Month: November 2024

I Know What You Did Last Summer

There’s a new sequel to the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (watch it HERE) and the follow-up I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (watch that one HERE) coming our way from director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) – and Deadline has just revealed the names of four more cast members! They are Lola Tung (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story), Austin Nichols (The Day After Tomorrow), and model / musician Gabbriette, who will be making her feature film acting debut. Tung, Chavez, Nichols, and Gabbriette join previously announced cast members Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things), Tyriq Withers (Atlanta), Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), and Billy Campbell (The Rocketeer). Robinson’s Do Revenge star Camila Mendes (Riverdale) was previously attached, but had to drop out due to scheduling issues. It appears that she has been replaced by Chase Sui Wonders (Bodies Bodies Bodies). I Know What You Did Last Summer and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer cast member Freddie Prinze Jr. recently signed on to reprise the role of Ray Bronson, while Jennifer Love Hewitt (who played heroine Julie James in the first two films) is still in negotiations to appear in the film.

Robinson will be directing the film from a screenplay by Leah McKendrick (M.F.A.), which has received some rewrites from Robinson and journalist Sam Lansky. McKendrick told Collider a while back that the new sequel will reckon with “some big ideas about hero and villain, right and wrong, how your skeletons come back to haunt you. And in the age of the internet and the age where fame is such a revered concept, the creation of TikTok and social media, who is Julie James in a world where there are no secrets anymore?“ McKendrick also said that when she went in to pitch her take to Sony, the most important things they wanted to hear about were “the accident, the event that kicks it off, and who the killer is.

I Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Jim Gillespie from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson that was inspired by a Lois Duncan novel. The film has the following synopsis: A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. While pursuing who he thinks is responsible for the letter, Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is run over by a man with a meat hook. The bloodletting only increases from there, as the killer with the hook continues to stalk Julie, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay by Trey Callaway. The synopsis: A year after killing vengeful hit-and-run victim Ben Wills (Muse Watson), who gutted her friends with an iron hook, college student Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is still shaken by the experience. When her roommate, Karla (Brandy), wins a vacation for four to the Bahamas, she plans to bring along her boyfriend, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer), attractive Will (Matthew Settle) and Julie. At the resort, Julie starts receiving threatening notes and realizes Ben is still alive.

What do you think of Lola Tung, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Austin Nichols, and Gabbriette joining the cast of the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Lola Tung, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Austin Nichols, and Gabbriette cast in I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel appeared first on JoBlo.

Simon Kinberg, Star Wars, Lucasfilm

May the Force be with Simon Kinberg, who’s recently signed a deal with Lucasfilm to write and produce a new Star Wars trilogy. Kinberg’s writing credits include the screenplay for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, 2015’s Fantastic Four, and multiple films in Fox’s X-Men franchise, including X-Men 3: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix. He’ll produce the new Star Wars trilogy for Lucasfilm alongside the studio’s chief, Kathleen Kennedy.

According to Deadline, Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars trilogy involves episodes 10-12 of The Skywalker Saga. However, insiders say Kinberg aims to launch a new saga that goes hand in hand with developing Star Wars projects from James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Taika Waititi, and Donald Glover. Lucasfilm remains tight-lipped on the matter, which doesn’t surprise me after I saw their security measures when I visited Industrial Light & Magic last month. That place is a fortress.

This opportunity isn’t Kinberg’s first rodeo with Lucasfilm. He co-created the Emmy-nominated Star Wars animated series Star Wars Rebels alongside Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck, which ran for four seasons. He also consulted on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, helping to usher a new cast of exciting characters to the franchise.

As a producer, Simon Kinberg contributes to many projects across a broad spectrum. In addition to producing movies like Elysium, Chappie, Cinderella, The Martian, Deadpool, Murder on the Orient Express, The Haunting of Venice, Logan, and more, he executive produced Fox’s Legion, Death on the Nile, Designated Survivor, Sugar, Deadpool & Wolverine, and more.

