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A Nosferatu extended cut could be on the horizon, with director Robert Eggers teasing the release of one on the film’s physical release.
What do we know about the Nosferatu extended cut?
During a recent video for Esquire UK featuring Eggers, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Skarsgård, Eggers briefly spoke about a scene featuring Skarsgård’s Count Orlok that appears in the trailers and promotional image of the movie, but not in the movie itself.
Although the Orlok scene doesn’t appear in the movie, Eggers teased that “if you wish to purchase the Blu-ray, it is in the extended version of the film.” This is the first we’ve heard of any mention on an extended cut, so it’s unclear exactly how long or how much more will be featured in it when the film does eventually arrive on 4K and Blu-ray.
Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 film of the same name, which itself is an unauthorized and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s legendary 1897 novel Dracula. The film is written and directed by Eggers, who previously made 2015’s The Witch, 2019’s The Lighthouse, and 2022’s The Northman.
Along with Skarsgård, the film stars Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter, Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding, Emma Corrin as Hanna Harding, Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, Simon McBurney as Herr Knock, and Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers.
“Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake,” the synopsis for the movie reads.
Stitch is crashing into 2025 in a new poster for the live-action/CGI remake of Lilo & Stitch.
The original animated version of Lilo & Stitch was released in 2002. In 2018, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures had plans to make a live-action/computer-generated animation hybrid remake of the movie, which is now scheduled to arrive next year.
In celebration of New Year’s Day, the official Walt Disney Studios X account has released a new Lilo & Stitch poster that sees Stitch excitedly celebrating the start of 2025. The caption reads, “New year. New mayhem.”
View the new Lilo & Stitch poster below:
Photo Credit: Walt Disney Studios X account
What else do we know about the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie?
“A live-action reimagining of Disney’s 2002 animated classic, Lilo & Stitch is the wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family,” the synopsis for the film reads.
Chris Sanders is voicing Stitch in the movie, while the cast also includes Maia Kealoha as Lilo, Sydney Agudong as Nani, Billy Magnussen as the voice of Agent Pleakley, Tia Carrere as Mrs. Kekoa, Hannah Waddingham as the voice of the Grand Councilwoman, Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles, and Zach Galifianakis as the voice or Dr. Jumba.
Dean Fleischer Camp is directing the new Lilo & Stitch movie. Fleischer Camp’s previous filmography includes 2016’s Fraud and 2021’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Jonathan Eirich and Dan Lin are both producing the film, while Tom Peitzman and Ryan Halprin serve as executive producers.
Lilo & Stitch will be released in United States theaters on May 23, 2025.
Meanwhile, the 2002 animated version of Lilo & Stitch — along with the three direct-to-video and television sequel feature films that followed, including 2003’s Stitch! The Movie, 2005’s Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, and 2006’s Leroy & Stitch — are all streaming on Disney+.
Saturday Night was released in United States theaters in October 2024 by Sony Pictures Releasing. Directed by Reitman, the film is about the 1975 premiere of NBC’s Saturday Night Live (known at the time as Saturday Night).
Cory Michael Smith plays Chase in the movie, while the cast also includes Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Matt Wood as John Belushi, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson, Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal, Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol, and more.
What did Chevy Chase say to Jason Reitman about Saturday Night?
Speaking on the Fly on the Wall podcast, per Variety, Reitman recalled Chase’s reaction after watching Saturday Night for the first time.
“So, Chevy comes in to watch the movie,” Reitman said. “And he is there with [his wife] Jayni and they watch the film, and he’s in the group, and he comes up to me after and he pats me on the shoulder and goes, ‘Well, you should be embarrassed.’”
Reitman continued, “I’m trying to balance it, because, in my head, I know, ‘Alright, I’m getting my own Chevy Chase moment that’s 1,000 percent only for me right now,’. And from a comedy point of view that’s really pure, and that’s kind of cool. But also, I just spent like two years of my life recreating this moment and trying to capture Chevy perfectly, and also even in the ego, find the humanity and give him a moment to be loved. No, none of that sh-t played. He’s not talking about that stuff.”
Saturday Night is now available to rent or purchase on streaming outlets such as Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and more.
Netizens eagerly seek details about Ainsley Earhardt‘s ex-husband and their relationship history. Ainsley Earhardt, a television host and author, co-hosts the popular morning show Fox & Friends alongside esteemed colleagues.
