Month: December 2024

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Thunderbolts*, Val

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has played Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a handful of projects, but the upcoming Thunderbolts* will finally provide a few answers about the character’s master plan.

It’s a completely different beast,” Louis-Dreyfus told Entertainment Weekly about how Thunderbolts* compares to her previous MCU appearances. “This movie’s a real opportunity for me to really explore the Val character. You really get to know what she’s made of, and even a lot of her backstory. She’s in it to win it.

She continued, “You’re going to see her entire plan unfold. It has a lot of mystery to it and there’s some twists and turns that you don’t see coming, which are the best kind. There’s a lot of suspense, which is very groovy.

In addition to Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the film stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, and Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster. Geraldine Viswanathan will make an appearance and replace Ayo Edebiri, who was originally attached. Lewis Pullman is also on board as The Sentry, taking over for Steven Yeun, who was cast in the role before he had to depart.

Although Val has assembled these anti-heroes, she’s not exactly Nick Fury. “She is about four steps ahead all the time, or at least she thinks she is until she’s not,” Louis-Dreyfus said. “All of these characters have worked for her under certain circumstances, so she would fancy herself as a bit of a puppet master, and she’s very power-hungry. She’s a user of anti-heroes. She definitely sees herself as the leader, the organizer of this group, but I’m not sure they see her as such.” The actress continued, “Her intentions aren’t necessarily pure. You’ve got hero, you’ve got anti-hero, you have villain…is there such a thing as an anti-villain?” Val has previously appeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Thunderbolts* will hit theaters on May 2, 2025.

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Bad Monkey, season 2, Vince Vaughn, Apple TV+

Vince Vaughn is set to return as former detective Andrew Yancy as Apple TV+ has renewed Bad Monkey for season 2.

It’s been more than a month since the first season of the comedy series concluded, but Deadline says the delay in renewing the series was due to “logistics related to relocation.” The first season of Bad Monkey was shot in Miami and the Florida Keys, but will be moving to Los Angeles for the second season. The cast and crew apparently faced a lot of weather-related challenges the first time around, plus Vaughn is based in Los Angeles. The report states that there will be pickup shots in Florida to give it the proper atmosphere.

The series is based on Carl Hiaasen’s novels, and while creator Bill Lawrence previously said the second season would be based on Razor Girl, the plans have changed to an original idea, although the influence of Hiaasen will still be felt. “I hope that people know that Carl Hiaasen is an idol of mine and an inspiration for me as a writer,” Lawrence said. “To get to go on telling his story with Vince Vaughn and this great cast, at least the characters who are still alive, is very exciting. I’m very thankful to our partners at Apple TV+ and Warner Bros, as well as the entire team that helps bring this show to life.

Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+, said, “Since Bad Monkey first made its debut on Apple TV+, this highly entertaining series became an instant fan-favorite. Led by the incomparable Vince Vaughn as ‘Andrew Yancy,’ alongside a brilliant ensemble cast, we can’t wait for everyone to experience more hilarious, sun-soaked, beachy misadventures from the mind of Bill Lawrence as the temperature rises even further in the next chapter of this engrossing murder-mystery.

Our own Alex Maidy wasn’t a big fan of the first season. It wasn’t outright bad; it just didn’t rise to the heights he hoped. “This is a low-stakes series that never really feels like a mystery as much as a diversion for a character who doesn’t know what to do with himself,” Maidy wrote. “Vince Vaughn plays Andew Yancy like a thinly veiled version of himself, which is not always bad, but it also does not mean that he has to stretch himself very far as an actor. Bad Monkey will appeal to fans of shows like Burn Notice and Monk, but anyone expecting this series to be a comedy version of True Detective is looking in the wrong place. There is nothing bad about Bad Monkey, but its overwhelming blandness makes it Bill Lawrence’s weakest Apple series to date.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

Will you be watching Bad Monkey season 2?

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Olga Kurylenko

When I saw on Deadline that filming has wrapped on an action thriller called Turbulence, my first thought was, “Is it a remake?” This despite the fact that there have been multiple films with the title Turbulence over the years. I thought it might have something to do with the 1997 film with the title, which starred Lauren Holly as a flight attendant stuck on a plane with a serial killer played by Ray Liotta. (A film that spawned two direct-to-video sequels, Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying and Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal.) As it turns out, the new Turbulence doesn’t have anything to do with that franchise… but it is a hot air balloon thriller that stars Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), so it might make for an interesting viewing experience.

