Back on Halloween of 2022, it was announced that original Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller – fresh off winning the U.S. copyright to the 1980 film after a lawsuit that stretched on for years – was teaming up with his lawyer Marc Toberoff, franchise rights holder Rob Barsamian of Horror Inc., production company A24, the Peacock streaming service, and showrunner Bryan Fuller (whose credits include Hannibal and Pushing Daisies) to develop a new Friday the 13th streaming series called Crystal Lake. The project seemed to be on track to start filming this summer… but then, earlier this month, we learned that Fuller was booted from the project because A24 wanted to go in a “different direction.” While we wait to see what’s going to happen with Crystal Lake, Horror Inc. announced they’re launching the Jason Universe, which will consist of “new Friday the 13th activations that will span a wide range of platforms from entertainment, games, immersive experiences, merchandise and more to be announced throughout 2024 via @JasonUniverse13 on social media or by visiting the official Jason Universe website.” Now entertainment lawyer Larry Zerner (who also played Jason victim Shelly in Friday the 13th Part III) has weighed in with his assessment of what’s going on with the Friday the 13th franchise.

Zerner wrote on X, “Here’s my take on what’s going on with the Friday the 13th rights. A lot of this is just guesswork on my part based on my knowledge of the parties and the rights, so take everything with a large grain of salt: After Victor Miller won the lawsuit, the rights were divided among Victor, who owns the rights to the original movie and any characters in the original movie (including Jason), but only in the United States, and Horror Inc., which owns the rights to all of the other movies and the rights to the original movie outside of the United States. Horror Inc. is owned by Robert Barsamian. Sean Cunningham may be somewhat involved, but it’s really Horror Inc.

Horror Inc. and Victor then made a deal to combine their rights, which allows them to make anything they want. However, because Victor really only owns the rights to the first movie, their deal probably says that if they make things based on characters from the first movie, then Victor will be paid more money then if they make something based on characters or elements from other movies. So, I’m guessing that is why Victor and Horror Inc. made a deal to first do a remake of the first movie, which is why they are starting with the Crystal Lake television series and not jumping into movies with the adult Jason.

Another wrinkle is while the rights to the characters are owned by Horror Inc. and Victor, the right to the Friday the 13th title is owned by New Line Cinema. Because New Line owns the F13 trademark, if Horror Inc. and Victor were going to release a movie (or TV show) called Friday the 13th they would have to cut New Line in on the action, which is apparently something they don’t want to do (at least right now). That leads to the announcement of the “Jason Universe” which states that Horror Inc and VM will be releasing all sorts of Jason related IP (games, action figures, books), but no movies at this time, and nothing under the F13 banner.

Rights are complicated. These rights are a mess. While I (and probably most of the fans) just want to have more F13 movies with Jason slashing away, the rights holders are trying to milk things another way. IMHO, this strategy has just not worked out. It has now been 15 years since the last F13 movie! There was a lot of money to be made if everyone would just split the pie but it appears that instead, all the parties are holding out for a larger share, even though this is probably not the best use of the IP. Time will tell how things will work out. I just hope that everyone can get this together and we can get new movies with Jason in the near future. We’ve all been waiting a long time.“

As Zerner mentioned, Crystal Lake is intended to be, at least partially, an expanded prequel to / remake of the original Friday the 13th film. Scream writer Kevin Williamson, who was going to be contributing an hour-long chase episode to the show’s first season, said Fuller’s script for the pilot episode was “so beautifully realized. A gorgeous portrait of a mother unraveling in her grief. Not to mention bloody horrific!” Cube director Vincenzo Natali said Fuller’s vision for the series was a “Hannibal-level reinvention that was simultaneously beautiful, sad, poetic, funny and horrifying.” Although it would start with the story of Mrs. Voorhees avenging the drowning death of her son Jason, it would continue on with the story of Jason as well. The plan was that we would see “many familiar manifestations of Jason” throughout the series.

