‘Talk To Me’ Directors Danny & Michael Philippou Talk Sequel Ideas, Plans For ‘Street Fighter’ Flick, “Twin Telepathy,” Imposter Syndrome In Encounters With Filmmaking Heroes & More

Todd Gilchrist editor Pet owners spend an inordinate amount of time imagining, ascribing, even acting out the behaviors of their animals. “Strays” feels like the natural — if comically exaggerated — extension of that impulse, chronicling the personality of a border terrier named Reggie as he and three canine pals make an arduous trek back to Reggie’s owner, along with all of the attendant misunderstandings and misinterpretations about the human world around them.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Add Peter Jackson to the list of high profile directors who adore “Talk to Me,” the new A24 horror movie from sibling filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou that’s become a word-of-mouth box office sensation this summer. The “Lord of the Rings” Oscar winner issued a statement through Ahi, one of the film’s distributors across Aotearoa and Australia, in which he singled out “Talk to Me” as one of the best horror efforts in recent years. “It’s relentlessly scary and disturbing – in the best possible way,” Jackson said (via Total Film).

In the 15th installment of Deadline’s Strike Talk, the boys have put the band back together. Todd Garner, who launched the podcast with Billy Ray and then had to bow out to produce a film in Australia, returns after the SAG-AFTRA strike shut down production on his film.

Olivia Newton-John continues to show up for her family in the most mysterious ways. On the one-year anniversary of her death, Newton-John's husband, John Easterling, and daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, revealed how the Australian actress is always watching over them, albeit in "supernatural ways." Newton-John died "peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California" on Aug. 8, 2022.

Talk To Me is in the works, titled Talk 2 Me.The Australian film was released last month, and follows Mia (Sophie Wilde), a young woman who becomes embroiled with the supernatural following a séance with an embalmed hand and the horrors that follow.Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou in their feature directorial debut, Talk To Me also stars Alexandra Jensen as Jade, Joe Bird as Riley, Otis Dhanji as Daniel, Miranda Otto as Sue, Zoe Terakes as Hayley and Chris Alosio as Joss.The movie follows a group of teens who come into the possession of a mummified hand that supposedly connects them with spirits when a seance is performed. When connected to the hand for no longer than 90 seconds, users experience a drug-like high, leading to the teens taking turns to use it.Now, it has been confirmed that the Philippou brothers will return to direct a sequel, which you can see the announcement for below.A post shared by A24 (@a24)In Talk To Me, Mia, who had lost her mother to an unspecified event, attempts to reach out to the spirit of her dead mother unsupervised, leading to chaos and havoc being unleashed.Reviewing the film, NME wrote: “This is a horror film and many will watch because they want to be scared – or, at the very least, spooked – and maybe even repulsed by some grisly sights, regardless of solid acting and realistic characterisation.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter A24 has greenlit a sequel to “Talk to Me,” a supernatural horror film that continues to beat box office expectations. Australian YouTube stars Danny and Michael Philippou, who directed the scary thriller in their feature debut, will return for the follow-up film. Danny Philippou is writing the screenplay with Bill Hinzman.

In what is no surprise, A24 is reteaming with Danny and Michael Philippou for the sequel to this summer’s cult horror pic, Talk to Me.

Taylor Swift played ‘Exile’ as the ‘surprise song’ on her ‘Eras’ tour in California last night (August 7) – check it out below.The song is taken from Swift’s 2020 album ‘Folklore’, and while it had previously been played live, it hadn’t yet been played on the ‘Eras’ tour. She previously performed the song with Bon Iver, Justin Vernon and The National‘s Aaron Dessner when she made a surprise appearance at the former’s show in London in October 2022.Swift played a piano version of the song during the ‘Eras’ show – check out fan-filmed footage of it below:The other ‘surprise song’ Swift played on her fourth out of six shows at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood was an acoustic version ‘Dress’, from 2017’s ‘Reputation’.

Iggy Azalea has spoken out after writing Tory Lanez a letter of support ahead of his sentencing over the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.Last December, Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson) was found guilty of shooting Stallion (real name Megan Jovon Ruth Pete) in both feet during an altercation in July 2020. Peterson, 31, has been in jail since December 23, 2022.The sentencing of the rapper will continue today (August 8). During a court hearing in Los Angeles, California yesterday (August 7), Judge Herriford briefly summarised the numerous letters of support he had received for Lanez.One of the letters was written by Azalea, according to court reporter Meghann Cuniff (via The Independent).Herriford told the court that Azalea’s letter asked him to hand Peterson a sentence “that is transformational, not life-destroying”.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Mollie King's cricket player fiancé Stuart Broad is said to be 'in talks' to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, which will air later this year. Sports fans will be used to seeing 37 year old Stuart on the cricket field, and he, most recently, was one of the stars of the show at the Ashes, as he helped the England team beat Australia.