Coming our way from the team behind the recent action film No Way Up, including director Claudio Faeh (Northmen: A Viking Saga) and writer Andy Mayson, who is also producing the film, this Turbulence has the following synopsis: Young married couple Zach and Emmy decide to take a hot air balloon trip across the Italian Dolomites to rekindle their relationship. When they and pilot Harry are joined by a third passenger, Julia, events unfold in ways they could never imagine five thousand meters in the air.

Kurylenko and Grammer are joined in the cast by Jeremy Irvine (Treadstone) and Hera Hilmar (See).

Mayson is producing the film with Will Clarke of Altitude and Molly Conners and Amanda Bowers of Phiphen. Altitude is handling international sales. Executive producers include Faeh, Altitude (Mike Runagall, Gursharn Khaira, and Laura Wilson), Phiphen (Richard J. Berthy and Jane Sinisi), Head Gear and Metrol Technology (Phil Hunt and Compton Ross), Green & Blue (Frank Kaminski and Philip Nauck), M2 Media Post (Michael Bassick and Michael Laundon), Twickenham Studios (Sunny Vohra, Superna Sethi, and Andrew Boswell), Leeshon Alexander, Peter Iliff, Rick Dugdale, and Jeremy Irvine.

Turbulence was filmed on location in the Dolomites and London, with studio shooting at Twickenham Studios. It recently wrapped and is now in post-production.

Would you be interested in watching this Turbulence? Share your thoughts on this Olga Kurylenko / Kelsey Grammer hot air balloon thriller by leaving a comment below.

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Oscars, Academy Awards, shortlists

It’s almost that magical time of the year when the Academy announces the final list of nominees for the 97th Academy Awards! The Oscars represent what many consider the biggest night in Hollywood, as celebrities and filmmakers dress to the nines and walk a red carpet on their way to recognizing some of the best the industry offers. Before the Academy unveils the final list of nominees on January 17, shortlists for 10 Oscar categories have arrived!

The 10 shortlists include considerations for the following categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live-action short film, sound and visual effects.

Voting for the 97th Oscars begins at 9 a.m. PT on January 8 and lasts until 5 p.m. PT on January 12. The final list of nominees posts on January 17, with final voting at 9 a.m. PT on February 11 and ending at 5 p.m. PT on February 18. Confused? Don’t worry; every news outlet under the sun will let you know the deal when it’s all they can talk about in a few weeks.

Here are the shortlists for the above-mentioned categories:

Documentary Feature Film

“The Bibi Files”

“Black Box Diaries”

“Dahomey”

“Daughters”

“Eno”

“Frida”

“Hollywoodgate”

“No Other Land”

“Porcelain War”

“Queendom”

“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”

“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”

“Sugarcane”

“Union”

“Will & Harper”

Documentary Short Film

“Chasing Roo”

“Death by Numbers”

“Eternal Father”

“I Am Ready, Warden”

“Incident”

“Instruments of a Beating Heart”

“Keeper”

“Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World”

“Once upon a Time in Ukraine”

“The Only Girl in the Orchestra”

“Planetwalker”

“The Quilters”

“Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr”

“A Swim Lesson”

“Until He’s Back”

International Feature Film

Brazil, “I’m Still Here”

Canada, “Universal Language”

Czech Republic, “Waves”

Denmark, “The Girl with the Needle”

France, “Emilia Pérez”

Germany, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”

Iceland, “Touch”

Ireland, “Kneecap”

Italy, “Vermiglio”

Latvia, “Flow”

Norway, “Armand”

Palestine, “From Ground Zero”

Senegal, “Dahomey”

Thailand, “How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies”

United Kingdom, “Santosh”

Makeup and Hairstyling

“The Apprentice”

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

“A Different Man”

“Dune: Part Two”

“Emilia Pérez”

“Maria”

“Nosferatu”

“The Substance”

“Waltzing with Brando”

“Wicked”

Music (Original Score)

“Alien: Romulus”

“Babygirl”

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

“Blink Twice”

“Blitz”

“The Brutalist”

“Challengers”

