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Legendary comic book creator Grant Morrison recently revealed the steps of their creative process, describing in a post on Substack how they draw a "thumbnail sketch" of each comic page before writing, focusing on exciting visuals and sequential storytelling before generating dialogue and captions. This dive into the earliest stages of Grant Morrison's creative process is an awesome resource for anyone interested in the composition of comic book stories; Morrison's work has been franchise defining and genre-defying for decades, making it a thrill to observe how it all comes together. Morrison shared first-draft sketches from The Invisibles #1, the debut issue of what is arguably Morrison's ultimate masterwork, which strongly correspond to the final, published version.

Grant Morrison is easily one of the greatest writers in the history of the comic book medium, and the iconic creator recently shared their process in creating comics. From early works like Animal Man and Doom Patrol,...

Development continues on writer Grant Morrison's Vertigo comics title "The Invisibles", as a live action TV series for Universal Cable Productions following 'The Invisible College' organization battling against physical/psychic oppression using time travel:

"...'Dane McGowan', is an angry teen from Liverpool, attempting to burn down his school. Abandoned by his father and neglected by his mother, Dane takes out his anger and frustration through destruction. He is then recruited by the 'Invisibles', a ragtag gang led by 'King Mob'. 

"While in London, Dane is abandoned by the Invisibles and mentored by 'Tom O'Bedlam', an elderly homeless man who is secretly a member of the Invisibles. 

"Tom shows Dane the magic in the everyday world and helps him realize that his anger prevents him from experiencing real emotions. 

"While wandering with Tom, Dane has a partially remembered alien abduction experience and is transported into a different dimension.

Exclusive: Sex Education and Living star Aimee Lou Wood, recently announced for series three of The White Lotus, is joining Nick Frost (Fighting with My Family), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Niamh Algar (Raised By Wolves) and Billy Howle (Under the Banner of Heaven) in crime-thriller Sweet Dreams.

Ahead of the EFM, Metro International Entertainment has boarded worldwide sales on the ensemble project from writer-director Carl Tibbetts (Black Mirror). The team is looking to shoot in October this year with additional casting underway.

Pitched as “a British Fargo“, the story begins when a local property developer is swindled out of a million pounds, triggering a chain of grisly and murderous events that rupture the fabric of the decaying English seaside town of Claypole. As the bodies pile up and the lies unravel, the promise of a brighter future conspires to bring the lives and ambitions of a few misguided...

Exclusive: A round of layoffs has taken place at Banijay-owned MythBusters firm Beyond Productions in Australia and the U.S.

Deadline understands around two-dozen people have lost jobs across the production arm’s Sydney and LA sites, after the UK hub was shuttered several weeks ago.

The move comes almost exactly a year after Banijay bought decades-old firm Beyond International in a deal worth more than $30M, via what was described as a Scheme Implementation Deed.

“Banijay can confirm a number of redundancies have been implemented across the Beyond International production footprint,” a spokeswoman told Deadline. “The changes form part of the group’s overall reorganisation of the business following its acquisition earlier this year. No productions will be affected in the process.”

The layoffs comprise a sizeable chunk of Beyond Productions’ overall footprint. Overseen by President John Luscombe, the company launched in 1984 and has made the likes of long-running Discovery franchise Mythbusters,...

At this year’s Annecy, the most important animation festival in the world, Basque animations were out in force.

With a diverse showcase ranging from the nostalgic cartoon charm of “Conej Steps Out” by student outfit Funnie Fantasies, to UniKo’s tantalising taster excerpts for feminist story “Sultana’s Dream” by Isabel Herguera and the short “Body of Christ” by Beatriz Lumez, Basque animators made a mark.

The festival’s spotlight on Spanish female creators further underscored this region’s depth of talent. Coupled with an array of compelling projects seeking co-production, from Agurtzane Intxaurraga’s “Run, Kuru, Run!” to “The Invisibles” by Imanol Zinkunegi, it’s clear: Basque animation is a force on the rise. According to San Sebastian Festival director José Luis Rebordinos, the Basque Country’s “fledgling animation industry is an opportunity.”

Youth Focused

European, national, and regional support will be key to bolstering this momentum. A question,...

Grant Morrison burst onto the American comics scene in the late 1980s and quickly became one of its top writers. Morrison has written for nearly every major comic book publisher in North America - but their best work has arguably been at DC Comics. DC was Morrison’s gateway to the mainstream, and saw their mind-bending mastery applied to many household-name properties, changing them forever.

