Former MMA fighter Gina Carano recently opened up to The Hollywood Reporter for a new profile piece. When Elon Musk posted that he would cover any legal expenses for lawsuits in cases where the defendant claims their free speech was being impeded, Carano would take him up on his offer. Carano claimed Disney and Lucasfilm harassed and defamed her for refusing to conform to their viewpoints. Carano argued that the witchhunt against her is gender-related, saying her male co-stars did not receive the same punishment for making similar comments against right-wingers. Carano seeks $75,000, plus punitive damages from Lucasfilm for wrongful discharge and sex discrimination.
Carano speaks in depth about the details that surround her lawsuit and her internal journey through the experience. When it came time to address Disney’s quick response to her legal petition, she would reply diplomatically to Bob Iger’s one-word address on the matter. CNBC had asked him if he had any comments about the situation, to which he simply said, “None.” Carano’s reaction to that answer is, “That was a wise answer. I think he’s a very smart man. I know that he’s probably dealing with a lot right now. And so I think just by saying the simple word that he said, I think that was wisdom.”
She would also emphasize that she has a close friendship with her Mandalorian co-star Pedro Pascal, who has a trans sister and is an open supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Although Carano was accused of being homophobic and transphobic, she reveals Pascal stuck by her side and reached out to her after the tragic news of the death of their former co-star, Carl Weathers, “Me and Pedro were so close. He knows 1,000 percent I’m not homophobic or transphobic. He texted me after Carl Weathers passed away. We had our conversation and it was beautiful. One thing he did say was, ‘Thank you. You and Carl Weathers have always been protectors.’ And he knows what that means, and I know what that means, and I wish I could tell why. We basically left it at ‘I can’t wait to give you a big hug.’ ”
All in all, Carano wants peace after the turmoil of the whole situation. She states that she was lumped in with extreme groups that she does not intend to associate with and reveals that the growing experience has taken her “in and out of certain ideas.” When asked if there’s a settlement number that would make her happy, she responds, “I know this might sound odd. But I’m not thinking about that. I’m thinking about clearing my name. I’m thinking about finally being healthier and having this monkey off my back and telling my story and just getting on with my life. Finally.”
Remember how the first Aquaman came out and was a colossal success? It really seemed like everything was finally on track for the character after years of jokes and abuse. Then tragedy…or well…insanity struck. The sequel was plagued with reshoots, scheduling conflicts, and an ever-changing landscape of the DCEU. Plus there’s the Amber Heard of it all, which has grown increasingly complicated. Today on DC Revisited, we’re getting into it all, as we dive into James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Before the first Aquaman had found massive success, Warner Bros was already hard at work on developing a sequel. Jason Momoa himself pitched a story to the studio, wanting to be more involved in the sequel’s development. This makes sense as Momoa really was the face of Aquaman and had shifted the perception of the character from a blonde man in tights that talks to fish to a long-haired, Island man, built like a brick shit house. Momoa teamed with his screenwriting partner Thomas Pa’a Sibbett and submitted a 50-page treatment. While Warner did purchase the script, few of the ideas were actually utilized. Mostly because after the massive success of the first film, more power was given to James Wan. He was the mastermind behind it the first after all, so Warner put him in charge of development and writing for the sequel, though he wasn’t sure if he’d be returning to the director’s chair.
Working with Wan, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick would then formulate their own ideas with Momoa’s and turn them into a full-fledged screenplay. Peter Safran, who would team with James Gunn on the new DCU, returned as a producer.
Aquaman the the Lost Kingdom follows Arthur Curry as he struggles with fatherhood and being the king of Atlantis. Black Manta is still on a mission of revenge, so he’s seeking the power of the Black Trident so that he can be strong enough to take on Aquaman. To attain that power, Manta must heat up the world, melt the polar ice caps, and free the true source of the Trident’s power. So Arthur must team up with his brother Orm, to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m sure some of you rolled your eyes but I’d say climate change is a perfect problem for Aquaman to be facing. He’s an environmental hero so it’s a slam dunk of storytelling. It’s just how it’s presented that can be deemed…rough.
Jason Momoa would of course return to the role of Aquaman/Arthur Curry. We finally see him at his heroic journey’s end, becoming a very different person than he was when we first met him. Momoa still brings the same level of charisma and charm, while spending a considerably more amount of time in his super suit.
Stepping away from his role as the main bad guy, Patrick Wilson comes back as Orm. His title of Ocean Master has been stripped, and he’s rotting in a prison. But Arthur needs his help, so he takes the path of a good guy, bringing along his classic Wilson charm. He and Momoa work well together and, if anything, there needed to be more of them interacting.
Now let’s address the Amber Heard of it all. While she had a prominent role in the first film as Mera and essentially teamed with Arthur Currey to complete his mission, there was speculation as to what her role would be this time around. That’s because in between the two movies her reputation took quite the hit, due to her divorce from Johnny Depp. The trial that followed didn’t exactly paint her in the best of light and led to fans asking for the actress’s removal from the film. That didn’t happen, but there have been rumors that Billionaire Elon Musk, Heard’s ex-boyfriend, actually threatened Warner Bros. So Heard stayed in the film. Though, if James Wan is to be believed, the intention was always for the sequel to follow Arthur and Orm, with Mera taking a back seat. At this point, it’s very he said, she said, though one side has been caught in lies much more than the other. Heck, in a very strange move, Heard accused Momoa of taunting her on set, saying he would show up drunk and dress like Johnny Depp. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen how Momoa dresses in real life but…yeah, I’d say that’s just his style. Given how close the two were on the set of the first film, this shift was quite odd. I guess it’s not surprising that Heard felt everyone was against her, given how much the media maligned her. But hey, poop in your partner’s bed, and you’re probably going to have a certain reputation.