Now that Larry Zerner has broken the possibilities down for us, what do you think of the status of Crystal Lake and the Friday the 13th franchise? Are you looking forward to the Jason Universe announcements? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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One of the projects that made sure got the push to completion after the strikes had settled last year was Deadpool & Wolverine. Marvel made sure that their much-hyped sequel to the popular Deadpool franchise would make its release this summer. Hugh Jackman’s return to the role and donning the iconic yellow costume is enough of a reason that got fans excited, and Jackman himself couldn’t believe it took this long to get to wear the comic-inspired suit. “We almost did it in The Wolverine,” Jackman said. “But from the moment I put it on here, I was like, ‘How did we never do this?’ It looked so right, it felt so right. I was like, ‘That’s him.’ There are different sides of Wolverine we haven’t seen before in the movies. It was exciting for me.“

Although Jackman had a fitting emotional end to his run with Logan, which had satisfied fans and brought them to terms with the passing of the era, he’s been all-in on this one exception (which is also amazingly fitting and sure to satisfy fans). Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have showcased their friendship and friendly jabbing on social media ever since the first Deadpool film and it all looks to come to a head with this sequel, which also introduces both characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Disney acquired Fox. Jackman has recently taken to his official social media to unveil a new poster for the film that showcases Logan and Wade in a feral fight. You can view it below, as well as pre-order your seats with tickets for Deadpool & Wolverine going on sale today.

The directing duties of this event had been taken up by Shawn Levy. Levy recently admitted that he took the opportunity to amend a tremendous regret he harbored. “When we were making Real Steel, Hugh was looking to do The Wolverine, and he asked me if I wanted to do it,” Levy said. “And like a moron, I said, ‘No’. Because I was thinking at that time, ‘Well, it’s your fifth time playing the character, I’m doing original films et cetera’. And I regretted it deeply for years. And so, when the opportunity came around again, thank God I was older and wiser enough to jump at the opportunity.” James Mangold wound up taking the helm of The Wolverine and also returned to direct Logan, which was a no-nonsense, dark and tragic outing for the character.

Levy added, “On the set of The Adam Project, Ryan asked me if I would consider doing Deadpool 3.” The Stranger Things director told Empire, “And I remember him saying, ‘I know you’re gonna say no, but I’m really going to try and talk you into it.’ And my response was, ‘I’m not gonna f***ing say no, are you kidding? It’s a hard and immediate yes, sir!’”

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Larian Studios, the enormous team behind recent smash hits Divinity: Original Sin 2 and the GOTY-sweeping RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 have announced they’re opening a seventh studio, this one in Warsaw, Poland. The new recruits will be joining the efforts to work on at least two RPGs, which the studio (unsurprisingly)…

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Larian Studios, the enormous team behind recent smash hits Divinity: Original Sin 2 and the GOTY-sweeping RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 have announced they’re opening a seventh studio, this one in Warsaw, Poland. The new recruits will be joining the efforts to work on at least two RPGs, which the studio (unsurprisingly)…

Read more…

Michael Mann confirmed during his press tour for Ferrari that his next film project would be adapting his novel, Heat 2, which serves as both a sequel and a prequel to his popular 1995 film that famously pitted together legendary actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Not much is known about the film other than Mann being keen to work with Adam Driver again after Ferrari. However, speculation had grown that Elvis’ Austin Butler would be occupying the role of Chris Shiherlis, which had previously been played by Val Kilmer. Then, there would be fuel added to the fire of rumors thanks to a viral video that was making the rounds which shows Butler doing some gun training at Taran Tactical, which is the same facility where Keanu Reeves trains for the John Wick films.

Butler is currently doing the press tour for his upcoming project The Bikeriders, which sees him starring opposite Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy. The period drama is directed by Jeff Nichols and Butler had filmed the project right after portraying Feyed Rautha in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. In Total Film‘s new issue, Butler would field the inevitable question during an interview on whether or not the rumors of the Heat sequel are true. The Dune: Part Two star would keep his lips sealed tighter than if he were in a Marvel film. Butler simply replied,

Yeah, I… I mean, I love the first film, but no comment on that.”

