One of the coolest things to happen to me when I was covering TIFF back in the fall, was that Paramount invited me to interview the iconic singer Robbie Williams, who was at the fest for the premiere of his big-screen biopic, Better Man. If you’ve read my review or seen any of the ads, you’ll know this isn’t a conventional film. Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, the film represents Williams in a highly unusual way – a CGI Chimpanzee plays him. That’s right, Williams is a monkey in the movie, while everyone else is human (although the character is meant to be human as well – it’s more metaphorical).
While I’ll grant you that aspect might make people tune out, it works tremendously well. I was lucky enough to sit down with Williams for an extended chat, in which he explained to me why he was down for this crazy approach. One thing Williams noted (with good humour) is that he’s nowhere near as well-known in North America as he is in Europe, and he hopes that folks who don’t know his turbulent life story might see some of themselves in this CGI monkey.
I also spoke to Jonno Davies, the actor who plays Wiliams in mo-cap, and director Michel Gracey, who was more than happy to explain why he wanted this famous pop star to be played by a CGI monkey. As I told Gracey, when I heard the premise, I thought he was crazy, but in the end, he turned out to be crazy like a fox because the movie is damn good.
Check out the interviews embedded above, and let us know what you think of the movie in the comments!
One of the coolest things to happen to me when I was covering TIFF back in the fall, was that Paramount invited me to interview the iconic singer Robbie Williams, who was at the fest for the premiere of his big-screen biopic, Better Man. If you’ve read my review or seen any of the ads, you’ll know this isn’t a conventional film. Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, the film represents Williams in a highly unusual way – a CGI Chimpanzee plays him. That’s right, Williams is a monkey in the movie, while everyone else is human (although the character is meant to be human as well – it’s more metaphorical).
While I’ll grant you that aspect might make people tune out, it works tremendously well. I was lucky enough to sit down with Williams for an extended chat, in which he explained to me why he was down for this crazy approach. One thing Williams noted (with good humour) is that he’s nowhere near as well-known in North America as he is in Europe, and he hopes that folks who don’t know his turbulent life story might see some of themselves in this CGI monkey.
I also spoke to Jonno Davies, the actor who plays Wiliams in mo-cap, and director Michel Gracey, who was more than happy to explain why he wanted this famous pop star to be played by a CGI monkey. As I told Gracey, when I heard the premise, I thought he was crazy, but in the end, he turned out to be crazy like a fox because the movie is damn good.
Check out the interviews embedded above, and let us know what you think of the movie in the comments!
The next addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: Brave New World, is set to reach theatres on February 14, 2025 – and wrestler Seth Rollins has confirmed that his role has been cut out of the film.
Captain America: Brave New World went into production in March of 2023, with filming lasting through June. In May, Rollins was spotted on set and appeared to be playing a member of the villainous Serpent Society. But in December of ’23, another screenwriter was brought onto the project to write new material for reshoots, and those reshoots seemed to be quite substantial, lasting from May 2024 through November. We know that the story still involves the Serpent Society; in fact, the reshoots added Giancarlo Esposito into the mix as Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society… but for some reason, Rollins’ character no longer fit into the reworked story.
Seth Rollins on set for the new Captain America: New World Order movie.
He will be playing a member of the Serpent Society.
— Wrestling Pics & Clips (@WrestleClips) May 16, 2023
During an interview on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Rollins said (with thanks to Cultaholic Wrestling and SuperHeroHype for the transcriptions), “I wish (Captain America: Brave New World) the best, but I am not a part of that film. Well, does my NDA still apply if I’m not in the film anymore? Truth be told, any answer I gave would only be my opinion on it. The script went through a lot of rewrites and reshoots so what I was there to do, essentially my role got either repurposed or completely erased.” Rollins added that Marvel did try to keep him in the movie, looking to get him into “another role, I believe, or the repurposing of my role, I’m not exactly sure on what it was, but they ended up going in a different direction with it. And yeah, my understanding was there were just a lot of rewrites and a lot of reshoots, and they know they’ve got a finished product that hopefully they’re happy with, and hopefully it’s successful, but it will be sans Seth Rollins.” To wrap up, he said, “I’m not in the movie. I will say unequivocally I’m not in the film. I do not want anybody to go to the film thinking, ‘I’m here to see Seth Rollins.’“
Here’s the official information on Captain America: Brave New World, straight from Marvel: Anthony Mackie returns as the high-flying hero, who’s officially taken up the mantle of Captain America. Harrison Ford makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as newly-elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, a role originated by the late William Hurt. Ross and Sam have a bit of a history: In his previous role as Secretary of State, Ross was responsible for arresting Sam and his fellow Avengers during the events of Captain America: Civil War. Now as president, Ross is eager to work with Sam, hoping to make Captain America an official military position. But that tentative alliance is jeopardized when Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident, with friend and retired super-soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) as the prime suspect. Sam’s investigation send him on a dangerous chase, and (leading to) a deadly showdown and a tease of the menacing Red Hulk. Danny Ramirez returns as former Air Force lieutenant Joaquin Torres, who’s picked up Sam’s old wings and taken on the role of Falcon. Tim Blake Nelson is also back as Samuel Sterns, AKA The Leader, appearing in the MCU for the first time since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. New to the cast is Shira Haas, who joins as Ruth Bat-Seraph. A former Black Widow, Ruth is now a high-ranking U.S. government official who has the trust of President Ross. Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, and Xosha Roquemore also star. The film is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers. Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, and Rob Edwards crafted the story for the film. Onah receives screenplay credit alongside Peter Glanz and Matthew Orton (Orton being the writer who was brought on for the reshoots).
