In January 2023, one of the best video game adaptations made to date premiered on TV. A week later HBO’s The Last of Us also premiered. The live-action prestige series based on the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog game of the same name overshadowed a more interesting game adaptation in the form of the anime Nier:…
In January 2023, one of the best video game adaptations made to date premiered on TV. A week later HBO’s The Last of Us also premiered. The live-action prestige series based on the critically acclaimed Naughty Dog game of the same name overshadowed a more interesting game adaptation in the form of the anime Nier:…
The Acolyte, the new Disney+ Star Wars series set in the High Republic era, has been open about its intentions from the jump: portray the Jedi Order at the height of its power and show how they are responsible for their own fall from grace, the same fall we watched play out in the prequels over 20 years ago. But…
The Acolyte, the new Disney+ Star Wars series set in the High Republic era, has been open about its intentions from the jump: portray the Jedi Order at the height of its power and show how they are responsible for their own fall from grace, the same fall we watched play out in the prequels over 20 years ago. But…
When you think we have enough adaptations of Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins’s Watchmen, Warner Bros. Entertainment whispers, ‘No. The first part of an animated adaptation of the trio’s legendary story arrives on August 13, and today, we’ve got a Watchmen: Chapter 1 trailer to give fans a taste of the adventure to come. Warner Bros. teased Watchmen: Chapter 1 last summer at San Diego Comic-Con for a limited audience. Today, everyone gets to enjoy the preview for the first part of this anticipated two-part event film. According to Warner Bros., Watchmen: Chapter 1 marks “a leap forward for our DC Cinematic Animation.”
“Watchmen is set in an alternate reality that closely mirrors the contemporary world of the 1980s. The primary difference is the presence of superheroes. The point of divergence occurs in the year 1938. Their existence in this version of the United States is shown to have dramatically affected and altered the outcomes of real-world events such as the Vietnam War and the presidency of Richard Nixon. In keeping with the realism of the series, although the costumed crimefighters of Watchmen are commonly called “superheroes,” only one, named Doctor Manhattan, possesses any superhuman abilities.
The war in Vietnam ends with an American victory in 1971 and Nixon is still president as of October 1985 upon the repeal of term limits and the Watergate scandal not coming to pass. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan occurs approximately six years later than in real life. When the story begins, the existence of Doctor Manhattan has given the U.S. a strategic advantage over the Soviet Union, which has dramatically increased Cold War tensions. Eventually, by 1977, superheroes grow unpopular among the police and the public, leading them to be outlawed with the passage of the Keene Act.
While many of the heroes retired, Doctor Manhattan and another superhero, known as The Comedian, operate as government-sanctioned agents. Another named Rorschach continues to operate outside the law.”
I’m typically Mr. Positivity when it comes to all things animation. Still, I can’t help but feel hesitation regarding the animation style of Watchmen: Chapter 1. Let’s be clear: it’s just my preference, but I don’t care for the overall look of this film. There’s something about the clean, computer-generated animation that makes me long for DC’s more iconic 2D art style. Anyway, that’s just me. I’m aware that I sound like Abe Simpson yelling at clouds. I’m sure plenty of people dig this approach to the material, and I’m simply wasting my breath. Regardless of my aversion to Watchmen: Chapter 1’s look, Moore’s story is an all-time classic, and I’ll take an animated adaptation of it any day of the week. I’m good to go as long as the story’s spirit is there.
The all-star cast for Watchmen: Chapter 1 includes Matthew Rhys (Dan Dreiberg, Nite Owl), Katee Sackhoff (Laurie Juspeczyk, Silk Spectre), Titus Welliver (Rorschach, Walter Kovacs), Troy Baker (Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias), Adrienne Barbeau (Sally Jupiter, Silk Spectre), Corey Burton (Captain Metropolis), Michael Combs (Jonathan Osterman, Dr. Manhattan), Jeffrey Combs (Edgar Jacobi, Moloch), John Marshall Jones (Hooded Justice), Geoff Pierson (Hollis Mason, Nite Owl), Kari Wahlgren (Janey Slater), and Rick D. Wasserman (Edward Blake, The Comedian), with Kelly Hu, Max Koch, Phil LaMarr, Dwight Schultz, Jason Spisak, and Grey DeLisle.
Watchmen: Chapter 1 arrives on August 13, with Watchmen: Chapter 2 coming in 2025.
What do you think about the Watchmen: Chapter 1 trailer? Are you digging the art style? Will this be the most accurate adaptation of the story? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
The post The Watchmen Chapter 1 trailer finds Rorschach investigating the Comedian’s death for the first part of an animated adaptation appeared first on JoBlo.
Microsoft is raising the price of every tier of Xbox Game Pass starting July 10. Fortunately, you can save a good chunk of change on the most expensive tier through a current Amazon deal. Stacking a year’s worth of monthly subscriptions with this offer is $60 cheaper than paying the new price moving forward.
