“The characters are complicated, and it’s not just like, good twin/evil twin — yawn, yawn — because people are very, very complicated.”
Rachel Weisz at first had a hard time seeing double.
The Oscar winner plays identical twins in the Prime Video series “Dead Ringers,” reimagined from David Cronenberg’s 1988 body horror psychological thriller of the same name.
“Day one, it was a mindfuck,” Weisz told Porter magazine of playing both roles. “But by the end, it just became like breathing…I just imagined two people were going to play them.”
Weisz noted that she would shoot entire scenes as one character, acting opposite a stand-in, and then redo the same scene after transforming into the other twin. Weisz would wear an earpiece so she could hear her own lines and, in theory, act alongside herself.
“The idea of having these two women at the pinnacle of their professional lives, but their private lives are so dysfunctional, and so aberrant, and so bizarre,” the “Constant Gardener” actress added. “That contrast – it doesn’t get any better.”
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Weisz, who suggested “Dead Ringers” be adapted into a TV series instead of a film remake, collaborated with showrunner Alice Birch (“Normal People,” “Succession”) in the writers’ room over six weeks in early 2020 lockdown.
“It was a straight-to-series order [from Prime Video], which is a really big deal, and I was just learning as I went,” she said. “It’s been a long journey for me. It wasn’t the same as being offered a job with the script written — Alice and I developed the idea together and then she wrote an incredible script.”
Weisz added, “Alice and I were really interested in seeing women be massively successful and, equally, messed up. The characters are complicated, and it’s not just like, good twin/evil twin – yawn, yawn – because people are very, very complicated. We are never just one thing.”
Speaking to Hollywood as a whole, Weisz said that “women pursuing pleasure” onscreen is underrepresented.
“Female desire is really interesting, and I think we don’t get enough of that,” Weisz said. “Oftentimes, with roles for women in the past, I’ve found them very oversimplified, and I think that’s changing, which is really good. The thing I’m looking for is complicated characters. It’s interesting, complex writing.”
Blizzard Entertainment has long since stated that Overwatch 2‘s Season 4 hero would be a support, and now the team has finally revealed who it will be. This new hero is named Lifeweaver and is coming to the game on April 11.
The debut trailer showed off some of Lifeweaver’s abilities in action, many of which reposition players or heal them and tap into his love of science and technology. The post on Blizzard’s website breaks these moves down and gives more background on each one. His first primary fire (he has two) is a healing burst that players can charge. The higher the charge, the more it heals, and it zooms to target’s like Brigitte’s armor packs, meaning strict aiming is not required. The second primary fire is an offensive volley of thorns that shoot in a scattered pattern. Players have to switch back and forth between healing and damage with their primary fire, too.
Lifeweaver also has an ability that can put a giant flower on the ground that elevates once an ally or enemy steps on it. This is meant to throw off foes or reposition teammates and those who time it correctly will be able to get a super jump when the platform reaches its maximum height. Lifeweaver can also combine this with his Rejuvenating Dash, which is a quick dodge that also heals him.
Overwatch’s explosive success can’t be understated. Even though it helped usher in loot boxes, its vibrant art style and personality-driven…
Lifeweaver’s Life Grip power is like a mix of Zarya’s bubbles and Roadhog’s hook since it pulls in allies and makes them invincible during their journey. This can be used to save teammates or protect them while they use their ultimate ability. His passive is also unique and like a twist on Reaper’s soul orbs, which haven’t been in Overwatch since 2017. Upon death, Lifeweaver drops an orb that heals the first person — friend or foe — to grab it.
His ultimate is also unlike anything else in the game, as it plants a huge tree that heals all allies around it. Its size means it can also provide cover to players as it heals them, making it quite a defensive tool. This ability, according to Blizzard, is what shaped Lifeweaver’s lore and personality as a “nature-loving supporting hero.” Prior versions of his ultimate included a Reinhardt-esque Earthshatter ability and a healing totem.
Lifeweaver, whose name is Niran PruksaManee, is from Thailand and also the first openly pansexual hero in the game, according to Kotaku. Lead Narrative Designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie talked about this choice in a roundtable interview, noting that it was an important step to get right.
“Representation has always been really important to this team and we’ve been looking for a way to express that more,” said Jurgens-Fyhrie. “So I think in terms of Lifeweaver, when we were initially discussing this, we wanted a pansexual character, and the approach that everyone was happy with was that this would be an openly pansexual character.”
Blizzard also confirmed to Dexerto that there will be a Pride Month event for the game sometime in May just before Pride Month. Other Overwatch characters are part of the LGBTQ+ community, but their queer identities don’t often manifest in the game as anything more than a spray, which was a common criticism levied at Blizzard. Lifeweaver, however, will be the first one to have his identity materialize in the game through conversations and “other material.”
Lifeweaver will be available instantly for those who buy the premium Season 4 battle pass, while those who don’t pay will have to play until they hit tier 45 on the free battle pass, if Season 2 was anything to go by. It also seems as though this season will have a Mythic skin for Sigma, according to a leaked thumbnail.
This latest hero had also initially leaked through an article that was prematurely posted on PCGamesN. Blizzard then only posted an image of the hero and promised more would be revealed the next day.
The Transformers: Rise of the Beastsduo will receive the recognition from NATO’s official convention at its Big Screen Achievement Awards ceremony, which takes place at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas the night of April 27. They join a list of honorees that also includes Oppenheimer‘s Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas (NATO Spirit of the Industry Award), the cast of Lionsgate’s Joy Ride (Comedy Ensemble of the Year Award) and the Dune franchise’s Zendaya (Star of the Year Award).
The new Steven Caple Jr.-helmed Transformers film set for release in theaters June 9 hails from Paramount Pictures and Skydance, in association with Hasbro and New Republic Pictures. It’s billed as a globetrotting adventure transporting audiences back to the ’90s alongside the iconic Autobots, which also introduces a brand-new faction of Transformers, the Maximals, to join them as allies in the ongoing battle for Earth. Ramos’ and Fishback’s human characters participating in that fight are tech wiz Noah Diaz and museum artifact researcher Elena Wallace, respectively.
“With a breadth of experience across theater, television and film, Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback will undoubtedly captivate audiences as they take on their first action-packed franchise film in this summer’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” CinemaCon managing director Mitch Neuhauser said. “We are thrilled to be honoring these two talented individuals with this year’s CinemaCon Rising Stars of the Year Award.”
A Grammy winner, as well as a Golden Globe and Emmy nominee, Ramos is best known for originating the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Tony-winning Broadway smash Hamilton, and for leading Warner Bros’ feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s other famed musical In the Heights. He’s also previously been seen in films like Godzilla: King of the Monsters and A Star Is Born, along with series including She’s Gotta Have It and In Treatment. Other upcoming projects include the films Distant andDumb Money from Uni/Amblin and Sony, as well as the Disney+ Marvel series Iron Heart.
Fishback is a BAFTA and Critics’ Choice nominee who can currently be seen in the buzzy Amazon series Swarm, having previously been seen on shows like The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, The Deuce, Random Acts of Flyness and Show Me a Hero. Notable film credits include Judas and the Black Messiah and The Hate U Give.
Getting people interested in your movie can be a difficult mountain to climb. We all know this because we have lived this. The first thing is something that was told to me by the founder of Raindance, Elliot Grove. He said, “You made a film? No! You made a movie! You can’t even get your own mom to come and see a film… But a movie? That’s different, people will pay money to go see a movie.”
But what is the difference between a film and a movie? I suppose two important things: A movie has a poster and a trailer, a film has neither. Films at elementary school, that our teachers shows us are definitely “films.”
I only remember seeing a movie at school one time all throughout elementary school and that was the movie, “Patton” starring George C. Scott. I don’t remember seeing any films, because they are so unmemorable, but we saw them all the time.
So what was the difference between a movie like Patton and the myriad of films we watched? I think it was that Patton had a very strong image in their poster.
What is the first thing people see and think, “That looks great! I’d like to see this movie!” Your movie poster! Yes, think about it. What one image sticks in your mind about a great movie you saw?
The one thing that requires only 1 second to see and make people think, “I’d love to see this movie” is your poster.
But often, the poster for the movie is usually an after-thought for most movie directors or producers. And I get it, because after the shooting and editing, often one is so exhausted that one more mountain to climb is a bridge too far!
But I am here to tell you that the movie poster is critical — and might be the most critical thing to get people to sit and watch your movie — for the success of your movie. It is the primary and always the first thing that will spark interest in your movie.
A movie poster, especially a great one, will tell a story and get people motivated to fork over money to actually go to the theater and sit and watch your movie.
It is the key foundation of the success of a film.
So, I run a film festival in Japan and I see lots of posters. Some are good. Most are bad. A few are really good. Of course, everything is subjective, but I think the good ones, the really good ones, are few and far between.
Why are there so many bad movie posters? That’s a good question. As I said before, just completing a movie is difficult enough… I have been so sick of my movies after I finished them. I understand about being too tired to care about the poster sometimes,
I think many posters are not given the time and thought put into them to make them the best they can be. It is simply because the director or producer hasn’t the energy to think deeply about what message they want their poster to convey to the audience. Do most filmmakers take the time to consider their poster or is it an after-thought? Or they haven’t conveyed what they wanted well enough to the artist (which could be because they haven’t thought deeply about it also). I know people who have hired an “good” artist and then told them, “Just make the image you think is good and I will check it.”
I don’t think that is good. Whose movie is this? The director’s or the poster artists?
A good poster tells a story. You know the old saying, “A picture is worth 1000 words?” That’s what we need to keep in mind for this critical piece of the puzzle towards our film’s success.
I was thinking about my poster art for a long time. I don’t like to rush. This time I was taking my time to do the art the correct way.
My newest movie was about a sixties art icon, Ono Yoko. I wanted to poster to reflect that time and that artist.
I made dummy art with my friend based on a poster from the sixties and used that as basis for the my poster. After all, didn’t the great Oscar Wilde say, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!” So, we are indies artists, no one will criticize us if we imitate the masters!
What is “the sixties” to me? Pop art (Andy Warhol, Peter Maxx), the Vietnam War, the Beatles…That’s the image I wanted for my poster.
And what better place to find a model than a poster for that period? I found one in a few seconds searching on Google search!
“But I don’t have much money to spend on an artist!” I can hear you say. Of course you don’t. That is why this article appears on the webpage of an indies film festival. This article is for people like us.
First off, you don’t need a famous artist! There are literally millions of young and undiscovered artists, comic writers, photoshop hot designers just dying for the chance to show their skills. You just gotta find them! Every college or university is just filled with young and hungry artists! You have to give them the chance to get their name out and start on that road to fame!
Young filmmakers should reach out to their art friends for favors (film and visual artists go to the same schools, have the same social circles). I think artists should be paid fairly for their work, of course. But if the artist is young and hungry, and wants to work for cheap, that’s their choice, and your benefit. I was lucky to have a friend who wanted to help, but usually gets paid top-dollar.
Is there an undiscovered artist that doesn’t want to do a big festival movie poster art? I doubt it!
So you too can have a poster for your movie that makes people go, “Wow! I want to see this movie!” You just have to take the time to consider what exactly you want and convey that message to your artist. Give your artist the image and the tools they need to make your dream come true.
Like I said, the first image people will see concerning your movie is the poster. It is the first image that will spark interest and get your film accepted at festivals and get your name and the artists name out to the world.
The artist I found was a guy named Adam Feldpausch. He wrote:
“I created this poster for Mike because he’s a friend, and I was intrigued by the Yoko Ono narrative. Mike also gave me a bunch of images and articles about Yoko as inspiration, but it wasn’t until I watched Grapefruit that I really understood the project; it’s an art film. Mike didn’t want to use photography or a film still to promote the picture. He wanted art that added another layer to the project.
Some things to consider when creating a poster: If you directed a movie, you have the best understanding of what the movie is about and what you want the poster to say. How you introduce your movie really matters; it’s the first impression, and it sticks, so make it good. Avoid clichés and take risks if your movie does. I like to draw ideas really small to test if they are clear enough to work from far away, or a small online ad, or a quick social media flash. If it works in a small format, it will be understandable for most people.”
Filmmakers! Create your dreams. Make the effort and spend the time. Find that artist who will be a part of your dream! Your poster is the most important thing that people will see first!
The original movie poster for the movie “Grapefruit” (2023). Very basic layout. But what does this poster tell you? Sixties Pop Art (Andy Warhol, Peter Maxx), a classic sixties design by Adam Feldpausch. An unforgettable image of a much better time and a great movie.
Mike Rogers [aka Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers] is a director, producer, and a radio host.
He was also known as “Nigel Nitro”, former lead singer of the Los Angeles punk band, The Rotters (who had the monster hit, “Sit on My Face, Stevie Nix” in the late 1970s.
Currently, he hosts the Mike Rogers Show on InterFM in Tokyo and on Radio Neo in Nagoya, Japan.
He is also the writer, producer and co-director of the 2017 feature film, “Ghostroads – A Japanese Rock n Roll Ghost Story” which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival 2017.
He is a founding member of the Mt. Fuji – Atami Film & VR Festival.
A Russian woman suspected of assassinating a Kremlin propagandist in a bomb attack at a St Petersburg café has been ordered to remain in custody for two months pending an investigation, a court in Moscow ruled Tuesday.
Daria Trepova was charged with terrorism offences over the blast that killed Vladlen Tatarsky. She was today hauled into a closed-door hearing at a Russian court where she was paraded in a glass cage where photographers scrambled to take pictures of her.
The court ordered that she remain in custody until June 2 pending the investigation. She could face up to 20 years in prison for passing a bomb hidden in a statuette to Tatarsky that saw him blown to pieces.
The Kremlin propagandist had been speaking at a political event at the Street Food No. 1 café when the bomb exploded next to him, killing him and injuring 32 others.
Trepova, who is charged with committing ‘a terrorist act by an organised group that caused intentional death’, had previously been filmed being detained by police before she was escorted to Moscow from St Petersburg under armed guard.
Daria Trepova (pictured at court) has been charged with terrorism over the blast that killed Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky
Trepova, 26, was kept in a glass cage during her court hearing in Moscow this afternoon
The anti-war Russian woman attracted a lot of attention as she walked into the Basmanny District Court with her hood up
Russian police guard the glass cage that Trepova was being held in, while photographers trying to take pictures can be seen in the reflection
Russian authorities described the bombing as an act of terrorism and blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating it.
Police arrested Trepova, who was seen on video moments before the blast presenting Tatarsky with a statuette that is believed to have contained explosives.
Russia’s Interior Ministry released a video in which Trepova told a police officer that she brought the bust to the café. When asked who gave it to her, she said she would explain later. The circumstances under which Trepova spoke were unclear, including whether she was under duress.
The Kremlin’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee, which coordinates counterterrorism operations, claimed the bombing was ‘planned by Ukrainian special services.’ They did not provide any evidence to back up this claim.
The committee added that Trepova was an ‘active supporter’ of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Last year, she was arrested and spent 10 days in custody after taking part in an anti-war rally.
Ukrainian authorities did not directly respond to Russia’s accusations, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said in reference to the attack that he doesn’t think about events in Russia, and his top adviser said the bombing as part of Russia’s internal turmoil.
While Trepova was arrested in St Petersburg, her case was sent to Moscow, where the country’s top investigative agencies are headquartered, an apparent reflection of its high priority.
In a closed-door hearing, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ordered Trepova to remain in custody until June 2 pending the investigation. Russian law suggests a life sentence for terrorism-related crimes, but life terms aren’t handed down to women, who instead face sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
Investigators have charged Trepova (left) with terrorism over the bomb that killed Tatarsky (right)
Video footage showed the handcuffed bomb suspect being escorted through Moscow airport
‘Statue assassin’ Trepova (pictured) has been told she faces up to 20 years in jail after being charged today
According to Russian media reports, Trepova told investigators she was asked to deliver the bust but didn’t know what was inside it.
The bombing injured 40 other people, 25 of whom have been hospitalised. It was the latest attack inside Russia on a high-profile pro-war figure. Last year, a nationalist TV commentator was assassinated when a bomb exploded in her SUV outside Moscow.
Tatarsky was the pen name of Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel. Tatarsky, who joined separatists in eastern Ukraine after a Moscow-backed insurgency erupted there in 2014, fought on the front lines for years before turning to blogging.
Military bloggers have become increasingly visible in Russia, supporting the war but occasionally exposing flaws in military strategy while the Kremlin has shut down independent media outlets and muzzled any criticism of the war.
Speaking for the first time since the bomb, she admitted to carrying the statue laden with explosives but pleaded her innocence by claiming she was ‘set up’ and did not known what was in the bust.