Here’s what we know about Ainsley Earhardt’s ex-husband, their relationship, past challenges, and more details.
Who was Ainsley Earhardt married to?
Ainsley Earhardt was married to her ex-husband, Will Proctor.
The couple tied the knot in October 2012, sharing a joyful celebration. However, after nearly seven years of marriage, they decided to part ways and finalized their divorce in 2019. Allegations surfaced claiming Proctor had been unfaithful, but he strongly denied these accusations, maintaining his innocence throughout.
What is Will Proctor’s job?
Will Proctor is a former starting quarterback.
After his football career, Proctor transitioned to corporate work. He currently serves as the Head of Sponsor Coverage and a Managing Director at Neuberger Berman, a New York-based private investment management firm. According to his official bio, he is also a member of the company’s Private Credit investment team.
As a football player, Proctor played for the Clemson Tigers at Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I-A. He also played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
How many kids do Ainsley Earhardt and Will Proctor have?
Ainsley Earhardt and Will Proctor share one child.
Their daughter, Hayden Dubose Proctor, was born in November 2015. On November 7, Earhardt shared the news in a heartfelt post on X (formerly Twitter):
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome our new baby girl, Hayden, into this world. My husband and I are overjoyed!!”
In October 2021, Earhardt candidly discussed experiencing a miscarriage before conceiving Hayden. During an interview with Yahoo! Life and in a personal essay for Women’s Health, she detailed her journey to motherhood and the challenges she faced.
Netflix’s new TV and movie releases for December 30 2024 – January 5 2025 include Avicii I’m Tim and Avicii My Last Show.
December 31, Tuesday, brings Avicii I’m Tim and Avicii My Last Show to Netflix. The first one is a music documentary that chronicles the rise and fame of the late Tim Bergling, best known to everyone as Avicii. Henrik Burman wrote and directed the documentary.
Meanwhile, Avicii My Last Show is a 30-minute short that details Avicii’s last performance at Ibiza’s Ushuaia nightclub before his tragic demise in April 2018.
Also dropping on Netflix this week are Evil Season 3 and The Millionaire Matchmaker.
Evil is a mystery crime thriller series helmed by Michelle and Robert King. The story follows a forensic psychologist, a priest in training, and a technology expert who join forces to solve crimes connected to demonic entities, miracles, and supernatural elements. Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi lead the cast as Dr. Kristen Bouchard, David Acosta, and Ben Shakir, respectively.
Meanwhile, The Millionaire Matchmaker is a reality series starring Patti Stanger, the CEO and founder of The Millionaire’s Club. In this series, she works to help wealthy men find their soulmates.
New Netflix releases for December 30 2024 – January 5 2025
Below are all the new TV shows and movies being added to Netflix from December 30 2024 – January 5 2025.
December 31
Avicii – I’m Tim
Avicii – My Last Show
Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall
Evil Season 3
The Millionaire Matchmaker (Seasons 5-7)
NOTE: Netflix’s schedule for January 1-5 2025 is currently unavailable as of this writing. This weekly schedule story will be updated when the official schedule for those dates and the ones between them arrive.
Tim Allen recently opened up about the upcoming Toy Story 5, giving a new update on the story for the film and when he’s set to begin work on it.
Speaking to Collider in a recent interview, Allen — who has played Buzz Lightyear throughout the franchise’s history — revealed he recently began work on Toy Story 5, and stepped back into the recording booth for a big session.
“Well, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. Yes, I just did the first five-hour session for Buzz, probably a week ago,” Allen said. “It’s really, really weird to get back in it. I can’t tell you anything.”
Later in the interview, Allen praised the story of the film, noting that it’s not being made to make money or be successful, but because the story is “really good.”
“It’s a very, very clever story,” said Allen. “Do you wanna do five of these? I don’t really believe it’s about the money. I’m sure they want it to be a success, but that’s not why they did it. Had they not come up with a brilliant script, they wouldn’t have done it and they wouldn’t have called me and Tom [Hanks]. It’s really clever. It was really a struggle to get, and then maybe two hours in, I was doing Buzz. I’m so blessed to be Buzz Lightyear, to be honest. It’s gonna be fun. I think we’re a year out. I’ve gotten up to the third act. We’ll do the third act. And then, we’ll go back and clean it. And then, I’ll do it about five more times. It’s a really good story, guys. It’s really good.”
What do we know about Toy Story 5?
