Beauty School : June 2021

Judge denies Britney Spears' request to remove father from conservatorship

A judge has denied Britney Spears' request to remove her father from her conservatorship. The motion to remove her father, Jamie Spears, from the role as her sole conservator was filed by the singer's lawyer Samuel Ingham III. But...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Kim Kardashian wears sheer, cut-out dress to the Vatican and fans are outraged

Kim Kardashian has toured the Vatican in a sheer, flesh-flashing dress, and people are seeing red over the 40-year-old billionaire's outfit.Kardashian is known for her revealing outfits, but the Vatican is probably not the place...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

James Franco settles for $2.2 million in sex misconduct case, both sides agreed to release joint statement

James Franco and his co-defendants agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he intimidated students at an acting and film school he founded into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations, court filings made public...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Sam Richardson Talks The Tomorrow War, Working With Chris Pratt

Sam Richardson interview

Directed by Chris McKay, The Tomorrow War is a sci-fi action flick that releases on Amazon Prime Video this Friday, July 2. The film features a star-studded cast featuring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Edwin Hodge, Sam Richardson, Jasmine Matthews, and Keith Powers.

“The world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species,” says the official synopsis. “The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist and his estranged father in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.”

Ahead of its release, ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with The Tomorrow War star Sam Richardson about working with Chris Pratt, his everyman character, and his upward trajectory as an actor.

Tyler Treese: Sam, you really steal some of the movie here. Your chemistry with Chris Pratt’s character is so great throughout the film. Can you talk a little bit about working on set with him and how much was improv for your lines?

Sam Richardson: It was so much fun working with Chris. He’s such a dynamic, brilliant action star, but also a really intelligently funny guy. So getting to play with him and like play off of him, it kind of felt very natural. As unnatural surrounding was as what surroundings were in the film being in this future war, and also in the filming of the film, you have like a bunch of cameras and sets around you. It still felt very easy to do because I think it was just really easy to work with him. He’s so great.

Your character is such a great everyman in the film. You get thrown into these just beyond belief action scenarios, fighting the wickedest-looking aliens. How did you turn down your natural, like bad-ass self to try to act like you didn’t know what you were doing.?

That was the hard part. What I did was I kind of like went and carbo-loaded to get rid of my six-pack. Then I had to make sure everybody [had] no nunchucks on set. Cause if I see them, I’m going to use them. No butterfly knives. Had to just kind of just imagine that I was like a schlubby, mid-thirties comedy actor. Then the rest did itself.

There’s so much heart in The Tomorrow War, which really surprised me, and your character has a really great story to tell. How satisfying was it that you had a character with such depth and how did you relate to your character in the film?

It was really great. Charlie is a great part to play because he is such an everyman, you know what I mean? Like he is sort of what the average person would kind of be like if they get put in this scenario. Maybe he’s a little bit quicker-witted than most people are, but there’s so much emotion with him because you see he’s scared and like he’s emotional about like his wife and like all these things. There’s so much emotion in him. I think it’s a fun character to navigate. Cause when you put a regular Joe in an extraordinary circumstance, there’s so much going on that it’s a really fun sort of dynamic to play with.

Both in this and Werewolves Within you play such a likable character that’s just like out to do good. How refreshing is it to just be a good guy and not have like some gritty backstory or anything like that?

It’s fun. I mean, I’ll tell you, I do pine to play like a really nasty person. I played a pretty gross guy in Promising Young Woman that just came out, but I really want to be somebody who’s terrible. That’s what I hope to do that soon in the future. But you know, it’s nice to be able to play characters who are buoyant and nice and kind, and well-intentioned cause you can’t help but absorb some of that. You know what I mean? So that’s the problem. If you play nice people, you feel nice, but also if you play dumb people, you start to get a little dumb, it feels like sometimes,.

You’re in a really interesting point in your career. It seems like you’re kind of starting to blow up, Sam. How exciting is it to see all that hard work, pay off?

It’s great. You know, I have a bad sort of macro view of myself. I’m always surprised when somebody recognizes me on the street or something. I’m like, “Oh. Hey. Yeah, this.” So I love being in these movies and I love doing these things, but the idea of like, blowing up. Me, I’m like, “Oh, I don’t know. We’ll see, we’ll see.” I’ll I’ll know I’ve blown up when I’m like looking back on my life and I’m doing my Hollywood star and I’m like, “Oh, maybe I’ve made it,” but until then, I don’t know. I mean, thank you.

The post Sam Richardson Talks The Tomorrow War, Working With Chris Pratt appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3Ai5612

The Forever Purge Review – More of a Documentary than Horror

The Forever Purge review

The Forever Purge follows Adela, her husband Juan, and the Tucker family. Adela and Juan are Mexican immigrants who were smuggled into the States ten months before the Purge. The Tuckers are wealthy Texan ranch owners who hire Juan as a ranch hand. They can afford to have their home kitted out to protect them during the Purge, while Adela and Juan go stay in a shelter for the night. The Purge night is quiet for both families.

Things go askew a few hours after the Purge ends. Adela gets caught in a trap that would make Jigsaw proud, and she is surrounded by bunny-masked Purgers who inform her this is the “forever Purge.” We are led to believe that they are Purge Purifiers, white supremacists whose main focus is to rid the country of all “foreigners.” A co-worker comes by and rescues Adela by killing her attackers. The police show up and arrest the two of them, throwing them in a police van. An explosion by a forever Purger kills the cops and knocks over the van, allowing them to escape.

Meanwhile, the Tuckers are dealing with their own forever Purger. Kirk, one of the ranch hands, hid out until morning and is there with some of his buddies, claiming this is a revolt by the poor against the rich ranch owners. The Tuckers are tied up, and Pa Tucker takes a bullet to the head before Juan and T.T., another immigrant ranch hand, show up with guns and save the Tuckers: Dylan, his sister Harper, and his pregnant wife, Cassie. They pile into a big rig and set off to find Adela.

The Forever Purge review

Martial law is enacted as groups of forever Purgers spring up across the country in what law enforcement suspects are coordinated attacks. The situation has gotten so bad that Canada and Mexico open their borders to allow Americans seeking asylum. With Adela picked up, the group has six hours to make it to the Mexican border.

The Purge films have always had socio-political messages, and The Forever Purge is no different. In fact, this film probably has the strongest and most obvious messaging in the franchise. Unfortunately, there are two issues that the forever Purgers seem to be purging against, and that seems to take the wind out of the sails of both reasons. Early on in the film, we are introduced to both white supremacists looking to make the country less diverse; and poor people who are rising up against the rich. Both concepts are given short shrift, with rich versus poor seemingly abandoned in favor of immigration commentary.

