Celine Dion Isn't Here For Body Shamers

The Insane Amount Of Money Kylie Jenner Has Spent On Postmates

Gwyneth Paltrow Sued Over Reported Hit And Run Ski Accident

Ashton Kutcher Shared His Phone Number To Connect With Fans

New ‘Overwatch’ Map Drops Players Into Elegant Paris

CBS All Access Sees Double-Digit, Young-Skewing Subscriber Growth

‘The Good Fight’ Team Talks Roy Cohn Inspiration, Singing Prince in Season 3

Universal’s Jeff Shell to Host Kamala Harris for 2020 Campaign Fundraiser

Final Draft Awards: Callie Khouri Responds to Jussie Smollett Attack

Sundance: Naomi Watts Drama ‘Luce’ Goes to Neon, Topic Studios

Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ Gets Series Order at CBS All Access

‘Wild Wild Country’ Movie in the Works Starring Priyanka Chopra

Xbox Live Hits 64 Million Active Users

Quantic Dream Is Finally Going Multi-Platform

Mortal Kombat 11's Stream Has Been Postponed Due To Weather

February's Games With Gold Includes Assassin's Creed And Star Wars Titles

Jackbox Party Pack Is Free On The Epic Games Store

Metro: Exodus Is The Latest Game To Ditch Steam For the Epic Games Store

Another shot has been fired in the PC platform war, as Deep Silver has announced that the upcoming first-person shooter, Metro: Exodus, will now launch exclusively on the Epic Games Store. This announcement is coming in pretty close to the wire, as Exodus is set to launch on PC and game consoles on February 15.

As noted in an update via Polygon, though, this doesn’t mean these types of exclusivity deals are permanent. Similar to what we’ve seen on games consoles for years now, it looks like Metro’s deal with Epic is simply a timed exclusivity. Come February 14 of next year, it looks like Exodus will finally arrive on Steam.

Moving forward, we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more publishers flirting with Epic Games Store exclusivity. The storefront is actually curated, which means you won’t be finding a bunch of shovelware choking the library of games (for now, at least). Also, since the storefront only launched like a month ago, visibility for any new game is going to be super high.

Finally, and clearly the most enticing to publishers and developers, there's the earnings split being offered. Game creators get 88 percent of their earnings on the Epic storefront, compared to the 70 percent being offered by Steam. Folks were upset about the earnings split on Steam well before the Epic store appeared, so it’s no wonder some big-name publishers and games are so eager to take this new option for a spin.

According to their own statement, Steam’s parent company, Valve, isn’t too pleased with this sudden shift for Metro: Exodus, saying it’s “unfair” to folks who already saw the game advertised on the Steam marketplace. According to Deep Silver, customers with outstanding pre-orders for Metro: Exodus through other digital retailers will be honored, but anyone looking to pre-order the game now or purchase it following launch will only be able to do so through the Epic Games Store. That seems like a pretty reasonable compromise, especially since Exodus doesn’t offer cooperative or multiplayer options. In other words, a smaller “audience” on Steam won’t have an impact on the game post-launch.

According to the initial report, both Epic and Deep Silver are excited about this partnership, highlighting the revenue split as a major factor that will allow developers to invest more earnings into their various projects or even pass the savings on to the players. That second scenario seems like a bit of a stretch, but I’m all for developers/publishers earning a bigger cut on their own products.

At this point, the battle between Epic and Valve seems pretty serious. If more games abandon Steam, Valve might be forced to reevaluate its own practices in order to make its storefront more attractive.

Two Assassin's Creed Titles May Be Getting Ported To The Nintendo Switch

An unexpected listing on several Czech retail sites seems to point to a possible Assassin’s Creed compilation heading to the Nintendo Switch. According to the listing, fans may expect to play Assassin’s Creed 3 and Liberation Remaster in just a couple of weeks.

Am I the only one who finds it kind of funny that a game about sneaky assassins might have been outed prematurely thanks to an online listing? Well, that seems to be the case, as highlighted by a recent reddit post by user Nightmare666xD. It's wisely been tagged as a rumor for now, as nothing has been confirmed by the teams at Ubisoft or Nintendo. Still, there's some pretty compelling evidence, assuming everything checks out.

According to the post, several Czech retailers posted a listing for Assassin’s Creed 3 Liberation Collection. If the name didn’t give it away, the compilation appears to include remasters of both Assassin’s Creed 3 and the Vita spinoff, Liberation. The listings have the game set to launch on Feb. 15 for about $35.

Just in case this needs reiterating, everything here should be considered a rumor at this point. It wouldn’t be that difficult to whip up a fake sales listing and post it online to get rumors going. I’m not saying that the original poster did that, just that someone could have. Then again, if you’re going to start a rumor about an unannounced Switch game, this would certainly be an odd one to hitch your mischievous wagon to. If you really wanted to cause some chaos, you’d probably claim either Assassin’s Creed: Origins or, more believably, Black Flag, were heading to the Switch.

As one of the commentors points out, there was a supposed listing for an “Assassin’s Creed compilation” for Switch on a German website last year, but since nothing ever came of that, folks just assumed it was yet another rumor. Also, it’s worth noting that Assassin’s Creed 3 launched for the Wii U, so it’s not like the game doesn’t have some history on a Nintendo platform. Combine that with the fact that both AC3 and Liberation received the remaster treatment on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it seems reasonable that the team would just keep that train rolling and make the games available on the Switch, too.

Assassin’s Creed 3 is set during the American Revolution while Liberation is set during the French and Indian War, both pretty big turning points on the roadmap of American history. If you’re going to pair a couple of series entries for a Switch release, these two at least have some connective tissue.

So what do you think, folks? Are we going to be playing a couple remastered Assassin’s Creed games on the Switch in a couple of weeks? If you’ve already played them, are these two worth checking out on Nintendo’s new console? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Spike Jonze & Idris Elba Team Up For Super Bowl Ad & Hilarious 4-Minute Short Film

The Super Bowl ads just keep on coming. After it was revealed that Jeff Bridges was bringing back the Dude for a (rather disappointing) Stella Artois ad, alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, we also got our first Big Game trailer, which is for the upcoming Amazon series “Hanna.” Now, we got yet another big actor pitching a corporation, but this time, there’s a superstar director aboard to make it awesome.

READ MORE: Jonah Hill Says Spike Jonze Helped Shape The Story Of ‘mid90s’

In a new ad and an additional four-minute “short film” (just a longer commercial), actor Idris Elba and filmmaker Spike Jonze have teamed up to entice fans to use Squarespace. First, we’ll talk about the Super Bowl commercial that features Elba in various career paths, while lip-synching to a version of the song “Que Sera Sera,” as performed by Karishva Ghai and Kaos Choir for Deaf Awareness. It’s short and sweet, and undeniably adorable, as Elba really does his best in all the various costumes he’s put in.

The real meat of the Elba and Jonze collaboration is the 4-minute short that shows the actor working opposite funny lady Lolly Adefope, as they attempt to use Squarespace to build a website. What follows is four minutes of cringe-worthy moments of hilarity featuring Elba attempting to voice his aspirations for the site, while Adefope throws in snide comments and back-handed compliments.

READ MORE: Spike Jonze Teams With Apple For New Music Video

As far as Super Bowl ads go, which can range anywhere from absolute garbage to incredible, these Squarespace ads definitely fall on the good side of the spectrum. They showcase a side of Elba that we normally don’t get to see, while also presenting Jonze with another opportunity to grace fans with some more whimsy.

You can watch both below:

Netflix’s ‘Russian Doll’ Is A Hilariously Vulgar, Witty, & Death-Filled Take On ‘Groundhog Day’ [Review]

Like the figurine of its name, this show has layer upon layer to uncover. You can binge “Russian Doll” as a dark comedy, full of the acerbic wit of co-creators and writers Leslye Headland, Amy Poehler, and Natasha Lyonne. You can see this new Netflix show as an absurdist fantasy that philosophizes on life itself and other Big Questions. You can think about this series as a catalog of ways to die in New York City (of which, there are many). Or you can watch it as an eight-episode essay on why you too should get bangs because Lyonne’s curly fringe here is her character’s only good decision when we first meet her. But however you choose to see it, “Russian Doll” is a marvel, one of the first premieres of 2019 to cement its place on the year-end Best of TV lists.

We meet rockstar software engineer Natasha on the night of her 36th birthday party, staring into the bathroom mirror of her arty friend Maxine’s (Greta Lee) East Village apartment. Despite Maxine’s generosity, Natasha quickly ditches her own celebration, leaving to have sex with icky Mike (Jeremy Bobb, always so good at playing smarmy) back at her own place. Shortly after – and just 10 minutes into the first episode – Natasha is hit by a yellow cab, killed while she crosses the street. It’s a shock, even if you’ve seen the show’s trailer. But what’s more of a surprise is that she doesn’t stay dead, she wakes up, back in Maxine’s bathroom, staring at the bathroom mirror. “The universe is trying to fuck with me,” she says in the first episode, and Natasha proceeds to die in different ways (all nightmares for New Yorkers), each time returning to that bathroom and hearing Ty Segall‘s “Gotta Get Up.” She makes different choices, including visiting her psychologist friend and surrogate mother, Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley), but she can’t figure out why this is happening to her regardless of what she does or where she goes. In the third episode, she meets Alan (Charlie Barnett) and discovers that she’s not the only one stuck in a loop, living and dying in the same night over and over. Together, she and Alan try to unlock what has them in this repeating rut.

Of course, with its focus on death, “Russian Doll” delves into the meaning and makeup of life, as well as free will, but it isn’t content to merely think on those issues. With the introduction of Alan, it also centers on the importance of human connection. Natasha is abrasive, pushing away even the ones who love her – and who she loves – like Maxine (who matter-of-factly calls her the c-word) and Ruth. “No one can do anything by themselves,” Alan tells her, but Natasha is intent on trying. Past trauma haunts her throughout the season, but it comes to a head in the seventh episode, illuminating why she is the way she is.

