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The original G.I. Joe toyline was conceived in 1963 by designer Stanley Weston and was meant to serve as a more "masculine" counterpart to the female dolls designed for girls. Indeed, the word "doll" was used by marketers to describe babies or dress-up miniature women, not soldiers or men of action. Hasbro came up with the term "action figure" to refer to its G.I. Joes, and the term stuck. For several generations, children's toys were heavily gendered along those lines, with "girl" toys encouraging motherhood, domesticity, and fashion, while "boy" toys encouraged combat and violence.

By 1982, the G.I. Joe brand had become moribund and was in need of a sprucing up. A new line of toys was launched under the new name G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. These figures were only 3.75 inches high (the older ones were 12 inches) and were composed of 11 cartoony characters. They were American soldiers ... kind of.

No woman has even won an Oscar for best cinematography, and that’s not likely to change in 2025. Why? Because no women made the final five. But this year, the American Society of Cinematographers could be righting Oscar’s wrong.

ASC has only handed out the top prize once to a woman — Mandy Walker, who won in the feature competition in 2023 for “Elvis.” Now, for the first time since 2014, the feature competition field has expanded its nominees to seven, with Alice Brooks landing a nomination for her work on “Wicked.”

Brooks had one goal for the big screen adaptation of the hit musical, that “it would be the most beautiful love story between these two women,” she says, referring to Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who star as the famous witches of Oz.

Brooks is Jon M. Chu’s go-to Dp since their filmmaking days at the University of Southern California.

“Bubblegum Crisis” (1987-1991) is a curious anomaly amongst 80s anime OVAs. When released in North America on VHS and Laserdisc by AnimEigo it did so unedited and without an English dub. Anyone who watched anime in the 90s knows just how badly butchered some shows and films were before people in the West ever got to see them. It shows a wonderful faith in the project to speak for itself without a need to rework it. Whilst it never reached a major level of acclaim, those familiar with the show recognised its high quality. Now AnimEigo is releasing all 8 episodes on Blu-Ray in a new HD edition that updates the craft whilst losing none of what made it special.

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In the year 2032, Japan is living in a fractured state. Annexed by America after a great earthquake split the country in two,...

Exclusive: Aurora Perrineau (Prodigal Son) has been tapped for an undisclosed role in Angels in the Asylum, an upcoming indie drama marking the feature debut of writer-director Rob Sorrenti.

Perrineau joins an ensemble which also includes Katherine Waterston, Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver, Cush Jumbo, Rose Williams and Miriam Margolyes, as previously announced.

Inspired by a BBC Newsnight exposé, the film tells the untold story of 50 women who were forcibly confined in isolation at Surrey’s Long Grove Asylum. Beginning in 1907, these women — deemed typhoid carriers — were imprisoned in the former psychiatric hospital, their lives shaped by fear, stigma, and medical injustice. Pic explores their struggle for freedom and dignity in the face of a system that saw them as threats rather than individuals, shedding light on a dark chapter in medical history.

Heather Greenwood, Marie-Elena Dyche and Charlotte Carey are producing the pic, currently shooting in the UK, with Parkland Pictures handling sales.

There is fun to be done! Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s film adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” will release on March 17, 2028 in IMAX.

Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton are directing the film from writer Rob Lieber’s screenplay. J.J. Abrams produces through his Bad Robot Banner alongside Gregg Taylor.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are writing original songs for the film, based upon Dr. Seuss’ final book.

Studio sources indicate that the film is a high priority project for the studio, and is being made in collaboration with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The book is the blueprint for a globetrotting animated musical following a young adventurer as they journey through the joys and heartaches and the peaks and valleys of life.

Chu’s film adaptation of “Wicked” just earned ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The follow-up, “Wicked: For Good,” is due out this November.

Dwayne Johnson boasts one of the more impressive box office streaks of any working actor today. Last year, he passed the $6 billion mark for the worldwide gross of all the films in which he is considered a leading actor. A good chunk of this sum comes from the Fast and Furious movies, which have collectively become one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time. Last year's Moana 2 also made significant strides for Johnson, who voiced demi-god Maui in the movie.

That said, not all of Johnson's films have been box office winners. As much as he has brought several series and revival franchises (e.g. Jumanji and Journey to the Center of the Earth) to success, Johnson has also experienced massive box office flops. Such films include movies like Jem and the Holograms, which made just over $2 million at the global box office. A different Johnson flop was released last year.