Ana de la Reguera, who plays Adela, is the stand-out in The Forever Purge. She is the star of the film; she is the hero of the film. The other characters are really there to make Adela shine. Will Patton as Pa Tucker is a kindly, though brief, role. Josh Lucas’ Dylan seemed to be set up as a villain, with his belief that people of different races and nationalities should “stick with their own.” He didn’t exactly redeem himself for that comment, but he also didn’t get any worse.

The Forever Purge loses a bit of horror cred. There is still plenty of death, but most of it is action-movie gunfire. Lost is the tense stalking of the Purgers, and there are not many creepy masks. I guess when purging becomes an insurrection, no one is concerned about covering their face. After the last four years, when I was getting pummeled with anti-immigration rhetoric, The Forever Purge feels less like a horror movie and more like a documentary.

If you are a fan of The Purge franchise, you are going to see this one, and it is a fun movie that continues The Purge fun. But if you are new to the franchise, don’t start with this one.

Score: 6/10

As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means it fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience

Disclosure: The studio provided a screener of the film for our The Forever Purge review.

The post The Forever Purge Review – More of a Documentary than Horror appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3xbMr4V

Lorde NZ tour tickets: Warning as $1300 'VIP' tickets appear on Viagogo

A promoter has warned against purchasing Lorde tickets from Viagogo after a $1300 "VIP" ticket to her Hawke's Bay show was seen for sale on the site. On Thursday morning, "general admission VIP" tickets were for sale on the site...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

The Lord of the Rings Online Is Getting Two New Legendary Servers

The Lord of the Rings Online Getting Two New Legendary Servers

Standing Stone Games announced on Wednesday that two new legendary servers have arrived in The Lord of the Rings Online. The two new legendary servers, titled Shadowfax and Treebeard, will feature either faster or slower gameplay mechanics for fans. These servers come alongside the new Landscape Difficulty option, which is only on the two aforementioned servers.

According to Standing Stone Games, the Shadowfax server — much like the horse its named after — will be for players who want to speed through Middle-earth. The Treebeard server, on the other hand, is aimed for those who would rather enjoy every moment that The Lord of the Rings Online has to offer, and experience a more difficult journey.

For those choosing to play on the Shadowfax server, you’ll get 50% more XP, Legendary Item XP, and Mount XP along with 20% more Virtue XP. Unlocks will often happen more quickly than normal, with players only having to wait about two months. The Treebeard server is a more level experience, with players only receiving 40% of the XP they would normally receive and unlocks happening less frequently than normal, around every five or six months.

A brand new Landscape Difficulty option has also been included in the servers, which “increases the challenge of enemies” on the landscape. Players can talk to Berthadan near the Prancing Pony in West Bree to get started

The addition of the new servers will allow both new and old players to start fresh again, and dive into some of the most iconic tales of Middle-earth, chapter by chapter, as they visit iconic locations and adventure with friends both new and old while on the path of Frodo, Gandalf, and the Fellowship of the Ring.

The post The Lord of the Rings Online Is Getting Two New Legendary Servers appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3y72QI3

Bill Cosby: Celebrities react to conviction being overturned

Celebrities have expressed their anger on social media after Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction was overturned. Gabrielle Union, Rose McGowan, Debra Messing and Amber Tamblyn are among stars who expressed outrage at the court's...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Dead Space YouTube Channel Updates Profile Pic After 8 Years of Inactivity

After drifting in space for almost a decade, it seems that Dead Space might actually be floating back into Earth’s orbit. The official YouTube channel for the Dead Space franchise has updated its profile picture for the first time in almost nine years, which is after eight years of total inactivity. While a seemingly innocent change, this combined with other reports seems to point to the franchise’s imminent return.

Dead Space YouTube Channel Updates Profile Pic After 8 Years of Inactivity

As noted by Twitter user SierraI07 and the Dead Space subreddit, users recently noticed that the official YouTube channel’s profile picture was now a section of Dead Space 2‘s box art, as shown in the bottom half of the above picture. Visiting the Wayback Machine shows that the profile picture used to be the Dead Space 3 logo, which can be seen in the top half of the above picture. The channel had that logo for its profile picture since around August 2012 when the ill-fated trilogy-ending installment was announced. The Twitter account still has the Dead Space 3 logo.

MORE: Bloober Team & Konami Announce Partnership, Fueling Silent Hill Rumors

Of course, this does not prove anything, but it does appear to somewhat corroborate the reports of Electronic Arts’ efforts to revive the franchise in the near future. GameBeat’s Jeff Grubb and VideoGamesChronicle have both heavily implied that a Dead Space reveal of some kind was in the works and set to be shown at EA Play Live on July 22. Although small, changing a YouTube picture could be setting the groundwork for something bigger as updating dormant accounts usually happens for a reason.

It’s unknown if this alleged Dead Space game is some sort of sequel, remake, reboot, or something in the vein of Mass Effect Legendary Edition where the series is bundled together in an updated package. It might even be a combination of a few of those ideas. However, given that it’s Dead Space 2‘s box art — which is not the newest entry and is the highest-rated of the series — something more akin to an updated bundle of the first three numbered games might more probable. But VGC also alleges that a Dead Space reboot is coming and while it’s possible that both a trilogy remaster and reboot are in the works, it’s best to just wait for EA’s official word, which may or may not come on July 22.

MORE: Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut Rated for PS5, PS4

The post Dead Space YouTube Channel Updates Profile Pic After 8 Years of Inactivity appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3jCVeJ4

Lionsgate Dates Three Films Including Nicolas Cage Action Pic

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Lionsgate has officially dated three of its upcoming releases on Wednesday, including the upcoming Nicolas Cage action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

The Cage film is set to release last among the announced films, with Lionsgate targeting an April 22, 2022 release, but the film is undoubtedly the most anticipated of the three. Starring Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, and many others, the action-comedy sees Cage starring as a fictionalized version of himself that is both creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin.

Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. The film is directed by Tom Gormican, with Gormican & Kevin Etten having written the film.

Elsewhere, Lionsgate also set a date for The Unbreakable Boy, a film starring Zachary Levi that focuses on Austin, a boy born with a rare brittle bone disease and autism. Despite the obstacles he faces, though, Austin continues to hold a joyous, funny, and life-affirming worldview that helps transforms and unites everyone around him, especially his dad Scott (Levi). The film is set to release on March 18, 2022, and will be directed and written by Jon Gunn.

