World of Warcraft: The War Within has a lot to live up to. The first in a trilogy of expansions Blizzard has dubbed The Worldsoul Saga and the followup to the stellar previous expansion in Dragonflight, it’s easy to imagine it crumbling under lofty expectations. Luckily, however, The War Within builds wonderfully on…
Sony is holding a surprise tech showcase this week to update PS5 players on “innovations in gaming technology,” the company revealed today. It didn’t mention the PS5 Pro at all, but with rumors swirling around the mid-gen update, it certainly sounds like the kind of thing designed to let Sony show off the capabilities…
As Tony Soprano so eloquently put it, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” But for James Gandolfini, it may be that everyone around him was wrong twice a day. Gandolfini helped change the landscape of modern television through The Sopranos but he had just as many headaches as his “waste management” counterpart. Only, these didn’t involve Livia, Ralph or any number of constant nags for Tony.
As recounted in the new documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (currently streaming on Max), Gandolfini’s temper and other shortcomings would get in the way of his desire to work. As Steven Van Zandt – who played the loyal, bandana-clad Silvio Dante – remembered, “He probably quit the show every other day. Maybe every day. Every other day we would go to a bar and we would have the exact same conversation. We’d get drunk and [he’d] say, ‘I’m done. I can’t, I’m not going back.’ And I would say, ‘OK, you got a hundred people depending on you here.’ And he’s like, ‘Ah, yeah, yeah, OK.’”
One particular instance found Gandolfini being confronted by a number of his Sopranos crew, who tried to sit him down for an intervention when his drinking problem got out of hand. As told by former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht, “We did an intervention with him at my apartment in New York. That was to try to get him to go to a facility for rehab. We’d had a lot of friction by that point, and the ruse was that I was inviting Jimmy over so we could talk things through and kind of clear the air…He walked in, and he saw everybody sitting there, and he went, ‘Aw, f*ck this.’ And he walked out. Everybody went, ‘Jimmy, Jimmy!’ And he turned to me and he went, ‘Fire me,’ and he left.”
Obviously it would have been a reckless move to fire Gandolfini from The Sopranos and he knew that. Without Tony, there’s no show. And without Gandolfini, a lot of people are out of work. While some of Gandolfini’s behavior might come off brash, it has been noted on numerous occasions just how well he treated his co-stars. When he landed a massive contract with HBO, he spread the wealth, doling out $30,000 to most of the team. After all, those who want respect, give respect.
Have you caught Wise Guy on Max yet? Where does The Sopranos rank in your list of favorite TV shows? Be the strong – but not silent – type and leave your comments below.
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Funko Fusion’s latest character reveal is KFC mascot, founder, and actual human being Colonel Sanders (Colonel Harland David Sanders passed away over 40 years ago). And if you eat enough KFC chicken you can get a special version of the late fast food icon in a mech suit. Really.
Funko Fusion’s latest character reveal is KFC mascot, founder, and actual human being Colonel Sanders (Colonel Harland David Sanders passed away over 40 years ago). And if you eat enough KFC chicken you can get a special version of the late fast food icon in a mech suit. Really.
Did Amazon’s live-action Spider-Man Noir series find its main villain? Variety seems to think so. According to the entertainment outlet, Brendan Gleeson is officially joining the cast of the hard-boiled Spider-Man series, possibly in a villainous role. Details about Gleeson’s character remain a mystery. However, Variety believes he could play the main villain in the show that stars a stacked cast, including Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, with Lamorne Morris as Robbie Robertson, Abraham Popoola as a World War I veteran, and Li Jun Li as a singer at a premiere New York nightclub.
Here’s the official logline for Amazon’s Spider-Man Noir series courtesy of Amazon and MGM+:
The show “tells the story of an aging and down on his luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.”
The show is expected to consist of eight 45-minute episodes. Cage has said, “One of the things that I like about this potential show is that it’s fantasy. It’s not really people beating people up. Monsters are involved.”
Cage’s character is Ben Reilly, A retired superhero with the powers of Spider-Man who is too old and broken, both figuratively and literally, to suit up the way he used to. Instead, he takes low-level PI cases and stays out of the ones involving high-profile names, like the Mayor. Through flashbacks, we learn about his past heroics and past failures that led him to this point. He is charming but weathered, and the pilot sets him up for a good character arc moving forward.
Spider-Noir comes to us from Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) and Steve Lightfoot (Marvel’s The Punisher), who will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Harry Bradbeer (Killing Eve) will direct and executive produce the first two episodes. Uziel and Lightfoot developed the series alongside Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal, the team behind the Spider-Verse movies. Lord, Miller, and Pascal will also serve as executive producers on Spider-Noir.
Are you excited to hear Brendan Gleeson is confirmed for Amazon’s Spider-Man Noir series? Will he play someone new or an existing villain from the Marvel comics? What is Cage’s Spider-Man Noir suit going to look like? I have so many questions. Stay tuned for more details.
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Deadline has unveiled that Chris Long, whose credits include the FX drama series, The Americans, will be helming the adaptation of The Up and Comer. It has also been announced that Nate Mann of Masters of the Air, Shay Mitchell, from Pretty Little Liars, and Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap, known for The Inheritance, have all signed on to star in the thriller.
The synopsis, per Deadline, reads,
“Based on the novel from New York Times bestseller Howard Roughan, who adapted the screenplay, the film delves into the seemingly perfect life of Philip Randall (Mann), a brilliant attorney poised to become the youngest partner at his prestigious firm. Philip’s idyllic world begins to unravel when a former prep school classmate (Burnap) threatens to reveal a devastating secret involving another woman (Mitchell). Suddenly caught in a high-stakes game of blackmail, murder and revenge, he’s forced to risk everything, only to face the greatest danger of all — winning.”
