Joaquin Phoenix ‘Just Started Screaming’ on ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Set in Order to ‘Fully Humiliate’ Himself: ‘The Most Intense Guttural Pain Scream’

Zack Sharf Digital News Director As James Gunn’s final Marvel movie opens in theaters and his DC Studios future begins, he’s shutting down any notion about the two superhero studios hating each other. Gunn has had a foot in both studios for quite some time. His Marvel run lasted 11 years and three “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, while he made his DC debut with 2021’s “The Suicide Squad” and is now the co-head of DC Studios, where he’s writing and directing a new Superman movie. “It’s not odd. It isn’t odd at all, not to me,” Gunn stressed to Yahoo Entertainment when asked what it’s been like juggling “Guardians Vol. 3” press with his new DC Studios duties. “I understand how it appears, but I’m just busy cause I’m working two jobs at one time. But it’s not odd.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director As Warner Bros. gears up to release “The Flash” in theaters this summer, many moviegoers are wondering how star Ezra Miller’s history of legal troubles and alleged abuse might impact the release and press tour. The film’s production designer, Oscar winner Paul Austerberry (“The Shape of Water”) isn’t sweating it. During a recent interview with CBC, Austerberry said “people will forget” Miller’s history when the film releases. As reported by the CBC: “Austerberry says he’s not too concerned about how the stories surrounding Miller will affect the film. ‘People will forget that,’ he said, noting that Miller did a superb job playing the titular hero as two distinct characters, which required production to shoot the film in ‘two different chunks,’ with Ezra switching roles every few days.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nicolas Cage took a questionnaire for Stephen Colbert during a recent visit to “The Tonight Show” and revealed in typical Cage fashion that his earliest childhood memory is actually being in his mother’s womb. “Let me think. Listen, I know this sounds really far out and I don’t know if it’s real or not, but sometimes I think I can go all the way back to in-utero and feeling like I could see faces in the dark or something,” Cage said. “I know that sounds powerfully abstract, but that somehow seems like maybe it happened.” “Now that I am no longer in utero, I would have to imagine it was perhaps vocal vibrations resonating through to me at that stage,” Cage added. “That’s going way back. I don’t know. That comes to mind… I don’t even know if I remember being in utero, but that thought has crossed my mind.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jude Law revealed on “The Tonight Show” that he stayed in character as Captain Hook any time he was on the set of David Lowery’s “Peter Pan and Wendy.” The Disney reimagining casts Law as the villainous Captain Hook. To ensure the child actors on set would be scared of Hook, Lowery instructed Law not to reveal his true self until after filming. “David Lowery had the idea of really trying to encourage them not to see me when I wasn’t Hook,” Law said. “So I just stayed as Hook the whole time, which was an opportunity just to be really scary and mean. Sounds kind of awful. I didn’t want to be talking to a little 6-year-old dude, and then suddenly, it’s like, ‘Right. You hate me. I’m Hook. I’m Hook.’ So, instead, I just stuck as Hook. And, yeah, a lot of the reactions you see in the film are their reactions to me for the first time, or as the man himself, you know?”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director After “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” earned some of the worst reviews for a Marvel movie yet (its 47% score on Rotten Tomatoes ties “Eternals” as the lowest-rated MCU title on the aggregation website), it appears the Marvel Cinematic Universe is back on track thanks to “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” First reactions for the trilogy-ending “Guardians” sequel are rolling in and praise the film as the “best Marvel movie in years” and “surprisingly emotional.” Awards Radar editor Joey Magidson called the film “full of heart” and said it brought him “to tears on multiple occasions.” “It’s not what you’re necessarily expecting,” he added, “but it really does land. A perfect ending, too.”

We’ve known, for a while now, that Martin Scorsese is a big fan of Ari Aster. Several years ago, the legendary director raved about Aster’s second film, “Midsommar.” Now, as Aster receives some of the harshest critiques of his relatively young career, thanks to his third film, “Beau is Afraid,” Scorsese is there to back him up, yet again.  READ MORE: ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix Guides Ari Aster’s Hilarious, Horrific, Despairing Nightmare, Hellish Mom Comedy During a Q&A alongside Ari Aster (via A24), Martin Scorsese talks about the young filmmaker’s career, up to this point, and how he believes Aster is one of the best directors working today.

Can you imagine the iconic drama "Gladiator" without Russell Crowe? It was in the realm of possibility, according to Crowe himself, who admitted he almost left the project for a multitude of reasons. "‘Gladiator's' my 20-something movie. I was confident about my abilities as a leading man.

Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid did decent business in its second week, expanding from four screens to well over 900 for a gross of $2.7+ million and a cume of $3.14 million. The A24 film starring Joaquin Phoenix has a $2.8k per screen average and no. 9 spot. It’s a weekend with a wide range of specialty films in a market that’s improving by some measures — some more product, some stronger openings — but still hard to read amid the blockbusters.

Gladiator is one of Russell Crowe‘s biggest movies and most recognizable roles. However, he recently revealed that he had some hesitations about the part.