Butler diverted attention towards another project he can talk about, which is a western from Ari Aster called Eddington. He glows, “I’m really excited about Eddington. I mean, the cast is stacked with people I’ve always dreamed of working with. And it’s also from the mind of Ari Aster, who is truly brilliant and completely singular. He’s come up with something here that I think is really, really unique and exciting.”

Mann recently confirmed on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast that his plan for Heat 2 is to “absolutely to make it [in 2024].“ He revealed that he’d been hard at work on the screenplay and Warner Bros’ enthusiasm for the project has them checking in on him, “So I get very respectful, very pleasant calls from Warner Bros. saying, ‘Anything we can do to help?’ Which translates to, ‘Where’s the screenplay?’“ Mann also thinks audiences are ready for a new story from the Heat universe, saying, “It’s sustained in culture. It’s known. I could delude myself into thinking that the whole world is familiar with it, but when you check out its prominence in home video for over 20 years, this thing really has legs. People are still watching it, people are still talking about it. It’s a brand. It’s kind of a Heat universe, in a way. And that certainly justifies a very large ambitious movie.“

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Plot: Unspeakable horror meets the blackest of black comedy. To celebrate the birth of their baby, a bickering couple buys a coffee table. Guaranteed to bring happiness to their family by the smarmy salesman, the couple instead find nothing but horror with this furniture and all without ghosts, monsters or possessions, just a tacky coffee table.

Review: It is hard for movies to fall between the cracks for a movie site like ours. Rarely do we learn of a movie after everyone else, especially two years late. The Coffee Table, directed by Caye Casas, is a Spanish movie that debuted in 2022 in Europe before hitting the festival circuit in 2023. The movie snuck onto DVD and streaming platforms domestically in April but is now buzzing thanks to an endorsement on social media from Stephen King. Knowing nothing about the film besides King’s endorsement, I checked out The Coffee Table and was unprepared for what I was about to see. See is not quite the right word as you endure The Coffee Table. A pitch-black comedy about the most horrific possible subject, The Coffee Table may be the most uncomfortable film I have watched in years. Well written and acted, this movie is absolutely not for everyone, but it will leave you thinking about whether you like it or not.

The Coffee Table opens with new parents Jesús (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefania de los Santos) shopping for a coffee table. As the salesperson describes the titular object, the couple snipes at one another about their relationship. Jesús wants the garish table, which features two nude figures covered in fake gold and demands to be able to decide since Maria has been in control of everything from their home to the name of their newborn son, Cayetano. The couple reaches their breaking point when the salesperson claims the glass table is virtually unbreakable. Needless to say, Jesús ends up getting the table and brings it home to assemble it. The table becomes a focal point in the following horrific events. The moment that changes everything for Jesús comes within the first thirty minutes of The Coffee Table, and what follows may be the most anxiety-ridden hour of cinema ever put on screen.

Director Caye Casas set out to make this movie with the intention of making the audience suffer, and he absolutely succeeded in doing so. In many mainstream films, what happens here would have unfolded much differently. Instead of putting the horror on screen, Casas keeps things off-screen and focuses on David Pareja, who conveys multitudes on his pale and sweaty face without uttering much dialogue at all. There are echoes of Edgar Allan Poe throughout this story as everything is built around ramping the stress meter to the boiling point without ever allowing it to tip over. Every minute of this movie teeters on the precipice of a reveal that never comes and exponentially makes it harder to watch with each passing minute. With most of the film all set within Jesús and Maria’s apartment, there is a creeping feel of claustrophobia that gets more cramped as additional characters join the story.

At first, Jesús and Maria interact with characters on their own, including the salesperson at the beginning, followed by some patrons at a local market. Jesús also contends with a thirteen-year-old neighbor who has a crush on him and threatens him if he doesn’t tell Maria. Then there is Jesús’ brother and his girlfriend, who come over for dinner, which adds another dimension to the fraught day that begins with the couple arguing about the coffee table. As the characters talk about the baby and life as new parents, surreal, dreamlike moments haunt the screen and add to the lingering dread waiting to drop. There is also a great deal of humor as Caye Casas plays dangerously close to what is funny versus what is inappropriate to joke about. Somehow, The Coffee Table is as humorous as it is horrifying.

