If you want to see a wild midnight movie, there’s a little-known Australian movie called Stunt Rock, which might blow your mind. In it, an Australian stuntman named Grant Page (playing himself) visits Los Angeles to do stunts for a TV show and hooks up with a heavy metal band named Sorcery (the band is like KISS if they also did magic). It has many fans, including Eli Roth, who used one of Sorcery’s songs in his Death Wish remake and is prominently featured in an incredible documentary about Australian exploitation films (Ozploitation) called Not Quite Hollywood.

More than anything, this documentary was a loving tribute to Page, who did incredible stunts for almost every cool action film shot in Australia over the last fifty years, including Mad Max, and Road Games (in which he played the mostly unseen villain). Sadly, Mark Hartley, the director of Not Quite Hollywood, broke the news via his Facebook page that Page has passed away at the ripe old age of 85.

“Very sad day with the passing of superstar stuntman and Stud Cola spokesman GRANT PAGE. With charisma to burn and an unforced easy going charm, on screen and off he was the quintessential Aussie male.  Grant happily set himself on fire at the world premiere of my documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. I sincerely hope that his profile in that film captured (and celebrated) his larrikin can-do fearlessness. I was lucky enough to work with Grant on my next film PATRICK and I was incredibly honoured when he asked me to write a forward to his autobiography. The jaw-dropping (and bone crunching) work he leaves behind in a number of bonafide Oz classics (including MAD MAX, ROADGAMES and THE MAN FROM HONG KONG) should cement his legacy as not just our premiere stuntman, but as an antipodean icon.”

Indeed, Page achieved almost mythical status in the stunt community, famous for his fire effects. Seemingly no stunt was out of the question for Page. If you watch Not Quite Hollywood, some of the more famous talking heads like George Lazenby (who Page doubled in the awesome Man from Hong Kong), Stacy Keach (his nemesis in Road Games), and Quentin Tarantino speak of him with a lot of admiration. Despite his advancing years, Page stayed active in the industry until recently, with him working on Gods of Egypt and Mechanic: Resurrection. In a community that rarely gets the recognition they deserve (give them an Oscar category already), Page was a legend. 

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Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft’s long-running open-world RPG series, and Vanderpump Rules, Bravo’s long-running reality TV series, are connected—kind of. It’s rare that two of my biggest, most disparate interests collide so spectacularly as this, but here we are, and it’s all thanks to a man named Jax Taylor.

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Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft’s long-running open-world RPG series, and Vanderpump Rules, Bravo’s long-running reality TV series, are connected—kind of. It’s rare that two of my biggest, most disparate interests collide so spectacularly as this, but here we are, and it’s all thanks to a man named Jax Taylor.

Read more…

It’s a new era for dinosaurs. Jurassic World: Dominion concluded the sequel trilogy and in their alternate universe, humans and Earth’s prehistoric creatures are now living side-by-side. But hey, at least we don’t have to worry about locusts anymore, right? Recently, Universal has brought in the original Jurassic Park writer, David Koepp, to pen the script for another Jurassic World film to continue the brand. The studio also tapped Gareth Edwards, who recently took on the concept of a future with AI in The Creator, to direct the new film.

The Insneider has recently unveiled a big rumor that Universal is now offering Scarlett Johansson the chance to fight off dinosaurs with the lead role in the new Jurassic World movie. Plot details for the continuation have yet to be announced, so it is not yet known who she will be playing in this entry. The film is expected to start filming this summer in the UK. Johansson is currently in her post-Marvel phase as her run as Black Widow has seemingly concluded, although she is still apparently attached to a new secret project with Kevin Feige, which is not related to her past MCU character.

Universal’s new Jurassic World movie is being hailed as launching a “new Jurassic era,” with an all-new storyline. This detail implies that characters like Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) won’t be returning for the sequel. It’s also assumed that Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum won’t return either. The title Jurassic World also hints at the project being a step forward rather than a throwback to the original trilogy.

