Film
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BLACKPINK in your area — and a theater near you! The superstar girl group unveiled the trailer on Tuesday (July 9) for their upcoming concert film celebrating their eighth anniversary, BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK] IN CINEMAS, which is set to hit screens worldwide on July 31. In the 30-second clip, the girls are seen dominating global stages, executing flawless […]
“What if The Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”
That was the question M. Night Shyamalan asked when he pitched the concept of his new film Trap, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker revealed in an interview with Empire magazine.
Trap follows a dad (Josh Harnett) as he brings his teen daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert to see Lady Raven, a fictional pop star played by Shyamalan’s real-life daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, The Hollywood Reporter says. But it’s not all fun and friendship bracelets here: they find themselves in the middle of a police operation to capture a serial killer known as “The Butcher.”
In the latest trailer previewing the movie, seen below, a stadium employee says in a hushed voice, “This whole concert is a trap.”
As Shyamalan told Empire, “I directed an entire concert! And it wasn’t just a thing in the background. It’s equally important. There is no pretend concert going on.”The director added, “I love the idea of cinema as windows within windows. One of the reasons to come see the movie at the movie theater is because there’s literally a real concert that you can see nowhere except in that movie.”
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Shyamalan said Trap was partially influenced by his daughter’s aspiring music career, and inspired in part by the 1985 “Operation Flagship,” a sting operation by U.S. Marshals and the DC Metropolitan Police Department that resulted in the arrest of more than 100 wanted fugitives who were lured in by free NFL tickets and the chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl. “The cops were literally cheerleaders and mascots. These guys were dancing as they came in. And they were all caught. It was so twisted and funny,” Shyamalan commented.
Trap, from Warner Bros. Pictures, will be in theaters Aug. 9.
Check out Warner Bros.’ new trailer for Trap and a clip of Saleka Shyamalan, who penned 14 original songs for the film, performing as Lady Raven below.
Of her goals in music, in a profile on the family published by The New York Times she said, “I think once he [M. Night Shyamalan] saw that I had passion for it in the same way that he had a passion for film, he understood it and was like, all right, I’m with you, let’s make this happen.”
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Amy Winehouse was portrayed by Marisa Abela in the much-buzzed about biopic, Back to Black, which hit theaters back in May. The film is now heading to streaming services, and is available to watch on Peacock beginning on Friday (July 5).
The biopic follows the life of the beloved Grammy winner, who is best known for her groundbreaking sophomore album Back to Black, which included the Hot 100 hits “Rehab” and “You Know I’m No Good.” Winehouse, who battled drug and alcohol addiction, died in 2011 at age 27 from alcohol poisoning.
The Studio Canal film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (A Million Little Pieces) and written by Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy) was made with the support of the Winehouse estate, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing and features a number of the singer’s most beloved hits.
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Iain Cooke, the film’s music supervisor, worked closely with Abela as well as Winehouse’s former band and her estate to capture the late superstar’s unique musical essence on film. See below for Billboard‘s chat with Cooke on all things Back to Black, and catch the film on Peacock now.
Bring me back to when you got the call to be the music supervisor on the biopic. What was it like?
It was it was really exciting. I also saw it immediately as a challenge, and one that would be sort of a journey to bring to life. I actually came on board 10 months before we shot — a long, long time before and there was only really the director, the producers and the writer. They hadn’t crewed up because it wasn’t officially greenlit. The first thing I was tasked with doing was to actually negotiate the rights for the Amy songs in order for the film to get greenlit and that was that was quite an intense few months negotiating. Once we got the approval, we began to prep.
We put Marisa in with a team, a vocal coach and a guitar tutor to work on the material and then we brought on our music producer, Giles Martin, who did a wonderful job. It was really an amazing process from pre-prep through the shoot, through the post production and the edit and on all the way to the final mix. It was about two years work.
What was it like working with Marisa to capture Amy’s unique essence?
She honestly was phenomenal. I’ve got nothing but praise and admiration for her because she works so hard. She was a complete joy to work with and really positive and she just immersed herself in it. She had phenomenal pitch and timing and she just really studied Amy as an artist and also studied some of her influences. She was great.
How do you preserve the authenticity of such a sensitive and widely told story?
All the filmmakers and collaborators involved just felt really passionate about the story and wanted to be the guardians of that authenticity. It was really important to preserve the integrity of her legacy and we all wanted to do the right thing by her. One of the things that we did was we approached her old live band early on — and we would have completely understood if they didn’t want to be involved — but we approached them to see whether they would like to come in and pre-record the live backing tracks and they did. It was just incredibly special and incredibly moving. It was her real band that played that those gigs who pre-recorded the music, and you can’t get more authentic than that.
Is there a scene in the film that you’re excited for people to see?
There’s a moment very early on in the film that Marisa sings ‘What Is It About Men’ — she’s just in her bedroom and it’s just a one-shot with nothing to hide behind. We knew that if we got that moment right, that the audience would be really in the film with us and in the journey. Marisa just did incredible.
