Tag: colin woodell

NASA’s Apollo 11 Moon Landing Is The Real Star Of FLY ME TO THE MOON Trailer

On the morning of July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins sat atop another Saturn V at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The three-stage 363-foot rocket used its 7.5 million pounds of thrust to propel them into space and into history.

On July 20, 1969, at 10:56 p.m. EDT, Armstrong planted the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbed down the ladder and proclaimed: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

And now some 55 years later, NASA is preparing to send people back to the lunar surface. Scheduled for September 2025, the Artemis II flight test will be NASA’s first mission with crew under Artemis and will pave the way to land the first woman and next man on the Moon on Artemis III. Astronauts on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space.

We will finally return to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) in FLY ME TO THE MOON.

Today Sony Pictures and Apple TV have debuted the trailer for FLY ME TO THE MOON.

Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, FLY ME TO THE MOON is a sharp, stylish comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing.

Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as back-up and the countdown truly begins…

From director Greg Berlanti, check out the new trailer.

The cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Donald Elise Watkins, with Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson.

With a screenplay by Rose Gilroy, FLY ME TO THE MOON is based upon the story by Bill Kirstein & Keenan Flynn.

The comedy opens on July 12, 2024.

Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) and Henry Smalls (Ray Romano) in FLY ME TO THE MOON.

Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) in FLY ME TO THE MOON.

Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) in FLY ME TO THE MOON.

PEACOCK And LIONSGATE Strike Deal For JOHN WICK Prequel Series THE CONTINENTAL

Peacock and Lionsgate today announced a multi-year deal for The Continental, the highly anticipated three-part special event based on the blockbuster action franchise, John Wick. Premiering exclusively on Peacock in 2023, The Continental will explore the origin story and inner workings of the exclusive Continental Hotel, a centerpiece of the John Wick Universe which serves as a refuge for assassins. Special Event Series will premiere exclusively on Peacock in 2023 alongside the John Wick Movie Trilogy.

The John Wick films have grossed nearly $600 million worldwide to date, with each film outperforming its predecessor, with John Wick: Chapter Four scheduled for theatrical release worldwide in March 2023. 

(teaser).

“The John Wick films have become a global phenomenon, are among the most watched titles on Peacock and we are thrilled and honored to partner with Lionsgate to extend this incredible franchise,” said Kelly Campbell, President, Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer. “We understand the value of a global franchise and Val Boreland and team knew that by bringing this special event series to Peacock and putting the full power of NBCUniversal behind it, the premiere of The Continental will be the streaming event of the year.”

“John Wick has become part of the cultural zeitgeist with a massive, passionately engaged fan base around the world,” said Lionsgate Television Group Chair Kevin Beggs.  “We’re delighted to partner with Peacock to continue expanding the John Wick Universe.  This agreement reflects the collaboration of our Motion Picture Group, which has grown the franchise from the beginning and was excited by the opportunity to bring it to the next level, Jim Packer and his Worldwide Television Distribution team, which found the perfect home for The Continental, and the Lionsgate Television creative group, which created a brilliant and enduring property that is one of the most highly-anticipated streaming events of 2023.”

Told from the perspective of the hotel manager, a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell, based on Ian McShane’s character in the films), is dragged through 1975 New York to face a past he thought he’d left behind. In an attempt to seize control of the iconic hotel, which serves as a meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals, Winston charts a deadly course through the mysterious underworld of New York City.

Woodell is joined by Ayomide Adegun, who will portray a young Charon (based on Lance Reddick’s character); Peter Greene, who dons the fedora of Uncle Charlie (based on the tight-lipped body disposal expert); Mel Gibson, as Cormac; Ben Robson as Frankie; Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles; Jessica Allain as Lou; Mishel Prada as KD; and Nhung Kate as Yen.

Greg Coolidge and Kirk Ward serve as writers and showrunners on The Continental, and executive produce alongside Albert Hughes, Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, Chad Stahelski, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch, Shawn Simmons, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese and Marshall Persinger. Albert Hughes directs the first and third nights and Charlotte Brandstrom directs the second night. 

