Lately it feels like every time we get a big Overwatch 2 announcement it’s about a collaboration with another IP. The hero shooter just wrapped up a Transformers crossover and is in the final days of its World of Warcraft celebration. That trend continues with a new My Hero Academia-inspired event announced at Tokyo…
The acclaimed dramedy from Bill Lawrence is back. After a successful run with Ted Lasso and a new detective series with Bad Monkey, Lawrence’s other Apple TV+ hit, Shrinking, resumes session on October 16. The trailer for the new season has just dropped and is ready for more healing.
The comedy-drama has won raves throughout its first season. Co-created by Jason Segel, Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, Shrinking follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Segel), who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives, including his own. Harrison Ford stars alongside Jason Segel as Dr. Paul Rhoades, one of Jimmy’s colleagues at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center, who has Parkinson’s disease. Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, and Lukita Maxwell also star.
“We have loved the engaging, touching and hilarious world of Shrinking since the beginning, and it has been wonderful to watch as audiences around the world continue to connect with these big-hearted characters,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+. “We can’t wait for viewers to experience what the cast and creative team have for season two.“
Our own Alex Maidy was a big fan of the series. “Shrinking is a damn near-perfect show that I could not get enough of,” Maidy wrote in his review. “It is funny where it needs to be funny and dramatic in all the right places. The entire cast is exceptional, and I felt emotionally invested in every episode. Shrinking is precisely the type of show we need in this day and age, full of quotable lines, great supporting actors, and one of Harrison Ford’s best performances ever. It is very different from Ted Lasso but hits the same notes differently. I doubt anyone will finish this series and not have good things to say about it. If I have any problem with Shrinking, it is that there was not enough of it. I hope this show clicks and runs for multiple seasons so we can keep watching these characters grow and make us cry a little but laugh even more.”
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The 90s was a great time for adaptations. Jurassic Park is the gold standard, of course, but there was so much more. That book’s author, Michael Crichton, also had Sphere and Congo get greenlit and released while we would see non-horror output like Forrest Gump (yeah, really. Look up that strange book) and Shawshank Redemption, which account for the greatest film of all time… and Forrest Gump. On the horror side we would have Silence of the Lambs, the wonderful IT TV miniseries, Exorcist III, and a fun little monster movie throwback called The Relic. At the time, I just thought it was a cool creature feature designed specifically for 12-year-olds like me but looking back all these years later I found out it was an adaptation of a book by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child in what would be the first of 22 separate stories for one of the chief protagonists. That’s all well and good but how well does The Relic adapt Relic? Be careful what crates you open up from the jungle as we find out what happened to this adaptation.
The Movie
When the book Relic came out in 1995 it was quickly snatched up by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall who know a thing or two about producing big movies. From there it would be produced by Gale Ann Hurd and Sam Mercer and released by Paramount Pictures. The director chosen was Peter Hyams and he has quite a fun career resume. He also did End of Days and the only other thing even close to horror would be A Sound of Thunder but some of the other movies he has done that I really like are The Presidio, Outland, which is High Noon in space, Running Scared, and Time Cop, with a special shout out to Stay Tuned. While his career ended about 10 years ago, his cinematic catalogue is both fun and eclectic.
Hyams wanted Harrison Ford to be Lt. Vincent D’Agosta but that would eventually fall to Tom Sizemore where he got to do some of his best leading work. The character of Dr. Frock could have also been played by a more recent heavy hitter as Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, Christopher Lloyd, and Robert DeNiro were all considered but it eventually went to James Whitmore. Whitmore is Brooks from Shawshank but also a two-time Oscar nominee who would be in a million other things including other great creature feature, 1954’s Them, a personal favorite of mine. Sizemore passed in 2023 but had a hell of a career, and life for that matter, for better and for worse. Just some of my other favorites include True Romance, Saving Private Ryan, and Strange Days. Rest in Peace sir.