While not much more is known about Toy Story 5, Tim Allen said last year that Disney has reached out to both him and Tom Hanks to work on the film.
“Bob Iger, head of Disney, said that [Toy Story 5] was on. He actually said that it was going to happen,” Allen said. “They have reached out to Tom [Hanks] and I to reprise the roles. They’re not saying anything about it.
“What it is, for people like me, it’s just like I’m a sci-fi buff. You wonder if four was too many, is five going to be too much? According to the scuttlebutt, the writer that’s doing it wrote one of the better ones. He said, ‘If I didn’t get this right, I wouldn’t do it.’ So it could be a very, very interesting way to reunite it.”
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In February 2023, Iger officially announced that Toy Story 5 was in the works. Pete Docter, the chief creative officer (CCO) for Pixar, told The Wrap about the upcoming sequel later that month, “I think it’ll be surprising. It’s got some really cool stuff that you haven’t seen before.”
Sinners is a new mysterious horror movie directed by Coogler that stars Michael B. Jordan. It was originally supposed to be released in United States theaters on April 2, 2025.
What is the new release date for Sinners?
Warner Bros. Pictures has now announced that Sinners has been pushed back by a little more than a month. It will now open in United States theaters on April 18, 2025, as well as in IMAX.
“Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back,” the synopsis for Sinners reads.
Along with Jordan (Black Panther, Creed) in a dual role, the film stars Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Jack O’Connell (Ferrari), Wunmi Mosaku (Passenger), Jayme Lawson (The Woman King), Omar Benson Miller (True Lies) and Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods).
Coogler produces the movie alongside Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. Ludwig Göransson, Will Greenfield, and Rebecca Cho serve as executive producers.
Speaking with Deadline at the Red Sea Film Festival, Miller said of Sinners, “I think that one’s gonna be a whopper. This is a movie you want to see in the theaters.”
He continued, “I’ve been doing this for a little bit, and you can usually feel when you have something. And on the night of wrap, the editors put together 10 minutes of just an assembly and I could have watched a whole two-hour movie just standing there with my feet hurting. (Coogler) is making something creative, in that it’s multi-genre… Ryan is as good as anybody behind the camera today, I stand by that.”
Squid Game has returned with Season 2 on Netflix, and the fans have several questions. One of the most prominent among them is about the prize money the winner of the eponymous game receives and how much that money is when converted from South Korean won to US dollars. In Season 1, Lee Jung-jae’s Seong Gi-hun ultimately wins the prize money, but the entire ordeal leaves him traumatized. In Season 2, he joins the game not necessarily to win the money but to put an end to the said game.
So, here are all the details of the prize money in both seasons of the show.
Here’s the prize money Squid Game Season 1 and 2’s winner gets
The prize money in both Seasons 1 and 2 are the same, and it’s 45.6 Billion won.
In Season 1, Gi-hun wins against Cho Sang-woo in the final game but refuses to kill him. However, the latter makes him promise that he will take care of his mother, and dies after stabbing himself in the neck.
After returning home, Gi-hun discovers that his own mother is dead. He spends a year without doing anything with the money and discovers the truth about Oh Il-nam. He eventually decides to share his winnings with Sang-woo’s mother and Sae-byeok’s brother.
The prize money is not one of the key aspects of the narrative in Season 2. It has effectively been replaced with Gi-hun’s desire for vengeance and justice. Either way, things end disastrously for him this season. Although he survives and will likely appear in the now-confirmed third and final season, several of his allies are killed, and a player revolt fails.
How much is 45.6 Billion won in US Dollars?
Per the conversion rate as of December 26, 2024, 45.6 Billion won equates to 31.1 million in US dollars.
While it may not be proportionally as big a number as 45.6 Billion, $31.1 million is still a considerable amount of money. Moreover, it can drastically change a person’s life no matter where they live, as shown in Squid Game.
Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra has opened up about the company’s Spider-Man universe, saying that it might be time they rethink how to approach the films amidst Kraven the Hunter‘s box office performance.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Vinciquerra was asked whether or not he believes the strategy of the Spider-man universe films needs to be rethought. The CEO acknowledged they did, calling the universe “snake-bitten” and saying that, no matter if a movie is good or bad now, it will be mocked.
What did Sony’s CEO say about the Spider-Man universe movies?
“I do think we need to rethink it, just because it’s snake-bitten,” said Vinciquerra. “If we put another one out, it’s going to get destroyed, no matter how good or bad it is.”
