Britt Hayes
[
‘Wonderstruck’ Trailer: Todd Haynes’ Awards Contender Gets a Boost From Bowie
The new trailer for Wonderstruck is really lovely on its own, with its parallel stories of two children — one in 1927, the other in 1977 — searching for prominent but elusive figures in their lives. But the use of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” makes the trailer for Todd Haynes’ latest film even more wonderful, particularly as it transitions from a cover sung by children into the late singer’s classic version.
[
‘Downsizing’ Trailer: Honey, They Shrunk Matt Damon
Can we put a moratorium on trailers using the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime”? Now that we’ve gotten that bit of unofficial business out of the way, here’s the first full official trailer for Downsizing, the new film from Alexander Payne (Nebraska, The Descendants). We’ll have our review from the Toronto Film Festival later on, but until then, you can sneak a peek at one of the more puzzling films to premiere at this year’s fest.
[
‘IT’ Review: The Latest Stephen King Adaptation Is Scary Good – And Surprisingly Funny
Stephen King adaptations are a dime a dozen these days (almost literally; rights to his books are famously cheap), but a good Stephen King adaptation, like a properly cooked steak or a movie where Harrison Ford is actually awake, is exceedingly rare. Of the two adaptations of beloved King novels released this year, the idea that IT might be the superior of the pair seemed laughable a few months ago. IT is better than The Dark Tower in every conceivable way, but beyond the inevitable comparison, it’s just really good. Scary good, even.
[
Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Adds ‘Prison Break’ Star Numan Acar
Things are moving along quite nicely for Disney’s live-action redo of Aladdin, and the casting momentum of recent weeks continues today with yet another new addition: Numan Acar, best known for recurring roles on Homeland and FOX’s Prison Break revival, has joined the ensemble for Guy Ritchie’s upcoming reimagining of the 1992 animated classic.
[
New ‘Deadpool 2’ Set Photos Offer a Fresh Peek at Josh Brolin’s Cable
Just a couple of weeks ago, handsome actor person and omnipotent Twitter user Ryan Reynolds revealed the first official photo of Josh Brolin as Cable in Deadpool 2. With the sequel not arriving until next summer, it may be quite some time before we get another official peek at the Merc With a Mouth’s beloved foil — thankfully, there are some not so official means of getting around that little problem.
[
New Han Solo Set Photo Teases Empire’s Involvement in ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff
Ron Howard’s at it again! (…which is just a delightful phrase because, like, what havoc could Ron Howard possibly wreak on this earth?) The director has shared another intriguing photo from the set of the still-untitled Han Solo spinoff, this time teasing a very familiar piece of headgear. Don’t worry — it’s not Darth Vader, but it does belong to someone who probably knows him from work.
[
New ‘mother!’ Trailer Follows Jennifer Lawrence Around the House
The latest trailer for mother! is arguably more effective than the first — hard to imagine after that initial and completely bonkers sneak peek, I know. But this one uses sound and dialogue to unnerving effect, and although doing more telling than showing seems counterintuitive, it’s a concept that works brilliantly in the second trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s new film, and his first since 2014’s Noah.
[
‘The Lion King’ Remake Casts Alfre Woodard as Simba’s Mom
On the heels of last week’s Aladdin update comes another exciting bit of casting news for another big Disney remake. This time it’s Jon Favreau’s take on The Lion King, which has enlisted Alfre Woodard as the voice of Sarabi — head lioness, partner to Mufasa, and mother of Simba in the upcoming live-action (ish) version of the studio’s beloved animated classic.
[
Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Lucy and Desi,’ Starring Cate Blanchett as Lucille Ball, Lands at Amazon Studios
Now this is a thrilling combination of nouns: Amazon Studios has snatched up Lucy and Desi, an upcoming biopic written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Cate Blanchett as TV icon Lucille Ball. A masterful actress playing a masterful comedian in a film scripted by a masterful screenwriter is quite a catch, to say the least — all that’s missing is Desi himself, and given the talent involved so far, you have to imagine it’ll be someone great.
[
Disney’s Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Casts ‘Murder On the Orient Express’ Star as Jafar
According to a recent LOL-worthy rumor, Guy Ritchie was eyeing Tom Hardy to play Jafar in his live-action remake of Aladdin, but today’s news will give your eyes a much-needed break from rolling: Disney has not only lined up an actor for the role of the sinister villain in the upcoming live-action reimagining of their animated classic, but they’ve added a former SNL favorite to the cast, as well.
[
‘IT’ Filmmakers Considered Casting Tilda Swinton as Pennywise
From an androgynous angel hellbent on revenge to the self-loathing mother of a sociopath, a despicable dictator, the CEO of a pharmachemical corporation and pretty much everything in between — there’s almost literally nothing that Tilda Swinton cannot do. So when the filmmakers behind IT revealed that they gave serious thought to casting one of the most chameleonic and creatively-minded actors of our time in the role of a sinister supernatural clown, it wasn’t exactly surprising.
[
‘Marjorie Prime’ Trailer: Witness the Healing Power of Jon Hamm’s Hot Hologram
Come for Jon Hamm’s hot hologram (or “Holo-Hamm,” if you will), stay for a moving sci-fi drama about an elderly woman who employs said hologram to hold on to her memories. As touted in the first trailer for Marjorie Prime, the new film from director Michael Almereyda has been likened to Black Mirror and Spike Jonze’s Her — which is to say that, despite the joyful implications of a holographic Jon Hamm, Marjorie Prime is a rather somber experience.