“Conclave”

“Emilia Pérez”

“The Fire Inside”

“Gladiator II”

“Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1”

“Inside Out 2”

“Nosferatu”

“The Room Next Door”

“Sing Sing”

“The Six Triple Eight”

“Wicked”

“The Wild Robot”

“Young Woman and the Sea”

Music (Original Song)

“Forbidden Road” from “Better Man”

“Winter Coat” from “Blitz”

“Compress/Repress” from “Challengers”

“Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”

“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez”

“Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez”

“Sick In The Head” from “Kneecap”

“Beyond” from “Moana 2”

“Tell Me It’s You” from “Mufasa: The Lion King”

“Piece By Piece” from “Piece by Piece”

“Like A Bird” from “Sing Sing”

“The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight”

“Out Of Oklahoma” from “Twisters”

“Kiss The Sky” from “The Wild Robot”

“Harper And Will Go West” from “Will & Harper”

Animated Short Film

“Au Revoir Mon Monde”

“A Bear Named Wojtek”

“Beautiful Men”

“Bottle George”

“A Crab in the Pool”

“In the Shadow of the Cypress”

“Magic Candies”

“Maybe Elephants”

“Me”

“Origami”

“Percebes”

“The 21”

“Wander to Wonder”

“The Wild-Tempered Clavier”

“Yuck!”

Live-Action Short Film

“Anuja”

“Clodagh”

“The Compatriot”

“Crust”

“Dovecote”

“Edge of Space”

“The Ice Cream Man”

“I’m Not a Robot”

“The Last Ranger”

“A Lien”

“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”

“The Masterpiece”

“An Orange from Jaffa”

“Paris 70”

“Room Taken”

Sound

“Alien: Romulus”

“Blitz”

“A Complete Unknown”

“Deadpool & Wolverine”

“Dune: Part Two”

“Emilia Pérez”

“Gladiator II”

“Joker: Folie à Deux”

“Wicked”

“The Wild Robot”

Visual Effects

Alien: Romulus”

“Better Man”

“Civil War”

“Deadpool & Wolverine”

“Dune: Part Two”

“Gladiator II”

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”

“Mufasa: The Lion King”

“Twisters”

“Wicked”

What do you think about this year’s shortlists? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Andi Matichak

Production is underway on the AI thriller Serena, and Deadline reports that a sinister chatbot in the story is being played by Andi Matichak, who is best known for playing the role of Allyson Nelson, the granddaughter of Laurie Strode, in the recent trilogy of Halloween sequels from Blumhouse Productions and director David Gordon Green (those films being Halloween 2018, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends).

Directed by Rob Alicea, who is making his feature debut, from a script written by Jonathan Benecke and P.T. Hylton, Serena has the following synopsis: Desperate to launch her company into the future with resounding success, a CEO commissions tech engineer Holly to build her an AI model. However, before being implemented it must be tested. Down-on-his-luck and funds, former rock star, Chris Sadowsky, is asked to be one of the testers — with devastating repercussions. A simple tool, a chatbot who calls herself ‘Serena’ (Matichak) proves to be a soothingly sinister weapon of destruction, all while being void of conscience or heart.

Ashleigh Murray (Riverdale) plays tech engineer Holly, with Steven Strait (The Expanse) as former rock star Chris Sadowsky. Also in the cast are Tyrone Marshall Brown (Power), María Gabriela González (Fantasy Island), and newcomer Nicole Gut.

Jerry Careccio of Bad Idea is producing Serena alongside Scarlett Camargo of Leaving Normal Productions and Brodrick Haygood of Moon Howler. Careccio had this to say about the project: “In an era where technology is seamlessly woven into our lives, our film serves as both a gripping thriller and a stark warning. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence holds incredible promise, but it also presents certain dangers we can’t afford to ignore. With a killer script and under Rob’s human vision, Serena aims to shine a light on the dilemmas, vulnerabilities, and costs of an unchecked AI revolution.” 

Does Serena sound interesting to you? What do you think of the idea of Andi Matichak playing a sinister chatbot? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

I didn’t like the new Halloween movies very much, but Matichak did well with the material she was given to work with in them, so I’m glad to see her signing on for another genre movie and look forward to seeing what her chatbot Serena is going to be like.

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