Walker Stalker Con was in Orlando this past weekend and David Morrissey, Tyler James Williams, Scott Wilson, and Chad L. Coleman reflected on their proudest moment from AMC’s The Walking Dead.
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Sean Pertwee Previews Season Two, The Downfall Of “Gotham”
Sean Pertwee who plays Alfred Pennyworth on the television show “Gotham” was at Walker Stalker Con in Orlando and Pertwee gave us preview of season two of the series.
“Gotham has to fall in anarchy for Batman to rise up,” Pertwee said.
We asked Pertwee about the Joker and he laughed with a no comment.
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Gotham’s David Mazouz on Season 2 and the evolution of Bruce Wayne
David Mazouz who plays young Bruce Wayne on Gotham was at Walker Stalker Con Orlando 2015 and talked about expectations for season 2 and the evolution of his character leading towards Batman.
“He’s on a mission and he really is going to start his dual personality into being Batman,” said Mazouz, “When he’s Batman there is his Batman side and then his public persona which is his playboy/party boy persona. In season two, he’s really going to start developing that second persona.”
Gotham returns to FOX on September 21, 2015.
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Female directors: Hollywood’s hiring decisions
In the wake of this week’s news about Ava DuVernay being in talks to direct Marvel’s Black Panther movie, rumors about Angelina Jolie set to direct Captain Marvel, and Patty Jenkins already in charge of Wonder Woman, I question the nature of these negotiations, and I also challenge you to think about it.
Superhero movies represent now a whole generation of film, where every actor is seeking a spot in. And I can understand the desire from studios to include diverse characters as well as actors in their movies, as they know that audience demographics aren’t homogeneous. Nowadays, it seems like Marvel and DC — with their associated studios — are racing to be the best, but are they actually looking for the best director to shape a successful movie or are they more interested in what image they will be projecting? Furthermore, how much are these hiring decisions really about capitalizing on feminism/pro-racial diversity, about being politically correct? Because let’s face it, how much power do directors have anymore in Marvel or DC movies? Ask Joss Whedon and Edgar Wright.
Patty Jenkins was in talks to direct Thor: The Dark World in 2013 and dropped out because of “creative differences”. A ton of other female directors were considered along with her to direct Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. and DC‘s first option, Michelle MacLaren, dropped out due to “creative differences”. Notice a pattern?
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing that these talented women are being considered to direct movies that have an assured amount of audience before they even come out in theaters, but should we accept that Hollywood studios might not be hiring female directors for the right reasons, if not only to save themselves the criticism or just to win points over the rival studio for the heck of it? I don’t think so. Publicity and reputation are important, but I want these women to be recognized for being great at their job, which they are, instead of for what they are. And with that, I don’t want to belittle the importance of a black woman directing a superhero movie, because I realize that that’s even more of a big deal in Hollywood.
Now, Kevin Feige (of course you know him as head of Marvel Studios) puts me at ease with these words from a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter: “We need to find the best director for any given movie, and that’s really where we always start. If diversity is part of that, it’s great. It’s important.” And he also suggests that perhaps that Angelina Jolie rumor is close to being true, at least in the sense of a woman directing Captain Marvel: “I think it will happen sooner rather than later, without giving too much away.”
I applaud that vision.
My point is: are any female directors considered to be given the opportunity to direct movies with male superheroes (even ensemble), like Thor, Batman, Avengers, etc. because they could be the best option? And how much does it matter to hire the best one in the grand scheme of things when studios have the last word?
I’d like to see what you think. Comment down below!
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Sense8 Finale Thoughts
Well it’s finally over. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had fun writing these reviews for this rollercoaster of a show. But I sure am glad to be done with it. Not particularly because I didn’t like this show, but because this show just took it out of me. Which is a good thing. So with all that buffer out-of-the-way let’s get into the Sense8 finale. That is season finale, I heard they have at least four more under contract.
They start of the episode with something I think most of the viewers have been waiting to be fleshed out. Will is in a therapy session talking about how he can see the girl who is missing. The therapist of course doesn’t believe him and tells him by lying it hurts the people around him. This scenes satisfying in a number of ways. The first is obvious because it gives us some good character development and justifies the actions that Will is about to take. The other is a look at how society sees people who claim to have special abilities. They are often seemed as crazy and liars. I think that was important to show since most of the characters dealing with the sensates so far have been very accepting.
As for the whole coma trauma going on with Riley, it’s not quite compelling enough for me. And I really tried to get into it considering I love Rileys character. But it just seemed to be there for the sake of trauma. Maybe a little development. But we already got that when she talked to Capheus in the graveyard. We really don’t need it here and especially in this big of an amount. Also these real birth scenes are getting old real fast. I know that it’s a miracle and all, but I don’t need to see that.
