Author: Melissa Thompson

THE GOONIES, SUPERMAN, LETHAL WEAPON Filmmaker Richard Donner Gets Tribute By The Academy June 7

The Academy will pay tribute to director-producer Richard Donner with an evening of personal anecdotes, film clips spanning his prolific career and special appearances by friends and colleagues on Wednesday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Guests to take the stage with Donner include actors Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Jeff B. Cohen, Carol Kane, Joseph Mazzello, David Morse, Ke Huy Quan and John Savage; producer and president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige; writer, president and chief creative officer at DC Entertainment Geoff Johns; writer Brian Helgeland; and Lauren Shuler Donner, producer and Donner’s wife for more than 30 years.

Lauren Shuler Donner and Richard Donner 2006 Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

Donner’s work is wide-ranging, from small independents (“Inside Moves”) to cult classics (“The Goonies”), superhero epics (“Superman”) to medieval love stories (“Ladyhawke”), and mystery-suspense thrillers (“The Omen”) to blockbuster comedies (“Scrooged”) and the buddy action series, “Lethal Weapon.”

Recently director Patty Jenkins described in the New York Times how Donner’s SUPERMAN played into one scene from WONDER WOMAN.

What was the inspiration for the scene?

It’s an homage to one of my favorite movies of all time, Richard Donner’s “Superman.” One of the things I loved in Superman was this very playful period of time where we know who Superman is and what he can do. But he’s let loose on Metropolis. And he encounters a mugging he’s completely ill-prepared for. In that movie Lois Lane knows exactly what’s going on and is trying to handle the situation. She causes a gun to go off and he catches the bullet and she never sees it and he’s able to save the day with his superpowers. So this scene is trying to comment with humor on how things would go down when the roles are reversed….we built onstage because what we were looking for was something that both echoed Richard Donner’s “Superman” alleyway and something that [allowed us to] block that alley fight.

LETHAL WEAPON recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Released in March 1987, the movie grossed over $120 million against a production budget of $15 million, and it was nominated for Academy Award in the category of Best Sound. It spawned a franchise that includes three sequels and a television series.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, saying Donner “tops himself”.

For more on the tribute to Richard Donner and to buy tickets, visit the Academy’s site: http://www.oscars.org/events/academy-tribute-richard-donner

Steven Soderbergh Is Back With LOGAN LUCKY Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver And Daniel Craig

Director Steven Soderbergh and the folks from MAGIC MIKE are back at it with the new comedy LOGAN LUCKY.

Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterson, Dwight Yoakam, Sebastian Stan, Brian Gleeson, Jack Quaid, with Hilary Swank and introducing Daniel Craig as Joe Bang, check out the trailer now.

I love the huge cast, especially the retro poster, and can’t wait to see what Soderbergh does with this modern day version of the 1970’s genre – has the feeling of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT for this generation.

Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Fingerprint Releasing & Bleecker Street will release LOGAN LUCKY in theaters everywhere August 18, 2017.

http://www.loganluckymovie.com/

https://www.instagram.com/loganluckymovie

https://www.facebook.com/loganluckymovie

Twitter: @loganluckymovie


(l-r) Channing Tatum stars as Jimmy Logan, Riley Keough as Mellie Logan and Adam Driver as Clyde Logan in Steven Soderbergh’s LOGAN LUCKY, a Fingerprint Releasing and Bleecker Street release. Credit: Michael Tacket / Fingerprint Releasing | Bleecker Street

Watch the New Red Band Trailer THE HOUSE Starring Will Ferrell And Amy Poehler

Opening in theaters on June 30, 2017 is the comedy, THE HOUSE.

Warner Bros. Pictures has released a new red-band, NSFW trailer, featuring the always hilarious Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler.

After Scott and Kate Johansen (Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler) lose their daughter Alex’s college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), they decide to open an illegal casino in his house.

The comedy THE HOUSE also stars Nick Kroll (“Vacation,” TV’s “Kroll Show”), Allison Tolman (TV’s “Fargo”), Michaela Watkins (TV’s “Transparent”), Ryan Simpkins (“Arcadia”), Jessie Ennis (TV’s “Veep” and “Better Call Saul”), Rob Huebel (“Horrible Bosses 2,” TV’s “Transparent”), Cedric Yarbrough (TV’s “Reno 911!”) and Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (“The Town,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Arrival”).

