For my money, The Iron Claw was one of the best films of 2023. Many JoBlo readers seemed to agree, with our review for the movie getting loads of clicks, and so far, it seems to be doing quite well in our annual Golden Schmoes awards. It also did quite well at the domestic box office, grossing about $35 million, which is significantly more than other, more hyped awards contenders like Poor Things, American Fiction, and The Holdovers. Even still, it was mostly shut out of the main awards conversation despite career-best work from star Zac Efron, who plays the last surviving Von Erich brother, Kevin.
So, if you happened to miss The Iron Claw in theatres, now’s your chance to catch up with director Sean Durkin’s take on the infamous “Curse of the Von Erichs” with it making its VOD debut today. You can get it through whatever streamer you like the most, or you can wait until March 26th and get the Blu-ray (although no 4K UHD version has been announced yet).
The Iron Claw is based on the legacy of the Von Erich family. Headed by heel-turned-businessman Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), the family becomes one of Texas’s best-loved wrestling dynasties. The sons, including Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and David (Harris Dickinson), all become stars, but one by one, the brothers all start to fall victim to an often cruel fate.
Suffice it to say, it’s not an uplifting film, which made its Christmas release date a little strange, but it is perhaps the best movie about wrestling ever made (even more so than The Wrestler, in my opinion). If you haven’t seen it, I’d wager it’s worth a blind buy.
Did you catch The Iron Claw in theatres? Let us know in the comments!
Isabela Merced, who can be seen in this weekend’s release Madame Web and also has a role in the currently-filming second season of The Last of Us, is one of the star’s up director Fede Alvarez’s upcoming contribution to the Alien franchise, the feature film Alien: Romulus, which is on track for an August 16, 2024 theatrical release. Merced is doing the press rounds to promote Madame Web, and during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter she teased that Alien: Romulus features a scene that’s so disgusting, a lot of viewers will have to look away from the screen. Given that this is an Alien movie from the filmmaker who previously brought us movies like Evil Dead 2013 and Don’t Breathe, the idea of it featuring such a scene definitely makes sense to me.
Alvarez directed the new Alien film from a screenplay he wrote with his frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues. When the project was announced near the start of 2022, it was said that Alvarez pitched this idea to Ridley Scott years ago. Whatever the idea was, it stuck with Scott. So in late 2021, he called Alvarez and asked if he still wanted to make an Alien movie. Clearly, the answer was yes. 20th Century Studios division president Steve Asbell told The Hollywood Reporter that they picked up the project “purely off the strength of Fede’s pitch. It was just a really good story with a bunch of characters you haven’t seen before.“
It has been said that the story Alvarez and Sayagues crafted for this movie is not connected to the other films in the Alien franchise. It will show us what happens when “a group of young people on a distant world find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” The Hollywood Reporter noted, “as opposed to the other movies which focused on adults in corporate, militaristic and scientific roles, this now-ninth installment of the franchise will focus on a group of young people. On a distant colony, the group finds themselves in a fight for their lives with the titular alien, a creature known as a Xenomorph, whose race propagates by implanting eggs into people’s stomachs via face-huggers, with the juveniles eventually violently bursting out of the host’s chest.”
In addition to Merced, the characters are played by Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (The Batman), and Aileen Wu (Away from Home). Spaeny has previously revealed that the story takes place between the events of the original Alien and its follow-up Aliens.
When asked if Alien: Romulus is a two-hander between her and Spaeny, Merced said, “It ends up being a little bit complicated, obviously, as all Alien movies do, however, yeah, you’ll see us together at times. When we were doing reshoots, Fede Álvarez gave me the iPad where he watches playback, and he had the movie pulled up. So I told him I wanted to see parts of it, and he showed it to me. I was the one holding the iPad, and there were ten people around me watching it on the iPad. So there’s a scene that I’m in, and they all had to turn away. Not one person stayed looking at that iPad because it was so disgusting. And I was watching it like this … (Merced pretends to hold an iPad with a mesmerized look on her face.) I was so excited. (Laughs.) I love sci-fi, I do. So he let me watch half the movie on the iPad. I said [to Fede], “If the iPad is heavy, I can carry it for you. I can hold it.” (Laughs.) So I’m really, really excited for that one. Again, I’m lucky enough to be a part of these projects with the best of the best. I can’t believe it. I’m so in shock, and I don’t know when I’m going to wake up.“
This new Alien movie is coming to us from Momentum and 20th Century Studios, with Ridley Scott producing through his Scott Free banner.
