Robert Downey Jr. is fresh off an Academy Award nomination for his exemplary work on Oppenheimer, but the actor received his first Oscar nomination over thirty years ago for Chaplin. He wound up losing to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman, and while the loss may have stung at the time, Downey Jr. is now grateful he didn’t win.
During an interview with the hosts of The View, Robert Downey Jr. explained why he’s glad he didn’t win the Best Actor Oscar for Chaplin. “I was young and crazy,” Downey Jr. said, adding that winning at 28 years old “would have put me under the impression I was on the right track.” The actor famously spent many years getting in trouble with the law, with multiple arrests for drug charges. Following parole violations after being arrested in 1996 for the possession of heroin and cocaine, as well as firing a handgun while speeding down Sunset Boulevard, Downey Jr. was sentenced to three years in prison. He would serve 15 months but was arrested yet again for drug possession just four months later.
After several more years of substance abuse, arrests, rehab, and relapse, Downey Jr. started to get his career back on track with starring roles in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Zodiac, but he hit blockbuster status after being cast as Tony Stark/Iron Man. It’s easy to forget that many executives resisted casting Downey Jr. in the role due to his history, but former Marvel Studios president David Maisel went to bat for him. “My board thought I was crazy to put the future of the company in the hands of an addict,” Maisel told Variety last year. “I helped them understand how great he was for the role. We all had confidence that he was clean and would stay clean.“
Robert Downey Jr. received another Oscar nomination for Tropic Thunder in 2008 but lost to Health Ledger for The Dark Knight. This could be his year, but he faces some stiff competition with Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction), Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Ryan Gosling (Barbie), and Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things) also up for the award.
Recently, I wrote an article about how Ron Howard’s Cocoonwas hard to find in any format. It came out on DVD many years ago but went out of print and has never been issued on Blu-ray. You also can’t find it digitally on any platform. This is a perfect example of why you should always hang on to your physical media, as I’m lucky enough to own the now out-of-print DVD of that movie, and while it’s far from an ideal copy, it’s something.
But that got me thinking. What other movies are hard to find? I opened up the forum on Twitter, and I was shocked by how many prominent films aren’t available digitally and have gone out of print on disc, making them all the more precious for collectors. At the same time, there are some happy endings, such as Martin Campbell’s No Escape, which got a beautiful Blu-ray recently; too many of these films are caught up in legal limbo (or studio antipathy).
Here are 10:
Cocoon:
The one that started it all. How does a movie that won Don Ameche an Oscar and revitalized the careers of Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and the great Wilford Brimley go out of print? This is the movie that made Ron Howard an A-list director, and it was enough of a smash hit that it spawned a (pretty crappy) sequel, which, ironically, is very easy to find. What’s going on here? Disney may be working on a significant restoration, but it’s been gone for a long time.
Strange Days:
Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days was a major flop when it came out in 1995 but has since been reevaluated as a classic. As it stars Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis and Angela Bassett and is widely considered one of the greatest films of the nineties, some significant release – possibly through a company like Criterion would seem like a no-brainer. However, Disney has been sitting on this one for a while now, with the likely culprit being that James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment owns the movie. Presumably, any redux has to be cleared by him. With The Abyss, TrueLies and Aliens all getting 4K re-releases, Strange Days may be coming. This one is streaming on Max but in the wrong aspect ratio. The existing DVD is non-anamorphic, meaning it gets window-boxed on your TV unless you stretch it out.
Showtime:
This minor Eddie Murphy/ Robert De Niro comedy made a decent amount of coin when it came out, but it wasn’t a blockbuster. Yet, it’s a decent little action comedy, with a funny performance by William Shatner as himself. While it came out on DVD in an excellent anamorphic transfer, and you can buy it digitally in HD, it’s never been issued on Blu-ray.
Crossroads:
This Brittany Spears cult classic would have gotten a Blu-ray re-release with all sorts of bells and whistles. Yet, outside of its original DVD run, it’s never been issued on Blu-ray and can’t be bought digitally. However, it was recently released to theatres in a special limited run to celebrate Spears’ new autobiography so the movie may be coming relatively soon.
UPDATE: Netflix has acquired streaming rights for Crossroads, and it will be available globally on February 15th.
Dawn of the Dead:
This one comes with a caveat. George A. Romero’s zombie classic has been released on a beautiful 4K disc internationally and is region-free. Yet, it still needs to get a North American release on 4K and isn’t available digitally, which is a shame. Younger horror fans watch most of their stuff this way, and one hates to think they could be missing out on one of the genre’s best movies.
Looking for Mr. Goodbar:
This 1977 film helped establish Diane Keaton as a star and was a significant hit. It’s based on the true story of a teacher who was played the bar scene in the early seventies and was eventually murdered by a man she had a one-night stand with. It’s a haunting film with a disturbing ending, but very hard to find. It’s only ever been released on VHS and Laserdisc, with rights issues surrounding the film’s music, which is what’s kept this in limbo. It doesn’t help that Paramount Pictures is famously slow regarding releasing library titles. Again, this would be a great one for the Criterion Collection.