In addition to penning the Spielberg classic Jurassic Park, David Koepp wrote the scripts for The Lost World: Jurassic Park, David Fincher’s Panic Room, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Presence, and more. Presence premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Steven Soderbergh directs Presence from Koepp’s script. The film’s premiere was a mixed bag, with some Sundance fans walking out of the screening, saying it was too stressful to watch so late at night. Soderbergh shot Presence in three weeks; the early word is that it’s a terrifying theatrical experience.

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First Dakota Johnson and now Sydney Sweeney, it turns out no star from Madame Web is afraid to sling some sass its way. The real difference in the approaches is that while Johnson has been openly outspoken with her words about the Marvel flop, Sweeney would much rather distance her role in it.

Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Sweeney said of Madame Web, “I was just hired as an actress in it, so I was just along for the ride for whatever was going to happen.” And what was going to happen was a complete whooping by critics and at the box office, taking in barely half of its reported $80 million budget domestically. But that’s a definite brushing off of the project, as “just” having one of the lead roles in a Marvel movie, no matter the expected scope, is still a huge deal. Indeed, that is the only time Madame Web even gets mentioned in the interview.

Madame Web has become an easy industry joke at this point, with Sweeney herself mocking it in her monologue during the March 2nd episode of Saturday Night Live by saying she knows nobody saw her in it. John Mulaney also facetiously cited “He was in the Amazon with my mother when she was researching spiders just before she died” as one of the most memorable lines in movie history.

As it seems, Sydney Sweeney would rather move on from Madame Web, which should be easy enough considering her wattage right now. She currently stars in a completely different kind of project: the horror film Immaculate, which premiered at SXSW and is set for a release next Friday.

Not only is pressing forward from Madame Web probably a good idea for Sydney Sweeney, but she also has an approach that doesn’t show itself as burning bridges, unlike her co-star. That said, it’s hard not to appreciate Dakota Johnson’s honest take on the matter: “Sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’…Decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s made by committee.”

What were the most redeeming qualities of Madame Web? Is Sydney Sweeney built for the superhero genre? Drop your thoughts below.

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Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins signed on to helm Rogue Squadron more than three years ago, but the project hasn’t made much progress since then, with multiple delays amid reports that Jenkins was butting heads creatively with Lucasfilm. The film was finally removed from the schedule in 2022, but Jenkins has now said she’s signed a new deal to return.

While speaking with Ben Mankiewicz on the Talking Pictures podcast, Jenkins explained that she left Rogue Squadron to develop Wonder Woman 3, but when that project fell apart, she returned to Star Wars.

“When I left Star Wars to do Wonder Woman 3, I thought maybe I’ll come back to Star Wars after Wonder Woman 3,” Jenkins said. “So we did a deal for that to happen, started a deal, but I thought I was doing Wonder Woman 3. So when Wonder Woman 3 went away, Lucasfilm and I were like, ‘oh, we gotta finish this deal.’ We finished the deal right as the strike was beginning. So I now owe a draft of Star Wars and so we will see what happens there.“

Jenkins continued, “[Lucasfilm] have a hard job in front of them of what’s the first movie they’re gonna do. They have other directors who have been working, but I am now, you know, I’m back on doing Rogue Squadron and we’ll see what happens. We need to develop, you know, get it to where we’re both super happy with it.”

“Star Wars is beautiful, the emotion of Star Wars and what it stands for is something so beautiful in this world and particularly in a moment that we’re at right now,” Jenkins explained. “I’ve always wanted to make a fighter pilot movie. It’s been a dream of mine. I’ve always had a hard time with it because I’m in love with the jets of the ’70s and ’80s, and that’s not where the great dogfight stories are. Star Wars becomes a great playground for that. So yes, if I can do something beautiful and do something that serves that audience and is great, I would love to do it.“

When it was first announced, it was said that the Rogue Squadron movie was going to introduce audiences to “a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.” Jenkins added that she was using her fighter pilot father as an inspiration and wanted to make the “greatest fighter pilot movie ever made.” Love and Monsters co-writer Matthew Robinson was initially attached to pen the script, but it’s not clear if he’s still involved.

