Zack Sharf Digital News Director As a producer of “Barbie,” it was up to Margot Robbie to convince a studio that her vision for the film would lead to financial success. No wonder the Oscar nominee flat out said during pitch meetings that she believed a “Barbie” movie could bring in $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Such success depended on landing writer-director Greta Gerwig, Robbie stressed to execs. “I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they’re brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director,” Robbie said in an interview with Collider. “And then I gave a series of examples like, ‘dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg’ – pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, ‘And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.’ And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?”
Zack Snyder’s ‘Star Wars’ Pitch Was a ‘Big Ask’ Since It Had No Pre-Existing Characters and an R-Rating: ‘That Was Almost a Non-Starter’
03.07.2023 - 18:11 / variety.com
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Zack Snyder’s space opera “Rebel Moon” is coming to Netflix at the end of the year, but it would’ve been a “Star Wars” movie had the “Justice League” director’s original plan for the project panned out. The idea for “Rebel Moon” started out as a pitch for a Snyder-directed “Star Wars” movie that Lucasfilm heard after Disney acquired the studio in 2012 for $4.05 billion. Snyder was in post-production on “Man of Steel” when he made his “Star Wars” pitch to Lucasfilm. Snyder said in a new interview with Empire magazine that “a ‘Star Wars’ movie” was “my original concept” for “Rebel Moon,” adding, “It was ‘Seven Samurai’ in space. I knew that the origins for George [Lucas] were a lot of those Kurosawa films.”
“The sale [of Lucasfilm to Disney] had just happened,” Snyder continued. “There was that window where, you know, who knows what’s possible? I was like, ‘I don’t want any of your characters. I don’t want to do anything with any known characters, I just want to do my own thing on the side.’ And originally I was like, ‘It should be rated R!’ That was almost a non-starter.” With no-preexisting characters in the mix and a potential R-rated story, Snyder was fully aware that his “Star Wars” pitch was a tough sell. “I knew it was a big ask, to be honest,” Snyder said. “But the deeper I got into it, I realized it was probably never going to be what I wanted.” “Rebel Moon” is a space opera that follows a young woman living in a peaceful colony on the outskirts of the galaxy. She’s given the task of finding warriors who can fend off an impending invasion by the despotic Regent Balisarius. The cast includes Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Doona Bae, Jena Malone, Staz
Robert Downey Jr. Thought He Was a ‘Shoe-In’ for ‘The Holiday,’ Then Kate Winslet Roasted Him: ‘That’s the Worst British Accent I’ve Ever Heard’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Robert Downey Jr. and Jimmy Fallon crashed a recent episode of “The Howard Stern Show” and revealed they auditioned together for Nancy Meyers’ 2006 romantic-comedy “The Holiday.” Downey Jr. read for the part later played by Jude Law, while Fallon auditioned for Jack Black’s role. Both actors knew they weren’t Meyers’ frontrunner picks at the time, and Downey Jr. was well aware Jude Law was stiff competition. “We both got called in just as seat fillers…[director Nancy Meyers] needed someone to read with the gals and we’re sitting there going, ‘It’s about to happen for us,’” Downey said, adding that he felt he was a “shoe-in” to steal the part away from Law. “And I was like, ‘I’ve got to have a better English accent than Jude Law at this point.’ And Winslet said, ‘That was the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll check out now, but I’m taking the gummy bears from the minibar.'”
Cillian Murphy Says ‘Oppenheimer’ Was Shot in an ‘Unbelievably Quick’ 57 Days: ‘The Pace of That Was Insane’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Cillian Murphy said during an interview on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast that Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” was made on a relentlessly fast schedule. “We made the movie unbelievably quickly. We made it in 57 days,” the actor revealed. “The pace of that was insane.” By comparison, Nolan’s World War II survival thriller “Dunkirk” shot for 68 days, and his massive spy movie “Tenet” shot for 96 days. Murphy is front and center in a majority of “Oppenheimer” scenes, making the shorter shooting schedule all the more intense for the actor. “The sets are huge, but it feels like being on an independent movie,” Murphy added about working with Nolan, which he has been doing for over 20 years now. “There’s just Chris and the cameraman — one camera always, unless there’s some huge, huge set piece — and the boom op and that’s it. There’s no video village, there’s no monitors, nothing. He’s a very analog filmmaker.”
Patrick Wilson Says Zack Snyder’s ‘Watchmen’ Was ‘Ahead Of The Curve’
Patrick Wilson has fond memories of “Watchmen”.
