Matthew Monagle
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Alien: Covenant’ and ‘Guardians’ Battle for Sci-Fi Supremacy
It’s a battle of the science fiction blockbusters this weekend, with Alien: Covenant and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 giving us a photo finish at the box office. The two movies couldn’t be more different in style, tone, and aesthetics, but they equally captured audiences’ attention and shined a light on what the future has in store for both franchises. Here’s the box office numbers as of Sunday afternoon:
The ‘Wonder Woman’ Screenwriter Says His Story Is a Superhero Twist on ‘The Little Mermaid’
It’s funny how things tend to come in pairs. Just a few minutes after watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Titus Burgess perform a song from Disney’s Broadway adaptation of The Little Mermaid as part of this weekend’s Vulture Festival, I happened to read an interview with the Wonder Woman screenwriter who explains how his film was influenced by the Hans Christian Andersen classic. At this rate, I’ll be in the bathtub and humming along to “Under the Sea” by the time the sun goes down.
‘The Dog Whisperer’ Will Be the Subject of an Upcoming Biopic
Cesar Millan, better known as the Dog Whisperer in most pet circles, has built himself quite a little entertainment empire. Not only have his books and television shows taught countless people how to set boundaries with their pets, he’s also caused a million fights when one person in a couple thinks it’s funny to hiss “tsst!” at their partner during a discussion they find annoying. In other words, he’s been a boon to human-animal relationships and something else entirely to human-human relationships.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Confirms He’ll Appear in the Next ‘Terminator’ Movie
Throughout the years, the one constant in the Terminator franchise has been Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even after director James Cameron quit the franchise, Schwarzenegger kept on chugging along, appearing in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine, Terminator Genisys, and even having his likeness pop up in Terminator Salvation while he was still the governor of California. So with the news that James Cameron would be taking the helm of the franchise again after Genisys flopped, fans have been wondering if the actor had one last showing in him as everyone’s favorite compassionate death machine.
Check Out the Creepy First Poster for Jennifer Lawrence’s Horror Film ‘mother!’
Now that’s how you celebrate Mother’s Day. Earlier today, filmmaker Darren Aronofsky shared the first poster for mother!, his new horror/thriller featuring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. With an angelic expression on Lawerence’s face in the above excerpt, you might be forgiven for thinking that this poster is a kind and gentle teaser for a movie that is more creepy than graphic. Well, by all means, don’t let me stop you from scrolling down to reveal the full horrifying artwork on the mother! poster below.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Soars, ‘King Arthur’ Crashes
On Thursday evening, plenty of executives went to bed with dreams of big opening weekend numbers in their head. Could the movie about a magical king unseat the movie about a talking tree? Or would a mother-daughter comedy with just the right release date unseat a pair of battling sisters? Now that we’ve reached the end of the holiday weekend, we finally have the numbers, and it turns out the answer was no and no, respectively. Here’s this past weekend’s grosses as of Sunday afternoon:
Paul McCartney Teases His ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Character
It would seem that there are two stages every iconic musician must got through in the twilight of their career: induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a guest spot in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Such was the case with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who — in a nod to Johnny Depp’s appropriation of elements of his persona — appeared in two films as the father of Jack Sparrow. And now the franchise has pulled in another iconic musician, with Beatles legend Paul McCartney sharing his slightly foppish character.
New Study Shows Too Many People Are Naming Their Kids ‘Khaleesi’ and ‘Kylo’
We’ve reached one of my favorite times of the year: the annual announcement by the Social Security Administration of the most popular baby names from the previous year. Why is that such a big deal, you might ask? Because each year we get to shake our heads at the number of parents who jump on the pop culture hype train and name their children after movie and television characters. While this year’s list showed that old-fashioned names such as Liam, Mason, and Olivia are back in style, it also featured a predictable handful of names from popular 2015 franchises. Sorry, kids.
Daniel Radcliffe to Star in ‘Running Man’-esque ‘Guns Akimbo’
I’m endlessly fascinated by the career of Daniel Radcliffe. Many actors coming off a childhood franchise as ubiquitous as the Harry Potter films would take a few years to reframe themselves as a dramatic actor or, at least, a major Hollywood sex symbol. Not so with Radcliffe. Radcliffe has chosen to fire off a rapid succession of utterly unique choices, from his demonic leading role in Horns to his supporting turns in Victor Frankenstein and Swiss Army Man (aka the farting corpse movie). I guess this is what Harry Potter money looks like; Radcliffe can spend the rest of his career making whatever bizarre choices he wants without anyone ever telling him no.
Don’t Worry, Ewan McGregor Is Still Keen on an ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Film
One of the hot rumors leading up to this past year’s Star Wars Celebration was that Lucasfilm would announce a standalone Obi-Wan Kenobi film. With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story surpassing even the most optimistic expectations — and the casting of Han Solo dominating the news cycle for months on end — the continuing adventures of Obi-Wan seemed like a no-brainer for the studio. So fans were a little bummed when neither the announcement nor Ewan McGregor were present that weekend. Had something change since the last time McGregor said he’d be interested in the role?