The CEO also touched on the poor performances of both Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter, two Spider-Man adjacent films that were received poorly critically and from audiences. According to Vinciquerra, the film’s themselves weren’t bad, but the bad press reaction to both is what led many away from them.
“Let’s just touch on Madame Web for a moment. Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press just crucified it,” Vinciquerra said. “It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix. For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them. They also did it with Venom, but the audience loved Venom and made Venom a massive hit. These are not terrible films. They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.”
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Kraven the Hunter, Sony’s latest entry in the Spider-Man universe of films for them, was widely considered a failure. The film has since grossed only $43.9 million, and has received generally negative reviews from both fans and critics alike.
ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Gladiator II costume designer Dave Crossman about his experiences on the Ridley Scott-directed sequel. Crossman discussed the biggest challenges of designing the costumes for Gladiator II, how the experience compared to working on Scott’s Napoleon, and more.
“From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.”
Gladiator II will be available to purchase on digital on December 24, 2024, from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Brandon Schreur: I’m wondering if you can tell me a little bit about how you got involved with this. They’ve been talking about Gladiator II for a long time, now. I remember there was a lot of, ‘Will it happen? Won’t it happen?’ It got off the ground with Paul Mescal. When you got involved, what was going through your head at this point? Was this a big, intense project to be a part of?
Dave Crossman: It was. Basically, I’m involved because Janty [Yates], the costume designer who did the first Gladiator, I’ve worked with Janty since I was about 18 years old. We had just finished Napoleon together. I was on another job because I thought I was going to do Gladiator because I can’t even remember what the reason was. It just kept pushing or moving back; I was doing something else.
Janty called me and said, ‘No, it’s happening and we can do it.’ I started by looking at the amounts that we had to get done in a three-month period. We had to produce quite a lot of armor in a 12 to 13-week run. You have to go through all these processes of designing it, pricing it — all these things had to happen before you can actually push the button and make the 500 sets of Roman, 500 sets of Numidian, and all that kind of thing.
We were all in a slight panic just to get it done and shipped to Morocco on time. Once Ridley starts on something, there’s no stopping him. He’s kind of relentless and just wants to get it done. If he could film it tomorrow, he would. He just wants to get on with it and get into it. So you’re always hoping the film will push two weeks, give us two more weeks time, but it just never did. So we did Morocco and, of course, Ridley shot that very quickly. Then you have to move everything from Morocco to Malta. It’s a constant race.
In amongst that, you’re trying to do a nice job with the actors, with Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, their armor. It’s kind of a mixture.
I’m sure. Gladiator II is just such a huge movie, for many reasons. The scale of it, the story, the production, and, obviously, the costumes. There is no doubt in my mind that it was probably a lot of work to do all of that. What would you say was the biggest challenge of doing something of this scale?
You want to put your own mark on it, in a way. I didn’t want to copy everything that was in the first Gladiator. Obviously, that’s a big thing because it’s quite an iconic film. You kind of worry about those comparisons, but I think we changed things like the Praetorian Guard, we changed the Roman army. We changed the way the officers look. There’s all those kinds of things.
At the same time, you’re still walking in the footsteps of that film. So it obviously affects how Paul looks, for instance. Ridley likes a particular look of a leather cuirass, so that’s what we had to kind of focus on with Paul in the Colosseum. Because you could honestly dress gladiators in a lot of different ways, but Ridley likes that look.
I think the challenge really was time. It was just trying to get everything there. When we actually did the gladiators in the Colosseum, we wanted to individualize their looks a lot. So it just means everything takes a bit longer to make. People were flying in from London with cases of stuff, literally putting it on bodies and then onto the set. There was a very quick turn-around because it just kept coming forward, the schedule.
Sure. That leads to what I was going to ask you, too. There’s a distinct look for each of the gladiators in this movie, but it’s also not lost on me that, especially in the second half of the movie, there are all kinds of background actors dressed up in armor and everything. Did you have to do all of that? How many costumes did you have to make in total?
It was about 500 Romans. Then we made about 100 Roman cavalry because the people on horseback wore a different type of uniform and helmet. There were about 500 Numidians, and they had more partial armor, so different helmets and helmets from antiquity that could have come from all over Africa, Eastern Europe, or from Rome, at the time. There was the Praetorian Guard, I think we made a couple hundred of those. Then a couple hundred actual gladiators, themselves. It’s just a lot.
