As the Olympic games commence this summer, Variety reports on a new upcoming film about an infamous world sports event. Comedy actor Steve Coogan is set to play former Ireland soccer manager Mick McCarthy along with the fast-rising and BAFTA-nominated Irish star Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment, Lakelands), who will be portraying Manchester United and Ireland soccer legend Roy Keane, in the Irish movie Saipan. McCarthy and Keane would suffer a public falling out and this conflict will be the focus of the film.
Saipan will be helmed by directing duo Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa. Leyburn and D’Sa have also worked together in the past on the critically acclaimed Irish comedy-drama Good Vibrations from 2013, as well as the romance Ordinary Love, which starred Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville from 2019. The duo will be directing from an original script by Paul Fraser, whose past work included the film Dead Man’s Shoes. Production is due to start this summer.
According to Variety, “The film’s title comes from the infamous so-called ‘Saipan Incident’ in 2002, when Keane was captaining the Irish national side ahead of the FIFA World Cup finals in Japan. While preparing on the tiny island of Saipan, the soccer star — known for his hot-headed temperament on and off the field — had a very public, very bitter disagreement with McCarthy, reportedly furious at the training conditions, strategy, travel arrangements, diet and also McCarthy’s competence.
A subsequent interview with Keane in the Irish press sparked a major fallout at the camp, where the footballer is said to have delivered an angry verbal tirade at McCarthy in front of his teammates, telling him to ‘stick your World Cup up your arse’ before flying back to Ireland (although McCarthy later stated he had sent him home). The incident caused a huge controversy in Irish society over who was to blame and Keane wouldn’t play for his country again until 2004, after McCarthy had stepped down as manager.”
There are many who lament the effects of YouTube on our children’s minds, as unvetted dross-like entertainment is churned out separately from the eyes of regulatory bodies, inevitably crammed with product placement and woeful thought of child safety. But then, there are people who spend three months figuring out how…
There are many who lament the effects of YouTube on our children’s minds, as unvetted dross-like entertainment is churned out separately from the eyes of regulatory bodies, inevitably crammed with product placement and woeful thought of child safety. But then, there are people who spend three months figuring out how…
Almost immediately after its release, the trailer for 2016’s Ghostbusters was one of the most disliked videos on YouTube. And while that hate has subsided – or at least been buried by the disappointments of Afterlife and Frozen Empire – it undoubtedly left a mark on the franchise. But it does still have its defenders here and there; and finding one in one of the OG Ghostbusters is a good get, with Dan Aykroyd continuing to show support.
Aykroyd – who, like the rest of the original surviving Ghostbusters, had a cameo in the 2016 version – remembered having some issues initially behind the scenes but coming around to the movie itself. “I liked the movie Paul Feig made with those spectacular women. I was mad at them at the time because I was supposed to be a producer on there and I didn’t do my job and I didn’t argue about costs. And it cost perhaps more than it should, and they all do. All these movies do.” He added, “But boy, I liked that film. I thought that the villain at the end was great. I loved so much of it. And of course, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, you’re never going to do better than that. So I go on the record as saying I’m so proud to have been able to license that movie and have a hand and have a part in it, and I’m fully supportive of it, and I don’t besmirch it at all. I think it works really great amongst all the ones that have been made.”
Dan Aykroyd is no doubt in the minority with that particular Ghostbusters take. It’s one thing to say that it’s a good movie but to say that it works within the rest of the universe is a different kind of stretch. While Afterlife and Frozen Empire are far from being worthy entries, they do at least handle the nostalgia factor quite well and legitimately care about passing the torch. The ’16 version, not so much.
But hey, good on Aykroyd for going to bat for 2016’s Ghostbusters because it has been an easy movie to punch down on. That holds true even for the original team, as Ernie Hudson has been vocal in his confusion about the purpose of doing the movie in the first place.
Do you think 2016’s Ghostbusters will ever find its fanbase? How does it compare to the newest movies?
The AMC series Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches – which, as you may have deduced from the title, is based on author Anne Rice’s trilogy of Mayfair Witches novels – was only four episodes into the eight episode run of its first season when AMC ordered a second season of the show back in February of 2023. We still have a while to wait for Mayfair Witches season 2, as it’s not scheduled to premiere until sometime in 2025, but a teaser trailer for the new episodes has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above. Our review of the first season of the show can be read HERE.