UPDATE: This is apparently streaming on Paramount Plus in Europe, but NOT North America.
Something Wicked This Way Comes:
We recently covered this movie in our series Fantasizing About Fantasy Films, which was available on DVD/ Blu-ray for a while. Yet, Disney has vaulted this Ray Bradbury adaptation, and you can’t stream it or buy it digitally, either.
The Blood of Heroes (aka Salute of the Jugger):
This post-apocalyptic action movie comes from David Webb Peoples, the writer of Blade Runner, Unforgiven and Soldier. It was a rare directorial effort that reteamed him with Rutger Hauer, who stars opposite a young Joan Chen and Vincent D’Onofrio. Legal rights limbo has kept this one obscure in North America, with various cuts circulating in bad transfers. Hopefully, it gets some kind of restoration, and it’s a neat little sci-fi movie.
John Woo’s Hong Kong Films:
Recently, John Woo mentioned that he would love to restore his Hong Kong classics with a company like Criterion, but that the rights to most of the movies are caught up in legal limbo. The Killer and Hard Boiled are streaming and on Blu-ray (albeit in interlaced transfers), but A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2 and Bullet in the Head are MIA.
The Heartbreak Kid:
Elaine May is a revered figure on film Twitter, but her biggest hit, The Heartbreak Kid, which got remade by the Farrelly Bros, is impossible to find. This is a shame as it’s one of star Charles Gordon’s best movies and features two Oscar-nominated performances by Jeannie Berlin (also May’s daughter) and Eddie Albert.
What titles have we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Bad Boys apparently really are for life as it seems that this action-packed franchise isn’t ending anytime soon with SonyPictures’ Bad Boys 4 already in production. The series centered around detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett of the Miami PD has already produced three blockbuster films that have grossed over $840 million as well as a spinoff television show, L.A.’s Finest, making it one of the most successful buddy-cop action-comedy series in history. The most recent film, Bad Boys for Life, was one of the last movies to hit theaters before the pandemic shut them all down and was able to be a critical and monetary success – so why would the franchise stop now?
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence (Lowery and Burnett) recently announced that a fourth film will be coming to theaters and that they’ll both be returning to the buddy-cop franchise. This is music to the ears of fans of the series since Bad Boys for Life left several loose ends and potential plot-lines for the detectives to follow and adding another movie to the franchise is the perfect way to address them. So, all of that said, let’s take a further look into everything we know about Bad Boys 4.
Plot
So far, nobody besides the people working on the movie know the plot. That said, based off of the information and loose ends that occurred at the end of Bad Boys for Life we can make a couple of educated guesses.
The plot that makes the most sense for a sequel would most likely see Mike and Marcus working on a new case with AMMO with a side-plot of Mike mending/working on his relationship with his son. Fans will remember that the last movie ended with Mike and Marcus being put in charge of AMMO with Mike visiting his son, Armando, in prison and offering him a chance at redemption, so this plot would follow up on those loose ends. Again, this is all speculation, but it would be odd for the previous movie to give such heavy leads and them completely dismiss them.
Cast
Again, the fourth film was only recently announced so there aren’t a surplus of details yet. Stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence will assuredly return as detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, with Eric Dane (known for Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy) playing the movie’s villain. Actor Ioan Gruffudd (known for Fantastic 4) has also been cast in an undisclosed role and Tasha Smith has been cast to replace Theresa Randle as Marcus Burnett’s wife. Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn also signed on for an undisclosed role.
Despite the cast not having a long confirmed list, just like with the plot, we can speculate about who may or may not appear in the film. Since Mike and Marcus were put in charge of AMMO it was assumed that the other members of the group would return as well, meaning that Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, and Jacob Scipio could all easily show up. Indeed, Hudgens and Ludwig are back, but Charles Melton, who just broke out (and may be Oscar-nominated) for May December, doesn’t seem to be in the cast. Scipio also seems to be sitting the movie out, despite the fact that his character, who is revealed to be the son of Will Smith’s Mike Lowery, was teed up to be a major part of the sequel in the post-credits scene following Bad Boys for Life. However, Paola Núñez is returning as the newly promoted Captain Rita Secada. .
Everything Else
Fans assuredly will want to know when they can expect to see Miami’s finest detectives back on the big-screen, but unfortunately Bad Boys 4 doesn’t have an official release date yet. Not to mention, Bad Boys 4 is not the official title since the film has not revealed what it is yet, which should be revealed on the trailer finally drops (likely during the Super Bowl). This is Smith’s first theatrically released film since the infamous Oscar slap derailed his career. Whether this is a hit or not will tell us whether his career can bounce back.
The movie will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (they took over for OG director Michael Bay after the first two films – although he had a cameo in the third film) and will be written by Chris Bremner, the same man who penned Bad Boys for Life. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced all the other movies is back too. It will be El Arbi and Fallah’s first film since Batgirl was scrapped by WB.