Head of the Wagner private army Yevgeny Prigozhin visited the bombed café – which he owns – earlier today, where he was filmed speaking to a group of people.
He had handed the café over to a patriotic group for meetings.
According to Russian media reports, police tracked Trepova down using surveillance cameras, though she reportedly cut her long blonde hair short to change her look and rented a different apartment in an apparent attempt to escape.
In the interrogation video, Trepova said she understood why she has been detained.
When asked why, she said: ‘For… I’d put it this way, for being at the assassination site of Vladlen Tatarsky.’
‘I brought the statuette there that exploded,’ Trepova said. When asked who gave her the statuette, she replied that she would say ‘later’.
Head of the Wagner private army Yevgeny Prigozhin visited the bombed café – which he owns – earlier today
Chilling video appeared to show Trepova, a St Petersburg resident who has previously been detained for taking part in anti-war rallies, walking into the café carrying a box containing what may have been statuette containing 450g of TNT – just minutes before it exploded.
The Russian Interior Ministry put Trepova on Russia’s wanted list on suspicion of murdering Tatarsky after she fled from the scene – but she was arrested within hours of the warrant being released.
Trepova’s partner, Dmitry Rylov – also in his 20s and a member of the so-called Russian Liberation Army – has insisted that she had been ‘set up’ too.
Wagner chief Prigozhin has previously declared that he does not believe Ukrainian forces were behind the attack.
‘It is indeed similar to the murder of Darya Dugina [daughter of a Putin ideologue who was killed aged 29 last year in a car explosion],’ he said.
‘I would not blame the Kyiv regime for it.
‘I think it was a group of [Ukrainian] Right-wing radicals who did it, which is unlikely to be linked to the government.’
An image shows Daria Trepova when she was put on Russia’s wanted list as published by the Interior Ministry. She has since been arrested and charged
Tatarsky was killed in a blast at the Street Food No. 1 cafe, located in the St Petersburg city centre, on Sunday
It comes after the millionaire Wagner leader claimed that Russia had taken control of Bakhmut – an eastern city which Moscow had spent months trying to capture.
He spoke on camera, holding aloft a Russian flag which was inscribed with Tatarsky’s name on it in a tribute.
Russian investigators also said they had identified a second female suspect, Maria Yaran, 40, as being involved in the blast. She is reportedly in hospital in St Petersburg following the bombing.
As verified Twitter users braced for the Elon Musk–run social media company to begin removing verification badges en masse over the weekend, the Twitter product team appeared focused on something else entirely: replacing Twitter’s blue bird icon on Monday with that of a Shiba Inu, the dog associated with the Doge meme and cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Doge Twitter is emblematic of Musk’s chaotic and unfocused reign over Twitter, where features are rolled out haphazardly with little to no notice, select organizations like The New York Times are punished (i.e., lose their check marks) on a whim based on Musk’s uneven standards and basic site functionality — remember when users couldn’t even tweet? — isn’t a given. Aside from an “as promised” tweet by Elon, the company never even officially acknowledged why it embraced Doge as an icon, leaving it as another random moment in the Musk era.
The bloodbath that wasn’t is likely because there is no method for Twitter to remove verification badges en masse, as The Washington Postreported. In a since-deleted tweet on April 2, Musk said he would be giving “a few weeks grace” to legacy verified users to sign up for Twitter Blue “unless they tell they won’t pay now, in which we will remove [their verification badges],” which appeared to be the case with The New York Times’ main account. (A representative for the Times did not respond to requests for comment on whether the outlet has seen a decrease in engagement or reach after losing its verified status.)
But as of early this week, most verified users have kept their badges, with many expressing no interest in paying for Twitter Blue, the $8/month subscription service that will verify any user with a phone number and offer other perks like a decrease in ads and a boost in visibility across the platform. If anything, a Twitter Blue subscription has become somewhat of a scarlet A on the social platform to some, with some legacy users even begging for their blue checks to be removed and 39,000 users following an account that shares tools on how to weed out and block Twitter Blue subscribers.
If Musk was also counting on celebrities and top creators to absorb the $8 monthly fee in exchange for protecting their verified status, he thought wrong. “I am not paying for a blue check. That money could (and will) be going towards my extra hot lattes,” tweeted Dionne Warwick.
On the organizational side, major publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post and TheLos Angeles Times have all said they will not pay the $1,000/month fee to join Twitter’s verified organizations service, which gives business accounts a gold verification badge and adds an affiliate badge (a smaller version of the main account’s profile picture) to its affiliate accounts. If that was confusing to read, that’s because it is: a visual nightmare of badges next to badges, all of which mean next to nothing now.
It’s a pay-for-play strategy that has not eked out much success for the cash-strapped company, as roughly 3.6 percent of legacy verified users have signed up for Twitter Blue, according to one estimate from the software developer Travis Brown, who has been tracking changes to users’ verification statuses. (Twitter has not publicly released its number of Twitter Blue subscribers.) And those who have offered to pay tend to have smaller followings on the platform, as some 49.1 percent of Twitter Blue subscribers have fewer than 1,000 followers, based on Brown’s analysis.
A separate study from the web analytics firm SimilarWeb found that of the 2.6 million people who checked out the Twitter Blue sales page on their desktop in March, 116,000 — or about 4.5 percent — signed up for a subscription.
Perhaps as an attempt to mask the low adoption numbers, Twitter also rolled out updated language on Monday to note that those with verification badges may have subscribed to Twitter Blue or were legacy accounts; previously, users were able to identify who was a Twitter Blue subscriber vs. a legacy user.
For his part, Musk has not addressed the elephant in the room: that it appears few legacy users are saying they’ll pay for Twitter Blue. Instead, the mercurial CEO has spent the day laughing at his own jokes, sharing recycled meme after recycled meme.
UPDATED, 8:14 A.M.: “Being Spider-Man is a sacrifice,” Miguel O’ Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) tells our hero Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in the new trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse released by Sony on Tuesday. “You have a choice between saving one person and saving every world.”
As is his nature, of course, a stubborn Morales aka Spider-Man insists that he can do both. “Everyone keeps telling me how how my story is supposed to go,” says Moore’s version of Spidey. “Nah, I’mma do my own thing.”
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the first of two Sony sequels to its dazzlingly innovative 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and grossed $384M+ globally. While the original saw Morales traversing the Multiverse with Gwen Stacey aka Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) in an effort to take down the villain Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) and save his universe, the new film will have them join with a new team of Spider-People to fend off a threat more powerful than any they’ve ever encountered.
The latest trailer for the sequel bowing in theaters on June 2nd can be found above. Read more about the project below.
PREVIOUSLY, DECEMBER 13: Sony has unveiled the first trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — the sequel to its hit animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which grossed over $384M worldwide and won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The original film helmed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman watched as the teenage Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) became the Spider-Man of his universe, then joining with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat to all realities. The new one will be another epic adventure transporting Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood web-slinger across the Multiverse. He’ll again join forces with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), while working with a new team of Spider-People, to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.
Across the Spider-Verse‘s cast also includes Oscar Isaac, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Daniel Kaluuya, Jason Schwartzman, Greta Lee, Issa Rae, Rachel Dratch, Jorma Taccone and Shea Whigham.
Justin K. Thompson, Joaquim Dos Santos, and Kemp Powers are directing from a script by the original’s writer-producer Phil Lord and producer Christopher Miller, as well as David Callaham. Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Lord, Miller and Christina Steinberg are producing, with Ramsey, Persichetti and Rothman returning to exec produce alongside Aditya Sood, Rebecca Karch and Brian Bendis.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will debut in theaters on June 2, 2023. Also slated for release by Sony is the threequel Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which bows in theaters on March 29, 2024.
Watch the trailer for the newest Spider-Man film by clicking above.
With the outlandish spectacle of Donald Trump’s arraignment and arrest dominating the news on Tuesday, late night TV went all in on trying to capture the historical, yet wholly bizarre, nature of the day’s event.
On The Daily Show, guest host Roy Wood Jr’s introduction to Tuesday’s night episode was unsurprisingly focused on the absurdity of the breathless media coverage surrounding Trump’s made-for-cable TV journey from Mar-a-Lago to a Manhattan court for his arraignment. The former president was indicted by a New York grand jury for his alleged role in a scandal stemming from hush money payments made to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
In an exhaustive summary of Tuesday’s dumbest events, Wood highlighted how Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had compared Trump to Nelson Mandela and Jesus as other figures who had been subject to political arrest. He also made the point that none of what transpired today needed to happen. “The crazy thing about all of this today is that Donald Trump didn’t even have to come to New York,” this week’s Daily Show host said. “He could have done the whole arraignment at the crib. Because, apparently, they gave him the option to be arraigned over Zoom. You know, like Nelson Mandela and Jesus.”
“Trump wants publicity,” Wood said. “Look at how he came out of Trump Tower this morning giving the Black Power fist like a real political prisoner. He lives for shit like this. Hell, Trump is liable to show up to court every day dancing on top of a car like Michael Jackson.”
He added: “And the media, man, the media, what they do? They play right along with it, giving us wall-to-wall coverage, even when there was absolutely nothing to talk about.”
After running through the day’s events, Wood reflected that he needed to go viral with his analysis. “I’m trying to go viral this week. There’s a lot of pressure being a guest host,” he joked, alluding to the need to draft in a very special guest to discuss events. Help came in the form of a ghost from The Daily Show‘s past, as Jon Stewart emerged decked out as a hooded Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Removing his hood, Stewart said he had dropped by to help Wood like “the wise sage who mentors the young host” but what ensued was a prolonged discussion about why Stewart was dressed like Kenobi, which character Wood was and if Trump was Vader. The Star Wars bit went on so long that Wood ran out of time, and Stewart was thwarted.
Jimmy Fallon shared a special clip addressing the arraignment, during which he made quips about Trump’s finger prints looking like the “don’t walk” sign on street corners, how he’s a child who needs to be entertained with an iPad and how he probably thinks his Class E felonies are “very classy.”
“Trump was like, ‘Of course they were very classy felonies, some would say the classiest of felonies,’” the late night host said in an accent resembling the former president’s.
The Tonight Show host then switched his focus to Greene and George Santos, who showed up outside of the New York courthouse.
“It was absolute chaos,” Fallon said. “It was basically the craziest Thanksgiving Day Parade. Even Times Square Elmo was like, ‘If they try to engage, just walk right past them. Don’t engage with them.’” He then noted that when Santos appeared at the courthouse, he was swarmed by reporters. “Trump saw the media following Santos and was like, ‘Hey, get your own arraignment.’”
The host couldn’t go without addressing Greene’s statements comparing Trump’s arrest to Mandela’s and Jesus, joking, “Jesus saw that and said, ‘Jesus.’”
Stephen Colbert kicked off his Trump segment by saying it was 70 degrees and sunny with a chance of jail in New York on Tuesday.
“Once he finally arrived down at the courthouse, we heard these immortal words, ‘This moment at 1:24 p.m. Eastern time, Donald J. Trump is under arrest,’” the host said, to loud cheers from the audience. “I know. It feels good, but remember, he is innocent until he is proven so, so guilty.”
The Late Show host continued, “At that point, of course, he was read his Miranda rights. Then, he claimed that Miranda wasn’t even his type, asked her to sign an NDA and got indicted again.”
Colbert went on to poke fun at Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina, how cable news filled time without having video access inside the courthouse and what was potentially going on in the former president’s mind during the arraignment.
Judy Farrell, known for her role as Nurse Able in “MASH,” has died. She was 84.
Farrell’s son, Michael Farrell, confirmed to The Times that she died Sunday morning in a hospital nine days after suffering a stroke.
Loretta Swit, who acted alongside Farrell on “MASH,” told Entertainment Weekly: “Judy was a most beautiful woman — inside and out. We grew up together. She was family. This has been a painful loss, but we will always have the beauty of her memory. Rest in peace, Nurse Able.”
Farrell portrayed Nurse Able on eight episodes of the comedy-drama war television series that followed doctors and support staff at the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War.
The New Yorker wrote that the series was “one of the highest-rated television series of all time … and considered by many to be the gold standard for quality programming in its day. The show was embraced by audiences and critics alike.” The acclaimed series aired from 1972 to 1983.
Farrell also appeared in other popular TV shows, including “Fame,” “Quincy M.E.,” and “The Partridge Family.” From 1998 to 2003, she wrote for the “General Hospital” spinoff “Port Charles.” Most recently, Farrell played Diane Harris in the 2006 romantic comedy “Long-Term Relationship.”
Filmmaker Rob Williams shared a tribute post to social media saying: “Very sad to hear about the death of Judy Farrell. Most people know her from her role as Nurse Able on MASH, but many of you will remember her wonderful performance in my first film, Long-Term Relationship.
“I developed that script in the Twin Bridges Screenwriting Salon, which was run by Judy and her husband Joe Bratcher (who also played her husband in LTR),” he continued. “And I was honored that they agreed to be in the movie. Judy was always kind and funny, and she was very supportive. She will be missed by all of us.”
Farrell was born in Quapaw, Okla., on May 11, 1938. She’d been acting since 1969, beginning when she was featured on two episodes of “Judd, for the Defense” and one episode of “Get Smart.” She continued working in television, landing an episode here and there for the next decade before she scored her most visible role as Nurse Able in 1976.
She also worked with her former husband during her time on “MASH.” She and co-star Mike Farrell, who played Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt,were married from 1963 to 1983. They share two children together: Michael and Erin Farrell.
After the Farrells parted ways, she married actor and producer Joe Bratcher in 1985. She is survived by Bratcher and her two children.
The following is a breakdown of the show’s confirmed cast:
Every Marvel Actor & Character in Secret Invasion
1.) Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury
Marvel Studios
One of the original stars of the MCU, the last time audiences saw Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury was back in Phase 3’s Spider-Man: Far From Home where he was revealed to be in space.
Now, for the MCU’s first Phase 5 series, Fury has finally returned to Earth but without his signature eye patch.
However, shots of his own tombstone and warnings from the show’s cast in the series trailer suggest that Fury may find himself in the crosshairs for this “one last fight.”
2.) Ben Mendelsohn – Talos
Marvel Studios
Skrull general Talos, played by Ben Mendelsohn, made his MCU debut in 2019’s Captain Marvel where he first crossed paths with Nick Fury and was finally reunited with his wife and daughter.
As requested by Fury himself, Talos later impersonated the former SHIELD director in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
However, new Secret Invasion marketing suggests Talos is in significant trouble and needs his friend’s help.
3.) Cobie Smulders – Maria Hill
Marvel Studios
Former Deputy Director of SHIELD and Nick Fury’s right-hand woman, Maria Hill appeared to be in Spider-Man: Far From Home. However, the conclusion of the film revealed that Talos’ wife, Soren, had impersonated Agent Hill the whole time.
Technically, the last time audiences truly saw Smulders’ Hill was at Tony Stark’s funeral after having been brought by the Hulk’s Endgame snap.
It will be interesting to see just where she’s been in the years since, as well as the extent of her role in the upcoming series.
4.) Martin Freeman – Everett Ross
Marvel Studios
Unlike most of the cast thus far, Martin Freeman‘s Everett Ross just appeared in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where he was arrested by his ex-wife and current CIA Director, Val, after helping Wakanda.
By the film’s end, Ross is rescued by Okoye; and apparently, his new path takes him into the crossfire of Secret Invasion.
Given his ties to Val and the U.S. Government, his MCU story could lead just about anywhere.
5.) Kingsley Ben-Adir – Gravik
Kingsley Ben-Adir
MCU newcomer Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Skrull villain Gravik in Secret Invasion, the leader of a group of Skrull extremists who are “tired of asking… [and] waiting.”
Tasked with protecting England’s national security interests amidst the Skrull invasion, it appears that Colman’s Agent Falsworth will also serve as a significant antagonistic presence.
8.) Don Cheadle – James “Rhodey” Rhodes
Marvel Studios
The world may be without the Avengers in Secret Invasion, but they’re not without at least one former Avenger: War Machine.
Since Nick Fury will reportedly be struggling to cope with the fallout of Avengers: Endgame, the presence of Don Cheadle’s Rhodey – Iron Man’s close friend – is likely to play into that storyline.
In addition, Cheadle’s Armor Wars film is reportedly still in production; and due to his military background, his presence could tie into events for 2024’s Captain America: New World Order.
9.) Dermot Mulroney – United States President Ritson
Dermot Mulroney
Regarding Rhodey’s political connections, Friends actor Dermot Mulroney is playing United States President Ritson.
As proof of Secret Invasion being both a personal and professional mission for Nick Fury, the Disney+ show casted actress Charlayne Woodard as Priscilla Fury, Nick’s wife.
Her character is expected to be a SWORD agent which not only connects to Fury’s whereabouts but also the Skrulls.