Joaquin Phoenix has said that he once “just started screaming” on the set of Beau Is Afraid to prepare for a specific scene.Directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), the black comedy horror film follows mild-mannered but paranoid-ridden Beau Wasserman (Phoenix) who embarks on a surreal odyssey to return home to his mother.Speaking during an A24 podcast interview (via Variety), Phoenix said he was left “spinning in a panic” because Aster wanted to shoot an intense scene where Beau takes a bath in a single take. In order to feel “free” while filming the scene, the actor resorted to screaming to “fully humiliate” himself beforehand.“I’m a little reluctant to say this, because it sounds so fucking stupid and just like actor shit, but I remember… what I did before was I did the scene, but I wasn’t really volatile,” Phoenix recalled.“I was still nervous. I was still… In some way, I was controlling a little bit.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Whenever Elizabeth Olsen returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she’ll surely be hoping a permanent stunt double comes along with her. Speaking to Stephen Colbert during a recent visit to “The Late Show,” Olsen said it’s “ridiculous” that she’s done a majority of her own Marvel stunts as Scarlet Witch. “Your stomach leaves you. It’s like, I guess, the joy people get on roller coasters, which I don’t get, but people love that feeling,” Olsen said about doing her own stunts. “I’ve definitely recovered from my giddiness. Sometimes I’m just like, ‘Okay, how many more of these do you want? I can do this all day’ kind of thing. But sometimes I get a little freaked out.” 

Ari Aster has made a career out of the horror and twisted comedy of anxiety. Regardless of where each individual audience member is in their life or the experiences they’ve had, this is what makes films such as “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” universally loved and relatable.

Ari Aster‘s “Beau Is Afraid” isn’t even in theaters yet, but the “Midsommar” and “Hereditary” already has his fourth film lined up. World Of Reel has the scoop: Aster will start shooting his next movie, “Eddington,” this summer, with Joaquin Phoenix set to lead its ensemble cast.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Justin Bieber came to the defense of Frank Ocean in an Instagram post in which the “Peaches” singer praised Ocean’s controversial Coachella performance. Ocean headlined Coachella 2023 along with Bad Bunny and Blackpink, but his April 16 set proved to be a massive disappointment for fans after he started an hour late, skipped over many fan-favorite songs, performed mostly sitting down and with his back to the crowd and lip-synched to several tracks. He also ran past the Coachella curfew and abruptly ended his set after less than 90 minutes. While Ocean has received pans for his performance, Bieber had nothing but raves for his fellow musician. Bieber, who memorably surprised Coachella in 2019 by joining Ariana Granda’s headlining set, praised Ocean’s artistry and voice in a heartfelt note on social media.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Killers of the Flower Moon” author David Grann recently told Vanity Fair that he is “pretty overwhelmed” that his 2017 non-fiction book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” has been adapted into Martin Scorsese’s latest epic. The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, is set to make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Grann championed Scorsese for partnering with the Osage Nation during the film’s production. “One of the things that was really most impressive and important in the development process was less my involvement, but the involvement of members of the Osage Nation,” Grann said. “And early on, the Osage chief, Geoffrey Standing Bear, appointed several movie ambassadors from the Nation, from the government, to work with the movie folks. From everything I’ve heard, they really worked with a commitment to working with the Osage Nation, developing a story, even shooting on location. Many Osage are actually acting in the movie.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Elijah Wood is “fascinated” and “surprised” over Warner Bros. developing multiple new “Lord of the Rings” movies. The studio announced the plan in February. Wood, of course, played the hobbit Frodo in Peter Jackson’s original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which grossed $2.9 billion worldwide and remains one of cinema’s greatest fantasy achievements. “I’m fascinated and I’m excited. I hope it’s good,” Wood recently told GQ magazine about the new films. “I’m surprised—I don’t know why I’m surprised because, of course there would be more movies.” “Obviously at the core of that, is a desire to make a lot of money,” Wood continued. “It’s not that a bunch of executives are like, ‘Let’s make really awesome art.’ And, again, not begrudging anybody because, of course, it is commerce. But great art can come from commerce. So those two things are not mutually exclusive.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director One of the many viral images that emerged out of the 2023 Oscars was the sight of Angela Bassett holding Austin Butler’s hand as the best actor category was announced. Butler was nominated in the category for his performance in “Elvis,” but he lost the Oscar to “The Whale” star Brendan Fraser. The moment registered deeply across social media as Bassett endured her own Oscars loss in the best supporting actress race earlier in the ceremony. Bassett was nominated for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” but the Oscar went to Jamie Lee Curtis for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” “On the evening of the Oscars, with Austin seated next to me, I understood intimately what he felt when it was time to learn if he would climb those stairs to the stage,” Bassett wrote in a tribute to Butler as part Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2023. “So, I  took his hand and held it softly as the winner was announced. Although his name wasn’t called, Austin is no less a winner. The time had come for Austin to say goodbye to Elvis as he began to embrace an infinite universe of possibilities as an actor. I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.”

Filmmaker Ari Aster has oedipal issues. The artist has deeply complicated and unresolved issues with his mother that go back to his earliest movies (to this day, Aster won’t really talk about his mother in the press and has hinted at a troubled, rocky relationship).

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson announced in March they will be reuniting onscreen after “EDtv” and “True Detective” in a new Apple TV+ comedy from creator David West Read. The 10-episode series will star the actors as fictionalized versions of themselves as they bring their families under the same roof on a Texas ranch. McConaughey recently announced on Kelly Ripa’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast that the series is titled “Brother From Another Mother.” While the series’ title evokes McConaughey and Harrelson’s real-life friendship over decades, McConaughey let it slip to Ripa that he’s actually questioning whether Harrelson is actually related to him. It all stems from the revelation that McConaughey’s mother knew Harrelson’s father, perhaps intimately.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jeremy Renner revealed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Paul Rudd made a fake Cameo video to wish him a speedy recovery following his January snow plot accident. The “Hawkeye” actor was hospitalized for blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries and broke over 30 bones in his body after his snow plow ran him over. “I talked to Chris Evans. I talked to a lot of friends and their reaction is what made me feel like, ‘Oh, I think I really hurt myself, I might not pull out of this,'” Renner said when asked about how his Marvel co-stars reacted to his accident. “They’re terrible actors, they couldn’t hide the fact that I looked awful.”