Andrew Jay Cohen makes his feature film directorial debut with THE HOUSE. The script was written by Brendan O’Brien and Cohen, whose previous collaborations include the hit comedies “Neighbors” and “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.”

ROLL ON OVER TO THE OFFICIAL SITE: www.thehousemovie.com

This film has been rated R for language throughout, sexual references, drug use, some violence and brief nudity.

ICYMI: THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD Trailer Stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate Entertainment.

If you’ve been to the cinemas these past few weeks, and you know you have judging by the box office totals, then you’ve seen the hilarious trailer for what looks to be one of the funniest films this summer.

Watch Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in the trailer for THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD.

The world’s top protection agent, Michael Bryce, (Reynolds) is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen, Darius Kincaid, (Jackson). The relentless bodyguard and manipulative assassin have been on the opposite end of the bullet for years and are thrown together for a wildly outrageous 24 hours. During their raucous and hilarious adventure from England to the Hague, they encounter high-speed car chases, outlandish boat escapades and a merciless Eastern European dictator [Gary Oldman] who is out for blood.

Salma Hayek joins the mayhem as Jackson’s equally notorious wife.

The film will be “hitting” your theatres on August 18.

Visit the official site: www.thehitmansbodyguard.movie

Cannes First Look: GHOSTS OF WAR Starring Brenton Thwaites And LOOKING GLASS Starring Nicolas Cage

The 70th Cannes Film Festival  in full swing, here’s the latest out of the French Riviera.

Here’s a first look at Eric Bress’s GHOSTS OF WAR, starring Brenton Thwaites, Theo Rossi, Skylar Astin, Kyle Gallner, Alan Ritchson, Billy Zane and Shaun Toub.

The film was written and directed by Bress, and produced by Miscellaneous Entertainment’s D. Todd Shepherd, Shelley Madison, Joe Simpson, and Colleen Camp. Highland Film Group is handling international sales during Cannes.

Nicolas Cage and Robin Tunney are featured in this first look at Tim Hunter’s voyeur thriller Looking Glass. The film was written and directed by Hunter, and produced by Braxton Pope and David M. Wulf.

Highland Film Group is handling international sales.

Emma Stone and Steve Carell In First Trailer For Tennis Drama BATTLE OF THE SEXES

With The French Open and Wimbledon right around the corner, the Grand slam matches are on the minds of every tennis fan.

Today, Fox Searchlight Pictures has released this first trailer for the upcoming film BATTLE OF THE SEXES.

The electrifying 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES and became one of the most watched televised sports events of all time. The match caught the zeitgeist and sparked a global conversation on gender equality, spurring on the feminist movement.

Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposite sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With a supportive husband urging her to fight the Establishment for equal pay, the fiercely private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past.

Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis courts and animated the discussions between men and women in bedrooms and boardrooms around the world.

The huge cast features Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Austin Stowell, Jessica Mcnamee, Natalie Morales, Fred Armisen, Martha MacIsaac, Mickey Sumner, Bridey Elliott, Eric Christian Olsen, Wallace Langham, Matt Malloy and Elisabeth Shue.

Directed by Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) and produced by Danny Boyle, BATTLE OF THE SEXES opens in theaters at the start of awards season on September 22, 2017.

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/battleofthesexes/

Sharks Trap Mandy Moore And Claire Holt 47 METERS DOWN In Frightening New Trailer

Did you catch the story out of Long Beach, CA shown on KTLA about the “25 Great White Sharks Spotted Off Southern California Coast”? The headline alone is enough to make you think twice about heading into the water this summer – even for avid swimmer and surfboarder.

http://ktla.com/2017/05/11/25-great-white-sharks-spotted-off-southern-california-coast/

Time to face your fear with the new trailer for Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures’ 47 METERS DOWN.

Stars Mandy Moore and Claire Holt are stranded at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by the world’s fiercest predators in the nail-biting new thriller directed by Johannes Roberts.

Coming to theaters June 16th, prepare to be white-knuckling your seats for this scary movie.

On the rebound after a devastating break-up, Lisa (Mandy Moore) is ready for adventure while on vacation in Mexico. Even still, she needs a little extra persuasion when her daring sister Kate (Claire Holt) suggests they go shark diving with some locals. Once underwater in a protective cage, Lisa and Kate catch a once in a lifetime, face-to-face look at majestic Great Whites.