David Letterman has launched “Letterman TV”, an 24/7 channel streaming all things Letterman, exclusively on Samsung TV Plus. Starting today in the United States and Canada, the channel will stream “The Late Show With David Letterman,” curated moments, interviews and never-before-seen commentary from Letterman.

“Dave’s show was the original viral video,” said Walter Kim, Executive Producer for digital at Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants, Inc. “As someone who worked for the entirety of “The Late Show”, it’s a thrill to help assemble and create programming around some of our favorite moments from the show, and with more than 4000 hours from which to choose, the channel will continuously change.”

“Letterman TV” is available for free on Samsung TV Plus.

First Looks

Prime Video has announced that the biblical drama series, “House of David,” will premiere on Feb. 27 with three episodes before continuing to drop episodes weekly.

The series comes...

“Wicked” choreographer Christopher Scott used to escape to the movies as a kid. When his family moved from Maryland to Los Angeles, Scott would head to the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to work out his angst.

“I’d take my ticket stub, and they would let me back in, so I paid once, but I saw it probably 10 times,” Scott tells Variety, recalling the summer of 1998 when he religiously watched (and rewatched) “Blade” starring Wesley Snipes. “Any time I was frustrated, I would just go. That was my outlet.”

So, when “Wicked” debuted in theaters last month, Scott strolled back into that famed cinema.

“I could feel my younger self in that theater, dealing with those emotions and remembering how powerful this stuff can really be,” Scott recalls. “This was my sanctuary, and now I’m watching my choreography on screen. And I have a cameo. When I popped up on screen,...

Welcome to Oscar Experts Typing, a weekly column in which Gold Derby editors and experts Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen discuss the Oscar race — via Slack, of course. This week’s topic: the Best Director race following Jon M. Chu’s surprising National Board of Review victory.

Christopher Rosen: Hello, Joyce! We’ve successfully emerged from “Under the Skin” to type about this year’s Best Director race. The critical precursors that arrive this time of year don’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things — particularly because the industry is not making its collective voice known at this time — but my Peter tingle is telling me there is one Blockbuster Filmmaker who has emerged ahead of the others: Jon M. Chu. The “Wicked” filmmaker won Best Director at the National Board of Review this week, a result that had many on Film Twitter losing their minds...

Exclusive: Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Girls Like Girls, a film that will mark the feature directing and screenwriting debut of pop star, actress, and novelist Hayley Kiyoko.

Based on Kiyoko’s breakthrough hit song and viral music video of the same name, the film tells the universal story of falling in love for the first time and learning to accept yourself along the way.

The multi-hyphenate artist debuted her song, “Girls Like Girls,” in February 2015, followed by a music video release in June 2015 which marked her first experience as a director. The video quickly went viral for its sensitive portrayal of a friendship between two young women evolving into romantic feelings. To date, the song has amassed 140.7M downloads on Spotify and 157.5M video views on YouTube. Kiyoko published a YA novel drawing on characters from her music video in 2023 and saw it debut at #1 on the...

The 1980s was a tubular time in history. Everyone remembers Sony Walkman cassette players, bright neon-colored clothes, VHS movies, and MTV music videos. Another thing this decade is fondly remembered for is the many different cartoons that aired. Some were shown every day of the week, while kids had to wait anxiously every Saturday morning to watch other cartoons while chomping down on their favorite sugar-infused cereal and milk. This is one of the decades known for creating some of the best and most missed cartoons that ever aired on TV.

From the original Transformers to Thundercats to Jem & the Holograms, there were seemingly unlimited shows for everyone to watch that captured their attention like nothing else. Now that it has been approximately 40 years since many of these animated programs originally premiered, it would be a perfect time to bring them back. The kids who originally watched them are...

Jon M. Chu has made a name for himself with acclaimed films like Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights and now is at the helm of one of 2024's most anticipated movies, Wicked. Yet before all that, he began his directing career with movies like Step Up 2: The Streets, Jem and the Holograms, and notably G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The G.I. Joe franchise has had a rough road since the 2013 film as the prequel/spin-off/reboot Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins bombed at the box office in 2021, and now it looks like Hasbro and Paramount will try to relaunch the franchise by pairing them with the Transformers.Former

Comic Book asked Chu if he would be open to directing another G.I Joe film. Chu noted that he is currently busy with Wicked and its follow-up, Wicked - Part Two, which opens in theaters in November 2025, so his schedule is locked down for now.