Morrison remains one of the most iconic figures in modern comics, but where should fans start reading their work? Here are the top fifteen projects Morrison has written for DC Comics, ranked by their must-read status

The Filth

Some of Grant Morrison’s best DC Comics are their creator-owned books. Works such as The Invisibles and We3 (more on those later) helped establish Morrison as one of comics’ top writers. The Filth, published between 2002 and 2003 under DC's adult-oriented Vertigo imprint, was one such book. For...

UK outfit Metro International has international sales and are selling at the European Film Market (EFM).

Gretchen Mol and Bruce Greenwood are starring alongside Tim Blake Nelson and Nathan Alexis in fantasy The Invisibles, directed by Andrew Currie.

UK outfit Metro International has international sales and are selling at the European Film Market (EFM).

Boardwalk Empire star Mol replaces the previously announced Lucy Liu in the cast, as the shoot gets underway in Toronto, Canada.

A couple, played by Mol and Nelson, find their marriage is in crisis. Husband Charlie starts to disappear – literally. As he fades, he discovers a...

Production is underway in Toronto, Canada.

Gretchen Mol and Bruce Greenwood are starring alongside Tim Blake Nelson and Nathan Alexis in fantasy The Invisibles, directed by Andrew Currie.

UK outfit Metro International has international sales.

Boardwalk Empire star Mol replaces the previously announced Lucy Liu in the cast, as the shoot gets underway in Toronto, Canada.

A couple, played by Mol and Nelson, find their marriage is in crisis. Husband Charlie starts to disappear – literally. As he fades, he discovers a new world of others who have disappeared just like him.

Currie has written the feature, alongside Colin Aussant. It...

James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced their initial plans for the new DC Universe, and one of the most exciting bits of news was that "Swamp Thing" is getting his own movie. While this is exciting on its own because Swamp Thing rules, it also means that some of the other characters from DC's Vertigo imprint might make their mark on the Dcu. Ole Swampy himself was originally a regular DC lineup character before being rebooted by Alan Moore with "Saga of the Swamp Thing" in 1982, helping to create the Vertigo lineup, which was seen as a darker, weirder alternative to standard DC Comics fare. Many characters have crossed from Vertigo to the main DC universe and back again, so it's entirely possible that Gunn and Safran could bring some other Vertigo characters to the big or small screen sometime soon. For fans of the imprint, which sadly shuttered...

PBS International has unveiled the trailer for “Casa Susanna,” Sébastien Lifshitz’s follow up to “Little Girl,” which is having its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori section. Produced by Agat Films, Arte France and American Experience Films, in association with BBC Storyville, the documentary film will have its North American premiere at Toronto on Sept. 9.

“Susanna” delivers a look at the underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men who found refuge at a modest house in the Catskills region of New York during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Known as Casa Susanna, the house provided a safe place for them to express their true selves and live for a few days as they had always dreamed—dressed as women without fear of being incarcerated or institutionalized for their self-expression.

Lushly lensed by Paul Guilhaume, the documentary is told through the memories of those...

The mythology of the Matrix franchise is one of the most complicated and dense in all of pop culture. Part of its enduring popularity is the seemingly impossible aplomb with which Lana and Lilly Wachowski synthesized a stew of philosophical concepts cribbed from Jean Baudrillard and others with various pop culture inspirations, including anime, the cyberpunk fiction of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson, club culture, and wuxia films. While "The Matrix" was game-changing from the start, the Wachowskis' mind-bending 1999 sci-fi film looks downright modest...

The post The Entire Matrix Timeline Finally Explained appeared first on /Film.

Having focused since 2016 on emerging film talent in lesser-known parts of South and South East Asia, Open Doors, the Locarno Festival’s flagship co-production forum and talent incubator, is turning its focus to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Of the 24 directors featured at this year’s edition, 15 identify as female or gender non conforming, led by Ecaudor’s Ana Cristina Barragán whose 2016 debut “Alba” won nods at Rotterdam and San Sebastián and Yanillys Pérez whose documentary “Jeffrey” scooped a Discovery Awards at the Toronto Festival.

Both have new projects at the Open Doors Co-Production Hub, as does Yashira Jordán with “Diamond,” a coming of age tale about a Quechua trap artist last glimpsed at Málaga this year.