As writers. Headland, Poehler, and Lyonne are masters of character, developing Natasha and Alan’s depths, as well as giving them the chance to grow within these eight half-hour episodes. The writing is funny and smart, delivered with a dry wit by a never-better Lyonne, but there are moments of poignancy as well, particularly in the final two episodes of the season. It’s easy to see facets of each of the writers in the characters and dialogue, whether in Headland’s hilarious vulgarity, Poehler’s sly humor, or Lyonne’s acidic wit.

Headland’s been primarily known for her big-screen work previously, making “Bachelorette” and “Sleeping with Other People,” but she also directs half the episodes here, with the other half going to Jamie Babbit, who helmed Lyonne’s breakout “But I’m a Cheerleader.” “Russian Doll” pulsates with the energy of female power, both on screen and off, with jokes about menopause and synced periods and a lead character who is flawed but an undeniable badass succeeding in the male-dominated world of video games.

There are elements of “Groundhog Day” and “Happy Death Day” here – as well as two of my favorite “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episodes – but “Russian Doll” still resonates as something new with its particularly philosophical take on someone stuck living the same day over and over. For a show that involves dozens of deaths of a character we love and goes deep on the nature of human existence, “Russian Doll” is an absolute delight that you’ll watch to watch on a loop. [A]

Acclaimed Filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke Reveals The Cinematic Habits & Experiences That Shape His Work [Rotterdam MasterClass Conversation]

This week IFFR is holding a wide programme of Masterclasses at Le Jardin Hilton in central Rotterdam. We’ll be bringing coverage of cinematic luminaries including Claire Denis, Jia Zhang-ke, and Cliff Martinez, as they recount the defining moments in their careers to date.

Jia Zhang-ke is a filmmaker concerned with time: how it disorientates, deceives, and hollows out the individual. Modernity wreaks irreparable transformations; technology delivers distortions of experience; globalization oppresses consciousness and the self. Concrete soaks into his bucolic landscapes — the past and present alchemize. Zhang-ke captures these temporal aberrations, gaps in which the material life of Chinese citizens clashes with the relentless economic ambition of the Chinese state. Leading the ‘sixth generation’ of Chinese filmmakers, Zhang-ke practices cool conduct, a culture of distance that exposes — or allows the viewer to expose — the interior lives of rural China. He is a generous directorial presence, one who allows the audience to project their own experiences. Counter that spirit, Zhang-ke’s Masterclass during IFFR 2019 ran over, so crowd contributions were forfeited.

READ MORE: Claire Denis Talks ‘High Life,’ The Taboos & Sexual Violence Of Her Career & More [Rotterdam MasterClass Conversation]

Moderated by IFFR stalwart Tony Rayns (amiable, poor timekeeper), the Masterclass gave an introduction to Zhang-ke’s career, notably his early films “Pickpocket,” “Platform,” and “Unknown Pleasures,” all of which focus on aspects of his rural upbringing in Shanxi province. His later work — now with an ambivalent endorsement from the Chinese state — has grown in both narrative scope and visual intimacy. “Still Life,” “A Touch of Sin,” and the recent “Ash Is Purest White” provide critical commentary on rapid industrial changes taking place over several decades. China is shown in its new-money grandeur and expansiveness. Dilapidated mines close while cavernous stadia are built. Fresh construction projects frame profound loneliness, a sense of being diminished, of being shrunken into the earth. In what was less didactic address, more overview, diminutive Zhang-ke revealed the cinematic habits and experiences that shape his work, as interpreted through a translator.

Starting out, Zhang-ke worked as an independent filmmaker outside the purview of the Chinese state. In the ‘90s he was a student of the Beijing Film Academy, but first studied cinema from an academic rather practical perspective.
“I was 21 in 1991. In the ‘80s I was a big film fan and used to watch them in video parlors. I watched films from Hong Kong and Taiwan, films you couldn’t watch in Chinese cinemas at the time. China was undergoing momentous changes in the ‘90s

I started writing poetry and stories and then I got introduced to the arts. Chen Kaige’s “Yellow Earth” was the film that made me realize I realize I could be a director. The film is situated in a place where there is loss. These were people I was familiar with. Although it was set in 1940s, it resonated with me — it was consistent with the people I knew and my experiences. It made it possible that someone from my background could become a film director.”

“When I resolved to become a film worker, I started making inquiries to the film academy in Beijing. But you first have to take an exam and I didn’t know what I had to study — there were very few books on cinema. I thought cameramen were wizards of light, so I applied but the requirement was to be 1m 70 tall and I didn’t fit that. So we had a problem right there!”

“I didn’t dare apply for the directors section — they only admitted 12 people per year/ I didn’t have enough knowledge of film, so I applied for the film theory department.

They asked me about Jean-Luc Godard, but I hadn’t seen his films so I failed to pass. In 1993, I passed the test and discovered a new type of filmmaking was taking place in China. Directors had found money outside of the studio system, were financing films by themselves, and could shoot stories they wanted to shoot. One day in the library I discovered a book by Rainer Werner Fassbinder about how to budget your film. I thought, ‘Wow, this is terrific — I now must become an independent filmmaker.’ Together with my class, we organized a team and I made two shorts.”

Showing the extent of his ambition, Zhang-ke’s first ‘short’ was almost an hour long. Why was it important that his films were also made independently?
“I would say all my films are independent. The film club we formed in Beijing was called an experimental rather than an independent film group. We didn’t want to use conventional methods: the ways of filming from the ‘5^th generation.’”

“I focused on a rural migrant worker for my first film, ‘Pickpocket.’ I wanted to find a new way of filming to express new revelations about life. I was excited to create a new type of main character. It is about somebody who is unable to go along with the times he lives in, who cannot adapt, who is completely natural and authentic. That’s why I started asking nonprofessional actors for my films. I cast one of my classmates who was also studying film theory. It was a rebellion against the body type of actors. Their body language, diction, pronunciation — all is trained. Even trained is the way they sit in a chair. I lean in my chair, and they sit up straight. I wanted to subvert that.”

“I think in my dialect and I use it when I write my scripts. We all have hometowns and dialects. When you have someone speaking Mandarin, where do they come from? They talk in a language without roots.”

The Criterion Channel Streaming Service Launching In April

Good news, film fans. The Criterion Channel streaming service is launching in April!

After filmmakers and cinephiles took to social media to attempt to save FilmStruck in late-2018, WarnerMedia promised to bring back a similar service, retitled The Criterion Channel. And now, we know exactly when film fans will be able to shell out their hard-earned cash for a chance to watch films from one of the greatest film libraries around.

READ MORE: Edgar Wright Explains How Steven Spielberg & Martin Scorsese Helped Save FilmStruck/Criterion Channel

The Criterion Channel service launches April 8, and will be available on desktop, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, iOS, and Android devices for the monthly fee of $10.99 (or $99.99 annually).

Charter cable subscribers get some additional benefits, especially if they subscribe before the April launch date, including reduced pricing for the life of their subscriptions along with other benefits, including a prelaunch Movie of the Week every Wednesday until launch, starting with the complete, newly released Criterion edition of “Mikey and Nicky,” with a new restoration supervised by Elaine May, along with all of its supplemental features.

The big selling point for the Criterion Channel streaming service is the constantly refreshed selection of Hollywood, international, art-house, and independent movies, plus continuous access to Criterion’s own streaming library of more than 1,000 important classic and contemporary films from around the world.

As for all the extras that you can expect with the Criterion Channel, the service is going to be truly unique with its own original content and filmmaker-focused exclusives including a new Sunday Spotlight, a movie marathon focusing on a different director, star, genre, or theme each week. There will also be a return of “Adventures in Moviegoing,” the guest programmer series that has featured Bill Hader, Barry Jenkins, Guillermo del Toro, and Mira Nair, “Tuesday’s Short + Feature,” “Friday Double Feature,” “Meet the Filmmakers,” “Art-House America,” and “Observations on Film Art,” the Channel’s 15-minute-a-month film school.

In addition to all that, subscribers will also have access to the Criterion Collection’s library of supplemental features, archival interviews, and original documentaries.

It looks like April 8 is the date to mark in your calendar for when you’ll finally get to check out the follow-up service to FilmStruck. And if you want it to last, this time, everyone better subscribe.

Jordan Peele Says The Genre Confusion Surrounding ‘Get Out’ “Broke My Heart” & Will Go Full Horror For ‘Us’

Of all the films coming being released in 2019 (including “Avengers: Endgame” and “Star Wars: Episode IX,” each with their own rabid fanbase), there aren’t many that have the same level of anticipation as Jordan Peele’s “Us.” After the incredible critical and box office success of “Get Out,” the question of what Peele has for us next has continued to linger. And the answer comes in just over a month with “Us.” And according to the director, his latest film is sacrificing a bit of the social commentary in favor of going full-on horror.

READ MORE: Lakeith Stanfield To Star In Jordan Peele’s Upcoming ‘Candyman’ Reboot

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Peele discussed his life and career, and everything that led to the creation of “Get Out” and, most recently, “Us.” And in going over the success of “Get Out,” he realized that there’s one aspect of his Oscar-winning debut film that he wishes were different.

Peele says, “I’m such a horror nut that the genre confusion of ‘Get Out’ broke my heart a little. I set out to make a horror movie, and it’s kind of not a horror movie. As a horror fan, I really wanted to contribute something to that world.”

Enter “Us.”

The upcoming film from Peele is still going to have a bit of that social commentary that made “Get Out” such a cultural phenomenon, but “Us” is much more a horror film, first and foremost.