Finally, coming first in the pipeline is The Jesus Music, a documentary that will open on October 1, 2021, and is directed by The Erwin Brothers and follows the rise of “Jesus music” from America’s 1960 counterculture movement to become a worldwide phenomenon. The documentary reveals the music’s uplifting and untold story — from its humble beginnings at the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California through its transformation into the multibillion-dollar industry of Christian Contemporary Music today.

The post Lionsgate Dates Three Films Including Nicolas Cage Action Pic appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3w7T0En

Netflix viewers shocked by actor's full-frontal nude scene in Sex/Life

Netflix viewers around the world were shocked by a full-frontal male nude scene in the show Sex/Life.The show is about a suburban mother-of-two who takes a fantasy-charged trip down memory lane that sets her very married present...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Interview: Mervyn Warren Discusses His Score For Mary J. Blige’s My Life

Interview: Mervyn Warren Discusses His Score For Mary J. Blige's My Life

The documentary Mary J. Blige’s My Life is now streaming on Amazon, which set up the perfect opportunity to speak with the film’s composer, Mervyn Warren. The 5x Grammy Award-winning artist, who was handpicked by the great Quincy Jones to work on Blige’s doc, discussed his musical process, his time scoring alongside Marc Shaiman, his amazing score for the 1997 superhero film Steel as well as his experience working with the legendary Whitney Houston.

Warren has worked on a number of classic productions, including Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, on which he provided lyrics and music for the song “Don’t Shoot Me,” Ron Howard’s The Paper, the 2009 Oscar winner The Blind Side, and the TV series, Six Feet Under, along with many others. As a composer, he scored films such as A Walk to Remember, the aforementioned Steel, and Joyful Noise.

Here’s the synopsis for Mary J. Blige’s My Life: “Grammy-winning recording artist and actress Mary J. Blige reveals the demons and blessings that inspired her 1994 LP ‘My Life,’ and celebrates the 25th anniversary of her most influential work by performing the album live for the first time.” Watch Mary J. Blige’s My Life here!

Jeff Ames: What drew you to the world of composing for film, TV, and documentaries?

Mervyn Warren: You know, I’ve always been sort of enamored with the idea of film composing even as a child, and I was really drawn to it. I’m fascinated by it and it was something that I wanted to do — I didn’t know how or when I would get to do it. And of course, my path to film composing took me through being a recording artist and arranging and producing for other artists. But I’ve always enjoyed that as a craft and I was thrilled and excited when I finally got the opportunity to do so and enjoyed it ever since.

How has your musical style evolved over the years as you’ve gotten into some of these bigger productions?

It’s sort of analogous — it’s not the same — but writing songs and writing score are sort of analogous to left brain, right brain. And that is a very imperfect analogy because they’re both creative. But my point is that there are different skills and different parts of the brain that are used, I think, when writing songs or writing a score; and so I’ve had to sort of bifurcate it, if you will, because I do both. And I enjoy doing both, but film score is a very different process and that’s something else I’ve had to learn. I wasn’t formally taught film scoring. I had to sort of learn that on my own. Sometimes, when I see the things that I did many, many years ago, I say, “You know, I would have approached that differently now.” I don’t know exactly how to put it into words, what I would do differently, but sometimes I hear things and say, I would definitely approach that differently now. So, there has been an evolution, I guess it’s growth, I guess it’s maturity, but it’s difficult, I think, to sort of quantify it and put it into words exactly what has changed.

But certainly, I will say this: film music has changed. And I think that’s because as budgets have gotten tighter, people can’t always afford to have an 80-piece orchestra. So, composers have learned to work with a lot of different tools and I think scores are evolving and we are all evolving to meet the demands of each project according to what the budgets afford.

Was there a mentor or someone who took you under their wing and helped you learn the process of film scoring?

Yes. I would have to say that was Marc Shaiman. I had produced an album called Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, featuring different arrangements of pieces from “Handel’s Messiah,” and we won a Grammy for that and we performed at the Grammys that year. Two, maybe three or four days later, I got a call from Matt Walker at Disney saying, “We’re working on a movie. We saw you on TV. We’d love for you to participate if you’re interested.” And I said, “Are you kidding? Of course I’m interested!” And that was Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.

So they flew me out — I was still living in Nashville — they flew me out. I started working on Sister Act 2, which was being helmed by Marc Shaiman, who had done the original Sister Act. In fact, it was Marc who had seen me on TV and had said, “Get that kid!” And so, they brought me out and I worked very closely with Marc. I did the arrangements for the kids on my own, but I worked with Marc and kind of looked over his shoulder and saw how he was working. Ultimately, I moved to LA within months of that. And I used to sort of look over Marc’s shoulder as he was working on all kinds of things that he was doing at the time.

So, I did learn a lot from him on Sister Act 2. Although, Marc was doing songs on that particular movie, the late Miles Goodman was writing the score and he was generous enough to allow me to co-compose some cues with him. So, I learned some techniques from him as well over the years. There were others, but I’d have to say more than anyone, I think Marc — because Marc’s door was open and I was constantly walking through it — I did learn quite a bit from him.

Now you’re selected by the great Quincy Jones and Mary J. Blige to work on this new documentary, Mary J. Blige’s My Life. What was your reaction to landing this gig?

I was very excited! I’ve had a long relationship with Quincy, and from time to time, I hear from him with different projects. So, it wasn’t unusual necessarily to get a call from his office, but it’s always exciting because you never know what he’s got up his sleeve and this time it was another movie. Mary and her team had reached out to Quincy — of course, she and Quincy had been friends for many years — and she says, “I need a score.” And he says, “I’ve got a guy.” They reached out to me and I knew, even before seeing the film, I just knew that it was going to be a powerful and moving account of her life. I knew right away that it was something to be excited about and something that I was going to end up being proud of.

I didn’t actually work with Mary directly. The film was directed by Vanessa Roth and had been shot and edited. That’s when they’re ready for a score. Vanessa is a wonderful director and this was in the middle of the pandemic, so we had all these meetings over Zoom talking about the tone of the film of what she wanted the score to be like. I got to work in my studio in solitude because of the pandemic. Because, of course, the film contains a lot of Mary’s songs. They help tell Mary’s life story and they use songs from her album entitled “My Life,” so there’s already in a way some underscore there — it’s not used as underscore, you see the performances or you hear music but there’s a lot of music.