Patrick Wilson Says ‘Watchmen’ Was ‘Ahead of the Curve’: It Was ‘So Dark’ and Allowed ‘The Avengers’ to ‘Go So Light’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Patrick Wilson said in an interview on the “Reelblend” podcast that Zack Snyder’s “Watchmen” adaptation helped pave the way for “The Avengers” and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe to take a much lighter approach to the comic book genre. Snyder’s dark and operatic take on Alan Moore’s graphic novel proved divisive, as the film didn’t even make it past $200 million at the worldwide box office. Wilson revealed “Watchmen” is “the only movie of mine that I have watched front to back since a premiere,” adding, ‘That movie is awesome.” “I just wanted to look at it as an older guy, as a filmmaker,” Wilson added. “I knew Zack was ahead of the curve. It’s weird to say that audiences weren’t ready for it. But you need a movie like that. You need movies to go so dark that then ‘Avengers’ can go so light. I do believe in that…I’d love to do that movie now. It would be so awesome to just do it now.”
Patrick Wilson On Why Zack Snyder’s ‘Watchmen’ Was “Ahead Of The Curve” & How It Paved The Way For ‘The Avengers’ Films
Patrick Wilson is looking back at Watchmen and praising director Zack Snyder for being “ahead of the curve,” which he says ultimately led the way for films like The Avengers.
Hayley Atwell Says ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Cameo Was ‘Frustrating’ and Didn’t Serve Peggy ‘Very Well’: ‘That Wasn’t My Choice’ to Instantly Kill Her Off
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Hayley Atwell is currently kicking butt in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” but the Tom Cruise-led action tentpole is not the actor’s first go-around with a Hollywood mega-franchise. Atwell joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Peggy Carter in 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.” It’s a role she would flesh out in two seasons of ABC’s “Agent Carter” series, before lending her voice to an alternate version of Peggy in Marvel’s Disney+ series “What If…?” Atwell’s Peggy Carter is a passionate fan favorite among Marvel lovers, which is why fans were so delighted when the character popped up as an alternate Captain America in 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and then made furious when she was almost immediately killed off by Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). In a new interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Atwell called the cameo “a frustrating moment.”
‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Almost De-Aged Tom Cruise Back to 1989, Director Axed the Idea: He’s ‘Suddenly This Young Person’ and ‘I Was So Distracted’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” almost pulled an “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” by opening with an extended sequence featuring a de-aged version of its main star. “Dial of Destiny” de-aged Harrison Ford to mixed results for a 25-minute opener. “Dead Reckoning” director Christopher McQuarrie ultimately nixed an idea to de-age Tom Cruise because the technology just isn’t convincing enough yet. “Originally, there had been a whole sequence at the beginning of the movie that was going to take place in 1989,” McQuarrie told GamesRadar+ and Total Film. “We talked about it as a cold open, we talked about it as flashbacks in the movie, we looked at de-aging.”
Harrison Ford First Saw Indiana Jones’ Costume and Was Baffled: ‘What Am I Going to Do With a F—ing Whip? I’m Going to Whip People?’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director In a new video interview with GQ magazine, Harrison Ford revealed that he pushed back against Indiana Jones’ iconic costume when he first saw the plans for his character during the development of Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981). The costume included a leather jacket, a bullwhip and a pinch-front fedora that Ford stapled to his head during production so that it would not fly off during action scenes. Ford told GQ he still has the staple scars. “It was presented to me as an aspect of character in the first film,” Ford said about Indiana Jones’ costume. “My questions about it were many. Why am I wearing a leather jacket in the jungle? Isn’t it hot here? Why am I carrying a whip? What am I going to do with a fucking whip? I’m going to whip people?”
Greta Gerwig Planned ‘Barbie’ Cameos for Timothée Chalamet and Saorise Ronan, Was ‘So Annoyed’ to Drop Them: ‘It’s Like Doing Something Without My Children’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Saoirse Ronan revealed last September to People magazine that she tried and failed to film a cameo in the upcoming “Barbie” movie, which is directed by her “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” filmmaker Greta Gerwig. It turns out Gerwig eyed even more “Barbie” cameos, including one that would’ve reunited her and Ronan with Timothée Chalamet. The Oscar nominee also appeared in “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.” “Well, it was always going to have to be like a sort of smaller thing because she was actually producing at the time, which I am so proud of her for,” Gerwig said of having to scrap Ronan’s cameo. “And of course, it’s brilliant. But it was going to be a specialty cameo. I was also going to do a specialty cameo with Timmy, and both of them couldn’t do it, and I was so annoyed. But I love them so much. But it felt like doing something without my children. I mean, I’m not their mom, but I sort of feel like their mom.”
