J.J. Abrams talked with Entertainment Weekly about the origin Kylo Ren the main villain of Star Wars: the Force Awakens.
Kylo Ren is allied with The First Order, a remnant of the Empire that remains a fearsome threat to the galaxy and its denizens.
“The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask,” Abrams tells EW. “[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film.”
“The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character,” said Abrams.
“He is a character who came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren,” Abrams says.
It is rumored that Leia has a light saber in the new film and that is the that Darth Vader used. Could Kylo Ren be Kylo Solo? Is the new Star Wars a redemption tale or a fall from grace?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in theaters on December 18.
Entertainment Weekly released 12 new photos from Star Wars: The Force Awakens that reveal some information while adding more mystery to the film.
Daisy Ridley and John Boyega get their exercise in as their characters are chased by the First Order. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren graces the EW cover and the description reveals his light saber is homemade and his true identity has been masked. They also establish that Finn is on the run and escaped in a Storm Trooper outfit and TIE Fighter. Rey rescues BB-8. We get the first real look at C-3PO’s red arm, and Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux (Leader of The First Order). EW explains that Captain Phasma’s name has an unexpected origin and that there is a reason for the black X-Wing.
About the film:
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as “Star Wars” returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer.
Sometimes, a movie has good intentions of showing off their action, and those films can be enjoyable to watch if they’re directed by someone who actually knows how to move the camera, and the spatial relationship between character and kinetics. If that movie gets to be too hung up on showing off – rather than simply showing – then what you end up with a narcissistic picture full of vainglory.
Director and co-writer Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., inspired by the 1964-1968 TV series that was inspired by the James Bond pop-culture wave, tells a tale of provocative locales, lustful women, and desirable men in suits. Ritchie seems to be at peace (judging by the finished product) with allowing the acting to go astray, so what we end up with is a movie full of facile bravado and shallow performances.
The stars of the film are Henry Cavill (the current Superman) as Napoleon Solo, a CIA spy entirely too devoted to his outfits, and Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin, a KGB operative enlisted to team up with Solo at the height of The Cold War, 1963. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) takes the female lead; she is an East German auto mechanic who has an important secret that she won’t reveal. The mission is to unravel and destroy a Nazi-based crime ring that is in possession of a nuclear warhead.
The script relies a little too much on breezy humor you see in spurts in some of Ritchie’s other movies. The difference in other Ritchie films (Sherlock Holmes, for example) is that the humor is effectively woven into the tapestry of the plot. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch had grit on their side. In The Man From U.N.C.L.E. we are expected to stay for the bad jokes and just gaze at the dreamy actors. Richie and Lionel Wigram, who co-wrote Sherlock Holmes as well, fail to create any connection to the glossy espionage; it is less Craig’s Bond, and too much Moore’s. Anytime Napoleon Solo was on screen I found myself more focused on the fact that he had yet changed into another suit, and less on what was even happening. When you have a picture that makes only a superficial attempt at trying to develop any sort momentum in the plot, the end result is a spiritless narrative that leaves the audience with a blasé feeling.
You are probably reading this right now and thinking “oh Dewey, you are so negative about everything.” To be honest, at first I was really into this movie. Daniel Pemberton, the composer for The Man From U.N.C.L.E., did a commendable job evoking that feeling of sixties danger music that would have been prevalent in a “swingin’” Michael Caine potboiler. Music can sometimes make or break a movie, and at least they had that right. I was also impressed with the opening car chase/shoot-out sequence. That was fast, fun, and the dialogue was nimble. 106 minutes later, I realized the opening sequence was the only illuminating part. The opening sequence was the highlight of this movie by far, and was the most memorable moment in Guy Ritchie’s 2-hour vanity project.
The president of The CW, Mark Pedowitz, regrets not going after Supergirl last summer. The show was presented to The CW but the networked passed on the project.
“We hadn’t launched The Flash yet, we weren’t ready to take on another DC property. In hindsight we probably should’ve gone that direction… Sometime you lose great shows.”
Deadline is reporting that Pedowitz is very open to a Supergirl – Flash – Arrow crossover. “I leave that to (Supergirl/Arrow/Flash executive producer) Greg Berlanti if they can make it work. I’m open to crossovers,” said Pedowitz.
