The Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it HERE) sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (which, of course, also serves as a sequel to the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II) is now in theatres – and in the review of the film that was written by JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray (you can read it at THIS LINK), Bumbray said that it feels like it was “aimed at building the franchise out more extensively.” While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, franchise co-creator Dan Aykroyd hinted that we could see the franchise expand with globe-trotting adventures.
Aykroyd said, “We like New York, but that’s not to say that we couldn’t make New York the base and travel off somewhere else. But… hey, there are ghosts around the world.“
While the first two films and Frozen Empire are set in New York, Afterlife took place in Oklahoma. It sounds like Aykroyd wouldn’t mind seeing the Ghostbusters travel even further away from home base than Oklahoma.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace are back for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, reprising the roles of Trevor and Phoebe. They’re joined in the cast by Carrie Coon, playing Trevor and Phoebe’s mom Callie; Paul Rudd, back as his Afterlife character Gary Grooberson; William Atherton as Walter Peck, the antagonistic EPA inspector from the first Ghostbusters film; Celeste O’Connor as Trevor’s friend Lucky Domingo; Logan Kim as Phoebe’s friend Podcast; Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz; and new additions Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), James Acaster (Hypothetical), and Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep). And yes, original Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson are in the film as well, and it looks like they have more prominent roles than they had in the previous movie – in fact, the director has said they’re “actual characters” in this one. You can watch our interviews with some of the cast members HERE.
At first, Afterlife director Jason Reitman was expected to take the helm of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, once again directing from a screenplay he was writing with Gil Kenan – but then it was revealed that Kenan would actually be directing the new film. He previously directed the animated movie Monster House, the live-action films City of Ember, A Boy Called Christmas, and the remake of Poltergeist, and an episode of the Scream TV series. Kenan has said that he drew inspiration from the Real Ghostbusters animated series and its willingness to be weird and wild when they were coming up with the ghostly threats in this film. Reitman decided to step back from directing the film because he was mourning the death of his father, Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II director Ivan Reitman, who passed away in February of 2022.
Will you be watching Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire this weekend? And if the franchise does feature some globe-trotting adventures in the future, where in the world would you like to see the Ghostbusters go? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures recently teamed up to produce the horror film Late Night With the Devil, headed up by the Australian writing and directing duo of Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 BloodyAcres) and starring David Dastmalchian – whose previous credits include The Boogeyman, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and The Suicide Squad. For a good number of genre fans, including myself, it’s one of the most highly anticipated horror releases of the year. The film has gotten positive reviews from the likes of Stephen King and Kevin Smith, not to mention JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols (you can read his 9/10 review at THIS LINK), and it’s now playing in theatres, courtesy of IFC Films. But as Late Night With the Devil reaches the big screen, it’s also stirring up controversy, as it has been revealed that the movie features a few pieces of art that were created with AI.
With viewers pointing out and complaining about the AI on social media, the directors released a statement to Variety to explain why they decided to drop some AI art into the movie: “In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can’t wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.“
Late Night With the Devil is a “supernatural chiller” that tells the story of the live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 that goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Dastmalchian plays Jack Delroy, the host of the show Night Owls.
Colin and Cameron Cairnes previously provided the following statement: “In the ’70s and ’80s there was something slightly dangerous about late-night TV. Talk shows in particular were a window into some strange adult world. We thought combining that charged, live-to-air atmosphere with the supernatural could make for a uniquely frightening film experience.”
Late Night With the Devil has been making the festival rounds, racking up awards as it goes. The film had its premiere South by Southwest, won best screenplay at Sitges Film Festival, and won both best feature film and best lead performance (for Dastmalchian) at Toronto After Dark.
Spooky Pictures was founded by It producer Roy Lee and the Paranormal Activity franchise’s Steven Schneider. They are producing Late Night With the Devil alongside John Molloy, Derek Dauchy, and Future Pictures’ Mat Govoni and Adam White. Dastmalchian serves as an executive producer with Rami Yasin and Lake Mungo director Joel Anderson.
I have seen some horror fans who were looking forward to the movie say they’re going to skip it, or at least knock it way down their “to see” list, just because it has a few AI images in it. To me, it seems like the issue is being blown out of proportion – especially since, as the Cairnes pointed out, they did already have a graphics and production design team working on the film when they decided to drop a few pieces of AI art in there as well. AI art was then edited by humans.