But when their worst fears are realized and the cage breaks away from their boat, they find themselves plummeting to the bottom of the seabed, too deep to radio for help without making themselves vulnerable to the savage sharks, their oxygen supplies rapidly dwindling.

47 METERS DOWN is a terrifying tale of survival set in the domain of the ocean’s fiercest creatures.

https://www.facebook.com/47MetersDown/

First Look At Todd Haynes’ WONDERSTRUCK

Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions have released a first poster and new footage for their upcoming film, WONDERSTRUCK.

Directed by Todd Haynes, the movie will have its world premiere in the Official Competition of the 70th Cannes Film Festival.

Starring Oakes Fegley, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and introducing Millicent Simmonds, watch the first look from the film now.

Based on Brian Selznick’s critically acclaimed novel Ben and Rose are children from two different eras who secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known, while Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook.

When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his home and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out on quests to find what they are missing that unfold with mesmerizing symmetry.

Haynes was at Cannes some two years ago with his magnificent film CAROL.

Rated PG

Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions will release WONDERSTRUCK in theaters October 20, 2017.

Connect on Twitter: @wonderstruckmov

Photos: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush At PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES European Premiere

On Sunday, visitors to Disneyland Paris couldn’t believe their eyes when the cast and crew of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES, the highly anticipated next chapter in the celebrated franchise, disembarked at Disneyland Paris for the European Premiere as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations.

Geoffrey Rush, Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem and Orlando Bloom

The event, which was inspired by the beloved Pirates of the Caribbean ride, was attended by Captain Jack Sparrow himself, Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES is in theaters in 3D May 26, 2017.

Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES.

The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea—notably Jack. Jack’s only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Brenton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy. At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifully small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has ever faced.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES also stars Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs, Golshifteh Farahani as the sea-witch Shansa, David Wenham as Scarfield, Stephen Graham as Scrum, Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa.

Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg helm PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES with Jerry Bruckheimer producer. The executive producers are Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, Joe Caracciolo, Jr., Terry Rossio and Brigham Taylor. The story is by Jeff Nathanson and Terry Rossio, and Jeff Nathanson wrote the screenplay.

Visit the official site: http://pirates.disney.com/

 

© 2017 Disney Enterprises Inc.

James Wan’s THE NUN Coming To Theaters July 2018

Filmmaker James Wan, director of the record-setting horror hits THE CONJURING and THE CONJURING 2, explores another dark corner of that universe with New Line Cinema’s THE NUN.

Helmed by award-winning director Corin Hardy (“The Hallow”), the new fright-fest has begun production on location in Romania. It will be produced by Wan through his Atomic Monster production company, along with Peter Safran, who has produced all of the films in THE CONJURING franchise.

THE NUN is set for release on July 13, 2018.

When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.

THE NUN stars Oscar nominated Demian Bichir (“A Better Life”) as Father Burke, Taissa Farmiga (TV’s “American Horror Story”) as Sister Irene, Jonas Bloquet (“Elle”) as local villager Frenchie, Charlotte Hope (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) as the abbey’s Sister Victoria, Ingrid Bisu (“Toni Erdmann”) as Sister Oana, and Bonnie Aarons, reprising her “Conjuring 2” role as the title character.

Wan’s Atomic Monster slate includes “Annabelle” and “Lights Out,” as well as the upcoming “Annabelle: Creation,” with Wan serving as producer on all. Co-creator of the “Saw” and “Insidious” franchises, Wan directed the worldwide hit “Furious 7,” and is next set to helm the highly anticipated feature “Aquaman.”

Safran also produced the sequel “Annabelle: Creation,” opening August 11th and is producing “Aquaman.”

Hardy will direct “The Nun” from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman (upcoming “It”), story by Dauberman & James Wan.

Serving as executive producers are Gary Dauberman and Todd Williams, with Michael Clear as co-producer.

Joining Hardy behind the scenes are director of photography Maxime Alexandre (“The Voices,” upcoming “Annabelle: Creation”), production designer Jennifer Spence (“Lights Out,” the “Insidious” films), editor Michel Aller (“Lights Out,” “Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension”), and costume designer Sharon Gilham (TV’s “Black Mirror”).