11. Killian Scott
Killian Scott
Known for his television roles in Love/Hate and Damnation, actor Killian Scott is set to make his MCU debut in Secret Invasion.
According to an exclusive from The Direct, Scott plays a Skrull named Fiz with comic book connections to Professor X and the X-Men in Marvel Comics.
12. Samuel Adewunmi
Samuel Adewunmi
While little is known about Adewnumi’s Marvel character, The Last Tree and Angela Black star is confirmed to appear in Secret Invasion.
As marketing ramps up, fans should expect to learn more about his role in the weeks to come.
13. Christopher McDonald
Christopher McDonald
Another new addition to the MCU is actor Christopher McDonald, best known for his role in Happy Gilmore.
While Marvel Studios is keeping his character under wraps, it sounds like McDonald’s role may be significant with an MCU future beyond that of Secret Invasion.
14. Katie Finneran
Katie Finneran
While little is known about her character or the extent of her role, actress Katie Finneran is also set to appear in Secret Invasion.
Finneran is known for her role in the series Bloodline and even appeared alongside another MCU freshman, Ant-Man 3‘s Kathyrn Newton, in 2020’s Freaky.
On the DCN Podcast #171, the crew take you on a journey through this week’s DC news, including horror director Mike Flanagan pitching a Clayface movie, James Gunn debunks more Superman casting rumors, G. Willow Wilson’s Poison Ivy series wins a GLAAD Award For Outstanding Comic Book, and much more!
So sit back, and enjoy!
DCN PODCAST #171
What are we covering this week?
The Passing of Hawk & Dove co-creator, Steve Skeates
The Passing of Batman: TAS writer, Michael Reaves
New Set Photo From Joker 2
Mike Flanagan Pitched Clayface Movie
James Gunn Debunks More Superman Casting Rumors
James Gunn Teases The Terrifics
Ben Affleck Reveals Details About Cut Wonder Woman Cameo In The Flash
My Adventures With Superman Heads To Cartoon Network
Jason Todd To Return On Titans
Gotham Knights To Bring In The Mutant Leader
WBD Announce Streaming Event For HBO Max/Discovery+ Merger
Superman Gets Different Outfit In New Series
Tom King Releases April Fool’s Variant Covers
Poison Ivy Win GLAAD Award For Outstanding Comic Book
Dawn Of DC Trailer Revealed At MegaCon
Joshua Williamson Takes On New Batman & Robin Series
Be sure to also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and if you like what you hear, please give us a 5-star rating and review!
Artificial intelligence has reached a new level of interest ever since ChatGPT burst into the scene. The AI chatbot with its eerily human-like responses has lit a fire under many tech giants and smaller tech companies that are now rushing to release their rival offerings. US President Joe Biden, however, wants them to be careful and make sure that their products are safe before opening them up to the public. According to AP and Reuters, the president has met up with his science and technology advisors, which include academics and executives from Google and Microsoft, to discuss the “risks and opportunities” of artificial intelligence.
While the meeting likely won’t culminate in a banning of ChatGPT like what happened in Italy, the president doesn’t seem to be convinced that AI is perfectly safe at this point in time. When asked if AI is dangerous, he responded: “It remains to be seen. Could be.” He told the group:” “Tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public…AI can help deal with some very difficult challenges like disease and climate change, but it also has to address the potential risks to our society, to our economy, to our national security.”
The White House told the news organizations that the president also used the opportunity to discuss “the importance of protecting rights and safety to ensure responsible innovation and appropriate safeguards.” Further, he talked about his previous calls on Congress to pass legislation that would protect kids’ privacy online.
It doesn’t sound like policies were made and big changes were planned during the meeting. But Russell Wald from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence told AP that the president has set “the stage for a national dialogue on the topic by elevating attention to AI.” Last year, the Biden administration also released its Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. It’s meant to guide the design and deployment of AI and other automated systems in a way that protects “the American public in the age of artificial intelligence.”
2023 SUN VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS
National Geographic Documentary’s Wild Life is Audience Award Winner
Fancy Dance and Nascondino win Best Narrative & Documentary Feature Film
Fremont and Bad Press score One in A Million Awards
The 2023 Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF), announced this year’s juried film award winners during the annual Awards Bash, presented by SVFF. The Awards Bash was hosted at Whiskey Jacques with a performance by Blair Gun.
SVFF Film Awards
Audience Award Winner – Awarded to the film which received the most votes from audience attendees.
WINNER: Wild Life, directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The National Geographic Documentary film opened the festival.
Best Narrative Feature Film– Awarded to the best narrative feature film in the festival.
WINNER: Fancy Dance, directed by Erica Tremblay and Produced by Variety’s Creative Impact in Producing Award recipient Nina Yang Bongiovi.
Jury members were Tucker Gates, Ali Larter and Valerie Steinberg.
Best Documentary Feature Film – Awarded to the best documentary feature film in the festival.
WINNER: Nascondino, directed by Victoria Fiore
Jury members were Jamie Gonçalves, Liza Richardson and Jessica Sanders.
One in a Million Awards – The One in a Million Awards honor feature length stories made for under one million dollars. One narrative and one documentary film are each awarded.
NARRATIVE WINNER: Fremont, directed by Rachael Fung
DOCUMENTARY WINNER: Bad Press, directed by Joe Peeler
The SVShorty Award – The best short film across all categories. All shorts are eligible for this award.
WINNER: Walk Of Shame, directed by Dane Ray
SPECIAL MENTION: A Folded Ocean, directed by Ben Brewer
The Gem State Award – The best short film made in Idaho.
WINNER: A Parent, directed by Eve Weston and Martin McGreevy
Jury members were Araceli Lemos, Marc Mounier and Edson Oda.
SVFF Film & Screenwriting Competition Winners
High Scribe Award– The High Scribe honors an emerging voice in screenwriting with Academy Award Winning screenwriter Will McCormack and co-writers of Fancy Dance, Miciana Alise and Erica Tremblay.
WINNER: The First Michael, written by Michael Buonocore
Sun Valley Junior Filmmaker Awards – Showcases student-made films and encourages students in their craft, storytelling and self-expression.
HOT SHOT WINNER: Clairvoyant, written by Elijah Anthony Feigner
2nd PLACE: Room 101, written by Jerad Monasch
3rd PLACE: A tie between Ovaryacting written by Jordan Held & Hard Core written by Madeleine Case
The Gem State Jr. Award – The best short film made in Idaho by a Junior Filmmaker. The films in the Idaho Shorts program are eligible for this award.
WINNER: Pong, written by Fynn Erman
Jury Members were Richard Chew, Mort Nathan, David Friendly and Priscilla Nedd-Friendly.
Festival highlights included, Josh Brolin receiving the Vision Award, Emilio Estevez receiving the Pioneer Award, Rising Star Award honoree Sophie Thatcher and Creative Impact Honoree in Producing Nina Yang Bongiovi, presented by Variety. The festival saw the sold-out opening night screening of National Geographic’s Wild Life, and Variety honored this year’s 10 Producers to Watch. SVFF is grateful to have the continued support of longtime festival partners and patrons including National Geographic, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Our Gorongosa, Variety and the community of generous arts supporters.
About the Sun Valley Film Festival
Since 2012 SVFF has proven to be a concierge of opportunity connecting filmmakers with support both financially and through mentorship. Every spring the festival celebrates with a slate of cutting-edge films and TV premieres, industry panels, engaging Coffee Talks with entertainment luminaries, a Screenwriters Lab led by award-winning writers and a series of parties culminating with the spectacular SVFF Awards Bash. Outside of the spring festival, SVFF hosts programming to bring special projects to the Sun Valley Community throughout the year. The Sun Valley Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art of filmmaking, and to use the power of storytelling to foster meaningful connections. This year’s Sun Valley Film Festival took place March 29 – April 2, 2023.
Arguably the most universally well-received element of 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was that of Donald Glover’s portrayal of the one and only charming space scoundrel Lando Calrissian.
Glover, taking on a younger version of Billy Dee Williams’ role from the original and sequel trilogy, has only made a single appearance in that film.
Whilst a “Lando” series was announced as being in early development at the Disney investor day conference in late 2020, nothing appears to have progressed. Glover himself has been buy with music and his “Atlanta” series, which aired its final episode in November last year.
Recently, Glover spoke about his time on “Star Wars” to GQ and confirmed he would “love to play Lando again”, but it would need to be the right project:.
“It just needs to be the right way to do it. Now, time is precious. I think everybody’s like, from the past couple years with this pandemic s—, has really had people experience time in a way where they’re like, ‘Well, why am I [doing this] … I should be around oranges.’ [Glover did the interview in an orchard].
People kind of realized that their time was valuable. You only get so much. So I am not interested in doing anything that’s just going to be a waste of my time or just a paycheck. I’d much rather spend time with people that I enjoy. So it just has to be the right thing, which I think it could be. Lando is definitely somebody I’d like to hang out with.”
As for where things are now, Glover says conversations are happening behind the scenes: “We’re talking about it. That’s as much as I can say without [Lucasfilm President] Kathleen Kennedy hunting me down.”
Hopefully, there’ll be some more insight from Star Wars Celebration which kicks off in two days.
Does this count as being a nepo baby? Malia Obama is the daughter of a popular former president, which is about as privileged as you can get. But she’s also blazing her own path in the world of entertainment, not politics. And now that she’s “creating” (directing? writing? starring in? unclear) her first short film, people have, let’s say, differing opinions on what the stakes for her are.
Ms. Obama, a Harvard graduate, kicked off her career with a summer internship on HBO’s Girls and was recently a writer on Donald Glover’s buzzy series Swarm. Since she doesn’t do interviews or social media, we don’t really know what her artistic POV is yet, but it seems she’s taking the business pretty seriously. And listen, is her relatively easy path fair? No. But if I had the same opportunities, would I take them without a second thought? Oh, hell yes.
Now Glover says the older Obama sister is going to “create” her first short film for his production company, Gilga. And the advice he gave her is…maybe not that applicable? In a new cover story for GQ, the Atlanta star said, “The first thing we did was talk about the fact that she will only get to do this once. You’re Obama’s daughter. So if you make a bad film, it will follow you around.” Um…yes and no? On the one hand, Malia Obama certainly doesn’t have the ability to fail privately before breaking through with her first success, as many not-already-famous artists do. She definitely has only one chance to make her debut. On the other hand, she will definitely not ”only get to do this once.” Like, unless it’s the worst short film ever made, she’s gonna get plenty of chances. Also, like, the fact that she’s 24 with one internship and one writing credit and Donald Glover is her mentor…there are definitely perks to being Malia! I say this as someone totally rooting for her.
On Twitter, a number of people expressed doubt that this “advice” was really worth anything.
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Apple TV+ debuted a first look at “The Crowded Room,” the gripping, limited series starring and executive produced by Tom Holland, and created by Academy Award-winning writer and executive producer Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”), directed by Kornel Mundruczo.
“The Crowded Room” is an anthology series that will explore inspirational stories of those who have struggled with mental illness and learned to live successfully with it. The first season is a 10-episode limited series that stars Holland as Danny Sullivan, a man who is arrested following his involvement in a shooting in New York City in 1979. A captivating thriller told through a series of interviews with curious interrogator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), Danny unveils his life through a series of interviews Rya Goodwin, and slowly details to her, and the audience, his mysterious past that led him to the fateful incident. As Danny retrospectively examines his life, he reckons with his past and a few pivotal moments, that ultimately leads him to uncover a life-altering revelation. The first season is inspired by Daniel Keyes’ biography The Minds of Billy Milligan. which is based on his case, Billy Milligan was the first person acquitted of a crime because of multiple-personality disorder, now known as dissociative identity disorder. Though the Apple TV+ series has altered most of the details, changing Milligan’s name to Danny Sullivan and changing his original crime. It follows Sullivan’s interrogation, interspersing that with flashbacks to his upbringing.
Starring an ensemble cast led by Holland, Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum. The series stars Sasha Lane (“Conversations With Friends”), Will Chase (“Dopesick”), Lior Raz (“Fauda”), Laila Robins (“Planes, Trains and Automobiles”), Henry Eikenberry (“Euphoria”) and guest stars Jason Isaacs (“Harry Potter”), Christopher Abbott (“Catch-22”), Thomas Sadoski (“The Newsroom”) and Zachary Golinger (“A Quiet Place”).
“The Crowded Room” will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes of its 10-episode first season on Friday, June 9, 2023, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday through July 28, 2023.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt and Charlie Day choose the perfect actors to play Wario and Waluigi. This year’s highly-anticipated animated movie based on the video game Super Mario Bros. is already stuffed with great Mushroom Kingdom characters, including Pratt’s Mario and Day’s Luigi. But even with so many classic characters set to appear, the film is still missing a lot of fan favorites, including Mario and Luigi’s mirror-image nemeses Wario and Waluigi.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The evil versions of Mario and Luigi could of course still turn up in a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and if that ever happens, Pratt and Day have perfect suggestions for who should voice the characters. Speaking recently to Digital Spy, the Mario and Luigi stars were asked which of their famous sitcom co-stars should appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, and both had no problem coming up with great ideas (around 1:10 of the above video). It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Day was first up, followed by former Parks and Rec star Pratt:
DAY: You put anyone from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia into the Mushroom Kingdom, they’re going to be great. Maybe [Danny] DeVito would be a great Wario.
PRATT: And I wonder who’d be a good Waluigi. Maybe Nick Offerman.
Danny DeVito And Nick Offerman Would Be Great As Wario and Waluigi, For Different Reasons
With his aggressive style of reading comedic lines, DeVito would be the perfect person to voice the character of Wario, the treasure-hungry antagonist featured in video game titles like Mario & Wario, Wario Blast and Wario Land. Pratt’s suggestion of Offerman is a little more off-the-wall however, as the Parks and Rec and Last of Us actor is known for having a blasé comedic persona that doesn’t naturally lend itself to doing cartoonish and expressive line readings.
Offerman’s lack of a DeVito-like manic energy might make him the perfect person to voice Waluigi however, offering up a contrast to what DeVito would deliver as Wario. Offerman also has a gruff and ill-tempered side to his persona, which came across most vividly as the character of Ron Swanson in Parks and Rec, that with a little dialing-in could make sense for the rude and boastful Waluigi.
It remains to be seen whether Wario and Waluigi will be in the plans for any future The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel, but both are characters with big followings, and Waluigi in particular would be fun to explore given how mysterious he remains even after multiple appearances in Mario video games.
For the first time in decades, R&B legends T-Boz and Chilli of TLC will relive their unlikely rise to fame and their group’s enduring legacy in Lifetime’s upcoming documentary “TLC Forever.” It premieres June 3 (simulcast on A&E), and you can watch the trailer at the top of the page right now.
Driven by hits like “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Waterfalls,” “Creep,” “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty,” TLC, whose classic lineup consisted of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, has sold more than 95 million records, with 4 multiplatinum albums released between 1992 and 2002.
“TLC Forever” charts that incredible success, starting with the formation of the group in 1990 Atlanta, their rise to fame (and conflict with their first manager), the decade-defining success and personal setbacks, culminating with the tragic death of Left Eye in 2002.
“We were the best-selling girl group in America of all time,” T-Boz says in the trailer, adding “no matter what we went through, we never questioned the love.”
The 2-hour documentary also features interviews with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and rapper Missy Elliot, among others.
After a long hiatus following Lopes’ death, T-Boz and Chilli reunited in 2014 and in addition to their 2017 album “TLC” they have continued touring regularly. “When you believe in yourself, that’s powerful,” T-Boz says in the trailer. “We still got a lot to do!”
Hailing from One Story Up and Lauren Fulton for Lifetime and A&E Network, Matthew Kay directs the documentary with executive producers for One Story Up including Roger Ross Williams and Geoff Martz. Tionne Watkins, Rozonda Thomas, Bill Diggins for Diggit Entertainment Group and Rick Krim executive producers for TLC and Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Abramson serve as executive producers for A+E Network
You can watch the trailer above.
“TLC Forever” premieres Saturday, June 3 at 8 p.m. PT on Lifetime and A&E.
The strappy midis! The floral maxis! The sleeveless cover-ups! Revamping your wardrobe to incorporate the best summer dresses is arguably one of the most exciting parts of warm-weather dressing—and there’s no better time to start clearing some hangers for wardrobe essentials you’ll wear on repeat in the coming weeks and months.
We know, we know: Peak summer dressing is still a ways off, but plenty of cute and airy numbers have already hit retailers’ shelves, meaning your summer vibe shift can (and should) start now. First dibs on all the best styles and sizes? Say less.