What do you think of Late Night With the Devil using AI art? Are you completely against the use of AI art under any circumstances? Share your thoughts on this issue by leaving a comment below.
Once Late Night With the Devil wraps up its theatrical run, it will be heading to the Shudder streaming service on April 19th.
Michel Gondry is about to make a lot of people happy, teaming with Pharrell Williams, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and recent Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Atlantis, a new film that is partly inspired by Williams’ upbringing.
While no plot details have been unveiled, according to Deadline, Atlantis is “a coming-of-age musical, set in 1977 Virginia Beach, which draws inspiration from Williams’ childhood growing up in the city’s Atlantis Apartments.” In addition to Gondry signed on as director, screenwriters on board are Toy Story 4’s Martin Hynes and Tick, Tick…Boom’s Steven Levenson.
Atlantis was revealed back in 2017. While Hynes was attached even as far back as then, originally Michael Mayer – who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Spring Awakening – was set to direct.
Pharrell Williams has been all-in on telling his life story, even in Lego form, as Focus Features will release Piece By Piece later this year. Honestly, that seems like the project Gondry should have directed considering his Lego-centric video for the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl”, which stands as one of the more clever music videos of the century. Even without the iconic bricks, certainly Gondry will be making Atlantis a visually inventive feast.
Michel Gondry is due for a rediscovery. He has still been putting out extremely quality work – 2015’s Microbe & Gasoline in particular was fantastic and the Jim Carrey-starring Kidding (in which he directed nearly half of the episodes) should have continued past its two seasons – but it has been quite some time since he reached a wider audience, keeping a much lower profile after the sting of The Green Hornet.
Atlantis cast member Kelvin Harrison Jr. has been blowing up over the last few years, riding a wave that truly came with 2017’s It Comes at Night. He recently played Martin Luther King Jr. in anthology series Genius. Randolph herself is looking to capitalize on her recent Best Supporting Actress win for The Holdovers.
To date, Williams has 13 Grammy Awards, two of which are for his trademark song “Happy”, which also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
Are you looking forward to Atlantis? Drop your thoughts below.
JoBlo.com recently launched a new weekly documentary series called 80s Horror Memories, where each year of the 1980s has five episodes dedicated to it. Looking back at 1980, we discussed Maniac, Dressed to Kill,Alligator, Friday the 13th, The Shining, Prom Night, and The Fog. The second five episodes were a journey through 1981, covering The Funhouse, The Burning, Friday the 13th Part 2,My Bloody Valentine, Halloween II, The Evil Dead, The Howling, and An American Werewolf in London, as well as the careers of horror hosts Elvira and Joe Bob Briggs. The next five were, of course, all about movies that came out in 1982: Conan the Barbarian, The Thing, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, and Poltergeist, with an examination of the short-lived 3-D boom along the way.
For 1983, we talked about a trio of Stephen King adaptations, Jaws 3-D, Sleepaway Camp, the rise of TV horror anthologies, and Psycho II. For 1984, we covered the creation of the PG-13 rating, The Terminator, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Our trip through 1985 included Teen Wolf, Re-Animator, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s RevengeFriday the 13th: A New Beginning, Fright Night, Lifeforce, Day of the Dead, and The Return of the Living Dead. For 1986, we covered David Cronenberg’s The Fly, the horror comedies that were released during the year (including Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Aliens, the connection between horror movies and heavy metal, and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. For our trip through 1987, we looked at Hellraiser, RoboCop, Predator, Evil Dead II, and The Lost Boys.
Now we’ve reached 1988, and so far we’ve looked at They Live, The Blob, Beetlejuice, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. With the latest episode, we’re digging into a film that introduced an unlikely horror icon: a foul-mouthed killer doll called Chucky. It’s a film that has (so far) spawned six sequels, a remake, and three seasons of a TV series. It’s Child’s Play, and you can hear all about it in the video embedded above.
New episodes of 80s Horror Memories are released through the YouTube channel JoBlo Horror Originals every Friday.
Here’s the info on 80s Horror Memories: It’s been over 40 years since the decade that shaped the horror movie industry began and having lived through most of those years personally, we at JoBlo/Arrow in the Head have decided to create a 10-part documentary series in which not only cover every nook and cranny of the biggest horror themes from 1980 to 1989 but also what was happening in the world at the time. Join us as we walk down Horror Memory Lane!