The rest of the main cast stars Penelope Ann Miller, Oscar winner Linda Hunt, and Clayton Rohner in supporting roles. Hunt has no other horror releases but has great turns in the God of War video game series, Silverado, and Kindergarten Cop. Miller has been around for what seems like forever but never broke through to that upper echelon even with roles in Carlito’s Way and Chaplin to name a few. Another star for the movie is behind the scenes and he’s used to that. Stan Winston helped create the creature effects for the movie and they look great, at least when they are practical and maybe not in the high-definition view of a Blu-ray. The movie was filmed at an actual museum but not at the one it takes place at. The Museum of Natural History in New York was offered seven figures to shoot there but between fears of children being scared and the reputation of management given in the book (one of the authors used to work there and wasn’t kind in the novel apparently), the producers moved to Chicago to shoot at the Field Museum of Natural History and also a soundstage in LA for tunnel scenes where Sizemore got the flu twice.
The movie was also written by 4 screenwriters and while that is usually a death sentence, it worked out fine here. Ric Jaffa, Amy Holden Jones, John Raffo, and Amanda Silver collaborated on the project and combined, they have things like Jurassic World, the new Planet of the Apes movies, Indecent Proposal, the remake of The Getaway, The Slumber Party Massacre, and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. The movie was supposed to be released in 1996, but special effects postproduction would push it to January of 1997 where it would be a bit of a flop, grossing 48 million on its 40-60 million dollar budget.
The Book
Relic was written in 1995 by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston in what would become a series starring the main detective, Pendergast. This would be the start of an absolutely epic amount of collaborative works between the two that would lead to many opportunities. They each have their own books too, including a lot of non-fiction from Preston, but their main output has been together and mostly with Pendergast. Surprisingly, they only have today’s movie as adaptations of their work, but George Clooney was once attached to a project called The Monster of Florence, based on a book Preston wrote with crime reporter Mario Spezi. If that movie had been made, Clooney would have been playing Preston himself.
Preston has done a lot of neat extra-curricular stuff, like being involved in the previously mentioned Italian Serial Killer case and going on an expedition in 2015 to one of the last unexplored places on earth. He later became president of The Authors Guild in 2019. Child has written mostly in the techno horror realm when not writing with Preston.
What is the same?
The story follows the exploits of an anthropologist on an expedition in South America looking into a tribe and their culture and monsters. When his ship comes back into harbor he is nowhere to be found with no sign except his crates. A dock worker is killed and then a guard at the museum that the anthropologist worked at is also killed and Vincent D’Agosta is brought onto the investigation to see what is going on. Dr. Green and Dr. Frock are questioned about the case as well as their missing peer but disregard the whole thing initially. The Museum also wants to keep the case under wraps as they are hosting a big gala and opening a new exhibit showcasing superstition and myth from across the globe.
They look over the crates that were sent to the museum, but they are filled with only plants as packaging without any actual items. These plants are later revealed to be rich in a specific type of protein and some DNA left behind by the killer reveals itself to be part human. This leads the museum scientists to hypothesize that not only is the killer an ancient creature, but it is also in fact their former colleague who sent the plants as food. Furthermore, all of the deaths involved the hypothalamus gland being removed which also ties into the plant’s protein. The gala moves forward as planned but a series of events leads to the power being shut down as well as the security gates going into lockdown.
Many guests escape but a lot of them and museum staff are trapped along with D’Agosta. The creature, who has human intelligence along with a gaggle of other animal DNA, stalks the guests throughout the museum and kills both staff and regular guests. A SWAT team comes in to try and save the patrons but is slaughtered by the creature after it takes out the guests and staff in the main lobby. Most of the civilians are led out danger via the sewer that crosses the street while Dr. Green is able to help kill the creature.
What is Different?
The overall story is very similar but there are a few key differences. The movie moves pretty quickly from the doctor story back to the museum part but the book takes a gap of seven years between the jungle portion and the museum portion. There is also a lengthy epilogue in the book that sort of deconstructs the details not given during the main story including what the creature is exactly and what happened to the team sent there. Further along in the epilogue is when a character finds out that the creature WAS the research scientist, Whitney in the movie and Whittlesey in the book. He also learns how to create and perfect the mutagen and plans to sell it as a drug followed by controlling an army of creatures. The museum staff also knew about what was going on, at least to a degree, and covers it up in the novel while the movie has them as just blissfully and stubbornly unaware.