Whether you want a slinky slip dress to wear to your stacked calendar of RSVPs, a lightweight shirtdress to make office dressing a breeze, or an ultra mini to pack with your beach essentials for your next vacation, these are the best summer dresses to shop now.
The Maxidress
Valentina Frugiuele/Getty Images
Valentina Frugiuele/Getty Images
Maxidresses for summer are what lug sole boots are for fall: nonnegotiable and a no-brainer for getting through the season in style. Its versatility knows no bounds, either—no matter the neckline or sleeve length, odds are you can tie on a belt, throw on a leather or denim jacket, and style with flats, raffia wedges, or platform sandals. Don’t sweat the length if it’s a little too long—there’s nothing quite like a floor-kissing hem to give you that main-character energy as you look both ways while crossing the street.
Who is Yacht, and what is artificially intelligent music? The Computer Accent, a documentary written and directed by award-winning founders of the production company MEMORY, Riel Roch-Decter and Sebastian Pardo, answers these questions and more. What ensues is an examination of the creative achievements of the electronic pop music group, Yacht (Young Americans Challenging High Technology), an experimental band of musicians that has continually railed against the confines of conventional music making.
The film is especially concerned with the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence and music composition as Yachtembarks on its latest venture. This material may seem somewhat fringe and esoteric and may alienate some viewers. However, the subject could appeal to curious, burgeoning, or experienced artists and musicians.
The Computer Accent raises many interesting questions about the alternative directions of technology, especially as they relate to art. The historical context of electronic music and the details of algorithms used to generate A.I. music are inherently thought-provoking ideas explored in the film.
“Who is Yacht, and what is artificially intelligent music…These questions and more are answered….”
The band’s knowledge of computer-related applications is quite impressive, and the pure musical proficiency of the group members is evident. The combination of the two elements is a fascinating endeavor. The band’s songs go beyond “new wave” or “new age” and venture into science fiction territory. The lively soundtrack is inspirational, and the footage of live performances and the musicians composing is supported by supplemental archival video footage and helps to connect viewers with the progressive musical direction of Yacht. Much to the credit of directors Roch-Decter and Pardo, this film captures the technological creative processes and the aspirations to find originality by Yacht, illuminating a new aspect of music as we know it.
The film has an aesthetically pleasing assortment of scrapbook snapshots that chart Yacht’s progress as they move to create something genuinely transcendent. However, at times the general thread of creativity in the film becomes disjointed as the film moves back and forth between the technology and the personal contributions of the artists.
Essentially, The Computer Accent is about theories and ideas, which indeed are provocative, as one may ponder the future of creativity and the use of technology. Yacht’s sheer ambition serves as the driving force behind this film. Unfortunately, however, the documentary falls into a by-the-numbers depiction of what eventually turns out to be a mildly interesting subject matter that loses its novelty. Eventually, the documentary turns to tedium. As intriguing as the possibilities of A.I. are, the challenges and narrative of a band grappling with new technologies and pursuing transcendence lose momentum about halfway through.
The film needs to generate excitement about some intriguing artistic revelations. Unfortunately, these revelations are too restrained by jargon and talking points, and the music, while fascinating, is not quite enough to propel this documentary to prompt much more than a brief discussion. It is suggested that anyone interested in both technology and art and/or the combination of the two would then check out The Computer Accent. However, those not interested in computer-generated algorithms to create sound should beware.
Vancouver’s popular minor league baseball club has been acquired by a U.S. firm, but the new owners are pledging no major shakeups.
The Vancouver Canadians announced Tuesday that the team had been sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a U.S. company that owns more than a dozen league clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB).
DBH is promising to keep the team in Vancouver, where it serves as the Toronto Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate.
“As DBH works to scale the baseball experience and enhance value for local fans, players, and visitors, we recognize and are committed to deepening this club’s important role in Vancouver,” Diamond Baseball Holdings executive chairman Pat Battle and CEO Peter Freund in a media release.
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DBH was founded in 2021, and owns 16 A- through AAA-rated teams across the U.S. The company’s website pledges a “hyper local” approach, and that “creating incredible fan experiences will remain our number one priority.”
Outgoing co-owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney, who have owned the club for the last 15 years, will stay on as chair of the club and chair of the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation, respectively.
The club’s sale price was not made public.
The Vancouver Canadians’ first home game of the 2023 season takes place this Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Nat Bailey Stadium.
Full spoilers follow for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. You have been warned.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has finally Goomba-stomped its way into theaters. And like any good Marvel and DCEU movie, one of our most highly anticipated new movies of the year comes equipped with a couple of post-credits scenes that tease the film series’ future.
In our view, Nintendo, Universal Pictures, and Illumination’s new big screen take on the Mario gaming franchise is a dazzling cinematic knock-out. You can read more on why we think it’s so great in our spoiler-free review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
But you’re here because you want to know what the video game movie’s mid- and post-credits scenes mean for future movies. Without further ado, then, here’s the lowdown on The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s end credits stingers.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie mid-credits scene explained: Peaches, Peaches, Peaches
The film’s mid-credits stinger finds Bowser imprisoned for his crimes. (Image credit: Universal Pictures/Nintendo)
The movie’s mid-credits scene doesn’t have any bearing on potential sequels to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In fact, it’s an amusing rehash of a sequence seen earlier in the film.
This scene opens with Bowser sat at his piano once more, singing his ‘Peaches’ song. You know, the one the ballad he sung earlier in hilarious fashion. Of course you do. You wouldn’t forget such a timeless love song – especially one co-written and performed by the brilliant Jack Black.
Initially, this rendition of ‘Peaches’ appears as if it’ll be a longer version of the song Bowser belted out earlier on. After all, it’s positioned as a music video-style rendition of the tune, which seems like it’ll play alongside the rest of the credits.
Humorously, that’s not the case. Bowser is stopped mid-flow by one of the Mushroom Kingdom’s halberd-carrying Toad guards. The Toad in question tells Bowser to shut his mouth, at which point the camera pans back to reveal a tiny Bowser, sitting a a miniature piano, is locked in a birdcage.
Wait, why is Bowser so small? In the movie’s climactic battle, Bowser is defeated by a Super Star-powered Mario and Luigi. After they put him in his place, Princess Peach feeds Bowser a blue, mini Mushroom, which shrinks Bowser down to a petite version of himself. Following his defeat, he’s carted off to Peach’s castle and locked away so he can’t inflict further damage on the Mushroom Kingdom and its neighboring realms.
Unsurprisingly, the hot-headed Bowser isn’t happy about being told to shut up by the guard. He angrily informs the guard he’ll escape some day, but the guard ignores his lecture, instead closing the door behind him and switching the light off. Never mind, Bowser. We’re sure someone will help you escape at some point…
The Super Mario Bros. Movie post-credits scene explained: Yoshi joins the battle
It sounds like Yoshi will be part of the next Super Mario Bros. Movie. (Image credit: Nintendo/Universal Pictures)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s post-credits scene has more far-reaching implications than the mid-credits stinger does.
Here, we return to the underground pipe system where Mario and Luigi were initially transported to the Mushroom Kingdom early. The passageway has seen better days, mind you – after all, with Mario leading the giant Bullet Bill into the warp pipe in the film’s third act (thus saving the Mushroom Kingdom from being blown up by said Bullet Bill), the projectile exploded as it exited the warp pipe, destroying the surrounding network of pipes.
The resulting explosion did more than ruin Brooklyn’s water pipe system, though. The detonation resulted in the now-overpowered warp pipe inadvertently transporting a bunch of the film’s main cast – and some other objects, which we’re getting to – to Brooklyn. That’s why the film’s final showdown between the Mario brothers and Bowser takes place in the New York borough.
Once Bowser is beaten, everyone heads back to the Mushroom Kingdom – expect for one thing: a Yoshi egg. As the camera slowly zooms in on the object, it starts to hatch. The screen cuts to black as the egg breaks apart, and all we hear is the green-colored dinosaur saying his own name. Cue audience smiles and gasps all around.
Mario saves the day – and winds up causing Yoshi’s egg to hatch. (Image credit: Universal Pictures/Nintendo)
If you recall the lead-up to Bowser and Peach’s wedding-that-didn’t-happen, one of the guests placing a Yoshi egg on the wedding gift table. This is the same egg that was sucked into the warp pipe later on. There’s nothing like a good bit of foreshadowing, eh?
Yoshi’s arrival in the Mario Cinematic Universe – we can call it the MCU, right? – means Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination can source from a whole suite of Mario and Yoshi games in a future film. They could adapt parts of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which see Mario riding Yoshi. The trio might take inspiration from 1997’s Yoshi’s Island, which was briefly glimpsed (in some guise, anyway) in a montage scene in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. If the next Mario movie is even more of an ensemble piece, why not utilize Yoshi’s abilities in the same way as Mario does in Super Mario Sunshine or Paper Mario?
Of course, a sequel to this film could deliver something wholly original. Yoshi has hatched in an underground part of Brooklyn, so he’ll likely spook the city’s population when he makes his way above ground. An early part of any Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up could see Mario and Luigi trying to catch Yoshi and bring him back to the Mushroom Kingdom. We think another side-scrolling section would work very well for such a chase sequence. Make it so, Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie could kickstart a cinematic franchise for Nintendo. (Image credit: Universal Pictures/Nintendo)
A joint Mario-Yoshi project doesn’t need to be the next one that these three studios tackle, though. Seth Rogen, Charlie Day, and Keegan-Michael Key, who voice Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Toad respectively, have all expressed interest in playing their characters again in spin-off movies. If one or more of these are already in development, it could be a few years before we see Mario and Yoshi team up on the silver screen again (you know, after they did so in the terrible 1993 Super Mario Bros. live-action film).
Still, as long as The Super Mario Bros. Movie is successful, we’ll be happy to wait for a sequel or two – no matter who’s involved in them – if they end up being as good, if not better, than the legendary Italian plumber’s latest cinematic adventure.
Former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart surprised this week’s guest host, Roy Wood Jr. on Tuesday night when he came out, as befits Stewart’s record as the longest-serving host of the show, dressed like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Stewart was there, as it happens, to help Wood go viral with his coverage of Donald Trump’s arraignment. Alas, Wood was too obsessed with the “Star Wars” of it all to talk about Trump with Stewart.
The bit came near the end of the show’s lengthy discussion of the arraignment earlier Tuesday, when Trump was charged with 34 felonies for, among other things, conduct related to the hush money payment he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels, using campaign funds, in 2016.
Wood was at that point focused on the fact that Trump got to skip most of the indignities accused felons normally face after surrendering to police– for instance, he wasn’t handcuffed, authorities didn’t take a mug shot, and he wasn’t strip searched, as is normal procedure in most jurisdictions including New York.
“For the sake of this country, I hope Donald Trump gets a swift trial. But that doesn’t mean he should get to use the TSA pre-check. But, here’s the good news: The New York investigation is just one of many into the former president,” Wood said. “So, we’ll have plenty of other opportunities to get him arrested correctly.”
Following this bit, Wood lamented as the audience clapped that he thought his commentary on Trump’s arraignment was good, “but I don’t know if it’s good enough to go viral. There’s a lot of pressures as guest host. You gotta be funny, you gotta be satirical, you gotta be powerful, you gotta go viral. And I don’t know what to do, I wish I had somebody that I could talk to about this stuff…”
“Roy. Roy,” Stewart’s disembodied voice said, “Use the force Roy.”
“Who that,” Wood asked.
“Roy, use the force,” Stewart continued.
“I don’t f— with ghosts man, who that?” Wood replied.
At that point Stewart entered the stage and removed his hood, leading to big cheers from the audience.
“I knew I knew your ass,” Wood joked. “You’re Obi-Wan Kenobi!”
“I’m, I’m Jon. Stewart. I used to work here when the budget wasn’t as big,” Stewart said
“You worked here?” Wood asked.
“I actually hosted the program,” Stewart said to a disbelieving Wood.
“‘The Daily Show’ had a white host?” Wood asked. “Why are you dressed like Obi-Wan Kenobi?”
“I like to be comfortable,” said Stewart.
Wood, however, kept the discussion focused on “Star Wars,” declaring that he should be Han Solo or Lando, and suggested that Stewart could be Chewbacca or Baby Yoda.
The series has had rotating hosts, including Hasan Minhaj, Marlon Wayans, Kal Penn, Al Franken and John Leguizamo, since Stewart’s handpicked replacement, Trevor Noah, left in in September 2022.
Stewart hosted the political satire show from 1999 to 2015.
SPOILER ALERT: The following story reveals major plot points from tonight’s FBIand FBI: International crossover event on CBS.
Weddings are tough enough without having to worry about the entire thing getting bombed, but that’s exactly what happened to an unlucky couple and their loved ones in CBS’ FBI, FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted global crossover tonight.
One of the only survivors is the bride’s father, a Belarusian general hell-bent on getting revenge against the Americans he blames for the blast. Three months after the wedding, an Italian was murdered and his American colleague went missing in Rome, a case that brings FBI‘s Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto) and FBI: International‘s Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank) together in Italy.
(L-R): Eva-Jane Willis as Europol Agent Megan “Smitty” Garretson, Carter Redwood as Special Agent Andre Raines, Luke Kleintank as Special Agent Scott Forrester, Shantel VanSanten as Nina Chase, Jeremy Sisto as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, Heida Reed as Special Agent Jamie Kellett, and Vinessa Vidotto as Special Agent Cameron Vo.
Jubal and Scott working together made for a great episode; in an alternate universe, they’d have made great partners. Luke is patient and strategic; he always knows when it’s best to play the long game. Jubal knows how to push people’s buttons to get what he needs, and he’s got that New York swagger that lets others know he isn’t there to mess around. Together, and later with the help of Remy Scott (Dylan McDermott), they’re hot on the case of the bad guys but time is running out.
Sisto and Kleintank spoke to Deadline recently about various key moments from the first two episodes and revealed the secret to their characters’ compatibility lies plainly in how great the actors get along in real life.
DEADLINE: Jeremy and Luke, what was it like going to Rome and meeting for the first time?
JEREMY SISTO: Yeah, we got crazy in Rome! No, not really. I brought my 10 and 13-year-old and my beautiful wife, and Luke has a beautiful young baby girl and a beautiful wife, as well. Everyone was beautiful, you should know that. We shared some dinners and we shot all around Rome. I wasn’t there for those shots in front of the Colosseum, but we shot every day on these quintessentially Roman cobbled streets with beautiful shadowed street lights. It was really great.
LUKE KLEINTANK: We shared a lot of stories and it was nice to meet Jeremy’s family. Man, you’ve got some cool kids. We did a lot of night shoots together, and, at one point, we were delirious. We shared a green room and we had these two little beds next to each other. Jeremy showed me his music, he’s a great musician. If you haven’t heard his music, you should check it out.
SISTO: We probably had deeper conversations than I’ve had with most of the cast which tends to happen when you work on location. With Luke and I sharing what was like a dorm room, we connected on a lot of different levels. It was also cool working with the cast and crew; it was a trip to have me jump into their world. Their show is a version of what we do but in a different environment. The crew were from different nationalities: there were lots of Hungarian crew with them, and also some from Italy. Working with that other sensibility and culture was energizing for me. It was really quick for us to get into a good rhythm together.
Jeremy Sisto and Luke Kleintank
Philippe Antonello/CBS
DEADLINE: What can you guys share regarding the difficulty of puttingtogether a major crossover event like this, which has a movie-quality feel to it?
KLEINTANK: I got to give it up to our crew, our director Michael Katleman and to our DP. Everybody did such a great job. That’s the caliber we try to hit with each episode. You’re gonna see that in the next episode and the next episode. You know, it’s not fair because we have Europe as a backdrop so it’s not just New York. So, in the lens that looks amazing.
SISTO: Hey, New York is an amazing backdrop. Give me a break! We have some rich and sorted history here, too. [Laughs] Back to that wedding we open with, it’s a powerful and emotional, and poignant way to start our story. They put a lot of energy into coming up with this story that will represent these three shows and tie them together in a believable way. We wanted you to feel like you were watching a big movie. I was impressed with how much time and thought they put into this.
DEADLINE: Jubal and Scott complement each other perfectly. What insight can you share into those moments when they’re working on the field together?What did each character learn from the other?
KLEINTANK: Yes, always listen to FBI: International. [Laughs]
SISTO: Yeah, the international team for sure is much savvier at dealing with organizations that aren’t necessarily on the same team. Jubal is probably fairly annoying to work with because he is used to dealing with situations where everyone he’s talking to is an extension of his mind. Anything he thinks of, he has somebody able to do it. Any question he has, it’s usually answered before he can get the words out. So trying to get access to people who aren’t necessarily on your side is challenging. I understand why the Roman police sergeant gets a little perturbed by Jubal who feels entitled to access.