And here’s the info on this particular episode: Throughout this series, we have discussed many subgenres of horror and the monsters within them. Masked killers, vampires, werewolves, dream killers, and even a shark…in 3D. But there’s one genre we haven’t touched up because, well, quite frankly, none of them quite matched the magnitude of impact it had on me: the killer doll. So, if you ever shop for birthday presents in a dark alley, make sure you double-check to see if batteries are included with Child’s Play, on our 80s Horror Memories.
This episode of 80s Horror Memories was written by Mike Conway, narrated by Tyler Nichols, edited by Mike Conway, produced by Berge Garabedian and John Fallon, co-produced by Mike Conway, and executive produced by Berge Garabedian. The score was provided by Shawn Knippelberg. Special Guests: Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II) and Craig Perry (Final Destination).
Let us know what you thought of this episode, plus share some of your own ’80s horror memories by leaving a comment!
Two of the previous episodes of 80s Horror Memories can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!
In 1992, comic book writer and artist Todd McFarlane created a new superhero character called Spawn. Five years later, director Mark A.Z. Dippé and screenwriter Alan B. McElroy brought Spawn to the screen in a PG-13 rated movie that didn’t go over well with a lot of fans. There were rumblings of a sequel for years after that, but nothing ever happened. Back around 2005, McFarlane announced he was going to make sure a new Spawn movie was going to be made, even if he had to produce, direct, and finance it himself. For nearly twenty years, he has been slowly pushing that project forward… but there is some level of hope that we might finally see the new Spawn sometime in 2025, so we figured we should put together a list of Everything We Know About the Spawn Reboot.
SPAWN
If you’re not familiar with the Spawn character, here’s some back story, thanks to Wikipedia: Al Simmons is a mercenary who died and went to hell for his crimes against humanity. Following a deal with Malebolgia, Simmons is given new life as a hellspawn and the chance to see his wife Wanda once again. The deal is revealed to be a trick, as Simmons is brought back to life five years after his death, unrecognizable to his wife and missing many of his memories. With little other choice, Simmons adopts his new hellish identity as Spawn in an effort to atone for his past sins and use his newfound powers for good.
While Dippé and McElroy put Spawn in the center of a superhero movie where he jumped around with his flowing cape and engaged in fight scenes, McFarlane wants the reboot to take a very different approach to the character. In fact, he was saying for years that Spawn not only wouldn’t have any dialogue in the new movie, but there wouldn’t even be any moments where the viewer would get a direct view of him in his costume. He intends for the character to be presented in a scary way, like an ethereal fog, the xenomorph in Alien, or the shark in Jaws. He’ll strike out of the darkness, take down the bad guys, and scare the hell out of the audience in the process.
McFarlane was also adamant that the film not re-tell the Spawn origin story, because he’s seen too many comic book adaptations that waste too much time on the origin.
In 2018, legendary effects artist Greg Nicotero signed on to create the look of Spawn for the new film, so chances are that we’re going to see more than quick flashes of him when the movie is finally made and released.
TONE
McFarlane envisions the new Spawn as a grounded supernatural horror story with an urban setting (the story takes place in New York City). He wants it to be a serious film that feature truly traumatizing moments. No joy, no fun lines. Just two hours of darkness and ugliness. Spawn is the only supernatural element in the story, and he has compared the idea to a mixture of the tone of horror movies like The Conjuring, Rosemary’s Baby, Jacob’s Ladder, and The Omen with the criminal worlds seen in films like L.A. Confidential and The Departed. As the he told Assignment X, the horror movies mentioned “only had one fantastic element in [them], and it was the supernatural or the ghost, and everything else in the world was normal. With superheroes, you have to have the hero, the super-villain, the fantastic headquarters, sometimes even the sidekick and you get more and more fantastic. This is just going to be The Departed and L.A. Confidential with a ghost moving around in it.”
BLUMHOUSE
Since the creator of Spawn has always said he wanted the new movie to be a low budget horror story, figuring it would cost somewhere in the range of 10 to 20 million, it seemed very fitting when Blumhouse Productions got involved in 2017. The company has found the property a tricky one to get just right, however, and have now spent several years developing it and working on the script. Blumhouse founder Jason Blum recently said he’s hoping to get the movie out into the world sometime in 2025 – and he also told Screen Rant, “I’m going to bring the Blumhouse edge. It’s going to be edgy and original as compared to other superhero movies. It’s gonna definitely feel like the Blumhouse version of a superhero movie.“
SCRIPT
McFarlane spent years working on the script, saying in 2010 that he was 80% through writing it and giving an update in 2016 to say that he had finally finished the first draft… he was just going to have to whittle it down in revisions, because it had ended up being a 183 page epic. He was aware that producers prefer scripts to be around 120 pages, so he was hoping to get it down to 140.