Are you looking forward to Alien: Romulus and this disgusting scene Isabela Merced was talking about? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Bob Marley and the Wailers music has inspired fans since the 1970’s. From “Could You Be Loved” to “Three Little Birds” to the monumental, “One Love/People Get Ready” it all sounds timeless. And in the new feature film, Bob Marley: One Love, director Reinaldo Marcus Green celebrates the man’s legacy. Thankfully, it doesn’t simply follow the bio pic tradition. The new film places focus on the release of the extraordinary “Exodus.” The band’s attempt to put on a concert meant to bring people together plays a significant part of the feature as well. It’s a wonderful film, and yes, Kingsley Ben-Adir is utterly marvelous as the singer.
As an admirer of Mr. Marley and his legacy, I was thrilled to speak with the folks who brought it to life. First up, we spoke with the fantasic Ziggy Marley, who is one of the producers of the film. It was an thrill to speak with this incredibly talented artist. Having grown up listening to his father, I have found much love for Ziggy’s music too. He opened up about bringing his father’s story to life. As well, he talked about his own musical influences. Ziggy is an excellent musician, and he certainly is keeping his father’s spirit and heart alive.
For Reinaldo, you could easily tell the impact that Bob Marley had on him. He discussed the focus of the film, and the casting of Kingsley. The filmmaker took great care to celebrate the Wailers and it’s inspiring to see his own admiration for Marley come through. As for Kingsley, the man gives a brilliant performance as Bob Marley. It is one likely to earn some award consideration. Ben-Adir discussed creating Marley on-stage, as well as Marley’s personal struggles at the time.
Bob Marley: One Love is a joy of a film. The music is wonderful. And it will lift you up. Check out Bob Marley: One Love this Friday at a theatre near you.
Bob Marley and the Wailers music has inspired fans since the 1970’s. From “Could You Be Loved” to “Three Little Birds” to the monumental, “One Love/People Get Ready” it all sounds timeless. And in the new feature film, Bob Marley: One Love, director Reinaldo Marcus Green celebrates the man’s legacy. Thankfully, it doesn’t simply follow the bio pic tradition. The new film places focus on the release of the extraordinary “Exodus.” The band’s attempt to put on a concert meant to bring people together plays a significant part of the feature as well. It’s a wonderful film, and yes, Kingsley Ben-Adir is utterly marvelous as the singer.
As an admirer of Mr. Marley and his legacy, I was thrilled to speak with the folks who brought it to life. First up, we spoke with the fantasic Ziggy Marley, who is one of the producers of the film. It was an thrill to speak with this incredibly talented artist. Having grown up listening to his father, I have found much love for Ziggy’s music too. He opened up about bringing his father’s story to life. As well, he talked about his own musical influences. Ziggy is an excellent musician, and he certainly is keeping his father’s spirit and heart alive.
For Reinaldo, you could easily tell the impact that Bob Marley had on him. He discussed the focus of the film, and the casting of Kingsley. The filmmaker took great care to celebrate the Wailers and it’s inspiring to see his own admiration for Marley come through. As for Kingsley, the man gives a brilliant performance as Bob Marley. It is one likely to earn some award consideration. Ben-Adir discussed creating Marley on-stage, as well as Marley’s personal struggles at the time.
Bob Marley: One Love is a joy of a film. The music is wonderful. And it will lift you up. Check out Bob Marley: One Love this Friday at a theatre near you.
One of the supernatural world’s most elusive creatures, the Sasquatch, is lumbering toward the silver screen for an intriguing film about discovery, adversity, and family. Today, Bleecker Street proudly presents its Sasquatch Sunset trailer, starring Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Nathan Zellner, and Christoph Zajek-Denek as Bigfoot family members. The actors are damn-near unrecognizable under copious amounts of prosthetics and tangled hair. It’s the sort of thing you need to see to believe.
Here’s the official synopsis for Sasquatch Sunset:
In the misty forests of North America, a family of Sasquatches – possibly the last of their enigmatic kind – embark on an absurdist, epic, hilarious, and ultimately poignant journey over the course of one year. These shaggy and noble giants fight for survival as they find themselves on a collision course with the ever-changing world around them.
Per the press release from Bleecker Street:
Filmmaking brothers David and Nathan Zellner have made a name for themselves with their unique, boundary-pushing storytelling and cinematic style. Their collaborations are marked by dark humor and unconventional themes and characters. Their short film “Sasquatch Birth Journal 2” premiered at Sundance in 2011 and was nominated for the Sundance Short Filmmaking Award. They both can be found behind and in front of the camera, with David having recently acted in Riley Stearns’ The Art of Self-Defense for Bleecker Street in 2019 alongside Jesse Eisenberg, which the Zellners also executive produced. David was also nominated for Best Director at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2015 for Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter. Sasquatch Sunsetwill mark their eighth feature project together.