Men directors take in Michael Labarca a winner at Cannes’ Cinéfondation film school shorts competition in 2016, and Guatemala’s Mauricio Escobar whose “Los Invisibles” is a social realist tale wrapped around the phenomenon of domestic migration in Guatemala.

Eight projects and nine producers to receive showcase.

TIFF award-winning filmmaker Yanillys Pérez and up-and-coming Ecuadorian director Ana Cristina Barragán are among those set to present projects at this year’s edition of the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors programme.

The initiative, aimed at supporting independent cinema from the global south and east, is entering the first of a three-year cycle focused on Latin America and the Caribbean.

It will present eight projects in its co-production hub and a further nine participants will join its producer lab. Countries represented in this first year include the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Paraguay,...

Exclusive: Katrina Law (NCIS) has signed on to star opposite Frank Grillo in the horror-thriller Year 2, from director Steven C. Miller (Line of Duty), which is heading into production this month.

One year ago, in the film written by Matthew Kennedy (Inheritance), a supermoon event caused a latent gene to turn everyone exposed to the moonlight into a werewolf for one night. Millions died—and now, the supermoon is back. Law is playing the brilliant geneticist, Dr. Amy Chen, who goes on a dangerous journey with Grillo’s character to saved loved ones, against a ticking clock. Myles Nestel (Blacklight) and Craig Chapman (Honest Thief) will serve as Year 2‘s producers.

Law recently joined CBS’ NCIS as new female lead Jessica Knight, and has also been seen on such series as NCIS: Hawai’i, Hawaii Five-0, Arrow, Magnum P.I., The Oath, Sacred Lies, Training Day, Spartacus and The Resistance, among others.

Iggy might be giving his colleague Floyd Reynolds a bit of side-eye in the above photo from Tuesday’s New Amsterdam (NBC, 10/9c), but his potrayer Tyler Labine is coming to the surgeon’s defense .

Last viewers saw, Floyd had exposed The Resistance’s off-the-books operations to their adversary, medical director Dr. Veronica Fuentes, costing Lauren her job and Iggy his title as head of Psych. And yet, Labine believes Veronica and Floyd were both in the right to do what they did. “There has to be some accountability. We were doing something illegal, we were doing something highly unethical,...

The podcasting business is expected to hit $1B in revenues this year – a huge leap from the audio medium’s indie roots and self-produced successes.

Last year, during the height of the Covid pandemic, the medium exploded with a raft of A-list talent moving in, hosting and exec producing their own shows, from the comfort of their own homes (and often their bedroom closets).

ICM was responsible for high-profile series such as John Stamos’ The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra for Wondery and Alan Cummings’ Hot White Heist for Audible.

The agency, through its Director of Podcast Initiatives Caroline Edwards, will continue to put together and sell projects from its stable of A-list talent, but Edwards and her team are also doubling down on growing trends in the business towards diverse voices and new areas such as children’s content.

“A lot of celebrities jumped into the space in 2020 and now...

Iff Panama’s co-production forum, the Panama Film Match, launched in 2020 in a virtual format. It’s now holding its first in-person format between Dec. 2-4 as part of the 10th Panama Intl. Film Festival (Iff Panama).

Creating a co-production forum has been a long-standing goal for Iff Panama, the highest-profile film event in Central America. The Pfm is a sister event to Iff Panama’s pix-in-post sidebar, Primera Mirada, which are already showing synergies.

One of the projects that received a special mention in last year’s edition of the Pfm, Ariel Escalante’s Costa Rican supernatural drama “Domingo and the Fog” is returning this year as one of the five films competing in Primera Mirada.

The forum is supported by the Idb Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank Group.

“Panama Film Match seeks to be a meeting place for artistic, economic and creative cooperation between...

Exclusive: BAFTA-nominee Carol Morley (Out Of Blue) is underway in Yorkshire, England, on under-the-radar new feature Typist Artist Pirate King, which will star BAFTA winner Monica Dolan (The Dig), Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire) and BAFTA winner Gina McKee (Phantom Thread).

Metro International has boarded sales on the feature and is launching it this week during the virtual AFM. Oscar winner Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog) is among exec-producers.

Drawing from the extensive archives of forgotten artist Audrey Amiss, the film is a road movie of her life, using real events and actual dialogue from Amiss’s letters and diaries to create an imaginary trip. The film explores the growing friendship between two women as they hit the road in an electric car looking for endings and reconciliation.

During research for the feature, The Falling and Dreams Of A Life filmmaker Morley uncovered a...

