We’ve been tracking the progress of Wyrmwood Road of the Dead and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse director Kiah Roache-Turner’s latest horror movie, the spider-themed Sting, since it was first announced, and we have a major update to share today: not only has Well Go USA confirmed that they’ll be bringing the Australian production to North American theatres on April 12th, but they’ve also unveiled a trailer for the film, which you can check out in the embed above, and a poster, which can be found at the bottom of this article.
Scripted by Roache-Turner, Sting has the following lengthy synopsis: One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider… The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Despite her stepfather Ethan’s best efforts to connect with her through their comic book co-creation Fang Girl, Charlotte feels isolated. Her mother and Ethan are distracted by their new baby and are struggling to cope, leaving Charlotte to bond with the spider. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting. As Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable. Neighbors’ pets start to go missing, and then the neighbors themselves. Soon Charlotte’s family and the eccentric characters of the building realize that they are all trapped, hunted by a ravenous supersized arachnid with a taste for human flesh… and Charlotte is the only one who knows how to stop it.
Despite the New York City setting, Sting was filmed in Sydney.
The film stars Ryan Corr (House of the Dragon), Alyla Browne (Three Thousand Years of Longing), Penelope Mitchell (Hellboy), Robyn Nevin (Top of the Lake), Noni Hazlehurst (The End), and Jermaine Fowler (Retreat).
Sting was produced by Jamie Hilton and Michael Pontin of See Pictures and Chris Brown of Pictures in Paradise. Funding was provided by create NSW, cumulous VFX, Spectrum Entertainment, Align, and Screen Australia.
What did you think of the Sting trailer? Does this look like a movie you’d want to watch? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and take a look at the poster while you’re scrolling down:
Allan was one of the runaway characters in Barbie. Introduced by Mattel as a bit of a supporting character to a supporting character — he was first labeled as “Ken’s buddy” — Michael Cera’s interpretation of him proved to be a scene stealer. But could Allan be the one most deserving of a Barbie spin-off? Probably not, but there might be an audience for Cera standing around awkwardly for two hours.
Appearing on The Tonight Show, Cera was asked about Allan being the lead in a Barbie follow-up, to which he replied, “I think it would be kind of a weird movie, but I’m there…He’s kind of like an inactive character. He kind of just stands [there].” This tied directly into Cera’s inspiration for Allan, an unlikely source from Springfield. “For me, the biggest inspiration for the character was Hans Moleman, that character in The Simpsons. He just stands there all the time. For me, that’s like the core of the character.” Unfortunately, Allan doesn’t once get hit in the groin with a football.
Michael Cera wasn’t the first choice for Allan (it was actually Broadway star Jonathan Groff, who turned it down) and so feels even luckier to have been part of the Barbie ensemble. Cera is nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Recently announced was an equivalent Oscar category, which Barbie no doubt would have been a shoo-in to win.
Barbie cast members Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera and Kate McKinnon recently reprised their characters for an ad promoting next month’s Oscars, partly to react to the Greta Gerwig’s Best Director “snub”. Unfortunately, Allan was apparently back in the toy chest.
Allan might be too minor of a character to warrant a Barbie spin-off, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t turn up in a sequel if one ever does happen. As of now, there has been no official word on one, with even star/producer Margot Robbie — who took in a reported $50 million from the movie — saying it would be unnecessary.
Would you welcome back Michael Cera’s Allan for another Barbie movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
Lionsgate is partnering with AREA15 to hit the Las Vegas Strip with another attraction that brings you closer to the studio’s films. What are they up to this time? Oh, just a little event called the John Wick Experience! You heard me! It’s time to get fitted for bulletproof attire, leave your pup with a friendly concierge, and take your seat at the High Table! John Wick mastermind Chad Stahelski and his 87Eleven Entertainment team are on the ground floor of the activation’s design, alongside Egan Productions for 12K square feet of space on the AREA15 campus.
The John Wick Experience welcomes guests through the Las Vegas Continental doors and into a world where bartenders serve death with chilled wine, and allegiances are as fragile as a Faberge egg. As a part of the experience, guests navigate an intense adventure and visit a themed bar and retail shop open to the public.
