theplaylist.net - 16 306 Showbiz News and Updates

We don’t often see the release of an Oscar-nominated animated movie released in theaters after the Academy Awards ceremonies had aired (there are, of course, outliers), as most studios want to capitalize on the buzz of a nomination. But “Robot Dreams” is breaking with tradition as the Spanish/French animation pic is heading to the big screen next month.

Zoë Kravitz sure turned heads with the announcement of her directorial debut, a crazy island thriller initially titled “Pussy Island.” Eventually changed to the less provocative, more-marketable “Blink Twice” —a reference to being kidnapped and blinking to convey you’re in danger—the film is a psychological thriller about a cocktail waitress who becomes infatuated with a tech billionaire and travels with him to his private island, where things begin to go wrong.

The Peabody Awards are revealing their 2024 nominees in two batches this year and today was an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the non-narrative works. Among the Documentary, News, Public Service, and Radio/Podcast nominees were a slew of Oscar-nominated films including “The Eternal Memory,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” and “All The Beauty and the Bloodshed.” Oh, and this year’s Academy Award winner, “20 Days in Mariupol.” READ MORE: 10 pressing questions for the 2024 Emmy Award Season This year’s narrative nominees will be revealed on Thursday.

For years, streaming had been a great home to canceled series, revivals, and sequels. However, an attempt to get Netflix to bite on a sequel to the late Heath Ledger’s medieval rom-com “A Knight’s Tale” was recently passed on thanks to a clinical computer assessment.

Jennifer Lopez has had a mixed year so far. Her back-to-back documentaries, “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story” and “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” for Prime Video, seemingly did well enough with critics.

Between his massively successful sitcom “Seinfeld” and his popular Netflix streaming talk show “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” and his various stand-up specials, comedian Jerry Seinfeld has long established himself as arguably a master of comedic television. Seinfeld has spent nearly four decades on television, but after all this time, the funny man is finally making the jump to movies with “Unfrosted,” a comedic take on the origin of the beloved breakfast pastry Pop-Tarts, which he both stars and directs.

With the advent of intimacy coordinators and more evolved forms of safeguards, the film and acting industry has dramatically changed for the better in the last few years in the post #MeToo era. But it used to be much worse.

Some shows are big cultural hits and juggernauts, and some quietly go on season after season; maybe not a huge critical giant, but there are enough ardent fans to justify their existence. And that’s probably where Apple TV+’s “Trying,” a heartwarming British comedy television series created by Andy Wolton (“The Amazing World of Gumball”), lands; it has its fans, and it keeps successfully chugging along, though to be fair, it does have its U.K.

With two studios running point for the rock biopic, “Back To Black,” Studio Canal in the U.K., and Focus Features in the U.S., you essentially get two kicks at the promotion can. From director Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades Of Grey”), “Back To Black” is a biopic of the late pioneering blues and soul R&B artist Amy Winehouse, who became a smash sensation globally in the early aughts.

To quote Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Infinity War,’ “Your math is blowing my mind.” Last month, director Zack Snyder appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience (you can watch/listen below) to promote his latest film, “Rebel Moon: Part Two” (read our review).

Rawandan-British actor Ncuti Gatwa is on the rise with roles in “Sex Education,” “Barbie,” and currently, as the lead of “Doctor Who,” the wildly popular BBC sci-fi comedy series that first aired in 1963. Gatwa’s casting in “Doctor Who” saw the actor face an extreme level of racist backlash, reminding us all over again of the sexism that fellow “Doctor Who” alumni Jodie Whittaker experienced when she was hired to play the Doctor in 2017 (the role has mostly been portrayed by white men so far).

From almost all accounts, it seems like Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has another hit on his hands with “Challengers,” a new tennis drama from MGM Studios that’s actually more of a love-triangle romance bundled into the sports genre. Starring Zendaya (Marvel’s “Spider-Man” franchise and the “Dune” series), Josh O’Connor (“Dr.

Rebecca Ferguson is becoming close to a household name. O.K., maybe “close” is a slight exaggeration, but her profile is bigger than her social media presence, and that’s primarily because her resume over the past decade is filled with one banger after another.

Let’s catch up on all things Cannes Film Festival. For one, if you haven’t seen it, Cannes recently revealed its 2024 poster, featuring a scene from “Rhapsody in August,” directed by the great Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, 81 at the time (see it below in full).

2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, winning the Palm d’Or and cementing the filmmaker’s career in the process. The Los Angeles-set crime anthology with intertwined stories not only was behind the career revival and rebranding of John Travolta but also helped elevate Samuel L.

Despite being released during the pandemic in 2021, “Spider-Man: Now Way Home” became the most successful ‘Spider-Man’ installment of all time at the box office, earning a whopping $1.9 billion for Sony Pictures. So, putting “Spider-Man 4” into production is clearly one of the studio’s biggest priorities, along with getting Tom Holland,  Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon back into their key roles.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” has been called one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and with an ailing box office in 2024 so far, perhaps it’s the movie the industry needs. But if there was a chief complaint about the “Deadpool & Wolverine” teaser revealed during the Superbowl, it’s that, well, it hid a lot and especially any real appearances by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine other than a brief silhouette and an over-the-shoulder shot of Logan getting pissed and seemingly stabbing Ryan Reynold’s Wade Wilson.

Let’s put it out there quickly, “Sonic The Hedgehog” films—about the young anthropomorphic creatures that run at lightning speeds and become heroes of Earth—are no cinematic marvels or blockbuster essentials, and they’re arguably not super memorable either. But for what they are—light, charming escapes for kids that aren’t a chore to sit through for adults thanks to their breezy pace and charismatic actors — they’re fine little diversions (Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz being effective in their roles as quippy villains and heroes).