READ MORE: Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ Selected As Opening Night Film Of 2019 SXSW Film Festival

“It’s important to me that we can tell black stories without it being about race,” Peele says. “I realized I had never seen a horror movie of this kind, where there’s an African-American family at the center that just is. After you get over the initial realization that you’re watching a black family in a horror film, you’re just watching a movie. You’re just watching people. I feel like it proves a very valid and different point than ‘Get Out,’ which is, not everything is about race. ‘Get Out’ proved the point that everything is about race. I’ve proved both points!”

For those that have avoided the first trailer for “Us” (which is incredibly scary on its own, by the way), the film follows a family that goes on vacation, and begins to be terrorized by their own doppelgangers, which Peele calls the Tethered.

READ MORE: Our 12 New Year’s Wishes & Resolutions For The Film/TV Industry In 2019

The filmmaker says the inspiration for the horror film came from a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode called “Mirror Image.” However, after the initial inspiration, “Us” went into a much different, much darker direction.

We’ll have to see if “Us” deals with the same genre-confusion that saddled “Get Out” when the film premieres at the upcoming SXSW Film Festival before debuting in theaters on March 22.

‘The Last Tree’: An Imperfect, But Hypnotic Coming-of-Age Story That Deserves Your Attention [Sundance Review]

Can you still recall that sense of wonder and constant curiosity you had when you were a kid? Remember when everything seemed possible? And then, as you got older, the world became a different entity entirely—one that left you longing for the days where the pessimism and paranoia of adulthood could not be further from your mind. All that to say, if you’ve ever found yourself torn between the cynical grown-up you are now and the naïve child you once were, “The Last Tree” may be the movie for you.

READ MORE: Sundance 2019 Film Festival Preview: 25 Must-See Films

As a boy growing up in two worlds, Femi has no place to call home. Raised by a loving British foster mother, but born to an equally affectionate, but disenfranchised Nigerian birth mom, the clash between the boy’s heritage does little to help with this sense of not belonging. After Femi moves in with his birth mother, he is forced to acclimate from the escape of the rural countryside to an unforgiving concrete jungle. As his environment shifts, so does Femi, who soon grows from an innocent boy to a street-hardened man. Torn between following a life of crime and pursuing his education, Femi must decide what path he wants to travel down before it’s too late.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019

It’s no secret that filmmakers love to explore the complexities of adolescence, hence the countless number of movies that compose the coming-of-age subgenre. Whether they stick within the realm of realism or not, these stories often follow the same beats; soul searching, rites of passage, and first love all function as familiar, frustratingly trite trademarks. However, shockingly, “The Last Tree” succeeds in separating itself from the pack by employing a daring, but restrained, showcase of visual language and never once slips into schmaltz.

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films By Female Filmmakers In 2019

In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any hints of conventionality in “The Last Tree,” especially where exposition is concerned. Characters come and go without formal introductions or any hints to their backstory. Accompanied by naturalistic camerawork, this method of storytelling allows audiences to experience the movie solely through Femi’s eyes—his confusion is your confusion, and his fears are your fears. Similarly, masculinity, perception, and self-discovery encompass the thematical framework the film is built upon.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019 We’ve Already Seen

Director Shola Amoo paints a world mired by loneliness and sorrow in vibrantly impressionistic strokes. Countryside horizons fill the frame with a sense of awe and freedom, while the claustrophobic asphalt of the city keeps viewers tense, twisting their stomachs into knots. In place of dialogue, Amoo focuses on the intricate expressions of his actors, allowing a sharp inhale or grimace to speak a thousand words. “The Last Tree” is driven by an introvert’s understanding of how the world works: it is quiet, understated, but emotionally charged. Additionally, both Tai Golding and Sam Adewumni (the actors portray Femi as a youth and teenager respectively) offer moving performances, the primary factors that permit Femi’s search for identity to reach a mostly satisfying resolution.

Furthermore, customary storytelling and nostalgia are tossed aside to make room for tasteful experimentation. “The Last Tree” floats from scene to scene, imparting the sensation of floating in a hazy oasis, allowing your most vivid memories to serve as your only source of entertainment. Remarkably, Amoo binds the film’s abstract and gritty elements with wispy, gossamer-like threads, allowing the dual components to bleed into each other, forming a cohesive combination.

However, akin to its protagonist, “The Last Tree” occasionally trips on its own feet trying to find its way. Although its ambient approach to structure works to its merit, the film does skimp on the substance at times, opting to set style on the forefront. Moreover, while the hazy atmosphere and dreamy images burn themselves into your brain, the same cannot be said for the story. The plot may slink down exotic back alleys in an effort to avoid tropes, but the destination remains the same; notably, the film’s anticlimactic conclusion is remarkably weak.

Relatedly, the lack of a resonant emotional impact sorely affects the shelf life of “The Last Tree,” and one can’t help but wonder how the film may have fared if its story development complemented its remarkable visuals. Although the aforementioned lack of exposition allows “The Last Tree” to dodge character archetypes, it simultaneously deprives viewers of fully immersing themselves in the story. Admirably, the film encourages active viewing, but audience members may find themselves trying to fill in too many gaps when the filmmaking falters.

Still, “The Last Tree” retains its integrity despite momentary lapses in judgment. It’s a film that challenges the norm by breaking away from what’s expected. Whether it fully succeeds or not, any work of art that showcases this much passion and effort deserves recognition, and “The Last Tree” deserves all the attention it can muster. [B-]

Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.

‘Westworld’ Co-Creator Lisa Joy To Write/Direct Sci-Fi Film Starring Hugh Jackman & Rebecca Ferguson

With Sundance entering its final stages (gone too soon!), it’s time to look ahead to the next big film festival, Berlin. And while there are plenty of films to be talking about, Berlin also brings with it the chance for producers to pitch distributors on their next big films. And it appears that one of the biggest to be brought to Berlin in 2019 will be the upcoming sci-fi love story from “Westworld” co-creator Lisa Joy that stars Rebecca Ferguson and Hugh Jackman.

READ MORE: ‘Westworld’ Season 3 Will Be A “Radical Shift” According To Showrunners

Deadline is reporting that Joy will not only write the script, but will also make her feature directorial debut on the upcoming “Reminiscence.” As you might expect from one of the minds that brings you the mindfuck that is “Westworld,” the upcoming film is equally as unique. “Reminiscence” tells the story of a private investigator (Jackman) that is hired by clients to track down cherished memories for them in a near-future Miami (that happens to be mostly sunk under water thanks to climate change). However, his world gets thrown for a loop when he meets his latest client (Ferguson).

“It has been a labor of love and also vision,” Joy says. “I know exactly what I want this to be, including all of the action set pieces, and turning Miami into a sunken world. Working on ‘Westworld’ has been an incredible experience in learning to make something with the scope of a feature on a TV timeline with a budget nowhere near what you would expect for a feature film equivalent.”

READ MORE: ‘The Front Runner’: Director Jason Reitman On Prescient Politics, Hugh Jackman, Charlize Theron & More

Of course, you can’t go wrong with a film if you cast Jackman and Ferguson as your leads. And for Joy, she immediately thought of Jackman for the main role. “The one person who was always in my mind, from the first day, was Hugh Jackman. It’s this crazy love story and it’s totally unreal to me. I drew his costume on him, I have all these sketches and I thought, it has to be him,” she reveals.

When talking about why she approached Ferguson for the role, Joy is equally as enthusiastic, saying, “When I started watching Rebecca Ferguson, I was blown away. In very intense scenes with huge movie stars, my eyes would drift to her because she was this powerful core in the center of this whirlwind film. She has this intelligence to her eyes and her performance speaks volumes. You just want to keep looking closer to figure out who she is. She’s got this timelessness to her performances that defies expectations and she’s beautiful and sexy. But that is literally just the tip of the iceberg.”

READ MORE: Rebecca Ferguson In Talks For ‘Dune’ With Timothée Chalamet

It doesn’t hurt that Jackman and Ferguson already have chemistry, thanks to their roles in the hit film “The Greatest Showman.”

As mentioned, “Reminiscence” will be shopped around at Berlin, but it’s safe to say that the film will be picked up pretty damn fast.

Chloë Grace Moretz To Star In New Horror Film From Writer Max Landis & Director Roseanne Liang

Chloë Grace Moretz has been on a bit of a hot streak lately. After her early career featured stints as a superhero in the ‘Kick-Ass’ films and as the titular character in the ill-advised “Carrie” remake, the young actress has changed course and now has a variety of interesting projects under her belt, including 2018’s “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” and “Suspiria,” as well as the upcoming “Greta,” starring opposite Isabelle Huppert. And it appears she’s going back to the horror genre, with some interesting talent behind the scenes for her next film.

READ MORE: ‘Greta’ Trailer: Isabelle Huppert Is Obsessed With Chloe Grace Moretz

Variety is reporting that Moretz has signed on to star in the upcoming horror film “Shadow in the Cloud.” The film follows Moretz, who plays a pilot who boards a B-17 Flying Fortress with a mysterious black bag and orders for her transport. As you might expect in a horror film, things get a bit crazy while in the air, as the young female pilot has to deal with an obnoxious all-male crew, an oncoming Japanese ambush, and a mysterious evil entity.

“Shadow in the Cloud” is the brainchild of screenwriter Max Landis. A filmmaker in his own right, Landis probably best known for his scripts for the films “Chronicle,” “Bright,” “American Ultra,” and most recently, as the showrunner of the TV series “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” which ended in 2017 after a two-season run. He’s also the writer-director of the upcoming “American Werewolf in London,” which is a remake of his father John Landis’ classic horror film.