KLEINTANK: It’s interesting for my character too, because, in Season 1 and a lot of Season 2, Forrester goes by the beat of his own drum. He deals with these European detectives and lieutenants and he tries to find a way in. So in this episode, I can see why Jubal was doing what he was doing. I can relate to the guy and I wanted to do exactly what [Jubal] wanted to do. But I was also trying to play the politics of it all. It was a tough one for me. I was like, “Well if Jubal feels a little Forrester and I feel a little more like Jubal does and FBI-like, that’s cool.”
DEADLINE: Now that this global crossover is over, what’s coming up for Jubal and Scott that you can tease?
KLEINTANK: Forrester has some people from Season 1 coming back into his orbit that threatened his life. So he has to navigate that across a couple of episodes. We’re also introducing somebody to our universe that potentially could stay or not stay. And that’s as much as I’ll give.
SISTO: Am I the one that might stay or not? Just let me know, ok? Is this Dick Wolf’s way of letting me know, during this Deadline interview? [Laughs] Jubal was with the FBI in 2000, right after September 11 and he was part of a multi-agency task force helping to prevent another attack. He had a partner that comes back into play in an upcoming episode. He’s an old friend and he’s somebody that has a complicated history and Jubal has mixed feelings about him. It’s a really cool episode but not as much fun as I had with Luke and the team, and working with FBI: Most Wanted in the global crossover event.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RASHMIKA MANDANNA: Rashmika Mandanna has gained recognition as an esteemed actress owing to her magnetic on-screen aura and exceptional acting abilities. And both of these have contributed to her enormous fan base within the Southern Indian film industry. In addition to her career accomplishments, her personal life has also attracted significant media attention.
One persistent speculation is that Rashmika and her co-star Vijay Deverakonda are romantically involved. Despite continuous reports about rumoured relationship with Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika has remained tight-lipped. Often when confronted by the media, the actress has maintained that they are just “good friends.”
However, it seems all is not going well between the stars. Media reports claim that Rashmika has found love in someone else. Months after being embroiled in link-up rumours with her Dear Comrade co-star, Rashmika seems to have moved on. If Times Of India report is to be believed, Rashmika is “really fond of” Telugu actor Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas. Leaving Rashmika and Deverakonda fans upset, the report cited a source as saying that the actress and Sai Sreenivas are “often making public appearances these days.”
So, how did the rumours begin?
Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda first worked together in the 2018 film Geetha Govindam, directed by Parasuram. The movie was a commercial success, and their sizzling chemistry on-screen left many fans wondering if there was something more to their relationship. In 2019, Rashmika and Vijay worked together again in the movie Dear Comrade. The movie was a hit, and once again, their chemistry was the talk of the town.
In early 2019, rumours of Rashmika and Vijay dating began to surface. The speculations gained momentum when the two were spotted together on several occasions, including parties and award shows. However, both the actors maintained that they were just good friends and that there was nothing more to their relationship.
Rashmika talks about Vijay
Rashmika, who frequently engages with her followers on social media, held an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session where she interacted with her fans. During the session, one of her admirers asked her, “How important is Vijay Deverakonda to you?” In response, she posted a boomerang of her and captioned it as “best friend (with a lot of excitement).”
Vijay hugs Rashmika and makes fans go gaga
Vijay was invited to be the chief guest for the promotional event of the movie, Sita Raman, which features Dulquer Salmaan, Rashmika Mandanna, and Mrunal Thakur in the lead roles. During the event, Vijay complimented the actress by saying, “Rashmika, you always look super pretty.” After stepping off the stage, the two hugged each other, and when a video of this moment went viral, fans of Vijay and Rashmika were overjoyed and showered them with admiration for their close bond.
Vijay opens up about his relationship with Rashmika
During an episode on Koffee With Karan, Vijay was asked about Rashmika and their relationship together. Responding to the same, he said, “We’ve done two films together in the early years of my career. She’s a darling and I’m really fond of her. She’s a really good friend.”
He further stated, “Generally, in films, I think you are put in such close proximity very quickly that your bonds develop much quicker. Normally, to sit and look at a girl in the eye and talk to her it would take me a while. But suddenly a director is putting me next to her and asking me to do a montage where I’m touching her cheek and brushing her hair. Suddenly, lots of ice is broken.”
While fans continue to believe that the two are more than just friends, the actors have time and again denied any such rumours.
I’ve been listening to classical music all my life, been to hundreds of symphony orchestra concerts, and even written concert notes for the LA Phil. But I often still feel like a yokel in the woods without a map when it comes to navigating classical music.
So, like a hungry mouse in a maze, I journeyed into the new Classical app from Apple.
Classical is an entirely different species from popular music — i.e., the music of the people for the past century. Pop artists may crib chord progressions from Bach or add string arrangements for sophistication, and pop music certainly wouldn’t exist without its classy ancestor. But the Classical app makes it clear just how disparate these two animals are, and it starts with the way they’re organized and cataloged.
Apple’s regular Music app — the software formerly known as iTunes — was designed with a pop mentality. At its core are “Songs,” which are grouped into “Artists,” “Albums” and “Composers.” Zoom out and you get a few dozen “Genres,” one of which is Classical.
But classical music — a ridiculously blobby umbrella of a term — isn’t divisible by units of songs, or even really artists and albums. Those terms are reflections of pop as an inherently recorded kind of music, an industry built on singles, singers and long-playing records. So the world of Schumann and Schubert always felt shoehorned into that framework.
The first thing you notice when you open the Classical app is a different taxonomy. Instead of “Songs,” there are “Tracks.” And in addition to the usual “Albums,” “Artists,” and “Composers,” you now have “Recordings” and “Works.” Which is much more intuitive and true to the way this “genre” of music has always worked.
Fundamentally, the user interface is exactly the same between the two apps, but the system makes much more sense to a classical brain. You go into Browse and you can select from Composers, Periods, Genres, Conductors, Orchestras, Soloists, Ensembles and Choirs. You can even drill down to individual instruments. In the mood for a saxophone concerto today? This app’s got you covered, baby.
The mere act of sifting through the proverbial crates of classical music is an overwhelming and confusing exercise, partly because it is such a catch-all net for multiple centuries’ worth of composers and compositions and a multitude of repeat interpretations of the same pieces. It also doesn’t help that all classical pieces are saddled with the same uselessly foggy names like “Symphony no. 6” and “Opus 53” and “Movement IV: Andante.”
The app goes a long way in its role as a guide through this mess. For total newbies — or middlebrow morons like myself — the ability to browse by that host of categories above is helpful. There are also loads of curated playlists and “Essential Albums” that let the app take the wheel.
Recently I’ve been wanting to bone up on some specific composers — like Brahms — but I kind of have no idea where to start. And let’s say I just want to start with his symphonies. Who gave the definitive performance of each of those works? Which is the best recording? And would those questions yield two different answers? In the past I’d go to the Brahms “Artist” page in the Music app and be met with a ton of albums in descending order of the most recent recordings… and I’d usually just pick the album with the most attractive cover or one from a famous orchestra.
In the Classical app, I go into Browse > Composer > Johannes Brahms. His music is now organized into Works, which is immediately more useful. Works are automatically listed in order of “Popularity” — meaning, how many recordings there are — but I can also filter them by Name of Work, Opus number, or… Key?? That last one made me laugh out loud. But the way classical works are composed and named (“Viola Sonata No. 2 in A Major”), I suppose it makes sense.
(Today is not an A Major kind of day, I can tell you that much.)
So I find Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, and I can read a concise program note about it, and right away I see the “Editor’s Choice.” Helpful! The editor — whoever that may be — chose a 2005 recording by the London Symphony Orchestra. Why? I have no idea, but it’s great that I don’t have to play duck-duck-goose just to find a solid recording of a piece I want to experience. Below “Editor’s Choice” are listed “Popular Recordings” (again, helpful), and also “Related Works.”
This app seems to have been designed with classical nerds in mind — who else is filtering results by Opus number? — but also curious undergrads in the university of classical music. For novices, the app also has a nine-part series called “The Story of Classical,” where a British guy named Guy Jones (turns out he’s the editor) walks you through… well, the story of classical, narrating a kind of “Dummies Guide” to the whole shebang with curated passages of music to illustrate the history of everything from baroque to contemporary. It’s basically a 101-level appreciation course in podcast form, but I enjoyed it.
I should mention here that my main squeeze is film music — classical’s embarrassing cousin from the country. The reason I chose to subscribe to Apple Music instead of Spotify several years ago was because it had a deeper pocket of film scores. But even Apple insulted me on page one of the setup process when it asked me to pick which genres of music I liked in order to customize an algorithmic profile for me: I could pick from things like ’90s indie rock or smooth jazz or dozens of other micro genres… but film music was not one of them. Shame on you, Apple!
“Film Music” is one of the Genre categories in the new Classical app, and it’s funny to see it squeezed into the classical category of “works.” It makes some sense – the base unit of film music isn’t “songs,” doggone it — but not entirely. Film music is an amphibian halfway between classical and pop, which is one of the reasons I love it so much. But that also makes it hard to systemize.
The vast library of classical music recordings is still a jungle, where tracks are labeled with a word salad of generic titles, opus numbers, movement numbers, and often even the conductor or orchestra’s name. Twentieth century pop music not only simplified the musical language of classical, it also got much better at branding. (Seriously, Brahms: would it kill you to give your symphonies cool and distinct names — like “Mornings at the Brothel” or something?)
I don’t know how often I’ll open the Classical app over Music; there’s a lot of redundancy, and I only seek out classical music when I’m in a particular mood or looking for some education. But I’ll give the app a solid B+ for organizing a lot of the mess and for providing an intuitive guide through the maze.
Apple, whenever you get around to creating a dedicated Film Music app… call me.
A new Marvel Legends figure of the Scarlet Witch has been shown, based on the character’s appearance in Doctor Strange 2.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Stephen Strange was forced to protect America Chavez from the fearsome power of the Scarlet Witch.
Fresh off of her appearance in WandaVision, Maximoff was bitter and lonely and turned to the malevolent power of the Darkhold in an attempt to bring her family back to her.
Seemingly perishing at the end of Multiverse of Madness, the door was left ajar for future appearances of Elizabeth Olsen as the character. This is something that most believe Marvel will definitely capitalize on.
Hasbro Reveals New Wanda Maximoff Figure
The official Marvel site unveiled a new Scarlet Witch Marvel Legends action figure from Hasbro.
The figure is based on her appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and includes details relevant to the character’s look in the film.
The six-inch scale figure reuses a lot of sculpting work from the previous Wanda figure which was released in 2021.
Hasbro
However, the figure’s head sculpt is entirely new and utilizes Hasbro’s proprietary Photo Real face printing technology, which is standard on all of the company’s six-inch scale figure lines.
Hasbro
She also comes packed with a Darkhold accessory plus attachable chaos magic effects for her hands.
Hasbro
The figure is fully articulated, able to be posed threatening America Chavez or wiping out the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. Her fingers are even blackened to simulate the impact which reading the Darkhold has had
Hasbro
This Marvel Legends offering will be available exclusively at Target.
Furthermore, as mentioned above, many fans firmly believe that Wanda’s return is just around the corner, with room for the character to potentially crop up in Agatha: Coven of Chaos or an Avengers movie.
It seems quite logical that Wanda Maximoff will go on to make more MCU appearances. After all, she’s one of the most powerful characters that Marvel Studios has introduced thus far.
With Kang’s wrath on the horizon in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the heroes are going to need all the help they can get, even if it means turning to an individual who has acted against them in the past as Wanda has.
The Scarlet Witch is most assuredly a fan-favorite, so not only will she very likely come back to the MCU, but the above Marvel Legends figure looks to be a fine addition to any Marvel fan’s collection.
Beloved actor and musician Jack Blackhas put himself forward as the new Man of Steel for James Gunn and the DCU’s upcoming reboot, Superman: Legacy. Taking to social media to don the red and blue suit and demonstrate how well-suited he is for the role of the iconic superhero; Black shared an audition video alongside the caption “new universe…” And DC co-chief James Gunn is very much on board.
“What’s up, Jamie Jamie Gunn Gunn? I was just taking a napskie,” Black says in the footage before showing off his affinity for laser vision and taking flight Superman-style. Filmmaker James Gunn then responded to the video in the best way possible saying, “I thought we agreed to save this news for ComicCon.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Of course, Gunn has stated that he will be looking for a younger actor to play the role of Clark Kent aka Superman in the reboot, but thanks to his toddler-like energy, Black could surely pass for a young man in his twenties with ease.
James Gunn Will Reboot the Man of Steel with Superman: Legacy
DC Comics
The Superman franchise is now all set to be rebooted as part of the recalibrated DCU, with Superman: Legacy now scheduled for release on July, 11, 2025. DC Chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran recently revealed details of the shared superhero universe going forward saying, “It’s not an origin story. It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness as old-fashioned.”
Aside from Superman: Legacy,we now have a much better idea of what the DCU will entail. The franchise will begin with the Superman reboot in July 2025, followed by the superhero team-up flick The Authority, a Batman project titled The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, a Swamp Thing reboot, a Wonder Woman prequel series titled Paradise Lost, the animated series Creature Commandos, a series centered on Amanda Waller, a Green Lantern series titled Lanterns, and a series about Booster Gold.
As for Jack Black, he is plenty busy. The actor will next voice the villain, Bowser, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie before returning as the voice of Po in Kung Fu Panda 4. Continuing the voice work, Black will also portray the robot Claptrap in the upcoming live action adaptation of the video game Borderlands.
In an interview with Variety, Miyamoto was asked when the next Mario game would be released, given that Nintendo had just launched a new Super Nintendo World theme park in Hollywood and the Super Mario Bros Movie this week.
Miyamoto laughed and said, according to the video’s subtitles: “Well, all I can say is please stay tuned for future Nintendo Directs”.
What Miyamoto actually said was a little more detailed than this, but gives the same general message.
The Super Mario Bros Movie – final trailer
“I can’t say anything in advance, but we have Nintendo Directs every two or three months, so please look forward to those”, he said.
The last entirely new Mario adventure was Super Mario Odyssey, which was released on the Switch in October 2017.
In the six years that have passed, Switch owners have had numerous remasters and ports of previous Mario games, including New Super Mario Bros U, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario 3D World (the latter coming with a new mini adventure, Bowser’s Fury).
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The Super Mario Bros Movie will release on April 5 in the US and more than 60 markets around the world, including the UK.
The movie stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Jack Black as Bowser and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
Harrison Ford and director James Mangold will be among those to tread the red carpet to a John Williams soundtrack, the festival and Disney said on Monday. The presence of additional cast is currently being worked out, the studio added.
The movie will then release in theaters June 28 in France and June 30 in the U.S.
The festival will also host a career tribute to Ford 15 years after it debuted Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Mangold said today: “In 1995, I was honored to come to Cannes with my first film Heavy, as part of Directors’ Fortnight. Twenty-eight years later, I am proud to return with a slightly larger spectacle. My legendary collaborators and I are very excited to share a brand new and final Indiana Jones adventure with you!”
The Disney and Lucasfilm production is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel, with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers. Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, has again composed the score.
Fox News host Jesse Waters says Donald Trump being indicted on his “hush money” charges endangers his life.
“And I got to tell you. You’re putting Donald Trump’s life in danger,” Waters said on Tuesday during the weekday conservative news show “The Five.”
Trump earlier in the day pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. This comes after the former president was indicted last week, making him the first-ever president to be indicted.
“You’re setting him up and advertising the entire world, the former president of the United States, the Republican nominee for the presidency, is going to be at this location, at this time, on this date. And you’ve got towers, and you’ve got windows,” Waters said, implying that someone could potentially try to harm or even assassinate Trump.
“You think that’s good for this country, to put a man like that in a certain location — December 4. And then what if it goes to trial? He has to be there every day,” Waters questioned. “You think the Secret Service wants that? That is dangerous. And he is playing a dangerous game.”
On Monday, the former president traveled on his Trump plane from Palm Beach, Florida. To New York City to be arraigned, which began at 2:15 p.m. ET. He was brought into criminal court to face charges that he falsified a business record in the first degree. The charge is connected alleged hush money adult film star Stormy Daniels claims Trump paid her in 2016 to keep her quiet about an alleged affair the two had.
In his 16-page indictment prosecutors state Trump “orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant’s electoral prospects.” As part of his plot, prosecutors say Trump had his allies make three payments — $30,000 to a former Trump doorman, $150,000 to a former Playboy modern and $130,000 to Daniels — to cover up his alleged messy behavior.
Judy Farrell, who portrayed Nurse Able on M*A*S*H opposite her then-husband Mike Farrell and later served as a writer on the ABC soap opera Port Charles, has died. She was 84.