Then, despite the trailer making it seem otherwise, Mera’s presence is all over the film. She appears at several big moments and they make it clear that Arthur wouldn’t have beaten Orm without her help. Though, I’m not going to lie, she could have easily been cut with little to no change to the story. She only says 11 lines and is featured in about 20 minutes of the 2-hour film. But even then, she’s hardly the primary focus of most of her scenes. If anything, I’m sure there’s a cut where she has even less screen time, and she was just added in to group scenes. Heard claimed during the trial that Warner cut down her role and took away an action scene with Manta as well as a love scene with Momoa. But I just can’t imagine where she’d fit into this outing.
Despite being one of the villains in the first, Yahya Abdul-Matteen II, returned as Black Manta. He’s still on a mission of vengeance against Arthur for his father’s death and has an incredible screen presence. Unfortunately, Black Manta is all bark and no bite, and yet again plays second fiddle to a more powerful bad guy. It’s kind of shocking that they make the same mistake with his character in two films in a row, especially after one of the chief complaints about the first film, was its utilization of Manta. A chief example is that Manta is the person that kills Arthur Jr. in the comics, yet here he’s easily stopped and will be a footnote in Aquaman’s history versus his main villain. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting another one with him to make up for it.
Nicole Kidman would return in the role of Atlanna and she has a little more action this time around, although it’s hard to say how much was her and how much was her stunt double. She also serves more as Arthur’s advisor, taking that job from Mera. Despite her screen time being slightly more here, like Heard, there are times when she just feels green-screened in. Similarly, Temuera Morrison‘s Tom Curry doesn’t have nearly as much of a role this time around. Which is too bad as he’s always a highlight. He’s mostly just on babysitting duties, looking after Arthur Jr.
Randall Park appeared in the first film as Dr Stephen Shin but he’s mostly relegated to complaining on TV, as well as the post-credit sequence. Thankfully, he has much more to do here, getting some characterization as he helps Black Manta on his mission. Rather than making him a tired lackey, they imbue him with heart and give him some of the most development of any character in the series. Manta’s right-hand woman Stingray, played by Jani Zhao, is an entirely new character but she leaves little impact.
Due to Amber Heard’s lessened role in the film, there wasn’t as much need for Dolph Lundgren‘s King Nereus. At least, that’s what Dolph says, though I’d argue that Nereus plays a more significant role in the events than he did last go around. And his involvement was always more that he was one of the Kings of the 7 Kingdoms versus just being Mera’s dad, so the reasoning is a little suspect.
You’ll notice the cast has mostly just been people returning but thankfully there are some fresh faces. Game of Thrones alum Pilou Asbaek plays Kordax, the creator of the Black Trident and undead king of the lost kingdom of Necrus. He’s rather generic, though the design is pretty cool; even if it feels a little Lord of the Rings. In fact, his whole area looks Minas Morgul. Then we have Martin Short voicing Kingfish, ruler of pirate haven called the Sunken Citadel. It’s a sort of “blink and you’ll miss it” role. We also get John Rhys-Davies returning as the voice of the Brine King.
And you may have noticed that we didn’t mention Willem Dafoe, who played Arthur’s mentor Vulko prior. Well due to scheduling conflicts, he was unable to return, so the filmmaker’s solution was this: “Have you already forgotten that this plague already killed your beloved mentor.” I’m sorry, what? You killed one of your better characters off-screen, with no hopes of him returning? One of the many flabbergasting decisions made here.
The production of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began in June of 2021 and was anything but easy, with much of the same challenges they’d faced on the first film plus a whole new swath of new ones. One thing that stayed consistent was the buddy comedy with Momoa and Wilson at the center. Wan has been adamant from the jump that the sequel was always intended to follow these two characters as they learn to be brothers, saying: “The first ‘Aquaman’ was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”
And it honestly makes sense as that’s still in the finished film. But with massive reshoots, there’s an entirely different version of the film out there. And as confirmed by Dolph in an interview, the cut is “really good.” So if quality wasn’t the issue then what was it? This is where Mr. Bruce Wayne comes into the picture.
As we talked about in our Flash video, there were many different iterations of that film’s ending. Some involved Ben Affleck, others had Michael Keaton, and we ended up getting George Clooney. And with both films constantly swapping release dates, it was hard to tell which movie would release first. Aquaman 2 was forced to account for all of these, with both Affleck and Keaton filming cameos for the sequel. But when it was decided that the DCEU would be scrapped versus saved, Batman was cut from the film entirely. While it likely wouldn’t have amounted to much, it would have been nice to see Arthur interacting with Bruce again. And heck, I’ll always take more Keaton as Batman.