It sounds like a lot.
You’d like to rent some of it but, a lot of the stuff that you rent, it’s all kind of aged badly or it has gone brittle and you can’t wear it. A lot of the time, you don’t like the style of the helmet. I love the style of Roman helmets that we gave to this film and, hopefully, they’ll end up in various other films over the years. They will go to rental places and become something else.
That makes total sense. Gladiator II isn’t a true story, but it’s based on history and everything. Obviously, Ancient Rome was a real place. When you approach this project, do you have to do a lot of historical research to see what people were wearing back then?
I think most of my stuff is based on a kind of reality because I’m not too keen on making it too fantastical. I looked at all the actual references. Anything I took normally came from original Roman reference and then we maybe exaggerated or enhanced it, that kind of thing. But I always find it more believable if it comes from a place where you can believe it yourself.
This is also not the first time you’ve worked with Ridley Scott. Right before Gladiator II, you were involved with Napoleon, which is a big, huge, and epic movie, itself. What’s harder to do, to make all these costumes for a movie that’s set during the French Revolution or to do Ancient Rome? Or is it apples and oranges, two totally different things?
Gladiator was hard, but it was easier on some levels. Napoleon was so complex with all the years that we covered and all the different regiments and types of uniforms. That made Napoleon super complex and super stressful. With Gladiator, there are Romans, Praetorians, gladiators, and Numidians. At least you’re dealing with more of a block of things. I think definitely Gladiator was a bit easier.
Thanks to Dave Crossman for discussing Gladiator II.
Netflix has released the first Happy Gilmore 2 teaser trailer for the upcoming Adam Sandler sequel. The 45-second video also features the return of Christopher McDonald as the villainous golfer Shooter McGavin. No release date was set, but the film is said to be “coming soon” in 2025.
In Happy Gilmore 2, Sandler returns as the titular Happy, a former hockey player who turns to golf when he needs to raise money to save his grandmother’s house. Happy’s unorthodox golf swing and rowdy etiquette shake up the PGA Tour, and he quickly becomes a fan favorite.
Besides Sandler and Stiller, the actors reprising their roles from Happy Gilmore for the sequel include Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, Happy’s chief rival and fellow golfer on the PGA Tour, and Julie Bowen as Virginia Venit, a PR director and Happy’s love interest.
Newcomers set to appear in the Happy Gilmore 2 cast include Benito Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny), Nick Swardson, Benny Safdie, Margaret Qualley, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (AEW star MJF), Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi), Travis Kelce, and John Daly.
Kyle Newacheck (Murder Mystery) is directing Happy Gilmore 2 from a script co-written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy. Producers include Sandler, Herlihy, Robert Simonds, and Jack Giarraputo. While the first film came from Universal Studios, Happy Gilmore 2 is a Netflix production.
Released in 1996, Happy Gilmore was one of Sandler’s first movie star roles post-Saturday Night Live. The golf comedy grossed over $41 million against a $12 million budget.
Happy Gilmore 2 is currently in production. The film will stream on Netflix at a later date.
Derek Fisher recently made headlines after he shared his thoughts on the current NBA climate, where he said that teams and players do not have ample practice for their games, possibly due to their packed schedules. This has likely increased interest in the retired Los Angeles Lakers player’s personal life, as fans have become curious to know about his wife, her profession, and her Instagram handle.
Here is what we know about Fisher’s spouse.
Who is Derek Fisher’s wife?
Derek Fisher’s wife is Gloria Govan.
The couple tied the knot in 2021 in Malibu. They were originally set to get married in 2020, but COVID-19 derailed their plans and they had to delay it by a year.
They had gotten engaged in 2018, three years before their wedding, after dating for over three years. Fisher had proposed to Govan at their Los Angeles home in April 2018, according to TMZ.
Govan has two sons, Carter and Isaiah, from her previous marriage to Matt Barnes, Fisher’s former teammate at the Lakers between 2010 and 2012. Meanwhile, Derek is a father of four children, Tatum, Drew, Marshall, and Chloe.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Govan is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
What is Gloria Govan’s job and Instagram?
Gloria Govan is an actress and entrepreneur. Govan’s Instagram handle is @glogovan.
