Film
Dominic Monaghan Says Peter Jackson Was Pressured to Kill a Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings
Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd have launched a new podcast and they’re spilling all sorts of secrets from the set of The Lord of the Rings. According to the actors, the movie trilogy could have been down one hobbit by its end. In a new interview with IGN promoting their latest Hobbit-inspired project, The Friendship Onion, they revealed that director Peter Jackson was once pressured by studio execs to kill off one of the hobbits at the end of The Return of the King despite the fact that Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin all survive in J.R.R. Tolkien’s original source material. However, Jackson refused, keeping the foursome alive to the end of their journey. “It’s a good job that didn’t happen, because it would have been me,” Monaghan said with a laugh. “It definitely would have. There’s no wa...
David Ayer Slams Studio Cut of Suicide Squad: “Not My Movie”
With The Suicide Squad receiving strong reviews, some have taken renewed aim at the original from filmmaker David Ayer. In a new post heralded simply by the phrase “My turn,” the director has fired back at critics while disavowing the theatrical release of 2016’s Suicide Squad. The three-page retort came as a direct response to Screen International film critic Tim Grierson, who after tweeting his enjoyment of the new sequel, said, “Many times while watching the new movie, I thought, ‘Yeah, David Ayer should just abandon the idea of that director’s cut.” This was clearly a shot saying there was no way Ayer’s vision could elevate the disappointing Suicide Squad to the level of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Ayer wasn’t having it. Ayer’s post opened an explanation of his hard-fought lif...
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Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney Over Black Widow Streaming Release [Updated]
Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the company’s decision to stream Black Widow on its Disney+ platform at the same time as its theatrical release. According to the Wall Street Journal, Johansson filed the suit in a Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, accusing Disney of breaching its contract with her over the release of Black Widow and thus preventing Johansson “from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel.” As Johansson’s salary was based in large part on the box office performance of Black Widow, Disney’s decision to put the film on Disney+ cost the actress as much as $50 million, a person familiar with details of her contract told WSJ. Advertisement Related Video In her complaint, Johansson says her representatives sought to renegotiate her contract after learnin...
Lady Gaga, Unrecognizable Jared Leto Revealed in First Look at House of Gucci
It’s time to meet the Guccis. MGM has unveiled the first look at filmmaker Ridley Scott’s upcoming House of Gucci, which will tell the true crime story of the assassination of the fashion house’s one-time head. The film stars Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), former head of the House of Gucci. The latter was infamous for putting up a massive legal battle to gain control of Gucci from his uncle, Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), only to nearly drive the company into the ground with his extravagant spending habits. Maurizio eventually sold his share of Gucci in 1993, and was gunned down by a hit man two years later. Reggiani was tried and convicted of arranging the assassination, and it’s that sordid tale that gets explored in House of Gucci. Scott’s fil...
Netflix Announces New Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy on Set
Netflix is fond of asking if you’re still watching, but during the pandemic the question has become, are they still filming? To keep things healthy and humming along, the streaming giant has announced that it will require COVID-19 vaccines for all cast and crew members in the United States who work in close proximity to a set. Pandemic-related pauses can be incredibly expensive. Just recently, positive COVID tests temporarily delayed blockbuster productions like Mission Impossible 7 and the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, and while we don’t have estimates for how much that cost, the production company behind Apple TV+’s The Morning Show recently sued their insurance company to recoup $44 million lost just waiting around. Besides that, mandato...
Lucy Liu Revisits Fight with Bill Murray on Charlie’s Angels Set: “I’m Not Going to Sit There and Be Attacked”
Whoa, Charlie. In a new interview this week, Lucy Liu looked back on her infamous argument with Bill Murray on the set of 2000’s Charlie’s Angels. Appearing on the Los Angeles Times’ Asian Enough podcast, the actress recounted the altercation, which she explained stemmed from Murray being unaware that the scene being filmed had been altered. According to Liu’s memory of the event, the actor’s ire ended up being directed at her, with the argument eventually becoming what the star called a “one-on-one communication.” “I won’t get into the specifics,” she said, “but it kept going on and on. I was, like, ‘Wow, he seems like he’s looking straight at me.’” Advertisement Related Video Once Murray’s language and attitude toward her became, as she recalled, “inexcusable and unacceptable,” Liu...