If you're a horror fan, you're familiar with Blumhouse Productions (cited as Blumhouse from here out). Even if you're not a horror fan, you've probably watched a Blumhouse film without knowing it ("Whiplash?" "Jem and the Holograms?" "Tooth Fairy?"). Jason Blum's nightmare factory is synonymous with today's mainstream horror pillars, securing the rights to everything from "Halloween" to "The Exorcist" and beyond. Indeed, it's impossible to banter about our contemporary horror era without acknowledging how prevalent and prodigious Blumhouse has become — so why does it feel like it's ghosting us this year?

Blumhouse decimated last year's horror movie market. In 2023, Blum's juggernaut scared up nearly $800 million worldwide in box office totals. Emma Tammi's video game adaptation "Five Nights at Freddy's" boasted a high score of $297 million on a $20 million budget — one of nine films released by Blumhouse. Now, there's no metric for reporting for streaming titles like...

The sci-fi horror film Afraid is the latest creepy offering from Blumhouse Productions. However, the movie seems to have fallen flat at the box office, becoming one of the company's lowest earning projects.

According to Variety, the movie was projected to earn 3.7 million domestically during its three-day opening weekend. It's four-day Labor Day holiday weekend gross was expected to be about $4.4 million. Afraid eventually brought in $1.3 million on its first day, with $400,000 coming from Thursday night previews. Internationally, the film earned $2.3 million from 19 different markets. The total is Blumhouse's worst ticket takings since Jem and the Holograms earned $1.4 million in 2015.

Related First Look: Blumhouse Enters the Gaming Industry With 6 New Titles

Blumhouse Games gives fans a glimpse at its slate of upcoming horror titles during the industry event Summer Game Fest.

Afraid, which has received largely negative reviews from critics, is written and directed by Chris Weitz. The movie is...

The new Netflix series Kaos is one of the most popular new series on the streaming platform, but is it safe to watch for kids? Legendary actor Jeff Goldblum takes on a modern-day version of Greek mythology as Zeus, the god of the sky and the chief deity in Ancient Greece. The series was originally released on Netflix on August 29, 2024, and was created by Charlie Covell, who previously created Netflix's popular series The End of the F***ing World (2017-2019).

Jeff Goldblum's new series continues a rare Rotten Tomatoes critic streak for the acclaimed actor. With the recent addition of Kaos, every one of Goldblum's television series has received a fresh critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Kaos also features performances by Janet McTeer (Me Before You), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones), Aurora Perrineau (Jem and the Holograms), Nabhaan Rizwan (1917), and Killian Scott (Calvary). Kaos has a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of...

Afraid is set to earn one of Blumhouse's worst wide release opening weekends in many years. The 2024 horror movie, which follows a family who beta tests a new AI assistant whose desire to help them turns deadly, was written and directed by Chris Weitz and stars John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, and David Dastmalchian. The Afraid movie debuted the same weekend as a variety of new releases, including the political biopic Reagan, the L.A. riots thriller 1992, and the human trafficking drama City of Dreams.

Per Variety, as of Sunday morning, Afraid is projected to debut with a 3-day domestic opening weekend of $3.7 million and a 4-day Labor Day holiday weekend gross of $4.4 million. The movie, which comes with a $12 million price tag, landed at No. 9 on the chart for the weekend, just ahead of weekend 3 of the 15th anniversary re-release of Coraline. That 3-day total is Blumhouse's...

Saturday Am: Refresh for more analysis and chart…Here’s something worth celebrating in a summer that’s currently commanding 64% of the year: Disney/Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine is bound to cross $600M by Labor Day. Estimates for the four-day are between $19M-$20M. Even on the low end, that gets the Shawn Levy directed/produced/co-written feature to that threshold.

