Matthew Monagle
‘Jurassic World 2’ Director Compares His Film to ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
Earlier this year, our own Britt Hayes wrote a brief history of the times when modern filmmakers compared their movies to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. It was a pretty revealing trend; as movie studios scrambled to give audiences the dark and gritty franchises they assumed audiences wanted, more and more filmmakers used Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises as a kind of fanboy secret handshake.
‘Jurassic World 2’ Director J.A. Bayona Confirms ‘Jurassic World’ Trilogy
About a year ago, Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow went on a Jurassic Park-themed podcast and talked about Universal’s plans to make his film the first in a trilogy of movies about dinosaur-induced mayhem. And while nothing really seemed to indicate that the creative team had switched gears since then, today we did finally get confirmation that a Jurassic World trilogy is still the plan going forward.
‘Moulin Rouge’ Will Become a Musical Because It Can, Can, Can
The relationship between Broadway and and Hollywood has always struck me as a bit unfair. Hollywood basically gets its pick of pre-packaged products: wonderful lyrics, showstopping dance numbers, and beloved songs. Broadway, meanwhile, has to do most of the heavy lifting when adapting a movie for the stage. Oh, you want to make Waitress into a Broadway musical? That’s great! You’ll just need to write a whole new suite of songs. And figure out all the choreography. And rewrite the book to make those first two things fit. Because the movie has none of that.
Michael Keaton Thinks the ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Ship Has Sailed
How’s this for awkward timing: just as an entire generation of moviegoers are rediscovering their love for Winona Ryder thanks to Stranger Things, her chances at reappearing in the role that made her famous may be dying on the vine. The last time we checked in on Beetlejuice 2, it was Ryder who thought the sequel might actually be happening. Now it is Michael Keaton, her costar from the original film, who seems determined to put the final nail in the coffin.
‘Rogue One’ Team Shoots Down Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker Rumors
Since spending the GDP of a small country to acquire the Star Wars rights from George Lucas, Disney has done its best to wipe the slate clean of decades of accumulated fan theories and speculation. Under the guidance of Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of LucasFilm, the new creative team has streamlined the canon, narrowed down the list of key characters for the sequels, and otherwise done it’s best to mark a new course for the Star Wars franchise. So when a new set of rumors began to surface at Star Wars Celebration Europe this past month, it was no surprise that the official response was immediate and firm.
Mel Gibson Shoots Everyone but His Daughter in ‘Blood Father’ Trailer
Mel Gibson has spent the majority of his career playing variations of the same slightly unhinged character, so it was probably inevitable — even despite his well-deserved years in the Hollywood penalty box — that some producer would find occasion to cast him as a slightly unhinged dad. The new trailer for Blood Father shows Gibson ranting and raving as per usual, only this time he has an estranged daughter on the run to protect and a survivalist beard. The latter certainly seems like an upgrade.
Scarlett Johansson On Why Black Widow Is Her Favorite Role
How do you become a fan favorite as an actor? Easy. Just love the character as much as the fans do. For as much as we enjoy pitting the various comic book franchises against each other, the secret weapon of the films released by Marvel Studios has always been that we honestly and truly believe that the people involved are having as much fun making the movies as we are watching them. And near the top of that list has to be Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow.
J.K. Rowling has Already Written a ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Sequel
One of the major truths of the entertainment industry is that there will never be a more interesting movie than the one you haven’t yet made. This weekend, while The Legend of Tarzan director David Yates was gently trying to nudge conversations towards his film currently in theaters, people were understandably curious about his upcoming return to Hogwarts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And Yates let a particularly interesting piece of information drop.
Pixar Has No More Sequels Planned After ‘The Incredibles 2’
With Finding Dory breaking all kinds of box office records, fans are understandably excited to see which of their favorite franchises Pixar will bring back to multiplexes. And the answer is, it kind of depends. If you’re a fan of Cars, Toy Story, and The Incredibles, you’ll be able to revisit your favorite Pixar characters no later than 2019. And if you’re a fan of Wall-E, Ratatouille, or Inside Out... well, we hope you’re OK with waiting for the next decade or so.
Kellan Lutz Could Be He-Man in McG’s ‘Masters of the Universe’
If you did not know that Sony Pictures is working towards the production of a brand new He-Man movie, then you obviously are not one of the 462 supporters of the Change.org petition to have a new Masters of the Universe movie be put into production. The petition also (very helpfully) provides a suggested release date of 2017 or 2018, though I’m sure that the audience would gladly push that back for the right story.