At a brisk ninety minutes, The Coffee Table does not belabor anything, but you will feel like you have spent twice as long watching these events unfold. The final ten minutes of the movie maybe some of the most gut-wrenching scenes of the year. Caye Casas does not shock us with what he shows on screen but rather with what he keeps off camera. Much of this film is a mature comedy of errors that relies on character and performance over anything else. That is especially true of David Pareja and Estefania de los Santos. Any new parents can relate to the disconnect these actors bring to Jesús and Maria but will likely be unable to contend with what happens to them after that. If this film had been about anything else, critics would be lauding it as a masterful and realistic glimpse into a relationship. Still, because this movie is etched in the horror genre, it does not get the same recognition.

Not a horror film in the traditional sense, The Coffee Table is a horror story nonetheless. Disturbingly funny and achingly realistic in its depiction of trauma and shock, Caye Casas has made a film that will likely take incredible fortitude for a lot of viewers to get through. Yes, there is a shocking moment in this movie that will be a make-it-or-break-it scene for viewers, but the stress that follows is even more challenging to deal with. The Coffee Table is a cruel exercise in storytelling that is brilliant in its simplicity. I cannot necessarily say I would recommend that you watch this movie, but if you do, don’t say that I did not warn you.

The Coffee Table

GREAT

8

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“Go ahead, make my day.” And apparently Clint Eastwood’s day was made when he saw Dumb and Dumber, particularly the scene in which Jeff Daniels’ Harry struggles in hilarious fashion to overcome both a battle with laxatives and a toilet that won’t flush.

Jeff Daniels recalled that none other than Clint Eastwood approached him about that Dumb and Dumber moment, not just because it made him laugh but because he could relate. “Clint says to me, ‘I just saw ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and you know, the toilet scene? That happened to me.’ And then he tells a story about dating this woman that he really wanted to impress, but the shellfish hit him the wrong way from lunch.” Eastwood may not come off as a guy with such a crude sense of humor — or with one at all; this is, after all, the guy who made two movies with an orangutan companion — but evidently he can appreciate potty humor. Now we can’t help but wonder if he could nail that scene in fewer than three takes…

While the scene, which Daniels said entailed “porcelain gymnastics”, paid off and stands as one of Dumb and Dumber’s most outrageous scenes (in a movie with a lot of them), he wasn’t sure at the time if it would stick or not. “It’s one thing to read the toilet scene, but then the day comes and we’re actually going to do the toilet scene. I told Jim [Carrey] , ‘This is either the beginning of my career or the end of it.’ Jim, who is fearless, told me, ‘It’s going to be great. You’ve just got to go all the way with it.’”

As we know, Dumb and Dumber was one of three monster hits for Jim Carrey in 1994, but it also showed Jeff Daniels could nail comedy (of the most ridiculous variety) in a way we never quite expected. Surprisingly, Daniels never really approached comedies like this after except for the ill-advised 2014 sequel. But we’ll always have dumb and dumber — Harry and Lloyd, that is (or is it the other way around?).

Where does Dumb and Dumber rank in your list of funniest movies? What is the best scene in the comedy? Let us know below!

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Over the weekend we reported about The Fall Guy hitting VOD services a mere 17 days after its opening weekend. While we know that is primarily a result of Universal being allowed to do so in an agreement that lets them pull a movie’s theatrical run if it underperforms, it did bring up another point on the opposite side. What happens when a movie does insanely well at the box office, with critics and on the awards circuit but still doesn’t have a home video or streaming release? That’s precisely the case with Godzilla Minus One, which pulled in $115.8 million worldwide on a $10-12 million budget.

Despite those box office numbers, Godzilla Minus One is nowhere to be legitimately found in North America. Keep in mind also that the film made its North American debut December 1st — that’s almost half a year ago!

Godzilla Minus One topped out at more than 2,600 theaters, a hefty number for an international film. After an inevitable decrease, it jumped back up to 2,000 in late January to capitalize on its Best Visual Effects Oscar nomination, scaling back into the top 10. Yet, there was no push from the studio after it took home that award — while also becoming the first foreign film to win in that category and also the first Godzilla movie to win any Oscar.