Like much of the principal cast, many of the crew returned for the sequel. Bill Brzeski did phenomenal work as the production designer, while Don Burgess served as the cinematographer yet again. Richard Sale would take over Costume Designer duties and brought Aquaman’s blue suit to the screen. All the costumes still have a bit of that Power Rangers aesthetic to them, but I’d argue it’s part of their charm.
But unlike the first film, which would see the actors in complex rigs to simulate the underwater action, 3D versions of the actors were created and used instead. This results in a much more CGI look to the entire movie. In fact, there are many instances where the action just looks like a video game. And put down your pitchforks, I agree that Video Games look great these days, but I want to suspend my disbelief, and this doesn’t lend to that. So if you’re wondering why everything looks so fake, when it didn’t in the last film, there’s your likely culprit. However, we do get more of a role for TOPO the octopus and the introduction of Storm, Aquaman’s Seahorse.
And sure, some people are upset that the final scene in the DCEU is Orm eating a cockroach burger but hey, this is the kind of dumb humor I would expect from a movie like this. And it’s kind of charming that instead of some grand, elaborate gag for the final bow, it’s simply a side character getting a laugh. Feels appropriate.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was released in the United States on December 22nd, 2023 and brought in a paltry $27.7 Million on its opening weekend. The film would end its worldwide run at over $434.1 Million. Given its massive budget of over $200 mil and marketing costs, this was still considered a loss for Warner. And critics were not kind, sticking it with a 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus was that: “Jason Momoa remains a capable and committed leading man, but even DC diehards may feel that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom sticks to familiar waters.” Audiences however, were much kinder, giving the film an 81% and saying it features “stunning visual effects and plenty of action, [it’s] is a solid sequel with a positive message.”
And with that, the Snyderverse was shuttered. But despite this being the final DCEU film, we’ve still got some films to go back and cover. So as we get away from the frigid waters of Atlantis, we’re finally getting into…wait. What that? I hear something in the distance. “Release the Snyder Cut.” Oh boy. Well, that’s a story for next time. Join us! Saaaame movie time, saaaaaame movie channel.
Remember how the first Aquaman came out and was a colossal success? It really seemed like everything was finally on track for the character after years of jokes and abuse. Then tragedy…or well…insanity struck. The sequel was plagued with reshoots, scheduling conflicts, and an ever-changing landscape of the DCEU. Plus there’s the Amber Heard of it all, which has grown increasingly complicated. Today on DC Revisited, we’re getting into it all, as we dive into James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Before the first Aquaman had found massive success, Warner Bros was already hard at work on developing a sequel. Jason Momoa himself pitched a story to the studio, wanting to be more involved in the sequel’s development. This makes sense as Momoa really was the face of Aquaman and had shifted the perception of the character from a blonde man in tights that talks to fish to a long-haired, Island man, built like a brick shit house. Momoa teamed with his screenwriting partner Thomas Pa’a Sibbett and submitted a 50-page treatment. While Warner did purchase the script, few of the ideas were actually utilized. Mostly because after the massive success of the first film, more power was given to James Wan. He was the mastermind behind it the first after all, so Warner put him in charge of development and writing for the sequel, though he wasn’t sure if he’d be returning to the director’s chair.
Working with Wan, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick would then formulate their own ideas with Momoa’s and turn them into a full-fledged screenplay. Peter Safran, who would team with James Gunn on the new DCU, returned as a producer.
Aquaman the the Lost Kingdom follows Arthur Curry as he struggles with fatherhood and being the king of Atlantis. Black Manta is still on a mission of revenge, so he’s seeking the power of the Black Trident so that he can be strong enough to take on Aquaman. To attain that power, Manta must heat up the world, melt the polar ice caps, and free the true source of the Trident’s power. So Arthur must team up with his brother Orm, to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m sure some of you rolled your eyes but I’d say climate change is a perfect problem for Aquaman to be facing. He’s an environmental hero so it’s a slam dunk of storytelling. It’s just how it’s presented that can be deemed…rough.
Jason Momoa would of course return to the role of Aquaman/Arthur Curry. We finally see him at his heroic journey’s end, becoming a very different person than he was when we first met him. Momoa still brings the same level of charisma and charm, while spending a considerably more amount of time in his super suit.
Stepping away from his role as the main bad guy, Patrick Wilson comes back as Orm. His title of Ocean Master has been stripped, and he’s rotting in a prison. But Arthur needs his help, so he takes the path of a good guy, bringing along his classic Wilson charm. He and Momoa work well together and, if anything, there needed to be more of them interacting.
Now let’s address the Amber Heard of it all. While she had a prominent role in the first film as Mera and essentially teamed with Arthur Currey to complete his mission, there was speculation as to what her role would be this time around. That’s because in between the two movies her reputation took quite the hit, due to her divorce from Johnny Depp. The trial that followed didn’t exactly paint her in the best of light and led to fans asking for the actress’s removal from the film. That didn’t happen, but there have been rumors that Billionaire Elon Musk, Heard’s ex-boyfriend, actually threatened Warner Bros. So Heard stayed in the film. Though, if James Wan is to be believed, the intention was always for the sequel to follow Arthur and Orm, with Mera taking a back seat. At this point, it’s very he said, she said, though one side has been caught in lies much more than the other. Heck, in a very strange move, Heard accused Momoa of taunting her on set, saying he would show up drunk and dress like Johnny Depp. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen how Momoa dresses in real life but…yeah, I’d say that’s just his style. Given how close the two were on the set of the first film, this shift was quite odd. I guess it’s not surprising that Heard felt everyone was against her, given how much the media maligned her. But hey, poop in your partner’s bed, and you’re probably going to have a certain reputation.