Once Blumhouse got involved, they started bringing in other writers to work on the script. Brian Tucker, who wrote the produced the Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg crime thriller Broken City, was the first to be hired to do revisions. Several years later, Blumhouse announced that they had hired three more writers for the project: Scott Silver (Joker), Malcolm Spellman (Captain America: New World Order), and Matthew Mixom (Yesterday Was Everything).
A while back, we heard the movie might focus on Detective Twitch after he loses his daughter to gang violence. He then begins his quest for revenge by enlisting the help of his ex-partner Danny to aid in his investigation of the criminal factions in New York. Twitch quickly realizes he’s in over his head as he learns that two of the largest organizations are teaming up to take over the criminal underworld of the city. That’s where Spawn comes in. Twitch is visited by Al, a mysterious man who has knowledge of his daughter’s death. It quickly becomes clear that Al is not who he appears to be as he reveals himself to be Spawn, a messenger from Hell who can aid Twitch in his search for justice. But that was several years ago, so the story could be completely different by this point.
Silver has also been working on the Joker sequel Joker: Folie a Deux, which McFarlane feels could be beneficial to Spawn. He believes that film will make studios more willing to take on R-rated movies based on comic books. Plus, it helps that Scott Silver is a writer on both of these projects. As McFarlane told us, “What does Scott [Silver] want to do next? And depending on whether we sold Spawn prior to that or we sell it the Monday after Joker 2 comes out, you know what we all want to do and Scott is attached to it and you guys are all wondering, right? It’s this thing called Spawn.“
CAST
In 2013, Jamie Foxx said that he was relentlessly pursuing the title role in the new Spawn movie. In 2018, it was confirmed that he had signed on to star in the film, and that same year Jeremy Renner signed on to play homicide detective Maximilian “Twitch” Williams III. Since six years have gone by since they officially got involved, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that they had walked away from the project – but McFarlane told us they’re still attached as of 2024.
About Foxx and Renner’s involvement, McFarlane said, “Until somebody says otherwise (they’re still attached). What ends up happening– again, Hollywood is in an interesting place that actors, writers, directors, producers, they all have schedules, and the windows of opportunities open and close and open and close, right? You’ve heard about it before. Plenty of people have projects and then other stuff comes along and something gets delayed and you just got to show your schedule. So until somebody tells me in my ear that these gentlemen are not involved for whatever reason, then I assume I haven’t heard otherwise. Nobody’s nobody’s talking to me about anybody being replaced.“
It’s worth noting that Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner are united by something else besides their attachment to Spawn. Both men went through shocking health challenges in 2023. In January, Renner had a nearly deadly accident when he was crushed by a snowcat he was operating. Renner returned to work in December, with him begging to shoot Mayor of Kingstown season 3. Renner credited his family and friends with pulling him through the countless hours of physical therapy necessary to help him recover from more than thirty broken bones, and a collapsed lung. Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx’s situation was more mysterious. While shooting the Netflix film Back in Action (co-starring Cameron Diaz), Foxx suffered a “medical ailment” which was bad enough to sideline him for many months. Rumors got out of control pretty quickly, with many assuming Jamie Foxx had a heart attack or even had gone blind. Happily, the actor himself dispelled such rumors online several months ago, although he stated that, indeed, he had been to “hell and back.” All that said, it would be great to see Renner and Foxx, both of whom seem to be on the mend, team up for a cool movie based on McFarlane’s classic character.