Microsoft is raising the price of every tier of Xbox Game Pass starting July 10. Fortunately, you can save a good chunk of change on the most expensive tier through a current Amazon deal. Stacking a year’s worth of monthly subscriptions with this offer is $60 cheaper than paying the new price moving forward.
Filmmaker Joe Swanberg was a major figure in the mumblecore film movement, and as the years have gone by he has also earned several credits in the horror genre, whether by taking acting roles in films like A Horrible Way to Die, You’re Next, The Sacrament, and Blackout, or by directing the werewolf movie Silver Bullets and contributing a segment to the anthology film V/H/S. Now Swanberg has increased his number of horror credits by five, as Deadline reports that he has teamed with Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman of Yale Entertainment to produce a slate of five horror films – all of which have already wrapped filming! Four of the titles are Helldorado, Kenneled, Yellow Eyes, and Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round. The fifth movie is currently simply known as the Untitled Jae Matthews Project.
Written and directed by Kansas Bowling (Cuddly Toys and the Troma release B.C. Butcher), Helldorado centers on Queho, a Native American serial killer with a checkered past, as he takes out the people of a struggling mining town in the stark deserts of Nevada one by one, with the town Deputy right on his tail.
Jay Burleson, director of the Troma release The Nobodies and the Third Saturday in October double feature, took the helm of Kenneled, working from a screenplay by H.K. Moore. The film follows a destitute dog walker who finds a wealthy client who saves him from financial ruin. But this is no ordinary dog…
Yellow Eyes appears to mark the feature directorial debut of producer/photographer Jesse Korman. Scripted by Mickey Solis, this one watches as a young couple inherits a house containing a mysterious relic that hosts the spirit of a powerful demon, and the wife of the man it possesses must find an exorcist to save him.
Aidan Leary also appears to be making his feature directorial debut with Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round, which he wrote with C.R. Thompson. Their story is about what happens when a children’s TV show host, ensnared in a case of amnesia, must confront his missing memories as his puppet co-stars turn on him.
Jae Matthews, who is in the band Boy Harsher (which had songs on the soundtracks of Daniel Isn’t Real, Chucky, Terrifier 2, and Halloween Ends), previously wrote the horror film My Animal, but makes her feature directorial debut with her untitled project, which she also wrote. Her story centers on a young woman will do anything to avoid her ex at a secluded house party. But a supernatural virus passing through the partygoers may take care of him for her.
The Deadline article notes that the decision to make this slate of films was “inspired by the producing exploits of Roger Corman, with a workflow similar to a season of television. Specifically, Swanberg drew on his experiences producing his Chicago-set Netflix anthology Easy, which he viewed as an efficient and economical model for features. Much of the crew crossed over from project to project, while the writers and directors rotated.”
Other producers on the projects include Will Hirschfeld and Ben Gojer. Edmund Lowell, Declan Morgan, Jason Kringstein, Dajana Gudic, Jeremy Gardner, Matthew Ajayi, Carla Jones, Clay Pecorin, Russell Geyser, Jodie Lazar, Jeffrey Tussi, David Rudnick, Nick Donnermeyer, and Madeleine Cella serve as executive producers.
Swanberg provided the following statement: “I was very lucky to team with Yale Entertainment, who understood the model and were excited to try the most ambitious version of producing five features back-to-back. Using my resources from 20 years in Chicago, combined with support from the great team at Yale and my co-producer Ben Gojer, we have brought five incredible projects to life, each led by exciting early career filmmakers with huge futures. (The projects) feature breakout performances from truly exciting acting discoveries. Having witnessed firsthand the power of community early in my career, collaborating with Greta Gerwig, Ti West, Adam Wingard, Amy Seimetz and David Lowery in combinations of acting, directing, cinematography, editing and crewing, or simply lending each other equipment and resources, I knew the projects would be stronger if the filmmakers teamed up. I am happy that many of the writers and directors worked on each other’s films in different capacities, creating a much stronger group of projects than any would have been individually.” Levine and Beckerman added: “We’ve been longtime fans of Joe’s work, he’s a veteran ultra-efficient wizard at film production. The team at Yale immediately found a kinship with Joe when it came to making quality films on fast schedules that look large on screen. We are so thrilled to now have the opportunity to produce these projects with him. We hope this is the start of a continued partnership between the company and Joe.“
Are you looking forward to seeing this slate of horror films produced by Joe Swanberg and his collaborators? Share your thoughts on this news by leaving a comment below.
The post Joe Swanberg produces slate of 5 horror films: Helldorado, Kenneled, Yellow Eyes, & more appeared first on JoBlo.
Xbox Game Pass started out feeling like a frivolous boondoggle aimed at distracting from the Xbox One’s lack of hit exclusives. Then, it became the best deal in gaming thanks to a steady expansion of the Netflix-like subscription library with major third-party releases and critically acclaimed indies. Now it’s bigger…
Xbox Game Pass started out feeling like a frivolous boondoggle aimed at distracting from the Xbox One’s lack of hit exclusives. Then, it became the best deal in gaming thanks to a steady expansion of the Netflix-like subscription library with major third-party releases and critically acclaimed indies. Now it’s bigger…