READ MORE: Chloë Grace Moretz & Jack O’Connell Sign On To Play Bonnie And Clyde In ‘Love Is A Gun’

The upcoming film is directed by Roseanne Liang, who is probably best known for her 2011 film “My Wedding and Other Secrets,” and is most recently attached to the films “Fuse” and “Do No Harm.” Obviously, “Shadow in the Cloud” will be the highest-profile gig in her career.

The project has no release date and will be shopped around to distributors at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

The Essentials: The Best Gene Hackman Villains [Podcast]

Gene Hackman is one of the best actors of the 20th century — full stop. And his seemingly abrupt retirement in 2004 has allowed him to be canonized differently and earlier than fellow New Hollywood icons (read: De Niro and Pacino) who simply keep dressing up in schlockier versions of once-great roles. So while Gene is off in New Mexico zipping around on his e-bike, we celebrate his 89th birthday on January 30 in this episode of the Be Reel Podcast by looking at three of his most memorable villain/antagonist roles: “Superman: The Movie” (1978), “Unforgiven” (1992) and “The Firm” (1993).

Lest we not also talk about his spine-tingling and charming antagonists in films like “Crimson Tide” and “The Royal Tenenbaums,” Chance and Noah start out today’s show rattling off their favorite “Mean Gene” moments. Whether he plays a murderous president, a ruthless land baron, or a beleaguered football coach, Hackman made a career out of mining nuance from men who were perhaps more violent inside than out.

LISTEN: Is This Why We Can’t Have Nice Things? The December 2018 Box Office Post-Mortem [Podcast]

And for all the wide stances and gruff dressings down, Hackman never seemed to play bad for persona’s sake, so much so that he nearly turned down Wes Anderson’s “Tenenbaums” because he didn’t want a part specifically written for him. (Good thing for film-goers he changed his mind.)

In focusing deeper on Lex Luthor, Little Bill Daggett, and Avery Tolar today, we unpack how Hackman approaches a role, where and why he goes for camp, what directors can and cannot bring out of him, and the minor rebellions he’s allowed when fleshing out his characters. And, of course, using our two-tiered rating system, we discuss whether these the surrounding films hold up compared to Hackman’s larger legacy.

So happy 89, Gene. It’s unlikely you know what a podcast is, but everyone else can listen below.

Kevin Smith Just Dropped Major Info About Zack Snyder’s Planned Justice League Trilogy

Cold Pursuit’s Tom Bateman Had A Hard Time With His Racist Lines

The Rock Wants Jason Momoa To Play His Brother In Fast And The Furious Franchise

Matt Reeves Updates Fans On Status Of The Batman

That Time David Alan Grier Turned Down Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

See The First Look At Bad Boys 3

The action flick was written by Chris Bremner, Joe Carnahan, David Guggenheim and Anthony Tambakis, and will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah. The first two films were helmed by Michael Bay, Bad Boys being the Transformer director’s first full-length feature.

Watch John Wick 3's Keanu Reeves And Halle Berry's Intense Weapon Training

Jordan Peele Says Us Is Way Scarier Than Get Out

Shazam! Director Has A Hilarious Response Over Calls For New Trailer

‘The Neighborhood’ Offers “Two-Handed Point Of View” On Gentrification Says Creator Jim Reynolds – TCA

With all the division and emphasis on negativity in the country these days, The Neighborhood EP Jim Reynolds told TV critics at TCA he’s trying to “put forth a dialogue and have a cultural conversation with kindness which was always the intention of the show.”

After one TV critic described the comedy series as being written from the “black perspective,” Reynolds reminded it was originally based on his own experience moving into a predominantly African American neighborhood. Bringing in Cedric the Entertainer as a star and EP “shifted” the series “to a more two-handed point of view.”

The show’s writers room is “one of the most inclusive” in TV sitcom-dom, Reynolds said;  7 of its 11 writers are  “people of color or female.”

“We rely on that heavily; we want that authenticity,” Reynolds explained. “There are times when we want to have that safe and honest conversation in that writers room to discuss and figure where is the line.”

Cedric described his character Calvin Butler character as the patriarch of the neighborhood, who is now “seeing this change start to happen” and finds it disturbing. “Most of the time…when the Whole Foods comes, you’ve just got to accept it”; not so much with Calvin.

Asked about the impact of the #MeToo movement on CBS, The Neighborhood cast member Beth Behrs said she and 2 Broke Girls colleague Kat Dennings were “very lucky” in that they “always felt safe with the people we worked with.”

“But I will always stand with survivors of sexual assault and we still have a lot of work to do,” she added.

The Neighborhood participated in the company-wide seminars and, Cedric said, “we try to make sure that we operate in a very respectful set…We can call it sexual harassment but in most cases it’s about one person being more powerful. We try to make sure that is never the case.”

“All of the executives have shown that degree of professionalism and especially in the aftermath of last year,” he added.

“I really believe in what we are doing and what we are saying,” Reynolds ai. “I believe the world wants to have these conversations in a safe space and comedy helps disaram some of those defenses. You win hearts when you change minds. With a cast like this and the support received from the network and studio all those [ratings] reinforce there is an audience for it.”

CBS last October handed the multi-cam comedy a back order for more episodes.  The gentrification comedy series, starring Cedric and Max Greenfield, has done a respectable job as a new Monday 8 PM anchor.

‘The Masked Singer’ Renewed For Season 2 By Fox

No surprise here. Fox has renewed breakout celebrity competition series The Masked Singer for a second season. The Masked Singer is this season’s No. 1 new series and top unscripted show, which drew more than 17 million multi-platform viewers for its debut episode.

“The response to The Masked Singer has been fantastic and we are thrilled to bring it back for another season,” said Rob Wade, President, Alternative Entertainment and Specials, Fox Broadcasting Company. “I am so happy to see a singing Peacock burst into pop culture! The Masked Singer is unique, bold, original and embraces the DNA of all the best Fox unscripted shows. We look forward to Season Two being even more fun, weird and wonderful than the first.”

Based on the hit South Korean format, The Masked Singer features celebrities facing off against one another with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head to toe in an elaborate costume, complete with full face mask to conceal his or her identity. Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke serve on the panel, playing detective alongside series host Nick Cannon.

The series premiere marked television’s greatest Live+7 gain from Live+Same Day among unscripted debuts ever in both adults 18-49 (4.2/17 L7, +1.2 from L+SD) and total viewers (13.0 L7 million, +3.6 million vs. L+SD). It is the highest-rated unscripted debut on any network in more than seven years (excluding post-NFL telecasts), this season’s No. 1-t debut on any network and the No. 1 reality telecast of the last two seasons, topping The Voice, American Idol and America’s Got Talent. The Masked Singer’s premiere has delivered 17.6 million multi-platform viewers to date, Fox’s most-watched unscripted debut in 11 years, while its 3.6 million viewers across Hulu and Fox Now mark the network’s most-streamed episode ever.

Produced by Endemol Shine North America, The Masked Singer was developed for the U.S. and is executive-produced by Craig Plestis. Izzie Pick Ibarra also serves as an executive producer, and Alex Rudzinski directs. Cannon, Nikki Varhely Gillingham and Rosie Seitchik serve as co-executive producers.

The Masked Singer airs at 9 PM Wednesdays on Fox.

Trey Gowdy Joins Fox News Channel As Rush To Land Ex-Pols Continues

New Hollywood Podcast: Matt Tyrnauer & Patrisse Cullors Docs Put Socio-Political Issues Front And Center At Sundance

‘FBI’ Stars Weigh In On Government Shutdown, Second Season & Spin-Off – TCA

Missy Peregrym and Zeeko Zaki, stars of CBS hit FBI have called the recent government shutdown “disappointing” but added that it showed how the Federal Bureau of Investigations doesn’t stop at anything to protect the country. They also weighed in on the fact that the show has already been picked up for a second season as well as a spin-off.

Speaking on day two of TCA, Zaki said, “It’s an ode to the fact that we’re living in a time where the reputation of the [FBI] is [impacted] politically but it comes down to a group of people who won’t stop for anything, whether it’s money, politics to go in and save this country and that’s why it’s so exciting to try and represent them in the best way possible.”

Peregrym added, “I was disappointed for them but they still showed up to work and protected the country, I’m in awe of them and I’m even more proud to be on the show with the character they displayed with the situation.

Dick Wolf’s FBI is one of three series to receive early CBS renewals due to strong performance. FBI is CBS’ No. 1 new series in total viewers and the No. 2 new series overall this season, averaging nearly 13 million viewers. FBI centers on the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It stars Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Ebonée Noel, Jeremy Sisto and Sela Ward. Wolf, Rick Eid, Terry Miller, Forney and Jankowski are executive producers for Universal TV in association with CBS TV Studios.

Earlier this week, the network revealed it had ordered a spinoff backdoor pilot,  FBI: Most Wanted, which will air as an episode of FBI in the spring. The project has a series commitment, making an episodic pickup for next season highly likely. Deadline revealed earlier this week that Wolf pitched the show with three franchises.

“A win is a win [in terms of a spin-off],” said Peregrym. “It’s going to be a different story; obviously we’re based in New York so you’re going to see a rag tag across the country trying to find their guy. I’ve never experienced this before but I can’t wait to see what it’ll be.”

Zaki added, “I think it’s good news, I’m excited to grow the story. I think the FBI has so much to offer and there are so many integral parts so now we can dive in and give them the representation that they deserve.

The pair joked that Wolf was too busy to attend TCA. “Who does he think he is, Dick Wolf?,” laughed Peregrym.

They also addressed the fact that the show has had a number of different showrunners with Rick Eid and Derek Haas, who replaced Greg Plageman, who replaced Craig Turk.

“You adjust by doing your job. It’s a really tough thing to start a show. everyone is trying to find their place [but] I’m really proud of where we are and we’ll continue to move in that direction.

