2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the Renny Harlin shark thriller Deep Blue Sea (watch it HERE) – and all these years later, one of the film’s stars is still waiting to have a rematch with the genetically engineered mako sharks at the heart of the story. That actor is LL Cool J, whose character Sherman “Preacher” Dudley was originally supposed to die in the movie (and LL Cool J has said that he nearly died for real during filming), but Harlin decided Preacher should be one of the few people to make it all the way to the end credits, which then had an LL Cool J song playing over them.

Directed by Harlin from a screenplay by Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, and Wayne Powers, Deep Blue Sea has the following synopsis: On an island research facility, Dr. Susan McAlester is harvesting the brain tissue of DNA-altered sharks as a possible cure for Alzheimer’s disease. When the facility’s backers send an executive to investigate the experiments, a routine procedure goes awry and a shark starts attacking the researchers. Now, with sharks outnumbering their human captors, McAlester and her team must figure out a way to stop them from escaping to the ocean and breeding.

LL Cool J was joined in the cast by Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, and Aida Turturro.

Speaking with The Standard, LL Cool J said, “Deep Blue Sea could be a lot of fun to revise, you know to do a new Deep Blue Sea. Also, In Too Deep could be fun to do a sequel.“

Another 1999 release, In Too Deep was a crime thriller directed by Michael Rymer. It told the story of undercover cop Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps), who’s out to take down a criminal kingpin named Dwayne Gittens and nicknamed God (that was LL Cool J’s character).

In Too Deep has never gotten a sequel, but Deep Blue Sea has received two direct-to-video sequels over the years.

Would you like to see LL Cool J come back for a new Deep Blue Sea sequel and/or a sequel to In Too Deep? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post LL Cool J wants to come back for a Deep Blue Sea sequel appeared first on JoBlo.

Building up a strong deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket can take some time. Even if you have your eye set on creating something to crush players online, you’re still reliant on pulling the right cards. If you need help grinding out rewards against the CPU or just want some experience trying different things, Rental Decks…

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Building up a strong deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket can take some time. Even if you have your eye set on creating something to crush players online, you’re still reliant on pulling the right cards. If you need help grinding out rewards against the CPU or just want some experience trying different things, Rental Decks…

Read more…

It’s hard to believe, but The Karate Kid franchise is over forty years old. Despite this fact, the franchise seems to be stronger than ever, with a new movie in the saga, Karate Kid: Legends, due out in 2025. But, before that, the series which kick-started the franchise’s return to the zeitgeist, Cobra Kai, is starting to wrap up its run on Netflix with a super-sized sixth season. The second part of the three-part season made its debut Friday (read our review here), as Sensei Daniel (Ralph Macchio), Johnny (William Zabka) and students of Miyagi-Do head to the Sekai Taikai in Barcelona to take on their arch-enemies, the students of Cobra Kai, and their sensei Kreese.

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka to discuss the amazing legacy the franchise has left behind and why it’s endured for over four decades. We also dig into how the show specializes in humanizing its villains and how Johnny has become just as iconic as Daniel in his own way. We also chat with the series creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg about their end game in wrapping up the show’s run, and how this season is inspired by some of the classic eighties fight movies like Bloodsport and Best of the Best. We also dig into how the show’s fight choreography has gotten better than ever.

Cobra Kai is now streaming on Netflix!

The post Cobra Kai Interviews: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and the creators on why the Karate Kid legacy lives on appeared first on JoBlo.

$3.8 billion. That’s the amount of money Clint Eastwood’s films have grossed at the North American box office throughout his career. A superstar since the 1960s, Eastwood is rare in that almost all of his biggest blockbusters, including all the Dirty Harry movies, were all made for Warner Bros. It’s been his home studio since about the time he made The Outlaw Josey Wales. He’s made everything from Oscar-winners (Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) to action movies (Firefox, Sudden Impact, Best Movie You Never Saw fave The Rookie), to movies where he’s chilling with his pal Clyde the Orangutan for them, and they almost always ended up at least breaking even. Sure, he’s had a few flops, but even in his golden years, he still cranked out smash hits for them, with American Sniper making over half a billion dollars, while The Mule and Sully both made over $100 million domestically. Even when his movies didn’t do well, Eastwood keeps his budgets so low that the red ink was minimal. Even something like The 15:17 to Paris managed to make about $56 million worldwide.