And continuing from the last episode, Wolfgang continues his rampage on his family and storms the house taking out everyone and everything. Plenty of cool effects are sure to be seen in this scene, but that’s about it. So the only question for Wolfgang is what he will do now. He said something earlier about going to India, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Now this whole sensate ability is seeming to fall on itself. I thought Jonas said that you can’t just make it happen, you have to let it happen. So how can they just all come into the scene when they are needed for a specific skill? What about that time Capheus tried to get help from Sun? It certainly looks cool seeing them all help Mission Impossible their way in, but it just seems kinda cheap in how easy it is. There is never really any tension on whether Wills going to make it in or not.
So as you’d imagine they get out basically unscathed with the only hiccup being that Will locked eyes with Mysteries. Which means that they’re connected now. So then another question pops up. Do you not have any control over who is seeing what you are? If not, it’s almost like your mind is being raped. But whatever, now they’re screwed because wherever they go, whispers will know exactly where Will is. And while this is just good for the show in general to have an increase in stakes, I feel that it will be hard to write around this advantage in future episodes. Or they will just gouge Wills eyes out and make him blind.
So the Sense8 finale was pretty good for the most part. Sure it had problems but I feel those problems equate to the show as a whole and not just this episode. Actually I thought that this was one of the better episodes. Which it should be considering that it’s the episode that will decide if you wait however many months for the next season. As for me, well… I think I’ll have to let the Sense8 finale sit with me a little longer before deciding. I also might wanna go back and watch some things over again. But I went into this show wanting something interesting and that’s certainly what I got. So while I don’t necessarily feel like I wasted my time, I’m skeptic on wanting to continue any further with this show.
But I’m also very fickle, so I could change my mind.
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How Hollywood Has Paved The Way For Same-Sex Rights
Today was one of those days that I will never forget. The United States Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision legalized same-sex marriages throughout the country setting off massive displays of celebration and love. This groundbreaking legal ruling doesn’t directly affect me in my personal life(I’m married with a wife and a 2 1/2-year-old son)but this ruling did get me thinking in a very different manner. It occurred to me that Hollywood has been dealing with both the political and social aspects of same-sex marriage for many years in both a direct and indirect way. As I sat down and quickly jotted down a few movie titles it became crystal clear that Hollywood may have just paved the way for the Supreme Court. Let’s take a look at a few titles.
Philadelphia –
The movie centers around lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) who hides his homosexuality and HIV status at a law firm. But his secret is exposed when someone spots the illness‘s telltale lesions. Fired shortly afterwards, Beckett resolves to sue for discrimination. Now many of you are probably looking at this and saying,how in the world does this tie into same-sex marriage? Look no further than a simple scene involving Antonio Banderas and Tom Hanks while he’s in the hospital. Antonio(who plays his boyfriend) wants to go into the hospital room with him initially but is told he can’t because he isn’t family. The pain you see in his face breaks your heart because he would give anything to be next to the man he loves.
In that simple scene,Johnathan Demme touched on a very controversial issue of whether or not same-sex couples should be treated equally in the most dire of times. Through just the simplicity of the pain that was displayed by Antonio in that scene it leads us to the only logical conclusion that same-sex couples should be treated equally all of the time.
Brokeback Mountain
This movie is about a cowboy named Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a ranch hand named Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger). One night on Brokeback Mountain, Jack makes a pass at Ennis that is eventually returned. This movie is testament to the taboo nature that society regarded same-sex relationships. Jack and Ennis are so driven to conform to what society want that both end up marrying women that they don’t necessarily love. While having the typical family life they continue the relationship in secret for 20 years.
If ever a movie showed the torture that some same-sex couple go through it’s this movie. Societal norms forced these guys to find a wife and the stress of living a lie leads to nothing but disaster. All they simply wanted was each other. They simply wanted love.
Milk-
This movie tells the story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his life as he moves into the Castro district in San Francisco. Through his photography business he ends up assisting in transforming that area into a mecca for gay and lesbians couples. In 1977 he becomes the first openly gay man elected to office and one year later he was shot dead by Dan White (Josh Brolin).
This movie really shows one of the more perfect example of how all gay and lesbian people just want to live a normal life.Harvey Milk wanted a normal life that included love,happiness,and a chance to make a living. However,again and again Harvey was faced with societal hurdles that no one should have to deal with.It was these hurdles that pushed him towards advocacy for Gay and Lesbian rights which put him in the national spotlight drawing the negativity of others(which eventually leads to his tragic death). I remember watching this movie and thinking that he died wanting something that most people just take for granted.
Conclusion –
I am almost positive that someone will comment that I have missed out on some very important movies and my response would be that I probably did. Hollywood has been paving the way for not only the Supreme Court but society as well by showing us the struggle of same-sex couples. Hollywood will continue to show this in 2015 when Freeheld(due October 2)which stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page which tackles the issue of LGBT rights head on.
Hollywood will continue to use its power to show the real life struggles of same-sex couple in the hopes that one day this debate will finally become a thing of the past.