What do you think of Patty Jenkins being back onboard for Rogue Squadron?

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Physical media is alive and well in the Carrie Coon household as the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire star recently appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon to reveal that she and her husband — writer/actor Tracy Letts — own more than 10,000 Blu-rays. That’s quite the collection.

After revealing the extent of the collection, Fallon asked Coon if she had ever heard of the internet, but she replied that her husband “doesn’t approve of streaming.” The actress added that she once caught her husband on DVDBeaver.com: “I thought he was looking at porn, but it’s actually about different [Blu-rays].” Coon said that they have “a lot of rare, hard media that you can’t get anymore” before joking, “Not that kind of hard!“

I’ve got a little over 1600 titles spread across Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD in my own collection, so I’ve got a ways to go before I catch up with Carrie Coon.

Physical media has reportedly been dying for some time, and while stores such as Best Buy have phased out their sales of physical media, boutique companies such as Criterion, Arrow, Kino Lorber, Shout/Scream Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, and more have been keeping it alive with fantastic releases. Streaming services have actually been helping, as their content purges prove that unless you’ve got a particular movie in your hand, it could be taken away at any time. That said, there are still plenty of streaming movies that haven’t received a physical release.

Carrie Coon will next be seen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire reprising her role of Callie Spengler. Here’s the synopsis for the Ghostbusters sequel: “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.” The film will hit theaters on March 22nd.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, but not everyone is happy about it, particularly the audiences at SXSW. The festival is currently underway in Austin, Texas, with premiere screenings for movies such as The Fall Guy, Road House, Immaculate, and more. However, prior to the screenings, audiences were treated to a sizzle reel touting the benefits of AI, and they made their displeasure known by loudly booing in the theater.

The sizzle reel was put together from the panels, premieres, and events of the previous day, which included a few AI panels. OpenAI’s VP of consumer product and head of ChatCPT Peter Deng’s statements drew some loud jeers, especially after declaring, “I actually think that AI fundamentally makes us more human.” Sandy Carter, author of The Tiger and the Rabbit: Harnessing the Power of AI and Blockchain for Business Success, added, “You know your business is going to be disrupted — and so you need to stop resisting it and start learning.“

It’s no surprise that the AI-centric sizzle reel received a negative reception at SXSW, as writers and actors in the entertainment industry spent a good deal of the previous year on strike, with one of the biggest issues being how to deal with AI. According to a study done at the beginning of the year, a whopping three-quarters of those surveyed indicated that AI tools “supported the elimination, reduction or consolidation of jobs at their companies.” The report also estimated that nearly 204,000 positions will be adversely affected over the next three years.

What was once a curiosity has quickly become more powerful than anyone could have imagined, with new AI tools being developed and improved upon all the time. OpenAI will soon be launching Sora, a video creation tool that is capable of creating realistic and imaginative videos from text instructions. It’s so realistic that Tyler Perry recently put his planned $800 million studio expansion on hold. “I have been watching AI very closely and watching the advancements very closely,” Perry said. “I was in the middle of, and have been planning for the last four years, about an $800 million expansion at the studio, which would’ve increased the backlot a tremendous size, we were adding 12 more soundstages. All of that is currently and indefinitely on hold because of Sora and what I’m seeing.“

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Earlier this week, a trailer for a purportedly canned multiplayer Spider-Man title from Insomniac Games leaked online. Called Spider-Man: The Great Web, the multiplayer spinoff would’ve allowed a number of iterations on the character to tackle crime, and ultimately the Sinister Six, cooperatively. Insomniac’s Peter…

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Earlier this week, a trailer for a purportedly canned multiplayer Spider-Man title from Insomniac Games leaked online. Called Spider-Man: The Great Web, the multiplayer spinoff would’ve allowed a number of iterations on the character to tackle crime, and ultimately the Sinister Six, cooperatively. Insomniac’s Peter…

Read more…