‘Diving Deep’ Trailer: Santa Barbara Film Festival Opener About Filmmaker-Adventurer Mike DeGruy

‘In The Heights’ Finds Its Benny In Corey Hawkins

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline hears that Straight Outta Compton‘s Corey Hawkins has been tapped for the role of Benny in Jon M. Chu’s feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s four-time Tony winning musical In the Heights for Warner Bros.

In the original storyline, bodega owner Usnavi (who will be played in the movie by Anthony Ramos) strikes it rich and plans to leave, until the pull of the Latino neighborhood and the people in it give him pause. Set in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, the plot revolves around Usnavi, a college student, a taxi driver, a beauty salon worker and an old woman who aspire to better lives as gentrification begins to take hold, and a sweltering summer power blackout brings their personal life crises to a head.

In the original musical, Benny falls in love with Nina, who the neighborhood admires as “the one who made it out.” She enrolled in Stanford, but dropped out and returns home. Benny works for Nina’s father, Kevin, and dreams of opening his own business. However, Nina’s father refuses to accept Benny as Nina’s beau.

Anthony Bregman, Mara Jacobs, Scott Sanders and Miranda are producing. Marc Klein is penning the script, with musical book by Quiara Alegría Hudes.

Hawkins is a Julliard graduate. He starred on Broadway in Romeo & Juliet as Tybalt and was nominated in 2017 for a Tony Award for his role in Six Degrees of Separation. Hawkins has straddled film and theater work throughout the course of his career, landing a pivotal role in Spike Lee’s Oscar-nominated BlacKkKlansman and recently wrappig a lead role in Michael Bay’s Netflix feature 6 Underground.

He is represented by CAA and Jackoway Austen.

Céline Dion Movie ‘The Power Of Love’ Launched By Gaumont, Valérie Lemercier To Star & Direct

French actress and director Valérie Lemercier (Avenue Montaigne) is set to star in ambitious European biopic The Power Of Love (Famous) based on the life of Céline Dion. According to producers, the big-budget (around €23M) French-language project has buy in from Canadian star Dion and will feature her songs.

The film will retrace Dion’s life from the 1960’s to the present day and her relationship with her manager and late husband, René Angélil. The last of 14 children, the Canadian singer became a global superstar in the 1990s, selling more than 200M records, including hit singles The Power Of Love, Think Twice and the iconic theme song to Titanic.

Two-time César winner Lemercier will star as a character based on Dion (but won’t sing her songs). She will also direct the project, which is based on her script. Shoot is due to get underway in France this spring. Sylvain Marcel (Mensonges) will play Angélil.

French producer Edouard Weil, whose credits include Gaspar Noé’s Climax and Love, and Bertrand Bonello’s Nocturama, will produce in association with Laurent Zeitoun (Intouchables) and Caramel Films (Ballerina).

French studio Gaumont is behind the film and will introduce it to buyers at this year’s EFM in Berlin. Gaumont will also distribute in France in 2020.

‘Hanna’: Amazon Sets Post-Super Bowl Sneak Preview Of Drama Series – Watch The Big-Game Spot

Did Legacies Introduce The Real Big Bad And Landon's Dad?

Why Suits' Gina Torres Wanted Jessica Pearson To Get A Spinoff

The Big Bang Theory Is Finally Getting William Shatner As A Guest Star

Why Busy Philipps Wasn't Influenced By Other Late Night Hosts For Busy Tonight

How Superstore’s Creator Feels About People Realizing The NBC Comedy Does Not Suck

NCIS: New Orleans Executive Producer Has Been Fired After Complaints Of On-Set Aggression

5 Former Vikings Characters Who Need To Return For The Final Season

Rent Live Actor Believes He Broke His Foot For A Reason

Game Of Thrones’ Lena Headey Had A Weird Reaction To Her Final Scene

Artie Lange Says He Was Kidnapped Over Gambling Debts

No, The Grammy Winners Haven't Been Leaked

Kendall Jenner's Company Subpoenaed Over Fyre Festival Involvement

Why Dax Shepard Wasn't Originally Sure If He Wanted To Be With Kristen Bell

Harry Potter's Matthew Lewis Thanks Fans After Romantic Lost Wallet Drama

The Internet is a curious place. Just through the touch of your fingertips, you have instant access to millions of people all around the world. You could be interacting with someone across the street or on the other side of the world through the safety and comfort of your home computer or through the phone located in your hands. It is a powerful and haunting tool. While it can sometimes be used for nefarious, unlawful purposes, it can also be a tremendous source for good. Thankfully, the latter was the case for Matthew Lewis, best known for his acting work inside Harry Potter.

The Neville Longbottom actor recently had the misfortune of having his wallet lost or possibly stolen, and while he was distressed about it for several reasons, there was one reason in particular that he was hoping to retrieve it: it contained a sentimental item that originated from his wife, Angela Jones. Here's what Matthew Lewis wrote on Twitter, using the social media site as a distress call to hoping reach out to the person who found his lost wallet.

As Matthew Lewis explains, he is not concerned about the money, the cards or anything like that in his wallet being gone. No, it's losing the note from his wife engraved on a piece of metal that distresses the actor the most, and Lewis was hoping that he could receive the personal, romantic item in his possession once again. It turns out, the Internet was helpful for Matthew Lewis this time around. Not only did he receive a great wealth of sympathy and support, but he also got his wallet back as well! Yippie! Lewis was understandably super pleased to find his wallet again, and he called it a "good day."

The Internet can sometimes be a cesspool filled with horrendously poor characters and nasty ill-will inflicted upon others. But sometimes, it can be a source of great help and charitable behavior. Thankfully, it was ultimately a source of great benefit for Matthew Lewis, who not only received the loving memento from his wife back in his possession, but his wallet as well. There can be some bad folks on the Internet, but there can be good ones as well.

While it is not clear how exactly Matthew Lewis regained possession of his wallet, sometimes the mystery is rewarding. It ultimately doesn't matter how exactly Lewis found himself with his wallet once again in his hand; Lewis has the wallet again, along with the metaled note, and that is all that matters.

There's no doubt that Matthew Lewis' fame and notoriety probably played a hand in the wallet return, but sometimes, it's good to know that the Internet can band together and help its fellow man, famous or otherwise. It's a small act of kindness, but it obviously means the world to Lewis.

Diddy's Ex Kim Porter's Cause Of Death Has Been Revealed

In November of last year, we were met with the unfortunate news that Kim Porter, the ex-partner and co-parent of Diddy's children, had passed away. It wasn't clear how the late actress and model passed away, and while there was an investigation in place shortly after she died, nothing was released publicly. Until now. As it was reported, Kim Porter's cause of death died of pneumonia, according to the Los Angeles County Corner. She was only 47.

According to CNN, Kim Porter was reportedly found dead in her house located in the Toluca Lake neighborhood. It wasn't known at the time what was the cause of her death, but it's clear that it came as a grave and shocking surprise to many people -- most especially, her loved ones, including her ex and the father of her children, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and their young children. Shortly after the news was made public, Combs wrote a heartfelt tribute to the late Kim Porter, where he said he was going to try to "find the words" to "explain their unexplainable relationship." He was clearly very sorrowful.

Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kim Porter first started dating around the mid '90s, and their relationship was on-and-off throughout the years since then. It was a relationship that ultimately spanned nearly 13 years, but they stopped dating for good in 2007. Still, they reportedly remained connected in each other's lives, and Combs claimed she was his "partner" in many different ways, despite no longer being romantically together for more than a decade.

To be more specific, here's what Diddy wrote on social media about their relationship, trying to the best of his ability at the time to explain the unexplainable relationship -- as the musician/actor described it -- that they shared during their years together-- even when they sometimes a bit fraught.

Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kim Porter shared three children together: Christan (20) and twins D'Lila Star and Jessie James (11). Additionally, Quincy, Porter's older son from a previous relationship, was also reportedly raised by Diddy as though the child were, in fact, his own. Diddy is also the father of Justin (25) and Chance (12) from other, separate relationships away from his life with Kim Porter. Surely, it is a difficult time for everyone in the family.

While it's certainly difficult to be welcomed with this news, it might bring some comfort to know that Kim Porter's death didn't involve foul play, and that she was simply the victim of a lethal illness that took her from this world too soon. In any case, our thoughts continue to go out to Sean "Diddy" Combs and the rest of the family and friends who find themselves grieving after this unexpected, ultimately untimely death. She was gone too soon.

Chris Pratt Sees Less Work And More Kids In His Future

Prince Philip Has Apologized To Other Driver In Recent Crash

A little over a week ago, Prince Philip was involved in a car accident. Miraculously, the 97-year-old high-standing member of British royalty walked away with no major injuries -- even though his Land Rover was overturned by the collision. At first, it wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for the car accident. But it appears that Philip was indeed the one who caused this crash. Now Philip has written an apology to the woman driving the vehicle he slammed into, claiming that he is "deeply sorry" for what happened here, and he hopes that she finds a "speedy recovery" for the injures she received.

Here's a snippet of what Prince Philip wrote in his letter to Emma Fairweather, the woman who was in the Kia that was hit by Prince Philip's Rover.

The formal apology letter, collected by Mirror and shared to the world, finds Prince Philip "very contrite about the consequences" that occurred through this automobile accident. It is a computer typewritten letter, but it has the official Sandringham House stamp at the top, and it features a handwritten signature, as well as hand-scribed "Dear Mrs. Fairweather" and "Yours Sincerely," at the top and bottom to make it even more personal. Particularly since Prince Philip wrote "Philip" instead of his official titles, which makes the sorrowful address appear sincere and authentic in nature.

As the letter continues, Prince Philip admits that he's "somewhat shaken" by the car accident that occurred earlier this month, but he's ultimately relieved to know that Emma Fairweather, as well as the other passengers in the car, including Fairweather's friend Ellie Townsend and Ellie's nine-month-old son, were not terribly injured. Though Philip expresses remorse upon learning that Fairweather ultimately suffered a broken arm.

