One night, as I’m playing Selaco—a fast-paced retro-inspired FPS—I round a corner and shoot three space guards with a grenade launcher and watch their body parts fly through the air. Meanwhile, watching from my desktop is Mustard, my new digital pet. He’s from a different game, Weyrdlets, and he’s hanging out with me…
Travis Knight, the director of Bumblebee and Kubo and the Two Strings and the CEO of Laika Studios, is gearing up for something strange with an animated adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s best-selling novel Piranesi. Before Knight commits himself to bringing this weird and wonderful tale to life, he’s busy working on Wildwood, a stop-motion animated adaptation of the fantasy novels by Colin Meloy. Laika’s intention to bring Wildwood to screens dates back to when the premiere animation studio made The Boxtrolls. I should know. I was there and read Wildwood in my hotel after the studio teased the project.
Wildwood stars the voices of Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, and more. The story is told from multiple points of view, and the book features more than eighty illustrations, including six full-color plates. In Wildwood, Prue and her friend Curtis uncover a secret world amid violent upheaval—a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. What begins as a rescue mission becomes something much greater as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.
Here’s a synopsis for Collins’s Piranesi courtesy of Amazon:
Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has.
In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays, Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times, he brings tributes of food to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.
Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they, and what do they want? Are they friends, or do they bring destruction and madness, as the Other claims?
Lost texts must be found, and secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous.
The beauty of the House is immeasurable; its kindness is infinite.
Well, I know what I’m reading tonight. I’m something of a Laika Studios obsessive and enjoy having foreknowledge of projects they’re working on. Collins’s novel sounds like catnip to my ears, and I’ve already purchased my digital copy.
“Piranesi is a treasure, and very dear to me. As a filmmaker, I can scarcely imagine a more joyful experience than wandering through the worlds Susanna dreamed into being,” said Knight. “She’s one of my all-time favorite authors, and with Piranesi, Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating and ultimately life-affirming work of art. I’m humbled that she chose LAIKA as her home.”
Regarding the adaptation, Collins admits to being an animation enthusiast and fan of Laika’s library of work. She’s thrilled to have Knight and Laika interested in bringing her award-winning story to life, and we can’t wait to see it.
“Animation is one of my favourite things. I’ve been inspired by so many animated movies; and LAIKA has produced such extraordinary work — movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, full of beauty and wonder and weirdness. I’m thrilled that Piranesi has found a home with them and I can’t wait to see what they do,” said Collins.
I can barely contain my excitement about this project. I wasn’t kidding when I said I bought the book and plan to start reading it tonight. That’s how quickly I caved into Laika’s story selection. Am I a Laika shill? Absolutely. I wear that label like a badge of honor. Bring it on!
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Saying “Cousin” has become almost as part of the nature of the restaurant business as calling “Corner!” around a busy bend or insisting you scan a QR code instead of using a physical menu. OK, so not everyone is screaming “Cousin!” behind the scenes, but I have heard people using it as a term of affection – and nod to The Bear – in open kitchens. But whatever you do, don’t take a cue and call the “cousin” himself, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, that.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach recently said that being on The Bear has caused him to be recognized quite frequently in public, even getting attention around the world. “I was on top of a little mountain outside Kyoto and a Korean couple came up to me and were saying how much they love the show.” That’s a huge honor, no doubt, but sometimes people take their admiration for him and The Bear too far. “I get a lot of comments. People yell ‘Cousin!’ at me all day.” He added, “Sometimes, you know, you’re just not having a great day. And it’s just like: I’m sorry, man, I don’t have much for you.” Now just imagine how often Jaleel White heard “Did I do thaaaat?” when he was just minding his own!
While Ebon Moss-Bachrach has been making movies and TV for over two decades (can you spot him in The Royal Tenenbaums?), The Bear proved to be just the sort of show he needed for a true breakout. For his turn as “cousin” (sorry!) Richie, he won both a Primetime Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award (in the ensemble category), along with earning a Golden Globe nomination. He has also since been cast as The Thing in next year’s MCU entry The Fantastic Four, which will launch Phase Six in July 2025.
The Bear has done remarkably well for itself as a whole, even nabbing the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. There might be a little category confusion there but it’s a huge get for the show and certainly an indication it will garner a number of additional nods when the Emmy nominations are announced next month. It, too, will fire up its third season on June 27th.
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Unsolved Mysteries has been airing, off and on, presented in different styles and by different hosts, for nearly forty years at this point. It all began with specials hosted by Raymond Burr, Karl Malden, and Robert Stack in the ’80s, followed by a series that went for several years with Stack as the host. (And Virginia Madsen being added as co-host eventually.) Dennis Farina hosted a revival that lasted a few years. And in 2020, the Netflix streaming series brought the world their Unsolved Mysteries reboot, which doesn’t have a host at all. The first six episodes of this revival, called volume 1, arrived on Netflix on July 1, 2020. Volume 2, also consisting of six episodes, dropped on October 19, 2020. Volume 3, which consisted of nine episodes that were released over a period of three weeks, came along in October and November of 2022. Now Netflix has finally confirmed that Unsolved Mysteries volume 4 will be streaming in July!