I also absolutely love Glastonbury. You know, credit to the sound team. They did an amazing job in the mix. If you watch it, you get that spirit. You know, it’s wild and free. Chaotic, but just the energy of it is magic. Amy was one of the most important recording artists of all time, and she’ll stand up in history alongside the greats that influenced her. She had lyrical wit and one of the greatest recording voices and most distinctive recording voices on record. I hope that we’ll go back and listen to her again, and rediscover and keep listening to her because she’s a classic forevermore.
Lastly, what’s your favorite Amy Winehouse song?
“Love Is a Losing Game.” It’s a timeless, beautiful song.
Back in April, Donald Glover revealed on a livestream of his GILGA radio show that he would be releasing two more albums under the Childish Gambino before he retires it for good. He already dropped the first of the two with Atavista, which is essentially the a more polished version of his 3.15.20 album that […]
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While many of us still mourn the loss of our beloved FX series, Atlanta, we knew it ended because the show’s main cast of Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, and LaKeith Stanfield were moving on to bigger and better things in both film and TV.
Now we’ve gotten our first look bootleg look at Donald Glover’s next cinematic project in Bando Stone and The New World which is a blend of comedy and sci-fi. Starring Glover as a singer known as Bando Stone, the trailer features the titular character waking up to a new reality as he finds himself wandering around town as seemingly the last person on earth. After being found by a gun-toting woman and her daughter, Bando soon learns that not only has humanity suffered a catastrophic event, but that humans aren’t alone on this planet anymore.
Getting chased by prehistoric looking creatures that may or may not be part of an alien invasion and facing off with hostile humans who may or may not be racist, Bando and company have to stay on the move if they plan on surviving whatever otherworldly entities have done away with the world that he and everyone else were familiar with.
Though the official trailer for the film has yet to be released, a fan was able to capture the joint at a Thursday night screening of A Quiet Place: Day One after Glover announced the trailer would be premiering along with the film.
So check out the bootleg trailer to Bando Stone and The New World below (before it’s forced to be taken down) and let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it hits theaters later this year.
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While comic book fans await word on whether Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson will actually take on the role of Apocalypse in one of Marvel’s future X-Men films, the wrestler-turned-actor will be starring in a new film alongside Captain America himself, Chris Evans.
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Amazon MGM Studios released the first trailer for their upcoming comedy-action holiday film RED ONE and truth be told it actually looks pretty damn entertaining. After Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped from the North Pole, his right-hand man (The Rock) is tasked with the mission of tracking him down and to help him do so they call on the talents of a non-believer in Chris Evans. After being reluctantly pulled into the search and rescue mission, Evans is exposed to the fantasy world that exists outside of the reality everyday human beings are used to.
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From talking Polar bears to slap fighting competitions held by Krampus, the trailer to RED ONE really seems like it’ll be a fun experience for both kids and adults alike.
Check out the trailer to RED ONE below and let us know if you’ll be checking this out when it hits theaters on November 15.
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Bill Cobbs, the prolific veteran film and television actor has passed away, with Wesley Snipes and others paying tribute.
On Wednesday (June 26), the renowned character actor Bill Cobbs passed away at his home in Inland Empire, California. He was 90 years old. His passing was announced in a post on Facebook by his brother Thomas G. Cobbs. “We are saddened to share the passing of Bill Cobbs,” he wrote. “Bill recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones. As a family we are comforted knowing Bill has found peace and eternal rest with his Heavenly Father. We ask for your prayers and encouragement during this time.” It was confirmed by Cobbs’ publicist, Chuck I. Jones who said: “Bill was a phenomenal human being in addition to being a spectacular actor. He was very kind, giving and attentive to others.”
Bill Cobbs appeared in more than 200 films and television shows after beginning as a prominent theater actor working with the African American Performing Arts Center and Karamu House Theatre in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio before moving to New York City and starring with the Negro Ensemble Company in the 1970s. A small role in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in 1974 kicked off his career on the screen, with his most prominent roles being the manager for Whitney Houston’s character in The Bodyguard, in addition to Officer Zachary Lamb in the Sylvester Stallion-fronted Demolition Man as well as other memorable roles in New Jack City and Night at The Museum. Cobbs’ television appearances ran the gamut of the medium, including Good Times, Sesame Street, ER, and NYPD Blue among others.
“I enjoy what I do, I really enjoy it,” he said in an interview in 2012. “It’s exciting to have a project and work on it and see it come to fruition, so I can find joy doing this so much.” Tributes to Cobbs poured in online after the news of his passing from other actors. Wesley Snipes, who worked with Cobbs in New Jack City, honored him in a post on X, formerly Twitter after the news broke by sharing the iconic scene where Cobbs’ character shoots Nino Brown after his trial. “Rest in Power, King,” Snipes wrote, adding a crown and praying hands emoji.