Then, despite the trailer making it seem otherwise, Mera’s presence is all over the film. She appears at several big moments and they make it clear that Arthur wouldn’t have beaten Orm without her help. Though, I’m not going to lie, she could have easily been cut with little to no change to the story. She only says 11 lines and is featured in about 20 minutes of the 2-hour film. But even then, she’s hardly the primary focus of most of her scenes. If anything, I’m sure there’s a cut where she has even less screen time, and she was just added in to group scenes. Heard claimed during the trial that Warner cut down her role and took away an action scene with Manta as well as a love scene with Momoa. But I just can’t imagine where she’d fit into this outing.
Despite being one of the villains in the first, Yahya Abdul-Matteen II, returned as Black Manta. He’s still on a mission of vengeance against Arthur for his father’s death and has an incredible screen presence. Unfortunately, Black Manta is all bark and no bite, and yet again plays second fiddle to a more powerful bad guy. It’s kind of shocking that they make the same mistake with his character in two films in a row, especially after one of the chief complaints about the first film, was its utilization of Manta. A chief example is that Manta is the person that kills Arthur Jr. in the comics, yet here he’s easily stopped and will be a footnote in Aquaman’s history versus his main villain. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting another one with him to make up for it.
Nicole Kidman would return in the role of Atlanna and she has a little more action this time around, although it’s hard to say how much was her and how much was her stunt double. She also serves more as Arthur’s advisor, taking that job from Mera. Despite her screen time being slightly more here, like Heard, there are times when she just feels green-screened in. Similarly, Temuera Morrison‘s Tom Curry doesn’t have nearly as much of a role this time around. Which is too bad as he’s always a highlight. He’s mostly just on babysitting duties, looking after Arthur Jr.
Randall Park appeared in the first film as Dr Stephen Shin but he’s mostly relegated to complaining on TV, as well as the post-credit sequence. Thankfully, he has much more to do here, getting some characterization as he helps Black Manta on his mission. Rather than making him a tired lackey, they imbue him with heart and give him some of the most development of any character in the series. Manta’s right-hand woman Stingray, played by Jani Zhao, is an entirely new character but she leaves little impact.
Due to Amber Heard’s lessened role in the film, there wasn’t as much need for Dolph Lundgren‘s King Nereus. At least, that’s what Dolph says, though I’d argue that Nereus plays a more significant role in the events than he did last go around. And his involvement was always more that he was one of the Kings of the 7 Kingdoms versus just being Mera’s dad, so the reasoning is a little suspect.
You’ll notice the cast has mostly just been people returning but thankfully there are some fresh faces. Game of Thrones alum Pilou Asbaek plays Kordax, the creator of the Black Trident and undead king of the lost kingdom of Necrus. He’s rather generic, though the design is pretty cool; even if it feels a little Lord of the Rings. In fact, his whole area looks Minas Morgul. Then we have Martin Short voicing Kingfish, ruler of pirate haven called the Sunken Citadel. It’s a sort of “blink and you’ll miss it” role. We also get John Rhys-Davies returning as the voice of the Brine King.
And you may have noticed that we didn’t mention Willem Dafoe, who played Arthur’s mentor Vulko prior. Well due to scheduling conflicts, he was unable to return, so the filmmaker’s solution was this: “Have you already forgotten that this plague already killed your beloved mentor.” I’m sorry, what? You killed one of your better characters off-screen, with no hopes of him returning? One of the many flabbergasting decisions made here.
The production of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began in June of 2021 and was anything but easy, with much of the same challenges they’d faced on the first film plus a whole new swath of new ones. One thing that stayed consistent was the buddy comedy with Momoa and Wilson at the center. Wan has been adamant from the jump that the sequel was always intended to follow these two characters as they learn to be brothers, saying: “The first ‘Aquaman’ was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”
And it honestly makes sense as that’s still in the finished film. But with massive reshoots, there’s an entirely different version of the film out there. And as confirmed by Dolph in an interview, the cut is “really good.” So if quality wasn’t the issue then what was it? This is where Mr. Bruce Wayne comes into the picture.
As we talked about in our Flash video, there were many different iterations of that film’s ending. Some involved Ben Affleck, others had Michael Keaton, and we ended up getting George Clooney. And with both films constantly swapping release dates, it was hard to tell which movie would release first. Aquaman 2 was forced to account for all of these, with both Affleck and Keaton filming cameos for the sequel. But when it was decided that the DCEU would be scrapped versus saved, Batman was cut from the film entirely. While it likely wouldn’t have amounted to much, it would have been nice to see Arthur interacting with Bruce again. And heck, I’ll always take more Keaton as Batman.
