After years of trailers, delays, controversy, and leaks, Rocksteady’s big, live-service, open-world, villain-themed, DC third-person looter shooter—Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League—is finally out (for real). The narrative that has formed around this game over the last few years has grown as large and epic as a…
After years of trailers, delays, controversy, and leaks, Rocksteady’s big, live-service, open-world, villain-themed, DC third-person looter shooter—Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League—is finally out (for real). The narrative that has formed around this game over the last few years has grown as large and epic as a…
Jake Gyllenhaal is taking a long-awaited stab at action superstardom with his upcoming Prime Video remake of Road House hitting the streamer on March 21st (although it should really be going to theaters). Dev Patel also is making a promising attempt at the genre with his amazing looking Monkey Man hitting theaters in April. Not too long ago, we wrote a piece of JoBlo that asked who the next big action icons might be, and indeed, some fresh blood being worked into the genre is long overdue. Gyllenhaal and Patel both seem like great new additions to the canon, but who else could make it in the genre?
Here are a few stars we think have what it takes to be action heroes:
I would have thought you were nuts if you had told me a decade ago that Zac Efron would become an Arnold Schwarzenegger-style muscleman as he got older. Yet, the former High School Musical star has consistently pushed himself to the brink by packing on muscle. In The Iron Claw, he also proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he also has the acting talent to play darker roles brilliantly. Given how physically capable he is, it’s strange that Hollywood has never cast him in a major action flick, with him having the look and presence of a truly iconic addition to the genre. With Edgar Wright tackling The Running Man, wouldn’t Efron be an inspired choice to take the lead?
The same goes for Efron’s The Iron Claw co-star, Jeremy Allen White. His performance on The Bear is already iconic, and while people are fond of saying he looks like he could be related to Gene Wilder, to me, he has a Steve McQueen-style presence that hasn’t been exploited yet. Steven Spielberg is doing a sequel to Bullitt with Bradley Cooper in the title role, but I can’t help but think White might be even better.
Ok, Michael B. Jordan got a big action movie a couple of years ago – Without Remorse. Despite good Tom Clancy source material, the movie kinda fell flat. The studio that produced it, Paramount, made it too small-scale, and it’s no wonder they offloaded it to Prime Video during the pandemic. Jordan deserved more of a chance to shine, and apparently, the studio agrees as a sequel/ spin-off based on Rainbow Six has been greenlit, although it remains to be seen if it will ever get made.
While known for small roles on shows like The Mandalorian, this actress is about to break out in a big way with Love Lies Bleeding (check out my Sundance review). In it, she plays a female bodybuilder who, along with her lover (played by Kristen Stewart), ends up embroiled in a noir-ish plot. In that movie, she shows some legitimate dramatic chops, and with her physical presence, casting her in a major action role seems like a no-brainer.
A perennial favourite – it makes no sense that Hollywood has never given Scott Adkins a legit A-level action flick. He has it all: presence, looks, a cool accent and even some decent comedy chops. He would make for a terrific Jason Statham-style action hero if given a movie on par with The Beekeeper. If they do a sequel to that movie, Adkins would be an ideal antagonist. And, for those who may dismiss Adkins as an actor, do yourselves a favor and check out Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. His performance in that one is iconic.
Who do YOU think should be the next action icon?
The post New Action Stars: 5 actors who could pull it off appeared first on JoBlo.
Neon has done a great job of promoting the upcoming horror film Longlegs while also keeping the story’s secrets concealed. Although multiple teaser trailers and posters have made their way online, we still don’t know a whole lot about this movie, beyond the fact that it’s scheduled to reach theatres on July 12th. But if you want to know exactly how much we do know about it, just keep scrolling down, because we have compiled a list of Everything We Know About Longlegs.
DIRECTOR
Longlegs, which is said to be “in the vein of classic Hollywood psychological thrillers”, is the latest genre project from director Osgood Perkins – who, yes, is the son of actor Anthony Perkins, best remembered for his performance as Norman Bates in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho. The younger Perkins has been building a solid career of his own, though, with his previous directorial efforts including the films The Blackcoat’s Daughter (a.k.a. February), I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Gretel & Hansel, as well as an episode of the recent revival of The Twilight Zone. He has also worked on the screenplays for the thriller Removal, the crime thriller Cold Comes the Night, and the horror film The Girl in the Photographs.
