Film
Joker 2: Lady Gaga in Talks to Play Harley Quinn in Musical Sequel
Big news regarding the Joker sequel Todd Phillips teased last week: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joker 2 is going to be a musical, and Lady Gaga is in talks to join Joaquin Phoenix as Harley Quinn. While the report doesn’t say much about what a musical Joker would look like, it does make sense to cast the singer in such a project. THR says that neither Gaga nor Phoenix have been completely secured for the sequel, which, according to the script cover Phillips posted to Instagram, is called Joker: Folie à Deux. The French title translates to “shared madness,” which tipped us off to Harley Quinn’s appearance in the sequel. Now we’ll just have to wait to see how the pair’s “Bad Romance” fares on screen (sorry). Prior to Gaga, Margot Robbie played Harley Q...
O-T Fagbenle on Why He Doesn’t Care About the Size of His Roles, from The First Lady to The Handmaid’s Tale
O-T Fagbenle has been keeping busy the last 12 months, between the release of Marvel’s Black Widow, the return to production for The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5, and working on his own projects following the 2020 release of the original series Maxxx, which he wrote, directed, and starred in. Not only that, he’s also now in the Emmys this year conversation for two very different roles: The very strategic venture capitalist Cameron in WeCrashed and modern symbol of hope Barack Obama in The First Lady. In the interview below, transcribed and edited for clarity, the actor and writer reveals why his career has included so many supporting roles of late, and what was key to playing arguably one of the most famous men on the planet. He also explains why he didn’t mind getting asked about Black Widow ...
Lightyear Review: A Sweet, But Relatively Safe Buzz Lightyear Origin Story
The Pitch: It’s fitting that after four editions of Toy Story over the last 25 years, numerous spin-off shows and games, and a still-undisputed legacy status, Pixar simply wasn’t done telling stories in this universe. But this one is a bit of a curveball: In the year 1995, a young boy named Andy is given an action figure of Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger who served as the protagonist in Andy’s favorite film. Lightyear is that film. Lightyear promises to be the definitive origin story of one of the film’s most iconic characters, complete with a sci-fi backdrop, his signature attitude and catchphrase, and a major appearance from Buzz’s primary antagonist, Zurg. Though they’ve traded Tim Allen for Chris Evans in the recording booth, there’s undoubtedly a classic Pixar feel to Lightyear. The f...
Rian Johnson Reveals Title of Knives Out Sequel
With the much-anticipated sequel to 2019’s Knives Out expected out later this year, writer and director Rian Johnson has revealed its title: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. In the Twitter thread announcing the title, Johnson also shared how he was inspired by Agatha Christie’s work while working on the sequel. “Something I love about Agatha Christie is how she never tread water creatively,” he wrote. “I think there’s a misperception that her books use the same formula over and over, but fans know the opposite is true. It wasn’t just settings or murder methods, she was constantly stretching the genre conceptually.” Johnson continued, “Under the umbrella of the whodunnit she wrote spy thrillers, proto-slasher horrors, serial killer hunts, gothic romances, psychological character stud...
R.I.P. Philip Baker Hall, Beloved Actor in Seinfeld and Paul Thomas Anderson Films Dead at 90
Philip Baker Hall, legendary character actor and frequent collaborator with Paul Thomas Anderson, is dead at the age of 90, his neighbor Sam Farmer confirmed. “My neighbor, friend, and one of the wisest, most talented and kindest people I’ve ever met, Philip Baker Hall, died peacefully last night,” Farmer wrote on Twitter. “He was surrounded by loved ones. The world has an empty space in it.” Hall had been suffering from emphysema for several years. Hall appeared in Anderson’s first three feature films, starring in Hard Eight and joining memorable ensembles in Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He also booked one of the most memorable guest parts in Seinfeld history as library cop Lt. Joe Bookman, and had scene-stealing roles as a doctor in Curb Your Enthus...
Spider-Man: No Way Home — The More Fun Stuff Version Heading to Theaters This Fall
Peter Parker’s swinging back for a victory lap. Sony has announced that a new extended version of Spider-Man: No Way Home will swing into theaters on Friday, September 2nd. “You wanted more Spidey and you got it! #SpiderManNoWayHome: The More Fun Stuff Version swings into movie theaters in the US and Canada September 2! More countries to be announced soon!” Sony announced via the blockbuster’s official Twitter page. According to Marvel’s website, The More Fun Stuff Version will feature added and extended scenes. Tickets will go on sale starting August 9th. The studio also shared a fun clip of stars Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire all introducing themselves as Spider-Man and bursting into laughter before cutting to a clip from the film of Garfield’s Peter Parker tellin...