Sasquatch Sunset screened last month at Sundance with reviewers, including JoBlo’s Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, enjoying the strange cinematic presentation a great deal. In his review, Chris says Keough and Eisenberg give fearless performances, though some viewers might view the film as a “one-note joke stretched too far.” While the film might not connect with mainstream audiences, cinephiles who enjoy “out there” projects could happily walk alongside the Sasquatch family for a strange, darkly humored adventure.
What do you think of today’s Sasquatch Sunset trailer? Do you intend to try to catch this one in theaters? What other cryptozoological creature would you like to star in its own movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
The premiere season of the Apple TV+ series Invasion (read our review HERE) started airing in October of 2021 and wrapped up its ten episode run in December of that year. The same week the season finale aired, it was announced that a second season of the show had been ordered. Invasion season 2 finally made its way to the screen in August of 2023 and wrapped up in October. It’s taken them a while, but Apple TV+ has now officially confirmed that they’ve renewed Invasion for season 3. The new batch of episodes are expected to begin filming later this month.
Created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil, Invasion is set across multiple continents and is described as a sweeping, character-driven science fiction drama series that follows an alien invasion through different perspectives around the world. Season 2 picked up 121 days after the invasion started.
The cast includes Golshifteh Farahani, Shioli Kutsuna, Shamier Anderson, India Brown, Billy Barratt, Azhy Robertson, Paddy Holland, Tara Moayedi, Enver Gjokaj, Nedra Marie Taylor, and Naian González Norvind.
Kinberg had this to say about season 3: “I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to do with our first two seasons of the show with our partners at Apple TV+ and our cast and crew. This new season will continue to build on the scale, stakes, and propulsion of the Invasion, while keeping our characters front and center, bringing them together in ways that will hopefully surprise and most importantly move our audience, who have been so incredibly supportive and inspiring since day one.“
Invasion is produced for Apple TV+ by Boat Rocker. Kinberg and Weil serve as executive producers alongside Audrey Chon, David Witz, Alik Sakharov, Andrew Baldwin, Dan Dietz, Katie O’Connell Marsh, and Boat Rocker’s Nick Nantell. Kinberg is best known for writing and/or producing multiple X-Men films (and directing X-Men: Dark Phoenix). Weil previously created the Amazon series Hunters, which was executive produced by Jordan Peele. He also wrote an episode of Peele’s version of The Twilight Zone.
Have you been watching Invasion, and are you glad to hear there’s a season 3 on the way? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has made headlines recently by being up to his usual tricks of deleting finished films for tax write-offs. This time, it was the Looney Tunes-themed movie, Coyote vs. Acme. The family comedy that put a twist on the classic Wile E. Coyote cartoon featured stars like John Cena and Will Forte and would have the opportunity to be distributed by another studio, but Zaslav set the bid at $70-$80 million. That amount would have potential buyers leaving the floor and now the movie is in danger of being deleted.
In a new development at the company, Variety reports that Margot Robbie‘s production company, LuckyChap, has just signed a partnership deal with Zaslav and the famous water tower after the big year they both had with the Greta Gerwig film, Barbie. The partnership is a multi-film, first-look deal on future projects. Robbie’s LuckyChap would be a driving force behind her own I, Tonya, as well as films like Promising Young Woman and the recent Saltburn. The company also produced television projects like Netflix’s limited series Maid, as well as Hulu’s Dollface and Mike.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs and CEO Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy have expressed their excitement over this partnership, “Margot, Tom and Josey have built a unique home for storytellers at LuckyChap, where filmmakers are doing incredible work in a supportive and creatively freeing environment. We are excited to have Margot, Tom and Josey join our extended family, making movies of all sizes and genres for moviegoers the world over.” The LuckyChap team stated, “We founded LuckyChap to fight for projects and filmmakers we believe in. We are thrilled to be cementing our long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery. David [Zaslav], Mike and Pam share our commitment to storytelling and the theatrical experience. We can’t wait for what’s to come.”
Robbie has been adamant about not franchising Barbie and has been championing the development of more original projects. The actress told Variety previously, “We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has. Why can’t it be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play? I want to do that.”
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael is bound to be one of the more controversial movies to come out in the next year or so. It’s currently on track for an April 18, 2025 release, but the makers have decided to release a first look still at Jaafar Jackson in character as his famous uncle – Michael Jackson.
As you can see by the pic, the resemblance is uncanny. However, one thing worth noting is that MJ’s appearance drastically changed over the years, from his early days as a solo artist circa “Off the Wall”, through his iconic look in “Thriller” and beyond. Here, he seems to be playing Michael Jackson in his “Bad” era, and looking at the image, it’s hard not to hear MJ’s iconic singing voice coming through loud and clear. With the cooperation of the Michael Jackson estate, one thing is for sure – the music will be great.