Are you disappointed to hear that Seth Rollins’ character has been cut from Captain America: Brave New World? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
‘Twas the season to be thrilled with action. As people settled in and got cozy with their kith and kin this past Christmas, sometimes watching classics like Home Alone, A Christmas Story and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation just isn’t enough. Many viewers checked out some newer movies that incorporated action with their holiday theme. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Dwayne Johnson’s Red One on Prime Video became a big hit in homes after its brief theatrical run that grossed $186 million globally. His Santa action flick would be followed by Netflix’s Carry-On, which stars Taron Edgerton as a TSA agent working on Christmas Eve when he’s faced with a terrorist plot.
Red One faced much criticism for its content, but the newest live-action film from megastar Dwayne Johnson topped the streaming charts in December with 2.1 billion minutes of viewing. Meanwhile, while finishing in second overall, Carry-On was number one on the Netflix Top 10 as it pulled in 1.69 billion views over the holiday. The thriller is also currently in the top five of Netflix’s English-language films, as measured over the first 91 days of release.
The full list of streaming charts for December 9-15, 2024 can be viewed below:
Overall
1. Red One (Prime Video), 2.1 billion minutes viewed 2. Carry-On (Netflix), 1.69 billion 3. Black Doves (Netflix), 1 billion 4. It Ends With Us (Netflix), 977 million 5. Bluey (Disney+), 905 million 6. No Good Deed (Netflix), 883 million 7. Landman (Paramount+), 826 million 8. Grey’s Anatomy (Hulu/Netflix), 803 million 9. Bob’s Burgers (Hulu), 743 million 10. Family Guy (Hulu), 730 million
Original Series
1. Black Doves, 1 billion minutes 2. No Good Deed, 883 million 3. Landman, 826 million 4. The Madness (Netflix), 560 million 5. The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On (Netflix), 552 million 6. Lioness (Paramount+), 474 million 7. Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was … (Netflix), 413 million 8. La Palma (Netflix), 355 million 9. A Man on the Inside (Netflix), 308 million 10. AP Bio (Netflix/Peacock), 306 million
Acquired Series
1. Bluey, 905 million minutes 2. Grey’s Anatomy, 803 million 3. Bob’s Burgers, 743 million 4. Family Guy, 730 million 5. NCIS (Hulu/Netflix/Paramount+), 658 million 6. Lost (Hulu/Netflix), 565 million 7. American Dad (Hulu), 544 million 8. Gilmore Girls (Netflix), 529 million 9. The Big Bang Theory (Max), 510 million 10. Law & Order: SVU (Hulu/Peacock), 506 million
Movies
1. Red One, 2.1 billion minutes 2. Carry-On, 1.69 billion 3. It Ends With Us, 977 million 4. That Christmas (Netflix), 596 million 5. Subservience (Netflix), 558 million 6. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) (Peacock), 537 million 7. Elf (Hulu/Max), 488 million 8. Home Alone (Disney+), 451 million 9. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Max), 322 million 10. Mary (Netflix), 320 million
Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios are building The Twisted Childhood Universe, which will consist of horror movies inspired by children’s stories. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 got the universe started, paving the way for Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (not to mention Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3), building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. Iconic Events Releasing will be bringing Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare to theatres for three days only, from January 13th through the 15th – and in anticipation of that release, Entertainment Weekly has unveiled a batch of images that feature Kit Green as Tinkerbell. You can check out those images at the bottom of this article.
Written and directed by Scott Chambers, who is also producing all of these Twisted Childhood movies, the film follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an attempt to rescue her brother Michael from “the clutches of the evil Peter Pan.” Along the way she meets Tinkerbell, who in this twisted version of the story will be seen taking heroine, convinced that it’s pixie dust.