Kinberg’s appointment to the Star Wars Universe is bound to spark debate among the franchise’s fanbase. His contributions to Fox’s X-Men franchise have been hit-and-miss, and don’t get me started about 2015’s Fantastic Four. But I digress. What do you think about this deal? Is Simon Kinberg the right person to launch a new Star Wars trilogy? Should he continue the Skywalker Saga or present something new? Is there a part of Star Wars lore you’d like to see represented by a new batch of films? Perhaps something from the novels? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of buzz about A24’s Heretic, a horror movie that earned rave reviews following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, rising scream queen Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) and The Fabelmans star Chloe East star as two Mormon missionaries who knock on the wrong door one rainy night and wind up in a game of psychological cat and mouse with Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed. A diabolical intellectual, he not only wants to do away with our heroines but also shake the foundations of their faith.

While at TIFF, I spoke with the entire cast, including Grant, who explained what attracted him to his first horror role in many years (since Ken Russell’s Lair of the White Worm, which he doesn’t seem overly fond of). I also spoke to East and Thatcher, who grew up in the Mormon faith, about how the film subverts audience expectations of the character’s naiveté, while Thatcher shares her wish to one day play a horror villain. I also spoke to the writers/directors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), about how the film is unusually dialogue-driven for a horror flick, with it almost seemingly like a play (an allusion Grant didn’t care for – as he thinks saying something is play-like means it’s boring, which the movie is not at all).

Check out the interviews embedded above and read my review here! Heretic opens in theaters tomorrow!

The post Interview: Hugh Grant, Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher & the directors on A24’s Heretic! appeared first on JoBlo.

Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of buzz about A24’s Heretic, a horror movie that earned rave reviews following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, rising scream queen Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) and The Fabelmans star Chloe East star as two Mormon missionaries who knock on the wrong door one rainy night and wind up in a game of psychological cat and mouse with Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed. A diabolical intellectual, he not only wants to do away with our heroines but also shake the foundations of their faith.

While at TIFF, I spoke with the entire cast, including Grant, who explained what attracted him to his first horror role in many years (since Ken Russell’s Lair of the White Worm, which he doesn’t seem overly fond of). I also spoke to East and Thatcher, who grew up in the Mormon faith, about how the film subverts audience expectations of the character’s naiveté, while Thatcher shares her wish to one day play a horror villain. I also spoke to the writers/directors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), about how the film is unusually dialogue-driven for a horror flick, with it almost seemingly like a play (an allusion Grant didn’t care for – as he thinks saying something is play-like means it’s boring, which the movie is not at all).

Check out the interviews embedded above and read my review here! Heretic opens in theaters tomorrow!

The post Interview: Hugh Grant, Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher & the directors on A24’s Heretic! appeared first on JoBlo.

Tony Jaa, striking rescue

We’ve taken a look at Tony Jaa’s breakout hit Ong Bak in an episode of our Reel Action series that’s available on the JoBlo Originals Channel on YouTube. Since his first few Thai films, in which he was heavily involved in the action creation, Jaa would inevitably branch out into international films. Movies like Furious 7, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, Skin Trade, Triple Threat and KillZone 2 would utilize him, but the Thai star wouldn’t quite reach the kind of showmanship that he displayed in his earlier movies.

The upcoming movie Striking Rescue may just be the return to form. And The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the film has been acquired by frequent martial arts film distributor Well Go USA for the North American distribution rights. Per THR, “Directed by Cheng Siyi, the action revenge movie follows An Bai (Jaa), a veteran Muay Thai expert who goes on a take-no-prisoners mission of revenge after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered by mysterious forces. The film co-stars Chinese actors Hong Junjia and Shi Yanneng.”

The movie is an original production from the Chinese streaming service, Youku, which will be releasing the film to its subscribers in China on Friday. Striking Rescue will also be the first Youku original that has secured U.S. distribution, and the company is planning to make this the jumping-off point to expand their content and theatrical productions into the international markets. The hard-hitting action film was being shopped to international buyers at this week’s American Film Market by the sales outfit Blossoms Entertainment, which is based out of Beijing. 

Additionally, a deal is also in place for the distribution by Shinesaeng Ad.Venture, which will see a theatrical release of Stiking Rescue in Jaa’s native country of Thailand. The film is scheduled to start screening in Thai movie theaters on December 5, followed by North American theaters on December 6.

Are you excited to see Jaa back in an elbow-striking, knee-flying starring role? Have you enjoyed the other movies in his filmography? Sound off below!

The post Tony Jaa’s upcoming film, Striking Rescue, gets North American distribution from Well Go USA appeared first on JoBlo.