Each group of guests accepts distinctive missions related to the John Wick mythology, with many familiar elements from the billion-dollar-grossing film franchise. Missions include social elements like canoodling with Continental staff members, assassins, crime bosses, and other shady characters roaming the hallowed halls of the fabled hotel.
“It’s always gratifying to see people embrace your story and characters, whether on the big screen or with a fully immersive experience like this one,” said Stahelski about expanding the John Wick universe to an interactive experience. “The teams at Lionsgate, AREA15 and Egan really dive into this world, and I’m excited that fans will experience it live in Vegas.”
“One of the things I love about the John Wick franchise is the idea that there’s a whole world of alliances and vengeance hiding in plain sight – all converging within the worldwide locations of the Continental. This experience draws fans into that world like never before, and AREA15 is an ideal place for fans to live out the fantasy, action and danger portrayed in the films,” said Jenefer Brown, EVP & Head of Global Products and Experiences at Lionsgate.
The John Wick Experience joins Lionsgate’s other activations, including attractions for Saw, Blair Witch, and The Hunger Games. The latest addition to Lionsgate’s Vegas offerings is as close as you can get to feeling like you’re a part of the John Wick universe without getting arrested or hunted by your associates. Good luck!
M-I-C-K-E-Y is gearing up to crack down on sharing of P-A-S-S-W-O-R-D-S, as existing subscribers will see a halt on this beginning next month. While this was implemented for new users last month, those who already subscribe to Disney+ will run into this roadblock on Thursday, March 14th.
But it doesn’t stop there as, not surprisingly, Disney+ will put a system in place later this year that will allow these existing subscribers to let people use their account…for more money, of course. This comes fresh off of the revelation that Disney+ lost 1.3 million subscribers when they upped their subscription fees. They also saw a $300 million dip in streaming revenue, which they certainly hope to regain at least a portion of once that initiative rolls out.
To explain plans for 2024, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston stated, “While we’re still in the early days, and don’t expect notable benefits from these paid-sharing initiatives until the back half of calendar 2024, we want to reach as large an audience as possible with our outstanding content and we’re looking forward to rolling out this new functionality to improve the overall customer experience and grow our subscriber base.”
We all knew the password crackdown was coming from Disney+, as fellow streaming giants like Netflix – which reigns in the world of streaming at 260 million subscribers – have also put in place. While Disney+ is pegged around 150 million subscribers, the studio says that their competitors can help gauge the outcome of their goals. “Suffice to say that the opportunity that we see on a percentage basis probably isn’t all that dramatically different from what our competitor has found in terms of their subscriber base.”
Time will tell just how Disney’s strategies will turn out, but it wouldn’t be surprising to find that if this proves to be a worthwhile move that others will follow suit. As of now, there are plenty of other subscription services that either permit password sharing or actively promote it.
What do you think of Disney+’s continued move to stop subscribers from sharing passwords? Do you think they will begin to redeem themselves in terms of revenue? Give us your take on the matter in the comments section below.
Ahead of my hands-on preview with Unicorn Overlord, the new tactics RPG from developer Vanillaware and published by Atlus, I was told that nobody had beaten the demo yet. So I made it my mission to see if I could change that. Cut to two-and-a-half hours later, and I can see why people were having difficulty. I was in…
Ahead of my hands-on preview with Unicorn Overlord, the new tactics RPG from developer Vanillaware and published by Atlus, I was told that nobody had beaten the demo yet. So I made it my mission to see if I could change that. Cut to two-and-a-half hours later, and I can see why people were having difficulty. I was in…
Danielle Deadwyler of The Devil to Pay and Till has signed on to star in the thriller The Woman in the Yard, which is coming our way from Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures, and director Jaume Collet-Serra. Universal just announced that they have moved the release of the Blumhouse / Atomic Monster horror movie M3GAN 2.0 back from its originally announced release date on January 17, 2025 to a new date in May – but the studio won’t be without a Blumhouse release in January, because now they have The Woman in the Yard scheduled to reach theatres on January 10, 2025.
The Woman in the Yard has been written by Sam Stefanak, who was previously a staff writer and story editor on the Netflix animated series F Is for Family, but details on the story are being kept under wraps.
