Emma Stefansky
Sam Raimi May Direct a Movie About the Bermuda Triangle, Most Infamous of Shapes
We’ve all heard of it, grown up fearing it, and seem plenty of conspiracy documentaries on late night TV about it: the Bermuda Triangle is possibly the most mysterious known location on the planet, responsible for the disappearances of boats, aircraft, and people who were either never seen again, or ended up miles from where they should have been. It’s a popular topic — there are currently three films about it in development, and Spider-Man and Evil Dead director Sam Raimi might soon board one of them.
James Cromwell Boards the ‘Jurassic World’ Sequel
James Cromwell, who has one of those “Oh, it’s… that guy!” faces, which these days you’ll probably recognize best from American Horror Story, is joining J. A. Bayona’s Jurassic World sequel.
Original ‘Batman’ TV Show Star Burt Ward’s First Day of Shooting Sent Him to the ER
Nowadays, actors are often straight-up forbidden from doing their own stunts so that they don’t suffer from any lasting injuries. Some, like Tom Cruise, have the star-power needed to convince a director he wants to be strapped to the side of a jetliner while it takes off, but most of the time it’s the stunt-doubles doing all the work. Not so for Burt Ward, who played sidekick Robin in the original 1960’s Batman TV show. He recounts a time during production during which he had to perform a stunt so dangerous he was sent to the emergency room.
‘Star Wars’ Han Solo Spinoff May Feature the Franchise’s First Major Female Droid
The Star Wars universe has always been a pretty great place for women (unless you’re a director, that is), so why is it that we haven’t yet seen a female droid in as significant a capacity as C-3P0 or R2-D2, or scene-stealer BB-8? There have been female droids in the canon, but usually that’s not revealed until after the fact, and no woman has ever voiced a major speaking role for a robot. With the new Han Solo prequel/spinoff, that’s about to change.
Michael Douglas Will Reprise His Hank Pym Role for ‘Ant Man and the Wasp’
We knew from the title that two actors would definitely be returning to Ant Man and the Wasp: Paul Rudd, who plays Ant Man, and Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne a.k.a. the Wasp. Michael Douglas enjoyed his stint as original Ant Man Hank Pym, and was enthusiastic about possibly returning but didn’t know for sure. That is, until today, when he revealed that, yes, he would indeed be coming back for the second one.
The Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Will Have a Diverse Cast, Promises Producer
There’s been a lot of talk about whitewashing in the news lately, what with two big blockbusters, The Great Wall and the live-action Ghost in the Shell, poised to hit theaters soon. Disney has plans for both a live-action Mulan and Aladdin in the works, and the production of both will be scrutinized for how they handle casting. But not to worry, because the producer of Aladdin says the cast will be fittingly diverse for a movie set in the Middle East.
John Carpenter Casually Announces a New ‘Halloween’ in 2018, Time to Freak Out
No, this is not a drill. Paramount shelving the new Friday the 13th so soon before production was supposed to begin came as a somewhat sudden disappointment, but, to paraphrase Julie Andrews, when Hollywood closes a door, somewhere they open a window. As it turns out, that window is a Halloween reboot, which already has a director, a screenwriter, a studio, a release date, and, quite possibly, a score from the horror master himself, John Carpenter.
We Could Have Seen Coolio Play Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher’s Cancelled Third ‘Batman’ Movie
Among many, many other things, Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin featured a very special cameo: Coolio was the overseer of that random street race Batgirl was involved in, and he revealed recently that he agreed to cameo because he wanted a part in the next Batman film. Namely, he wanted to play Scarecrow. Unfortunately, Batman and Robin was, well, quite bad, and the fifth installment in that Batman series never got made.
‘Fast and Furious’ Is Crashing a Live Arena Near You in 2018… No, Seriously
Much like Disney has Disney on Ice and James Cameron has all the souls of the acrobats in Cirque du Soleil trapped in a glass jar so they’ll pretend to be blue aliens forever, Fast & Furious is bringing its mindblowing automotive stunts to the stage. Unfortunately, it’s not a musical (fingers still crossed), but a live arena show that’ll tour the world starting January of next year.
‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Stars Forbidden From Making Sex Jokes During the Press Tour
Apparently the press tour for Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015 was just much too sexy, because Universal has slapped a gag order right onto the faces of the Fifty Shades Darker stars, forbidding them from making any sorts of innuendoes while promoting a movie about sex, lies, and BDSM.
Michael Bay Posted a Farewell Letter to ‘Transformers’ and I’m Not Crying, There’s Just Some Grease in My Eye
Word has gone around that The Last Knight will be the last Transformers movie for Michael Bay, and for a director this enamored with his franchise, it’s gotta be a little bittersweet. Today, Bay posted an open letter to his crew, his writers’ room, and his fans to say goodbye and to tell us all how much he loves this series and how much he hopes we do too.
John Lithgow Cast in ‘Pitch Perfect 3,’ Probably Not as One of the Bellas
Pitch Perfect 2 wasn’t as hilarious and fun as its predecessor, but it was good enough to warrant another sequel. Pitch Perfect 3 will hit theaters this December, and as such is gathering a few additions to its cast. While the main Barden Bellas are returning, as well as Elizabeth Banks, there’s plenty of room for some new faces, and today john Lithgow has officially joined the cast.