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Ariana Grande may star in the next MATRIX movie, which will take the franchise in a new direction. So there's no word on the nature of the story, or whether any cast members will be returning. A rumour that Will Smith was going to appear in the film was denied. The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard is directing. Jude Law will play Vladimir Putin alongside Alicia Vikander, Paul Dano, Tom Sturridge and Zach Galifianakis in THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN, based on Giuliano Da Empoli's 2022 novel about a TV producer who became Putin's spin doctor in the early 1990s. Olivier Assayas is directing. Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys are starring in the horror thriller HALLOW ROAD, as parents racing against time after their daughter causes a fatal car crash. Director Babak Anvari has already shot the film in Ireland, from a script by William Gillies. Sean Bean, Mackenzie Foy, Odeya Rush, Joe Pantoliano, Ty Simkins, Jack Kesy, Martin Sensmeier and musician Bryan Martin are starring in THE ISOLATE THIEF, a thriller set just after the American Civil War, as a young woman tries to hide the gold she has stolen from thugs tho took control of her outpost. Director John Suits is currently filming in Arkansas. Kathryn Hahn may play the villainous Mother Gothel in the live-action remake of TANGLED, a musical retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale about a princess who has been locked away in a tower. Michael Gracey is lined up to direct the new film from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Oscar Isaac has been lined up to voice Jesus Christ in THE KING OF KINGS, an animated drama that recounts the biblical story through the eyes of Charles Dickens. Also in the vocal cast are Uma Thurman, Kenneth Branagh, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Forrest Whitaker and Mark Hamill. Seong-ho Jang is directing. F Murray Abraham, Caroline Aaron, Noam Ash and Charlie Barnett will star in BOOKENDS, about a novelist who moves in with his grandparents after a bad breakup and gets entangled in decisions about their future care, all while finding romance with their doctor. Mike Doyle is directing from a script by Ash. Rodrigo Lombardi will reteam with Jailers director Jose Eduardo Belmonte for IN YOUR HANDS, about two Brazilian immigrants who travel to New York to seek revenge against the person who killed one of their family members and got away with it. Gus Van Sant will produce ANTINOUS, a psychosexual drama about a young actor who becomes convinced that he's the reincarnation of ancient Roman Emperor Hadrian's lover. Photographer and sculptor Stuart Sanford is making his feature directing debut. Filming will take place this year in Greece, London and Los Angeles. And it's official, Joe and Anthony Russo are back on set in the UK to direct the next two Avengers films, DOOMSDAY (set to open in 2026) and SECRET WARS (2027). They previously directed the second and third Captain America and the last two Avengers movies.
Tom Holland will produce and star in an adaptation of John Grisham's novel THE PARTNER, about a young Alabama lawyer who steals a stash of cash from his firm and fakes his own death, but gets caught in a horrific nightmare. Graham Moore is writing the script. Colman Domingo has joined the cast of THE RUNNING MAN, Edgar Wright's new take on the Stephen King novel set in a dystopian America (in 2025) where a reality show is played to the death live on TV. Costars include Josh Brolin, Katy O'Brian, Karl Glusman and Daniel Ezra. Emma Thompson, Rebecca Root, Anna Friel, Christopher Eccleston and Julian Ovenden will star in HEAR ME ROAR, based on the true story of a trans woman who in 2000 took on Britain's legal system to have her 1980s marriage legally recognised. Amy Coop is directing from a script by Lisa McMullin and Ashley Bayston. Donnie Yen may star in and direct a John Wick spin-off about his character CAINE, the blind but extraordinarily lethal killer who was introduced in the fourth movie. A free agent without ties to the High Table, Caine was last seen in Paris as Rina Sawayama's murderous concierge tracks him down. Robert Askins is writing the script. Already in post-production, A WORKING MAN reteams Jason Statham with The Beekeeper director David Ayer for another action thriller about a man whose violent past comes back to haunt him when a member of his family is put in harm's way. This time, the familiar set-up has a human trafficking theme. A trailer is already out. Danny Dyer will star in THREE QUICK BREATHS, a high-concept action thriller in which he is the only actor on-screen. There's no word on the plot, but it's been compared to Phone Booth. Filming starts in Dublin later this month. Payal Kapadia says she is developing two more Mumbai-set dramas that will follow on from her acclaimed hit All We Imagine as Light, which explores complexities of working-class life in India through the eyes of three women who become friends. The three films will form a loose trilogy. Danny Boyle will also direct the third film in the 28 YEARS LATER trilogy written by Alex Garland, after previously directing 28 Days Later (2002), 28 Weeks Later (2007) and this summer's trilogy opener, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes. Cillian Murphy won't be in the first film, but might reappear later; the second, subtitled THE BONE TEMPLE, is directed by Nia DaCosta. And filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra is up for making a sequel to his streaming hit thriller CARRY-ON, if the fans want to see one and a sparky idea emerges for the script. The film stars Taron Egerton as an airport security officer blackmailed by traveler Jason Bateman into allowing dodgy luggage onto a plane.
