Movies
Rita Moreno Responds to ‘In the Heights’ Colorism Criticism: ‘You Can Never Do Right, It Seems’
On Sunday, a video from online magazine The Root went viral in which host and producer Felice León confronted In the Heights director Jon M. Chu and actors including Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera and Gregory Diaz IV over colorism in the film’s casting choices. Chu acknowledged that the conversation was a “fair” one to have, adding that he hopes more people will be encouraged to “tell more stories and get out there and do it right.” On Monday, Miranda addressed the criticisms himself in a message on Twitter. “I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling still unseen in the feedback. I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy...
Box Office Upset: ‘In the Heights’ Loses to ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ With Tepid $11.4M Bow
Like all 2021 Warner Bros. titles, In the Heights is debuting simultaneously on HBO Max because of the challenges posed by the pandemic. It is impossible to know exactly how much business that is taking away in terms of box office grosses, but the feel-good pic may be more impacted than other genres since musicals often play to older adults, and especially older females. Consumers over 35 are the most reluctant to return to the multiplex, according to NRG surveys. At the same, musicals have a decidedly mixed track record at the office. The hope now is that glowing reviews and strong exits lead to increased grosses. “We’re incredibly proud of this movie, and hope audiences find it over time,” says Warners president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein. Per normal practice, HBO Max isn’t ...
Leslie Grace & Melissa Barrera of ‘In the Heights’ Obsess Over Broadway Classics: Watch
The highly anticipated movie In The Heights will premiere this week, spotlighting Latinos in the U.S. who represent a culturally, demographically, and geographically diverse group. Directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda in 1999, the film stars a primarily Latino cast that includes Miranda, Anthony Ramos, Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Barrera, and Leslie Grace’s acting debut, to name a few. “It was, in many ways, an attempt to write what I saw was missing, both in terms of representation and in terms of stories about [Latinos] in popular culture,” Miranda previously told Billboard. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautif...
Nabil Elderkin Talks Directing ‘Gully,’ Travis Scott’s Role & Film’s Hip-Hop/Classical ‘Sonic Tapestry’
Gully follows a trio of troubled teens in Los Angeles played by Jacob Latimore (The Chi, Collateral Beauty), Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete, Looking for Alaska) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves, Monster). The gritty feature film depicts how the three boys are byproducts of their ‘hood who “don’t really get to play astronaut and stick fight because there’s so much being demanded [from them],” says screenwriter Marcus J. Guillory. In spite of being subject to their respective cycles of violence and abuse at home, their brotherhood remains the most unfailing force in their lives, as Gully portrays a gutting picture of what it means to be a “ride-or-die.” “Music videos was my film school,” Elderkin tells Billboard. Of course, he’s not the only music video director to transition into fi...
In The Heights Is A Sueñito Come True For Leslie Grace
By Lucas Villa The film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical In the Heights focuses on the sueñitos, or little dreams, of a Latinx-Caribbean community in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. After making it out of the Heights to attend Stanford University, Nina Rosario feels out of place in her new environment, so she returns home to reconnect with the community that raised her. As a Dominican-American singer that was born in the Bronx, Leslie Grace is living out her own sueñito by portraying Nina — and making her big-screen debut in the process. “I feel so blessed to be part of this movie,” Grace tells MTV News. “I feel the way that these characters do — that [they] have dreams, that [they] have aspirations, and that [they] are waiting for that moment to reac...
Rob Zombie Confirms He’s Directing a Reboot of ‘The Munsters’
The film is from Universal Studios via its 1440 Productions division, which means it’s likely going to Peacock instead of getting a theatrical release. The Munsters was a 1964 sitcom about a family of friendly monsters who relocated from Transylvania to an American suburb. The show ran for just two seasons along with the similarly premised spooky comedy, The Addams Family. Yet despite their brief runs, both shows cast a rather long shadow over popular culture in the decades since. Addams Family was previously rebooted as a modern-day film (the 1991 hit The Addams Family and then its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values). While The Munsters spawned a few TV movies with the original cast and a 1988 sequel series titled The Munsters Today in which the family awakens decades later. NBC and Pushing...