AMC’s Mayfair Witches series is an exploration of female power and the mortal implications of our decisions. Mayfair Witches focuses on an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.
Alexandra Daddario (We Summon the Darkness), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Tongayi Chrisu (Palm Springs), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Annabeth Gish (Rim of the World), Beth Grant (No Country for Old Men), Erica Gimpel (God Friended Me), and Jen Richards (Her Story) star. Daddario plays Rowan, “a brilliant doctor who grapples with her fate as the heir to a family of powerful witches.” Huston’s character is Lasher, “a powerful, shape-shifting entity who has been bound to the Mayfair witches for hundreds of years.” Chrisu is series regular Ciprien Grieve, Hamlin plays Cortland Mayfair, “current reigning patriarch of the Mayfair clan with a voracious appetite for more money, more power and more life”. Gish takes on the recurring role of Diedre, Grant is the recurring Carlotta, Gimpel is the recurring Ellie, and Richards is Jojo.
Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) is overseeing the building of AMC’s franchises based on both her Mayfair Witches novels and her Vampire Chronicles novels. Esta Spaulding and Michelle Ashford, both of whom previously worked on Masters of Sex, are writers and executive producers on Mayfair Witches, with Ashford also serving as the showrunner.
Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches trilogy consists of the novels The Witching Hour (1990), Lasher (1993), and Taltos (1994).
Are you looking forward to Mayfair Witches season 2? What did you think of the teaser trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Whoever comes, whoever it is…I’ll tilt them. I’ll tilt them all…We all know that Keanu Reeves is one of the most chill, down-to-earth guys in the movie business, and he just renewed that license in one of the nerdiest ways possible, taking time out of his schedule to play the John Wick pinball machine at the San Diego Comic-Con.
The video, posted across Stern’s social media accounts, sees Keanu Reeves saddling up to the John Wick pinball machine at the company’s booth, which also featured Jaws, the 70th Anniversary Premium Edition of Godzilla and more. Reeves looks genuinely interested in the game and proves to be inquisitive throughout his free play, asking the team how much time it took to design the John Wick machine, to which the rep confirmed the time frame was around two years. He also said that 48 minutes of music was used. And while Reeves is genuinely interested in the details and backstory of the John Wick pinball machine, he can’t help but get wrapped up in the game, focusing and screaming, “Look at that! You see that save?!”
Add this moment to the list of viral moments that help make Keanu Reeves one of the coolest guys in the business. Word is that he even signed the John Wick pinball machine he played, no doubt bumping up its retail value well over $9,699. That price is for the Premium Edition, which sits as the mid-ground between the Pro Edition and the more exclusive Limited Edition. Now, we wonder if Reeves has played the pinball machines for Williams’ Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Johnny Mnemonic…
Here is a partial description of the John Wick pinball machine, as per Stern: “As the titular character, players can engage in high-speed car chases and fast-action drifting across the playfield, which incorporates models and artwork inspired by iconic locations from the franchise, including the New York Continental Hotel and the Red Circle Club, all set against a dramatically edge lit New York City skyline. Players can also open John Wick’s weapons crate to reveal a hidden shot target path to retrieve an array of weapons. Players must use the sculpted Blood Oath Marker carefully – or risk the consequences. Players need to survive other assassins, complete jobs for the legendary Factions of the High Table, and eventually take on John Wick’s “Special Assignment!”
Which other Keanu Reeves movie could work as a cool pinball machine? Drop your quarter in the slot and let us know in the comments below!
Less than 24 hours before this was written, Marvel dropped a giant bombshell at their Hall H panel at Comic-Con. Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, but not as Iron Man. Instead, he’ll be donning the visage of the fearsome Dr. Doom. Watching the video, you can see the room erupt as soon as he revealed himself. The MCU fans have been hoping he would make a return. After the dust settled, some fans seemed confused about why they would cast someone who was already a well-loved character in the cinematic universe. Well, that can easily be explained.
Same Character, New World
Marvel is in the middle of their Multiverse Saga, so we’ve seen many alternate realities lately. This is no different. While he was announced to be playing Dr. Doom, more than likely, we’re still seeing him play Tony Stark. It will just be a different version from another reality. In whatever reality he comes from, Tony took a different path in life. He didn’t go through the same situations we’ve seen him deal with, so in his reality, he became a villain instead of the hero that we saw save the world in Endgame.