Blumhouse founder Jason Blum told Variety that he has been looking for the right project to do with Collet-Serra for over a decade. He said, “The Woman in the Yard is the perfect match, a film that’s ambitious in scope but modest in budget that combines Jaume’s vision with the incomparable Danielle Deadwyler.“
Blum and Stephanie Allain are producing the film, while Collet-Serra and Deadwyler executive produce alongside Gabrielle Ebron, Scott Greenberg, and James Mora.
Collet-Serra most recently directed the DC Comics-inspired superhero movie Black Adam. His other directing credits include Jungle Cruise, The Commuter, The Shallows, Run All Night, Non-Stop, Unknown, Orphan, Goal II: Living the Dream, and the 2005 version of House of Wax. He’s currently in post-production on the Netflix thriller Carry On, which also happens to have Deadwyler in the cast.
I haven’t seen Black Adam, Jungle Cruise, or the movies Collet-Serra has made with Liam Neeson, but I have seen House of Wax, Orphan, and The Shallows, and that’s enough to get me interested in seeing how his Blumhouse thriller is going to turn out.
Does The Woman in the Yard have your attention? What do you think of Universal, Blumhouse, Danielle Deadwyler, and Jaume Collet-Serra teaming up for a thriller? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
In 2020, audiences would watch a global disaster unfold in front of their eyes, and ironically, that year would also bring us the disaster movie Greenland. Ric Roman Waugh’s thriller starred Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin and follows a family’s struggle to get to emergency proceedings as they’re selected for shelter from the impending doom of a comet hurling toward our planet. Unlike most disaster films, this story was told from the perspective of everyday citizens simply trying to evade the crazy panic of the population in order to seek refuge.
Talks of a sequel have been going on for a while and Deadline now reports that Greenland: Migration is set to film this April with the cast returning along with Ric Roman Waugh and screenwriter Chris Sparling. Sparling co-writes this entry with Mitchell Lafortune. The plot, according to Deadline, reads, “The Garrity family must leave the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet ‘Clarke’ decimated the earth and the family embarks on a harrowing journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home”.
Producing this installment are Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee of Thunder Road Pictures, Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud and John Zois, G-BASE’s Butler and Alan Siegel, and CineMachine’s Brendon Boyea. Executive producers are Robert Simonds, Noah Fogelson and Sam Brown for STX Entertainment, Ric Roman Waugh for CineMachine and Chris Sparling.
Producer Sébastien Raybaud expresses his excitement, “We are thrilled to have Gerard, Morena and Ric back on board for Greenland:Migration to show the audiences what happened next to the Garrity family. To be back working with the teams at G-BASE, Thunder Road, CineMachine and STX, we know the next installment will be just as captivating as the first.” Sam Brown, president of STX adds, “The success of Greenland showcased in a narratively and visually compelling way what one man will do to protect and provide for his family against the most cataclysmic of odds. We could not be more excited to be continuing the Garrity’s harrowing story with Gerry, Morena, Ric and all of our wonderful producers and partners around the world.”
And Alan Siegel of G-BASE states, “Working together again with our friends at ThunderRoad, Anton, Cinemachine and STX is the ultimate experience. Gerry and I were blown away by the way in which we all bonded together seamlessly to produce a stunning first movie and we’re even more excited about our next adventure with the gang.”
While it was assumed that Madame Web was going to liven up the box office a bit this holiday weekend, given a lack of competition, poor word-of-mouth (including a deadly C+ CinemaScore) and dire reviews are dooming it to be one of the worst-performing superhero movies in recent memory. Indeed, it looks like Bob Marley: One Love is doing much better than expected, grossing a mighty $14 million at the Valentine’s Day box office compared to Madame Web’s $6 million. While box office forecasters warned that the Marley pic would be front-loaded, that may actually not be the case, with the film receiving top-notch word of mouth and a much-desired A CinemaScore rating. What that tells us is that audiences really love the movie, so business may, in fact, build over the long weekend.
As such, our box office predictions for this weekend peg Bob Marley: One Love as having an easy win, with about a $20 million opening weekend and closer to $40 million for the 6-day holiday. As for Madame Web, I think it won’t make it to $12 million for the weekend, with a $20 million six-day haul. That would put it well behind the $39 million Morbius made on its first weekend and not even close to the $46 million The Marvels opened with, and both of those films were considered flops. It looks like Madame Web is even more of a disaster.