Like much of the principal cast, many of the crew returned for the sequel. Bill Brzeski did phenomenal work as the production designer, while Don Burgess served as the cinematographer yet again. Richard Sale would take over Costume Designer duties and brought Aquaman’s blue suit to the screen. All the costumes still have a bit of that Power Rangers aesthetic to them, but I’d argue it’s part of their charm.
But unlike the first film, which would see the actors in complex rigs to simulate the underwater action, 3D versions of the actors were created and used instead. This results in a much more CGI look to the entire movie. In fact, there are many instances where the action just looks like a video game. And put down your pitchforks, I agree that Video Games look great these days, but I want to suspend my disbelief, and this doesn’t lend to that. So if you’re wondering why everything looks so fake, when it didn’t in the last film, there’s your likely culprit. However, we do get more of a role for TOPO the octopus and the introduction of Storm, Aquaman’s Seahorse.
And sure, some people are upset that the final scene in the DCEU is Orm eating a cockroach burger but hey, this is the kind of dumb humor I would expect from a movie like this. And it’s kind of charming that instead of some grand, elaborate gag for the final bow, it’s simply a side character getting a laugh. Feels appropriate.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was released in the United States on December 22nd, 2023 and brought in a paltry $27.7 Million on its opening weekend. The film would end its worldwide run at over $434.1 Million. Given its massive budget of over $200 mil and marketing costs, this was still considered a loss for Warner. And critics were not kind, sticking it with a 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus was that: “Jason Momoa remains a capable and committed leading man, but even DC diehards may feel that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom sticks to familiar waters.” Audiences however, were much kinder, giving the film an 81% and saying it features “stunning visual effects and plenty of action, [it’s] is a solid sequel with a positive message.”
And with that, the Snyderverse was shuttered. But despite this being the final DCEU film, we’ve still got some films to go back and cover. So as we get away from the frigid waters of Atlantis, we’re finally getting into…wait. What that? I hear something in the distance. “Release the Snyder Cut.” Oh boy. Well, that’s a story for next time. Join us! Saaaame movie time, saaaaaame movie channel.
Based on the comic book series created by James O’Barr, the first version of The Crow was released in 1994 and told the tragic story of goth rocker Eric Draven and the love of his life, Shelly Webster. Later this year (on June 7th, to be exact), we’ll be getting a remake of The Crow, with the story of Eric and Shelly being told all over again. It seems kind of strange to do a remake and revisit characters in a franchise that lends itself to the anthology format, where each film can be focused on a different vengeful, undead person… but it does make business sense, because The Crow remake is getting more attention than the three Crow sequels ever got. But those Crow sequels do have their fans, and Scream Factory is about to celebrate one of them – The Crow: Salvation from 2000 – with a limited edition Blu-ray release on March 26th.
Directed by Bharat Nalluri from a screenplay written by Chip Johannessen, The Crow: Salvation has the following synopsis: Alex Corvis is falsely convicted of brutally stabbing his girlfriend Lauren to death. He maintains his innocence and insists that Lauren was killed by a man with distinctive scars on his body but the police cannot find any trace of him. After three years on death row, Alex is electrocuted in a messy execution and shortly after, his guardian crow appears and resurrects him. With the help of Lauren’s sister Erin, the Crow begins his hunt for the killer.
The film stars Eric Mabius, Kirsten Dunst, William Atherton, Grant Shaud, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, David H. Stevens, Dale Midkiff, Bill Mondy, Walton Goggins, Tim DeKay, Don Shanks, Joey Miyashima, Kylee Cochran, Bruce McCarty, Kelly Haren, Noname Jane, and Fred Ward.
The Scream Factory Blu-ray release of The Crow: Salvation will have the following bonus features:
Audio Commentary With Director Bharat Nalluri, Actor Eric Mabius, Producer Jeff Most, Composer Marco Beltrami, And Production Designer Maia Javan Behind-The-Scenes Featurette Behind-The-Makeup Featurette Production Design Featurette “Who’s That Bird?” Image Gallery Trailer Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo Optional English subtitles for the main feature
Are you a fan of The Crow: Salvation, and would you like to own a copy of this Blu-ray release? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and if you want a copy, they’re available for pre-order at THIS LINK. There are only 1,620 units, so get it quick!
Created by Alan Ball and inspired by The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris, the TV series True Blood ran on HBO for seven seasons, from 2008 to 2014, ending up with a total of 80 episodes. 42 of those episodes featured Joe Manganiello as the werewolf character Alcide Herveaux. Introduced in season 3, Alcide was only supposed to be a guest star for that particular season – but he proved to be so popular with viewers, he was kept around… until season 7, when he was killed off. Not surprisingly, Manganiello wasn’t happy with the way his character went out. In fact, he was so displeased with Alcide being killed off, he feels he still has unfinished werewolf business to this day.
During an interview on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, Manganiello said (with thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for the transcription), “I thought there was so much left on the table for me. The thing about it was, they never planned for me to be on the show past one season. I was signed up as a guest star my first season, and when my character really broke and people really loved the character, they were kind of unprepared for that to happen. I wound up on the show for five years in total, but my character had to get out of the way so that Sookie could wind up settling the A and B plots with Bill and Eric. The only way to get me out of the way was — spoiler alert — you know, to shoot me in the face. I really felt like there was a lot that was left unexplored.“
If you need a refresher on what True Blood had going on with Sookie (Anna Paquin), Bill (Stephen Moyer), and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), The Hollywood Reporter provides that as well: “Sookie Stackhouse broke up with vampire boyfriend Bill Compton. Sookie’s other love interest, Eric Northman, ended by obtaining control of a new blood product.”