Regarding the characters, there are a lot of changes ranging from very minor to completely plot changing. Two kids go missing and are killed in the book but found alive in the movie. Frock dies in the movie but goes on to be one of the villains in the sequel book called Reliquary. One of the main characters of the book and one that would go on to star in a lot of future books, Pendergast, is nowhere to be seen in the movie. The majority of his role is handled by D’Agosta played by Sizemore and the D’Agosta character from the book is now a younger police officer named Hollingsworth who does a lot of what D’Agosta does in the book. The creature’s death in the book happens when Pendergast shoots it in the eye which also hits the brain while the movie has Dr. Green final girl it up and blow the thing to bits after tricking it in the offices part of the museum.
Legacy
I had no idea the movie was based on a book, let alone that it had a sequel and a character that would go on to have a hell of a run in their own series. The book is a pretty easy read and it isn’t the best thing I’ve read, for this show or in general, but by those terms it’s not the worst either. The movie holds a special place in my heart, as I saw it in theaters as a 12-year-old and had an absolute blast with it. I still had a great time with the movie now and enjoyed it more than I thought I would on this viewing. The book is a fine book but if I’m looking to consume this story, I’ll stick with the much shorter movie version even if it is smaller scale and a little dumbed down. If you want a cool literary duology featuring a mythic creature and its origins, check out the two books but if you want to see a fun and at times schlocky creature feature that gives the late Tom Sizemore one of his best roles.
A couple of the previous episodes of What Happened to This Adaptation? can be seen below. To see the other shows we have to offer, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
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The production of Happy Gilmore 2 is underway and while fans of the first may wait in anxious anticipation, Sandler himself expressed an excitement about being back on the greens. “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.”
One fan who is ecstatic about being involved with the project is Margaret Qualley. The actress who can be seen in Kinds of Kindness and The Substance proclaimed that she “can die happy now” after landing a part in the film. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, in order to secure the role for her, Qualley’s husband, Jack Antonoff, lied to Adam Sandler about her golfing skills. While on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Qualley admitted that the original film was her “favorite movie” and its star was her “first crush.” She explained, “I saw that there was gonna be a Happy Gilmore 2 and I emailed my agents right away and I said, ‘Anything it takes — no part is too small. Please. I gotta be a part of this, I’m begging you. Please. Whatever it takes.’”
Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon then revealed a text message exchange between Sandler and Antonoff as Sandler asked, “Does your wife golf at all?” Then, Antonoff would convey, “Yeah she’s actually good.” Qualley came clean, “What a good husband. And I can’t golf. He lied for the sake of the family.… I never golfed a day in my life. I’m terrible, actually.” She noted that she “took some lessons, but mostly, I’m still bad.” The actress would emphasize that being in the sequel was “the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” even though it’s a “tiny part.” She continued, “I’m essentially deep background, but I can die happy now.”
Qualley can now be seen in The Substance with Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, which was one of our favorite movies coming out of TIFF.
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When I hear the name Elizabeth McGovern, I immediately think of ’80s projects she worked on like Ordinary People, Racing with the Moon, Once Upon a Time in America, The Bedroom Window, and, most of all, She’s Having a Baby. Which probably gives away the fact that I have never watched Downton Abbey. McGovern has continued working steadily over the decades since the ’80s movies I mentioned, and these days is likely best known for playing the role of Cora Crawley on Downton Abbey and then reprising that role in two feature films. Next up: Variety reports that McGovern has signed on to join the cast of Anne Rice’s The Talamasca.
About a year and a half ago, we heard that AMC was developing a third TV series based on the works of Anne Rice, adding to the franchise they’ve been building out of the Vampire Chronicles novels and the Mayfair Witch books written by Rice. A few months ago, the show – which is going by the working title of The Talamasca – was officially ordered to series, with the plan being for episodes to start airing sometime in 2025. This entry in the franchise that AMC is calling the Anne Rice Immortal Universe will follow a secretive society called the Talamasca that’s responsible for tracking and containing witches, vampires, werewolves and other creatures. Members of the Talamasca have already been introduced in the AMC shows Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches.
McGovern’s co-stars on the show will include Nicholas Denton of Glitch and Dangerous Liasions, who has been cast as a character named Guy Anatole, and William Fichtner of Heat and The Dark Knight.
