While the first reviews for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis didn’t exactly paint the ambitious project as an instant classic, it does appear to be something different from the usual blockbuster and that’s just how Coppola wants it.

“The movie business tries to encourage everyone to think that there’s only one way a movie can be,” Coppola told Empire. “It has to have a protagonist, then, in the first few minutes, it has to have an antagonist. They are prescribing a formula that they’ll be able to sell over and over again. So when a movie comes along that doesn’t fit that formula and they don’t think it’s a new formula that can be repeated, they don’t want to do it because they feel there’s too much risk.“

Coppola continued, “As we know, the art we revere — Bizet’s Carmen, artists like Picasso, Monet and Matisse — is art that in its time was considered too risky or a failure. Apocalypse Now is a perfect example. When it came out, people said, ,‘What the hell is this?’ But they never stopped going to see it. With Megalopolis you can’t put a label on it. And that’s great. That’s the kind of film I like.“

Will Megalopolis join the ranks of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now as one of Coppola’s best movies? Time will tell, but no matter what you ultimately feel about the film, it will likely be an experience you won’t regret taking.

A new trailer for Megalopolis was released last week, but it was pulled just hours later when it became apparent that the quotes from negative reviews of Coppola’s previous movies, such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, had been faked. “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis,” said a Lionsgate spokesperson. “We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.“

The official synopsis for Megalopolis reads: “Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.” The film is currently slated to hit theaters on September 27th.

The post Francis Ford Coppola says you “can’t put a label” on Megalopolis appeared first on JoBlo.

Ernest P. Worrell has saved Christmas, scared stupid and gone to camp. And now he is heading to the world of graphic novels. Worrell – famously played by Jim Varney – will ride again as the star of his own book titled Ernest & the Dream Stone, provided there is enough crowdfunded backing.

From September 17th – October 17th, Kickstarter will host the campaign for the graphic novel, which has been “created in direct collaboration with the owners of the franchise and with the heartfelt support of Jim Varney’s nephew and biographer, Justin Lloyd.” The work clocks in at an impressive 150+ pages.

In a promo video for the graphic novel – which offers tons of easter eggs for fans – writer Corey Perkins stated, “We are so excited to announce that for the first time in over 25 years, Ernest P. Worrell is back for his first adventure, in comic book form…We worked on this script for probably over a year and a half, really fine-tuning it, trying to make sure it’s as on-brand and Ernest-y as possible so that when you open the book, you’re really transported back to the original world of Ernest.”

As Varney was a comic book collector himself and the cult character is ripe for rediscovery, this looks to be a fitting and admirable effort to get Ernest back in the spotlight. I don’t normally buy graphic novels or comics, but as someone who grew up with the Ernest movies – yes, Saves Christmas and Scared Stupid are annual watches in my house – but I am absolutely contributing to this campaign. And just as a fun fact, did you know that the “P.” stands for Powertools?

A documentary on Jim Varney titled The Importance of Being Ernest is also in early stages of development, having secured funding also through crowdfunding. Varney’s story – and that of his counterpart – is one worth exploring, so hopefully this also sees the light of day. First appearing in commercials, the character quickly received his own show titled Hey Vern, It’s Ernest!, which earned Varney the Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series, even beating out Mr. Rogers! From there came a series of movies which, as Ernest’ popularity waned, would eventually be DTV fare. The most recent movie was Ernest in the Army, which came out two years before Varney’s death in 2000.

What do you think of an Ernest graphic novel? What was your favorite Ernest movie growing up?

The post Ernest P. Worrell getting the graphic novel treatment — knowwhatimean? appeared first on JoBlo.

Aubrey Plaza starred in season 2 of The White Lotus and even earned an Emmy Award nomination for her performance, but she confessed to the Wall Street Journal Magazine that she still hasn’t watched a single episode because she can’t figure out her Max password.

“I still haven’t, but I’m going to,” Plaza said. “To be honest, I had trouble opening my HBO Max account when I was trying to watch it originally. I couldn’t figure out the password and I usually just give up when I can’t figure out the passwords. I just can’t handle things like that. I’d love a DVD, but they don’t send DVD sets anymore. I ask them every time.“

Plaza has never really been a fan of streaming services, telling Vanity Fair last year that she can’t stand them. “I was trying to watch ‘Top Chef’ Season 20. Couldn’t figure out how to fucking get Hulu + Live,” Plaza explained. “I give up! I can’t. I just can’t. And so what I like to do is go on iTunes and buy movies that are old. Or I’ll go on iTunes and just, like, buy the whole ‘Sopranos’ series, and then my husband will be like, ‘You literally can watch that for free on HBO Max.’“

I hear you, Aubrey. Passwords suck. I get it; you need protection, but for those of us who can’t keep all the various passwords in our heads, it’s just no fun. My wife can recall passwords for bank accounts, email, and just about everything else, even if she hasn’t used them in years. As for myself, I need to pause to remember the password for the laptop I use every single day.

Aubrey Plaza will next be seen starring alongside Kathryn Hahn in Agatha All Along. In the upcoming Marvel series, “the infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…” The first two episodes of the series will debut on Disney+ on September 18th.

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Noah Wyle played Dr. John Carter for over a decade on ER, the popular medical drama series created by the late Michael Crichton. Wyle is set to return to the medical genre for The Pitt, a new series set to debut on Max sometime next year. However, Deadline reports that Crichton’s widow, Sherri, has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television, John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill, and others, alleging that The Pitt is nothing more than an unauthorized reboot of ER.