Govan is known for her role in the reality TV series Basketball Wives LA. As an entrepreneur, Govan is the CEO of RLNTLSS Brands. This is a brand management and development company specializing in the cannabis industry. She is also the founder of the co-working space, CoWell Haus. CoWell Haus includes premium fitness facilities like treadmill desks, bike spaces, and orthopedic chairs.
Govan has a total of 387k followers on Instagram, where she primarily posts pictures pertaining to her personal life.
ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Gladiator II production designer Arthur Max about the Ridley Scott-directed sequel starring Paul Mescal. Max spoke about his experiences building the Roman sets and the Colosseum, how technology aided the production design process, and more.
“From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.”
Gladiator II will be available to purchase on digital on December 24, 2024, from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Brandon Schreur: You’ve obviously worked with Ridley Scott many times over the years, including doing production design for the first Gladiator movie. Gladiator II is something that’s been talked about for a long time — I remember hearing Russell Crowe might come back, and then it ended up being Paul Mescal. When you actually got the call, Ridley said, ‘We’re finally going to do this movie,’ what was your reaction? Was that a challenge you were excited to tackle or is the scale and the scope of recreating Ancient Rome again nerve-wracking for you to do?
Arthur Max: It was very daunting. The first one is so iconic and you don’t want to mess it up, you don’t want to paint a mustache on the Mona Lisa. Also, Ridley wanted to go larger scale. A bigger canvas, if you will. The challenges were amplified by all the scenes with water, which is always a difficult way of working. Ridley’s done several films that feature the sea. There’s White Squall and there’s 1492. He loves it. I hadn’t done any major water work before. So that was a challenge.
I’m sure it was. But I love how it turned out. I was going to ask you about that, too — there’s the one, big water sequence in the Colosseum. I’m curious how you went about tackling that whole project. It’s so huge, so epic to look at. Where do you even begin when Ridley says, ‘We’re doing sharks in the Colosseum with water and boats,’ how do you tackle that?
We have round-table discussions with all the heads of department, with Ridley at the helm. It worked out that, from the practical point of view, it was easier to do everything in the dry, as much as possible, and put the water in digitally than it would be to work in water and then put all the sets in digitally. That’s the approach we took. Really, in the main Colosseum set — and we had two Colosseum sets — the full Colosseum set we built on the first one had to be raised higher to accommodate the water depth. And, also, to allow the boats to come in through the main arch. So everything went up vertically. That was challenge number one.
Then, to get the illusion of the water filling up, we added the face of Neptune as a kind of a relief sculpture spewing water. The water was just recycled, if you will, into a dumpster, whatever you call it. It was recycled with a pump so that it seemed like it constantly filling. Then the main water was put in digitally afterwards.
We then went down the road from where we built the Colosseum in Malta to the studio, which has a football field-sized horizon tank. We built a piece of the Colosseum in there and actually did the practical water for the stunt work and the close-ups of the battle, the mock naval battle, that way.
Then the Numidian assault that opens the movie, that was done in the desert. We had a small area of beach that we built, which was just for one scene where Lucius finds Arishat floating with an arrow in her chest. The rest was all done in the dry and the water was put in digitally afterwards. The technology came to the rescue on this. We were very much guided by the input we got from the special effects department, the physical effects and how they’d be moving the ships around, and the visual effects, which as we said earlier, we prefer to do things in the dry. That made life easier for everyone.
We went from the first one, which was largely a hand-made film, to the second film, which was more reliant — not totally, but more reliant on digital techniques.
Interesting. That leads right into what I was going to ask you. It’s been 25 years since that first movie. And Gladiator, itself, looks impressive as hell, I mean it’s great. And then this one is even bigger and more epic, I was just wondering if there was any kind of carry-over between the first movie and this one? Did you reuse anything or did you basically have to start from scratch when you were doing Gladiator II?
We had to start from scratch. Since we made the first one, the whole world has become much more interested in the ancient world, generally, and there’s been a host of films and TV films devoted to the ancient world, particularly Rome. Not only feature films and TV films, but also documentaries. A lot more has been produced in terms of physical accessories of that time. When we did Gladiator, there was nothing. Just a handful of pieces that we could use in terms of props, set dressing, furniture, and weapons. There hadn’t been an ancient Roman epic for about 40 years prior to the making of that film.