Deadline reports that Chris Pratt is set to star in Mercy, a sci-fi movie package acquired by Amazon MGM Studios which will be directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
Pratt has worked with Amazon on several projects, including The Tomorrow War and The Terminal List, but Mercy will actually serve as a reunion between himself and Bekmambetov. You may have forgotten, as I did, that Pratt made an appearance in Wanted all the way back in 2008 where he found himself getting smashed in the face with a keyboard wielded by James McAvoy.
So, what’s Mercy all about? The movie is “set in the near future when capital crime has increased” and follows “a detective (Pratt] who is accused of a violent crime and forced to prove his innocence.” The script has been penned by Marco Van Belle (Arthur & Merlin) and produced by Charles Roven (Oppenheimer), with production expected to kick off this spring.
“Amazon is the ideal partner for telling this crucial story about the future challenged by artificial intelligence and for engaging in this conversation with a wide audience,” said Timur Bekmambetov in a statement. “I’m happy to reunite with Chris Pratt on this project, who, since the release of ‘Wanted,’ has become one of the highest-grossing actors of our time. Collaborating with Chuck Roven will help us create an epic cinematic experience.“
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, added, “From the moment Chuck Roven brought us Mercy and we read Marco van Belle’s script, we knew the film was meant for the big screen. As our relationship with The Terminal List and The Tomorrow War’s Chris Pratt continues to extend across film, we can’t wait to watch him bring this action-packed story to life, guided by Chuck and the vision of director Timur Bekmambetov. We could not imagine a better star and filmmaking team to execute on and deliver what is sure to be a gripping thrill ride and look forward to audiences being able to experience it in theaters.“
Not to be left out, Charles Roven said, “I could not be more thrilled to partner with Amazon MGM Studios on the release of Mercy. I have a longstanding working relationship with both motion picture and marketing chiefs Courtenay Valenti and Sue Kroll— whom have institutional knowledge of theatrical and proven track records of success at the box office. I am looking forward to reuniting with them in this new capacity, along with Jen Salke and the rest of the terrific team at Amazon MGM.“
Following new European Union rules, Epic announced that it is launching the Epic Games Store on iPhone later this year and will also be bringing Fortnite back to iOS, too.
Following new European Union rules, Epic announced that it is launching the Epic Games Store on iPhone later this year and will also be bringing Fortnite back to iOS, too.
Wolf Pack fans will be howling tonight as it’s been announced that Paramount+ has officially canceled the series after just one season.
Based on the book series by Edo Van Belkom, Wolf Pack revolves around “a teenage boy, Everett, and girl, Blake, whose lives are forever changed when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature. Wounded in the chaos of its attack, the teens are inexplicably drawn to each other and to two others, fraternal twins Harlan and Luna, who were adopted sixteen years earlier by a park ranger after another mysterious wildfire. As the full moon rises, all four teens come together to unravel the secret that connects them – the bite and blood of a werewolf.” The series was developed by Jeff Davis, best known for creating MTV’s Teen Wolf series.
The first season of Wolf Pack wrapped up nearly a year ago and a second season was looking likely, but sources say that the delays caused by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes meant that another season wouldn’t have been ready until 2025. Paramount wasn’t willing to have the series off the air for that long, especially as it would have meant an increased marketing budget to remind people about the show.
Author Edo Van Belkom took to X to comment on the cancelation. “Disappointing, of course, especially since all signs pointed to there being a season two,” he wrote. “But, while the show was a success, the WGA strike, followed by the SAG strike did the series no favors. I’m sad myself, season two was going to see me have a cameo and another set visit, but I was just having fun and playing in Hollywood for a bit. I feel more for the young actors and others who felt this was going to be their big break.“
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred in and executive-produced the series, was hopeful for a second season just prior to the Hollywood strikes. “We plan to do [season two],” Gellar told THR last year. “We haven’t gotten the official word. I think it’s a tough time right now with the strike coming up. It’s hard, but our numbers have been great and people are really finding the show and getting excited about it, so I’m hopeful for a season two.” You can check out a review of the series from our own Alex Maidy right here.
First introduced in 2022’s Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty currently features a nonlinear battle pass themed like a geographic map. While this allows players to choose what they want to unlock from the pass instead of going through a scripted path, it can be a little confusing to newcomers used to more traditional,…
First introduced in 2022’s Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty currently features a nonlinear battle pass themed like a geographic map. While this allows players to choose what they want to unlock from the pass instead of going through a scripted path, it can be a little confusing to newcomers used to more traditional,…
On January 25, Microsoft announced an almost 9 percent reduction of its workforce in the company’s gaming division, totaling nearly 2,000 staffers who’ve lost their jobs across Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Xbox. Some of these folks worked on Call of Duty, one of the industry’s biggest and most profitable…