Farrell died Sunday at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center of complications from a recent stroke, her son, Michael, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Farrell also appeared on such other shows as Judd for the Defense, Get Smart, Medical Center, Quincy M.E., Emergency!, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Benson and Fame, for which she also wrote an episode.
From 1976-83, the Oklahoma native showed up on eight installments of M*A*S*H. Her first one was 1976’s “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” where Hawkeye (Alan Alda) attempts to fix a gas stove in the nurses’ tent and it blows up, rendering him temporarily blind.
“Alan decided to make it so he really couldn’t see,” she told THR in 2018 in an oral history of the CBS series. “I ended up being the nurse who led him around, except I was always bumping him into stuff because I didn’t know how to lead a blind person around. At one point, Alan turned to me and said, ‘Do your children trust you?’”
Farrell also appeared on the series finale, “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” which attracted a mind-blowing 105 million-plus viewers in the U.S. on Feb. 28, 1983.
Her big-screen résumé included J.W. Coop (1971), Neil Simon’s Chapter Two (1979) and Long-Term Relationship (2006), and she wrote for the General Hospital spinoff Port Charles from 1998-2003.
Then known as Judy Hayden, she met Mike Farrell in a musical-comedy class at UCLA, and they were married from 1963 until their 1983 divorce. (He joined M*A*S*H at the start of its fourth season in 1975 as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt and in 1984 married actress Shelley Fabares.)
Survivors include her second husband, Joe Bratcher (they married in 1985), and her children, Michael and Erin.
If you’re a fan of DC’s larger-than-life superheroes and their breathtaking exploits across various universes, then you’ve probably heard of the legendary DC Multiverse. And if you think that it’s just like Marvel’s Multiverse, well, think again, my friend! The DC Multiverse is an entirely different beast, with a complexity that will leave you reeling. But fear not, for we’re here to guide you through the intricate web of the DC Multiverse.
These stories have been taking place in animation, blockbuster movies, and TV shows, with deep roots in the comic book canon. We’ll unravel the mysteries that make this concept so utterly captivating and endlessly entertaining, and you’ll be blown away by the sheer scope of it all. So strap yourselves in and embark on a mind-bending journey into one of superhero fiction’s most mind-boggling concepts. This is the DC Multiverse—and trust us, you won’t want to miss a thing!
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Defining the DC Multiverse
Warner Bros.
The DC Multiverse is a collection of alternate universes that make up the fictional reality where DC Comics’ characters reside. Each universe within the Multiverse contains a unique version of reality, making it a playground for writers and artists to explore infinite story possibilities. The concept of the Multiverse was first introduced in DC’s Silver Age comics, and it has since become a cornerstone of the DC Universe across all forms of media, from TV shows and animated films to the DCEU.
As you can imagine, this has allowed for some genuinely mind-bending and controversial storylines over the years, such as the Elseworlds tales and revamps to DC’s timeline. But love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the DC Multiverse is one of the most fascinating and endlessly entertaining aspects of the DC Universe.
Why not dive into this complex, intricate web of parallel worlds and see where it takes you?
The DC Multiverse is a boundless expanse of parallel universes, each with its distinct set of physical laws and realities. The sheer vastness of this concept is mind-bending, with an infinite number of universes constantly expanding and evolving. For years, creatives like Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Mark Waid have been working behind the scenes to map out the intricate continuity of the DC Multiverse. Within this expansive network of realities, beloved characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have been reimagined time and time again, each with their unique backstory and characterization.
The diversity of these interpretations makes the DC Multiverse such a fascinating and entertaining aspect of pop culture. However, the complexity of the infinite Earths and universes can be overwhelming for newcomers. Understanding the basics of the DC Multiverse can provide invaluable insight into the complex storytelling across DC’s various mediums, including their animated films, TV shows, and upcoming projects, under the guidance of visionary directors like James Gunn and Peter Safran.
At its simplest, the DC Multiverse comprises infinite alternate universes, each with its own version of Earth. These alternate Earths are often similar to our own, but with slight changes ranging from the trivial (e.g., Superman being a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne) to the drastic (e.g., on one Earth, Lex Luthor is a good guy, and Superman is evil). The most famous parallel Universe in the DC Multiverse is the Anti-Matter Universe, home to the Crime Syndicate, a team of evil counterparts of the Justice League.
DC Multiverses: Too Complex for Their Own Good
DC Comics
Numerous attempts have been made to simplify the complex narrative of the DC Multiverse. The most significant efforts documented are Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. Despite often being confused, these two events are distinct. Crisis on Infinite Earths, for instance, was an event that took place in 1985 and irrevocably transformed the landscape of the DC Universe. Written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by George Perez, the story witnessed the obliteration of multiple universes, culminating in one Universe with one uninterrupted narrative. The story was subsequently adapted for the CW in the Arrowverse, with The Flash, Green Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman all crossing over to recount the story.
In 2006, DC Comics launched Infinite Crisis, an ambitious event designed to reset the DC Universe and streamline its continuity. However, it ultimately left fans even more confused than before. Currently, there are no plans to adapt it for any media. Meanwhile, the Elseworlds stories offer fascinating and innovative tales outside the DC canon. Coined by DC Comics in 1989, the term refers to stories in alternate universes, such as Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, set in Victorian England, or Superman Red Son, where Superman landed in Soviet Russia instead of America. Both of these stories have been adapted into successful animated films. Another compelling Elseworlds story is Kingdom Come, which depicts Superman coming out of retirement to face an apocalypse between superheroes and supervillains. Director James Gunn has hinted that it may be a future project.
Comparing DC and Marvel Multiverses
Marvel Studios/Warner Bros
The fictional multiverses of DC and Marvel are expansive and intricate but differ significantly. The DC Multiverse, which predates Marvel by several decades, encompasses a broader range of characters and stories, owing to its earlier beginnings in the 1930s. In contrast, Marvel’s Universe only came to be in the 1960s. Additionally, the DC multiverse is more closely linked to real-world science and physics than its Marvel counterpart. These variances have given rise to distinct approaches in storytelling, world-building, and character development, making the two multiverses unique in their own right.
When it comes to fictional multiverses, DC and Marvel each have their unique characteristics. One key difference is that multiple universes can exist close and even interact in the DC universe. In contrast, alternate universes are typically isolated in the Marvel universe and rarely cross paths. Additionally, the DC multiverse is known for being more fluid and adaptable, with new storylines and characters easily introduced without causing major continuity issues. On the other hand, the Marvel multiverse has a more established and rigid canon, with changes often met with pushback from fans. These divergent approaches reflect the distinct storytelling styles and philosophies of each franchise.
DC’s Multiverse is widely regarded as being more intricate than Marvel’s. Firstly, it comprises infinite universes, allowing writers much creative freedom. Unlike Marvel, where most stories occur within the central universe, DC allows its writers to explore an extensive array of universes without the constraints of established continuity. Additionally, each universe within the DC Multiverse is distinct and unique, while Marvel’s universes are often similar to the main 616 universe. Finally, DC’s Multiverse continuously evolves, with new characters and storylines frequently introduced, whereas Marvel’s Multiverse tends to remain relatively unchanged.
Storylines That Have Jump-Started the DC Multiverse
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
In the world of DC Comics, fans have grown accustomed to a periodic soft reboot of the continuity, typically occurring every five years. One of the most significant reboots occurred in 2011 with The Flashpoint storyline, which resulted in the creation of The New 52 universe. While this transformation was met with mixed reactions from fans, it proved popular enough to inspire an animated movie adaptation. The entire slate of DC animated films followed suit, consolidating all storylines into a new universe that upended years of established continuity from beloved shows like The Batman Animated Series, The Superman Animated Series, and The Justice League.
DC Comics has undergone multiple reboots and continuity shifts over the years. One such event was Convergence, a nine-week storyline that merged all comic book universes into one and paved the way for the DC Rebirth initiative. Following suit, DC Animation launched a new slate of animated films, starting with Superman: Man of Tomorrow. The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event also united various DC realities, linking iconic iterations of Batman and Superman to the larger DCEU narrative, including the Snyderverse. Fans were excited to see classic versions like Batman 66′, and the Christopher Reeve Superman movies woven into the larger DC tapestry.
Future of the DC Multiverse and the DC Extended Universe
Warner Bros. Pictures
Currently, the future of the DC Multiverse remains to be determined. Warner Bros. has recognized the disarray that has plagued the DC film slate since 2013, and they want to take a page from Marvel Studios’ playbook and create a more cohesive and interconnected universe. As part of this effort, the studio has enlisted the help of producers Peter Safran and James Gunn to start fresh and overhaul everything from the ground up, including scrapping all existing plans for DC animated projects and abandoning the existing CW Arrowverse and Snyderverse continuities.
According to Gunn and Safran, the new plan is to create an interconnected universe that allows for exploring separate storylines by different creators. This approach explains why Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel and Matt Reeves’ Batman universe are considered separate entities. The beauty of multiverses lies in the fact that they offer an infinite canvas for storytelling as long as there are fans to enjoy them. As the DC Multiverse continues to evolve, we can expect some aspects to remain the same while others will undoubtedly change. This evolution guarantees that there will always be something fresh and captivating for fans to discover within the DC Multiverse.
Three directors in the evolving, wildly popular true crime genre said it’s so much more than that as they talked memory, indoctrination, justice, trust and the serendipity of chronicling events that are unfolding across a trio of captivating documentary series.
Jehane Noujaim, Nanfu Wang and Todd Schramke, directors and executive producers of, respectively, The Vow, Mind Over Murder and The Anarchists, joined the “HBO Doc Panel: Crime and Justice” as part of the Deadline FYC House + HBO Max screening and panel series.
Noujaim’s The Vow, Part II follows the NXIVM self-improvement group/sex cult, whose leader Keith Raniere was convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. It shows a world run by indoctrination, where people can be both victims and perpetrators – “one of the reasons why it’s so difficult for courts to prosecute cults,” Noujaim told the panel moderator, Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson.
Schramke’s documentary, set amid a convention of anarchists in Acapulco, was well underway before being interrupted by a death. “We didn’t really know there was going to be a crime. But the probability was definitely in our favor. Fourth most dangerous city in the world,” he said. He started out in 2016 making a doc on the cryptocurrency movement “from the perspective of the people who are driven by the ideology [and] it just kind of unfolded as it did.”
Within the anarchist community, two couples emerged and clashed: one well-to-do, who left the U.S. with their children to find a freer life in Mexico; the other, young fugitives on the run from drug charges. “Even within the most, sort of fringe, political ideological realm there was this pattern we see in our society, which is that there’s class conflict at the root of everything,” Schramke said. “The personal journey and experience of those driven by the events” is what matters.
All three talked about building trust. It’s why Nanzy Salzman, a close associate of Raniere’s, opened up to The Vow filmmakers in surprising ways in Season 2. “I’d approached her about a year before she actually met with me,” Noujaim said. “I spent the previous three years filming people who were trying to take down the organization, and from the completely other side … and finally, I was sitting with the person who had access to all this information.”
Wang’s psychologically complex story Mind Over Murder follows six individuals convicted of then exonerated many years later for a 1985 murder in Beatrice, NE. Confessions had been twisted out of them and most actually still remembered committing the crime, even though they know they didn’t. The family of the victim, tied for years to one narrative, also refuses to believe the innocence of the Beatrice Six, as they’re called. The six-part series “is not about crime,” Wang said. “I was fascinated by memory.”
“When a false narrative is told to you. And for years and decades, if someone believed in that false narrative — which is, I think, [reflective of] our current political and social state — what would it take for them to see it differently?”
We had seriously considered an April Fool’s edition of Don’t-Miss Indies this month full of Latvian Redbox actioners, but thought better of such trickery at the eleventh hour. After all, our beloved constituents deserve better than a perplexing blurb about The Humanity Bureau starring Nicolas Cage. And anyway there are too many great, legitimate titles to skip. So bunker down with some Cadbury Creme eggs at the art house and enjoy!
PRETTY BABY: BROOK SHIELDS
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
Director: Lana Wilson
Why We’re Excited: Two-time Film Independent Spirit Award nominee Lana Wilson’s two-part documentary tracks child star Shields, from her rise to fame in Reagan-era hits Pretty Baby and TheBlue Lagoon through her 40-plus years in Hollywood. Amidst the tumult of growing up in the public eye–she landed her first commercial at 11-months-old, as the Ivory soap baby–she also had to deal with her alcoholic mother and manager. Delving into the industry’s perpetual fascination and compulsion in sexualizing teenage and preteen girls on screens big and small, the 138-minute film follows the actress who was turned into a provocative sex symbol at the tender age of 15, when The Blue Lagoon was released in 1980.
JUNIPER
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: VOD
Director: Matthew J. Saville
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, George Ferrier, Marton Csokas, Edith Poor
Why We’re Excited: Set in the 1990s in rural New Zealand, actor-turned-filmmaker Matthew J. Saville’s directorial debut follows trouble teenager Sam (Ferrier), who is still trying to process the recent death of his mother. As if that’s not bad enough, his father Robert (Csokas) drags him back from boarding school for the sole purpose of “babysitting” grandmother Ruth (European arthouse mainstay, Rampling) while she recovers from a broken leg. When Robert takes off for England on business, the harsh and temperamental grandmother and rowdy grandson are forced to figure out a way to co-exist without making things worse. When a tragic incident befalls the family, they have no choice but to rely on each other, forging an unexpected bond in the process.
AIR
When You Can Watch: April 5
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Viola Davis
Why We’re Excited: One of the 2021 Black List screenplays, this fact-based sports drama by Ben Affleck (Argo, The Town) is Amazon Studios’ first theatrical-only wide release since 2019’s Late Night (the film will debut on Prime Video at a later date). Years before NBA icon Michael Jordan became a household name worldwide, maverick Nike sales exec Sonny Vaccaro (Damon, a Spirit Awards producing alum for Manchester by the Sea) and Nike co-founder Phil Knight (Affleck) takes a huge gamble to sign the then-rookie Jordan–with the help of his (Jordan’s) mother Deloris (two-time Spirit Awards nominee, Davis). The unprecedented partnership soon becomes a cultural phenomenon with the launching of the Air Jordan brand. While Jordan is not directly involved with the project and his character is not portrayed in this film, he reportedly gave Affleck his blessings and suggested the casting of Viola Davis.
BEEF
When You Can Watch: April 6
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
Creator: Lee Sung Jin
Cast: Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Joseph Lee, David Choe
Why We’re Excited: First-time series creator Lee Sung Jin’s (writer of Silicon Valley and Dave) 10-episode black comedy is directed by Jake Schreier (Dave, Minx) and Hikari (Tokyo Vice), with Lee himself helming the finale episode. After Danny Cho (Spirit Awards alum for Minari, Yeun) and Amy Lau (Netflix’s rom-com Always Be My Maybe’s Wong) crash into each other in a parking lot, what initially comes off as a road rage episode soon unravels the chaotic forces behind each character leading up to this pivotal moment. To start, Danny struggles with his parents’ deportation back to Korea and owes a large sum to violent cousin Isaac (Choe), while Amy wrestles with her failing houseplant business and has to fend off her meddling mother-in-law.
Why We’re Excited: Premiering at last year’s Toronto film festival, NEON’s environmentalist drama is writer-director Goldhaber’s first feature in five years, following 2018’s psychological horror Cam. With an axe to grind after her mother’s recent death in a heat wave, Xochitl (Barer) leads a group of eight climate activists. Growing weary of the persistent lack of meaningful action in mitigating climate change, the group resorts to physical violence, sabotaging an oil pipeline in West Texas. Describing this film as a heist thriller, Roger Ebert’s movie critic Brian Tallerico hones in on the perceived sense of urgency in the film: “This is a movie that is tired of talk; the time for action is yesterday.”
CARMEN
When You Can Watch: April 21
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Director: Benjamin Millepied
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma
Why We’re Excited: A newly minted Spirit Awards nominee for his lead role in Aftersun, Paul Mescal’s next big screen project is director Millepied’s (choreographer on Black Swan) take on Bizet’s famous opera of the same name. In this bilingual English/Spanish musical drama, Carmen (Barrera) is forced to flee her home in Mexico when her mother is brutally murdered. Amidst a deadly standoff at the border crossing, she falls in love with border guard–and former Marine reeling from PTSD–Aidan (Mescal). They escape north to Los Angeles, seeking refuge with her mother’s best friend, Masilda (de Palma), who owns the La Sombra nightclub. Premiering at the Toronto festival last fall, Millepied’s feature debut is scored by Nicholas Britell (Moonlight, The Big Short, and HBO’s drama powerhouse Succession).