Peaches Christ and Thomas Dekker on Reviving Their Camp Cult Horror Classic for a New Era
For lovers of horror, camp, and the bloody glee that comes with combining these two things, this month marks a special occasion: the re-release of All About Evil, the first feature-length film directed by Joshua Grannell, a.k.a. horror drag legend Peaches Christ. As Peaches Christ, Grannell has toured the country with the Midnight Mass cult horror road show, and hosts a podcast of the same name celebrating cult film. “Growing up and being a subscriber to Fangoria magazine and being a kid that loved horror movies, I saw cult films as being a very specific kind of movie that fit into a specific set of tropes, and certainly being transgressive was one of them,” he tells Consequence. “But over time, I would say that, probably because of doing the Midnight Mass movie series and also having the ...
Duke Nukem Movie to Kick Ass and/or Chew Gum with Help from Cobra Kai Creators
It’s time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and Duke Nukem is all out of gum. The irreverent video game action hero is headed to the silver screen, THR reports, to be produced by Cobra Kai creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. Duke Nukem dropped in 1991 as a platformer for the PC, and the 1993 sequel followed the same model. But 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D helped change video games forever, and alongside Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, it popularized the first person shooter, now one of the most dominant video game formats. Hail to the king, baby! Modeled on 1980s action heroes like Kurt Russell and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the titular Nukem fought off an alien invasion while firing off almost as many punchlines as bullets. Those attributes, coupl...
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws Getting First-Ever IMAX Screenings
A friendly little alien and a massive shark are headed to IMAX for the very first time. That’s right, Stephen Spielberg’s classics E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws will be hitting IMAX screens in theaters nationwide this summer. After E.T. rings in its 40th anniversary starting August 12th, Jaws will swim onto the big, big screen a few weeks later beginning September 2nd. The latter will also be available in RealD 3D. “No filmmaker, it’s fair to say, has had a greater or more enduring impact on American cinema or has created more indelible cinematic memories for tens of billions of people worldwide,” said Jim Orr, Universal Pictures’ president of domestic theatrical distribution, said in a statement to Deadline. “We couldn’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate the anniversary of E....
Marvel Developing Villain Team-Up Movie Thunderbolts with Director Jake Schreier
Marvel fans have seen this coming for a while now, but reports indicate the studio is officially developing a villain team-up movie called Thunderbolts. Think of it like Marvel’s version of The Suicide Squad, only without the exploding heads. According to Deadline, the “top-secret” project has tapped Jake Schreier to helm the film. In Hollywood, Schreier may be best known for directing 2012’s Robot & Frank and episodes of both Dave and Lodge 49, but he cut his teeth in music videos. He’s directed videos for the likes of Kanye West (“Follow God,” “Closed on Sunday”) and HAIM (“Want You Back”), in addition to Chance the Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring World concert film. Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson is also onboard to write the script. Advertisement In the comics, o...
Johnny Depp’s Lawyers: “Social Media Played No Role” in Swaying Jury
Ben Chew and Camille Vasquez, two of the lawyers who represented Johnny Depp in his recent highly-publicized trial, say “social media played no role whatsoever” in the jury’s decision to find Amber Heard guilty of defamation against her ex-husband. The attorneys appeared on both Good Morning America and The Today Show Wednesday morning to discuss the trial, which ended last week with both Depp and Heard receiving compensatory damages — though Depp’s sum was over $8 million more than Heard’s. “Social media played no role whatsoever [in the jury’s verdict],” Chew told GMA’s George Stephanopoulos. “This was a decision made by the jury on the evidence presented by both sides, and as Camille said [earlier in the interview], it was overwhelmingly in Mr. Depp’s favor.” Depp and Heard’s ...
Jurassic World Dominion Has Us Rooting for the Dinosaurs, and That’s Probably a Bad Thing — Review
The Pitch: In a twist no one could have possibly seen coming, it turns out that releasing a wide variety of extinct species into a global ecosystem might have some negative repercussions on said global ecosystem. That’s where Jurassic World Dominion begins, four years following the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which is almost enough time for most of the world to get used to the spread of dinosaurs across the planet. But funnily enough, the most dangerous creatures in this brave new world aren’t dinosaurs — they’re bugs. Specifically, the prehistoric-sized locusts that have begun tearing through the world’s crops, which if left unchecked could have extinction-level repercussions for literally every living creature. Fortunately, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) is doing her best t...