When you have a film that already has a lot of songs, you want the score to contrast with those songs so that the listener isn’t hearing the same kind of thing over and over. It was important to Vanessa and to me to write music that complimented the songs, but that had its own distinctive flavor. I used strings and a lot of electric pianos because Mary’s songs use a lot of piano. I wanted the score to tie in with her songs, but again, make it different. So, I use a lot of electric pianos and strings, guitars, and a solo voice — the solo voice is there too. That actually was Vanessa’s idea. There are these great animated sequences in the film showing Mary often as a child and also some other points of her life as an adult, and that was a real opportunity for me to do something different, but Vanessa wanted to hear a voice to sort of represent, well, it could represent childhood, it could represent contemplation; sometimes it represents sadness, solitude. And so, that’s another element that you’ll hear throughout the score as well.

Are there moments in projects like this where you write a bunch of music and then discover a new idea late in the game that you then must incorporate into the stuff you’ve already completed?

Yes, that can happen. That can happen. I don’t think it happened on this one. Part of the process at the very beginning of any score is sort of defining what the palette is going to be, what the sound of the score is going to be. And I will admit that I did something at the very beginning. I did something really daring and sort of off-beat, and I thought, I just want to try this and see what Vanessa says — and she didn’t care for it. (Laughs)

Admittedly, it was — I don’t want to say it was out of left field, it wasn’t, but it was just sort of daring. And she said, “No, I really think I want to do something a little more understated.” So, I said, “Okay, fine.” I went back and did something more understated and then she goes, “Bingo! I love that.” And that’s what we did. Now, I will mention that, kind of along the lines of your question, there’s a new song that Mary wrote and performs over the end credits. That song begins with four very distinctive piano notes that repeat. As soon as I heard that, I said, “Oh my God, I want to incorporate that into the score!” I mentioned that to Vanessa and mentioned it to Amazon, and they liked the idea. Of course, we also had to clear that with Mary and the other writers of the song. On a few of the cues that I wrote, where I wanted to incorporate that, I had to do two versions because we weren’t sure that I was going to get permission to use those four notes. Ultimately, we did get permission, and so those are included. Those things sometimes take a little bit of time. There were multiple writers on the song and I had to get everyone to sign off. So, I did have some alternate versions.

I think what happens is you hear those four notes at strategic moments throughout the score and then I think there’s going to be a payoff with those four notes at the very end of the movie when those four notes become the intro to a song that Mary sings. I think, or I hope, that the fans will maybe subliminally have heard that as a little theme or mini-theme throughout the film, and then it pays off as a new song from their hero Mary at the end.

Switching gears here slightly, I have to ask about your score for the superhero film Steel with Shaquille O’Neal, which I saw opening day, by the way.

(Laughs) That is another score that I was hired to write because of Quincy Jones. Quincy was actually, if I’m not mistaken, a producer or an executive producer on that film — one or the other. He hired me to write the score. That was a big score! I think we had a 105-piece orchestra. It was a big score and a big opportunity, and I just wanted the score to have a heroic feel, but it also was a gritty film. The character Steel had some toys, but they weren’t high tech toys, they were lower tech toys (laughs) and I wanted the score to have sort of a gritty feel. I combined drums — not expensive drums, but sort of street drums, if you will, with orchestra. And I remember at the time wondering, “Has anybody ever done anything like this before?” I was very proud of the outcome. Unfortunately, it’s not a film that a lot of people saw. (Laughs) Thank you for seeing it.

It was a big learning experience for me and it was a lot of fun to have that many musicians in a room and to be able to write music for a huge group like that. In fact, one of my orchestrators was Steven Scott Smalley, who was one of the orchestrators from the Batman series. So, there was another sort of tie-in there. I was using his incredible skills to help me meet that challenge of such a huge orchestra.

You also worked alongside the amazing Whitney Houston. Is there a particular moment or experience working with her that you could share?

Sure! Working with Whitney, I mean, aside from working with her, I was a fan. I was a fan remain a fan and always just remember — I mean, even now I get goosebumps thinking about it —just that her voice was so remarkable, but what she did with it, I know it’s so cliche to say, “once in a lifetime,” but that’s really what she was.

When I got to work with her on The Preacher’s Wife, and then later on her Christmas album, I produced about half — I think — of her Christmas album, but it was just such a joy to me to have written these arrangements or in one case an original song, for her and to have created these arrangements and then to have that voice added to the palette that I created. Once she started singing, I would just sort of melt! (Laughs) Sometimes I would maintain my composure enough to say things to her and ask, “Hey, what have you tried this?”

Look at me implying that I was telling Whitney how to sing! As a producer, that’s your job. I mean, I wasn’t telling her how to sing, because she knew how to do that, but I was making some suggestions here or there. But inside I was melting and screaming going, “Oh my God, it’s Whitney Houston!” while I was also doing my job. I guess that’s the point I’m trying to make.

She was just wonderful. We laughed a lot. I have a picture that someone took of us in the studio and we were just bowled over, laughing at something … who knows what? She was just a wonderful spirit and she is greatly missed — not only her voice, but her as a person. She was a fantastic woman.

The post Interview: Mervyn Warren Discusses His Score For Mary J. Blige’s My Life appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3AhEoFO

Magnolia Selects July 2021 Lineup Includes I Saw the Devil & More

Magnolia Selects has unveiled their full lineup of titles available to stream starting in July 2021, including the stellar 2010 Korean film I Saw the Devil, a story that focuses on trained secret agent Kim Soo-hyeon as he hunts down a killer he once let free, setting off a vicious game of cat and mouse. Other films new to the streaming service include the French independent satirical horror film Rubber, the Norwegian dark fantasy film Trollhunter, and more.

The full schedule of new Magnolia Selects July 2021 titles can be viewed below!

New on Magnolia Selects June 2021

Available 7/6

Alive and Kicking
Cashback
Countdown to Zero
Main Street
Shot! The Psycho Spiritual Mantra Of Rock
The Good Doctor
Yoga Is: A Transformational Journey

Available 7/13

Four Lions
Frontera
God Bless America
Roadie
Two Lovers

Available 7/20

American Swing
Honeymoon
I Saw the Devil
Rubber
World’s Greatest Dad

Available 7/27

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me
High-Rise
Leaning Into The Wind: Andy Goldsworthy
Pulse
Ragnarok
The Answer Man
The Protector 2
The Wrecking Crew
Trollhunter

The post Magnolia Selects July 2021 Lineup Includes I Saw the Devil & More appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/2UVJasn

Last Voyage of the Demeter Adds David Dastmalchian & Liam Cunningham

(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images & Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Amblin’s horror film Last Voyage of the Demeter has added David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad) and Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) to the project’s cast, along with Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) and creature feature actor Javier Botet (IT, The Conjuring 2, Crimson Peak) according to The Hollywood Reporter. André Øvredal (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) is directing the project, which began production this week in Berlin.