R-RATING
McFarlane has said from the start that the reboot will be rated R. The rating goes along with the other non-negotiable terms he brought to the table: that he write, produce, and direct the film. Jason Blum has joined him as a producer and there have now been several other cooks in the kitchen of the writing department, but McFarlane remains committed to directing the film and making it R-rated. He told Shoryuken, “I have very few demands for the movie. It has to be Rated R, there’s no debate around that. With the story I want to tell, my intent goes back to that Spawn Cloud. I am less concerned about what happens in the movie as long as Spawn is cool and badass. The last demand is that I am the director. That’s it. Everything else is up for conversation.“
Earlier this year, McFarlane said 2024 is a make or break year for the project, as far as he’s concerned. Either it’s going to start moving ahead in the Hollywood system with Blumhouse, or he’s going to walk away from the deal and get the movie made on his own. He told ComicBook.com, “2024 is gonna be my make or break anyways, right? Either I’m gonna give Hollywood the best chance to do it and, if not, I’ve got plenty of outside investors waiting. So I’m trying to see if we can make the right deal within the norm of the Hollywood structure. If not, there have been plenty of examples, actually, a couple big ones last year, where people went outside the normal channels and succeeded. And people have done this before with independent movies: you make your movie and you just find a distributor. That one, I could do in a heartbeat. Fingers crossed, I’m gonna give as much of an effort to those that live within the confines of it. Obviously, Jason Blum is one of the better ones at getting things done. They tell me I get to read the script this month, so the email’s going out this week to remind them that they promised me that. Something’s gotta happen, something’s gonna happen, I just know myself. Something’s gonna happen because if I can’t figure it out inside, I’ll figure it out outside. I just know myself. But, hopefully, we can figure out a deal that keeps all the parties that have been involved over the years involved.” He has even said he’s willing to turn to Kickstarter to raise the budget if necessary.
MICHAEL JAI WHITE
In the 1997 movie, Spawn and Al Simmons were played by Michael Jai White. Although Jamie Foxx is on board to play the role this time around, White has been asked if it would get involved if he were asked. He told ComicBookMovie.com, “I really don’t think much about the sequel. If I was invited to do it, then I’d apply myself toward it, but I mean, I think it’s been talked about for a very long time. And it seems that Todd McFarlane has been leading that conversation. I think that to do a sequel is to do it as a hard R and make it very dark and badass. I think it needs to be like the cartoon or plain and simple: the comic book. Outside of that, I don’t think I’d be interested in doing it if it wasn’t going for the jugular. I wasn’t that impressed with the first one, even though I’m involved with it, but even then, I thought it should be like the comic book, or the series, you know, and I don’t know why such a dark character was going for PG-13. I think, just like I thought in the beginning, it should be real badass.“
In addition to the ’97 movie, was a well regarded animated series that ran for three seasons – and McFarlane has previously said he’s hoping to get some new animated Spawn projects off the ground. Actually, he has talked about multiple animated series, a possible live-action series, and maybe even a Spawn Cinematic Universe… but they need to get this reboot made first.
And that’s everything we know about the Spawn reboot at this time. What do you think about this long-gestating project? Do you think Spawn will finally head into production this year? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse wowed audiences everywhere and became a bigger box office success than its predecessor. The Miles Morales-centric sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse tells a more epic story that cannot be contained in one film, which is why it ends on a cliffhanger and will be picking up with the follow-up, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. However, Sony has an extra bit of a Spider-Verse story up their sleeve. A short from Sony Animation titled The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story would premiere at the Annecy International Film Festival last summer.
Variety now reports that The Spider Within will be made available on YouTube as Sony Pictures partners with the Kevin Love Fund.The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story is a bold look into the mental health of Miles Morales. In signature Spider-Man characterization, Miles has to deal with the normal stress of being a teenager in today’s world prior to the added difficulties of being a superhero on top of that. The short explores his anxiety as he gets overwhelmed with school, work, exams and relationships. Miles suffers an anxiety attack that is personified “by a dark figure representing his alter ego as well as an imaginary infestation of spiders in his bedroom.”
Jarelle Dampier, the director of the short, addressed the nature of the film, “Miles represents so many of us doing the best we can in our day-to-day lives. We don’t often realize all that we’ve been through until our own body forces us to become aware of its experience. My intention is that The Spider Within can motivate deeper conversations amongst friends & family about their own mental health journeys — and I hope it feels like a love letter to those who adore Miles Morales.”
Former NBA player and mental health advocate, Kevin Love, also explained what he’d like to accomplish with the short, “My hope for the short film would be for everyone, especially young people, to understand that your feelings are valid and that you are not alone in this. You see it with Spider-Man in the short film, where Miles has a trusted confidante. He is able to take a walk with his dad and express what he’s going through. We can all learn from that – how important it is to reach out to someone, express your true emotions, speak your truth and not hold everything inside.”