Yet, here we sit without a Blu-ray, 4K or streaming release. Of note, the movie just got a home video release in its native Japan earlier this month. But it’s not like Toho needs to see how it does back home before they put it out in the States, as the box office numbers from domestic and international are nearly identical.

So when will we see Godzilla Minus One in a living room near us? If we go by the previous live-action entry in the franchise, Shin Godzilla, we could be waiting until close to the end of 2024. Whereas that film hit North American theaters in October, it didn’t receive a Region 1 Blu-ray until August of the following year. While Shin Godzilla’s box office haul had nothing on Godzilla Minus One, it could still help us narrow down the release window.

When do you expect to see Godzilla Minus One for purchase and streaming in North America? Will you be picking it up?

The post Why isn’t Godzilla Minus One on Blu-ray or streaming? appeared first on JoBlo.

Kevin Costner may have a lot of drama swirling around his small screen western but that doesn’t mean we weren’t excited for his next cinematic epic, Horizon: An American Saga. Now, we have the first reactions on social media out of the Cannes Film Festival, where the film screened out of competition.

Check out some of the initial reactions to Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga:

It’s great to see Kevin Costner and his passion project doing well on most fronts, especially landing – at least to many – the epic feel (in scope and the number of characters it can handle) while also serving as something of a tribute to the great westerns in movie history. But, perhaps expectedly, it’s not all praise right now for Costner and Horizon. Some publications took its three-hour runtime – which the director must have known would be a target – to task, saying it’s “taxing.”

Just as he once was with baseball movies, Kevin Costner became synonymous with the western. What remains exciting about Horizon isn’t just that Costner will be giving us a fill of the genre as we await any concrete news on the final season of Yellowstone, but that it’s his first movie in more than 20 years, having last helmed the underappreciated Open Range. And of course there was 1990’s Dances with Wolves, winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (sorry, Marty!).

Horizon “explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat, and tears of many,” reads the official synopsis.“Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Kevin Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends, and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.” Chapter 1 of Horizon gallops to theaters on June 28th, while Chapter 2 will follow in the rear on August 16th.

What do you think of the first reactions to Kevin Costner’s Horizon out of Cannes? Will you be checking it out when it hits theaters?

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We may still be more than two months out from Deadpool & Wolverine but that doesn’t mean we don’t have new content with the latter. Well, sort of. Hugh Jackman may not have had anything to do with it but a new fan film making its way around the web has given Wolverine his most badass makeover in some time, putting him in viking garb and reinterpreting the Marvel character in a way we didn’t know we needed!

After a precautionary disclaimer saying the Wolverine fan film is not meant to capitalize on the property (hey, you never know what Disney will sue for), we hear a character growl, “I am wrath. I am chaos and violence. I am death and resurrection. I am Fenrir’s fury,” before going into the action. And there is some pretty incredible action here, with the titular hero of Logan the Wolf doing pretty much everything he promised in his furious prologue, with a strong amount of blood and gore (what an inventive Glasgow smile!), some frenetic camerawork and production values that show just how much French filmmaker Godefroy Ryckewaert and his team love not only the character but making movies. (He also has a Captain America short worth seeing.) And just so we can give credit where it’s due, Teddy Massons serves as DP, Warlegends did the fight choreography and Maxime Ecoiffier plays Logan. There’s also a fun surprise that gives another reason to check out this fan film. As of publication, the video has just under 350,000 views.

When done right, fan films such as Logan the Wolf can truly do something unique with a character, balancing homage and creativity in a way that we never expected. And that’s just what this Wolverine fan film – running about 12 minutes – is, serving as the latest example of a work of admiration and respect that a studio couldn’t possibly greenlight. The same might be said of The Hunt for Gollum, a Lord of the Rings fan film that caught the ire of Warner Bros. 15 years after it was uploaded once views rose dramatically following the announcement of a movie with the same name. (Don’t worry, though, you can still find it online.)

The promotional material for Deadpool & Wolverine has been dynamite so far, so just consider this fan film another work to get us ready for July 26th.

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