Before a crowd of filmmakers and journalists, Mexico’s Guadalajara Festival reached an industry crescendo on Tuesday with the presentation of prizes for its Co-Production Meetings which brought producers and directors face to face with potential partners as well as giving opportunities to filmmakers to pitch their projects to industry service companies sponsoring in-kind awards.

It was difficult to discern any strong trends among favored projects as prize winners ranged from documentaries to features, though fatherless or deteriorating families seemed to be at the core of many of the titles. Recipients hailed from across Central and South America and were about equally divided between men and woman, with some prizes going to teams comprising just female filmmakers a sign perhaps that the legendary machismo of Latin America may be subsiding, at least, in the film industry.

Top winner was the documentary project “Jirafas,” an Ecuador/Chile co-production in early development,...

Each year the Guadalajara Film Festival (Ficg) invites a crop of the most exciting projects from around Latin America to participate in its Co-Production Meetings. This year, organizers are excited to welcome back in-person visitors for its rescheduled 17th edition of the event, where teams representing 24 feature film projects will meet with potential partners, financing organizations, sales agents and more.

Below, a look at this year’s participating projects.

“Animals,”

From Waissbluth, whose enterprising 2016 “A Horse Called Elephant” marked a rare Southern American movie play for family ads. Billed as a near-future dark dramedy, his latest pictures a world where animal rights begin to be widespread and upheld by law.

“The Bad Mother,”

Victoria, a successful journalist, decides to have a baby, regrets it later, which plunges her into depression.She writes a book, “The Bad Mother,” which creates a movement. A horror drama marking the director’s first feature.

Production due to start in September.

Jeff Goldblum has joined Asa Butterfield in the cast of Tony Hagger’s spy comedy The Liar, adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Stephen Fry.

Shooting on the film will begin in Cambridge and London in late September, produced by Guy de Beaujeu for the UK’s Fluidity Films.

The film is a spy comedy detailing the irreverent life of a young man as negotiates school and then Cambridge University.

Goldblum will play a mysterious English professor at Cambridge, who may be looking to recruit the protagonist (played by Butterfield) as a spy.

New releases also include ‘In The Earth’, ‘The Reason I Jump’.

Warner Bros’ long-awaited musical In The Heights arrived in cinemas across the UK and Ireland this weekend, as one of several wide-release titles looking to benefit from the National Lottery Cinema Weekend campaign.

Set up by the BFI Film Audience Network, the campaign has made 200,000 free cinemas tickets available to National Lottery players, at over 500 UK venues.

With wetter weather forecast for much of the UK, distributors are hoping to see audiences seek shelter in the cinema. However this will be offset by interest in the ongoing football Euros...

Qatar-based media organization Doha Debates and Maine’s Point North Institute have teamed up to launch Solutions Cinema, an innovative online film festival dedicated to diversity and social change.

The month-long event, which kicks off April 1, comprises free screenings of 12 films – some of which are shorts – and interactive discussions. Registered participants will be able to start watching films on April 1, and then participate in interactive debates sparked by what they saw each Thursday starting April 8 from 12-1:30 p.m. Et.

The curated selection comprises two recent Sundance standouts, vérité doc “Homeroom,” by U.S. director Pete Nicks, about the senior class of the Bay Area’s Oakland High School contending with Covid-19 tragedy and injustice, and “Writing With Fire” (pictured) by India’s Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, about a group of low-caste women surmounting personal and professional obstacles to bring boots-on-the-ground journalism to India. “Writing With Fire” scored...

Netflix is planning an English-language take on the French feature Les Invisibles with Cannes regular Nadine Labaki set to direct.

The Invisibles will take place at a day shelter where, according to the project’s synopsis, “homeless people congregate for food, warmth, and connection. When local officers decide to close the shelter, social workers have three months to reintegrate the women they care for — at any cost.”

The 2018 original French film from director Louis-Julien Petit is based on the novel Sur la route des invisibles: Femmes dans la rue by Claire Lajeunie.

Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin will produce under ...

Netflix is planning an English-language take on the French feature Les Invisibles with Cannes regular Nadine Labaki set to direct.

The Invisibles will take place at a day shelter where, according to the project’s synopsis, “homeless people congregate for food, warmth, and connection. When local officers decide to close the shelter, social workers have three months to reintegrate the women they care for — at any cost.”

The 2018 original French film from director Louis-Julien Petit is based on the novel Sur la route des invisibles: Femmes dans la rue by Claire Lajeunie.

Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin will produce under ...

The shared universe of independent publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans is set to expand this summer, as J. Michael Straczynski creates a six-issue spin-off to The Resistance, the series where a virus has left millions dead, with survivors receiving superpowers as they recover. Unlike the epic, political scope of the primary title, however, Moths will tell a far more intimate story altogether.

“Where The Resistance books are about the big picture, Moths — set within that same shared universe — is the intimate and personal story of a young woman who survived the virus and came out the other side changed,” writer Straczynski ...

The shared universe of independent publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans is set to expand this summer, as J. Michael Straczynski creates a six-issue spin-off to The Resistance, the series where a virus has left millions dead, with survivors receiving superpowers as they recover. Unlike the epic, political scope of the primary title, however, Moths will tell a far more intimate story altogether.

“Where The Resistance books are about the big picture, Moths — set within that same shared universe — is the intimate and personal story of a young woman who survived the virus and came out the other side changed,” writer Straczynski ...

In the wake of a pandemic that has changed the world, a political uprising begins that threatens to upend the status quo once again. Despite what that might sound like, it’s not a glimpse at upcoming headlines, but the concept behind The Resistance: Uprising, the continuation of the shared universe from publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans.

Spinning out of last year’s The Resistance — in which a global pandemic resulted in those that survived the virus gaining superpowers — the new Uprising sees creator J. Michael Straczynski returning to tell a political thrilled in which those with superpowers are hunted by governments across ...

In the wake of a pandemic that has changed the world, a political uprising begins that threatens to upend the status quo once again. Despite what that might sound like, it’s not a glimpse at upcoming headlines, but the concept behind The Resistance: Uprising, the continuation of the shared universe from publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans.

Spinning out of last year’s The Resistance — in which a global pandemic resulted in those that survived the virus gaining superpowers — the new Uprising sees creator J. Michael Straczynski returning to tell a political thrilled in which those with superpowers are hunted by governments across ...

On Sept. 11, Netflix will premiere its first Spanish-produced original anime series “The Idhun Chronicles,” adapted from “The Resistance,” the first volumes of bestselling Ya novels from writers Laura Gallego and Andrés Carrión.

Turning on a group of resistance fighters exiled from their home world where dragons and unicorns are commonplace and magic is the law of the land, the group must bounce between Earth, Idhun and a mystical Dmz called Limbhad, while avoiding dangerous assassins and attempting to overthrow a despotic necromancer.

Animation was led from the northern Spanish city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country by a team of professionals led by Spain’s First Lady of animation Maite Ruiz de Austri, a two-time Spanish Academy Goya Award winner for best animated feature. The team worked for nearly two and a half years bringing the books to life.

“The Idhun Chronicles” is produced by Zeppelin, a Banijay Group company...

Grant Morrison has been riding out the coronavirus pandemic at a safe distance from Hollywood.

“As a writer, you’re self-isolating your entire life anyway,” Morrison says from his home in his native Scotland. “So it hasn’t been that difficult. We’re in the country, so you barely notice what’s been going down. But we’re looking at the news every day, and it just keeps getting weirder and wilder.”

TV writers are accustomed to working in close quarters. But Morrison spent the bulk of his career in comics, creating hugely popular science fiction-fantasy series such as “The Invisibles,” “Happy!” and “The Filth,” and put his stamp on linchpin DC and Marvel properties such as Batman, Superman and the X-Men. In comics, he has a reputation for blending metaphysics, pop culture, humor and genre tropes. He has carried that formula over to a burgeoning television career — first to...

Exclusive: Aaron Altaras, star of Netflix’s critically acclaimed limited series Unorthodox, has signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners for U.S. representation.

Altaras portrays Robert, the handsome romantic interest of the heroine, Esty, played by Israeli actress Shira Haas. Esty’s journey follows her out of the Satmar ultra-Orthodox sect in Williamsburg, N.Y. and into her newfound freedom in Berlin, where she meets Robert. The series is inspired by Deborah Feldman’s bestselling memoir of a young Jewish woman’s escape from a religious sect.

German-born Altaras also earned praise for his starring roles in the feature films Mario and The Invisibles. He is currently shooting the series Wild Republic and is poised to make his next big leap to U.S. films & television.

Altaras is also repped by Waring & Mckenna in the UK and Lastrada-doells Agency in Berlin.

