Movie News from December 21, 2022
Movie Studios can be sued for deceptive trailers
Variety released an article that I will like to below that essentially states that a federal judge has ruled that studios can be sued under false advertising laws if they release a trailer deemed deceptive.
This comes after two Ana de Armas fans filed a lawsuit alleging they rented Universal Pictures 2019 releaseYesterday after seeing de Armas in the trailer. de Armas scenes in the film were eventually cut from the final edit, and the fans felt they were cheated out of their money, as they had originally intended to see the film purely for de Armas involvement within it.
This is a silly slope that we're taking that could harbour negative impacts throughout the film industry. After all it was only a few years back Marvel's End Game and Infinity War released trailers that featured footage not seen within the film. As well, the reason de Armas' scenes were eventually cut from the final cut was because of negative test results from test audiences about the lead leaving the Lily James character for a different person. If the film is completely a different genre than the one it's portraying I can understand the logic behind it. Doing it because your favorite actor, who was set to have a minor role in the final product anyways didn't make the final cut; just doesn't seem like a solid legal argument. It's a fine line that will be walked going forward and we haven't seen the last of it.
Nic Cage wants to do a musical?
In an interview with Empire in their Greatest Actors Issue, Nic Cage opened up that the next acting challenge that he wants to partake in his career is possibly a musical. Cage stated to Empire that although he isn't much of a singer, he has sang a bit in Wild At Heart. When further questioned about what musical role he'd want to if given the opportunity? Cage jokefully suggested that Andrew Lloyd Webber give him a call for the role of Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar
Is this major news? Not necessarily, but Nic Cage is one of the most likeable dudes in Hollywood and anytime you can make a news statement around him you have too. Insert the fun possibilities of Cage in a musical and you have to hope that casting directors listening take him up on the opportunity.
New Look At Elizabeth Olsen in Love And Death
HBO released a new look at Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery, the housewife who brutally axe murdered her friend Betty Gore in 1980. The series will release sometime in the new year
Another true story made into a series, theres gonna be an audience for it, and an audience that disavows it. I have some excitement for it with Olsen and Jesse Plemons as our leads. Plemons will play Allan Gore, the wife of Betty Gore, and lover of Candy Montgomery. Being real people you have to hope that HBO will do the story properly and not fully exploit the Betty Gore tragedy while propping up a new fandom of Candy Montgomery fans. Ala the Dahmer series this past season.
Nope snubbed in the Sound Category
Earlier today, Downriver Reviews posted all the Oscar shortlists in technical categories- and there was a notable omission. Jordan Peele's Nope was left off the list and has left many cinephiles and fans of the film puzzled, as Peele produced some of the most skin crawling sound effects of the year.
Not a lot to add here, personally a bummer to see Peele get snubbed. Nope wasn't a favorite of mine this year, I really enjoyed it, but not to the degree of his past projects. Yet even I was fully onboard seeing Peele's film get nominated for the sound work it featured. The Academy once again makes a puzzling decision leaving off some of the most daring work in the field.
National Treasure 3 Still in Development
Jerry Bruckheimer in an interview with E once again vouched that there will be a third Benjamin Gates tale being told in theatres. That everyone involved including Nic Cage are ready and excited to see what the third saga in the National Treasure franchise could be like. Justin Bartha, who plays Riley Poole, Ben Gates business partner also teased the third instalment recently.
"Ben and I have been working on this super important thing for the last three, four, 15 years." Bartha
Currently Disney+ is airing their brand new television show in the franchise that has a vastly new set of main characters.
National Treasure is a staple franchise for so many households and after years of having the third edition start and stall again, I won't raise too much optimism just yet. The new television show is off to a strong start, and hopefully if viewership for the project goes strong- perhaps Disney and Bruckheimer can strike a nice middle ground and put Ben Gates in the front view.
Megan Fox and Michele Morrone set for a Sci-Fi Thriller
Deadline announced today that the two stars, known for Transformers and 365 Days respectively, are set to co leads in a new thriller, Subservience by Millenium Media.
The film is about a struggling father (Morrone) who purchases a domestic SIM (Fox) to help care for his house and family until she gains awareness and turns deadly.
Meh, a whole lot of meh. Fox hasn't done a noteworthy project in a long time. 365 Days was not necessarily a project that gathered more than a few internet laughs. The AI gone wrong genre had a successful turn with Child's Play (2019) and has M3GAN coming to theatres in the new year, so the competition to deliver a quality project will definitely be enhanced for Subservience to stick its landing.