Emma Fairweather said she was "chuffed" by the letter from Prince Philip, and she thought the "speedy recovery" inclusion was "a nice touch." Ultimately, Fairweather wanted to receive an act of "human kindess" from Philip, and she was very happy with the letter she received from Philip. Hopefully, while Fairweather remains on the physical mend from this car accident, she is able to receive some warmth and hope from this address.

Sundance Film Review: ‘Fighting With My Family’

Göteborg Focuses on the Apocalypse, Saving the Earth

New Europe Film Sales Does Business with Iceland’s Pálmason, Hákonarson (EXCLUSIVE)

Japan Box Office Dips 3% in 2018, Holds Above $2 Billion

Sundance Film Review: ‘Clemency’

Film Review: ‘Midnight Family’

Sundance Film Review: ‘Judy & Punch’

Sundance: Netflix Nabs Richie Mehta’s ‘Delhi Crime’

Netflix has picked up rights to “Delhi Crime,” a seven part India-set series, directed by Canada’s Richie Mehta. The fact-based police procedural was launched at the Sundance festival this week in the Indie Episodic section.

Production of the show was by Golden Karavan and Ivanhoe Pictures. It will air on Netflix from March 22, 2019.

“Delhi Crime” is inspired by and follows the notorious December 2012 investigation by the Delhi Police into a devastating rape of a young woman that reverberated across India and the world. Mehta (“Amal,” “Siddharth”) conceived the show during a conversation with Neeraj Kumar, a former Commissioner of the Delhi Police, who introduced him to the investigating team, and offered access to hundreds of pages of legal documents.

The cast includes Shefali Shah (“Monsoon Wedding”), Adil Hussain (“Life of Pi,” “Hotel Salvation”), Denzil Smith (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”), Rasika Dugal (“Qissa,” “Manto”), Rajesh Tailang (“Siddharth,” Netflix series “Selection Day”) and Yashaswini Dayama (“Dear Zindagi”).

“’Delhi Crime’ is honest and emotional and powerful. Shows like this bring a much-needed lens to the lived reality of women around the world,” said Simran Sethi, Netflix director, international originals.

Executive producers for Golden Karavan are Aaron Kaplan, Jeff Sagansky, Florence Sloan, Apoorva Bakshi, Pooja Kohli and Sanjay Bachani. Executive producers from Ivanhoe Pictures are John Penotti, Kilian Kerwin, and Michael Hogan. Producing are Robert Friedland, Sidney Kimmel, and Brian Kornreich for Ivanhoe Pictures.

Sundance: Ava DuVernay’s Array Lands Doc About Trailblazing Indigenous Filmmaker Merata Mita

Apple May Be Planning A Gaming Subscription Service

Who Will Win Super Bowl 53 According To Madden NFL 19

Spider-Man Gets Two Fantastic Four Themed Outfits

Anthem Impressions: The Good, The Bad And The Road Ahead

Kingdom Hearts History: A Look Back At Kingdom Hearts: Coded And Dream Drop Distance

Montana Is Using Far Cry 5 To Promote Tourism

The partnership with Ubisoft, however, was still opportunity enough for the state to take advantage of the exposure brought on by Far Cry 5, and the website offers a number of resources for vacation lodging, ranging from cabins and camping to chalets and condominiums, along with a list of activities available in Montana such as hunting, fishing, hiking, and off-road vehicular adventures.

Destiny 2 Crimson Days Reschedules Start Date

When Bungie and Activision split apart, the former announced that it would still support Destiny 2 even without the publishing support of the latter. Bungie is holding true to that. And even though there have been some hiccups with the Crimson Days event, the developer has made sure to keep the ball rolling by rescheduling when the Crimson Days event will get underway.

Over on the official Bungie website, there's a breakdown of the rescheduling efforts for the Crimson Days event, which appeared on the 2019 roadmap. There's a small section in the update that rolls out the details for the Crimson Days, which states...

For whatever reason, the event was moved back by a week, but you'll still be able to get in on the Crimson Days, which originally made its appearance in Destiny back on Valentine's Day in 2016. This was originally supposed to take place directly after the Mayhem! event, which is scheduled to take place between January 29th and February 5th between the end of the month and the start of the new one.

Even still, Bungie is not only keeping to its promise of supporting Destiny 2, but doing so with regular events that nearly start and stop one week after the next. The Mayhem! Event is for gamers who want to test their mettle in the Crucible, while the Crimson Days will be a cooperative event for those who like teaming up with friends and taking the fight to the enemy.

Following Crimson Days, there will be some cleaning up and fixing up of certain features heading into the launch of the Season of the Drifter. According to the update, bounties that were acquired in the previous seasons will have a maximum possible power reward. The idea is to lessen the need for players to hoard the keys, and instead cash them in for the maximum power reward even for events and bounties from many seasons ago.

Bungie seems resolute on fixing up Destiny 2 as much as possible now that the company is free from being under the wing of Activision. Some gamers felt that perhaps the publisher was restricting the developer to focus more on monetization methods rather than gameplay mechanisms and fun-factors. Given the fact that Activision lamented the lack of revenue that the game was generating, and the eventual termination of the partnership between the two companies, it's likely that the suspicion from gamers was true.

We'll see how well Bungie can maintain the growth and updates for the sci-fi first-person shooter in the coming months. However, in the short term, gamers will be able to dive into the Crimson Days event starting in mid-February on home consoles and PC.

Florence Pugh Will Make You A Believer In ‘Fighting With My Family’ [Sundance Review]

PARK CITY – A movie centered on the rags to riches story of a female WWE champion might not sound like a fit for the Sundance Film Festival, but push your prejudices aside and look closer.  Yes, “Fighting With My Family” is produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and we admit having the WWE Studios banner on it could make it look like a simple marketing ploy.  In truth, it’s a feel-good flick from acclaimed writer and comedian Stephen Merchant (in his solo feature directing debut) that is hard to resist even if you haven’t watched more than a minute of televised wrestling in your life.  That’s because Merchant isn’t making a movie about the joys of wrestling, he’s telling a story about the power and pressure of one family’s dream.

READ MORE: Emma Thompson shines in commercially friendly “Late Night” [Sundance Review]

Based on the true story of Saraya “Paige” Bevis (Florence Pugh, incredible) and inspired by the 2012 documentary “The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family,” the film starts off in the local pro wrestling circuit of Norwich, England where the Bevis family have been performing for decades.  Her father Patrick aka “Rowdy Ricky Knight” (Nick Frost, perfect casting) and mother Julia aka “Sweet Sayara”  (Lena Headey, killing it at comedy) have raised their children to follow in their footsteps.  No one wants to climb that mountain more than Zak aka “Zodiac” (Jack Lowden, ready to breakout), who has dreamed of being a WWE wrestler since he was a kid.  The family’s entire lives are centered around wrestling as they perform in small venues under Patrick’s World Association of Wrestling banner and teach the art form in classes out of their gym.  It’s immediately clear that Zak is a fantastic teacher and the kids love him (one of the joys of the film is watching a blind student learn how to wrestle), but his end goal is a shot at the big time.  And finally, like a dream, the call he’s been waiting for comes through.

After years of trying, Paige and Zak are invited to audition for the WWE in London with the chance to train in its minor league franchise NXT on the line.  Arriving at the arena before a major WWE match they conveniently bump into Johnson who gives them some sage advice.  And, no, his appearance isn’t a cameo for a cameo’s sake as we’ll later learn Johnson is actually a part of the real Paige’s story.  Both siblings audition for the company’s “star maker” Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn, funny again) along with other potential recruits.  Much to everyone’s surprise and Zak’s horror, only Paige makes the cut.

The movie then proceeds to chronicle Paige’s training in Florida where she discovers the program is closer to a boot camp and much harder than she ever expected.  Not only is she lonely, but she finds it impossible to connect with the other female recruits who are former models, cheerleaders and dancers with no formal wrestling training.  Back in Norwich, Zak is having difficulty adjusting to the end of his lifelong and refuses to take his sister’s calls.  The familial conflict comes to a head when Paige returns for the Christmas holidays and reveals to her brother she doesn’t intend to return to the program.

Overall, “Fighting” works thanks to Merchant’s witty screenplay, Pugh’s transformative performance, Vaughn’s inspired off the cuff one-liners (likely improvised) and a cast that clearly respects the Bevis family story.  Merchant also understands that the most important part of Paige’s journey is whether she can step out of her family’s shadow and have success not for them, but for herself.  And that’s a universal story anyone can get teary-eyed over if the right buttons are pushed.

Unfortunately, there are a few things that hold the picture back from being a total smash.  There’s something off regarding Paige’s scenes in Florida.  They feel slightly inauthentic and end up dragging the film down a bit. Maybe it’s a few too many training montages?  Maybe the facility looks too corporate to be real?   Whatever it is, these seem a little too out of place for the rest of the picture.  Merchant also makes the unexpected decision to shoot a climactic scene just as it would appear with WWE television cameras and graphics.  On the one hand, you can understand this how the Bevis family always imagined they would hit the big time, but at this particular moment it almost (emphasis on “almost”) takes you out of the picture.  Merchant might have been better off at least mixing in the general “film” look with the “broadcast” image to at least make it less jarring.