Denton’s character Guy Anatole is “brilliant, handsome and sharp on the surface, but he’s always known his mind works a little differently. On the cusp of graduating law school, he is approached by a representative of the Talamasca, a secretive agency that monitors and protects us from the supernatural world. When Guy learns that the Talamasca has been tracking him since his childhood, he falls headlong into a world of secret agents and immortal beings who, up to now, have maintained a fragile balance with the mortal world. But for that balance to hold, and for Guy to survive, he will have to learn to embrace the dark, treacherous depths of his true and singular self.”
Fichtner is playing Jasper, “a mysterious American who has quietly assumed control and influence over the Talamasca’s London Motherhouse. Though his motives and methods are cloaked in shadow, his charm and righteous sense of purpose are as dangerous as the power he’s pursuing.” McGovern’s character is Helen, “a seasoned veteran of the Talamasca, and the leader of its New York Motherhouse. She has long suspected that London’s Motherhouse has fallen under the influence of traitorous elements, and a mysterious death prompts her to recruit Guy Anatole (Denton), who will become her protégé.“
John Lee Hancock, whose credits include The Blind Side and the Stephen King adaptation Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, is writing the Talamasca series and will be serving as showrunner alongside Mark Lafferty of The Right Stuff and Halt and Catch Fire. Hancock will also be directing the first episode. All of AMC’s Anne Rice projects are produced by AMC Studios and executive produced by Mark Johnson.
Talamasca is scheduled to start filming in Manchester, England next month. Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, provided the following statement when the series was announced: “This is a story we’ve been developing and wanting to tell from the earliest moments of this franchise, focused on a fascinating and compelling secret society that has already appeared in both of our existing Anne Rice series, the Talamasca. As with all of these shows, we are thrilled to have such a high level of talent involved, represented here by John Lee Hancock and Mark Lafferty, and of course working closely with producer Mark Johnson as the creative head of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe.“
Hancock added: “This all started for me with a call from Mark Johnson, who asked if I’d ever heard of the Talamasca. I was intrigued by the idea of an organization that, to me, had more than a passing resemblance to the CIA or MI6, which are necessary but not always necessarily transparent. An organization with its own secrets. Thankfully, Dan McDermott liked the take and so did Mark Lafferty, who is so talented and accomplished in the world of television. Many thanks to everyone from Gran Via to Mark Lafferty, to our talented writers and everyone at AMC, who have been supporters, advocates and cheerleaders from day one. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved and look forward to presenting a third series in the Anne Rice Immortal Universe.“
Are you a fan of Interview with the Vampire (you can read our review of the first season HERE and the second HERE) and/or Mayfair Witches (our review of that show’s first season is HERE), and are you interested in seeing what John Lee Hancock and AMC do with Anne Rice’s The Talamasca? What do you think of Elizabeth McGovern joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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The Terminator franchise has had a rough go ever since T2: Judgment Day. Terminator 3 had its moments like the crane chase, but Salvation and Genysis did virtually nothing to enhance the flailing series. So what about Dark Fate? That at least reunited Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton! Well, if you ask James Cameron, Terminator: Dark Fate is the only standout outside of his own movies.
Speaking with Empire as the original Terminator turns 40 this year, James Cameron leant his defense to Dark Fate, which he called “cracking” although couldn’t help but note that it still doesn’t match the first two movies. Even still, he does put it in an easy third place. Still, he knows there are issues with Dark Fate – which he served as producer on – that may not have been anticipated going in. “We achieved our goal. We made a legit sequel to a movie where the people that were actually going to theatres at the time that movie came out are all either dead, retired, crippled, or have dementia. It was a non-starter. There was nothing in the movie for a new audience.”
As such, the box office numbers were a disappointment, at least compared to what James Cameron is used to. “Our problem was not that the film didn’t work. The problem was, people didn’t show up. I’ve owned this to [director] Tim Miller many times. I said, ‘I torpedoed that movie before we ever wrote a word or shot a foot of film.’”
As far as Terminator sequels go, yeah, Dark Fate isn’t all that bad. But when you’ve got Salvation and Genysis out there, that’s not exactly the highest compliment. Still, its high points greatly outshine those in its previous two predecessors and we do have to admit that we dug it upon release, giving it a 9/10.
As for more recent Terminator fare, Netflix put out anime series Terminator Zero this past summer to wide acclaim. Meanwhile, 1984’s The Terminator received a 4K release which came with its own set of issues…
Where do you place Dark Fate in your ultimate Terminator movie ranking? Do you agree with James Cameron’s assessment?
