Record ‘Irishman’ Numbers, Malick Movie Screened at Vatican, Awards for Kathleen Kennedy, Helen Mirren, More
New Martin Scorsese film The Irishman opened to a viewing audience of 17.1million people in its opening week on Netflix following its release on 27th Nov, a figure equatable to $155million at the North American box office, some $20million more than Scorsese’s biggest box office hit The Departed. Neilsen (the agency that reports such figures) have noted that of the 13million viewers on the release day of the film, only 18% watched the film in its entirety (though this is actually better than any of Netflix’s other top hits, including El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and the service’s biggest-ever hit Bird Box).
IndieWire – 6th Dec 2019
Stephen Graham, the British star of the likes of This Is England and Walk Like a Panther who recently played a memorable role in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, is set to join the cast of Venom 2. The film, which will be Sony’s follow up to the 2017 billion dollar hit starring Tom Hardy, is currently keeping details of its plot close to its chest, with Graham’s role yet to be revealed.
Deadline – 5th Dec 2019
New Terrence Malick film A Hidden Life received a rare screening at the Vatican on Wednesday 4th Dec ahead of its North American release on the 13th.
THR – 5th Dec 2019
New DC/Warner Bros project The Batman, from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes screenwriter-director Matt Reeves, has cast Garden State, Green Lantern and An Education character actor Peter Sarsgaard. Though the role Sarsgaard has been given is currently under wraps, suggestions are being made that the actor could be set to play the role of Harvey “Two Face” Dent.
THR – 6th Dec 2019
A new Planet of the Apes movie is being developed at Disney, who now own the rights to the property following their purchase of 20th Century Fox earlier this year. The film, which will be overseen by the director of The Maze Runner 1, 2 & 3 Wes Ball, is suspected to be a franchise reboot, though details are currently unclear in this regard.
THR – 3rd Dec 2019
A Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel is in the works at Disney, with the director of the franchise’s original film from 1989, Joe Johnston, being lined up to direct. The project was apparently pitched to Disney by Beauty and the Beast and Frozen star Josh Gad earlier this year, and will reportedly see the actor fill the role of Wayne Szalinksi’s (Rick Moranis’) son.
Variety – 5th Dec 2019
Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning will co-star as sisters in an adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s “The Nightingale” set to be directed by Inglourious Basterds actress Melanie Laurent.
THR – 4th Dec 2019
Sony’s musical Cinderella, set to star Camila Cabello, has cast ‘Chambers’ actor Nicholas Galitzine as its Prince Charming. Kay Cannon (Blockers) is set to direct.
THR – 5th Dec 2019
The first ever spin-off to one of Disney’s live-action remakes has been given the go-ahead, with Aladdin’s Prince Anders set to get his own standalone film. The film, which will be distributed exclusively by Disney+, will see original actor Billy Magnussen reprise his role.
THR – 6th Dec 2019
Mena Massoud, the lead actor and titular character in Disney’s 2019 live-action remake Aladdin, has said in an interview: “I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out.” Revealing that was tired of keeping quiet about it.
THR – 3rd Dec 2019
Oscar-winning writer of The Big Short, Charles Randolph, is teaming with Blumhouse head Jason Blum to bring a real-to-life story of notorious start-up We Work to the big screen. The film, which is yet to be given a title, will be an adaptation of the reports of Katrina Booker, as well as her upcoming novel.
THR – 2nd Dec 2019
A sequel to 2018 Christmas movie The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell is heading to Netflix in 2020, with the first movie’s producer, Home Alone and Harry Potter 1 & 2 director Chris Columbus stepping into the director’s chair. Hollywood star Goldie Hawn, the real-life wife of star Kurt Russell, has also been confirmed to be playing the role of Mrs. Claus.
The Christmas Chronicles 2, coming next holiday season pic.twitter.com/zYVPwxKdbk
— See What’s Next (@seewhatsnext) December 6, 2019
The new Ghostbusters film, set to be directed by the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, has been given a full title ahead of its Summer 2020 release date: Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Empire – 6th Dec 2019
Disney have sent out recommendations to movie theaters/cinemas asking them to warn viewers of prolonged flashing light sequences in their upcoming Lucasfilm release Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The note, put together in conjunction with the Epilepsy Foundation, is something of a rarity in the industry.
THR – 6th Dec 2019
Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Disney subsidiary studio Lucasfilm and the overseer of Star Wars, is set to receive the British Film and Television Academy’s highest accolade, the BAFTA Fellowship award, in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film.
BAFTA – 6th Dec 2019
Helen Mirren, the British actress who won an Oscar for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, will be honoured by the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020 with an iconic Golden Bear for the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
4th Dec 2019
Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix has been named the PETA Person of the Year 2019 for promoting welfare rights to animals in trouble. The veteran actor and multi-time Oscar nominee, recently appeared on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s “we are all animals” billboard campaign that looked to raise awareness of the group’s hope to ban travelling animal circuses worldwide.
THR – 2nd Dec 2019
Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite won big at the 2019 European Film Awards this weekend, taking home 8 awards including European Film, European Comedy, Best Director and Best Actress.
TFM – 8th Dec 2019
And finally…
Studio Ghibli films will be available for digital purchase for the first time ever from 17th Dec, following a deal made with GKIDS to make all 21 of the studio’s releases available for purchase through their platform (set to hit HBO Max in 2020).
THR – 2nd Dec 2019
Georgian director Zaza Urushadze, best known for directing 2013 film Tangerines, has passed away aged 53 from a reported heart attack.
Vestink Kavkaza – 7th Dec 2019