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Get Eaten Up By The Unsettling New Trailer For Eli Roth’s ‘The Green Inferno’
A new trailer has been released for Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno. The long-gestating cannibal horror pic from the king of torture porn may promise more of the same in a sense, but at least the environment is something fresh and not wholly familiar for audiences who never saw Cannibal Holocaust.
Here is the new trailer for The Green Inferno:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mOse9ggKWJ4
The Green Inferno has been bouncing around without distribution for some time, even showing up at the 2013 TIFF and picking up a few reviews. Eventually, it found distribution and will hit theaters September 25.
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Ant-Man Movie Has First Reference To Spider-Man
Thursday night was the first round of press screenings for Ant-Man and journalists rushed to Twitter to sound off on the nerdier side of the film.
Apparently there are two post-credits scenes and the first reference of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From reading the teas leaves of social media, this is what could be in the post-credits of Ant-Man. The first post-credit scene teases a character from the Ant-Man comics. The second is a direct tie-in to Captain America: Civil War. One of the Avengers is already in the film, I’m sure more show up to welcome him to the team.
The international trailer below has new footage of Ant-Man with an interesting look at an iPhone during a battle.
ANT-MAN is a TON of fun! It's Marvel's version of Ocean's 11. Great cast, slick score and two wonderful post-credits scenes #StayTillTheEnd
— Brian Gallagher (@GallagherMW) June 26, 2015
If I'm not mistaken, #AntMan contains the first reference to #SpiderMan in the MCU.
— John Boone (@jtyboone) June 26, 2015
Recent Marvel credit scenes have been kind of minor, but ANT-MAN has two (mid-credits and at the very end) that, unlike its hero, are huge.
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) June 26, 2015
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Film Review: Mark Duplass Is Skin-Crawlingly Great In ‘Creep’
Mark Duplass is one of the few renaissance men in Hollywood, not tied down to a genre, a medium, or really anything beyond the desire to approach interesting, challenging, and often small work. In Creep, Duplass delves into the darkest avenues of his performing. The film, from director Patrick Brice, is yet another found footage horror/suspense, but it works because the found footage is less gimmick and more necessity for the story.
Brice also stars as Aaron, a young man in need of some work. He answers a cryptic ad that promises $1,000 for one day of filming. The job takes him to a cabin in nondescript mountains, where he meets Joseph, a curiously energetic and forward eccentric who tells Aaron he has a brain tumor and wants to film a segment of his life for his unborn son. “You ever see that movie My Life?” he asks Aaron. “It’s like that.”
Only filming Joseph’s day-to-day activities is nothing like the Michael Keaton melodrama. Especially since it begins with Joseph inviting Aaron into the bathroom to film him having a bath with his imaginary son that sets the stage for just how off kilter Joseph may actually be. From there, things only get stranger, as Joseph works his damnedest to scare the hell out of Aaron regularly. Aaron realizes something is wrong fairly soon, but goes along with everything. To a point, that is. The two hike into the woods, they discuss the strange wolf mask Joseph has in his closet, and they drink some whisky. When it comes time for Aaron to leave, wouldn’t you know his keys are nowhere to be found?
Creep takes off in some interesting directions after the first half. It doesn’t go down some typical road of madness, an innocent man held captive by a crazy person. It shifts gears, and Joseph remains an enigma. Duplass shifts from threatening, to himself frightened, to aloof and lonely, but whatever emotion he exudes never feels real.
Brice makes sure to never break apart the found-footage angle in Creep, even when the scene shifts from the cabin to Aaron’s home. Too many times, cameras cut and edits unravel the structure, therein ruining the entire found footage gimmick and distracting from the story at hand. Creep is Mark Duplass shining in a deeply unsettling role, and when everything is all said and done, the final scene leaves you aghast, horrified, yet unable to look away from Joseph as he speaks directly to the camera.
You can watch Creep on VOD now. In mid July it will have a theatrical release before hitting Netflix shortly thereafter.
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William Friedkin Bringing ‘To Live and Die in LA’ To The Small Screen
Director William Friedkin is adapting his 1985 action thriller To Live and Die in LA for the small screen, in a deal struck with WGN America.
Deadline broke the news earlier today, saying Friedkin will direct as well as executive produce the project for WGN America, which seems to be throwing its hat into the ring of original (or semi-original) programming with authority.
The TV series will be based on the same source material as the stylish hyper-noir thriller starring William Petersen and Willem Dafoe, that being a novel by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich. To Live And Die In LA captured the essence and energy of the 80s, yet remains a tense action picture with essential elements that keep it readily accessible. It also helped launch the careers of Dafoe and Petersen.
Friedkin will be teaming up with screenwriter Bobby Moresco, who won an Oscar for Crash, to pen the series.
Just in case you forgot, here’s the trailer for the original To Live And Die in LA. Bask in its 80s glory:
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