With such a solid track record, you’d think that Clint Eastwood, who just made what might be his last movie for Warner Bros, Juror No 2, deserved a little better than having his movie dumped in just a handful of theaters on the way to a quick bow on streaming, with the movie now set for a December 20th bow on MAX. Indeed, with solid reviews and a pretty bankable cast, which includes Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette re-teaming for the first time since About a Boy, you’d think Juror No 2 could have gotten a nice release fitting Clint’s legacy as a director. But no, WB’s dumped the film in so few theatres that they haven’t even been reporting its box office take.

Now, some will say that WB’s head honcho, David Zaslav, won’t give it a wide release because he thinks it’s going to lose money. He previously slammed the studio for agreeing to make Cry Macho, which he called a flop, even if it wasn’t really. Considering it came out during the pandemic and was day and date with HBO Max, its $10 million U.S. take wasn’t awful. Heck, it made more than Reminiscence, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Many Saints of Newark, and Judas and the Black Messiah did that year, and those movies included huge stars like Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie. It grossed only slightly less than The Little Things, starring Denzel Washington, and no one is questioning his star power. 

Here’s the ironic part. While WB hasn’t been reporting Juror No 2’s box office take –  overseas the film has overperformed, making $10 million (so far) despite a low-key release. There’s a very good chance it would have made a decent amount of money domestically (there’s reason to believe it’s per-screen average has been quite good despite the minimal marketing). The fact is, Eastwood has always had a solid sense of what his audience wants to see. Juror No. 2 isn’t one of his best, but it’s a sturdy morality tale with terrific performances from Hoult, Collette, and supporting cast members like Kiefer Sutherland, J.K. Simmons, and Cedric Yarborough of Reno 9-11, who is powerful in an against-type part.  

I think none other than Guillermo Del Toro summed it up best when he posted on Bluesky:

“Went to the theatre to see Juror#2, Clint Eastwood’s latest film. We enjoyed it tremendously.  It’s – in some ways- his Crimes and Misdemeanors.  The film is precisely and assuredly filmed, and it’s Nicolas Hoult’s to lead.  The cast delivers beautifully, and it has an ending that sets the theatre abuzz-Its central dilemma reminded me of the quiet turmoil boiling under Dana Andrews in Preminger Noir of your choice (for me- Where The Sidewalk Ends). It wrestles with it supported by a well-paced structure and well-pondered twists.  Why was this not released widely in the States? We saw at the Grove with a significant crowd that was vocal and responsive all the way.  I truly hope WB can hold it longer.  Eastwood is a master filmmaker and the steady, unfussy craft reveals him still in great form.  Go see it on the big screen!”

Have you seen Juror No 2? Let us know what you think in the comments!

The post Juror No. 2 sets Max release date; has WB let Clint Eastwood down? appeared first on JoBlo.

Production is officially underway on the thriller The Trip, which is coming from 87North, XYZ Films, and director Jorma Taccone (MacGruber and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) – and Deadline reveals that Taccone has assembled a cool cast for the film. The line-up includes Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Samara Weaving (Ready or Not), Timothy Olyphant (Justified), Juliette Lewis (From Dusk Till Dawn), Paul Guilfoyle (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), and retired mixed martial artist Keith Jardine (Godless).

The Trip is based on director Tommy Wirkola’s 2021 Norwegian thriller, I Onde Dager, which starred Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie. The screenplay by Wirkola, John Niven, and Nick Ball has been reworked by Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney. The original film had the following synopsis: Eager to end their marriage by murdering each other, a husband and wife head to a remote cabin — but soon find themselves facing an even bigger threat. Deadline said the remake will follow a dysfunctional couple (Segel and Weaving) who head to a remote cabin to “reconnect”, but each has secret intentions to kill the other.