This sequel, there was a wealth of material that we could rent. Some of which we built on the first movie and had been bought by prop houses, both in Italy and in England, that we could rent back from ourselves all those years later. On one level, we had that advantage. There’s an awful lot of fabrication that we had to do. Just to populate the larger sets, there wasn’t enough to go around. All the thrones, the chariots, the imperial wagons, much of the weapons, and the war machine — we maybe had one or two, but we needed a dozen of each this time. So we were doing a lot of fabrication. Which, with digital technology, became more practical and efficient than it had on the hand-made film that was the first version. We had much less time. Not only the shooting schedule, but the prep schedule was very much compressed compared to the first one.
Sure, totally. I had read about that, that it was a quicker shoot but there was also the strikes in the middle that changed some things up. From start to finish, how long did it take you to make all of this? Because it looks huge and I’ve seen interviews where Denzel Washington is talking about how it’s like a whole city being built. How long did it take?
Yeah, it was like a fairly, medium-sized town. We had 12 weeks to design and about 14 weeks to build it all. On the first one, we had about 20 weeks to design and I believe it was 26 weeks to build it. So it was an enormous compression. But we had more tools and we had more people, actually. The scale of the construction was immense.
Crunchyroll has revealed the first Dan Da Dan Season 2 teaser trailer for the next installment of the popular anime series based on Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga of the same name. It is scheduled to premiere sometime in July 2025 on Crunchyroll.
“It follows Momo, a high school girl from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate Okarun, an occult freak. The two of them start talking after Momo rescues Okarun from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them – Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts,” reads the official synopsis. “To make the mutual deniers believe in each other, Momo goes to an abandoned hospital known for its UFO sightings, and Okarun goes to a tunnel that is said to be haunted. In each place, they encounter overwhelming paranormal activity that transcends comprehension. Amid these predicaments, Momo awakens her hidden power and Okarun gains the power of a curse to challenge the paranormal forces! Their fateful love begins as well!?”
What happens in the Dan Da Dan Season 2 teaser trailer?
The video introduces a powerful and sinister enemy that Okarun, Momo, and their friends must face in the next season. The said ghost has been terrorizing Momo’s childhood friend Jiji ever since he moved into a new house. The trailer seemingly confirmed that the enemy’s main goal is to take over Jiji’s body. The video also provides a preview of some of Season 2’s action-packed sequences.
Dan Da Dan Season 2 hails from animation studio Science SARU (The Colors Within, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off), with Fuga Yamashiro directing from a screenplay written by Hiroshi Seko. It is described as an electrifying, action-packed love letter to sci-fi and horror with the heart of a ruthlessly funny teen rom-com. The voice cast includes Shion Wakayama (Lycoris Recoil) as Momo, Natsuki Hanae (Demon Slayer) as Okarun, Mayumi Tanaka (One Piece) as Turbo Granny, Ayane Sakura as Aira, Kaito Ishikawa as Jiji, and more. It features original music from Chainsaw Man’s Kensuke Ushio, with Fuga Yamashiro directing the anime.
A surprising backstage update has surfaced regarding the highly anticipated debut of WWE RAW on Netflix. The flagship show is set to premiere on January 6, 2025, at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
WWE has already confirmed major details, including appearances from Superstars like John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and more. Rapper Travis Scott will also join the event, adding to the excitement of the Netflix debut edition.
Rumors have circulated for weeks, hinting that WWE plans to deliver a premium live event-style card for the debut episode. The promotion has already announced three major matches: Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk, Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley, and Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the main event of the show.
WWE has announced two major matches and a star-studded lineup, but the big question is how long the show will run. A few months ago, reports stated that WWE and Netflix were working on the show’s runtime. However, no updates have been given since then.
Recently, RAW changed its schedule to a two-hour format after 12 years. This schedule will continue each week until the final episode airs on the USA Network on December 30, before RAW moves to Netflix in January.
With only a few weeks left until the Netflix debut, recent reports have revealed a surprising backstage update. WWE talent is still unsure about the runtime of the show ahead of its premiere episode.
WWE talent unsure about WWE RAW runtime on Netflix
Fightful Select’s latest behind paywall reports say WWE hasn’t told the talent how long RAW will be once it moves to Netflix. At the final RAW taping before Christmas, talent mentioned they had not received any answers about the show’s length. However, one source mentioned that Netflix does nit have strict time limits, so there will likely be flexibility with RAW’s runtime.
While the runtime of WWE RAW on Netflix is still unknown, WWE recently announced a major change for SmackDown. Starting with the January 3 episode, the show will move to a three-hour format.