Supergirl always seemed like the perfect show to add to the CW’s already expanding world of superheroes who may not survive at the cinema. The jury is still out on whether or not the series is any good, but we will see soon enough. Supergirl premieres on CBS October 26.
Here is your first look at Teddy Sears as Jay Garrick, the original Flash. The CW announced today that “Flash of Two Worlds” would be the first episode of season two of The Flash premiering on October 6.
Mark Pedowitz of The CW confirmed that the network is developing Friday the 13th for the small screen, according to Deadline.
The creators of the NBC series The Pretender, Steve Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle, will adapt the horror franchise for The CW. “They are now in development,” Pedowitz said.
The series details are murky, but this new Friday the 13th will take place around the characters of Crystal Lake and the mystery of Jason Voorhees’ family. The CW will also reimagine Voorhees’ iconic hockey mask.
Every One Of Jason Voorhees’ Kills In 2 Minutes
Friday the 13th actually makes sense to be turned into a TV series, since there are more films that episodes in the entire first or second standalone seasons of True Detective. The CW is clearly working from the MTV template, who turned Teen Wolf and Scream into hit series.
The contents of this week’s episode of Monster Girls involves shedding and laying eggs. And while the show does a fairly good job to sort of make it look like we’re learning stuff about lamias and harpies, that’s obviously not its intention at all. In fact, it really is fascinating how people can interpret acts that are either painful or tedious, and sexualize them to such a degree as this show does. I’m not saying that these situations are dumb but I’d just like to know what goes through a person’s head when they think, “You know whats sexy, a Harpy pushing an egg out of her vagina. I also think it would feel really good, right?”
But forget the logical sense of these acts because that’s what the show clearly wants you to do. So just like the rest of this show, you might as well take it for what it is or stop watching it. This show demands the certain mindset of being turned on by Monster Girls, so you seriously should have left your disbelief behind. And for all I know, a Lamia having her skin peeled off by someone else could be a euphoric experience. They’re made up creatures, so it’s whatever. Now while the explanation of why these things are happening is one thing, the actual act of watching it happen is another.
Now I consider myself to be someone who can get weirdly turned on by some pretty odd things. Of course that probably goes without saying considering I’m writing about how much I love Monster Girls every week. And as I watched Kimihito peel all of Miia’s dead skin off in her most sensitive places, I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused about how I should be feeling right then. I mean it was obvious that Miia was getting sexual stimulation from him helping her shed. And that’s the reason this scene was filled with sexual tension. But as I thought about actually doing it, I started to get confused about how this scene really made me feel. The only scene that was supposed to be sexual (the point where he accidentally fingers her) is probably the least sexual scene among these, so I think it should have built up to that part better instead of plateauing there. But ultimately it was satisfying from a purely titilating aspect and all the exposition leading up to it about Miia wanting to cook and trying to be the best wife candidate she can be, was a nice touch as well. I’ve said this a million times but I think the thing I can credit Monster Girls the most is that it gets to most of its sexy scenes in a fairly logical manner. And the way it gets there doesn’t make you wanna blow your brains out.
I mean it makes sense that Kimihito is the only one who can help her shed after she burned her hands because everyone else was sick from trying Miia’s cooking. And seeing that her cooking was what brought her to be unable to self shed in the first place it was a nice touch. And while I feel the scenes with Papi laying her egg were just as titilating, the events surrounding those scenes made it less enjoyable.
So as she announces that she’s about to lay an egg, unfertilized let me mind you. Gotta be careful when talking about laying eggs in this house, the other girls might think that Kimihito has gone and hooked up with Papi already. Which is of course what they do anyway. I think the best part of this scene is the fact that Mero hits him over the head with a giant conch. Anyway as everyone finds out, a director guy shows up asking to document all the monster girls and get footage of Papi laying an egg. These scenes, I do actually have a problem with because its forcing the girls into sexual situations that they don’t want to be in. And tie it all in with a person who is taking advantage of that fact to be sexually deviant and make a profit just feels gross. But the scenes where the director is being intrusive are still shot to be titilating for the audience. And that’s not cool. If you want to make something gross and voyeuristic, I just ask that you don’t also try to sexualize it to the audience.