CAST
For many, the most eye-catching thing about Longlegs is the cast. Genre regular Maika Monroe, who has been seen in the likes of It Follows, The Guest, Independence Day: Resurgence, Tau, Villains, The Stranger, Watcher, and God Is a Bullet, stars as FBI Agent Lee Harker, a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
That elusive serial killer is played by the legendary Nicolas Cage – and I’m sure a whole lot of people are going to be watching this movie just to get the chance to watch Cage play a serial killer. Also in the cast are Alicia Witt (Urban Legend, Fright Night Lights, Justified, Twin Peaks, The Exorcist) and Blair Underwood (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., L.A. Law, Dear White People, American Crime Story, Bad Hair). Who Witt and Underwood are playing, we don’t know for sure.
Cage is also producing Longlegs through his company Saturn Films, which recently had success with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Pig. Also producing are Dan Kagan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Dave Caplan, and Chris Ferguson. Jason Cloth and Fred Berger of Automatik serve as executive producers with John Friedberg of Black Bear International.
POSSESSED GEPETTO
One of the most intriguing things we’ve heard about Longlegs is a description Cage gave to genre icon John Carpenter when Document Journal had the two sit down for a conversation. Cage told Carpenter the film is “about a character who’s hearing voices. It’s kind of like a possessed Geppetto, who’s making these dolls…” at which point Carpenter cut him off to laugh and say, “I like it. Possessed Geppetto. Man, oh man.”
TEASERS AND POSTERS
The teasers and posters have given fans plenty of images and occult symbols to pore over and try to decipher, if they are so inclined. Cage may be playing a homicidal possessed Gepetto, but he’s not the only one we’ve seen committing violent acts in these previews, so there’s definitely more going on here than a simple “FBI agent tracks down a killer” story. The posters feature things like an injured nun, a bunch of covered corpses, a young girl being creeped on outsider her home, and a woman cutting her own stomach open. These posters can be seen below, along with the captions Neon sent with them.
The teaser trailer at the top of this article came with its own creepy message: “You’ve got the teeth of the hydra upon you.” Neon revealed the release date by telling us, “The man downstairs is coming July 12.”
And that’s everything we know about Longlegs as of right now. Are you looking forward to this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The post Everything We Know About Longlegs appeared first on JoBlo.
We’re starting to get a much clearer look at the 2024 gaming calendar, after the Xbox Developer Direct on January 18 and now Sony’s State of Play event on January 31. The Sony event gave us an in-depth look at Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding sequel, On The Beach, and boy was there a lot going on. We also got a teensy…
We’re starting to get a much clearer look at the 2024 gaming calendar, after the Xbox Developer Direct on January 18 and now Sony’s State of Play event on January 31. The Sony event gave us an in-depth look at Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding sequel, On The Beach, and boy was there a lot going on. We also got a teensy…
Melissa Barrera was expected to reprise her role of Sam Carpenter for Scream 7, but the actress was fired by Spyglass media last year after the studio alleged that she made anti-Semitic comments on social media following the attack in Israel and the invasion of Gaza. Well, the actress has sparked more controversy in the last week, leading her representatives at WME and Sugar23 to wonder whether they should drop her as a client.
Melissa Barrera posted a link in her Instagram bio that prompted followers to donate money to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The group has been providing aid to Palestinian refugees for decades, but allegations recently emerged that some employees are members of Hamas and that 12 of them actually took part in the October 7th attacks. This has led multiple countries to put a pause on funding for the group, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and more.
According to Variety, the social media posts quickly spread within WME, with the agency reportedly consulting “outside advisors on the best approach to fire [Melissa Barrera] given that such a break could spark backlash.” Sources say that it got close, but both WME and Sugar23 have elected to keep her for now, even though some other clients and employees have complained.
Melissa Barrera does have one major studio project coming up with Abigail, the horror movie directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. It remains to be seen if Universal will include her in the marketing campaign and interview junkets moving forward, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight,” reads the official synopsis. “In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.” Abigail is slated to hit theaters on April 19th.
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Hollywood was dealt a major blow earlier today when it was announced that the great Carl Weathers had died. From Predator to Happy Gilmore to Star Wars, Carl Weathers had a hand in just about everything, so it’s no surprise that his many friends are paying tribute to the late actor.