“Naaaanccy….”. Dennis Quaid is Ronald Reagan

Most of the newcomers aren’t making a mark dollar wise, however, Showbiz Direct’s Reagan landed an A CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars on PostTrak. Current 4-day projection is $9M in 4th place at 2,754 locations after a $2.6M Friday. As expected this movie is playing to the middle of the country with Icon Cinema in Edmond, Ok the top grossing location so far this weekend with $10K. The South is also dominant for the Sean McNamara directed movie. Men/women split is 51%/49% with a 77% definite recommend from audiences.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Netflix's Kaos

The incredible ensemble cast of Netflix's Kaos gives memorable and hilarious performances, bringing to life Ancient Greek myths with a contemporary twist. The dark comedy Kaos follows Riddy (Eurydice), Ceaneus, and Ari (Ariadne) who are fated to bring down the Greek Gods, led by Jeff Goldblum's Zeus. The series has a sharp script, utilizes exciting cinematography, and incorporates a strong soundtrack all of which help make the series so strong.

However, none of these aspects would have mattered if it weren't for the great performances by the cast. Kaos brings together a large ensemble cast of predominantly well-established actors who masterfully characterize the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes. However, some actors with smaller portfolios rise to the occasion of representing well-known figures from mythology in Kaos.

Actor

Character

Jeff Goldblum

Zeus

Aurora Perrineau

Riddy (Eurydice)

Nabhaan Rizwan

Dionysus

Misia Butler...

Jeff Goldblum (Wicked) is a god among men in a fresh batch of images for Netflixs upcoming comedy-drama series, Kaos. Along with Goldblum as the mightiest god of them all - Zeus - the introductory shots also get viewers familiar with a handful of the other characters, including Janet McTeer (The Menu) as Zeus partner and Queen, Hera, and Nabhaan Rizwan (Station Eleven) as their son, Dionysus, with Aurora Perrineau (Jem and the Holograms) and Killian Scott (Dublin Murders) as lost and lonely humans, Riddy and Orpheus, respectively.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.

Super7 is planning two pop-up events and several exclusive product launches at San Diego Comic-Con 2024.

The collectibles company, which maintains partnerships with dozens of television, film and pop culture properties, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Dungeons & Dragons” with an immersive space in its San Diego store from July 24 to 28. Additionally, Super7 will host a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Mikey’s Pizza” pop-up event Friday, July 26 at TNT Pizza.

Super7 has previously launched three series of Dungeons & Dragons action figures based on the iconography of the original role-playing game. With five decades of mythology to draw upon, including the box art from the game, a 1980s animated series and Paramount Pictures’ 2023 live-action film “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” the company will offer exclusive toys, apparel and...

Exclusive: Aubrey Peeples (Nashville) has been tapped for a role in Ctrl Alt Del, the indie drama marking the feature directorial debut of Eastsiders‘ Kit Williamson.

She joins an ensemble led by Jason Priestley and Laurel Marsden, which also includes Elsie Fisher, Mena Suvari, Cheyenne Jackson, Angel Parker, Shiv Pai, Navia Robinson, Jack Wright and Jesse Leigh, as previously announced.

Written by Amir Ohebsion and Arash Homampour, the film follows disaffected teen Ava (Marsden) and her estranged filmmaker father Greyson (Priestley) as they try to reconnect in the aftermath of a tragic incident prompted by his latest movie. Ohebsion produced alongside Sam Okun for his Sam Okun Productions. Homampour exec produced, with Nick Lyon, Lachlan Towle, Christian Jean and Constantinos Yiallourides serving as co-producers.

Previously, Peeples has been seen in Jon M. Chu’s musical drama Jem and the Holograms, as well as the indies Locating Silver Lake with Josh Peck,...

Artist Felipe Gutierrez reimagines a scene from "Homer's Enemy," a classic episode of The Simpsons, in a more realistic style. The artwork depicts the characters of The Simpsons as resembling real-life human beings, giving a fresh perspective to the scene. The redesigned characters align with the episode's portrayal of Frank Grimes, who already embodies a more realistic approach to life in contrast to the eccentric residents of Springfield.

The Simpsons' episode "Homer's Enemy" has been reimagined in a more realistic style. "Homer's Enemy," which premiered on May 4, 1997, was the 23rd episode of The Simpsons season 8. It followed Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) squaring off against new work rival Frank Grimes (Hank Azaria), who was determined to expose him as a lazy slacker.

On Instagram, artist Felipe Gutierrez shared a more realistic rendering of a scene from "Homer's Enemy" where the Simpsons characters are facing off against one another in Homer's workspace.