Rainn Wilson Was ‘Unhappy’ on ‘The Office’ for ‘Several Years’ Because He ‘Wanted to Be a Movie Star’: ‘I Wanted Millions’ of Dollars
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Rainn Wilson told Bill Maher on the latter’s “Club Random” podcast that he spent “several years” on NBC’s “The Office” unhappy because he failed to become a movie star. Wilson, who starred as Dwight Schrute on the beloved sitcom, was a main cast member on all nine seasons of the show. “When I was in‘The Office,’ I spent several years really mostly unhappy because it wasn’t enough,” Wilson admitted. “I’m realizing now, like, I’m on a hit show, Emmy nominated every year, making lots of money, working with Steve Carell and Jenna Fisher and John Krasinski and these amazing writers and incredible directors like Paul Feig. I’m on one of the great TV shows. People love it. I wasn’t enjoying it. I was thinking about, ‘Why am I not a movie star? Why am I not the next Jack Black or the next Will Ferrell? How come I can’t have a movie career? Why don’t I have this development deal?'”
Original ‘Barbie’ Writer Exited Sony’s Failed Movie Because ‘They Wanted a Girl-Boss Feminist Twist on Barbie’ and ‘That’s Not What Barbie Is’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director When Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” finally opens in theaters later this month, it will mark the end of a long, long journey to get the iconic Mattel doll to the big screen. Sony Pictures originally had the rights to Barbie and spent years trying to get a movie off the ground. Actors such as Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway came and went. Schumer said last month that she exited her “Barbie” movie because the script wasn’t “feminist and cool” enough. Another talent that left “Barbie” during the film’s development at Sony was Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Juno.” She exited the film in 2018 and told ScreenCrush at the time, “I was literally incapable of turning in a ‘Barbie’ draft. God knows I tried.”
‘The Idol’ Actor Tells ‘Feminists’ to ‘Go F— Yourself’ for Not Listening to Lily-Rose Depp and Others Who Stress the Set Was Safe and Not Exploitative
Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Idol” actor Jane Adams called out “feminists” in a recent Vanity Fair interview for persisting that the controversial HBO series exploited its female actors on set when many of them, from Lily-Rose Depp to Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Adams herself, have stressed otherwise. “What is amazing to me is no one’s listening—I’ve not seen that before in all my days, such a dogged ‘We refuse to change the narrative,’” Adams said. “I especially want to say to all the feminists, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ All these women that I’m working with are talking about their experience and you’re not listening. You’re not listening!”
Candace Cameron Bure Denies Asking ‘Fuller House’ Writers to Remove Queer Character: We ‘Always Welcomed a Wide Range of Characters’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Candace Cameron Bure is pushing back against an accusation that she asked for a queer character to be removed from “Fuller House,” the “Full House” sequel series that aired for five seasons and 75 episodes on Netflix between 2016 and 2020. Miss Benny, the current star of Netflix’s “Glamorous,” appeared in two episodes of “Fuller House” Season 4 as Casey, the franchise’s first openly queer character. Miss Benny recently posted a TikTok that heavily implied Bure was homophobic behind the scenes of “Fuller House.” One of Miss Benny’s followers asked the star on TikTok, “Fuller house? Who was homophobic was it Candace?” Miss Benny responded in a TikTok that included #candacecure in the video description but did not verbally call her out by name. The actor said “one of the Tanner sisters” was “very publicly not for the girls,” which for many viewers meant either Candace Cameron Bure (who played D.J. Tanner-Fuller) or Jodie Sweetin (who played Stephanie Tanner) were homophobic.
‘John Wick 4’ Shot an Ending Where It’s ‘Very Clear He’s Still Alive,’ but Test Audiences Weren’t Happy: They ‘Preferred the Ambiguous Ending’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Is John Wick actually dead? It’s the question every Keanu Reeves fan was asking after “John Wick: Chapter 4” opened in March. The film ended with John’s presumable death after competing in a duel to free himself from the High Table. John gets shot in the third round of the duel and seemingly dies on the steps of the Basilica of Sacré Coeur while seeing a vision of his late wife, Helen. The film then cuts to a a final scene of Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) visiting John’s gravestone. In a new interview with Empire magazine, “John Wick: Chapter 4” director Chad Stahelski revealed for the first time that a more concrete ending to the action tentpole was filmed and tested. In this version of the film, there’s no question that John Wick survives the events of the duel.