Adam Sandler took to X to pay tribute to his Happy Gilmore co-star. “A true great man. Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. So much fun to be around always,” Sandler wrote. “Smart as hell. Loyal as hell. Funny as hell. Loved his sons more than anything. What a guy!! Everyone loved him. My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him. Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legend.” Weathers played Derick “Chubbs” Peterson, a former pro golfer who lost a hand in an alligator attack.
Of course, you can’t think about Carl Weathers without thinking about Predator. He played Al Dillon, Dutch’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) Vietnam War buddy who is now a CIA operative pushing too many pencils. “Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him,” Schwarzenegger wrote on X. “And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. Every minute with him — on set and off — was pure joy. He was the type of friend who pushes you to be your best just to keep up with him. I’ll miss him, and my thoughts are with his family.“
Jesse Ventura, who co-starred in Predator as Sgt. Blaine Cooper, added, “We lost an icon. Carl Weathers was a phenomenal talent, a true professional, and a dear friend. All my sympathies and love to his family. I loved working with him on Predator and then celebrating that film with him at various conventions in the ensuing years. Thank you, Carl.“
The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau also issued a tribute to Carl Weathers, saying, “I am heartbroken by this devastating loss. He was a hero from my childhood who I was lucky enough to meet and then had the amazing good fortune to work with. He had the energy and curiosity of a young man paired with the wisdom that his rich life and career afforded him. My heart goes out to his family and countless admirers.“
Pedro Pascal, who plays the titular bounty hunter in The Mandalorian, posted a photo of Weathers with the caption, “Words fail.” Katee Sackhoff, who plays Bo-Katan Kryze in the series, said, “There are no words. I’m in complete shock. Carl and I found a friendship off camera bonding over our love of the PNW and the importance of family. He was so proud of his family. Brendan Wayne said it best…never did I ever meet a guy who seemed like he would live forever. Rest in Peace my friend. I hope you’ve found your plot of land again.“
A great many people loved Carl Weathers, and our hearts go out to his family and friends.
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The Star Trek franchise can’t seem to catch a break on the big screen. There have been numerous Star Trek movies in development since the release of Star Trek Beyond almost eight years ago, including one from Fargo creator Noah Hawley. The project was pretty far along before Paramount pulled the plug, and Hawley has revealed that the movie would have starred Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek. Hot damn.
Noah Hawley discussed the Star Trek project on a recent episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, speaking of his tales of “heartbreak” in Hollywood. “Yeah, I mean, I was going to make a Star Trek movie with Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek,” Hawley said. “Could have had that, America.“
It’s unlikely that Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek had officially signed on, but Hawley has previously said that they were in the middle of major casting when the plug was pulled. “We were on the runway. There was major casting that we were in the middle of. We had a production schedule and I was getting ready to go to Australia,” Hawley said. “And then, as you said, new management. I guess in retrospect, what surprised me is not that Emma Watts came in and said, ‘Are you people crazy? This is a this is an untested crew. This is an original idea. We don’t know if this is going to work or not work.’ It’s that I got as far as I did under [former head of Paramount Motion Picture Group] Wyck [Godfrey] and [Paramount President] Jim [Gianopulos]. It was a really fun movie and I think it would have been a great film, but you can’t control these things. So we move on.“
Bits and pieces of the project have emerged since it was axed, including that it would have featured an entirely new crew. “We’re not doing Kirk and we’re not doing Picard,” Hawley said in 2020. “It’s a start from scratch that then allows us to do what we did with ‘Fargo,’ where for the first three hours you go, ‘Oh, it really has nothing to do with the movie,’ and then you find the money. So you reward the audience with a thing that they love.” At the moment, there are several Star Trek movies in development, including Star Trek 4, which will be the “final chapter” of the J.J. Abrams crew, as well as a prequel taking place decades before the 2009 movie set to be helmed by Star Wars: Andor director Toby Haynes.
Cate Blanchett and Rami Malek would have been fun additions to the Star Trek franchise, but… who knows what the future will bring.
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Anyone who was on the internet around the release of The Last of Us Part II knows it was a bad time. But while we, as fans and writers, saw the vitriolic backlash unfold in real-time, it was far worse for the creative team who was directly targeted by it. Laura Bailey, who played the secret second protagonist Abby,…