While you were checking out the Watchmen pilot this weekend, we were out scooping up the biggest entertainment headlines (just kidding I definitely saw Watchmen). Sam Raimi has announced his directorial return, Disney is looking for a new Pinocchio director and lining up its next wave of documentary films, Station Eleven has found its two leads and Bloodshot dropped its first trailer!
Before that – a few tidbits:
- See ya 7-9 months later than expected, space cowboy. John Cho, star of Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop, sustained a knee injury while filming, leading to the aforementioned break and, apparently, surgery.
- A few days after announcing that Shriek would be joining the Venom 2 cast, Sony revealed that the sound siren herself is being played by Naomi Harris (Black and Blue, No Time to Die). Along with the big sticky symbiote himself, Tom Hardy, Harris will also be working with Woody Harrelson as he takes on the role of Carnage … or Carnage takes on the role of him?
- In a tweet this weekend, Dwayne Johnson finally confirmed that he’s joining the DCU as Black Adam – just don’t hold your breath! It’s not set to start filming until next year.
- Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jenifer Hudson, filled out its cast with Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Mary J. Blige, Marc Maron, Titus Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore and Tate Donovan.
Sam Raimi is back – no, not to Spidey – to horror!
Well, he might not be reuniting with Tobey again, but this latest movie will bring him back together with Spidey collaborators Columbia Pictures. The director behind Drag Me to Hell and Evil Dead is set to direct an untitled horror/thriller that has something to do with an island. Aside from that, all sources have said about the film is that it’s supposed to be a tonal combination of Misery and Cast Away.
Given that Raimi hasn’t directed a movie since 2009 though – and that he has such a major cult following – it’s understandable why everyone is so tight-lipped.
The script is the brainchild of Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, the very same duo behind the Friday the 13th reboot. It’s not the first collaboration for Swift, Shannon and Raimi, either, as the trio has also worked together on Skydance’s Bermuda Triangle project. Raimi Productions, which has also recently put its weight behind Crawl, will produce here along with Zainab Azizi.
Disney’s live-action Pinocchio eyes a potential puppeteer in Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis is hoping to step back into the world of family film with the announcement that he’s in early talks to head up Disney’s latest live-action remake, Pinocchio. Zimeckis made his first splash as a writer on Back to the Future, and would later helm dramas including Welcome to Marwen, Beowulf, and of course Forrest Gump.
Zemeckis, should he land the job, would be Disney’s second choice. The nostalgia corporation originally lined-up Paddington director Paul King for the job, but, in early 2019 he announced that he wouldn’t be able to move forward with the project, opting not to say why.
As he moves to replace his predecessor, Zemeckis looks now to identify whose strings he’ll be pulling on the Pinocchio set. Variety reports that he’s especially prioritizing Geppetto’s casting – the woodworker who created the puppet boy himself.
Luckily, the Pinocchio crew is a bit more filled out when it comes to the hands behind the curtain. Andrew Miano and Chris Weitz are locked in to produce and also pen the screenplay along with Simon Farnaby.
Disney+ announces its upcoming nonfiction slate with documentaries on, what else, its most popular properties
Remember last week when the Disney+ Twitter was vomiting out every single original movie it ever published? Well good news – that’s not all the streamer is including! Disney revealed its upcoming list of documentaries over the weekend at an International Documentary Association showcase event.
First up is Howard, a biopic following Howard Ashman, who was the lyricist on Disney’s Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Ironically, the news comes amidst an industry-wide strike of musicians demanding fair pay for working on streaming properties.
Disney will also be taking some time to self-reflect in one of its docs, though, as Morgan Neville helms a yet-to-titled project investigating the cultural significance of Mickey Mouse himself. Neville, who also brought us Won’t You Be My Neighbor, is working with Tremolo Productions and Lincoln Square Productions.
Another doc called People & Places will highlight people who “embody the Disney ethos,” which is a conceit that probably does not come off as cheery as marketing may have anticipated.
Marvel snuggles right into the Disney+ blanket here, too with a docu anthology series focusing on the culture at the comic publisher. It’s hosted by Community’s Gillian Jacobs and titled Marvel 616.
Also among films announced at the event are a Wolfgang Puck documentary and the National Geographic documentary, Science Fair.
HBO Max’s post-apocalyptic limited series, Station Eleven, finds its two leads
Station Eleven has found its two survivors with Mackenzie Davis and Himesh Patel. The pair will star in what’s set to be a 10 episode limited series based on the book of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel.
Davis is on small screens and large recently with roles on Halt and Catch Fire as well as Terminator: Dark Fate and Blade Runner 2049. Patel, meanwhile, has had roles in Yesterday and Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Tenet. The two will work together for the first time in Station Eleven as an epidemic called the Georgian Flu forces their paths together. Davis stars as Kirsten, a survivor and performer who was only eight when the plague first struck and Patel plays Jeevan, an entertainment journalist turned paramedic.
Patrick Somerville, the mind behind Netflix’s Maniac, joins the post-apocalyptic project as showrunner, while Atlanta and Barry’s Hiro Murai hops on board as executive producer and director. And, yes, I am as tired of typing the phrase ‘post-apocalyptic’ as you are of reading it – but seeing Murai attached here makes it much much more bearable.
Vin Diesel fires off the first Bloodshoot trailer
It’s finally here – your first look at Vin Diesel as the Valiant vigilante, Bloodshot. This trailer went live early Sunday morning, just a few hours after Diesel dropped a teaser video of him on set, hyping up the movie. As Ed says in our extended coverage, this is the first in what the comic publisher hopes will be long, fruitful line of franchise films. It follows the super soldier out for revenge after the murder of his wife – no, wait! Just kidding. Bloodshot thinks he’s after his wife’s killers, but, spoiler alert, those memories are all fakes. See how that pans out for him when Bloodshot hits theaters on February 21.
That’s all we’ve got for today! Tune back in on Friday for your regular Edward Douglas dosage and, for all you TV fans, don’t forget to check out our slate of recaps. Speaking of which – I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. See ya around!
It was widely reported yesterday that Amazon has found a villain (some are saying the main villain) for its ‘Lord of the Rings’ series. Joseph Mawle (‘Game of Thrones’) has been cast as a character called Oren (possibly a placeholder name). He could be Sauron. He could be a Lord of Numenor with a dark destiny.
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