The group will join Corey Hawkins (Survive), Jon Jon Briones (Ratched), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool), Nikolai Nikolaeff (Daredevil), Woody Norman (The War of the Worlds), Martin Furulund (Monster), and Chris Walley (The Young Offenders) in the movie. Dastmalchian will portray Wojchek, the Demeter’s first mate, while Cunningham will play the ship’s captain. Franciosi is Anna, a stowaway; Briones is the ship’s cook; Kapicic and Nikolaeff are crew members; and Botet will portray Dracula.

Last Voyage of the Demeter will be set in the midst of Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, focusing on the ship the Demeter, which transported Dracula’s coffin from Transylvania to London. In the 1897 novel, the ship washes up on the shores of England, tattered and broken, with one raving-mad survivor.

Click here to purchase Stoker’s iconic horror novel!

Originally written in 2002 by screenwriter Bragi Schut (Season of the Witch, Escape Room, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions), the film will tell the story of that journey, in which the crew is slaughtered one by one by a mysterious passenger. Zak Olkewicz (Bullet Train, Fear Street) wrote the current script.

The film will be produced by Bradley Fischer, Mike Medavoy, and Arnold Messer (Black Swan, Shutter Island). Amblin’s president of production Jeb Brody and senior vp of creative affairs Mia Maniscalco are overseeing for the company. The project has been in development since 2002 with a number of filmmakers previously attached to helm the horror film including Game of Thrones‘ Neil Marshall and 30 Days of Night‘s David Slade.

The post Last Voyage of the Demeter Adds David Dastmalchian & Liam Cunningham appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3ybuRhu

Britney Spears calls for fans and paparazzi to leave her alone while on holiday in Hawaii

In a furious online post, Britney Spears has voiced her concerns over paparazzi who take pictures and "distort" her body.Spears, who is currently holidaying in Hawaii, took to social media to share a video alongside a long caption...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Smallville actor Allison Mack gets 3 years in NXIVM sex-slave case

TV actor Allison Mack, who played a key role in the scandal-ridden, cult-like group NXIVM, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group's spiritual leader.Mack...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

The Last of Us: Nico Parker Joins Cast as Joel’s Daughter Sarah

(Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

HBO’s The Last of Us series has added another cast member, with Variety reporting that Nico Parker (Dumbo, The Third Day) has joined on to play the role of Joel’s daughter, Sarah.

Parker will take on the role of Sarah, the daughter of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and someone players were introduced to at the beginning of the PlayStation game the series will be based on. Parker will join a cast that already includes Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, and Merle Dandridge.

Developed by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us is an action-adventure survival horror video game that has already sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. The game follows hardened survivors Joel and Ellie, a young and capable girl, on their journey through a radically transformed world. Set twenty years after an infectious pandemic spread by the cordyceps virus ravaged the course of humanity, these two people, who were brought together by chance, must make life-altering decisions in order to survive.

Click here to purchase the original hit game!

The HBO series will be led by Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. Luna will play Joel’s brother, Tommy. Co-written by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and original game writer Neil Druckmann, the series adaptation will tackle the events of the first game.

Kantermir Balagov is attached to direct the pilot episode. Mazin will executive produce along with Carolyn Strauss, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television in association with PlayStation Productions.

The post The Last of Us: Nico Parker Joins Cast as Joel’s Daughter Sarah appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3hn4PRJ

A Plague Tale: Innocence Remaster Leads PlayStation Plus July Lineup

Sony has finally unveiled the PlayStation Plus July lineup on the very last day of June. Users will receive Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, and A Plague Tale: Innocence remaster, the latter of which is only available for PS5 owners (however, PS4 owners can still redeem it on the PlayStation Store website or app). Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is also available for one more month.

While likely the least recognizable title of the trio, A Plague Tale: Innocence is the most prominent one, even though it’s not surprising since insiders had already pointed to it being in this month’s offering. It’s the PS5 title of the month and comes on the same day that the current-gen remaster is releasing (which will also be on Game Pass on Xbox and PC). Just be warned that the above trailer contains major spoilers for the game.

The Last of Us-style adventure game previously came out on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2019, but Asobo Studio announced this upgrade right after E3 2021 where it also revealed the current-gen-only 2022 sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem. Innocence‘s current-gen upgrades include a native 4K resolution, 60 frames per second target, faster loading, and “highly improved visuals,” but those improvements were not spelled out.

MORE: Bloober Team & Konami Announce Partnership, Fueling Silent Hill Rumors

Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII is the second title. This multiplayer-only entry in the series from 2018 introduced battle royale to the Call of Duty before 2020’s Warzone expanded upon it. Of course, it has many of the other traditional Call of Duty modes like Zombies and competitive multiplayer.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is the third game in the lineup and is the only one with a poor critical reception as it stands at a 59 on OpenCritic. It’s an arcadey arena fighting game with tons of recognizable stars like John Cena, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This title released in the absence of a traditional wrestling game because WWE 2K20 was so horrendously received the year prior.

MORE: Sony Buys Returnal Developer Housemarque, Possibly Bluepoint

And while not a new game, players can still redeem Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown for one more month until August 2, the day before the August PlayStation Plus titles come out. This remade fighting game was one of the titles that Sony offered in June alongside Star Wars: Squadrons and Operation: Tango.

The post A Plague Tale: Innocence Remaster Leads PlayStation Plus July Lineup appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3h7UXwh

Sandra Oh Arrives at School in First Look at Netflix’s The Chair

Sandra Oh Arrives at School in First Look at Netflix's The Chair

Netflix has officially given viewers their first look at Emmy nominee Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) in the streaming platforms’ upcoming comedy series The Chair ahead of its debut on August 20.

The brief look at the opening scene of the show shows Oh as Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, as she arrives on campus at Pembroke University to begin her new job as Chair of the English department. Of course, things don’t go swimmingly in the trailer, as Oh takes a seat at her desk only to have the chair break and collapse from underneath her.

You can check out the sneak peek for The Chair below:

Sandra Oh is The Chair. Premieres August 20 pic.twitter.com/wV49OMwvRa

— Netflix (@netflix) June 30, 2021

After becoming the Chair of the English department, The Chair will follow Oh’s character as she begins to face a handful of unique challenges as the first woman to ever head up the department, as well as being one of the few staff members of color at the prestigious university.

When The Chair launches later this year, it will feature six half-hour episodes, with Amanda Peet serving as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Also attached to the project are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernie Caulfield, and Daniel Gray Longino as executive producers. Annie Julia Wyman, Richard E. Robbins, Jennifer Kim, and Andrea Troyer all serve as writers as well.

