On this episode of Collider Movie Talk (April 28th, 2016) Kristian Harloff, Clarke Wolfe and Mark Reilly discuss the following:
- 20th Century Fox pulls out of Comic Con
- Comcast buys Dreamworks for 3.8 billion
- Kevin Feige confirms Marvel is in creative control of Spider-Man[1]
- Opening this week (Brought to you by AMC Theatres)
Image via Hugh Jackman
Breaking news: In an exclusive report from The Wrap, 20th Century Fox will not be showcasing any of their upcoming movie releases in the Hall H presentations at San Diego Comic-Con this year. The studio feels it cannot prevent the piracy of custom trailers and exclusive footage routinely screened for fans in attendance. The studio was reportedly going to show glimpses of Assassins Creed, the Michael Fassbender video game adaptation that wowed exhibitors at this year's CinemaCon and an early first look at Hugh Jackman's Wolverine 3.
In a massive purchase of one of the last remaining independent and publicly traded studios, Comcast's NBCUniversal has made a deal to acquire DreamWorks Animation[3], a deal that values the animation studio at $3.8 billion. DWA CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg had long been looking for a buyer for the studio, courting such suitors as Japan's SoftBank and even Hasbro, but nothing materialized. When the deal closes, Katzenberg will chair DreamWorks New Media, which comprises the company's ownership interests in Awesomeness TV and NOVA. The studio itself will be folded into the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures, Fandango, and NBCUniversal Brand Develop ment. Illumination founder Christopher Meledandri, the man you can thank for Despicable Me/Minions, will "help guide the growth of the DreamWorks Animation business in the future," the company said.
Image via Marvel
It was big news when Sony and Marvel announced they'd be working out a deal to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And with fans and critics praising the new Spidey played by Tom Holland in Captain America: Civil War, fans are now wondering who will be creatively in control of his solo movie. Leave it to Marvel Head Honcho Kevin Feige to set the record straight, once and for all. Speaking with Hey U Guys at the U.K. premiere of Civil War, Feige was asked who would be handling the creative direction of the new Spidey movie, Marvel or Sony. Feige responded that he is happy working with Sony and they've been great in letting them handle the creative side.
Filming is underway on Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant and to mark the occasion, the official Twitter account for the movie tweeted out two images giving fans an idea of what to expect from the Ridley Scott directed prequel/sequel. The first is some unused concept art of the iconic H.R. Giger Alien Creature, with the second showing a patch for the "Covenant" mission, showing that the Weyland Corporation has merged with the Yutani corporation from the previous movies in canon. Alien: Covenant opens August 4, 2017, and stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Billy Crudup, and Callie Hernandez.
BUY OR SELL
According to a report from THR, Richard E. Grant has joined the cast[4] of Hugh Jackman's last run as Logan in Wolverine 3. The James Mangold helmed sequel will see Grant playing a "villainous mad-scientist type" with no other details being offered. Soon after the report, Deadline dropped news that The Office co-creator, Stephen Merchant, was also added[5] to the film in an especially secret role, with no description or name being listed. The rumored plotline for Wolverine 3 has been teased to loosely follow the Old Man Logan story from the comics with Patrick Stewart's Professor X joining Logan on this final adventure. Filming is said to begin soon with a release date set for March 3, 2017.
Image via Paramount
Variety is reporting that Will Ferrell is attached to star as Ronald Reagan[6] in the movie Reagan, based on the Black List script written by Mike Rosolio. The story begins at the start of the ex-president's second term when he falls into dementia and an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander in chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie. Ferrell will produce under his production banner Gary Sanchez Productions with the package currently being shopped around town in search of a director.
Principal photography has begun on Millennium Films' The Hitman's Bodyguard[7] starring Deadpool's Ryan Reynolds and Avengers' Samuel L. Jackson. The action comedy about the world's top protection agent played by Reynolds and his new client: a notorious hitman played by Jackson, are stuck together and have 24 hours to get from England to The Hague with the only thing standing in their way is a murderous Eastern European dictator played by Gary Oldman. The movie also stars Elodie Yung and Salma Hayek, and is directed by Expendables 3 director Patrick Hughes.
A new trailer has been released for Approaching the Unknown, the science fiction movie starring Mark Strong as Captain William D. Stanaforth, a brilliant scientist and newly trained astronaut who embarks on an epic 270-day journey to Mars. When he docks with Captain Emily Maddox, another astronaut on a concurrent solo-journey, things go terribly wrong and they are forced to consider aborting the mission and turning back to Earth. The movie also stars Sanaa Lathan and Luke Wilson, and is directed by Mark Elijah Rosenberg. The movie hits theatres this June 3rd.
OPENING THIS WEEK (Brought to you by AMC Theatres)
Mother's Day – Three generations come together the week before Mother's Day with intertwining stories revolving around a television host (Julia Roberts) a divorcee (Jennifer Aniston) looking for love and a woman (Kate Hudson) who wants to strengthen her relationship with her mother.
MAIL BAG
Myles A. writes:
Hey Collider Crew,
Love the show & watch you guys daily! Max Landis is considered a great creative mind and is quite heralded as a writer in Hollywood. However, looking at the films/TV he has been involved in, there's really nothing of note under his belt. He's not someone who's properties impress very often. Even Chronicle, his most popular & I feel best adapted property, received slightly more than a lukewarm reception with fans and critics, and barely anyone I bring it up to has even watched it. Do you think that he gets a higher level of recognition than he maybe he should just based on who he is, or do you think his properties are being adapted with the studios afraid to dive fully into his vision?
Thomas Markey writes:
Hi Collider Crew, my question is regarding Tim Burton. Other than Frankenweenie, he hasn't really made a decent movie since Big Fish. Why do you think he keeps getting handed a high profile projects such as Dumbo? His earlier work is excellent but now I feel like his films are more about visuals and less about the actual story.
LIVE TWITTER QUESTIONS
Image via Ryan Reynolds
References
- ^ Spider-Man (collider.com)
- ^ Reagan (collider.com)
- ^ NBCUniversal has made a deal to acquire DreamWorks Animation (collider.com)
- ^ Richard E. Grant has joined the cast (collider.com)
- ^ Stephen Merchant, was also added (collider.com)
- ^ Will Ferrell is attached to star as Ronald Reagan (collider.com)
- ^ The Hitman's Bodyguard< small> (collider.com)