Two Girls, One Pill: Kuhoo Verma Stars In Raunchy Road Movie Plan B
By Deepa Lakshmin Two girls, one pill — that’s the magic formula for Hulu’s Plan B, director Natalie Morales’s raunchy comedy starring Kuhoo Verma and Victoria Moroles. The premise is simple but sharp: two best friends, united in their clever banter and lack of high-school popularity, embark on a road trip across South Dakota after Sunny (Verma) has sex for the first time at the only party she’s ever thrown. There’s a hiccup with the condom, and soon she’s racing to find emergency contraception in a town where “conscience clause” legislation allows pharmacists to deny medication if it goes against their beliefs. With the clock ticking, Sunny and Lupe (Moroles) set out for the nearest Planned Parenthood; their journey, just like the party the night before, does not go as expected. Ver...
Marvel’s Eternals First Look Is Full Of Wonder, Love, And Richard Madden
It’s the dawn of a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first trailer for Chloé Zhao’s Eternals — her first feature film since last year’s Best Picture-winning Nomadland — is here, and it’s full of familiar faces: Gemma Chan, Game of Thrones‘s Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, a swole Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh… oh, and Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, of course. We’ve long known that the cast for this particular Marvel movie is stacked, but seeing that crew standing together on a beach in their mystical, futuristic garb is a whole new experience. The arrival of the film’s first look feels even more momentous given its delayed arrival. First set to arrive in theaters in November 2020, Eternal...
Watch Ben Platt Reprise His ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Role in First Trailer For Film
Ben Platt reprises his titular role in the official trailer for the Dear Evan Hansen film, which Universal Pictures unveiled on Tuesday (May 18). The heartwarming clip showcases the Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning actor portraying his Broadway character Evan Hansen, an anxious, lonely high school teenager who writes motivational letters to himself per his therapist’s assignment. His classmate Connor Murphy takes one of the letters, but after he dies by suicide, Connor’s parents find Evan’s note in his pocket and believe it to be his suicide note directed for Evan. Evan begins to bond with Connor’s family and plans his memorial service — where he shines in his eventually viral performance of “You Will Be Found” — while his fabricated frie...
Every Electric Look From The 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards Red Carpet
Though many understand awards season as traditionally beginning with the Golden Globes and ending with the Oscars, that doesn’t paint the full picture, especially in a year filled with as many setbacks and scandals as this one. Things really start to heat up with the MTV Movie & Awards, a celebration of the best in television and cinema which kicked off at the Palladium in Los Angeles on Sunday (May 16) with a fully blinged-out red carpet return. The awards are well-known for unexpected categories like Best Kiss and Best Villain in which superhero blockbusters are nominated alongside direct-to-streaming teen rom-coms. As celebrities arrived to the ceremony, the looks were equally as playful. Outer Banks star Chase Stokes went bold in a brilliant red suit, while Lovecraft County...
Scarlett Johansson Gets Slimed By Colin Jost At The MTV Movie & TV Awards
“Watching that reel reminds of me all the incredibly inspiring collaborators that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with for over three decades.” That’s how Scarlett Johansson addressed her fans, her co-stars, her creative partners, her past crew members, and more as she accepted the Generation Award at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday night (May 16). For a performer like ScarJo, who’s been a staple of Hollywood since she was a literal child and has since blazed her own unique cinematic trail in the following years, it felt right. “I never would’ve been able to continue to evolve as an actor for the last 30 years without the support and dedication of so many cast and crew members that make up the nomadic traveling circus family that ar...
Anthony Ramos Sings ‘Carnaval Del Barrio’ In The Heights In Never-Before-Seen Clip
Turn up the stage lights and get a glimpse of what life is like in Washington Heights in an exclusive new clip from the upcoming film adaptation of the beloved Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights. The one-minute exclusive clip, which premiered at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday (May 16), centers on Usnavi de la Vega (Anthony Ramos) as he inspires his community to sing and dance along with him in the sizzling summertime anthem “Carnaval Del Barrio.” His relationship with Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) gets a spotlight moment too as the duo dance together to the song’s Latin-infused backbeat. To introduce the clip, Miranda explained that In the Heights is an “extremely personal” film to him because it’s inspired by people and magic of the neighborhood he grew up in. “Washington...