Long glowed about the cast he’s assembled for this project, “Nate, Shay and Andrew are each such incredible talents, and I’m thrilled to be bringing Howard’s stunning script to life with them.” Producers of the film include Jeremy Alter, Roughan, Gary B. Goldman, and Long. Sheila Jaffe and Bryan Riley oversaw casting.
Andrew Burnap can also be seen in the upcoming A24 psychological horror film The Front Room with Brandy Norwood. Based on a short story by Susan Hill, The Front Room has the following synopsis: Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda (Brandy) after her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere… If you would like to read the short story source material, it can be found in Hill’s collection The Travelling Bag and Other Ghostly Stories. Copies can be purchased at THIS LINK.
The Front Room is being produced by A24, along with Lucan Toh, Babak Anvari, and Bryan Sonderman of Two & Two Pictures, as well as Julia Oh and David Hinojosa of 2AM. A24 is financing the project and will be handling the worldwide theatrical release. The film has received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association ratings board for language, some violent/disturbing content, brief sexuality and nudity.
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Who’s ready to hit the links with one of the most aggressive golfers in the sport’s cinematic history? Happy Gilmore 2 is officially in production, and there’s no telling what awaits the hockey-goon-turned-pro-golfer. Netflix announced the start of Happy Gilmore 2’s production this afternoon with a photo of Happy’s iconic Boston Bruins jersey alongside other outfits from the film’s wardrobe department.
Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery, Ghosted, Workaholics) directs Happy Gilmore 2 from a script by Sandler and his trusty collaborator Tim Herlihy (The Wedding Singer, Pixels, Hubie Halloween). Sandler also posted the image on Instagram, saying, “It ain’t over. The way I see it… we’ve only just begun,” paying homage to a similar line of dialogue said by Christopher McDonald’s Shooter McGavin in the original film.
Happy Gilmore 2 is officially in production
pic.twitter.com/IznOshH5Es
— Netflix (@netflix) September 9, 2024
In addition to Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald returning as Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin, respectively, NFL star (and Taylor Swift’s arm candy) Travis Kelce and Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer, Uncut Gems, The Curse) appear in the comedic sequel, with Nick Swarsdon (Grandma’s Boy, Jack and Jill, The Benchwarmers) playing a caddy.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in August, Sandler expressed his excitement for Happy Gilmore 2, saying, “The idea that me and my buddy Tim Herlihy had and the more we talked about it and scene to scene worked on it, it built, and we feel very strong about the movie itself,” Sandler said. “We’re happy where it’s at and this is an exciting time for us. I don’t know how all of a sudden our brains said, ‘Let’s do that.’ It just kind of happened.”
Happy Gilmore focuses on Happy, a hockey player with anger management issues who, with the help of golf pro Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers), joins the PGA Tour to earn enough money to save his grandmother’s house. Happy isn’t precisely a conventional golfer, and his aggressive, slapshot style of play clashes with PGA favorite Shooter McGavin, a self-important asshat in desperate need of a kick in the golf balls. As Happy and Shooter prepare to face one another for the top prize, Shooter uses every dirty trick in the book to keep his title and sabotage Happy’s possible victory.
Who else do you hope returns for Happy Gilmore 2? Julie Bowen or Allen Covert? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Deadline is now reporting that Dead Calm and Titanic star Billy Zane is now set to join the cast of the supernatural indie thriller The Evilry. It was recently reported that Final Destination: Bloodlines star Brec Bassinger signed on to star in the film. Alexander Garcia will be directing from his own script, with principal photography set to begin in Louisiana next month. Bassinger will be joined in the cast by Elena Kampouris (Children of the Corn), Dylan Walsh (Superman & Lois), Marissa Reyes (Ganymede), Evan Ross (The Loneliest Boy in the World), Tony Pierce (The Bodyguard), and Teri Polo (the Meet the Parents franchise).
It is yet to be revealed what role Zane will be playing in the film. Incidentally, there also hasn’t been much announced by way of plot details, but sources were able to find out that the story involves a visiting relative, played by Kampouris, who is harboring a dark secret.
Writer/director Garcia is producing The Evilry under his Multi-Valence Productions banner, alongside his producing partners Joanna Quezada, Mike Nease, and Chris Bradds. Anne Stimac, Fabian Alomar, David Bertolino, and Jason Baker are also producing, with Scott Huneryager of ZaZa Rev Motion Pictures and William Day Frank serving as executive producers. Garcia is just getting his writing/directing/producing career rolling. He’s currently in post-production on a skateboarding romance called Crushed It! and has multiple projects in pre-production: the skateboarding fantasy film Skate God, the mystery Gallatin 6, and the horror film He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
Meanwhile, film fans are eager to see Zane’s spitting image of Marlon Brando be used in a film about the iconic actor. Zane was first cast as Marlon Brando all the way back in 2019 – and things have been pretty much silent for the bulk of the five years that followed. But now, with the movie at this year’s Cannes Market, and recently, some new photos have surfaced of his impressive immersion into the role. Billy Zane’s Marlon Brando is from a pivotal era in the legendary actor’s career, with Waltzing with Brando taking place in the late ‘60s into the early ‘70s, when his work shifted dramatically and he reinvented himself.
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Though you’ll spend most of your time in Astro Bot clearing original levels set in the game’s own universe, each of its galaxies ends with a level based on a beloved PlayStation franchise. One of these is the splendidly sarcastically named Dude Raiding, which provides Astro with Uncharted protagonist Nathan Drake’s…