We have already seen that Tony had moments in his life when he could have strayed from the heroic path. Different choices could have easily pushed him into a role that would be seen as villainous. Doom always considers himself a heroic character, even when he bends other people to his will. He thinks it’s always for the greater good. That’s no different than with Tony Stark. Luckily, he has always had people surrounding him to keep him on the path to righteousness.
What If . . . ?
This is not a new concept in the comics. In a 2010 issue of the comic series What If . . . ? we saw this story sort of play out, although with some body swap concepts. The minds of Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom switched bodies during an accident at college. Tony was then deported back to Latveria in Doom’s body. It showed how your environment can shape you even if you start with the best intentions.
There was also a storyline in the main line of Marvel comics called The Infamous Ironman. Tony Stark is thought to be dead, and Doom decides to take up the mantle of Iron Man to become a hero. While trying to change his ways, he sees that breaking good is much more complicated than it looks. Both stories are a great read and worth checking out.
What Is Secret Wars?
Even though Marvel was gearing up to have Kang be the big bad of this cycle, incidents outside their control made them have to pivot and change course. The good thing is that they had already announced that everything was leading up to another two-part Avengers tale. One was supposed to be The Kang Dynasty, and the other was Secret Wars. Luckily, with Secret Wars already their destination, it made it easy to change course and bring in Dr. Doom as the big bad.
So, what exactly is Secret Wars? In the comics, different realities are being destroyed, and the 616 universe (the main Marvel Universe) is about to be destroyed along with the Ultimate universe. Through comic shenanigans, Dr. Doom is able to harness enough power to save parts of different universes and combine them into one. This Earth is labeled Battleworld, and other territories house different realities. We see parts of the 616 universe as well as pieces of the realities that housed storylines like Age Of Apocalypse, Old Man Logan, MC2, and Marvel 1602 that appeared on the Disney + series What If . . . ? this season.
As we can see, Dr. Doom plays a massive role in Secret Wars, so bringing him in as the main antagonist makes a lot of sense. In a fun, thematic way, the character and actor who created the MCU will now be the one saving it. Will he recreate it in his own image? Have you met Tony Stark? Of course he will. If that is good or bad, it remains to be seen. The fun part is that a lot of the alternate characters we have been seeing over the last few years will more than likely be making an appearance. So expect all the Spider-Men to return along with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine, so if you haven’t seen the latest Marvel flick yet…what are you waiting for?!
Move over, Simpsons, there’s another Nostradamus in town! A whopping seven years ago, we wondered what it would be like if 2017’s Logan had a post-credits sequence. What would happen? Who would it tease? What would it predict? Well, as it turns out, a fan-made video made exclusively for JoBlo.com nailed it! How ‘bout that, bubs?
In the video – which was made exclusively for us by Banana-Dragon Films – we see Deadpool using a metal detector and coming across the grave of Logan (as played by Hugh Jackman). There, he opens a hand-drawn picture of himself and Wolverine, with the childish writing reading, “DEADPOOL 2 LOVE MACHINE”, a nod to the working title of Deadpool 2. Below that, a drawing of Deadpool holding a boatload of cash. After that, Deadpool sets about resurrecting Logan, saying, “Hugh, I want us to be together, but not like this.”
So, for those who have seen Deadpool & Wolverine, you’ll notice the similarities right away. Sure, the short video predicted the actual existence of the latest MCU entry, but that movie also opens with the Merc with a Mouth digging up Logan, only to find that he is totally dead. Whoops! But don’t worry because Deadpool does find a way to meet up with his BFF.
Now, we’re not saying Marvel or Ryan Reynolds saw the video and said, “Yup, that’s what we’re doing!” but we do have to assume that the video is now officially canon…right? Honestly, it’s just cool to see a fan-made video get recognition for all the right reasons and we’re happy to be host.
As the creator of the video wrote on Reddit following the viral short blowing up once again (it had 13 million views prior to the release of Deadpool & Wolverine), the entire thing was shot on a weekend in just two hours. Pretty incredible work for such a small window. Such a strong job the team did in not only production values but also calling the opening of a blockbuster seven years before the fact that we hope to see the clip blow up even more in the weeks to come.
Be sure to check out the fan-made video courtesy of Banana Productions – and exclusive to JoBlo.com – and chime in with your thoughts!