Martin Portlock (Scream of the Wolf) plays Peter Pan and is joined in the cast by Megan Placito (Doctors) as Wendy Darling and Kit Green (The Blazing Cannons) as Tinkerbell. Also in the cast are Peter Desouza-Feighoney (The Popes Exorcist), Nicholas Woodeson (Skyfall), Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank), Olumide Olorunfemi (Venom: Let There Be Carnage), Teresa Banham (No One Gets Out Alive), Charity Kase (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK), and Campbell Wallace (Anne). It has already been confirmed that Placito will be reprising the role of Wendy Darling in Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which also feature the likes of Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Piglet, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, The Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell.
Chambers is producing Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare alongside Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the director of the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films. He revealed to Entertainment Weekly that the version of Tinkerbell shown in Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare was “biologically born male and named Timmy, an earlier victim of Peter Pan, who in this world is a demented child-napper hellbent on sending young boys to Neverland. Because Timmy identifies as female, Pan won’t let her become one of his Lost Boys.” Chambers said, “She didn’t fit the criteria to actually be sent fully to Neverland. Then he says, however, you can be something else. You can be this fairy, you can be magical, but you’ve got to help me. I’ll give you this pixie dust, and if you keep taking it…Every time you are good, you can have some.” Tinkerbell doesn’t realize the “pixie dust” she’s being given is actually heroin. So Tink’s arms are covered with track marks and decaying flesh. Chambers added, “This is not a villain at all. This is an extremely layered character. This is someone that’s really troubled. They’re brainwashed. It’s Stockholm Syndrome. They’ve been in this situation for years and years and years. They don’t know any other way.“
Chambers confirmed that Tinkerbell will be back for the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. “There’s gonna be some fun with Tinkerbell. I’m excited. I have an idea that she’s going to have massive heroin arms, like needles as arms and needles coming out. It’d be quite fun. It’s got to go above and beyond, I think, in that one.“
Are you looking forward to seeing Tinkerbell in action in Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and take a look at the images while you’re scrolling down:
The upcoming TV series It: Welcome to Derry, which will serve as a prequel to Warner Bros’ two-part adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel It (pick up a copy HERE), was originally meant to be for the Max streaming service, but we recently learned that it will be airing on HBO as well. The show went into production in Port Hope, Ontario at the end of last year, aiming for a 2025 premiere, and wrapped in August after 237 shooting days. We’re still waiting to hear exactly when the nine episode first season is going to start airing – but yesterday, we learned that the plan is for the show to run for three seasons, with the story going further into the past each season. That information came from executive producer Andy Muschietti, who directed the two It feature films, and he has also revealed just how involved Stephen King is with this show.
Brad Caleb Kane (Tokyo Vice) and Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), who was a co-producer on It: Chapter Two, are the showrunners on It: Welcome to Derry (and Kane recently signed on to be showrunner on the Friday the 13th series Crystal Lake as well.) The show is being executive produced by Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, the sibling director/producer duo that was behind the two It movies, through their production company Double Dream. Kane and Fuchs are also executive producing, as are Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin. The series is produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television.
Fuchs wrote the script for the first episode, working from a story he crafted with the Muschiettis. Andy Muschietti has directed four episodes of the nine-episode series.
Stephen King had this to say about the series: “I’m excited that the story of Derry, Maine’s most haunted city, is continuing, and I’m glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!“ The Muschiettis added, “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s It until the thick paperback fell to pieces. It is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our It movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity, and horror.“
The cast of Welcome to Derry includes Taylour Paige (Zola), Jovan Adepo (Watchmen), Chris Chalk (Perry Mason), James Remar (Dexter), Madeleine Stowe (Revenge), Stephen Rider (Daredevil), Alixandra Fuchs (Hatfields & McCoys), Kimberly Guerrero (The English), Dorian Grey (Star Trek: Discovery), Thomas Mitchell (Gangland Undercover), BJ Harrison (Family Law), Peter Outerbridge (Saw VI), Shane Marriott (Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent),Chad Rook (Billy the Kid), Joshua Odjick (Little Bird), Rudy Mancuso (Música), and Morningstar Angeline(Westworld). We don’t know anything about the characters they’ll be playing, either. In fact, the only character we know anything about is Pennywise.