At the center of it all, however, is Pugh and you simply cannot praise her enough.  It’s hard to imagine that the same actress who broke through in 2016’s period drama “Lady Macbeth” is throwing herself around a wrestling ring with the minimal use of stunt stand-ins.  And if she can’t make you care about a wrestler fighting for her dream we can’t imagine who would.  [B]

‘Big Time Adolescence’: Pete Davidson Pops In Familiar Coming Of Age Tale [Sundance Review]

PARK CITY – Pete Davidson turned his world upside down when he started dating and, for a short time, became engaged to pop superstar Ariana Grande almost a year ago. Davison probably hates this mention in the first paragraph in a review of his new film, “Big Time Adolescence,” but the point is that because of that tabloid mess his talent has sort of been forgotten over the past year. There is a reason he joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” at the unheard of age of 20, however, and it wasn’t his goofy smile. Now, at the ripe old age of 25, he finally has a movie role that showcases those comedic talents to the world at large.

READ MORE: Sundance 2019 Film Festival Preview: 25 Must-See Films

The final selection of the U.S. Drama Competition to screen at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, writer and director Jason Orley’s ‘Big Time’ is a familiar coming of age story with genre tropes you’ve seen for decades. Mo (Griffin Gluck, fine), is a 16-year-old suburban kid whose best friend just happens to be the significantly older Zeke (Pete Davidson, great), a 23-year-old who dated Mo’s sister Kate (Emily Arlook, fine) back when they were both in High School. Mo has always looked up to the charismatic Zeke and, in theory, considers him his best friend. This doesn’t sit well with his parents, especially his father (Jon Cryer, fantastic) and with good reason. Zeke lives in an old family home that looks more like a college dorm room and is barely getting by working at a local electronic goods store. It’s obvious that Zeke is cool when you’re hanging with him at a bar, but his talk about launching a podcast and being a talk show host someday are pretty much all pipe dreams.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019 

Despite being on the varsity baseball team as a junior, Mo has few friends at school (a bit of a logic gap there, but whatever). He’s infatuated with Sophie, (Oona Lawrence, talented), a classmate who sees how toxic his relationship with Zeke is even if MO doesn’t. Oh, right. So, after Jon (Thomas Barbusca, makes it work), a fellow Junior dying to be with the cool kids, learns of Mo and Zeke’s friendship and he recruits Mo to have his of legal age buddy buy alcohol for a Senior class party. Before long, the still naive Mo has been drafted by Zeke to sell pot and other drugs to his classmates every weekend. That can’t end well, can it?

READ MORE: 18 Sundance Film Festival 2019 Premieres That Already Have Our Attention

Orley’s script is most entertaining when it allows Zeke and Mo to hang. Often this includes some of Zeke’s entourage including his girlfriend, Holly (Sydney Sweeney, pops), who all of the women in the movie is significantly smarter than the men surrounding them (it would also be remiss of us to not acknowledge the genuinely funny performance by none other than Machine Gun Kelly as one of Zeke’s loser friends). It becomes more predictable anytime Zeke is off the screen. This is almost entirely thanks to Davidson who somehow improvised a significant number of his lines and gave his character an unexpected child-like, innocent depth at the same time. Again, Davidson is often hilarious, and that forces Gluck to serve as the “straight man” for his retorts.  That makes it hard to really care for Mo’s eventual plight.

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films By Female Filmmakers In 2019

Unfortunately, there is little else of consequence in the film. Orley wants there to be repercussions for Mo’s actions, and the picture doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending, but it also doesn’t provide enough backstory to why Zeke has failed to grow in the first place. Orley’s direction is fine, and the picture is well made for a low budget indie, but Davidson is all you’ll really remember when you leave the theater. And for many, that’ll be enough. [B-]

Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.

‘Raise Hell: The Life & Times Of Molly Ivins’ Commemorates A Razor Sharp Wit [Sundance Review]

If you’re a writer, feminist or liberal, and Molly Ivins wasn’t a hero to you before, “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins” will instantly help you see the light. Directed by Janice Engel, the documentary ‘Raise Hell’ is a rousing biography that should fill that “RBG“-shaped hole in the program at this year’s Sundance, reminding fans what they love about the progressive political columnist and introducing others to their new idol. You’ll start googling “Molly Ivins action figure,” but you’ll have to make do with one of her books when the search doesn’t offer as much merch as, say, the beloved Supreme Court Justice toys – at least not yet.

READ MORE: Sundance 2019 Film Festival Preview: 25 Must-See Films

Those who missed her many appearances on C-SPAN 2 during her life or didn’t read her bestselling books like “Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush,” will be instantly drawn to Ivins’ lacerating wit, which ‘Raise Hell’ wastes no time in introducing to viewers. Bolstered by Ivins’ barbs, ‘Raise Hell’ is one of the funniest and most entertaining docs in recent memory, getting just as many laughs as a stand-up comedy set – and all of that humor is found in direct quotes from Ivins herself. Whether the writing was from her stint at The New York Times in the ’70s or just before her death in 2007, her clever wordplay is timeless, a particular feat for columns and books that focus on a single moment in the political timeline. She aims the Texas legislature, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and her incisive, sharp tongue spares no thought for hurt feelings, targeting both stupidity and cruelty in equal measure. One can’t help but wonder what bon mots she would’ve dropped about the current administration.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019 

“Raise Hell” takes a straightforward but energetic approach to Ivins. It runs through her biography in chronological order, beginning with her childhood in River Oaks, Texas, then journeying with her to college at Smith in Massachusetts and following her around the country. Engel intercuts archival footage and old photos with interviews with Dan Rather, Rachel Maddow and Cecile Richards, daughter of Ivins’ good friend Ann Richards. The documentary digs into the larger political, cultural and historical context of Ivins’ life and work, which makes her writing and public speaking all the more impactful. But as adoring of its subject as ‘Raise Hell’ is, the film isn’t a hagiography. It faces the writer’s flaws with the type of honesty she’d have appreciated, focusing on both her alcoholism and her sometimes cruel words. Engel’s film offers real psychological insight as well, revealing who Ivins was beyond her own writing. Some of the documentary’s force is blunted with unnecessary stylistic flourishes, but it never thoroughly dulls Ivins – and how could it? The woman was a giant, both literally (at six feet tall) and figuratively, and this film will evoke a tang of grief and regret at losing her voice prematurely at the age of 62.

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films By Female Filmmakers In 2019

Though she died in 2007, Ivins predicted and commented on many of the political issues of the decade she didn’t live to see. From money’s outsized role in politics to the ludicrous “wall,” it’s easy to imagine how she might react, but impossible to predict the hilarity and precision of her exact and cutting words. Similar to ‘RGB,’ ‘Raise Hell’ preaches to the small choir that adored Ivins, but this documentary sings a beautiful new psalm that will reach new disciples and renew the follower faith like a tent revival. [B+]

Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.

‘The Night Shifter’: Dennison Ramalho’s Brazilian Horror-Drama Talks To The Dead [Rotterdam Review]

To work nights is to encourage madness. To do so in a morgue is sentence to delusion. Forfeiting the dreamless night for daytime tremors will let evil unbidden into your home. Dennison Ramalho’s horror-drama “The Night Shifter” works through these premises with spry abandon, offering gratuitous gore and — squinting hard — social commentary wrought from Brazil’s current political descent into reactionary authoritarianism. Although made before Bolsonaro’s election, ‘Night Shifter’ has markers of the civil unrest that delivers demagogues: thuggery, poverty, brutality, misogyny, fanaticism. Yet these elements are obscured in a world where the dead speak, the damned return, and police authority ceases to exist. Here, sovereignty is he who decides on the demonic.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019 

Stênio (Daniel de Oliveira) is coroner at a morgue in São Paulo, shot from afar as a heaving, glittering metropolis and he possesses a paranormal gift that allows him to speak with the dead. At night, he converses with a deceased cavalcade, mostly criminals, gang members, hooligans. For a man able to break bread with the lifeless — a skill developed without explanation — Stênio has remarkably inane and perfunctory patter. He notes stab wounds and deduces criminality; he sees gunshot wounds and arrives at foul play. Diminished daylight imbues him with eerie moralism, as he castigates the rolling cast of “thugs” who adorn his concrete slab. Through one such thug, a revelation is at hand: his wife Odete (Fabíula Nascimento, suitably nasty) is having an affair. This way envy and destruction lie. Subsequent murders elicit an unrelenting supernatural force. The aggrieved won’t stop, flipping the targets of jealousy and contempt. Their two children will suffer.

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films By Female Filmmakers In 2019

Cycling through a carousel of influences — from Dario Argento to Sam Raimi, George A. Romero to John Carpenter — Ramahlo splices genre and form, jump scares and moody tones, comic absurdity, and copious blood. It’s a self-consciously commercial work that is neither too scary nor knotty, prodding rather than exploring the politics that it metaphorizes into cartoon violence and ghoulish possessions. The talking dead come alive through baffling digital effects, their brows fixed and mouths distorted, risible and grotesque. Our bird’s-eye view holds them in portrait. Oliveira offers Stênio a constant expression of bovine shock, one of dopey eyes, uncertain jowls and hilarious stupor. Despite the persistent maladies that comprise his misfortune, Stênio’s advancing credulity amuses, dire strait placed upon dire strait. Intended comic moments, seemingly insisted upon by the producers, are less tickling, more commercially inclined.

The foundation is a somewhat po-faced drama, on top of which the thawing sheet of ludicrous horror splinters. Thunder, lightning, the alternatingly ominous and screeching score: all contribute to a pleasing pointedness and knowing theatricality. Yet underpinning these genre thrills is Stênio’s forlorn relationship with pious Lara (Bianca Comparato, suitably angelic until inevitable possession), one bereft of humor, eroticism, any shiver of joy. More sketched out is the theme of ownership, of man’s dominion over women, the household, the hypocrisies of marriage. The wedding ring endures as a perverse motif, no matter the times cast off. Urban decay and inequality are hinted at through a small café’s attempted gentrification.