Why We’re Excited: Shot in Prague, Czech Republic, this Searchlight drama set in 18th century Paris is based on the life of French-Caribbean composer and violinist Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (portrayed by Spirit Awards nominee for Luce, Harrison, Jr.). The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, the composer rose to fame in French society in a world that did not embrace his existence, going back to his days of being bullied in an elite boarding school. There is also his turbulent affair with Marie Antoinette (Weaving) that would eventually compel him to lead Europe’s first all-Black regiment during the French Revolution.
Why We’re Excited: A Spirit Award nominee for 2018’s horror hit Hereditary, Ari Aster’s latest offering is a surrealist black comedy. With a production budget of $35 million, the film is indie arthouse darling A24’s most expensive film to date. The story follows neurotic and paranoid man Beau, played by Phoenix, a Spirit Award Robert Altman Award winner for 2014’s Inherent Vice. When his overbearing mother Mona (LuPone) passes away, his journey home is a creepy and hilarious trek that includes being kidnapped by a suburban couple (Lane and Ryan), harassed by a paint-drinking teenager, and a run-in with an experimental theater troupe. Clocking in at two hours and 59 minutes, the film was shot in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, a suburb of Montreal, over the summer of 2021.
DEAD RINGERS
When You Can Watch: April 21
Where You Can Watch: Amazon Prime
Creator: Alice Birch
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Michael Chernus, Poppy Liu, Britne Oldford
Why We’re Excited: Undergoing a gender-swap, this limited series remake of the 1988 David Cronenberg film stars Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Lobster) as identical twins Elliot and Beverly Mantle, both of whom grow up to become gynecologists. Set in Manhattan in the near future, the six-episode psychological thriller follows the Mantle Twins as they push the boundaries of science–and medical ethics–all in the name of trying to improve childbirth and maternal care for women from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Created by British playwright and screenwriter Birch (Succession, Lady Macbeth), the creative team behind this project consists mostly of women, including an all-female writers room, which Weisz was also a part of.
Why We’re Excited: Based on Judy Blume’s 1970 YA classic by the same name, writer-director Craig’s big screen adaptation follows 11-year-old Margaret (Fortson), who is forced to leave New York City for the burbs of New Jersey with her family, including her Christian mother Barbara (Robert Altman Award winner for Spotlight, McAdams) and Jewish father Herb (two-time Spirit Award winner, Safdie). In the midst of wrestling with the trials and tribulations of adolescence (buying a bra, first experience with menstruation, etc.), Margaret is also going through a crisis of faith as a result of her parents’ interfaith marriage.
Grim-faced Donald Trump sat silently in court yesterday — as the first former US President to be criminally chargedCredit: AP
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Trump is accused over alleged hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, above, and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal in 2016Credit: Refer to caption
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Trump was wearing his trademark red tie and dark blue suit for the historic court hearingCredit: EPA
After a clerk read out the indictment number, 71543, at the New York hearing, the former President stayed seated and, in a throaty voice, declared: “Not guilty.”
Trump is accused over alleged hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal in 2016.
Earlier, he appeared calm and mostly stared ahead as he and his legal team entered the 15th-floor room of the Manhattan Criminal Courts building.
Known as Part 59, it is the same court where film mogul Harvey Weinstein was put on trial for rape and sexual assault.
Before the hearing, Trump was fingerprinted and processed inside the courthouse — but he didn’t have his mugshot taken.
The hearing was then slightly delayed as his legal team reviewed the indictment.
Journalists allowed on the 15th floor were subjected to a bag search. Two dozen police stood guard along the corridor, where the bathrooms had been closed.
A total of 24 court security officers and police plus four Secret Service agents stood guard.
Five sketch artists sat in the jury box, furiously trying to capture the unprecedented scene.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg entered the court shortly before Trump and took a seat at the front right.
As tension mounted and the temperature rose — the air conditioning was not on and the blinds were shut — Trump entered at 2.29pm, 14 minutes late.
He was wearing his trademark red tie and dark blue suit.
He walked slowly towards the front, staring straight ahead.
The ex-President stood with his arms by his sides before being shown to a seat to the left where he sat next to his attorneys, Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche.
Judge Juan Merchan ordered both sides to calm down after prosecutors complained about Trump’s recent social media posts, including one of him holding a baseball bat against the head of the top prosecutor in the case.
The judge said he was not issuing a gagging order, as had been suggested, as Trump was a “candidate for President of the United States” and his “First Amendment rights are critically important”.
After the hearing, which lasted just under an hour, Trump took a private jet to his Florida home.
He was due to address his supporters from there late last night. Trump denies the claim by 44-year-old Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, that they had sex once in 2006.
The alleged affair came a year after he had married wife Melania.
He also denies wrongdoing related to the £104,000 ($130,000) payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen allegedly gave Daniels to keep quiet about the tryst before the 2016 presidential election.
Ahead of the historic hearing, Trump lashed out at Mr Bragg and claimed the DA had been influenced in bringing the charges by his wife, Jamila.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I’m sure, very proud of him!”
A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump last Thursday but the charges had remained under seal.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about President Joe Biden’s reaction to Trump’s arraignment and said: “This is not his focus today.”
Trump critic Rep Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, tweeted: “A sombre moment in the life of our country, when it is necessary to arraign a former president on criminal charges. As the case falls to the District Attorney to prove, we must recognise what is most important: Even the most powerful are held to account, and that nobody is above the law.”
Earlier in the day the former President was seen leaving his Trump Tower residence in the city.
And he wrote: “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse.
“Seems so surreal — Wow, they are going to arrest me.
“Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
Trump arrived at the court building in Manhattan flanked by a secret service and police motorcade.
Police estimated there were 300 Trump supporters near the court, with about 150 demonstrating against him. There were scuffles before police separated the groups in a park behind barricades.
Anti-Trump protesters rolled out a sign saying: “Trump lies all the time.” Another said: “Lock him up.”
Trump supporters, meanwhile, waved banners declaring “Trump or Death” and wrapped themselves in American flags.
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Anti-Trump protester in a prison outfit outside the courtCredit: Reuters
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Supporters of the ex-President make there thoughts clear with placards and T-shirtsCredit: AP
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A Trump supporter, left, clashes with a rival at the courtCredit: Getty
Pro-Trump politician Marjorie Taylor Greene walked through the crowd and made bizarre claims comparing him to Jesus.
She said: “President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history in being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison.
“Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government.”
Journalists began lining up outside the court at 2pm on Monday.
Judge Merchan banned TV cameras from the court after Trump’s lawyers argued it would create a “circus-like atmosphere”.
Reporters were banned from using phones and laptops.
Trump is now due to reappear in court in December. If found guilty he could face jail, although that is thought to be unlikely.
Donald Trump’s 34 charges
DONALD Trump denied 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree and conspiracy over his alleged role in giving cash to an adult film star to hush up an affair.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to Stormy Daniels by ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
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A defiant Donald Trump denied the 34 counts against himCredit: Getty
Trump acknowledged reimbursing him, and this is not illegal, but the record of the payment claimed it was for legal fees.
Prosecutors say this amounts to falsifying business records, with each cheque Trump wrote counted as separate charges.
GOTCHA, GRANT
THE only other serving or former US President to be arrested was Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 — but he didn’t end up in court.
The keen rider was still in office when he was nicked in Washington DC for speeding in a horse-drawn carriage. Cop William West told him apologetically: “Duty is duty, sir.”
Grant failed to attend court so sacrificed his $20 bond — about $493, or £394, today.
Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid film had a lot of people talking about who they wanted as Prince Eric after Halle Bailey landed the part of Ariel.
One of the names that fans suggested was Harry Styles and director Rob Marshall is now confirming he did have a meeting with the singer and why it ultimately didn’t work out.
“We met with him. He was lovely. What a wonderful guy,” Marshall told EW in an interview about the former One Direction member. “But at the end of the day, he really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker.”
Styles has since starred in films like Don’t Worry Darling opposite Florence Pugh and Chris Pine as well as My Policeman with David Dawson and Emma Corrin.
Marshall said that due to Styles already being a singer, he was probably trying to go in a different direction as an actor.
“That’s why he was really looking to do something not in the musical genre, to really stretch himself,” Marshall added. “It was really a fun idea to play with, but in the end, I always think things happen for a reason. I’m so happy to have two young, new people in the film.”
The role of Prince Eric ultimately went to Jonah Hauer-King, whom Marshall was impressed by during his audition process.
“I’m always looking for the person who’s deeply connected to a part,” Marshall said. “The words come off the page [and] all of a sudden they’re in his mouth, and it sounds true and real. You believe the person.”
The Little Mermaid hits theaters on May 26 with Melissa McCarthy also starring in the film.
A kidnapping in Rome sets off events that have all three “FBI” teams banding together in a three-hour event on Tuesday, April 4. Jeremy Sisto’s character, special agent Jubal Valentine, jets from the New York Field office to Italy to help out “FBI: International” star Scott Forrester, who’s played by Luke Kleintank. Meanwhile, Stuart Scola (John Boyd) goes undercover and teams up with Remy Scott (Dylan McDermott) of “FBI: Most Wanted” to stop a mass-casualty terror attack in New York City.
Ahead of the episode, Sisto told TheWrap what to expect from Jubal being a “fish out of water” overseas without his usual team around him, his theory on why his character speaks Italian, and which actor he’d like to play Jubal’s Italian grandfather should a future storyline require it.
The crossover starts with “FBI: International,” then segues back to “FBI,” finishing with the Fugitive Task Force on “FBI: Most Wanted.” It’s written by “FBI” showrunner Rick Eid and Sisto describes it as “a really well-crafted story that is emotional and dynamic.”
(L-R): Luke Kleintank as Special Agent Scott Forrester, Jeremy Sisto as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine, Carter Redwood as Special Agent Andre Raines, and Heida Reed as Special Agent Jamie Kellett. (Stefano Montesi/CBS)
TheWrap: We get to see Jubal out in the field in this episode, how does that play out? Jeremy Sisto: Jubal gets to do some stuff that you don’t usually get to see him do. He’s in Rome, so when you’re chasing bad guys, he’s chasing them over cobblestone streets and 1000-year-old tunnels and over ruins. He’s using weapons we’ve never seen him use before. It’s a pretty exciting world to throw Jubal into. He’s definitely a fish out of water. But, he’s not afraid to push the boundaries. Because of his recent challenges [including relapsing after several years’ sobriety earlier this season], he really feels motivated to play this right to be a great leader in this situation.
How well does he work with Forrester and the international office? Jubal is used to having 50 people around him who are there solely to help him connect the dots and get ahead of the criminals and suddenly he’s in a different country where he doesn’t have the same level of access. Fortunately, Forrester and his team are a bit more accustomed to it. But there’s definitely some arm wrestling that goes on to try to figure out how far they can push those boundaries to do their job. It really shows how the FBI works, how this intricate web of people are assessing threats throughout the world. They’re protecting American lives. And a lot of those threats start overseas. That’s why we have an international team and so to connect that team to the New York office, to me, was totally right.
Nina (Shantel VanSanten) also goes to Rome on this case. What’s that dynamic like? That’s an interesting storyline since she’s pregnant with Scola’s child. It’s kind of similar to Maggie (Missy Peregrym) and OA (Zeeko Zaki) when she came back after being exposed to nerve gas. How can you care about somebody’s safety while also respecting that their job is to be in danger? That they put themselves in danger willingly and you can’t demand that they are overly cautious?
Does Jubal speak any Italian? He did, and it was kind of on the fly and I was hoping the higher-ups wouldn’t hate me for it. But it just felt right. I thought it was cool that Jubal spoke a little Italian in specific situations.
What’s your theory on how Jubal knows Italian? He is much smarter than me. I think he picked up one of those apps on the way over to play on the long plane ride. I think he studied it. I’ve got Italian heritage, so I feel that Jubal could as well, given that we share the same body (Laughs). I feel like he’s got some Italian in him. Somewhere in his family is an Italian relative and he learned it through spending time with that person. But I try not to go too deep into the backstory. I tried to give them little hints and then, who knows? Maybe there’s an episode with an old Italian man and suddenly I have a cool Italian grandfather.
Since we’re off on this tangent, who would you cast as Jubal’s grandfather? Rocco Sisto. He’s a great actor. He did “Donnie Brasco” with Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. And actually I worked with him briefly on… I don’t remember what. But he gave me all this stuff about our Sisto family and he should definitely play my grandfather.
Are you actually related to him? Well, we don’t think so. But there’s a lot of Sistos in southern Italy. Perhaps distant cousins. He is the only other Sisto I know of in the industry.
Did you watch Season 2 of “The White Lotus?” Did you relate to the Italian Americans trying to find their ancestors? I did. I have been to Bari, where my family’s from. I played Jesus in a [1999] miniseries that was partially funded through Italian production and so the Roman Catholic Church was involved. I got to meet the Pope and the mayor and we shook hands and walked around the city. I’ve been there a few times. When I’m around Italian people, they feel like family.
The three-hour crossover event, “Imminent Threat,” airs Tuesday, April 4 from 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on CBS and is available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
National Geographics dropped the first trailer for A Small Light (above), a limited series sharing a different perspective of the Anne Frank story.
The 8-part series premieres Monday, May 1, at 9/8c on Nat Geo with two back-to-back episodes, with new episodes dropping on Mondays at 9/8c. All episodes will be available to stream the next day via Disney+ and Hulu.
A Small Light tells the story of 20-something secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who didn’t hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) asked her to hide him and his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole) and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex. It was Miep who found Anne’s (Billie Boullet) diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world. The series title comes from something Gies said late in her life: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
“Hannibal” never should’ve worked on broadcast television.
When it premiered a decade ago on April 4, 2013, NBC’s take on Hannibal Lecter (masterfully played by Mads Mikkelson) must have been Standards and Practices’ worst nightmare.
Each episode presented audiences with brutal, blood-drenched killings that were artfully rendered, as if they were paintings sprawled across the ceilings of cathedrals. Bodies were skinned to look like angels, mounted like deer antlers, fertilized as flower beds, hollowed out as human beehives. Creator Bryan Fuller and his executive producer, the late Martha De Laurentiis, repeatedly redrew the line for how much blood could be spilled on TV before your local news aired at 11 p.m.
For good measure, “Hannibal” also set the standard for exquisitely filmed culinary creations that looked good enough to eat –– until you remembered where the chef was sourcing his meat.
Looking back, the boundary-pushing series was far better suited for HBO, or a cable network like FX or AMC. Streaming might have taken a chance on the built-in IP from Thomas Harris’ novels, but Netflix had only just premiered its first original series, “House of Cards,” two months earlier. The concept of a streaming service was still in its infancy.
And yet, “Hannibal” managed to survive three perfectly portioned seasons on broadcast — a lot longer than most of its characters.
At its core was the emotionally charged relationship between gifted FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Mikkelson’s distinctive Hannibal, a serial killer and cannibal who serves as Will’s therapist before slowly inducting him into his murderous worldview. Attempting to wrangle Will’s fragile mental state are his boss, Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), and his friend Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas), an FBI psychiatrist..
The series never attracted the attention of the Television Academy for Emmys, nor did it set Nielsen ratings aflame. But it cultivated a devoted fanbase, known as Fannibals, who still beat the drum for a revival long after the series finale ended with a bloodied embrace and a cliff dive.
In honor of its 10th anniversary, we’ve ranked “Hannibal’s’ 13 best episodes, which is no easy endeavor for a show crafted with the precision of a scalpel. Like any good meal, this ranking is guided by the palette, and may vary by reader.
“Antipasto” (Season 3, Episode 1)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Hannibal on holiday is an enticing palette cleanser after the bloodbath that is the Season 2 finale (we’ll get there). Season 3 of “Hannibal” will be a lot of things –– the arrival of the Red Dragon, the tug-of-war between Hannibal and Will, the vengeance of Alana and the end of the series. But this first taste in the premiere, with Hannibal having fled to Paris with his captive former therapist Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson), is a confident mood setter. Against the lavish French scenery, watching Hannibal make no pains to hide the decadent monster he is in front of the traumatized Bedelia is riveting. The moment she realizes she’s being fed foods that will make her taste better –– whether as a threat or a promise –– will chill you to your core.
“Futamono” (Season 2, Episode 6)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Nothing sounds more threatening in Hannibal’s world than a dinner party, especially when you aren’t sure if the food on the plate once had a Social Security number. Jack isn’t convinced that Will’s rantings about Hannibal’s cannibalistic nature are true. But he’s skeptical enough to test what he’s being served. Naturally, it comes back as traditional farm-to-table meat, and that’s because the real dinner is being saved for a special guest –– Dr. Abel Gideon (Eddie Izzard), a conniving killer Hannibal kidnaps in order to silence. He will be served a last supper, his own leg, before the hour is up.