The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced this year’s crop of nominees today, earmarking 60 stories from the nearly 1,300 entries for distinction. With an eye towards empowerment, the organization celebrates the finest in broadcasting and digital media, including television, radio/podcasts, and the web, in entertainment, news, documentary, children’s and public service programming.

TV series nominees (which aired in 2019) include Emmy hopefuls, both old and new, with HBO’s “Chernobyl” (10 Emmy wins) and Amazon Prime Video’s “Fleabag,” (six Emmy wins) both getting nods, and HBO’s “Watchmen” and “Succession,” along with Netflix’s “Unbelievable,” also getting mentions. For the most part, the organization is celebrating lots of new blood, with Netflix’s “Stranger Things” the only repeat nominee.

PBS dominated Wednesday’s nominees with 11, including six specifically for its “Pov” documentary series. HBO followed with seven noms, followed by Netflix with five, Prime Video with three, and Showtime,...

Fremantle and Fabula have dropped the first trailer of eight-part series “La Jauría” (“The Pack”), showrun by Lucía Puenzo (“The German Doctor”), one of Latin America’s most prominent film and TV writer-directors, and starring Daniela Vega, the lead in the Academy Award winning “A Fantastic Woman.”

Set up at Chile’s Fabula, run by writer-director Pablo Larraín (“Jacky”) and brother Juan de Díos Larraín, “Gloria Bell”), “La Jauría”

Amazon’s first-ever locally-produced Amazon Original in Chile will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video in Latin America, Caribbean and Spain.

It also marks the first international series from Fabula.

Brought onto the market at February’s Fremantle Screenings in London and now the Series Mania-MipTV virtual marketplace, “La Jauría” is also first fruit of a Fabula-Fremantle multi-year first-look production-distribution alliance. Fremantle is its global distributor.

Co-written by Puenzo, and set at a posh private Catholic school in Santiago de Chile,...

Sister has invested in Awa Studios, a new comic book and digital media publisher, Variety has learned.

The company is unique in that it is owned and operated by the creators. It was founded by Marvel alumni Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso, along with Jon Miller, the former CEO of News Corp, Digital Media Group. The company was funded by Lightspeed Venture Partners and James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems.

The deal was led by Elisabeth Murdoch, along with Sister Global CEO and head of Sister La, Stacey Snider and partner Jane Featherstone. Elisabeth Murdoch is James Murdoch’s sister and Snider ran 20th Century Fox, the film studio that the Murdoch family owned until selling it to Disney in 2019. It was Miller, a Hollywood veteran, who helped set up the Awa team with the investors.

In an interview, Snider said that part of the reason that Sister wanted to invest...

There was a lot of division within the Star Wars fandom when Disney decided to bring back Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.

The Sequel Trilogy had been subject to criticism from the very beginning, of course, but the decision to bring back Palpatine left a lot of fans confused. Not to mention The Rise Of Skywalker didn’t exactly take the time to explain how the Emperor made his return. Darth Vader fulfilled his role in the prophecy of the Chosen One in Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi when he tossed Palpatine down a reactor shaft, killing him and subsequently blowing up the Death Star II.

By killing Palpatine, Vader – or Anakin Skywalker – brought balance to the force and defeated the Sith Order once and for all. At least, until Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and decided to bring Ian McDiarmid’s iconic villain back to conclude their new trilogy.

French filmmaker Sebastien Lifshitz has made three fiction films, Come Undone, Wild Side and Going South (the latter with current Bond girl Lea Seydoux). But the majority of his output has been in the documentary genre, often exploring marginalized and queer experiences in France, though last year's Adolescents was a welcome broadening of his horizons as it depicted the life of two teenagers from France over several years (think a nonfiction Boyhood with girls).

As Lifshitz has honed his nonfiction skills in features ranging from The Crossing (2001) to The Invisibles (2012) and now the Berlinale Panorama title ...

French filmmaker Sebastien Lifshitz has made three fiction films, Come Undone, Wild Side and Going South (the latter with current Bond girl Lea Seydoux). But the majority of his output has been in the documentary genre, often exploring marginalized and queer experiences in France, though last year's Adolescents was a welcome broadening of his horizons as it depicted the life of two teenagers from France over several years (think a non-fiction Boyhood with girls).

As he has honed his non-fiction skills in features ranging from The Crossing (2001) to The Invisibles (2012) and now the Berlinale Panorama title ...