Even though a decade has gone by, Manganiello is still “on the lookout for like a good werewolf script for me because… I feel like there’s a lot in me that was unfinished. I have unfinished business in the werewolf department.” So if you have a good werewolf script, send it Manganiello’s way. He’s ready to wolf out some more.
Are you a fan of True Blood? What did you think of the way things ended for Joe Manganiello’s werewolf character? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Everyone has certain notable songs in their lives that can transport you back to some sacred memories that you have kept with you. What if those songs could actually take you back in time to those memories? That’s the fresh new twist on the time travel concept in the new trailer for The Greatest Hits. Ned Benson, writer and director of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby trilogy, once again pulls double duty for this film which stars Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min and the new Kal-El of James Gunn’s Superman, David Corenswet.
The official plot synopsis from Searchlight Pictures reads, “What if a single song, an unmistakable melody, an unforgettable sound – could take you back in time, literally? Harriet (Lucy Boynton) finds music imitating life when she discovers beloved songs shared with her former boyfriend can take her back to the scene of the moment, giving her a second chance to twist fate. While she relives the past through romantic memories, her time-traveling collides with a burgeoning new love interest in the present (Justin H. Min). As she takes her journey through the hypnotic connection between music and memory, she wonders – even if she could change the past, should she?”
The romantic drama comes from the former Fox Searchlight Pictures studio, which was the indie brand of 20th Century Fox, now simply Searchlight Pictures under Disney’s ownership. Disney would distribute their Searchlight titles in conjunction with Hulu for original films that premieres on the streamer. Michael London, Shannon Gaulding, Stephanie Davis, Cassandra Kulukundis and Ned Benson are on board as producers of the film.
Benson commented on his idea for the concept of the film, “I thought it was so interesting how the mind and music interact. And then I kind of came up with this concept of music as time travel. That was basically how it all started.” His star, Boynton, would glow about working with him on this film, “He’s such a romantic, so he really leans in to finding the way this can be a really beautiful love story. But he also doesn’t take himself too seriously, so it never becomes overly earnest. He’s incredibly collaborative and honest with his own experiences, so that sets the tone on set.”
How often do we see a sequel to a spinoff that is actually a lot of fun? What if you then also made it a tragic love story that involves zombies? That sounds like a Roger Corman or Troma movie but in actuality it’s Return of the Living Dead III (watch it HERE) and its from channel favorite Brian Yuzna. Return of the Living Dead is a stone cold classic and is one that I sometimes prefer watching over any of the original Romero trilogy due to how different it is and how it sets up its own rules.Part 2 I have great memories of seeing on TV at my Nana’s house in Santa Ana, California on an old tube TV. It skates that Evil Dead II line of leaning much further into the comedy realm than the first, which is pretty funny in its own way and right. While there is a part 4 and 5 (God help us), they aren’t really good for anything apart from morbid curiosity or completionism. Looking at the third entry, it sits in that wonderful spot where, sure, it’s not as great as the first 2 but its nowhere near as bad as what followed. That spot is ripe for what we like to call a black sheep around here.
The first movie is… well, it’s not based on, more inspired by the John Russo sequel novel to Night of the Living Dead. The movie was a success for Orion, making 14 million on its 4-million-dollar budget – which, of course, means sequels. The first up would be Return of the Living Dead Part IIwhich producer Tom Fox would decide to fund himself, assuming its success. He was wrong and the budget went up to 6 million and the return on investment was only 9 million back. A third film was still discussed and Yuzna was chosen because he had always wanted to do a sequel to the original and had been a proven success. He is a bit of a triple threat with success as a writer, director, and producer. His directing credits include gross-fest Society, Bride of Re-Animator, and The Dentist, among other things. We have talked about him in one capacity or another a number of times and I can see that trend continuing for at least a couple other movies.
He was a little disappointed with the screen time of his last creation in Bride of Re-Animatorand because the producers said the only thing that was required of him was to include the Trioxin gas that creates the zombies and to have them crave flesh, he decided he wanted to make a creature the main character. This character would be played by the absolute knockout that is Melinda Clarke. She had got her start on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, but this movie helped push her up the ranks a little more with future appearances in things like Spawn, the show Soldier of Fortune, Inc, and huge roles in shows The OC and Nikita. She is still active today, but for a certain generation of straight to video horror hounds, she will always be Julie Walker. I say straight to video, but this thing did get a limited theatrical run that produced a little over 50k in sales.
The other two main characters are Curt, played by J Trevor Edmund, and his military father john played by Kent McCord. Edmund stopped acting in 1999 and his only other big horror role is in Pumpkinhead II, another fun Black Sheep. McCord cut his teeth in the early 60s and worked steadily into the next decades with parts in Airplane 2 and a 10 episode run on Galactica 80. For Lance’s sake, I also feel obligated to mention his part in Predator 2, and he randomly showed up as a character in last year’s big game release of Starfield. Weird. The writer John Penney had a relatively short career that also included being one of the many writers on Best Horror Movie You Never Saw The Kindred and late 90s straight to video so bad its good Legend of the Mummy.