“The Number of the Beast Is 666” (Season 3, Episode 12)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Season 3 adapts the Red Dragon storyline from Harris’ books on its own terms, but one thing remains intact –– a sequence in which a baited “The Tooth Fairy” killer Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage) kidnaps a poor soul to whom he rants to about his killings before biting off his victim’s lips and burning him alive. It’s a prolonged sequence that’s not easy to watch, but its unforgiving cruelty shows the threat Will and company face ahead of the series finale. The entire arc is a great showcase for Rutina Wesley as Dolarhyde’s human obsession, Reba. But perhaps more than anything, the anger that fuels the episode teases the untapped wrath within Will that will soon rear its head.
“Apéritif” (Season 1, Episode 1)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Pilot episodes often stumble under the weight of expository world building, and “Hannibal’s” pilot is not perfect. But it is incredibly effective in casting a villainous icon of the big screen in a new light. The opening sequence leans heavily on Will’s keen ability to literally step into the minds of killers, putting the show’s unique procedural POV front and center. But it also primes the audience to understand their hero’s fraught mind before ever putting him in the path of his eventual friend, foe, partner, mentor and everything else Hannibal will play for him. “Hannibal” doesn’t waste a second telling viewers it is not for the weak stomached or faint hearted with its rich and unforgiving visual style. Plus, no show churns out striking serial killer nicknames like this one. The pilot alone gives us “The Minnesota Shrike” and “The Chesapeake Ripper.”
“Fromage” (Season 1, Episode 8)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Considering all it would become, it’s easy to forget “Hannibal” began as a killer-of-the-week procedural. That framework was deployed less and less by Season 2, but “Fromage” was when it was at its best and weirdest. A killer who cuts open his victim’s throat and inserted a cello neck in through his mouth to be played for an audience of one. It’s silly and unnecessarily grotesque, but it’s all a means to an end. The killer wants Hannibal’s attention, and he gets it, eventually coming to blows with the therapist in his office — a tussle the victorious Hannibal uses as cover to kill one of his own patients who annoys him.
“Savoureux” (Season 1, Episode 13)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Finales will be a common theme in this list, and the Season 1 ender returns to the scene of the crime (literally) as Will’s sanity hangs in the balance. Hannibal’s manipulations and the stress of everything that has happened since killing Garret Jacob Hobbs (Vladimir Jon Cubrt) in the pilot has left Will with dementia-like episodes. His latest is so severe he coughs up an ear, for real. He’s convinced he killed and ate Abigail (Kacey Rohl), Hobbs’ daughter whom Will and Hannibal have come to protect and, in the latter’s case, influence. While this finale is not as grand as its successors, it does stand as the first time Will’s mental instability gives way to the clarity of Hannibal for who he is –– something that repulses and intrigues the fragile hero.
“Mizumono” (Season 2, Episode 13)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
The FBI lost a lot of agents in the course of Hannibal’s tenure, from consultant to target. But none stung or shocked more than the demise of Beverly Katz (Hettienne Park), who is found vertically vivisected and displayed in nauseating fashion. The loss comes in the middle of Will’s imprisonment, but that doesn’t stop him from visiting the crime scene at Jack’s behest, like so many times before. Only this time, he’s in a straitjacket and restrained to a standing wheelchair with a bite guard and an armed escort. It might seem overkill, but Will proves he’s capable of anything when he enlists a deranged orderly (Jonathan Tucker) to try to assassinate Hannibal.
“Contorno” (Season 3, Episode 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Hannibal’s unfailing streak of evading suspicion and capture finally comes to an end in this exceptionally satisfying Season 3 installment. After he manages to avoid being sold to meat-packaging heir and self-mutilating sadist Mason Verger (Joe Anderson), Hannibal believes he is in the clear. Until a vengeful Jack shows up and brutally beats up his former ally, reminding Hannibal and the audience that he is what he eats after all — human. Hannibal survives Jack’s best attempt to finish him off, but it was a worthy rematch following their Season 2 finale bout that left Jack on death’s door (more on that later).
“Entrée” (Season 1, Episode 6)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
This episode marks the arrival of three essential characters in the mythology of “Hannibal” the series. First, there’s the pitch-perfect casting of Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”) as Miriam Lass — an FBI trainee bearing shades of Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling — who disappeared years earlier while investigating the Chesapeake Ripper’s killings. She was the first to make the connection to Hannibal and paid the price for it, or so it seems. Then there’s the odd couple of Dr. Frederick Chilton (Raúl Esparza), and his murderous psychiatric inmate Dr. Abel Gideon (the aforementioned Eddie Izzard). All three become important prongs in Hannibal’s evasive game through Season 2, none of which would be possible without their stellar introduction to the board.
“Digestivo” (Season 3, Episode 7)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
Conversations about cannibalism were always going to be on the menu for “Hannibal,” and Mason Verger doesn’t play coy when he finally gets his hands on Will and Hannibal. He’s going to cut off Will’s face and wear it while he eats Hannibal. Some people just have to outdo everyone, don’t they? Fortunately, Alana’s bad streak has put her in the orbit of the Vergers, and she brokers a deal with a caged Hannibal to free him, save Will and kill Mason. There’s also the messy business of a pig surrogate for a human baby, and a quest to preserve Mason’s sperm that’s too convoluted to explain. Ultimately, all Mason eats is a mouthful of his pet eel, and Hannibal and Will make it back to the United States just in time for Hannibal to surrender and take his turn behind the signature mask.
“Yakimono” (Season 2, Episode 7)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
This is the perfect example of the show’s long-game storytelling paying off in spades. First spun in “Entrée,” the threads of long-lost Miriam (who is shockingly discovered alive at the end of “Futamono”), Chilton and Gideon all converge in dramatic fashion. The miraculous rescue of Miriam may ease Jack’s guilt over her mysterious disappearance, but it turns out her kidnapper, Hannibal, has brainwashed her to falsely identify Chilton as the Ripper. He has also planted the mutilated bodies of Gideon and a few FBI agents in Chilton’s home for added confirmation. By the end, what began as divergent stories a season earlier collide in an expertly executed twist. But the episode’s final note is one of poetic tragedy. Miriam is finally free of her captor, but she’s so overcome at the mere sight of Chilton that she shoots him in the face in front of Jack –– an action that will likely rob her of any return to normalcy.
“The Wrath of the Lamb” (Season 3, Episode 13)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
The inciting incident of the series finale finds Dolarhyde faking his death as a means of freeing Hannibal from his luxurious prison cell so he can kill him and Will. Tracking them to Hannibal’s conveniently remote cliffside house, he takes his best shot. But even with the various stab and gunshot wounds between them, Hannibal and Will come together to hunt their prey in unison, viciously murdering Dolarhyde with both a knife and teeth. It is a moment three seasons in the making, and one they celebrate by embracing cliffside. “This is all I have ever wanted for you, Will,” Hannibal says. “For both of us.” Will grins through his blood-stained teeth to speak the series’ final two words: “It’s beautiful.” Then, they tumble over the edge, together in death or in a next chapter we won’t see.
“Mizumono” (Season 2, Episode 13)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC
If you don’t go into the Season 2 finale with an elevated heart rate, you clearly haven’t been watching. “Hannibal” always understood how to build an almost unbearable tension, and this episode cuts into it as effectively as Hannibal in the kitchen. No one believed this man would go quietly when the time came, but who could have predicted the season’s final course? Jack’s inevitable smackdown with Hannibal (we will never open the refrigerator door the same way again!) ends with him profusely bleeding out in a wine cellar. Alana’s attempt at intervening fails when she’s thrown from a second-story window by resurfaced Hannibal acolyte Abigail. But what of Will?
Much has been made about the sexual tension between Hannibal and Will, and this masterpiece of an episode plainly spells out what they mean to each other. “I let you know me, see me,” Hannibal confesses to Will after he crudely cuts open his stomach. “I gave you a rare gift, but you didn’t want it.” The two never consummated their relationship, nor did they have to. For both, there is nothing more intimate than a companionship blessed in blood. Something we watch come true in the aforementioned series finale. But Will isn’t ready to see what Hannibal sees in him. Instead, in this captivating climax, Hannibal is no more than a lethal man betrayed by the person he loves most. For all the gruesome artistry and luxurious dinners the show cooked up over three seasons, this episode proved Will and Hannibal’s relationship was always its most flavorful dish.
April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. But it is also, if I check the clock, Mario Time.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” with its vistas of primary colors, is here to brighten our dreary springs, T.S. Eliot be damned. That there is a swell of enthusiasm for a Mario Bros. movie is a once-unthinkable development. The last time Mario hit the big screen was in the little-remembered 1993 live-action film with Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi and Dennis Hopper(!) as Bowser. Hoskins called the experience “a f——— nightmare.”
But a lot has changed in the three decades since “Super Mario Bros,” the very first video-game adaptation. A once widely derided genre is now a cash cow. “The Last of Us” is a massive success on HBO. Pokémon and “Uncharted” are box-office hits. With Sonic the Hedgehog already two movies in, Mario is playing catch up.
Warp into the new official #SuperMarioMovie trailer.
And “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which opens in theaters Wednesday, is a spirited and sprightly attempt to race to the front of the pack. A collaboration between legendary video-game designer and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (both producers), it’s a drastically more sincere effort to capture the fun and spirit of the Nintendo game.
And visually, it’s a dream. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and their animators have rendered the Mario universe with cartoony splendor, matching the game’s ingenious simplicity with a more robust and equally delightful day-glo palate. If part of the appeal of playing “Super Mario Bros.” and its many off-shoots has always been to be immersed in such a sunny imaginary world — plus the bouncy earworm compositions of composer Koji Kondo — the movie has successfully mirrored that mushroom-stomping pleasure. It makes you … want to play Mario.
That’s because as nice as it is to look at “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” it’s not anywhere near as fun as it would be to play it. It’s a-him, Mario, but it’s no a-masterpiece. The storyline is only a touch above the interstitial bits of plot you usually get between gameplay. With the exception of Jack Black’s grandly lovesick Bowser (he’s part Phantom of the Opera, part Meatloaf-styled balladeer), there’s nothing here that deepens these characters beyond their usual 2-D adventures. Mario may be a modern-day Mickey Mouse but his kingdom is on the console.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” begins much like Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”: in a Brooklyn pizza parlor. There Mario (Chris Pratt, passable despite the outcry) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are struggling to get their plumbing business off the ground. There are a few moments of stereotypical Italian life — pasta and a big family dinner — before the brothers’ attempt to fix a water main break drops them through a portal and into the fantasy realm of the game. (In future Brooklyn-set sequels, Mario will presumably combat waves of strollers and hipsters.)
On the other side, Bowser lords over a Koopa Troop army in scenes that can feel like the most surreal imitation yet of “Triumph of the Will.” But while shrinking or enlarging are possible on this other side of the green pipe, there’s never any mention of the possibility of lives being lost as Mario makes his way through mushroom patches and question-mark boxes. His predicament is just as clear as in the game: He’s been separated from Luigi and he must help save Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) from being forced to wed Bowser.
Game logic often dictates Mario’s movements. The shells of the turtle-like Koopas can be slid around like ammo. And choosing a Mario Kart vehicle is just as difficult a decision. Sometimes, the overlap is less consistent. An invisibility star is the most sought-after item in this adventure, greatly exaggerating its typical usefulness. Those things last for like 10 seconds.
None of this is likely to be enough for anyone to exclaim “Oh, yeah!” while hopping up and down and doffing their cap. But it is an hour and a half’s worth of superlative marketing that will whet your appetite for more Mario back home on the couch. If anything, the — as Mario would say — “okey dokey” “Super Mario Bros. Movie” only reinforces the distance between two wholly different mediums. It may be game-on for video-game adaptations but the Mario main event is still back on Nintendo.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for action and mild violence. Running time: 92 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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Frank Grillo, who played Crossbones in the MCU‘s Captain America films, shared his disappointment with his time in the super-powered franchise.
Frank Grillo Grills the MCU
Marvel Studios
Speaking in a new interview, Captain America: The Winter Soldier star Frank Grillo had some choice words about his time in the MCU.
Grillo told ComicBook.com‘s Chris Killian that he was disappointed with his Crossbones character in the MCU, noting that “Crossbones was there for a minute,” but “he was supposed to be there longer:”
“They never told a story [about Crossbones]. The mythology of the MCU and just what Marvel has in its pool of characters, it’s so deep. Crossbones was there for a minute, but he was supposed to be there longer, then they went the direction they did.”
He pointed to the number of “people around the world [who] have responded to Crossbones” and ” there’s more there [to explore]:”
“I think Crossbones serves a purpose, but I think the interesting thing is that if you see how many people around the world have responded to Crossbones, and again, he’s on the screen for a very f–king short amount of time, I think there’s more there.”
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, the MCU’s Crossbones actor Frank Grillo confirmed he would be making the jump to DC Studios, making him the first actor not returning from a prior role to be cast in James Gunn’s new DCU reboot.
Grillo shared that after being left “disappointed” by his role as Captain America’s villain in the MCU, he’s decided to give the comic book movie genre another shot, this time now at DC:
“I think there was more meat on the bone [with Crossbones at Marvel]. I was disappointed, which is why I went over to DC.”
This isn’t Grillo’s first tease of a jump to DC, having previously shared the blue brand’s logo on his Instagram change while hinting “the only constant in life is change” and promising “something’s coming.”
DC
The actor also commented several “fire” emojis under James Gunn’s post of the Creature Commandos team artwork, perhaps teasing that may be the DC project he will be getting involved with. After all, the DC Studios CEO did confirm the animated they have “already cast” some members of the crew.
Spider-Man villain Sandman could return to the Marvel movie universe in a future project according to actor Thomas Haden Church.
“We had a whole story involving his daughter for No Way Home, and it just ended up [cut],” said Church in an interview with The DisInsider.
“There was just so much going on… Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige], we all had a lot of conversations. And I would say that conversations have been had about the possibility of Sandman coming into a future iteration of it.”
The Cast of Spider-Man: No Way Home
Church reiterated that “the conversation has happened about him coming back”, and that his future appearance could see the character boast “a more fulfilling story”.
It’s unclear if this would be in the mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe or Sony’s Spider-Man universe though, as the end of No Way Home could perhaps lend itself to both.
Church appeared once again as Sandman in Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw Tom Holland’s Spider-Man team up with those of Maguire and Andrew Garfield to battle a cast of villains drawn from across the multiverse.
Holland is set to reprise his role as the titular hero in at least one more film, and whilst little is known about the project at this point, Marvel boss Kevin Feige revealed in February that work on the fourth movie had begun.
“All I will say is that we have the story,” said Feige. “We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.”
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
For our “Deals of the Week,” we found the tools you need to get your podcast off the ground.
Talk radio never died. It just evolved into the podcast.
But now, you don’t need a professional studio and expensive airtime to be heard. For better or for worse, everyone can do a podcast. That means we can hear the voices of everyday people all around the world. The bad news, we can hear the voices of everyday people all around the world.
If you’re one of those people, we found some essential tools you’ll need to get started.
First off, you’ll need at least two microphones. The RØDE PodMic 2-Person Podcasting Microphone Kit is designed to be a cost-effective audio-capturing solution for podcasting, broadcasting, and content creation with two participants. It includes two RØDE PodMic dynamic podcasting microphones, two telescoping desktop stands, and two 10′ XLR cables to connect the mics to an audio interface or mixer.
These microphones are tailor-made for use with the RØDECaster Pro podcast production studio, which brings us to our next pick…
The RØDECaster Pro II was recently released, so the original version is on sale! The RØDECaster Pro integrates a mixer, sound effects player, phone tap for taking phone calls, recorder, and more in one box. This saves you the time and money of setting up the components independently. It also offers an internal recorder and a host of other podcast-friendly features, letting you produce and mix podcasts on the fly with up to four microphones, music, prerecorded segments, and remote guests on calls all going on at once.
The unit offers mix-minus functions over the TRRS, Bluetooth, and USB connections facilitating echo-free interviews via phone or app calls.
However, if you want something a bit more versatile when connecting your mics to your computer, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface is a solid choice. Not only can you use it to connect your microphones together, but it’s also suitable for voiceover work, music, and vocals.
Being bus powered via USB Type-C connectivity, it can be used in any room or even remote locations, with your preferred DAW on a Mac/Windows computer or using an iPad Pro equipped with USB Type-C and a music-making app such as Garageband, Cubasis 2, Auria Pro, Ampify Launchpad, Ampify Groovebox, or Ampify Blocs Wave.
If you’re taking your pod on the go, this is a lightweight solution that won’t get in your way when traveling.
Are they the right fit for you? Let us know what you think about these podcasting tools.