Brandy is set to star opposite Kathryn Hunter in A24’s psychological horror-thriller The Front Room. The film — directed by Max and Sam Eggers (brothers of director Robert Eggers) — is based on Susan Hill’s 2016 short story of the same name. The plot centers on a pregnant young couple who have to take in […]
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It’s going on five years since Marvel Studios announced that Mahershala Ali would be starring as the “Day Walker” in their new MCU iteration of Blade. Since then, the project has seen numerous changes to it’s script, directors and producers. Wesley Snipes is here for it all.
According to Variety, the Blade project recently suffered another setback when the film’s director, Yann Demange (Lovecraft Country, White Boy Rick), walked away from the project while picking up a new screen writer in Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow). With rumors that Mahershala Ali is growing frustrated to the point that he’s got one foot out the door of the project already, Wesley Snipes seems to be reveling in the turmoil of the vampire universe that he made pop with his original Blade franchise that he kicked off back in 1998.
Taking to X to give his two cents about Blade’s latest hiccup, Snipes wrote, “Blade, lordylordylordy… Folks still lookin for the secret sauce, ridin snowmobiles in traffic, kinda rough. Daywalkers make it look easy, don’t they?”
We’re not sure how the higher ups over at Marvel Studios will receive such shade from the OG Day Walker, but he’s not wrong.
Since it’s announcement, production on Blade has seen all kinds of hiccups over the past few years that’s left everyone involved frustrated with it’s progress (or lack there of), and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be resolved anytime soon.
Still, Snipes might want to tread a bit lightly as it’s rumored that Marvel might want him back as Blade for a cameo in their highly-anticipated Avengers: Secret Wars film, which is said to feature every single actor who’s portrayed every Marvel superhero since, well, ever. Don’t shade yourself out a bag, homie.
Per Variety:
Marvel announced a “Blade” movie with Ali in July 2019. Bassam Tariq was the first director to join the project, although he exited in September 2022, roughly two months before the film was set to begin filming. Several screenwriters have also been announced through the years, from “Watchmen” scribe Stacy Osei-Kuffour to Michael Starrbury.
Variety reported last November that “Blade” had gone through at least five writers by that time. One person familiar with the script changes said the story at one point morphed into a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons. Speculation at the time said that Marvel was still looking to make the film but on a budget of less than $100 million.
Though there are rumors circulating that Marvel has met with Jordan Peele to possibly helm the project, nothing solid has been said as of yet. That being said, maybe Marvel should hire Wesley Snipes as a producer to help get Blade back on track. At this point what do they have to lose? Heck, even Stephen Dorff (the villain from the first Blade film) poked fun at Marvel for not being able to get their version of Blade up and running.
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“Marvel is used to me trashing them anyway,” Dorff told The Daily Beast last year. “How’s that PG ‘Blade’ movie going for you, that can’t get a director? [laughs] Because anybody who goes there is going to be laughed at by everyone, because we already did it and made it the best. There’s no [original ‘Blade’ director] Steve Norrington out there.”
That man hasn’t done anything of relevance since Blade in 1998 (no shots), and even he’s cutting ass on Marvel. That’s not a good look for the MCU, b. Just sayin’.
What do you think Marvel should do with their Blade project? Let us know in the comments section below.
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It’s been years since Jordan Peele’s last hit sci-fi film, NOPE, enthralled audiences and left them wanting more of the director’s creative and social-politically driven imagination. On Monday (June 17), he gave everyone a date as to when we can expect to see his next project.
Taking to his official social media pages, Peele dropped a new post which didn’t say anything other than a date of “10.23.26.”
While there’s little word on what kind of film Peele is working on or who it’ll star, with the date close to Halloween of 2026 we can only assume it will be a new horror or sci-fi film.
Though he’s been credited as a producer on recent films like Candyman, Monkey Man (joint was hella dope) and the upcoming Him, starring Marlon Wayans, fans of Jordan Peele live to see what he cooks up whenever he writes and directs a new feature film.
There’s even been rumors that Jordan Peele has recently met with studio execs for Marvel Studios to take over the Blade project that’s been plagued by all kinds of problems from scripts being re-written numerous times to directors walking out on the project to the film’s star, Mahershala Ali rumored to be giving up on the role himself. Would a Blade film written and directed by Jordan Peele be something that fans would be interested in? You’re damn right we would.
Given Jordan Peele’s history of teasing his upcoming films, there’s a good chance we won’t get much more information until a year before the project is slated to release, so we can do nothing but speculate for the next year and change of what he might be cooking up. Could it be a brand new horror/sci-fi film? A sequel to one of his other classics? Could it actually be Blade or another Marvel movie like Midnight Sons? We have no idea, but we can’t wait to find out.
What do you think Jordan Peele will be dropping come October 2026? Let us know in the comments section below.