The Christian TV series The Chosen has episodes 4-6 opening this weekend and should easily claim third place with a solid $6 million for the weekend. The other big flop of the year, Argylle, seems set for a fourth-place finish with $4 million, while Migration should get a bit of a box office boost to finish in fifth with $3.5 million. Why would Migration get a boost? Because it’s President’s Day weekend, and there’s virtually no family fare out there.
Here are the predictions:
Bob Marley: One Love: $20 million
Madame Web: $12 million
The Chosen: S4 Eps 4-6: $6 million
Argylle: $4 million
Migration: $3.5 million
What are you going to see this holiday weekend? Let us know in the comments!
Wonder Woman took cinemas by storm when it was released in 2017. Despite being a period piece set during World War 2, it managed to bring in droves of fans to witness Diana Prince’s origin tale. So, with the same creative team returning for a sequel and the ever-popular decade of the 80s being its setting, this could outdo the first in every way. But with expectations comes disappointment as the film released during COVID caused quite a stir for its creative partners and had some rather questionable CGI. So today on DC Revisited, we’re getting into it all as we dive into Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984.
After the first film made $822 Million worldwide, a sequel was announced just one month after release. A few months later, it was announced that writer/director Patty Jenkins and her co-writer Geoff Johns would return and serve the same roles for this new venture. It’s not a surprise, given that Johns was still head of DC Films at this time. Johns mostly had the story outlined, and they further outlined it on a massive 20-foot whiteboard. Jenkins’s concern was emotion and ensuring the audience was properly engaged with the fantastical elements they introduced.
Zack Snyder and his wife, Deborah Snyder, would also return as producers. So, with much of the same creative team back and considering the success of the first outing, expectations started quite high. Gal Gadot returned to her role as Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman. But Gadot found herself with a bit more power this time around, both on-screen and off, as she served as a producer here. This is probably also why she saw her salary increase from $300 grand to a massive $10 Million. Wowza. But Gal wouldn’t be the only person playing the role of Diana, with Lilly Aspell playing a young version. She appears in an extended opening sequence and actually did the majority of her stunts.
Diving more into Wonder Woman’s rogues gallery, Jenkins didn’t want to have someone who was the embodiment of evil and instead wanted the creation of several villains. First they looked at the Duke of Deception but decided against him, wanting to avoid another God after Ares was the villain in the first. But they still made sure to reference the character, in this film, being the creator of the Dreamstone, which the writers saw as a great McGuffin that would set the story’s events in motion.
Having been a big enemy of Diana’s for decades, Cheeta was chosen as one of the film’s villains. There have been several iterations In the comics, so Barbara Minerva was picked due to her backstory of being more of a friend of Diana’s before becoming one of her mortal enemies. We don’t get that here outside of brief interactions, but they seem to be on decent terms with each other. Barb would receive her powers from the Dreamstone. The studio wanted Emma Stone, but thankfully, Patty Jenkins got her first choice of Kristen Wiig, who accepted the role before even knowing what it was, simply being a fan of the first Wonder Woman. Very different from what she usually plays, the role gives Wiig a ton of action and makes her a formidable foe for Diana.
But in typical sequel fashion, one big bad wasn’t enough, so Maxwell Lorenzano AKA Max Lord was decided upon. Having become Hollywood’s IT Man, Pedro Pascal was cast in the role. Pascal is ridiculously charismatic, and unlike his comic book counterpart, he has no superpowers. Instead, Lord absorbs the power of the Dreamstone, which allows him to grant someone else’s desire, but he can take whatever he wants from the wisher. Pascal plays the role in an unexpected way, feeling like a bit of a dork.
Plenty of actors returned from the first film, but there’s one that surprised most when the cast was announced: Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. If you’ll remember, Steve died in a beautiful sacrifice that is still referred to even in the current day. According to Jenkins, despite speculation that fan demand brought him back, this was always part of the plan. So how is he somehow alive in a film that takes place almost 40 years ago? Well, turns out that due to the Dreamstone, it’s just his soul possessing another man. So, while we see Chris Pine, it’s really this guy, Kristoffer Polaha. We’ll ignore all that it implies.