The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story premieres on Sony Pictures Animation’s YouTube channel at 6 a.m. PT on March 27.
PLOT: Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.
REVIEW: Magical realism is a tough challenge for even the most skilled of filmmakers. There’s a fine line to walk in order to anchor anything fantastical to a layer of reality. Writer/Director Weston Razooli makes the choice to set the film in modern day, while avoiding most modern technology. Even the leads have a timelessness to them that could put this film in any decade going back a century. All of these elements add up to make Riddle of Fire one of the more interesting independent features of the year.
Taking place in the mountains of Wyoming, Riddle of Fire follows three children Hazel, Alice, and Jodie as they go on an adventure. They’re on a mission to get the ingredients for a blueberry pie, to make their ailing mother feel better. On their journey, they come across a witch and a fairy, and nearly everything feels…off. Take Jodie for example, who has a speech impediment so everything he says is subtitled. It adds to the quirkiness because 99% of the time, Jodie is perfectly audible. Though, maybe I just have an ear for strange accents.
Lio Tipton is the biggest name in the cast but despite her top billing, she has limited screentime as Anna-Freya. Charles Halford leaves more of an impact as John Redrye, Tipton’s frustrated lackey. His frustration with the kids and insistence on independence only for him to keep things status quo was quite humorous. Despite taking place in Wyoming, the film was shot in Utah and it is absolutely gorgeous. They fully take advantage of the beautiful scenery. Shooting in 16mm film allows for texture that just wouldn’t be possible digitally. It adds to the ethereal look of the world. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack, which works as a sort of dark techno-fantasy soundtrack. Works perfectly as the soundtrack of youth.
As much as I wanted to love the film, it doesn’t entirely come together. Given the entire cast is comprised of young thespians, the acting is a bit iffy. There are moments that really took me out of the story. Conversely, there are times when the children are great, and nail their parts. There’s a wonderful moment where Hazel discusses his marriage to Alice, while Jodie listens on. It perfectly encapsulates being a kid, as he states the absurd with such a level of confidence that only a child can do.
The pacing is a little on the slow slide, with the film really coming to a dead stop once they reach the mountains. But it manages to still be interesting regardless. Whether it’s the soundtrack, visuals, or even sound design, there’s a lot to analyze within a single scene. I applaud the entire crew for their dedication to make such a unique film. From its young cast to shooting on 16mm, some of these challenges would have been insurmountable for lesser talented filmmakers. But they manage the impossible and create a magical world that’s still firmly planted in reality.
I can’t see Riddle of Fire being for everyone in the same way that Napoleon Dynamite wasn’t. But those that can get past the acting and embrace the youthful charm, will be rewarded with an experience unlike any other. This doesn’t speak down to the children and instead tells the story at their level. I struggle to think of a better representation of what it’s like to adventure as a kid.
RIDDLE OF FIRE RELEASES IN THEATERS ON MARCH 22ND, 2024.
Before he went on to make HBO’s hit series The White Lotus, Mike White would partner with Jack Black for the charmingly funny music-themed comedy School of Rock. The movie drew on Black’s affinity for the music genre as he would previously play as one-half of the rock duo Tenacious D with Kyle Glass. While he’s currently obsessed with Minecraft after his time filming the movie adaptation, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Black’s eager to return to the School of Rock for another movie.
According to THR, Black would recently speak with the publication JOE, when he said, “I wish there’d be a School of Rock2Electric Boogaloo.” Black would also love to see White return to write the movie, “You know Mike White wrote the first one and he’s a genius. And we’d have to have Mike White back in the saddle, but he’s real busy right now with [The] White Lotus, the best show on TV.” In addition to writing School of Rock, White would also act in the film portraying the roommate of Black’s character, Dewey Finn. The movie’s inciting incident came from Dewey’s impersonation of his roommate, Ned Schneebly, as a substitute teacher when he became desperate for a job.
The movie kicks into gear when Dewey “became a substitute teacher at an uptight elementary private school after being kicked out of his rock band. But along the way, he tries to turn his class into their own rock band. The film also starred Joan Cusack, Adam Pascal, Lucas Papaelias, Chris Stack, Sarah Silverman and Miranda Cosgrove.” White later reunited with Black for the Mexican wrestling comedy Nacho Libre.
