Emma Stefansky
It’s Man Against Nature and Flaming Bears in the ‘Only the Brave’ Trailer
When it comes to natural disaster movies, the bigger, the better. San Andreas was delightful in its boorish stupidity, The Perfect Storm is a stone-cold classic, and don’t even get me started on how excited I am for Geostorm. Man against nature is the oldest plot in history, which is why it’s about darn time we saw Josh Brolin play a firefighter.
Warner Bros. Is Making Another ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ Reboot
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an undeniable sci-fi classic, the O.G. one-of-us-in-this-room-isn’t-human narrative, which is probably why it’s been remade so many, many times. The original 1954 novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney inspired the 1956 Don Siegel film, which was then remade in 1978, in 1993, and agin in 2007 with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman (The Invasion). So it should come as no surprise that Warner Bros. is making plans to reboot the story for the modern era.
Hasbro Finally Puts a Rey Token Into American ‘Star Wars’ Monopoly Sets — Two Years Late
Hopefully this means the end of the disappointingly ubiquitous #WheresRey hashtag. After forgoing including Rey (the main character) in the cast of figurines Hasbro made for their new Star Wars Monopoly sets, the toy company finally gave in and made a Rey token – but only for certain countries, and nowhere to be found in American toy stores. Their excuse was that American consumers aren’t interested enough in a Rey token for Hasbro to bother with it, which prompted the predictable amount of furious online backlash. Now, it looks like Hasbro has come to its senses.
Mark Hamill Really Hates One ‘Star Wars’ Toy in Particular
When you’re part of a giant franchise, there are going to be toys of you. That’s just how these things tend to work. Star Wars is in a realm all of its own, with toys ranging from giant Star Destroyer LEGO sets to Elan Sleazebaggano action figures, and, naturally, the stars of the franchise have their favorites and least-favorites. Mark Hamill recently shared his opinion on what he thinks is the worst Luke Skywalker toy, and it’s quite a doozy.
John G. Avildsen, Director of ‘Rocky,’ Dies at 81
Oscar-winning director John G. Avildsen, whose 1976 Rocky shot Sylvester Stallone to instant acclaim and became an ageless classic, has died at the age of 81. His oldest son Anthony informed the L.A. Times that Avildsen died from pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
‘The Jetsons’ Movie to Be Developed, Possibly Directed by ‘Sausage Party’s Conrad Vernon
In today’s Things That Make You Go Hmm news: The new animated Jetsons movie, based on the popular Hanna-Barbera TV series, has brought one of Sausage Party’s co-directors, Conrad Vernon, on board to “develop” and probably also to direct the movie.
Get Ready for a ‘High-Concept Workplace Comedy’ About the Obama White House Years
Obama hasn’t even been out of the White House for six months and already nostalgia for what used to be has hit its zenith amongst a good portion of the country. Anonymous Content and Universal Pictures are teaming up to adapt a book proposal written by a former White House stenographer, titled From the Corner of the Oval.
What, You Thought Meryl Streep Wasn’t Going to Be an Oscar Presenter?
Meryl Streep is getting another opportunity to spit some political fire all over the Dolby Theatre on Sunday. Today the Academy revealed that yes, of course Streep would be among the presenters at this year’s ceremony, probably hoping for another rousing speech from the actress who’s made it known that she won’t take any nonsense from anyone, not even from the highest office in the land.
Come Face-to-Face With the Beast in Three New ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Clips, Plus an IMAX Featurette
Kong: Skull Island is a kind of sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, and, since it’s also about a giant monster, has a lot to live up to in terms of creating a ridiculously huge sense of scale. Kong is bigger than anything should be allowed to be, and it’s sometimes tough to make a monster look big without making it look silly and unbelievable. A few new clips from Kong: Skull Island show us that this movie will have the same sense of wonder and awe as Godzilla — and maybe even more.
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.