I can’t tell you about Animal Well’s best moments. That’s because doing so would spoil the magic of discovering them for yourself, and because I still haven’t uncovered all of them yet either. I went into Animal Well hoping for a fun, evocative trip through a beautiful, lo-fi underground labyrinth. What I got was so…
I can’t tell you about Animal Well’s best moments. That’s because doing so would spoil the magic of discovering them for yourself, and because I still haven’t uncovered all of them yet either. I went into Animal Well hoping for a fun, evocative trip through a beautiful, lo-fi underground labyrinth. What I got was so…
According to a new report in THR, WB is in the early planning stages of a new Lord of the Rings film, and apparently, none other than Peter Jackson is involved. While the early details are sketchy (at best), during WB’s first quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO David Zaslav teased the director’s involvement, stating Jackson and his longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens “will be involved every step of the way.” No news yet on what exactly will be tackled, but Zaslav teased that the new film would “explore storylines yet to be told.”
Indeed, Lord of the Rings is a franchise Hollywood seems bent on re-establishing. The issue is that the rights are quite fractured, with Amazon owning the TV rights and mid-way through their own epic TV prequel to the saga, which sports their largest budget to date. Fan reaction to the first season was largely tepid, but the streamer is full-steam ahead on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, which is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices.
Meanwhile, WB does have a Lord of the Rings feature coming out this year, in the guise of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an animated film with Phillipa Boyens on-board as a producer. It’s set for a December 13th, 2024 release.
Jackson’s involvement in the proposed WB movies is interesting, although it’s telling that his involvement isn’t specified. Will he direct the films or be on board as a producer? Jackson’s relationship with the franchise has been fraught at times, with the Tolkien Estate specifying that he does not have any involvement in the Rings of Power series. Indeed, some of Tolkien’s heirs took issue with Jackson’s film, which is a bizarre stance given how they brought Tolkien’s work to a massive new audience and probably made everyone involved with the estate very rich. The mixed reaction to The Rings of Power likely showed everyone that making new Lord of the Rings isn’t so easy and that his involvement shouldn’t be taken for granted, as he really is the master of Middle Earth storytelling.
What do you think of Peter Jackson’s proposed return to the franchise? Let us know in the comments.
The post Peter Jackson returning to Lord of the Rings franchise; new movie set for 2026 appeared first on JoBlo.
Nancy Thompson remains one of the greatest final girls in horror movie history. She is also one of the most evolved, receiving a full character arc in part because the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise needed it and because her portrayer, Heather Langenkamp, is just that great in the role. But Langenkamp hasn’t portrayed Nancy in three decades (not that the franchise has exactly been boiling). So is it time to bring back Nancy Thomspon for a full Nightmare on Elm Street revival? Langenkamp sees no reason why not.
Appearing on the Nightmare on Film Street podcast, Heather Langenkamp said that if she had the opportunity to reprise Nancy Thompson, she absolutely would. “God, yes. I mean, of course. She’s a great character. How could you say no?. I just need somebody to get that off the ground. Especially considering Nightmare on Elm Street Part 7, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. I do think there’s a lot of really great opportunities for new and excellent battles still to come.”
In 1994’s New Nightmare – surprisingly the most recent non-crossover or remake in the franchise – Heather Langenkamp finds herself coming face to burnt face with Freddy Krueger, who invades the real world to slice and dice cast members of the original 1984 movie. For my money, the clever, meta New Nightmare ranks in the top three of A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, up there with the original and 1987’s Dream Warriors, my pick for the best in the franchise.
On Dream Warriors, Heather Langenkamp got the chance to flesh out Nancy Thompson even more, having sat out 1985’s Freddy’s Revenge. “We get to see and follow her in a really natural way, through being a teenager here and then being a young adult in Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3, and then being a woman and a mother. And it’s very rare to have a character who can span that many different experiences, not only for just a woman, but for a person going through so much experience.”
With so much developed history, Nancy Thompson was given opportunities that so few horror heroines get, with a genuine character arc that sits up there with Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott. And despite so many entries without Nancy, Langenkamp knows there is always a place for her, remembering, “Wes always told me that he just really believed that Nancy and Freddy were like a unit, like two sides of a different coin. And he always liked us together, you know, that’s why he wrote those scripts, to have us always battling each other.” With 30 years to let the character simmer, I think most of us would love to see Heather Langenkamp face off against Freddy one more time.
The post Heather Langenkamp would reprise Nancy for another Nightmare movie appeared first on JoBlo.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace recently returned to theaters to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and while it was a real treat to see the first prequel movie on the big screen once again, some fans have brought up how different the film looks from its original release.
Of course, Star Wars fans are accustomed to the many changes the movies have undergone over the decades, and The Phantom Menace has not escaped unscathed. Throughout its history on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD, we’ve seen the addition of new scenes, altered dialogue, and the replacement of puppet Yoda with a CG version, but perhaps the most divisive change actually affects the entire movie — a very liberal application of DNR (digital noise reduction).
The use of DNR has been controversial, notably in the recent releases of James Cameron’s True Lies and Aliens, but many people don’t see a problem with it. Most modern movies typically look slick and crystal clear with little to no film grain, but the 25th-anniversary screenings of The Phantom Menace have prompted some debate over what the film is supposed to look like. If you scroll through X/Twitter, you’ll find plenty of fans who were overjoyed to see the film in theaters, while others have commented that what was screened looked blurry and overly smooth, making them more aware of the CG characters.