The post Sandra Oh Arrives at School in First Look at Netflix’s The Chair appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3yf1uep

Interview: Cobra Kai Composers Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson

For those of you living under a rock these past several years, there’s a little show called Cobra Kai on Netflix that continues the story of The Karate Kid trilogy — and it absolutely rocks! With a fourth season on the way, ComingSoon.net reached out to series composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, who were kind enough to discuss their musical approach to the ongoing adventures of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence.

Oh, and if that weren’t enough, the duo was excited to reveal the upcoming Cobra Kai – Original Soundtrack 3XLP from Mondo — a must-have for fans of the show.

Here are some more details from Mondo’s site:

“Mondo and Madison Gate Records are proud to present the premiere vinyl release of Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson’s incredible score to the Netflix streaming phenomenon Cobra Kai. The 3 disc vinyl set features music from the first 3 seasons of the hit series, curated by the composers into themed collections of music: Disc 1: Cobra Kai – a mix of music scoring the most badass dojo in the Valley, Disc 2: MIYAGI-DO – selections from the music scoring the LaRusso family and its ties to the Miyagi legacy, and last but not least Disc 3: FINAL FIGHTS – the music from all three of the explosive season finale episodes. All of the music has been hand-selected, and in some cases expanded from its original form, for the most definitive Cobra Kai listening experience available.

The Mondo Exclusive version comes with a Bonus cassette.”

Purchase this amazing collection here!

[As an aside, we did ask about Cobra Kai Season 4, which Zach and Leo answered enthusiastically. However, in order to avoid spoilers, we refrained from printing their response. Suffice to say, fans are going to dig Season 4!]

Jeff Ames: What drew each of you to Cobra Kai?

Robinson: So a few things, one of which was Leo and I, before Cobra Kai had been announced, really before we knew what it was, I saw in the trades that there was a Karate Kid sequel show being made by YouTube Red and Leo and I had just done a project for YouTube Red — that was a small show called Sing It! — and we had had that relationship with them as a network, so we figured, “Why don’t we have our agent just kind of look into this, because it seems very much up our alley.” We have no idea what the show is. We did not know Ralph Macchio was coming back. We did not know Billy Zabka was coming back. We didn’t know the tone of the show. We didn’t know anything. We just said, we have the relationship with YouTube Red.

We also like to identify as ’80s enthusiasts, especially me. That was one of the things that drew us to [the project]. Then what ended up happening was we put together a reel — kind of a spec reel — like, we don’t know what you’re asking for, but this is what we think Cobra Kai should sound like. And a lot of the stuff on that reel definitely translated into what we have now, because [when] Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg heard it, it immediately clicked. And they’re like, “How did these guys know what we were going for without hearing anything about the show or reading the script?” It was one of those synergistic things that the universe brought us together. But we also very actively sought it out and it just happened to work out that way we were very fortunate.

What was on the demo tape?

Birenberg: It was all our music and it was a mix of big action — there was a very cinematic component to it because Zach and I’s background, when we were getting started in the industry, was working on some pretty big movies. So we had these big action cues to just show the cinematic scope a bit and we had a lot of 80s inspired pieces that — Zach has this parallel music project called D/A/D that’s amazing, first of all, and a treasure trove of hip hop sound — but I think what really tied it all together is before this, we had been working on some comedy shows where we had been continually asked to write “training montages,” but always as a joke, because any TV show on television, if you make enough episodes of it, somebody will be like, “We gotta do an 80s training montage,” like around the yard, run off the steps; and they always want some kind of ’80s, Rocky-like, “Eye of the Tiger”-inspired kind of thing.

We had put at least one of these training montage tracks on this reel because, even though we knew nothing about the show, we couldn’t imagine that they could do Cobra Kai and not have training montages be a major part of the equation. So, we put that front and center on there and when we got into a meeting with Jon, Josh, and Hayden, they were like, “This is what we wanted!” It was such a springboard for our relationship with them. Basically, our pitch to them in the meeting was “We keep getting asked to write ’80s training montages, and it’s always a joke! We want a genuine 80s-inspired training montage where we are in it with the characters for real!” And they were like, “That’s the show we’re making! Let’s do it!” And the rest is history.

One of the interesting aspects of the show is how it’s able to poke fun at the previous Karate Kid films while still serving as a sequel.

Birenberg: Exactly. The show is super self-aware. So, it pokes fun at itself as a property and franchise through those moments of awareness, but it’s never a joke.

How do you determine how much of Bill Conti’s score to use alongside the new material?

Robinson: It starts out mostly as a directive or a creative choice from the creators. They generally, especially in the first couple of seasons, there are a lot [of callbacks] when you’re getting back into this world or when you reintroduce a legacy character or a location like Okinawa, those are times where they do want to needle drop a piece of score from The Karate Kid. Or, if there’s a character that comes back, same type of thing. We’re in the middle of our fourth season, but we have three seasons of lots of themes that we’ve created for the show that are new. You know, Johnny has a theme, Daniel has a theme, etc. Everyone has a theme and we spend a lot of time using those and we get a lot of mileage out of them.

I think we tend to want to use those because this is a different story; and we feel that when they choose to use Conti for a specific reason that it’s really for that nostalgia of, “Hey, remember this from this movie?” There are times where we quote some of Conti’s theme, there’s a particular theme that we use fairly frequently, but we only use that again when there’s a very clear reference to something from the original film. We try our hardest to — as much as we love Conti’s theme and we honor it and the show honors it — this is our show. One of our biggest challenges was, “How do we call follow in Bill Conti’s footsteps?” So we’re constantly aware of it. And we’re just happy that we were able to successfully navigate all of that.

Can I just nerd out a bit here, but one of the defining moments of the first season of Cobra Kai was the moment where Daniel starts training again, and you work in “Daniel’s Moment of Truth,” which I thought was brilliant.

Robinson: That’s a perfect example of the guys Jon, Josh, and Hayden knowing when to utilize those Conti moments, because when they do it’s a really great, big part of the story and that’s an excellent example.

Birenberg: A huge part of those moments being so successful was that those are the original recordings — with making it sound like 2021, pristine or rearranged, or beefy. That’s the original recording. So, it’s a double punch of that nostalgia for the fans.

How would you say the music has evolved now, especially considering the way the show expanded in Season 3 — going to Vietnam, bringing back even more familiar faces, etc.?