Robin Wright would return in a flashback as Antiope, and Connie Nielsen would return as Queen Hippolyta. But that’s just about all she wrote for returns; with this film taking place long after the original, many human characters are either dead or in a retirement home. And any fan of the original Wonder Woman TV show will surely recognize Lynda Carter appearing in the closing credits as the Amazon warrior Asteria. It’s a nice treat for fans.
The story of Wonder Woman 1984 follows Diana Prince as she’s trying to stay under the radar. At least that’s what we’re told because she seems to do a lot of stuff in the public eye. But when a mysterious Gem called the dream stone starts granting the wishes of those who possess it, the world is flung into chaos. And guess who has to save it?
Filming started in the United States in June of 2018 under the covert title Magic Hour. Alexandria, Virginia, was the home of the Landmark Mall, which would serve as a big set piece at the film’s beginning. But they filmed in front of the Capital in Washington DC while in the area. Production would move to Europe in August and jump from country to country. They would start in England then move to Spain in September, then spend the remainder of production back in England.
Production Designer Aline Bonetto really took advantage of the neon aesthetic of the 80s and provided a layered world. She also recreated several parts of the white house and the Smithsonian, down to the tiniest detail. Even the massive compound was built practically. It’s a shame that most of the movie has this CGI film over it that takes away from so many of the practical sets.
Costume Designer Lindy Hemming returned and based most of Diana’s wardrobe on 1980s Brooke Shields. For the Wonder Woman costume itself, they went with more classic colors, but retained much of the same design. The gold armor that Diana wears during the finale is actually based on the costume she wears in Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come. Although Ross himself was upset to not be compensated for his design being used in something other than the comic.
Given that this iteration of Wonder Woman can essentially fly, there hasn’t been much need for the invisible jet. But that would change in this film as we would finally see the first appearance of the famous invisible plane. In this version, Diana turns the plan invisible herself and we’re saved from any silly boxy look from the outside.
At one time, Hans Zimmer had retired from doing superhero films, but Snyder has always managed to bring him back into the fold. While Zimmer hadn’t scored the prior film, he did score Wonder Woman’s theme from Batman v Superman, which became one of her signature music pieces. So Zimmer took on scoring duties.
Wonder Woman 1984 was released in the United States on Christmas Day 2020 and made…well, that’s where things get complicated. Everyone remembers that little thing called COVID, turned the world upside down. Originally intended to premiere in December of 2019, the film was delayed to June 5th, 2020. But when the theatres shut down on March 24th, it was given the Christmas release date. And Warner was adamant about it sticking to that date. But that’s not where the drama ends.
With the uncertainty of COVID, Warner Brothers decided that all of their 2021 releases would release on the same day and date in theaters and on HBO Max. So Wonder Woman 1984 was officially the first film to take part in the program, something that was much maligned by industry greats like Christopher Nolan. Wonder Woman 1984 would end its run in the US at just $46.8 Million dollars, with the worldwide total coming in at $169.6 Million. And given how skeezy Streamers have been about their numbers, it’s a mystery how much HBO Max contributed. Given the production budget of $200 Million, this was rough anyway you cut it.
But don’t feel bad for Patty Jenkins or Gal Gadot. They still received their intended bonuses. So, there was no lawsuit necessary.
One of the most interesting things to note regarding Wonder Woman 1984 is how much creative freedom was given to the filmmakers. We often complain about studio interference and how much it made the movie worse, but that’s not the culprit here. Jenkins’ success with the first film meant she was given carte blanche, and the end result is absolutely one of the worst DC movies out there. With brutal CGI, a poorly concocted plot, and villains that disappear from memory as soon as the credits roll, very few aspects of this film work.
And this was evidenced by the reaction. Due to Wonder Woman 1984‘s failure, we would see Wonder Woman 3 promptly announced and then cancelled on top of all the other disappointments through DC. Due to the James Gunn/Peter Safran DC universe taking over from Superman Legacy, we will likely be seeing a new Wonder Woman when that happens. And with Sean Gunn already cast in the new Maxwell Lord role, which is fitting, as Pedro Pascal is a little busy these days.
But as we get away from the techno-fueled 80s, we’re going back under the sea and taking a look at the final film in the Snyder timeline. But, that’s a story for next time. Join us. Saaaaame movie time, saaaaame movie channel.