Emanuel Okusanya Nigerian superstar Adekunle Gold is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. He’s just announced a North American tour, is celebrating a freshly inked deal with Def Jam and is reaping the fruits of his latest release “Tequila Ever After” — Gold’s debut album on the label. “One thing that I’ve always done is just focus on the game,” Gold tells Variety.

Harry Styles played to five million people over the course of his mammoth ‘Love On Tour’, with the dates raising $6.5million for charity.The two-year trek saw the soloist and former One Direction singer play 173 gigs in total, per a press release. He performed a record-breaking 18 nights at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, and smashed the attendance record for London’s Wembley Stadium.Additionally, Styles played 20 sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City and delivered a pair of headline sets at Coachella 2022.The ‘Love On Tour’ began in North America on September 4, 2021.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly been offered a stint in the jungle on the newest series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get me Out of Here.The popular show, fronted by Ant and Dec, sees a host of celebrities and public figures venture into the Australian outback where they sleep under the stars and take part in an eclectic mix of gruesome challenges and stunts. Former Health Secretary - and one time colleague of Boris Johnson - infamously took part last year.

Indie horror pic Talk To Me opened to £643,354 in UK and Irish cinemas, setting a new office box office record for Altitude Film Distribution.

A24’s supernatural horror Talk To Me by first time filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou blew past box office projections grossing over $10 million on 2,340 screens opening weekend. The breakout by the first-time filmmaker brothers and popular YouTubers from Australia was no. six at the domestic box office.

A4’s supernatural horror Talk To Me opens the debut film by Australian brothers and popular YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou on 2,300 screens. Strong reviews (see Deadline’s here), A24 large built-in fan base and its elevated horror cred saw a Thursday gross of $1.25 million, looking to top a $4-5M weekend.

Talk to Me (★★★☆☆) — not unlike co-directors Danny and Michael Philippou, twins from Adelaide, Australia, whose YouTube channel, RackaRacka, has cracked over a billion views with its brand of special effects-assisted comedy videos.Working from a script co-written by Danny Philippou and RackaRacka collaborator Bill Hinzman, the filmmakers invest their feature debut with ample compassion for the movie’s circle of camera-clutching Australian high schoolers, who barely distinguish between danger and content.Led by troubled Mia (played with intensity by Sophie Wilde, also making her feature debut), these friends charge full-speed into the maws of death, but none are treated by the film as expendable, nor as merely grist for grisly humor.In fact, Talk to Me doesn’t rack up a high-volume body count as it weaves grave drama into its taut supernatural tale following Mia, her bestie Jade (Alexandra Jensen), and their friends down a dark rabbit hole of convening with the dead.Mia, grief-stricken over the death of her mother, and probably now a bit too attached to Jade’s family, and definitely feeling some kind of way about Jade dating her ex, Daniel (Otis Dhanji), is already teetering on the edge. So when the group, including Jade’s younger teen brother Riley (Joe Bird), gets introduced to a party game that involves contacting the dead — by grasping a cursed, embalmed hand, and inviting the spirits to “Talk to me” — Mia plunges in eagerly, desperately hoping to make contact.Of course, Mia and friends make contact in ways they hadn’t imagined, summoning spirits who enter gladly but then won’t leave.

“It’s going from a league that no-one considered to one that everyone does,” says Adam Kelly.

If you've been a Neighbours fan since the 90s, you'll definitely remember the Alessi twins, Christina and Caroline played by Gayle and Gillian Blakeney who now look totally different. Identical twins Gillian and Gayle Blakeney, who are now 57 years old, shot to fame on the Australian soap during the 1990s and they certainly had their fair share of dramatic storylines.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor A dominant 3-0 win by the U.S. Women’s National Team helped the Women’s World Cup get off to a strong start for Fox Sports and Telemundo on Friday night. Viewership of the USA-Vietnam match, which aired at 9 p.m. ET, came in just shy of the record set in 2019 by a comparable Group Stage match. The Fox broadcast network brought in 5.26 million viewers for its live 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET coverage of the game, held at Eden Park stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Telemundo, which has Spanish-language rights in the U.S., averaged 1 million viewers for the game across linear and digital platforms, including Peacock. The 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, is drawing heightened attention in the U.S. as Team USA pursues a historic third consecutive victory. The tournament runs through Aug. 20.