Muschietti told Radio TU (with thanks to MovieWeb for the transcription), “Stephen King has to approve everything. But it was really informal this time. I’ve had a close relationship with Stephen King since I made the movies. He writes to me, and I write him back. It’s an honor for me, and I consider him a friend. One day, I wrote to him and said, ‘We have this idea, which is to develop the interludes in a miniseries that will take place before the events of the movie,’ and he loved it. He said, ‘Let’s do it!’ Obviously, as we progressed, we kept showing him the work, and he approved the first draft of the script. Then we showed him where we would take the future seasons of the show. He trusts us because of what we did with the movies, which he loved as much as audiences did.“
Are you looking forward to It: Welcome to Derry? What do you think of Stephen King’s level of involvement with the show? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Wicked is a monster hit. The film is a recent Golden Globe winner and has also been announced to have SAG Award nominations. Our own Chris Bumbray became enchanted by it despite not being a Broadway musical fan and said in his review, “While I’ll admit that there were a handful of moments where I felt I was missing some kind of in-joke for fans of the play, overall, I had a pretty good time with Jon M. Chu’s Wicked – Part I,” Bumbray wrote. “Certainly, it’s one of the better modern versions of The Wizard of Oz, far more entertaining than Sam Raimi’s largely forgotten Oz: The Great and Powerful. Chu seems to have a knack for movie musicals, and with Universal clearly pumping a pretty penny into it, it feels like the kind of big, broad fantasy epic that should be able to crossover beyond its core audience of Broadway enthusiasts.”
The musical’s box office is nearing a whopping $700 million globally, but The Hollywood Reporter is also revealing that the film has set a record in sales for Premium video-on-demand as it pulls over $70 million in just its first week. This is proving to be an exception in the recent trend of movies that hit home video viewings in a mere month-or-so after it premieres in theaters. Wicked dominated the box office during the holiday season last year and while it has become available to watch in the comfort of people’s homes, its transition isn’t showing signs of significant drops at the box office.
Universal’s Filmed Entertainment Group closed a landmark deal back in 2020 with top exhibitors that allowed the studio’s newly released films to have a smaller window in its theater run so that home viewers can pay premium prices to watch first-run movies on streaming devices a lot sooner than the normal release window. It’s comparable to how hotels usually offer services to watch movies “still in theaters” at a pay-per-view price. Coupled with Warner Bros launching an experimental same-day viewing plan during the pandemic, other studios followed suit as theaters opened back up. Wicked was made available on VOD on December 31, 2024. Consumers can currently purchase Wicked for Premium EST (digital ownership) at $30 and $20 for PVOD (digital rental), which includes the original film and the sing-along versions.
The legal action film The Prosecutor, starring and directed by legendary martial artist Donnie Yen, got its Hong Kong theatrical release last month, and now Well Go USA Entertainment has given the film a theatrical release in the United States as of today, January 10th. To mark the occasion, we’ve gotten our hands on an EXCLUSIVE clip from The Prosecutor, and you can check that out in the embed above. To clip gives a look at an action sequence that takes place in a parking garage, and it features some really cool moments.
Here’s the official synopsis: Inspired by an actual legal case in Hong Kong, THE PROSECUTOR follows the story of a man who falsely pleads guilty to drug trafficking after being framed. Despite the confession, the veteran policeman-turned-prosecutor (Donnie Yen) handling the case is convinced of the man’s innocence and pursues his own investigation, risking both his career and his life to bring the real perpetrator to justice. The screenplay was written by Edmond Wong.
Yen is joined in the cast by Julian Cheung, Francis Ng, Kent Cheng, Adam Pak, Kang Yu, and Locker Lam. Yen also produced the film with Raymond Wong.
Judging by the clip, The Prosecutor looks like it’s going to provide a very exciting, entertaining viewing experience, so I’m definitely looking forward to checking this one out.
Will you be watching The Prosecutor? Watch our exclusive clip, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
While audiences head out to watch The Prosecutor, Donnie Yen is gearing up to reprise the role of his John Wick: Chapter 4 character Caine in his own spin-off film, which Yen might end up directing himself. Yen has been getting behind the camera since 1994, when he was an uncredited director for High Voltage. He has directed a handful of films since then, including Legend of the Wolf (1997), Ballistic Kiss (1998), Shanghai Affairs (1998), Protégé de la Rose Noire (2004), and Sakra (2023). If you’re interested in seeing more of his acting work, we put together a list of The 10 Best Donnie Yen Films a while back.
Jurassic Park is a pioneer of immense proportions. Not only did the 1993 Steven Spielberg classic usher in a new era of cinema with its revolutionary special effects, but the movie, which was adapted from Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel, also provided new context of dinosaurs and helped advance the study of the prehistoric creatures. In Jurassic Park, Sam Neill’s character, Alan Grant, made strides in his research as he found that dinosaurs were less reptilian and more bird-like (despite the popular imagery). The dinos in Spielberg’s film were showcased as such.
