’s upcoming telecast.
Kids Spew the Darnedest Things in New ‘The Darkness’ Trailer
The Taylor family takes a vacation to the Grand Canyon, but they bring back more than cherished memories and sun poisoning; an angry Native American spirit (which is a weak and culturally questionable stock villain we were really supposed to be better than by now, but moving on) intent on first leaving greasy handprints on everything in their otherwise immaculate home, then taking over li’l Mikey’s body and dribbling blood out the boy’s mouth.
Matthew McConaughey Flirts With Death in First ‘Sea of Trees’ Trailer
The drama finds McConaughey portraying a wayward businessman who travels to Aokigahara to end his life, but before he can do so, he meets a like-minded soul (Ken Watanabe) who’s come for the same reason.
‘Police Academy’ and ‘Punky Brewster’ Actor George Gaynes Dies at 98
Surrounded by family at his daughter’s home in North Bend, Washington, Gaynes died on Monday. He was 98 years old.
The New ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ Trailer Gets Super Trippy
Psychedelic rock icons Jefferson Airplane brought their acid-laced San Francisco sound to national prominence on the strength of such trippy singles as “Somebody to Love” and “Embryonic Journey” during counterculture’s heyday in the Summer of Love...
First ‘Predator’ Reboot Poster Sneaks Up on the Internet
Much like the extraterrestrial monster of John McTiernan’s 1987 film, a new poster in promotion of the long-rumored, finally-arriving Predator reboot have now materialized on the Internet, taking fans by absolute surprise in a way that only the Predator can. Hearsay and scuttlebutt has encouraged murmurs of a planned sequel/revitalization of the franchise last seen in 2010 with the Adrien Brody-starring Predators, and now at long last, the faithful can take heart in a bright, bloody future. We don’t know how or when, but the Predator is coming.
Awards Juggernaut ‘The Revenant’ Barrels Through BAFTAs
This year’s awards season has been a special treat due to the absence of a clear-cut frontrunner, with The Big Short, Spotlight, The Revenant, and Mad Max: Fury Road all in relatively close competition — up until very recently, at least. While early nominations were split between these four heavy-hitting movies, The Revenant has broken out in recent weeks as the various awards-giving bodies have had their ceremonies. Artistic intention be damned, the sheer technical bravado of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s western may be enough to push it through to a big victory on Oscar night, if last night’s showing at the BAFTAs is any example.