However, there was a lot more to MJ’s complicated legacy than the music, with him being accused of sexual abuse several times, leading to a very public civil court case, and a controversial documentary, Leaving Neverland, which came out many years after his death in 2009. It remains to be seen if the film will tackle that era, although according to the info released by the production today, the film will be an “honest” portrayal.
Here’s the synopsis:
Michael will bring audiences a riveting and honest portrayal of the brilliant yet complicated man who became known worldwide as the King of Pop. The film presents his triumphs and tragedies on an epic, cinematic scale — from his human side and personal struggles to his undeniable creative genius, captured by his most iconic performances. As never before, audiences will experience an inside look into one of the most influential, trailblazing artists the world has ever known.
In addition to Jaafar Jackson, the movie co-stars Nia Long as MJ’s mother, Katherine, with Colman Domingo playing his controversial father, Joe. In contrast, Miles Teller plays his long-time lawyer (and the film’s producer) John Branca.
Do you think Michael will do a good job dramatizing Michael Jackson’s life and career? Let us know in the comments.
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael is bound to be one of the more controversial movies to come out in the next year or so. It’s currently on track for an April 18, 2025 release, but the makers have decided to release a first look still at Jaafar Jackson in character as his famous uncle – Michael Jackson.
As you can see by the pic, the resemblance is uncanny. However, one thing worth noting is that MJ’s appearance drastically changed over the years, from his early days as a solo artist circa “Off the Wall”, through his iconic look in “Thriller” and beyond. Here, he seems to be playing Michael Jackson in his “Bad” era, and looking at the image, it’s hard not to hear MJ’s iconic singing voice coming through loud and clear. With the cooperation of the Michael Jackson estate, one thing is for sure – the music will be great.
However, there was a lot more to MJ’s complicated legacy than the music, with him being accused of sexual abuse several times, leading to a very public civil court case, and a controversial documentary, Leaving Neverland, which came out many years after his death in 2009. It remains to be seen if the film will tackle that era, although according to the info released by the production today, the film will be an “honest” portrayal.
Here’s the synopsis:
Michael will bring audiences a riveting and honest portrayal of the brilliant yet complicated man who became known worldwide as the King of Pop. The film presents his triumphs and tragedies on an epic, cinematic scale — from his human side and personal struggles to his undeniable creative genius, captured by his most iconic performances. As never before, audiences will experience an inside look into one of the most influential, trailblazing artists the world has ever known.
In addition to Jaafar Jackson, the movie co-stars Nia Long as MJ’s mother, Katherine, with Colman Domingo playing his controversial father, Joe. In contrast, Miles Teller plays his long-time lawyer (and the film’s producer) John Branca.
Do you think Michael will do a good job dramatizing Michael Jackson’s life and career? Let us know in the comments.
After working together on the 2021 version of Wrong Turn, director Mike P. Nelson and screenwriter Alan B. McElroy are re-teaming for the Brazil-set creature feature Titan – and Deadline reports that Kiana Madeira of the Fear Street trilogy and Jessica Rothe of the Happy Death Day movies are set to star in the film!
The story Titan is set against the backdrop of Brazil’s Curuçá River in the present day. When a team of young doctors embark on a local humanitarian mission through the Amazon rainforest, it soon becomes clear that not everyone – or everything – is happy to see them. Their arrival draws the attention of an ancient predator, the “Boiúna”. This ancient killer, dominant on land and water, clashes to reclaim the jungle. The ensuing fight for survival blurs the roles of hunter, prey, and hero.
The film is coming our way from the Resident Evil franchise makers at Constantin Film and JB Pictures. Robert Kulzer of Constantin Film is producing alongside JB Pictures’ Jeremy Bolt. Sam Hall and Michael Rothstein serve as executive producers for the sales company north.five.six, which will be presenting the project to potential buyers at the European Film Market.
In addition to the Wrong Turn reboot, Nelson has also directed The Domestics and a segment of V/H/S/85. McElroy earned his first screenwriting credit on Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, my favorite of the Halloween sequels. His credits since then include Wheels of Terror, Rapid Fire, Spawn (both the feature film and the animated series), Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, the original Wrong Turn, The Marine, Tekken, Fractured, and episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.
Fear Street and Happy Death Day made me a fan of both Kiana Madeira and Jessica Rothe, I have a major interest in the country of Brazil and stories that are set there, and I follow Alan B. McElroy’s career because I’m such a huge fan of Halloween 4, so Titan has a lot of elements that strongly appeal to me. I’ll definitely be watching this one, and look forward to seeing how it’s going to turn out.
Does Titan sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