I’ve written before that I found it concerning that there is so little time now to flesh left out the major conflicts of Star Wars Resistance. Which is why “Rebuilding the Resistance,” which can be considered a penultimate chapter before the two-parter series finale, pulls off an impressive feat as it picks up on the […]

The post ‘Star Wars Resistance’ Sets the Stage for the Series Finale With “Rebuilding the Resistance” appeared first on /Film.

The penultimate episode of Star Wars Resistance wants to inspire the need to fight, but doesn’t dig deep enough.

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This Star Wars Resistance review contains spoilers.

Star Wars Resistance Season 2 Episode 17

There’s a point in “Rebuilding the Resistance” where Tierny calls Tam into her office. She praises Tam in that coy, sly, manipulative way that she’s been doing all season. She then mentions that she wasn’t born into the First Order. It’s an intriguing statement, made more intriguing when she then says she had to “scrape by” for years in the New Republic. “Scrape” does a lot of heavy lifting here. Was she harmed or disillusioned by the New Republic’s “shining beacon” ideology, its false sense of an “American Dream” that left her pinching pennies or worse?

But Tierny never gets into details about her life or upbringing. She just jumps...

We have some potentially huge information for Star Wars fans, regardless of which side of the line one happens to be on when it comes to The Rise of Skywalker. Originally, long before J.J. Abrams was brought on to finish the trilogy, it was Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) who had the gig. The director co-wrote the script for his version alongside his longtime collaborator Derek Connolly. Ultimately, Lucasfilm and Trevorrow parted ways on the project over creative differences. Now, their script has allegedly leaked online. If this is indeed legitimate, we would have been in for a very different version of Episode IX.

We must caution heavily here that this hasn't been confirmed to be a legitimate script so it should be regarded as nothing more than a rumor for the time being. That said, the alleged version of the Star Wars 9 script was shared by Robert Meyer Burnett in a recent YouTube livestream.

It was widely reported that Nien Nunb died during the events in The Rise of Skywalker. But now it appears that Nien Nunb may have actually survived the battle of Exegol after all. The Rise of Skywalker novelist Rae Carson revealed earlier this week that the fan-favorite character died and people were bummed out. They weren't exactly as sad as when Admiral Ackbar died, but that was to be expected. Long-time Nien Nunb puppeteer Mike Quinn is now claiming that his character did indeed survive the battle with the Final Order and says there's evidence to suggest this in The Rise of Skywalker.

J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio had a pretty big story to tell when crafting The Rise of Skywalker. With only limited time to tell the whole story, a lot of the plot wasn't explicitly explained on the big screen, which is what a lot of people have been criticizing the movie over.

Writer Grant Morrison will develop DC's Vertigo comics title "The Invisibles", as a live action TV series for Universal Cable Productions following a cell of 'The Invisible College' organization battling against physical and psychic oppression using time travel and magic:

"...'Dane McGowan', is an angry teen from Liverpool, attempting to burn down his school. Abandoned by his father and neglected by his mother, Dane takes out his anger and frustration through destruction. He is then recruited by the 'Invisibles', a ragtag gang led by 'King Mob'. 

"While in London, Dane is abandoned by the Invisibles and mentored by 'Tom O'Bedlam', an elderly homeless man who is secretly a member of the Invisibles. 

"Tom shows Dane the magic in the everyday world and helps him realize that his anger prevents him from experiencing real emotions. 

"While wandering with Tom, Dane has a partially remembered...

Mike Cecchini Nov 25, 2019

Watchmen episode 6, "This Extraordinary Being" reveals the true origin of Hooded Justice and much more!

This article contains major Watchmen spoilers.

HBO's Watchmen has been incredibly faithful to the spirit and the letter of the book. For some, that may change with how Watchmen episode 6, "This Extraordinary Being" reveals the real history of Hooded Justice. But despite what some might see as a drastic departure from the book, this episode is still positively packed with references to the original work that make its world all the richer. Here's everything we've found.

The Watchmen title getting replaced by the name “Minutemen” is the first clue of how this episode is going to go, as well as the purple letters that pay homage to the Hooded Justice costume. That being said, if Watchmen season 2 (disclaimer: there has been no word that this is actually a thing that is...

John Saavedra Jun 21, 2019

Legendary adult-oriented DC imprint, Vertigo Comics, will close down by January 2020.

The iconic comics imprint that brought readers The Sandman, Preacher, Hellblazer, Fables, Y: The Last Man, and others will close its doors in 2020. According to THR, DC Comics plans to shutter Vertigo Comics, as well as young adult imprints DC Zoom and DC Ink, starting in January.