Birenberg: Well, it just gets more and more fun to tell you the truth, because like Zach said, we’ve been setting up themes for all of these characters and concepts and rivalries … there’s so many themes and you get to a season, like Season 3, where suddenly we’re in Okinawa with Daniel and we’re digging up ancient Miyagi Do teachings. Meanwhile, you’ve got Kreese who’s already come back from the dead, basically, and now you’re getting this flashback to Vietnam and suddenly turning him into a lot of shades of gray. Half the season you’re cheering for him and the other half you’re not cheering for him, like in parallel. We basically just get to go hog wild with our thematic development and find more ways to weave things together and find new ways of interpreting melodies or material.

I think one other thing that is really exciting about that is that the pool of influences for Zach and I really opens up when you start suddenly bringing Vietnam war movies into it and anime or samurai epics. Suddenly, there’s just more for us to draw inspiration from, because Zach and I, we really like doing things that are stylized in such a way that it’s totally new music, but can also be evocative of the same feeling one might get when you are watching an animated movie or something, or a Western, or a war movie — we love tapping into those pallets.

Robinson: We’re constantly, like, wink, wink, nudge, nudging in our music. If you get it, you get it. And a lot of people get it. Sometimes you don’t get it, just enjoy!

What is the one thing this show has taught you from a musical perspective as a composer?

Robinson: That’s an interesting question. There’s two parts. One part is it has taught me that I am able to get things done on a tight deadline. (Laughs) I am capable of physically surviving and doing that. So that’s one. And then on a more emotional level, it has proven to me, I think our dreams as composers, in general, is to write music that we’re proud of, and the show has proven to me that it is possible, to be able to successfully use your voice and feel creatively fulfilled. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into it between me and Leo and our whole team that helps us out. I think everyone is just incredibly passionate about the project. Every year, as you can tell, it just pushes us to our limits.

Birenberg: I will say one thing that I think is really fun for me and I think I can speak for Zach too, is unlocking the power of collaboration — and Zach and I are really lucky in that. We do a lot of stuff and a lot of times we work separately and sometimes we work together and it’s a different creative process. As a result, you write things you wouldn’t otherwise, write when you’re locked in a room by yourself. I think we both really enjoy that constant back and forth during the couple of months, every year, that we are working on Cobra Kai — they’re the most fun months of the year. Like Zach said, we just create something that we’re super, super, super proud of, and so I’m just really thankful that we have that outlet.

The post Interview: Cobra Kai Composers Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/2UUdh3n

Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement Making ‘Action-Adventure Comedy’ Series

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW)

Sometimes what Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement do in the shadows is a vampire-based comedy series and other times, it is an “action-adventure comedy” series.

Clement told EW of this upcoming television show, but didn’t give too many details so don’t expect a premise or a release date as they “just started writing” it. However, he did state that he wants it to be different from his other work.

“Taika and I are working on a new series right now which we just started writing,” said Clements. “I can’t tell you much about it yet, but what’s fun about it and what makes it exciting for me is it’s something I always wanted to do which is long-form episodes in a sitcom. It’s an action-adventure comedy. It’ll be different from what I’ve usually done. I’ve made three sitcoms now, and I hope this one is still funny but more of an adventure series.”

He did say that he missed working with Waititi on What We Do In the Shadows Season 2 and that it would be nice for the two to collaborate once again. The two have worked together in some capacity on multiple projects including the film and TV versions of What We Do In the Shadows, its spin-off Wellington Paranormal, Eagle vs. Shark, The Breaker Upperers, Flight of the Conchords, and more.

The post Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement Making ‘Action-Adventure Comedy’ Series appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3hkNclE

Cinderella First Look Teases Amazon’s Reimagining of the Classic Tale

Cinderella First Look Teases Amazon's Reimagining of the Classic Tale

BEGIN SLIDESHOW

You’re cordially invited to watch the first look of Cinderella, the upcoming reimagined take on the classic fairytale that will arrive on Amazon Prime Video on September 3.

Written and directed by Kay Cannon (Blockers), the movie features an all-star cast including Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel (Frozen), and Emmy winner Billy Porter (Pose).

Check out the first look below:

Cinderella is described as a musically driven, bold new take on the traditional story you grew up with. Our heroine (Cabello) is an ambitious young woman whose dreams are bigger than the world will allow. With the help of her Fab G (Porter), though, she is able to persevere and make her dreams come true.

The highly anticipated musical incorporates pop songs from contemporary global artists and original songs by Cabello and Menzel, and also stars Minnie Driver, Nicholas Galitzine, and Pierce Brosnan.

Producers are Leo Pearlman, James Corden, Jonathan Kadin, and Shannon McIntosh, and executive producers are Louise Rosner and Josephine Rose.

2
images

The post Cinderella First Look Teases Amazon’s Reimagining of the Classic Tale appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3Ae4oSq

Bloober Team & Konami Announce Partnership, Fueling Silent Hill Rumors

Silent Hill has been dead for so long, yet rumors surrounding its revival are anything but. Those rumors may have gotten slightly more official as horror studio Bloober Team and Konami have officially announced a partnership together. The two didn’t speak about Silent Hill so that still is just a rumor, but it is the Pyramid Head in the room.

Bloober Team went into some detail on its website, but not much. Bloober called it a “strategic cooperation agreement” that will “include jointly developing selected contents and exchanging know-how.” While Konami Digital Entertainment President Hideki Hayakawa said he wanted to “create high-quality contents,” President of the Bloober Team Piotr Babieno’s quote was a little more insightful.

“It is a historic day for me and the culmination of several years of our work,” he said. “The fact that such a renowned company as Konami has decided to strategically cooperate with the Bloober Team means that we also joined the world leaders in gaming and became an equal partner for the leading players in this market.”

MORE: Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut Rated for PS5, PS4

This being the “culmination of several years” of work does point to this being something related to horror as Bloober Team has made many horror games over the past decade including Layers of Fear, Layers of Fear 2, Observer, Blair Witch, and, most recently, The Medium. Making 2019’s Blair Witch also shows that Bloober is willing to work within established IP.

There have been both rumors and hints saying that this is a Silent Hill project. Babieno said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz from February 2021 that the studio had been working on a horror IP for over a year at that point with “a very famous gaming publisher” that will make fans “excited.”

MORE: Sony Buys Returnal Developer Housemarque, Possibly Bluepoint

VideoGamesChronicle couldn’t verify that Bloober was making a Silent Hill title, but did hear that a prominent Japanese studio was developing a unique entry in the series. If Bloober Team is also making a Silent Hill game (which could likely be a more traditional outing), then that would corroborate other rumors that there are multiple Silent Hill games in development. Noted insider DuskGolem, who has been right in the past (although they’ve also admitted to making some things up), claims that Konami greenlit two Silent Hill games. DuskGolem even recently chimed in to say that it is “very, very likely” this deal will result in a Silent Hill game.