The most competitive genre this Emmy season is Limited Series or Anthology Series and it’s not even close. There are likely four to five highly acclaimed programs that won’t make the five-nominee field.

Where are, who are, what are “The Watchers”? The answer to those questions will be answered this June with the feature-length directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, yep, the daughter of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, known for his twist-filled horrors, thrillers, and fantasy films.

The Marvel Animation revival of the “X-Men: The Animated Series” with Marvel’s “X-Men ’97” is becoming one of the more popular animated projects ever to grace Disney+. It is so popular with fans at the moment that the creators have been asked all kinds of questions.

This week’s release of Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” (read our review) puts many of Netflix’s problems into sharp focus. Reportedly costing around $166 million to make for both films, arguably much less expensive than some big Marvel and “Star Wars” that cost around $200 million each, it’s still a significant figure for movies that have been met with massive critical derision.

At this point in his career, David Fincher is a Mount Rushmore figurehead of contemporary American cinema for a lot of moviegoers. But that wasn’t always the case. Flashback to the early ’90s, when Fincher, in his mid-20s and primarily a director of commercials, was tapped by 20th Century Fox to helm the much-anticipated sequel “Alien 3.”  The result was disastrous: a $60 million budget blockbuster with a troubled production that scored low with critics and failed to live up to anyone’s lofty expectations.

What’s Keanu Reeves up to in his post-“John Wick” period?  Well, he’s not quite done with the character yet; he’ll reprise it briefly in the upcoming spin-off “Ballerina,” in theaters next summer.  But Variety reports the actor is in talks to star in a project that’s sure to be an eyebrow-raiser: Ruben Östlund‘s follow-up to his second Palme d’Or winner “Triangle Of Sadness.” READ MORE: ‘Barbie’: Ruben Östlund Says “Mattel Bought Off An American Auteur” & Updates Next ‘Entertainment Down’ Satire Östlund has been teasing “The Entertainment System Is Down” for a while now, but it sounds like he’s finally gearing up to film it. It’s another social satire for the Swedish auteur, about a long-haul flight where the entertainment system stops working, leading passengers to fly into rages.

Filmmaker James Mangold (“Ford V. Ferrari,” “Logan”) is seemingly working at a furious pace.

While the world awaits the imminent Coen Brothers reunion (reportedly a horror film!), Ethan Coen is busy at work with partner Tricia Cooke on their second film together, “Honey Don’t!.” The film’s in production now, and Deadline reports that Coen & Cooke had added a slew of new names to their cast list.

Nick Tomnay got some buzz back in 2010 for his twisty thriller “The Perfect Host,” starring David Hyde Pierce as a dinner party host with an appetite for violence. But Tomnay hasn’t made another feature until now, with “What You Wish For.” And, to be expected, it’s another twisty thriller with some culinary flair.

Few films hitting theaters in 2024 have more hyped-up horsepower behind them than “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”  And there’s good reason for that: George Miller‘s prequel to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” has a tough act to follow.  “Fury Road” is one of the greatest action movies ever, a modern classic that’s part tour de force, part technical marvel, part pulpy sublime.   Continue reading ‘Furiosa’: Anya Taylor-Joy Boasts That George Miller’s ‘Mad Max’ Prequel Has A 15-Minute Action Sequence That Took 78 Days To Shoot at The Playlist.

Nicholas Tomnay got some buzz back in 2010 for his twisty thriller “The Perfect Host,” starring David Hyde Pierce as a dinner party host with an appetite for violence. But Tomnay hasn’t made another feature until now, with “What You Wish For.” And, to be expected, it’s another twisty thriller with some culinary flair.

It looks like Ryan Gosling is going back to space.  Deadline reports that the “Barbie” and “The Fall Guy” actor will star in Phil Lord & Christopher Miller‘s upcoming adaptation of “Project Hail Mary” at Amazon MGM. And if Lord & Miller’s film is anything like Hollywood’s last Andy Weir adaptation, 2015’s “The Martian,” then “Project Hail Mary” will be a homerun for all involved.

Filmmaker Zack Snyder’s profoundly unfortunate “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire,” a turgid, ostentatiously vacant space opera, was, to put it politely, a dire film and hollow regurgitation of familiar sci-fi tropes. But it at least had a story with three bare acts, however tedious.

It’s a good time to be an “Alien” fan. With Fede Álvarez‘s new franchise installment “Alien: Romulus” hitting theaters on August 16, and Noah Hawley‘s TV series for FX on the way next year, a franchise once thought dead is on the cusp of a potentially huge revival.

Sydney Sweeney isn’t letting anyone keep her down. Yesterday, representatives for the “Immaculate” and “Madame Web” actress hit back at film producer Carol Baum for criticizing her appearance and disparaging remarks about her ability to act.

Based on the marketing, you might think “Challengers” is at its core, a tennis movie and, well, it sort of is. The film is certainly set in the world of tennis, you can’t deny that, and at one point, Zendaya’s character Tashi Duncan remarks, “We’re always talking about tennis.” The sport is at the center of her life.

Get ready to return to the South Side of Chicago. Earlier today, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME released the first official trailer and key art for the second half of season six of their acclaimed original drama series “The Chi,” which is set to return on May 10, 2024.

The Tribeca Film Festival has actually been known as the Tribeca Festival for four years now, but perhaps the name change and evolution of the festival has never been more evident than with the announcement of its robust and impressive 2024 TV slate.