Netflix‘s new TV and movie releases for December 23-29 2024 include Squid Game Season 2 and Maestro in Blue.
The highly-anticipated second season of Squid Game will hit Netflix on December 26, 2024. The story picks up three years after the events of Season 1 and sees Seong Gi-hun aka Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) take part in the titular game again with a new perspective. Hwang Dong-hyuk helmed this Korean thriller-drama, serving as director and executive producer of all the episodes of the second season.
The new season will feature Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon, Jo Yu-ri, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Lee Jin-uk, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, and Won Ji-an as part of the ensemble cast. Hwang Jun-ho and Gong Yoo will return from the first season.
Then, on December 28, Maestro in Blue arrives on Netflix. Created by Christopher Papakaliatis, who also stars in the series, the story follows musician Orestis as he starts a romance with Kleila, after leading a musical festival on an exotic island. Around this time, Orestis also finds himself tangled in other people’s problems.
Also coming out this week is Your Friend, Nate Bargatze.
Your Friend, Nate Bargatze is Nate Bargatze’s third Netflix special. In this special, he tells anecdotes and jokes about pizza-ordering strategies for guys’ night outs, adopting a second dog, and his dependence on his more responsible wife. This special was directed by Ryan Polito and written by Bargatze.
New Netflix releases for December 23-29 2024
Below are all the new TV shows and movies being added to Netflix from December 23-29 2024.
Lee Cronin, Writer/Director seen at Warner Bros. EVIL DEAD RISE Screening, Los Angeles, CA, USA - 17 Apr 2023 (Photo by Stewart Cook/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
Director Lee Cronin’s mysterious next movie has officially been revealed, and it’s a new horror film titled The Mummy from New Line, with Blumhouse co-producing the project.
What do we know about The Mummy?
The Mummy is set for an April 27, 2026 release date, and plot details aren’t exactly known as of now. However, Cronin did tell The Hollywood Reporter that it would be unlike any movie featuring a Mummy that fans may have seen, and he’s looking to dig up something “very ancient and very frightening” with the movie.
“This will be unlike any Mummy movie you ever laid eyeballs on before,” Cronin said. “I’m digging deep into the earth to raise something very ancient and very frightening,”
It’s important to note that this movie is not a remake or reboot of The Mummy franchise, which is owned by Universal. Nor will it have anything to do with Universal’s horror franchise. Instead, this sounds like a completely original and unique story featuring a mummy.
In a post on Instagram from Blumhouse and Cronin, they shared the cover page of the film’s script, which transformed from a scratched-out title to reveal the film’s title.
Cronin’s directorial debut was with 2019’s supernatural horror The Hole in the Ground. Following that, the Irish filmmaker directed 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, which received positive praise and grossed over $147 million at the box office.
Naomi Osaka has been making headlines as she gears up for the Australia Open 2025. While fans are aware of her accomplishments in the world of tennis, many are also curious about her personal life. Some fans want to find out if the four-time Grand Slam winner is seeing anyone at the moment. So, who is Naomi Osaka’s boyfriend and what does he do for a living?
Here is everything fans need to know about Osaka’s partner, his job, and the couple’s relationship history.
Who is Naomi Osaka dating?
Naomi Osaka’s boyfriend is Cordae.
Cordae has been a supportive partner to his girlfriend. He stood by Osaka’s side in many of her games including her smashing victory at the 2020 US Open.
What is Cordae’s job?
Cordae is a rapper and singer-songwriter.
Born on August 26, 1997, he hails from Raleigh, North Carolina. He was fond of music since his teenage days and dropped three mixtapes, I’m So Anxious, Entendre: Anxiety, and I’m So Anonymous. He also joined the now-disbanded YBN hip-hop team. In May 2018, Cordae dropped his first rap song which was a remix of Eminem’s song “My Name” called “Introduction to the World.”
A year later, the 27-year-old released his first album called The Lost Boy which was very successful, and the single “Bad Idea” received a Grammy nomination. Cordae’s second album, From a Birds Eye View, was also very successful as well.
Naomi Osaka and Cordae’s relationship history
Naomi Osaka and Cordae sparked dating rumors in April 2019 but kept their relationship under wraps. Cordae then acknowledged their romance after two months. As per Cordae’s interview with Hot 97, he wasn’t aware of his girlfriend’s success as a tennis player despite watching a game with her in Los Angeles. In July 2023, the couple became parents to their first child, named Shai. (via People)