The post James Cameron defends Terminator: Dark Fate… Do you agree with him? appeared first on JoBlo.
The Terminator franchise has had a rough go ever since T2: Judgment Day. Terminator 3 had its moments like the crane chase, but Salvation and Genysis did virtually nothing to enhance the flailing series. So what about Dark Fate? That at least reunited Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton! Well, if you ask James Cameron, Terminator: Dark Fate is the only standout outside of his own movies.
Speaking with Empire as the original Terminator turns 40 this year, James Cameron leant his defense to Dark Fate, which he called “cracking” although couldn’t help but note that it still doesn’t match the first two movies. Even still, he does put it in an easy third place. Still, he knows there are issues with Dark Fate – which he served as producer on – that may not have been anticipated going in. “We achieved our goal. We made a legit sequel to a movie where the people that were actually going to theatres at the time that movie came out are all either dead, retired, crippled, or have dementia. It was a non-starter. There was nothing in the movie for a new audience.”
As such, the box office numbers were a disappointment, at least compared to what James Cameron is used to. “Our problem was not that the film didn’t work. The problem was, people didn’t show up. I’ve owned this to [director] Tim Miller many times. I said, ‘I torpedoed that movie before we ever wrote a word or shot a foot of film.’”
As far as Terminator sequels go, yeah, Dark Fate isn’t all that bad. But when you’ve got Salvation and Genysis out there, that’s not exactly the highest compliment. Still, its high points greatly outshine those in its previous two predecessors and we do have to admit that we dug it upon release, giving it a 9/10.
As for more recent Terminator fare, Netflix put out anime series Terminator Zero this past summer to wide acclaim. Meanwhile, 1984’s The Terminator received a 4K release which came with its own set of issues…
Where do you place Dark Fate in your ultimate Terminator movie ranking? Do you agree with James Cameron’s assessment?
The post James Cameron defends Terminator: Dark Fate…Do you agree with him? appeared first on JoBlo.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first game in the long-running Nintendo franchise to properly star the titular character. In this magic-filled romp, you’ll take on the role of Zelda herself, rather than series protagonist Link. And as such, it plays differently too, Zelda able to summon defeated enemies…
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first game in the long-running Nintendo franchise to properly star the titular character. In this magic-filled romp, you’ll take on the role of Zelda herself, rather than series protagonist Link. And as such, it plays differently too, Zelda able to summon defeated enemies…
It may not be the high school reunion we’ve wanted, but Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig, producer Judd Apatow, writer/star of the show Seth Rogen and other cast members pay tribute to the nostalgic show that is still viewed as gone too soon by many fans — old and new — as the show would only last one season. The NBC dramedy series was a high school show set in the 80s and featured a cast that would go on to become notable names in future projects, including Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, and Busy Phillipps.
Deadline now reports that the show’s creator, producer and stars are looking back and celebrating its impact as it turns 25. Feig shared some throwback pictures on Instagram with the caption, “Freaks & Geeks premiered 25 years ago today on @nbc. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and changed everything for me. Eternally grateful to @juddapatow for taking a chance on my little spec script about growing up in Michigan and making it happen with @dreamworks as well as to our stellar cast, writers, directors and crew for bringing it to life. I truly love you all.”
Meanwhile, Judd Apatow would simply state in his own post, “Happy 25th anniversary Freaks and Geeks!” And Rogen, who played stoner Ken Miller on the show posted, “Apparently it’s the 25th anniversary of Freaks and Geeks premiering, which is insane to think about. This show changed my life in many ways, I’m still close friends with many of the people involved. They’re like family in a lot of ways. It’s rare to get to be a part of something so heartfelt and resonant, and I’m very grateful it was my first experience as an actor, and I’m honored to be amongst its cast.”
Martin Starr said his time on the show was the “happiest I’ve ever been.” His castmate Sam Levine would post, “25 years. Some days I can’t believe it’s been that long. Other days, it sure feels like a lifetime ago. But a quarter century later, I’m truly humbled at how Freaks and Geeks is still being talked about, still finding new fans, and still bringing joy to so many people. I’ll never be able to properly thank @paulfeig, @juddapatow and #JakeKasdan for giving an awkward, overconfident, comedy loving teenage nerd that kind of opportunity. I’m eternally grateful.”
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