The movie opens with exactly what this type of movie should open with; the government being scumbags and trying to figure out how to use the living dead as weapons. The movie does a good job acknowledging the previous ones even if it changes some things here and there. The zombies apart from the main character one are not as I guess intelligent is the word I want to use as in the previous movies, and they don’t expressly go for the brains to ease their pain. There is still obvious pain in them, and the special effects make-up is solid for this era and type of movie. Yuzna did his job though as the only rules were that he had to include zombies and the Trioxin gas.
The two lovebirds of the movie, Curt and Julie, sneak into the military base that his father is in charge of, ya know, as you do. They have pretty much free reign over the facility, which is just terrible security. They see body parts being burned and then a corpse being brought back to life with some sort of gas. The military, curt and julie, and us as the audience get to see them attempt to control the undead with a paralyzing shot to the dome but of course this being a zombie horror movie and only 11 minutes in, that doesn’t hold. The corpse takes out the medical personnel in the room and while the zombies don’t really FEEL like they do in the first movie, they are cool looking ghouls, and the gore gets the job done.
At first, I struggled with this movie because it feels at times like a sequel in name only. The zombies are different, the tone is very different from the first two entries, and it just doesn’t act like a Return movie but at the end of the day, that’s ok. Return of the Living Dead is technically a sequel to Night of the Living Dead but doesn’t do much to tie anything together other than a throwaway line from one of the characters. Anyway, the military adjusted and want to make zombie mech suits which sounds to me like the same thing as those videos you see of people knocking over AI robots on purpose. You are just asking for trouble. Our teens make it home for the required sex scene and Curt’s military dad tells him that they have to leave soon as he screwed up and is getting transferred. The expected disagreement happens, and the young son leaves with his girlfriend.
The turning point for our characters and the movie happens when Julie dies in the most nonviolent looking motorcycle accident I have ever seen. It brings up the question we hopefully all ask ourselves. What would you do for love? I’m not sure I’d bring back the love of my life with an experimental zombie toxin after watching what it does to them but I’m also not saying I wouldn’t. She wakes up and the movie more or less treats it like when the two guys from the first two movies get hit with the gas, it’s a slow descent into death and decay. The movie does a good job with her and her journey but just kind of plods along with various scenarios to stick her with. The bad news is these are very milquetoast things like a convenience store robbery gone wrong and fight with a gang, a sewer exploration, and a culmination back at the military base.
The movie isn’t bad at all, and I think that’s maybe even one of the things that keeps it from being discussed more. No seriously, hear me out. The movie has all of the hallmarks of the era it was made in. It has unnecessary nudity, lots of death and gore, and makeup and special effects that stand out as one of the talking points for the movie. But its not quite bad enough to be so bad it’s good because director Brian Yuzna made it better than it has any right to be. Sadly, its also not quite good enough to be an all time classic. Maybe because it’s missing the humor of the first two or the fact that it changes the rules, even within it’s own movie let alone compared to the rest of the franchise, but it’s just missing that… that… I don’t know, but it’s something.
Lance and I talk all the time about our love of Full Moon or even Full Moon-like stuff, like the movies of the late, great Albert Pyun. What I’d call, I guess, Crescent Moon? Anyway, all of these movies fall under the category of so bad it’s good, doesn’t take itself seriously at all, or just knows exactly what it is to a formulaic tee. While this is actually a better movie in a lot of ways than them, it’s not as charming. Yuzna is no slouch as a director, writer, and producer with his collaborations with Stuart Gordon or his other efforts like the must be seen to be believed Society being highlights and the heart is there with him wanting to do a Return of the Living Dead project from the beginning.
The movie sits in the exact middle of the franchise with the two before it ranging from undeniable classic to beloved silly sequel and the two after it, let me check my notes, Necropolis and Rave to the Grave, being justifiably not getting special editions like the first 3 or, hell, even talked about all that much. Its not some lost classic or even hidden gem to be discovered. I wanted to talk about it as the last one to watch and the closing of a very loose trilogy of zombie goodness. The love story and tragic ending, special effects, and heart put into it all bleed through into a fun watch for horror fans. Sometimes a Black Sheep doesn’t need to be the best movie, it just needs to be walked through and reminded why it was made in the first place. Give the movie a shot and if you are a physical media person, I know I am, you can get the full story and a hell of a complete edition to add to your collection. Return of the Living Dead III is a black sheep that begs to be given the respect it deserves and the same respect that the filmmakers put into its production.
A couple of the previous episodes of The Black Sheep can be seen at the bottom of this article. To see more, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
Yesterday, a short teaser for the upcoming remake of The Crow dropped online with the promise that a full trailer would follow today – and, true to their word, Lionsgate has just unveiled that trailer. You can check it out in the embed above to see Bill Skarsgard in action as the new version of goth rocker Eric Draven.
Skarsgard is joined in the cast by singer FKA twigs, who takes on the role of Shelly Webster, the love of Eric’s life. Danny Huston (Yellowstone) plays the lead villain. Isabella Wei (1899), Laura Birn (A Walk Among the Tombstones), Sami Bouajila (The Bouncer), and Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders) are also in the cast.