And after all the girls get sexually harassed by this guy it leads up to him getting a close up shot on Papi starting to lay her egg. And of course the birthing scene is played as a moment of sexual stimulation for her, but it’s whatever, I’ll equate it to what I said about Miia and her shedding. And right about when the creepy director is gonna get the money shot, Suu comes to the rescue. Apparently she can read peoples thoughts when she connects her antenna to their head. This reveals his true intention of just exploiting these girls and planning to make a profit on them instead of using it to better further interspecies relations. It was obvious that we were going to get to this point but Suu with the random mind reading ability was a rather funny way to get there. It also gives Kimihito another opportunity to come to the rescue as he lays the smack down on this guy for being such a sleaze.
Anyway Papi lays her egg with all the other girls support while Kimihito’s eyes are being shielded by Miia’s tail. To be honest I think that was for the best because I know I wouldn’t want to see her shoot out an egg if I didn’t have to. And then we get to go back to Miia still failing at her cooking and we get a joke about he most likely cooking Papi’s egg for dinner. We also get a look at our spider heroine, Rachnera, and boy am I looking forward to her being introduced. I think she has one of the best designs and am looking forward to them finally being able to get out of this rut of just having to dedicate episodes to character intros.
So I’d say Monster Girls, while having a few hiccups this episode, really did its job well and in an interesting way. It’s safe to say I’ve never seen those things being sexualized before so it certainly was an experience for me. And of course that’s where Monster Girls shines, showing us things that we wouldn’t consider being sexy and making them sexy. So kudos Monster Girls, and I can’t wait to see what you sexualize next.
Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that production is now underway on location in New York City on the New Line Cinema comedy Going in Style, directed by Zach Braff (Garden State) and starring Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules, Hannah and Her Sisters) and Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine).
Freeman, Caine and Arkin team up as lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, who decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
The film also stars two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret (Tommy, Carnal Knowledge) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one; Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Joe’s former son-in-law, Murphy, whose pot clinic connections may finally prove useful; John Ortiz as Jesus, a man of unspecified credentials who agrees to show them the ropes; Joey King as Joe’s whip-smart granddaughter, Brooklyn; Christopher Lloyd as the guys’ lodge buddy, Milton; and Oscar nominee Matt Dillon as FBI Agent Hamer.
Braff will direct from a screenplay by Theodore Melfi , based on the film by Martin Brest.
“Going in Style” is being produced by Donald De Line. The executive producers are Tony Bill, who was a producer on the 1979 film Going in Style, Jonathan McCoy, and Andrew Haas.
The creative filmmaking team includes Emmy-nominated director of photography Rodney Charters, production designer Anne Ross and costume designer Gary Jones.
Scheduled for release on May 6, 2016, the film is a New Line Cinema presentation of a De Line Pictures Production. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Do you think the folks over at Lucasfilm are says “truly outrageous” things after watching the Jem and the Holograms trailer? As certain little Synergy robot reminds viewers of BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’ Jem and the Holograms, four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
Directed by Jon M. Chu (Step Up series, G.I. Joe: Retaliation), the musical adventure stars Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko, Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis. Jem and the Holograms, based on the iconic Hasbro animated TV series, is written by Ryan Landels and produced by Chu, Jason Blum for Blumhouse Productions, Scooter Braun for SB Projects, Bennett Schneir, and Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis of Hasbro Studios.
Jem and the Holograms will be in theaters October 23.
Showtime Networks president David Nevins announced that the followup Twin Peaks series from David Lynch and Mark Frost is slated to start production in September, according to a report by Deadline.
Lynch will direct all episodes, originally scheduled for 9, but now it looks like it will expand 10 to 12. Twin Peaks was schedule for a 2017 release on Showtime, but it now looks like it could ready sometime in 2016. “I’ll take it when it’s ready. I hope that’s sooner rather than later,” said Nevins.
Nevins also did not announce any new cast members to the series, saying “You should be optimistic that the people you want to be there will be there, in addition to some surprises.”