TheGrateDebate compiled a ton of other evidence in the above video, too. Essentially, the beginning of the video goes through all of the times Bloober Team has hinted at a big project with a major publisher as well as the multiple scenarios where Bloober and Silent Hill veterans have crossed paths. Konami even requested that an interview with series composer Akira Yamaoka go private on YouTube after he said his next project was “the one you’re hoping to hear about.”

The post Bloober Team & Konami Announce Partnership, Fueling Silent Hill Rumors appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3w9sx9x

Disney+ Sets MCU-Themed Simpsons Short With Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Disney+ Sets Marvel-Themed Simpsons Short With Tom Hiddleston Voicing Loki

Disney+ has announced that a brand new animated short film for The Simpsons titled The Good, The Bart, and The Loki is officially heading to the streamer on Wednesday, July 7. The Marvel-themed short will feature the return of Marvel Cinematic Universe star Tom Hiddleston as he lends his voice to the animated version of the fan-favorite God of Mischief. Hiddleston is currently starring in Marvel Studios’ Loki series, with the first four episodes already available for streaming on Disney+.

This announcement also comes with the release of its official key poster, which you can check out below, featuring an Avenger: Endgame-inspired design with most of the Simpsons characters dressed as MCU heroes including Lisa as Thor, Millhouse as Hawkeye, and Ralph as The Hulk. It also features our first look at The Simpsons version of Loki.

Mischief arrives in Springfield—well, more mischief, anyway. Start streaming the short, @TheSimpsons: The Good, the Bart, and the #Loki July 7 on #DisneyPlus. #SummerOfDisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/xe2S19e0do

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) June 30, 2021

In The Good, The Bart, and The Loki, Loki is banished from Asgard once again and must face his toughest opponents yet: the Simpsons and Springfield’s mightiest heroes. The God of Mischief teams up with Bart Simpson in the ultimate crossover event paying tribute to the Marvel Cinematic Universe of Super Heroes and villains.

In addition to Hiddleston’s Loki, he will also be joined by many fan-favorite characters from The Simpsons. The upcoming short is the second in a series of Disney+ shorts from The Simpsons that highlight the service’s marquee brands and titles. The first one was a Star Wars-themed short titled Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens from Its Nap which is now streaming on Disney+.

Created by Matt Groening (Futurama, Disenchantment), The Simpsons has been on-air for more than 30 years and had become a pop-culture phenomenon. The voice cast consists of Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Julie Kavner as his wife Marge, Nancy Cartwright as Bart, and Yeardley Smith as Lisa.

The post Disney+ Sets MCU-Themed Simpsons Short With Tom Hiddleston as Loki appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3x9lRtl

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Begins Production

Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Begins Production

In a recent interview with Variety, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has confirmed that production on Ryan Coogler’s highly-anticipated MCU sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has finally begun at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta. Feige also went on to reveal that the first film’s original cast is all set to reprise their roles, which includes Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira. He expressed that even though it is an emotional time for the cast and crew to be back on set without the late Chadwick Boseman, they are still very committed and excited to bring Wakanda back to the fans.

“It’s clearly very emotional without Chad,” Feige said before the Black Widow Global Fan Event in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. “But everyone is also very excited to bring the world of Wakanda back to the public and back to the fans. We’re going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud.”

Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film. It will once again be directed and written by Ryan Coogler. New additions to the cast include Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico), who has reportedly been cast as the antagonist.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently slated to hit theaters on July 8, 2022, nearly two years following the untimely passing of titular star and acclaimed actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 after his four-year-long private battle with colon cancer.

In addition to the MCU sequel, Coogler is also currently developing an untitled Black Panther spinoff series for Disney+, which is being described as an origin series.

The post Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Begins Production appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/3ybXcnM

The Weeknd to Star in, co-create HBO cult drama

The Weeknd is set to star in, co-write and executive produce a new HBO series.The Save Your Tears hitmaker is teaming up with the creator of the television network's hit series 'Euphoria, Sam Levinson, on The Idol.Variety reports...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Lorde's pre-sale Black Barn tickets sold out, same fate likely for general sale tickets

One thousand pre-sale tickets for Kiwi superstar Lorde's show at Black Barn Vineyards sold out in less than three hours.It is Lorde's first New Zealand tour since the sold-out Melodrama tour in 2017, and her show at Black Barn on...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Ex Disney star Kyle Massey charged for allegedly sending explicit photos to 13-year-old

Kyle Massey has been charged for allegedly sending explicit photos to a 13-year-old girl. Massey, who is best known for his role in Disney series That's So Raven, was charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment

Scott Adkins in Negotiations to Join the John Wick: Chapter 4 Cast

(Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty Images)

The cast of the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4 continues to grow, with Deadline reporting on Tuesday that Scott Adkins (American Assassin, Day Shift) is in negotiations to join the cast of the highly anticipated next entry.

Adkins is set to join returning star Keanu Reeves in the fourth installment of the fan-favorite and iconic franchise.

John Wick: Chapter 4 was first announced two years ago immediately after the record-setting opening weekend of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which went on to gross over $300 million worldwide. The fourth installment will feature the return of Reeves as the eponymous assassin, who at the end of the last film was betrayed by Ian McShane’s Winston and was last seen suffering from multiple injuries. It will again be directed by Chad Stahelski from a screenplay co-written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, who is taking over from franchise creator Derek Kolstad.

Joining Reeves are franchise newcomers Japanese-British pop superstar Rina Sawayama in her film acting debut, Shamier Anderson (Awake), Bill Skarsgard (IT), and Donnie Yen (IP Man films), who is reportedly playing an old friend of John Wick.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Stahelski with Reeves and Louise Rosner as executive producers. Production is scheduled to begin this summer in France, Germany, and Japan.

The film is currently scheduled to make its debut on May 27, 2022.

The post Scott Adkins in Negotiations to Join the John Wick: Chapter 4 Cast appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

from ComingSoon.net https://ift.tt/2UImYBK

Bachelor NZ contestant Louise Kuresa pleads guilty to stealing $12,000 from employer, social organisation

A contestant of The Bachelor New Zealand has been sentenced after she admitted stealing more than $12,000 from her employer and a social organisation. Louise Akata Kuresa, 31, appeared today at Invercargill District Court after...

from nzherald.co.nz - Entertainment