The dust is settling at the weekend box office as the final numbers start coming in for Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine. In our box office estimates, we pegged the film coming in at $200 million, and now it looks like the movie just blew past that mark, with Comscore revealing the film grossed $205 million this weekend. That breaks several records, with it now the highest-opening R-rated movie of all time. The number two and three spots on the biggest R-rated openers of all time belong to Deadpool and its first sequel. The first movie made $132.4 million, and the sequel grossed $125.5 million over their opening weekends.
That opening also takes the film into the top 10 biggest openers of all time, with it slipping into 8th place now between two other MCU movies, The Avengers and Black Panther. That’s a pretty incredible result for an R-rated movie. Still, audiences absolutely love this foul-mouthed love letter to the classic Fox Marvel movies, earning a terrific A CinemaScore rating. With the Marvel panel reveals at Comic-Con further stoking fan appreciation, maybe superhero fatigue isn’t as irreversible as people think, presuming they make the right movies. This is similar to what we saw with Pixar, who just had their biggest hit ever with Inside Out 2. Make the right movie, and audiences will turn out in droves.
However, last week’s champ, Twisters, suffered a harder-than-expected fall at the box office, plummeting 57% to $35.3 million. While a fall under 60% is usually considered decent, with positive word of mouth, the hope was that this would have stronger legs. Universal probably made a big mistake dropping the well-received sequel so close to Deadpool & Wolverine, as they’re going for the same audience.
Even family outings seemed impacted by Deadpool, with Despicable Me 4 making $14.2 million for a $290 million total and Inside Out 2 adding another $8.3 million to its gargantuan $613 million domestic haul.
Neon’s horror breakout, Longlegs, has proven to have long legs indeed at the box office, with $6.7 this weekend, with a $58 million total. It should earn around $75-80 million when all is said and done, which is an incredible result for an indie horror film like this. A Quiet Place: Day One continued to do well, making just over $3 million for a $134 million total, proving people still dig this franchise. Bad Boys: Ride or Die made another $1.275 million this weekend, with the $191 million total not too far away from the $200 million mark (will Sony keep it in theatres until it passes the double century mark?). It’s now the second-highest-grossing film in that franchise, just behind Bad Boys For Life, which made $206 million.
The Bette Midler flick, The Fabulous Four, had a less than fabulous opening, only making just over a million dollars. It was a counter-programming move, but the $967 per screen average is poor. Fly Me to the Moon has also proven to be a disaster, making $750k for a total of under $20 million. Ouch. Finally, the Indian, Tamil-language movie Raayan hit tenth place a the box office, making $378k despite only being open on 120 screens.
How much money do you think Deadpool & Wolverine will make next weekend? Let us know in the comments!
In the 1990s, Tim Allen was one of the biggest family comedy stars in the game. Beginning his career as a stand-up comic at the Comedy Store, his brand of family-friendly, relatable comedy made him stand out from his contemporaries. This led to ABC building a sitcom around him, Home Improvement. The show, where he played Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, became one of the biggest shows of the nineties, regularly ranking near the top of the Nielsen ratings. It wasn’t a critical darling, but families loved it, with Allen becoming a household name.
However, his career hit a turning point in 1994 when he signed on to star in Disney’s The Santa Clause, where he played an everyday businessman who becomes the heir apparent to Santa’s mantle. The film was a total smash, making him a movie star overnight. The following year, he voiced Buzz Lightyear in the first Pixar movie, Toy Story, adding another family classic to his resume. Soon, he was making over a million bucks an episode for Home Improvement and leading family comedies like Jungle 2 Jungle, the Santa Clause sequels, and the vastly underrated, legit sci-fi classic Galaxy Quest.
Eventually, Home Improvement ended, and Allen’s big screen outings, which include Big Trouble, Wild Hogs, and Zoom, started to underperform. However, he still had a long-running hit sitcom, Last Man Standing, which saw a controversial cancellation that led to many wondering if his political opinions led to his show being unfairly axed. Indeed, when Fox revived it, it ran for three more seasons. While many questioned why Chris Evans was suddenly being asked to voice Buzz in the Lightyear spin-off movie, Allen’s relationship with Disney seemed permanently mended when he signed on to star in Disney Plus’The Santa Clauses series. Just renewed for a second season, Allen seems firmly back in the limelight, and in this episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity, which is written (with Brad Hamerly), narrated and edited by Taylor James Johnson, we look at his career ups and downs while appreciating a guy many of us grew up watching.
What’s your favorite Tim Allen role? Let us know in the comments.
KEANU ALERT