One scene in the morgue stands apart. A landslide brings through a mass of ungrateful dead. The screaming cacophony debilitates Stênio, producing a whirring of sensory sickness, a negation of physiological and psychological control. It brought to mind Lore Segal’s story “The Reverse Bug,” in which thought cannot be articulated when the horror of history prevails. If ‘Night Shifter’ has political potency and effect, it is through Stênio’s inability to confront the screaming, mirroring impotence in the wake of social trauma.

The film is another addition to what Ramahlo describes as the “renaissance of horror” in Brazilian cinema, following on from Guto Parente’s “The Cannibal Club” and Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra’s “Good Manners.” As with the latter film, which ended predictably penned in, pitchforks and barbarians at the gate, ‘Night Shifter’ struggles to a finish. Stênio must face consequences, leading to his aimless jog into the ether. Odete has wreaked terror on the home and children, spitefully constructing a peculiar poetics of justice, a mosaic of sliced throats and hallucination. The rule holds: the higher the escalation, the more difficult the denouement. Said conclusion is dissatisfying but explicable: this is the starting point for a television series, soon to begin production. Fine, but the open-endedness undercuts this as a complete work. Throughout, Stênio faces repeated calls to return, to come back, to answer for his crimes. This culminates in a fabular turn, that redemption is sought by running away, by taking on the burden of evil. Frankenstein’s monster carries the curse from the children. [C]

‘The Death Of Dick Long’ Is A Hilarious, Southern-Fried ‘Fargo’ From Co-Director Of ‘Swiss Army Man’ [Sundance Review]

A pitch-black comedy akin to a white trash version of “Fargo,” “The Death of Dick Long,” is the sophomore directorial effort of Daniel Scheinert—the self-described redneck half of directing duo DANIELS, who created the terrifically inventive “Swiss Army Man” (filmmaking partner Daniel Kwan sits this one out). And, just like Joel and Ethan Coen‘s crime thriller, Scheinert’s film is infused with the playful embrace of cultural stereotypes that come with the genre. Here, it’s the South (and Alabama, in particular), and Scheinert’s latest is a dark, but gut-bustingly hilarious, good time at the movies, all due to his gift for infusing tonally perfect humor with sincere and seriously drawn narrative momentum. In fact, there are no dull moments in this ridiculously brutal, often severely dumb, but enjoyable, film about two dim-witted guys who are in over their heads trying to cover up the accidental death of their friend Dick Long.

READ MORE: Sundance 2019 Film Festival Preview: 25 Must-See Films

An affectionate paean to small-town Alabama, clichés aside, the locale is drawn in ‘Dick Long’ as a spot in the country where people seem less concerned with life ambitions and more with drinking beer, smoking weed, and shooting their guns off in the woods. The dilemma this film presents centers on Zeke Olsen (Michael Abbott), Earl Wyeth (Andre Hyland), and their friend Dick Long (Scheinert himself), who start their evening jamming in the garage, quite terribly I might add, to Staind’s early-2000s faux-grunge caterwauling “It’s Been a While.” One should note, a particular highlight of this film is the soundtrack concocted by Scheinert, which seems to have been assembled via a collection of the worst 2000s rock bands imaginable (Creed, Papa Roach, and further ear cancer of the sort).

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019

Zeke has a wife and daughter, and Earl is an unemployed loser who mostly drinks beer and does nothing. The film opens with the three of them hanging out on a Saturday night, with Dick uttering the sentence “Y’all wanna get weird?” What follows is a night of debauchery, which ends the movie cutting forward to Dick in the backseat of Zeke’s car bleeding to death. How did this happen? We don’t really know, but Zeke and Earl end up, quite foolishly, dumping Dick’s body in front of the local emergency hospital and driving away. Not too long after that, Dick is pronounced dead.

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films By Female Filmmakers In 2019

What follows is a panic-stricken 24 hours for Zeke and Earl, struggling to cover up whatever the hell happened to Dick and trying to wipe their hands clean from any involvement in the crime. Part of the film’s charm is that Zeke and Earl aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, which results in an amusingly inept cover-up. Zeke’s wife and, almost anybody they speak to, starts to suspect them. It doesn’t help that the backseat of their car, where Dick laid dying, is soaked in blood, which prompts these geniuses to try and dump the vehicle in a lake, but the car never sinks. The problems only continue to pile up; Dick’s concerned wife (Jess Weixler) wonders why he never came home, and Zeke’s wife realizing her husband is in a heap of trouble. Officer Dudley (Sarah Baker) is this film’s heroine, much like Frances McDormand‘s Marge in “Fargo.”

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019 We’ve Already Seen

‘Dick Long’ provides top-notch comical Southern banter between Zeke and Earl, which never feels skit-like or caricatured, but rather authentic to the setting. Watching two simple-minded fools try to manage this crisis is part of the fun. Wisely, Abbott, and Hyland’s performances are irony-free. No one’s ridiculing the stereotypes here, rather attempting to endear the viewer to them and it works. Scheinert and Billy Chew‘s deeply attuned screenplay pulls off the Coen-esque theatrics well, and while the movie is clearly indebted to them, it never feels like a retread either. Shot with a lot of handheld camerawork, there’s an extra bit of realism involved as well, as if a cinema verité team showed up in Alabama, hitting the jackpot in their subject matter and just rolling along with the events.

The film may not be as ingeniously innovative as Scheinert’s “Swiss Army Man,” but it is just as intricate, if not more so, weaving together numerous subplots and obstacles the lead characters have to pitifully try and maneuver around to get out of this jam they’re in. In essence, the film is really a bromance between two guys who complement each other in weirdly instinctive ways, that it’s no wonder Scheinert ends his film with the two of them earnestly performing, completely off-key, of course, Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.” One doesn’t need to overthink it; Earl and Zeke are best buds because they’re two peas in a pod in a world where normally, they’re discarded outcasts. And the light ‘Dick Long’ shine on these two loveable losers and their friendship, despite all their juvenile inanity, is endearingly warm. [B+]

Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.

Errol Morris Will Attempt Narrative Filmmaking One More Time Directing The Upcoming Film ‘Weegee’

Errol Morris is one of the most recognizable filmmakers in the documentary film industry. An Academy Award winner, the director is responsible for some of the best docs in the modern era, including “The Thin Blue Line” and “The Fog of War.” And last year, he helmed the hotly-debated film “American Dharma.” But for his next project, the director is attempting to move into the fiction game one more time.

According to Conversations About Her, Morris is lining up a new film titled “Weegee” for his next project. The film marks only the second time in his career that the filmmaker has done a fictional feature film, and hopefully, the first one that he finishes, since he left 1991’s “The Dark Wind” mid-production after a dispute with producer Robert Redford. “Weegee” tells the story of photojournalist Arthur Fellig, self-named Weegee the Famous, after he rose to prominence as a New York City street photographer in the 1930s.

READ MORE: Errol Morris’ Controversial Doc ‘American Dharma’ Is The Portrait Of A Delusional, First-Rate A-Hole [TIFF Review]

Morris said, “Weegee may not have singlehandedly invented the noir sensibility, but without him, noir would be unimaginable. He recognized he was constructing his own vision of reality, replete with vivid characters — rich, poor, depraved and otherwise.”

The filmmaker is teaming up with producer Lawrence Schiller on “Weegee.” Schiller is a veteran producer of many different TV films, miniseries, documentaries, and features. He’s won one Primetime Emmy for his work on the TV miniseries “Peter the Great.”

“Errol and I have wanted to make a film together for many years, and the connections between Weegee’s own obsession in documenting antisocial behavior and our own proved to be the connection we were waiting for,” said Schiller.

No release date or casting is named, but we’ll definitely keep an eye out for this project.

‘Joker’: Zazie Beetz Says Todd Phillips “Rewrote The Whole Thing” While On Set

All eyes seem to be on the upcoming “Shazam” film when discussing Warner Bros’ upcoming superhero slate for 2019. However, the most interesting film coming from the DC universe this year is probably the Todd Phillips-directed “Joker,” starring Joaquin Phoenix. And while there’s not much information out there about the film, outside of a billion set photos, actress Zazie Beetz recently discussed the film and dropped some interesting, if not a bit concerning, insight into the production.

During an interview with MTV at the Sundance Film Festival, where she’s promoting her upcoming thriller “Wounds” (our review), Beetz was asked about the “Joker” standalone film. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t have much she could say, but did discuss what it was like during the production of the film, which apparently included very late rewrites.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019

“The script was great. We rewrote the whole thing while we were shooting it,” Beetz said. “Literally, we would go into Todd’s trailer and write the scene for the night and then do it. During hair and makeup we’d memorize those lines and then do them and then we’d reshoot that three weeks later.”

She continued, “We had to do everything then because Joaquin had lost so much weight that we couldn’t do reshoots later on so we were figuring it out. But Todd’s quick at getting stuff done so we always had extra time.”

Normally, we’d think that any film that is rewritten the night before shooting is doomed for failure and will ultimately feel rushed. And the DC film universe hasn’t been immune to this, with David Ayer being very honest about his rushed time working on the script for “Suicide Squad” and its inevitable rewrites and reshoots. But it does appear that Beetz is talking about something a little different, which gives us a modicum of hope that maybe, just maybe, we don’t have to ring the alarm on “Joker.”

READ MORE: ‘Birds Of Prey’ Teaser: Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn Returns With Her Own Gang Of Badass Ladies

Talking about the necessity of reworking scenes the night before due to Phoenix’s schedule and weight change is interesting and does shed some light on the production. Most of these big-budget comic book films require weeks of additional photography months later, but it appears Phillips didn’t have that luxury with “Joker.” So, we’ll just have to see if the nightly rewriting/rehearsal sessions were fruitful or not.

“Joker” hits theaters on October 4.

What can we expect from the new #Joker movie? According to Zazie Beetz, they rewrote the movie as they were shooting it pic.twitter.com/TkYkVnJwl9

— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) January 26, 2019