Lucasfilm Hires Viral YouTube Deepfaker Who’s Better Than Them
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That classic piece of advice is so accurate that apparently not even major Hollywood studios are too good to follow it. Case in point: Lucasfilm just hired Shamook, the digital artist responsible for several Star Wars deepfakes that went viral on YouTube for being significantly more believable than the studio’s own CGI efforts. The two videos that most likely caught Lucasfilm’s attention are deepfakes of Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian and of Tarkin and Princess Leia in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The former is just shy of 3 million views in under six months, making it Shamook’s second most popular video behind the one with Harrison Ford in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The Rogue One edits are the most noticeably improved by Shamook’s work, as they rid Tarki...
Eddie Vedder’s Daughter Soundtracks Trailer for Sean Penn Movie Flag Day: Watch
Flag Day, a new drama film directed by Sean Penn, just got its first trailer and it features an unexpected music cameo. Singing atop the clip is Olivia Vedder, the daughter of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, with a song called “My Father’s Daughter.” Check it out below. Written by Glen Hansard and Eddie Vedder, “My Father’s Daughter” is a moving number about watching yourself grow into your parents’ traits, whether you wanted to or not. Luckily for Olivia Vedder, that includes being gifted a natural music talent from her dad which she displays in full force on the track. Over slow drumming and stripped-down guitar work, she goes right for the heart strings while violins mellow out the gentle song. Flag Day stars Sean Penn and his daughter Dylan Penn alongside Josh Brolin, Norbert Leo Butz...
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Admit to Rarely Bathing Themselves Or Their Kids
When you and your spouse are both A-list Hollywood actors, you can afford to pay people to do most anything for you. Bathing, unfortunately, typically has to be handled on one’s own, and Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis apparently can’t be bothered to spend a chunk of each day in the shower. In a recent interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, the That ‘70s Show stars turned real-life celebrity couple divulged the dirty truth about their family’s bathing schedules. When it comes to daily bathing, Kutcher and Kunis stick to only washing more imperative body parts like armpits and crotches. Full-body showers are reserved for only the smelliest circumstances — if ever. As for two their kids, six-year-old Wyatt and four-year-old Dimitri, Kutcher and Kunis only intervene when a bath is ...
Universal Buys New Exorcist Trilogy for $400 Million, Ellen Burstyn to Return
Blumhouse and David Gordon Green have spent the past year quietly working on a new movie in The Exorcist universe. Now, it’s been revealed that the two are planning to create a full-fledged trilogy — and Universal has just purchased the rights to it for a whopping $400 million. According to The New York Times, Universal Pictures and its streaming service Peacock “have closed a $400 million-plus megadeal to buy a new Exorcist trilogy.” Morgan Creek Entertainment had held the rights to The Exorcist franchise, and will remain involved as producers alongside Universal, Green, and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum. Most exciting of all, though, is news that the franchise’s original star, Ellen Burstyn, will return for this new trilogy. She will reprise her role as Chris MacNeil and star alongside Les...
Glenn Danzig Announces Theatrical Release Date for His Movie Death Rider in the House of Vampires
Glenn Danzig has announced the theatrical release date for his upcoming vampire Spaghetti Western, Death Rider in the House of Vampires. In a post on his Facebook, Danzig said that the film will hit select theaters across the United on August 27th. There will also be advance screenings in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. More details are coming soon, according to the post. Danzig’s second original feature-length film had been announced a while ago, but a release date had no been revealed until now. We previously saw the morbidly hilarious NSFW trailer, which starred Danzig in his central role as the character Bad Bathory. Advertisement Related Video The veteran rocker wrote, directed, scored, and stars in the upcoming film alongside the likes of Devon Sawa, Julian Sands, Danny Trejo, Eli Roth, a...
Billie Eilish Shares Trailer for New Disney+ Concert Film Happier Than Ever: Watch
Billie Eilish is a teen idol, a superstar, and now… a Disney princess? Or perhaps we should say Queen, as the reigning ruler of pop music has signed a deal with streaming giant Disney+ for her new concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. The special premieres September 3rd, and Eilish has today shared a glamorous new trailer for the special, which you can watch below. A Love Letter to Los Angeles shares a name with her upcoming sophomore album, Happier Than Ever. Via Billboard, Eilish will perform all 16 tracks from the LP in an intimate set at The Hollywood Bowl. She’ll be accompanied by her collaborator/brother, FINNEAS, as well as both the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The latter’s music and artistic director Gustavo Dudaeml will co...