ScreenRant reports on a video from YouTuber, CoolioArt, that has recently gone viral. In CoolioArt’s viral video, the raptors in the famous kitchen scene from Jurassic Park have been replaced with more accurate depictions of what the scientific community now theorizes the raptors look like based on fossil evidence. While the look of the breeds from Steven Spielberg and Stan Winston’s studio are iconic, the raptors in this clip are wildly contrast to what audiences are used to. They definitely live up to the name “bird of prey” as the velociraptors now sport wings and are covered in feathers, their beaks are slightly sharper and their movements resemble birds. CoolioArt even humorously replaces Timmy’s line, “It’s a velociraptor,” with “It’s a DIENONYCHUS,” which was the classification used in the books.
Meanwhile, Universal has the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth on its way three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded its run. The Creator‘s Gareth Edwards is at the helm from a script by original Jurassic Park scribe David Koepp. The intention from both Koepp and Edwards was to go back to what made the original so special. “Jurassic Park did lead the way with computer graphics, but I feel like we got lost along the way with the arms race to a spectacle,” Edwards says about returning to basics for Rebirth. “Jurassic actually only had just a few dozen VFX shots in it, and it’s such a powerful film. So, it was trying to go back to all those tricks and ideas that tease the audience, that creates suspense and tension that get you on the edge of your seat. I just wanted to create that feeling I had when I was young of being in awe of these things.”
PLOT: The life of international pop star Robbie Williams, from his early days as a member of Take That to his breakthrough as a solo artist and his struggles with addiction.
REVIEW: There’s one way that Better Man is completely different from any music-based biopic you’ve ever seen. The director, Michael Gracey, depicts Robbie Williams as a CGI chimpanzee, with cutting-edge VFX from WETA, with actor Jonno Davies playing him in a mo-cap performance (although they use Williams’s distinctive eyes). The singer himself provides the narration. It’s risky and a big swing, but here’s the thing. The craziest thing about Better Man isn’t the fact that Robbie Williams is presented as a CGI chimpanzee but rather that this risky conceit works quite well.
Here’s the thing – when an iconic person is impersonated in a biopic, we get caught up over various surface-level things, with the biggest being whether or not the actor looks like the person they’re playing. By having Williams represented as a monkey, you get over that aspect much quicker than you would otherwise. Strangely, it helps you invest more in the character.
It’s an inspired choice for Gracey, who has a comprehensive background in VFX and directed one of the more popular recent musicals, The Greatest Showman. It also may help the movie attract a larger North American audience than it would otherwise. Despite being a European household name, Robbie Williams is still largely unknown in the United States.
This all adds up to a highly unique musical biopic that tells a story many readers of this site may not be familiar with. The movie charts Williams’s rise to fame, with him initially the bad boy in a band called Take That, which was gigantic in the nineties all throughout Europe. He was a household name, but as the movie shows, he was kicked out due to his growing substance abuse issues and tensions with the rest of the group. He re-emerged as a solo artist, with his fame eventually dwarfing that of the group he left, but his demons did not let up on him as he continued to struggle mightily with addiction.
The film depicts Williams’s life in a pretty unsparring way, with him often coming off as a brat burning bridges relentlessly. Yet, the film also has empathy for the fact that his greatest enemy was himself, visualizing his demons as other versions of himself mock him from the audience.
Gracey depicts this all in a bold, energetic way. The movie climaxes with a major action sequence where Williams literally battles different versions of himself in a moment I didn’t see coming. Through it all, Gracey often dazzles the audience with set pieces, such as an amazing musical number where Williams and the rest of Take Take dance down Regent Street performing “Rock DJ.”
Gracey throws in everything but the kitchen sink to entertain his audience. While Williams may not be so well known in North America, the movie does feel like it has the potential to be a solid hit, even if the hard-R rating may keep it from the audience that made The Greatest Showman such a hit. Then again, given Williams’s struggles, could you do a watered-down PG-13 version? Who’d want to see that?
While the visual spectacle aspect of the movie will probably be what sells this as a potential blockbuster, it also has a lot of heart, with a lot of it revolving around his fractured relationship with his father, played here by Steve Pemberton, who’s a frustrated, wannabe performer who imparts his love of showbiz on Robbie.
While I went into Better Man with a raised eyebrow, wary of the chimpanzee aspect, to my delight, it worked wonderfully. As far as big-screen biopics go, this is a pretty deliriously entertaining one, and I had a blast watching it. It’s definitely one to keep an eye out for.