As confirmed by Deadline today, Jon M. Chu, one of cinema's premiere makers of cinematic musicals, will be adapting the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice operetta "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" for Amazon Studios. In addition to directing, Chu will produce the film alongside Scott Sanders, who worked on Chu's adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's and Quiara Alegría Hudes' stage musical "In the Heights," released in 2021.

"Joseph" is an outsize, rock-forward, expressionistic rendition of the Book of Genesis, telling the story of the Coat of Many Colors. In Genesis, Joseph was given said garment by his father, much to the chagrin of his jealous brothers, who began to plot against him. Joseph was thrown into a pit, with one of his more benevolent brothers planning to rescue him later. He was eventually dragged out and sold into slavery. In the Webber/Rice musical, Joseph eventually gets out of bondage...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

The Exorcist 2023 is the riskiest venture that Blumhouse Productions have ever undertaken, according to its executive producer. The film, which is due in theaters on October 13, 2023, reteams the production company with writer-director David Gordon Green, who is set to create a legacy sequel trilogy to the iconic 1973 horror film in the same vein as his 2018 Halloween trilogy. The film will star Leslie Odom Jr. as a parent with a possessed child who goes to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn reprising her original role) for advice.

IndieWire recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Blumhouse founder Jason Blum. During the conversation, he was asked to name the riskiest project the company had ever taken, and he revealed it was The Exorcist 2023. He revealed the reason is that the film is so risky is because "it's so expensive," as the company's typical M.O. is to produce low-budget horror fare with strong box office potential.

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Find a full list of every film and TV show arriving on Netflix this month here.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh...

Netflix is on the cusp of taking down a wide selection of movies and TV series.

The streaming service removes numerous titles each month, but without fanfare; unless you happen to select the thing that’s about to leave, you will have no idea there’s a limited amount of time left to watch.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of every movie and TV show being removed from Netflix in April 2023.

We’ve aggregated all the impending removals from Netflix in the UK and US, which we’ve signalled below. If there isn’t a territory listed next to the title, then it will be leaving both.

Nb: We put this list together with help from What’s on Netflix.

Movies

1 April

Akbar Birbal – US

The American Game

The Aviator – US

Bal Ganesh – US

Bee Movie – UK

Big Daddy – US

Bill – UK

Brokeback Mountain – US

The Bye Bye Man...

In 1984, a lot of laws about what was and wasn't allowed in children's TV programming began to loosen. Throughout the decade, more and more companies became incredibly brazen about including advertising content directly into their TV shows, transforming many shows into 30-minute commercials for toys. An '80s child would watch a show, knowing they could soon hound their parents to buy them the toy counterparts of their favorite characters. This branding became deeply insidious, and many children of the 1980s grew up with a deep and abiding nostalgia for their favorite toy ads. Artistry, character, writing, storytelling, and mythology were all distant, tertiary concerns during this era, and the bulk of animated shows from the '80s are deeply, deeply terrible as a result.

The Transformers toy line was launched in 1984 after Hasbro repurposed multiple robot molds from a Japanese toy line. The Transformers were robots who could be...

Exclusive: Aurora Perrineau (Prodigal Son) has been cast as a lead in Netflix’s upcoming series Kaos from creator-writer Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World).

The 10-episode drama is billed as a multi-layered, genre-bending, contemporary reimagining of Greek and Roman mythology, which takes us from Earth to The Underworld and Mount Olympus, exploring themes including gender politics and power. We hear that Perrineau will play Riddy, a character tied to the story of Orpheus. No other casting has been announced.

2022 Netflix Pilot & Series Orders

Kaos was ordered to series back in 2018. Georgi Banks Davies will direct the show from All3 Productions, Brightstar, All3Media and Sister Pictures. All3’s Nina Lederman will exec produce alongside Brightstar’s Tanya Seghatchian and John Woodward, and Sister Pictures’ Jane Featherstone.

Perrineau is best known for her turn as Detective Dani Powell on Fox’s Prodigal Son and also has appeared on series including When They See Us,...

Exclusive: Aubrey Peeples is expanding her relationship with Stagecoach Entertainment. The management company, which currently represents Peeples for theatrical, has added literary representation with a focus on building out her work in writing and directing.