Harrison Ford Roasts Conan O’Brien Mid-Interview for Having a Han Solo Note Reminder: ‘You Can’t F—ing Remember That?’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Harrison Ford roasted Conan O’Brien on a recent episode of the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast after the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” icon discovered O’Brien had “Han Solo” written down in his notes for the interview. The two men were playfully arguing about Ford’s ancestry, which led O’Brien to consult some info he had jotted down prior to the interview. “I refer you to this piece of paper right here,” O’Brien said. “That says, ‘Born and raised in Chicago to an Irish German father—'” Ford leaned over to take a look at O’Brien’s notes and then interrupted the host when he realized they included a reminder that Ford played Han Solo in the “Star Wars” franchise. Along with Indiana Jones, Han Solo is Ford’s most iconic character.
Daniel Kaluuya’s Barney Movie Is an ‘A24-Type’ Film That’s ‘Surrealistic’ and for Adults, Says Mattel Exec: ‘Not That It’s R-Rated’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director With Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” gearing up for box office domination this month, the movie is being eyed as a launching pad for Mattel Films. The studio has dozens of more films in the pipeline based on its toys and popular IP, including a Barney movie with Daniel Kaluuya. The “Get Out” Oscar nominee and “Us” star first attached himself to Mattel’s Barney movie in 2019, and a new profile of Mattel Films published by The New Yorker confirms the project remains in development. Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon told The New Yorker that the Barney movie is “surrealistic” and in the vein of films directed by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze. Those directors are probably not the first two filmmakers one thinks of when the family-friendly Barney name comes up.
Axed Boba Fett Movie Was a ‘Borderline R-Rated’ Spaghetti Western That ‘Probably Scared the S— Out of Everyone,’ Says James Mangold
Zack Sharf Digital News Director James Mangold is moving on to direct a “Star Wars” tentpole following “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” but it’s not his first go-around with the Lucasfilm franchise. Back in 2018, news broke that Mangold had been hired to direct a movie about the bounty hunter Boba Fett. He was also set to co-write the project with Simon Kinberg, best known as a writer and producer on the “X-Men” movies. Mangold’s Boba Fett movie never got off the ground, and he recently said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that it wasn’t too surprising given the overall tone of the project. “At the point I was doing it I was probably scaring the shit out of everyone,” Mangold said. “I was making much more of a borderline R-rated, single planet spaghetti Western. They probably would never be able to embrace Baby Yoda if I had made that. It didn’t really belong in the world I was kind of envisioning.”
Kim Cattrall Doesn’t Plan to Reprise Samantha Again After ‘And Just Like That’ Cameo: ‘This Is as Far as I’m Going to Go’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Sex and the City” fans will want to cherish every second of Kim Cattrall’s cameo as Samantha Jones in the “And Just Like That” Season 2 finale, as it sounds like it will be the last time Cattrall reprises her fan-favorite character. “This is as far as I’m going to go,” Cattrall told “Today” after being asked about Samantha’s future beyond the cameo. “[But] I don’t think I’ll ever say goodbye to Samantha. She’s like a lot of other characters that I’ve done over the years. I get very emotionally attached and protective of my characters. She gave me so much, and I’m so appreciative of her.” Variety exclusively reported in May that Cattrall would appear in the second season of Max’s “Sex and the City” sequel series “And Just Like That.” The scene in question finds Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie and Cattrall’s Samantha having a brief conversation over the phone. Cattrall shot her scene without any involvement from the show’s current cast.
New Superman Actor David Corenswet Said Superman Was His Dream Role: I Want Him to Be ‘Bright and Optimistic’ After Henry Cavill’s ‘Gritty Take’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director David Corenswet is officially the new Superman, which is a dream come true for the actor. Literally. Back in 2019, Corenswet was promoting his supporting role in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix limited series “Hollywood” when he told Entertainment Weekly that his biggest acting goal was “definitely to play Superman.” Here we are four years later and now he’s Superman. The actor also said he was aware of his similar looks to Henry Cavill, who played Superman in three movies directed by Zack Snyder. “It came to my attention before the internet got a hold of me,” Corenswet told EW at the time about comparisons to Cavill. “But my pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman. I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman]. I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take, but I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic.”