What’s on Netflix provides some more information, revealing that Unsolved Mysteries volume 4 consists of five episodes, all of which will be streaming as of July 31st. The directors of these episodes are: Robert M. Wise – Served as an executive producer on prior seasons and directed three previous episodes: Death in Oslo (S2E2), Death Row Fugitive (S2E3), and Body in the Bay (S3E7), Skye Borgman – Director of Girl in the Picture plus prior episodes of Unsolved Mysteries: Lady in the Lake (S2E5), Mystery at Mile Marker 45 (S3E1), and Death in a Vegas Motel (S3E4), and Gabe Torres – Director of Brake and December, plus prior episodes of Unsolved Mysteries: Something in the Sky (S3E2) and What Happened to Josh? (S3E5).
What’s on Netflix also shared some images from the new episodes, and those can be seen at the bottom of this article.
A collaboration between the original show’s production company Cosgrove-Meurer Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the production company that brings us Stranger Things, the new Unsolved Mysteries uses re-enactments in a documentary format to profile real-life mysteries and unsolved crimes, lost love, cases involving missing persons and unexplained paranormal events.
I have watched the previous volumes and will definitely be checking out Unsolved Mysteries volume 4. Will you be watching this new batch of episodes in July? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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The latest from filmmaker Karim Ainouz tells a familiar story for history buffs. Yet the director’s take on Katherine Parr, sixth wife to Henry VIII, proves a good story never ages. We’ve seen tales of kings and queens on big and small screens. Yet the latest adaptation, Firebrand, takes on a far more grounded look at this time in history. It helps that the cast includes Jude Law as the ailing king and Alicia Vikander as Katherine. And both give sublime performances. The rest of the cast includes Sam Riley, Eddie Marsan, and many more.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Ainouz, Jude Law, and Alicia Vikander. Karim discussed his take on this story and its grounded nature. Unlike many tales of royalty from the past, the filmmaker’s vision is realism. The discussion with Karim was incredibly engaging, and it was a joy to talk about the project with him.
When I sat down with Jude Law and Alicia Vikander, they talked about taking on these two very public figures in history. I’ve long since admired Mr. Law’s career, and he and Ms. Vikander were quite kind and happy to discuss their latest. While it went very fast, it was a terrific chat, and the two gave marvelous performances in the new film. Firebrand opens this week, and it is yet another fantastic option when choosing your weekend entertainment.
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Since the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, fans of the series have been expressing their excitement over Zelda’s unique gameplay. Chiefly, they are overjoyed about her ability to copy (or echo) items in the environment and use them against her enemies in battle.
Since the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, fans of the series have been expressing their excitement over Zelda’s unique gameplay. Chiefly, they are overjoyed about her ability to copy (or echo) items in the environment and use them against her enemies in battle.
A video game about being a journalist might hit a little close to home for me, a journalist whose job is to write about video games. And yet, I cannot get enough of Times & Galaxy’s news shenanigans.
A video game about being a journalist might hit a little close to home for me, a journalist whose job is to write about video games. And yet, I cannot get enough of Times & Galaxy’s news shenanigans.
Science and technology have advanced significantly since the 80s. With things like Bluetooth technology, 3D printing, VR and AR goggles, and the scary progression of AI, science could also get a lot weirder. And one person who wholeheartedly endorses a potential exploration into these possibilities with in a new film is Anthony Michael Hall. Hall, who capitalized on his awkward years in movies like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, had recently given his seal of approval to the notion that his classic film Weird Science could potentially receive a remake.
ScreenRant reports on Hall speaking about this topic in an interview with Inverse as he promotes his upcoming Netflix movie with Jessica Alba, Trigger Warning. While the idea of a remake has probably been thrown around in the past, Hall says he isn’t aware of any immediate plans for one. However, he mentions that he’s also not opposed to one. Hall states,
I mean, I’m certainly too old for me to be in a sequel of it, but I mean I would welcome that. Really, I have to defer to Universal and obviously the John Hughes estate. I really don’t know if that’s in the works, but it would certainly be nice if they chose to do that.”
1985’s Weird Science is an outlier in John Hughes’s filmography. Celebrated for his grounded teen comedies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, Weird Science is something different. It’s an all-out romp and perhaps the only Hughes comedy you could call “zany.” In it, Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith play two lovable nerds who created their dream woman (Kelly LeBrock) with their home computer.
Hall can be seen in the upcoming film, Trigger Warning. The synopsis for that film reads, “Special Forces commando Parker (Jessica Alba) is on active duty overseas when she gets called back to her hometown with the tragic news that her father has suddenly died. Now the owner of the family bar, Parker reconnects with her former boyfriend-turned-sheriff Jesse (Mark Webber), his hot-tempered brother Elvis (Jake Weary), and their powerful father Senator Swann (Anthony Michael Hall) as she looks to understand what actually happened to her dad.”
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