As an actor, Peeples can next be seen in Kit Williamson’s Unconventional. The dark comedy series follows queer siblings, Noah and Margot Guillory (Peeples), and their significant others and the challenges they have to overcome as they try to start an unconventional family in an unstable world during their thirties.

Best known for her role as Layla Grant in the ABC hit series Nashville, as well as her leading role as Jem in the 2015 feature Jem and the Holograms, Peeples also starred in the 2014 crime thriller Rage opposite Nicolas Cage. Other notable television credits include Search & Destroy, Recovery Road, Necessary Roughness, Grey’s Anatomy, Burn Notice, Austin & Ally and Drop Dead Diva.

Peeples will be...

During the climactic rumble in “West Side Story,” Riff (Mike Faist) spins away from Tony (Ansel Elgort) and right into the knife held by Bernardo (David Alvarez). Everyone is frozen in shock as Riff turns back towards Tony, his face crumpled, looking younger than ever, tears welling up in his eyes. “It’s Ok, it’s Ok,” he tells his Bff. No one would question it if we got an agonizing slow death right then, but instead, Riff smiles, his face morphs into chilling clarity — dead eyes right before he’s about to drop dead — and he coolly (no pun intended) orders Tony to “take it out.” It’s a heart-stopping, devastating beat, played to perfection by Faist, who deserves some Oscar love for putting a new twist on an old character we all thought we knew.

Of the numerous changes in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical,...

The big screen version of hit musical Wicked finally appears to be coming together after what seems like an eternity in production, and it looks set to team up director Jon M Chu with his In The Heights cinematographer Alice Brooks.

The fact the project has finally started putting together its behind the scenes crew is a big step forward considering the movie adaptation of the tale of Oz's witches has been in development for almost a decade when all is said and done, and with Chu having come into his own helming movies like Step Up 2: The Streets and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, his work on In The Heights allowed him to show how well he can adapt a Broadway musical for the big screen.

In the Heights was the last project Jon M. Chu worked on with Brooks, but it was not their first collaboration, having...

The visceral reaction was almost instant. In 2008, Jon M. Chu was working on his big directorial feature debut Step Up 2: The Streets, when his choreographer Luis Salgado invited him to New York to watch a Broadway musical he was in called In the Heights. “I’d never heard of Lin- Manuel Miranda, but when I saw it, my jaw dropped on the floor,” Chu recalls, “This show spoke so deeply to me, a Chinese from the bay area, not Latino or from Washington Heights, and yet it felt so close to home, because I knew what it was like to be raised by not just your parents, but your aunties, uncles and neighbors.”

A decade later, Chu had the opportunity to pitch Miranda the film adaptation, just as Chu found himself at a crossroads, deciding what kind of storyteller he really wanted to be. Having proven himself as a solid commercial director,...

Twenty years ago, while still students at the University of Southern California, cinematographer Alice Brooks and director Jon M. Chu worked on his thesis short film, “When the Kids Are Away,” a musical honoring motherhood that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003. That early partnership set the foundation for a creative affinity that has reached its greatest expression to date with “In the Heights,” Chu’s cinematic adaptation of the Latino-centered, Broadway hit penned by storytelling prodigies Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alagría Hudes.

Featuring 30 dancers and filmed in South Pasadena, California, “When the Kids Are Away” required Brooks to use a crane and shut down a street for the first time in her career. Now, two decades later, “In the Heights” showcases scenes with up to 300 dancers; instead of trees in SoCal, the George Washington Bridge frames the NYC spectacle.

Brooks and Chu honed their collaboration with other musically themed projects,...

In Broadway history, there have been only a handful of musicals that center on U.S. Latinos, and only a fraction of those shows were written by people from the communities they were portraying on stage. That’s part of the reason why Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” made waves when it opened on Broadway back in 2008 (after a successful Off Broadway run). More than a decade later, and after a slight pandemic delay, Jon M. Chu’s cinematic adaptation of Miranda’s first musical promises to make an even bigger splash with its celebration of family, love, and the idea of home.

The main voice of “In the Heights” belongs to Usnavi, who is on a beach telling a group of kids about his memories of New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. He introduces Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), who’s not really his abuela but assumed a...

Every now and then a film comes along with its heart gaudily emblazoned on its sleeve, waggling jazz hands of neediness and plaintively pleading to be loved. A film which shoots for the moon but putters out like a spent firework before it has cleared the treetops. A film like The Prom.

Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) is a smalltown high school student making a big stand. Or, more accurately, forced to stand up and demand her right to bring the person she loves to the prom, just like everyone else. Emma’s sexual orientation isn’t a problem for her principal Mr Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key) but the PTA – led by inflexible tiger mom Mrs Greene (Kerry Washington) – would rather cancel prom entirely than embrace inclusivity.

The decision leaves Emma isolated at school and the target of a particularly bitchy clique. Popular cheerleader Alyssa Greene (Ariana DeBose) is the only one to empathise and try,...

After quite a bit of speculation and a lot of hints from original director Ron Howard, Disney has now confirmed that the Willow TV Show is officially happening. The series will serve as a direct sequel to the original George Lucas created classic that premiered way back in 1988. Ron Howard is confirmed to return as one of the producers, with Warwick Davis reprising his role as the title character. The series will debut exclusively on Disney+ streaming. Though a premiere date has not been announced at this time.

Willow was George Lucas' first attempt at a fantasy adventure following his success with the iconic Star Wars franchise. It provided his Return of the Jedi breakout star Warwick Davis with a starring role, and gave Ron Howard a chance to show his talents in the sci-fi genre. Now, the main team behind the original classic is back to give Willow an all-new story.

Jon M. Chu has only recently begun to accept the success of his groundbreaking 2018 rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians” — although he still can’t enjoy it. The hang-up, he reveals on Variety’s “#Represent: Success Stories,” comes from enduring brutal critical reception for his previous features, including “Jem and the Holograms” in 2015.

“I got torn a new one. Plus, all my movies, I feel like they always get ripped on, from ‘Step Up 2,’ to ‘Step Up 3’ to the [Justin Bieber documentary] — they all get s— on,” the filmmaker says candidly.

The criticism, Chu says, led him to compartmentalize his emotions about box office numbers, critical reception and how he felt about his work as a filmmaker — hence why he still can’t fully relish in the success of “Crazy Rich Asians,” regarded as both a critical and box office win (it’s the highest-grossing romantic comedy since 2009 and was...

Outside of the multi-billion dollar success of the Transformers franchise, feature-length adaptations of Hasbro properties have struggled to gain much traction at the box office. The two G.I. Joe movies both did unspectacular business, Battleship barely managed to turn a profit, and Jem and the Holograms couldn’t even earn back half of its tiny $5 million budget while in theaters.

In fact, their most lucrative venture outside the adventures of the Autobots and Decepticons are the two Ouija movies, but those R-rated horror films owe most of their success to Blumhouse’s business model more than their relation to the Hasbro-trademarked board game that served as the inspiration.

However, that isn’t stopping them from trying, with G.I. Joe set to undergo the reboot treatment yet again as the company tries to figure out a formula for success, with a Snake Eyes spinoff also set for release later this year.

You shouldn’t be out and about right now, so it’s a great time to stay inside and binge shows and movies on your favorite streaming services. Netflix has been keeping content flowing this month, releasing 16 new movies and 5 new shows yesterday and today, dropping 8 more films and 3 more series on their platform, and a few of them are real winners worth checking out.

Here’s the full list of content released today on Netflix:

Films:

Alelí (2019)

Catfish (2010)

Despicable Me (2010)

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Jem and the Holograms (2015)

Maurício Meirelles: Generating Chaos (2019)

Puerto Ricans in Paris (2015)

Stunt School (Asli Gibidir) (2019)

TV Series:

Fary: Hexagone (Season 2)

Fauda (Season 3)

Waco (Limited Series)

Among the most exciting entries added today is the animated children’s film, Despicable Me. With a star-studded cast including Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Russell Brand, this one is great for the whole family, or it can serve as an...

There’s never been a better time to try and catch up on all those films and TV shows that’ve been sitting on your watchlist for months now. After all, if you’re practicing social distancing and staying home as much as you can, there’s not much else to do other than to stream content from your platform of choice.

Speaking of which, the first streaming service most people log into is Netflix. And that only makes sense, as they have more content than ever and continue to deliver more and more on a near daily basis. And while they certainly aren’t the only streaming site worth subscribing to, they definitely have the most variety and the deepest library.

But with so many movies and TV shows, where does one begin? Well, how about with some of the new additions coming this week? Yes, a new week...