XYZ is financing and producing the new film with 87North’s Kelly McCormick, Lee Kim, and Guy Danella. Taccone and Wirkola serve as executive producers alongside Jørgen Storm Rosenberg and Kjetil Omberg, who produced the original film for 74 Entertainment. Actress Karen Gillan, who happens to be married to writer Nick Kocher, is co-producing.

The Trip is filming in Tampere, Finland. The project is receiving production incentives from Business Finland, The City of Tampere, and Film Tampere. Films Films Films is providing production services.

Wirkola, who previously worked with 87North when he directed the Santa Claus action movie Violent Night, provided the following statement: “I can’t wait to see Jorma bring his totally singular sensibility to the material. That, combined with this killer cast, makes me beyond excited that this film will truly stand out in the cinematic landscape.“

Taccone added, “I’m a huge fan of Tommy’s work and I love the original film. I have a totally singular sensibility, and I can’t wait to see what I bring to the material.“

What do you think of Jorma Taccone, Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Paul Guilfoyle, and Keith Jardine teaming up to bring us a remake of Tommy Wirkola’s I Onde Dager, a.k.a. The Trip? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

The post The Trip: Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphant, and Juliette Lewis star in thriller remake appeared first on JoBlo.

Conan O’Brien hosted The Tonight Show for less than eight months before he was ultimately replaced with – yet again – Jay Leno. While we don’t have the space to get into everything that went down behind the scenes, it was Leno who came out looking like the villain while fans and many within the industry threw their support behind Conan. One such name was Robin Williams, who had appeared on The Tonight Show under Conan’s short tenure a couple of times but made a gesture in a way that only a genuine good-hearted man would.

Speaking on his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast (via EW), the comedian remembered that Robin Williams reached out in the aftermath of The Tonight Show debacle. “Finally, the show is done, and I don’t know if I have a career anymore. What am I gonna do next? I’m lying on the floor in the living room of my house, and my phone rings, and I pick it up, and it’s Robin Williams…I don’t even know how he got my phone number. ‘How are you holding up, chief?’ And he said, you know, ‘You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna be great.’”

But Robin Williams didn’t limit his support for Conan O’Brien with just a phone call: he gifted him a bike to help clear his head. “‘Ride around, you’ll feel better.’ And I went down and it was a Colnago, which is a very nice bike. And he said, ‘I told him to paint it in all these crazy Irish colors.’ I get down there and it’s the most ugliest— I mean, it was just greens and shamrocks and everything. And he was like, ‘You’re going to like that bike, chief. Don’t worry about it.’ I thanked him many, many times. I just couldn’t believe that he was thinking about me.”

These are just the sort of stories about celebrities we love hearing, especially from someone so beloved as Robin Williams, who passed away a decade ago. But it’s really not surprising at all, as Williams was known to be about as good of a friend as you could be, always looking out for you when you’re at your lowest. One of the most famous friendships he had was with Christopher Reeve, taking much of his time to cheer him up after his 1995 horse riding accident which left him paralyzed, even making him crack up by posing as a Russian doctor there to deliver a rectal exam. Williams has stuck up for his pals in less colorful ways, too, as Sally Field once remembered him ensuring she got to see her father after he suffered a stroke while she was making Mrs. Doubtfire.

And Robin Williams was right in that Conan O’Brien would rebound, as he has turned himself into a full-on brand, with numerous podcasts, a travel show, a spot hosting next year’s Oscars, and more.

The post How Robin Williams cheered up Conan O’Brien after The Tonight Show debacle appeared first on JoBlo.

When you think about popular video games making waves year-round, it’s usually not the side-scrolling indie titles with a unique art direction that earn their place as household names. Sure, they shake up the pond for a time, but sooner or later the hype is replaced by whatever AAAA title is in the works at…

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When you think about popular video games making waves year-round, it’s usually not the side-scrolling indie titles with a unique art direction that earn their place as household names. Sure, they shake up the pond for a time, but sooner or later the hype is replaced by whatever AAAA title is in the works at…

Read more…

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is the latest in a string of HD-2D RPGs that bring a modern, high-resolution twist to nostalgic pixel-art graphics. Fans have long thought Final Fantasy VI, the last game in the venerated series before it switched to polygons, would be a perfect candidate for the retro-feeling visual…

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