School of Rock, while never had a true follow-up, still had a TV show adaptation on Nickelodeon, which went on to run for three seasons from 2016 to 2018. There was also a stage musical adaptation that also opened on Broadway in 2015 but closed in 2019.
If there’s ever a movie from the late 2000s deserving of its reevaluation, might we thrust Speed Racer to the front? A dizzying piece of pop that zooms like an acid trip through the world of racing and anime, the movie just did not connect with audiences…outside of those actively under a certain kind of influence, at least. To say it went under the radar – taking in $44 million domestically on a $120 million budget – would be an understatement, but it has gained a lot traction in the 15+ years since its release, taking on a cult status that was sort of always there underneath the rubble.
Speed Racer star Emile Hirsch is well aware of the movie’s modern reception, although it does remind him of its flop at the box office. “When it came out, it was unanimously dogged…I remember we were all like, ‘Man, this movie is so good. How come nobody gets it?’ That was sort of our perspective. But then we were also like, ‘Are we the crazy ones?’ Because it’s the public and the critics…So it’s really validating to have everybody come around all these years later.”
This validation is no joke. And while the Rotten Tomatoes score of 60% is hardly anything to root for, it’s far superior to the critics’ 42%. At the same time, Speed Racer sits at a 3.4 on Letterboxd. Hirsch also gave the Speed Racer reappraisal some historical context as well, adding, “What’s interesting about Speed Racer is that the trajectory that it took, weirdly, is similar to the cartoon. The cartoon only had like two seasons, maybe three. And that’s not very much for a huge children’s show. These cartoons go forever. So it had kind of a relatively short run. But over the years, it just gained this cult following.”
The evolution, making and release of 2008’s Speed Racer is one heck of a story in and of itself, which we covered in an episode of “WTF Happened to This Movie?!” Coming off the heels of wrapping up their Matrix trilogy, the Wachowskis went all in on their adaptation of the manga-turned-cartoon, a project that had been circling Hollywood for more than two decades. Numerous iterations of the project – including one set to star Johnny Depp – fell through, ultimately landing at the Wachowskis, Hirsch, and a supporting cast that included Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, and Matthew Fox, a role offered to Henry Rollins back in the ‘90s.
But now that Speed Racer is a bonafide cult movie, maybe it’s time to get that sequel going…
Where do you stand on Speed Racer? Were you a fan at release, did you learn to love it for what it is or does it not have enough gas?
Barbie was easily the biggest movie of the year; not only generating $1.4 billion worldwide but dominating pop culture discourse for months on end. It was a fitting conclusion for a project that had spent decades in development hell, with Sharon Stone even pitching a Barbie movie way back in the ’90s.
While speaking on Dana Carvey and David Spade’s Fly On The Wall podcast, Sharon Stone spilled a few more details on her failed Barbie pitch. “I went to the studio to try and make Barbie in the 1990s with a producer, a friend of mine, and I had the then-CEO of Mattel on my side,” Stone said. “We got thrown out of the studio. They were like, ‘Why would you take this American icon and try to destroy it? What is wrong with you?’ I got a lecture and an escort to the door.“
Stone went on to detail the opening scene of her Barbie movie and explained that studio executives took issue with it, believing that Barbie shouldn’t be seen as powerful. “We had it so the opening scene would be Barbie pulling up to Mattel in her Barbie car and secret service come out and their feet are as big as the car,” Stone said. “They escort her into Mattel and everybody falls aside because she’s the most important member of Mattel. All the big people are chasing her around and kissing her ass because she’s the queen of Mattel and it’s about the power of being Barbie and what Barbie could do in the world because she’s so powerful. But they didn’t think Barbie should be powerful.“
Given the enormous success of Barbie, it’s only natural that the studio would want a sequel, but Margot Robbie remains skeptical. “Its funny, that knee-jerk reaction in this day and age for everyone to immediately ask about a sequel,” Robbie said earlier this year. “I don’t think it was like that 20 years ago. This wasn’t designed to be a trilogy.” Not all movies need sequels, but the chance of another billion-dollar payday will be hard for the studio to resist.
Margot Robbie actually predicted that Barbie would gross $1 billion when she first pitched the project, although at the time she thought she had oversold it. “I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they’re brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director,” Robbie said. “And then I gave a series of examples like, ‘dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg,’ that and that, that and that – pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, ‘And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.’ And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!“