It’s important to note that The Phantom Menace was shot on 35mm film. Although George Lucas had wanted to shoot it digitally, he wouldn’t get the chance to do that until Attack of the Clones. From what I remember, The Phantom Menace‘s original 35mm print was gorgeous, with subtle grain and a real warmth that helped meld the live-action footage with the CG elements. Once the movie was released on Blu-ray, fans noticed that all that grain had been scrubbed from the image, resulting in a smooth digital appearance that brought it more in line with Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
You can check out two comparisons between the home media remaster and the 35mm print below.
yes!! it's especially rough on the texture of the 3d stuff, which suddenly looks way too soft and plastic-like. pic.twitter.com/mFR8iqMcCB
— Jón – making Tiny Tires
Wishlist now! (@jonkristinsson) May 8, 2024
What was in theaters then vs. what is in theaters now. pic.twitter.com/DdW7weEOga
— Brandon Bird (@Brandon_Bird) May 8, 2024
I’m admittedly a lover of film grain, so I’m probably biased, but to my eye, the 35mm print looks infinitely better than the overly smoothed remaster. I believe those Battle Droids are really there; I believe Qui-Gon Jinn is holding Jar Jar’s tongue. There’s something inherently more… organic about it. You can check out more screencaps from the 35mm print of The Phantom Menace on X/Twitter and bring back those memories of sitting in the theater in 1999.
Did you catch the 25th-anniversary screening of The Phantom Menace in theaters? Which look of the film do you prefer?
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It’s been quite a week for Crystal Lake, the Friday the 13th prequel series which has been in development from Hannibal‘s Bryan Fuller. Initial reports stated that A24 had pulled the plug on the project, but a subsequent report claimed it was still alive, just undergoing a “retooling.” Bryan Fuller has now taken to Instagram to address what’s going on with the series, and unfortunately, it sounds like he’s no longer involved.
“Adapting classic horror is something I have some experience with,” Fuller wrote. “These shows require a vision that elevates and transforms, as well as delivers what audiences have come to expect, which is an ambitious and risky endeavor. It requires people to take the leap with me.“
Fuller continued: “When it works, as with HANNIBAL, the results can be powerful for the storytellers and the audience. I couldn’t be more proud of the work my co-showrunner Jim Danger Gray and I were able to accomplish with our brilliant writing staff despite the challenges we faced. For reasons beyond our control, A24 has elected to go a different way with the material. We hope the final product will be something Friday the 13th fans all over the world will enjoy.“
As we didn’t know all that much about Crystal Lake to begin with, it’s hard to tell what this new direction will mean. The project, which was given a straight-to-series order by Peacock in 2022, has been described as an “expanded prequel” which would feature Jason Voorhees as well as his mother, Pamela Voorhees. Adrienne King, who played Alice Hardy in the original Friday the 13th movie, had reportedly even signed on for a recurring role. All of this may be up in the air following the retooling of the project.
Bryan Fuller is no stranger to leaving projects behind, as he also exited Star Trek: Discovery during pre-production and departed American Gods after the first season.
The post Crystal Lake: A24 going a “different way” with the Friday the 13th prequel series as Bryan Fuller may no longer be involved appeared first on JoBlo.
The Office lives! A follow-up to the acclaimed mockumentary comedy series has officially been given a series order at Peacock, and the first plot details of the new Office show have also been revealed.
The official logline reads: “The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.” The untitled follow-up comes from Greg Daniels (The Office) and Michael Koman (Nathan for You) and will star Domhnall Gleeson (Ex-Machina) and Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus). Further members of the ensemble cast will be announced soon as production is expected to kick off in July.
“It’s been more than 10 years since the final episode of The Office aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock,” said Lisa Katz, president of NBCUniversal Entertainment. “In partnership with Universal Television and led by the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this new series set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin introduces a new cast of characters in a fresh setting ripe for comedic storytelling: a daily newspaper.“
Based on the BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, The Office was a mockumentary sitcom that followed the everyday work lives of the employees of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The series ran on NBC from 2005 to 2013 for a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. Although the series came to an end over a decade ago, it remains just as popular as ever, especially on streaming services. The series racked up some big numbers on Netflix before it departed for Peacock, with NBCUniversal paying Universal Television $100 million annually for the next five years.
While it may prove difficult to capture that lightning in a bottle once again, I’m willing to give this new series a shot. The setting of a failing daily newspaper has plenty of potential and should provide a different sort of energy from its predecessor. What do you think?
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After shutting down multiple Bethesda studios, Xbox and Bethesda leadership held a town hall meeting with staff to discuss the closures, explaining that the company’s studios had been spread too thin and that it wanted to focus on fewer projects moving forward.
After shutting down multiple Bethesda studios, Xbox and Bethesda leadership held a town hall meeting with staff to discuss the closures, explaining that the company’s studios had been spread too thin and that it wanted to focus on fewer projects moving forward.
Hades 2 arrived via Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 6 and already it’s been stirring up a ton of excitement. If you’re looking to take its Greek-mythos-inspired roguelike action-RPG gameplay on the go with the Steam Deck, there are a few settings you may wish to tweak.
