Matthew Monagle
American Humane Disproves ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ Animal Abuse Video
With everyone’s feeds full of horrible news stories these days, you’ve probably already forgotten about the video of alleged animal abuse on the set of A Dog’s Purpose. Back in January, TMZ shared leaked footage of animal handlers aggressively dragging their canine star into a tank of water. The clear signs of the dog’s panic caused an internet firestorm, with star Josh Gad distancing himself from the project and PETA calling for an immediate boycott of the film. A Dog’s Purpose still performed well enough in its opening weekend, but the scandal no doubt cost it ticket sales at the box office.
Keanu Reeves Just Can’t Stay Retired in the ‘John Wick Chapter 2’ Teaser Trailer
These days it seems like every recognizable actor above the age of 50 is getting their own spin on the Taken franchise. As a result, not a lot of people batted an eye when it was announced that Keanu Reeves would be playing a retired contract killer in some mid-range action movie called John Wick. Imagine our collective surprise, then, when John Wick was not only not another Taken clone, but one of the best action movies of the decade. Fans were quick to clamor for another glimpse at the violent action and posh criminal underworld of the first film.
Daniel Craig Walks Back His James Bond-Related Fatigue
Ah, my old friend, the James Bond rumor. No franchise has produced as many questions about the state of its current cast as the unnamed Bond sequel. Will Daniel Craig be returning to the role? Definitely not. Or, wait, probably. No, they’re actually casting a new James Bond as we speak. Scratch that, they’ve actually backed a dump truck full of money onto Craig’s front lawn to get him back. Or they’ll probably go in a different direction.
‘Moulin Rouge’ Will Become a Musical Because It Can, Can, Can
The relationship between Broadway and and Hollywood has always struck me as a bit unfair. Hollywood basically gets its pick of pre-packaged products: wonderful lyrics, showstopping dance numbers, and beloved songs. Broadway, meanwhile, has to do most of the heavy lifting when adapting a movie for the stage. Oh, you want to make Waitress into a Broadway musical? That’s great! You’ll just need to write a whole new suite of songs. And figure out all the choreography. And rewrite the book to make those first two things fit. Because the movie has none of that.
Rumor: ‘The Flash’ Will Fight Supervillain Group The Rogues in Standalone Film
Critics of the DC Cinematic Universe have often pointed out that Warner Bros. has tried to crawl before they can walk, choosing to stuff their movies with as many recognizable villains and superheroes as possible instead of slowly ramping up their exposure for movie fans. And while I am certainly not as pessimistic about the future of the DCU as others, I will agree that Warner Bros. too often seems to include three or more characters when one or two would suffice. So it’s not particularly surprising to hear a rumor that the standalone Flash movie will feature — you guessed it — as many villains as possib
You Have Chris Pratt to Thank for Kurt Russell’s Role in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: whenever you need to cast someone as a giant floating face planet, get Kurt Russell. Russell has long been one of our most self-deprecating movie stars, an immensely talented actor with movie star looks who, for some wonderful reason, always preferred to play the buffoon over the action hero. Movies like Big Trouble in Little China and even the more recent The Hateful Eight reveal that Russell is never happier than when making fun of his movie star persona.
Stephen Lang Says ‘Avatar 2’ Will Start Production in 2017
I’m probably the only person in the world who is actually excited for more Avatar movies. It’s a fact I made my peace with ages ago. If more Avatar films means more opportunities for James Cameron to direct large-scale futuristic war movies, and demonstrate more of the gruff “brothers-in-arms” humor that made Aliens such a success, then you can go ahead and make your Braveheart jokes. I’ll suffer through some wonky storytelling if it means more Cameron action sequences, thank you very much.
Dwayne Johnson Confirms the New ‘Jumanji’ Movie Is a Sequel
This weekend, as he normally does, Dwayne Johnson went on Instagram to say goodbye to his most recent movie shoot and say hello to the next thing in his pipeline (seriously, the only time this guy sleeps must be when he is flying from one movie location to another). And while it’s worth noting that Johnson thanked many of the Fast 8 cast and crew excluding Vin Diesel — the feud lives on! — it was another small comment about his upcoming production of Jumanji that turned a few heads.
Check Out the First TV Spot for ‘Doctor Strange’
Television spots are always something of a mixed big. On the one hand, you’re rarely going to see new content in television ads, and the new trailer for Marvel’s Doctor Strange is certainly no exception. On the other hand, though, just the fact that a television spot exists means that the release of the movie is just around the corner. To its credit, this new spot also really highlights the things we’re already excited to see: freaky inter-dimensional travel and the impassive teachings of Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One.
Second Trailer for ‘The Accountant’ Still Puts Everything In Its Right Place
Never underestimate the importance of the right song to your trailer. In the first trailer for The Accountant, we got our first glimpse at Ben Affleck’s killer set to the haunting dissonance of Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place.” And while Britt may have been right — the track may have been just a little too on the nose — gosh darn it, the whole thing just worked. Now Warner Bros. is back with a brand new trailer that teases out a little more information about the title character but kept the Radiohead song. Everything in its right place, indeed.