Director Jon M. Chu has built his career making mostly bright, poppy entertainment like Step Up 3D, Jem and the Holograms, Crazy Rich Asians, and the upcoming In the Heights. But he’s dipping into darker territory in Home Before Dark, a new AppleTV+ drama which hails from creators/showrunners Dana Fox (New Girl) and Dara Resnik […]

The post ‘Home Before Dark’ Showrunner Dana Fox and Director Jon M. Chu on Making Dark Subject Matter Accessible [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Netflix has confirmed that 58 new original series, movies and specials will be debuting on the streaming service in April. Leading off the lineup are season 2 of the Ricky Gervais serio-comic series “After Life” and the debut of Mindy Kaling‘s childhood memoir “Never Have I Ever.” And in these trying times, take comfort in the slew of comedy specials, including one pairing “Silicon Valley” leading man Thomas Middleditch and “Parks and Recreation” scene stealer Ben Schwartz.

On the reality side, we can’t wait to gobble up season 4 of the baking show “Nailed It!” and delight in the debut of the dating series “Too Hot to Handle.”

Netflix is a global presence and it brings many of its international hits to American screens this month, including new seasons of Israel’s spy thriller “Fauda,” Spain’s crime drama “Money Heist” and England’s sport docuseries “Sunderland ’Til I Die.

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Netflix is about to make your next month of social distancing a whole lot easier.

On Tuesday, the streaming service announced all the movies and shows coming to the platform in April, and it’s jam-packed with content to keep you busy while you’re stuck at home thanks to coronavirus.

Go on a family adventure with The Willoughbys (available April 22), an animated comedy featuring the voices of Alessia Cara, Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews, and Ricky Gervais, or watch hilarious baking fails on Nailed It!: Season 4, available April 1.

Other highlights next month include Never Have I Ever (available April 27), a coming-of-age comedy series,...

On the eve of March 24th, when Disney+ is expected to expand across the United Kingdom and various parts of Europe, we have compiled the definitive list of new content headed to the streaming platform and its three key competitors – namely Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.

Yes, the so-called ‘streaming wars’ is now being fought on four fronts, and it’s fair to say that, despite being the fresh-faced newcomer, Disney+ is packing serious firepower. Thanks to its carefully calculated acquisitions over the years, the newly-released streaming service is packed to the rafters with top-tier content, including some excellent original series like The Mandalorian.

It’ll also get updated in a few days’ time (as is tradition), what with April 2020 just around the corner. Plus, with countries all over the globe enforcing measures to combat Coronavirus – self-isolation, social distancing… you name it – the Internet’s biggest streaming services will no...

You’ve probably heard the news that we’re all gonna be indoors for a little while. There’s no way around that and it sucks to hear. It also makes the usual entertainment stuff each month seem just a little more poignant. While Netflix reveals its new releases each month as a matter of course, the Netflix new releases for April 2020 obviously have some added import.

Thankfully it looks like Netflix is going to ease our social isolation with some easy-watching originals, and a handful of fun original and existing movie options. There isn’t a Stranger Things-like Netflix juggernaut on the schedule for April but there are excellent, bingeable shows like Nailed It! (April 1), The Innocence Files (April 15), and Kenya Barris’s first Netflix offering #blackAF (April 17).

Things are little more lively on the film side with Netflix originals arriving like the Ed Helms-starring Coffee & Kareem...

Netflix is out with its list of what’s new in April and what is getting the boot.

Highlights include new comedy specials from Chris D’Elia out April 14, and on April 21, we get a three-parter from Middleditch & Schwartz, which is a comedy duo comprised of “Parks & Rec” star Ben Schwartz (A.K.A. Jean Ralphio) and “Silicon Valley” star Tom Middleditch.

On April 20, marijuana enthusiasts can learn a thing or two from a cooking special called “Cooked with Cannabis.”

Also Read: Tulsi Gabbard Drops Out of Presidential Race, Endorses Joe Biden

Mindy Kaling’s “Never Have I Ever” coming-of-age series about a young Indian-American girl who desperately wants to lose her virginity is out April 27.

Other highlights are all four “Lethal Weapon” movies, “Minority Report,” “The Social Network,” “The Hangover,” and “The Matrix” trilogy.

Tragic losses that will sadly leave the streamer throughout the month are “Big Fat Liar,” “National Treasure,...