Here’s the synopsis: Soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgard) and Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
The role of Eric Draven in the original film was, of course, played by Brandon Lee, who was killed on set in a tragic accident that was caused by a series of mistakes and oversights.
Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) directed this take on The Crow, working from a screenplay by Oscar nominee Zach Baylin (King Richard). The remake is produced by Victor Hadida, Molly Hassell, John Jencks, and Edward R. Pressman. Dan Farah serves as executive producer.
A couple weeks ago, we saw the first images of Bill Skarsgard as Eric Draven in The Crow remake, and those images didn’t go over well with a lot of fans – or with original The Crow director Alex Proyas. Now we’ve seen more of him in the trailer – so let us know, what do you think of Skarsgard’s take on Eric? If you were disappointed by his look in those images, did seeing how he was presented in the trailer win you over? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Based on the comic book series created by James O’Barr, the first version of The Crow was released in 1994. Following the production of three sequels (each about a different resurrected character), a remake was first announced in late 2008… then it had to make a long journey through development hell. Several screenwriters came and went, scripts were written and scrapped, studios went bankrupt, and directors like Stephen Norrington, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and Francisco Javier Gutiérrez were all involved along the way. Actors up for the lead role during the long development period included Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, and Jack Huston.
Rupert Sanders’ The Crow remake is scheduled to reach theatres on June 7th.
If you want to see a wild midnight movie, there’s a little-known Australian movie called Stunt Rock, which might blow your mind. In it, an Australian stuntman named Grant Page (playing himself) visits Los Angeles to do stunts for a TV show and hooks up with a heavy metal band named Sorcery (the band is like KISS if they also did magic). It has many fans, including Eli Roth, who used one of Sorcery’s songs in his Death Wish remake and is prominently featured in an incredible documentary about Australian exploitation films (Ozploitation) called Not Quite Hollywood.
More than anything, this documentary was a loving tribute to Page, who did incredible stunts for almost every cool action film shot in Australia over the last fifty years, including Mad Max, and Road Games (in which he played the mostly unseen villain). Sadly, Mark Hartley, the director of Not Quite Hollywood, broke the news via his Facebook page that Page has passed away at the ripe old age of 85.
“Very sad day with the passing of superstar stuntman and Stud Cola spokesman GRANT PAGE. With charisma to burn and an unforced easy going charm, on screen and off he was the quintessential Aussie male. Grant happily set himself on fire at the world premiere of my documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. I sincerely hope that his profile in that film captured (and celebrated) his larrikin can-do fearlessness. I was lucky enough to work with Grant on my next film PATRICK and I was incredibly honoured when he asked me to write a forward to his autobiography. The jaw-dropping (and bone crunching) work he leaves behind in a number of bonafide Oz classics (including MAD MAX, ROADGAMES and THE MAN FROM HONG KONG) should cement his legacy as not just our premiere stuntman, but as an antipodean icon.”
Indeed, Page achieved almost mythical status in the stunt community, famous for his fire effects. Seemingly no stunt was out of the question for Page. If you watch Not Quite Hollywood, some of the more famous talking heads like George Lazenby (who Page doubled in the awesome Man from Hong Kong), Stacy Keach (his nemesis in Road Games), and Quentin Tarantino speak of him with a lot of admiration. Despite his advancing years, Page stayed active in the industry until recently, with him working on Gods of Egypt and Mechanic: Resurrection. In a community that rarely gets the recognition they deserve (give them an Oscar category already), Page was a legend.
It’s a new era for dinosaurs. Jurassic World: Dominion concluded the sequel trilogy and in their alternate universe, humans and Earth’s prehistoric creatures are now living side-by-side. But hey, at least we don’t have to worry about locusts anymore, right? Recently, Universal has brought in the original Jurassic Park writer, David Koepp, to pen the script for another Jurassic World film to continue the brand. The studio also tapped Gareth Edwards, who recently took on the concept of a future with AI in The Creator, to direct the new film.
The Insneider has recently unveiled a big rumor that Universal is now offering Scarlett Johansson the chance to fight off dinosaurs with the lead role in the new Jurassic World movie. Plot details for the continuation have yet to be announced, so it is not yet known who she will be playing in this entry. The film is expected to start filming this summer in the UK. Johansson is currently in her post-Marvel phase as her run as Black Widow has seemingly concluded, although she is still apparently attached to a new secret project with Kevin Feige, which is not related to her past MCU character.
Universal’s new Jurassic World movie is being hailed as launching a “new Jurassic era,” with an all-new storyline. This detail implies that characters like Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) won’t be returning for the sequel. It’s also assumed that Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum won’t return either. The title Jurassic World also hints at the project being a step forward rather than a throwback to the original trilogy.
In addition to penning the Spielberg classic Jurassic Park, David Koepp wrote the scripts for The Lost World: Jurassic Park, David Fincher’s Panic Room, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Presence, and more. Presence premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Steven Soderbergh directs Presence from Koepp’s script. The film’s premiere was a mixed bag, with some Sundance fans walking out of the screening, saying it was too stressful to watch so late at night. Soderbergh shot Presence in three weeks; the early word is that it’s a terrifying theatrical experience.