Replacing them will be three, age-specific imprints: DC Kids for ages 8-12, DC for 13 and up, and the adult-oriented DC Black Label for readers 17 and older. Series currently running under DC Zoom, Ink, and Vertigo will be integrated into these new imprints. This means that series like Sandman Universe, which expands the world of the Vertigo's most famous character, may live on under Black Label. Additionally, projects previously announced for Black Label before the restructure will still be published by the imprint.

THR reports that DC's pop-up labels,...

Peter Johnson is leaving Mrc as its president of TV development, where he has been for the past two years.

Johnson is leaving to pursue other opportunities including producing, an individual with knowledge of the decision tells TheWrap.

Johnson is leaving less than two months after Elise Henderson came over from Universal Content Productions to serve as its president of television.

Also Read: Mrc Hires Ucp's Elise Henderson as President of Television

Henderson oversees Mrc’s slate of in-development, current television programming, and the multiple joint venture and strategic production partnerships. Henderson was most recently senior vice president of development at Ucp, where she developed USA’s “Mr. Robot,” Syfy’s “Happy!” and Amazon’s “Homecoming.” She also helped the studio land the rights to Grant Morrison’s “The Invisibles” and George R.R. Martin’s “Wild Cards.”

Mrc’s TV series roster includes “Ozark” on Netflix, the upcoming “The Great” for Hulu,...

Mrc has hired former Universal Content Productions executive Elise Henderson to serve as its president of Television.

In her new role, Henderson will oversee Mrc’s slate of in-development, current television programming, and the multiple joint venture and strategic production partnerships. These include Hulu’s “The Great” and HBO’s “The Outsider.”

“Elise is a unique talent with a proven history of success. She exhibits strong leadership, a clear vision for the future, and a deep background in both the agency and studio worlds,” said Mrc. “In our efforts to remain true to our DNA as we grow our business, Elise will be an exceptional addition to Mrc leadership.”

Also Read: Amazon Finds Its Man in Black, Gunslinger for 'Dark Tower' Adaptation

Henderson was most recently senior vice president of development at Ucp, where she developed USA’s “Mr. Robot,” Syfy’s “Happy!” and Amazon’s “Homecoming.” She...

Mrc has tapped former Ucp development executive Elise Henderson as its new President of Television. In her new role, Henderson will oversee Mrc’s slate of in-development, current television programming, and the multiple joint venture and strategic production partnerships.

Henderson, former Svp of Development for Universal Cable Productions (now Universal Content Productions), joins Mrc as the studio enters an era of expansion and evolution, with numerous new strategic partnerships and an overall increase in its development slate.

In her most recent role at Ucp, Henderson oversaw the expansion of their slate of production as well as broadening their reach across platforms including Amazon, Netflix and Hulu. She developed projects including USA Network’s Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Mr. Robot, Syfy’s Happy!, and Amazon’s Homecoming. Henderson also helped secure the rights to Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles series as part of an overall deal with the best-selling comic book...

Ucp’s Elise Henderson has joined Mrc as President of Television. She will oversee Mrc’s slate of development, current programming as well as joint venture and production partnerships.

Henderson most recently served as Svp of Development for Ucp.. Mrc’s Peter Johnson, who was brought in two years ago, as President of Development, is expected to report to her.

“Elise is a unique talent with a proven history of success. She exhibits strong leadership, a clear vision for the future, and a deep background in both the agency and studio worlds,” Mrc said in a statement. “In our efforts to remain true to our DNA as we grow our business, Elise will be an exceptional addition to Mrc leadership.”

In her most recent role at Ucp, Henderson oversaw the development of such projects as USA Network’s Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Mr. Robot, Syfy’s Happy!, and Amazon’s Homecoming.

I’ll happily hold my hands in the air and admit I was dead wrong about Titans. The show that launched the DC Universe streaming service looked embarrassingly bad in promo stills, and that “fuck Batman” trailer did it absolutely no favors. But then the series itself was released and my skepticism quickly melted away as I realized that it was actually pretty damn awesome.

The episode featuring the Doom Patrol only made me even more hyped for their solo show, which is now here and apparently, critics are loving it, with our own Eric Joseph saying that “the platform may have very well found its crown jewel.”

With the premiere under its belt, you can now check out the promo for the show’s second episode, “Donkey Patrol,” above, which will be released on February 22nd. For more, here’s the official synopsis:

Following Mr. Nobody’s capture of...