“‘The Pitt’ is ‘ER,’” states the lawsuit. “It’s not like ‘ER.’ It’s not kind of ‘ER.’ It’s not sort of ‘ER.’ It is ‘ER’ with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ‘ER’ reboot.” There were reportedly plans for a proper ER reboot in 2020, with the studio in negotiations with Crichton’s estate for nearly a year before talks broke down. The ER reboot was going to move forward anyway, but now refused to offer proper credit to Michael Crichton. Sherri then asserted Crichton’s “frozen rights” provision, which “prohibits WBTV from proceeding with any sequels, remakes, spinoffs, or other derivative productions based on ER without Crichton’s express consent.“

Sherri then fought for Crichton to get a “created by” credit on the show, but talks broke down once again, with the lawsuit alleging that John Wells, Noah Wyle, and Warner Bros. Television elected to change the series’ name in order to cut the Crichton estate out of the deal. “Rather than afford Crichton the ‘created by’ credit he deserved, Defendants would pretend their reboot was not his creation at all,” the suit alleges, “thereby enriching themselves to the tune of millions of dollars — potentially hundreds of millions or several billion dollars in success — and depriving Crichton’s heirs of their rightful share.” The suit takes particular aim at Wells, who served as the showrunner for the first six seasons of ER and was the executive producer throughout its entire 15-season run. The suit blasts his actions as “a personal betrayal of a 30-year friendship” with Michael Crichton.

“If Warner Bros. can do this to Michael Crichton, one of the industry’s most successful and prolific creators who made the studio billions over the course of their partnership, no creator is safe,” said a spokesperson for Sherri Crichton in a statement. “While litigation is never the preferred course of action, contracts must be enforced, and Michael Crichton’s legacy must be protected.“

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Space Marine 2 is shaping up to quietly be one of the coolest games of 2024 and possibly the best Warhammer 40K game in some time. Ahead of its launch next month, developer Saber Interactive revealed a roadmap promising new weapons, maps, and more at no additional cost.

Read more…

Space Marine 2 is shaping up to quietly be one of the coolest games of 2024 and possibly the best Warhammer 40K game in some time. Ahead of its launch next month, developer Saber Interactive revealed a roadmap promising new weapons, maps, and more at no additional cost.

Read more…

Admittedly, I’m not the fighting game savant at this site, or even in my own circle of friends. Crucially, I think everyone plays more of this genre than myself, though I was a bit of a fighting game fiend growing up. That lack of experience didn’t impede me when it came to last year’s Street Fighter 6, however, which…

Read more…

Admittedly, I’m not the fighting game savant at this site, or even in my own circle of friends. Crucially, I think everyone plays more of this genre than myself, though I was a bit of a fighting game fiend growing up. That lack of experience didn’t impede me when it came to last year’s Street Fighter 6, however, which…

Read more…

The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman writer/director Robert Eggers‘ remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu (watch it HERE) is set to reach theatres on Wednesday, December 25th – and when a teaser trailer for the film was unveiled a couple of months ago, it gave us a quick glimpse of a moment where the character played by Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol) has blood leaking from her mouth and eyes. A still frame of that moment has now made its way online, courtesy of Rue Morgue, and the image can be seen at the bottom of this article.

An unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the original Nosferatu has the following synopsis: In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok’s servant, Knock (Alexander Granach), prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.

Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.

The film stars Bill Skarsgard (It) as the title character, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as crazy vampire hunter Von Franz, Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol) as Ellen Hutter and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) as her husband Thomas – a role Skarsgard was going to play at one point. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) is in there as Thomas’s friend Friedrich Harding, with Emma Corrin (The Crown) as Friedrich’s wife Anna, Ralph Ineson (The Witch) as Von Franz’s cohort Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, and Simon McBurney (The Conjuring 2) in an unspecified role. Skarsgard has said that playing Nosferatu was like “conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me. … I do not think people are gonna recognize me in it.“

Are you looking forward to the Nosferatu remake? Take a look at this bloody image of Lily-Rose Depp, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Lily-Rose Depp gets bloody in a new image from Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake appeared first on JoBlo.

Back in January, Universal Pictures made a surprising announcement: not only did they have a new Jurassic World movie in development, but the screenplay – by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, returning to the franchise for the first time since The Lost World: Jurassic Park – had already been written, and the movie was on the fast track to production. Soon after, we learned that it’s aiming for a July 2, 2025 theatrical release. Assembled in a mad scramble, the movie is now filming with Godzilla director Gareth Edwards at the helm… and Variety has revealed that Béchir Sylvain, who may be best known for his role as Roman on the BET+ series Diarra from Detroit, his role as Braithwaite on the Netflix series Black Summer, or his appearances on episodes of the Starz series BMF: Black Mafia Family, is in the cast. Details on the character Sylvain is playing in the Jurassic World sequel have not been revealed.

Variety has previously reported that Koepp’s script is a completely fresh take, launching a new Jurassic era, following three adults and three teens getting stuck on the Island. 

This new Jurassic World movie won’t be featuring any returning lead characters from the previous Jurassic Park / Jurassic World movies. The characters played by Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern are out, as are the ones played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The new characters are set to be played by the likes of Sylvain, Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Rupert Friend (Anatomy of a Scandal),  Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer) – all of whom had their roles directly offered to them. Luna Blaise (Manifest), on the other hand, had to (according to Deadline) “beat out a number of actors” to land her role. David Iacono of The Summer I Turned Pretty and child actress Audrina Miranda are also in the cast… along with a bunch of hungry dinosaurs.

Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) was also offered a role, but he turned it down because he felt his presence in the movie wouldn’t help it. He did say that the script is great, though.

Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley are producing the film for Kennedy/Marshall. Steven Spielberg is executive producing through Amblin Entertainment. Universal’s executive vp of production development Sara Scott and creative executive Jacqueline Garell are overseeing the project for the studio. 

Are you looking forward to the new Jurassic World movie? What do you think of Béchir Sylvain joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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