Negotiations were led by Val Boreland, EVP and Head of Content Acquisitions for NBCUniversal and Jim Packer, President of Worldwide Television and Digital Distribution for Lionsgate.

UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB – Review

Okay, so last Friday was the thirteenth, but that doesn’t stop the studios from releasing a new horror/thriller into the blockbuster-heavy Summer movie marketplace. Well the film itself is new, but it’s a follow-up to a modest hit from way back in 2015. So, is this set in a creepy old castle, or in a decaying and crumbling moldy mansion? No, those settings are passe and a tad tame for modern scary stories and their fans. The really terrifying backdrops aren’t “Camp Crystal Lake” or even the “House on Haunted Hill”. Here’s a hint: you’re there at this moment. Of course, the new hang-out for goons and monsters is the internet. It’s not a huge stretch to think of a web portal as a long hallway leading to a dungeon with tabs and ads popping up like zombies and ghouls. In this sequel (in name only), the forces of evil are streaming (and screaming) through your router in UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB.

Actually the whole story is told on the screen of a laptop. First we see an unseen user trying to access the laptop by making several password guesses. After a fairly short time, he’s in. Soon a video screen tab pops to reveal the person at the keyboard, Matais (Colin Woodell). He makes a Skype call to his hearing-impaired girlfriend Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras). He’s eager to show her the voice to type chat program he’s rigged up (she has trouble reading his lips and he washed out at learning sign language) with this great laptop he bought on Craigslist. When the program stalls, frustrating Amaya, she starts to click out, but Matais reminds her that it’s game night via video chat with their old college buddies. Suddenly the small video screens begin popping up. From England there’s the bespectacled hunk Damon (Andrew Lees). Back in the states, there’s the conspiracy theory motormouth Aj (Connor Del Rio). Music mixologist Dj Lexx (Savira Windyani) chimes in. Finally the final tab contains the newly engaged couple of Serena (Rebecca Rittenhouse) and Nari (Betty Gabriel). As they begin playing “Cards Against Humanity”, Matias continues to try and get a response from Amaya, but he’s also curious about the laptop’s former owner. He’s still able to access the Facebook account of “Norah”. Once he logs on, Matias is bombarded by urgent messages from woman around the globe. Then the more threatening messages begin. Seems that Matais is not quite telling the truth about his new acquisition, which soon draws him along with all his online pals into a shadowy world of Bitcoin-base butchery and vile video voyeurs.

Well kudos to the producers for at least footing the bill so that the real world apps aren’t replaced by distracting fictional brands like “Facegroup” or “Skyview”. This does help to add a sense of reality to many of the fantastical goings-on. As for my “sequel” comment, this has nothing to do with the events and characters of the 2015 original. There are no vengeful ghosts going after cyber-bullies. The one thing in common is that everything we see is on the desktop screen, so the “Unfriended” refers to the story-telling method and setting rather than a continuing cast of characters and locales. Screenwriter Stephen Susco in his feature film directing debut ably amps up the tension, juggling the myriad of popping tabs and video screens (which get just enough of the action), while fiddling with sound (no real score other than some current top 40-style tunes) to hammer the shocks. Unfortunately the in your face tabs, flickering arrows, and spinning color wheels get very repetitive and claustrophobic. We hope for a “break-out” from the tech tube that never occurs. Still, some of the actors are able to shine, making them more that thriller type “cannon fodder”. There’s a nice cozy chemistry between Rittenhouse and Gabriel (in her second Blum House flick after her powerful work in GET OUT), plus Del Rio is a a loopy and oh so smug “s*%#-stirrer”. And Woodell is all sweaty panic as the flawed hero. Still, it’s tough to really get to know them in the split/screen “real time’ constraints of this extremely downbeat, nearly hopeless tale of cyber-cruelty and crime. The baddies really seem to be able to do anything technically (even making themselves into scratchy specters on any monitor) and are literally everywhere at once. Perhaps the next in this “series” will delve more into the inner workings of these underground overlords. As for this one, I can’t hit the like icon for UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB, though I’ll not click the brown, “swirly-headed’ guy either.

1.5 out of 5