Jacob Elordi is lined up to star in Ridley Scott's film THE DOG STARS, a thriller about a pilot living on an abandoned airbase with his dog during a global pandemic. Paul Mescal had been set for the role, but had to drop out due to his work on Sam Mendes' ambitious BEATLES biopics. Amy Adams is producing an adaptation of Eliza Kennedy's novel LUCKY NIGHT, initially as a stage play. It's about two people who are having an affair and finally get to spend a night together in a luxury New York hotel, but a badly timed smoke alarm turns their relationship on its head. Bill Skarsgard will take on the lead role in Andrew Niccol's sequel to his arms-dealer thriller LORD OF WAR, alongside the returning Nicolas Cage. Skarsgard would be playing his son, who becomes a competitor trying to one-up his father. Armie Hammer will star in rather confusingly titled THE DARK KNIGHT, a thriller about a vigilante who hunts down criminals, which turns him into a social media hero. But the police see him as a menace. Director Uwe Boll will begin filming later this month in Croatia. Natalie Dormer and Assaad Bouab (Call My Agent) will star in MINOTAUR, a six-part French/Welsh thriller series about a woman who, while battling addiction issues, falls for a man with a mysterious underworld past. Celyn Jones is writing and directing. Billy Zane, Zach Roerig (The Vampire Diaries) and Cara Jade Myers (Killers of the Flower Moon) will star in DAY OF RECKONING, a hostage thriller set in the Wild West. Documentary and promo-clip filmmaker Shaun Silva is directing. Tom Ford is planning to adapt Anne Rice's novel CRY TO HEAVEN for the big screen. It's about two men in 18th century Venice, a nobleman and a castrato singer, trying to make it in the opera world. Casting is apparently underway. Brett Ratner is returning to directing after a decade-long break to make a feature documentary about Melania Trump, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life of the former and future first lady. Melania is also producing the film. Sony is doubling down on videogame adaptations, with plans to make movies out of HORIZON: ZERO DAWN, set in the distant future on a planet full of huge machines, and HELLDIVERS, a Starship Toopers-like violent mix of military action and alien bugs. And awards season kicked up a gear with the Golden Globe Awards presented on Sunday, boosting the prospects of Emilia Perez, The Brutalist, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin and Fernanda Torres. Meanwhile, guild nominations gave a boost to Anora and A Complete Unknown. Both Bafta and Oscar nominations are announced next week.
Word has it that Harrison Ford will be back for a sequel to the 1997 thriller AIR FORCE ONE, in which he played the US President battling terrorists who hijack his plane. The film costarred Glenn Close, Gary Oldman and William H Macy, but there's no word yet about the plot of a possible sequel. After playing Aquaman in several films, Jason Momoa will now play another character in the new DC Universe: alien biker mercenary Lobo. Apparently, he'll first appear in the role in SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW. Willem Dafoe will reteam with filmmaker Robert Eggers for at least two more movies, having previously appeared in The Lighthouse, The Northman and Nosferatu. It's unclear which of Eggers' planned projects they'll be, as Eggers has several things in the works, including a RASPUTIN series, a LABYRINTH remake or medieval adventure THE KNIGHT. Josh Duhamel, Dylan Sprouse and Til Schweiger will star in the thriller THE NEGLECTED, about a detective who learns that his son has been buried alive, and he needs to solve three murders before he can rescue him. David Lipper is directing from a script he wrote with Adam G Levine. Charlie Cox will reportedly reprise his role as Daredevil in the forthcoming AVENGERS movies DOOMSDAY and SECRET WARS. Of course, no one has confirmed anything. Cox has played the character across several series and movies. Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has been lined up by producer Kevin Feige to play a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although no one is saying what this might be. Lee has already shot the third season of Squid Game. Spencer Boldman (Welcome to Chippendales) will produce and play music legend Ronnie Milsap in ALMOST LIKE A SONG, based on Milsap's autobiography. Blind from birth, Milsap had a career that traversed from country to pop, R&B and rock music. And Warner Bros is planning more DUNE movies after Denis Villeneuve finishes work on DUNE: MESSIAH. In addition to another season of the prequel TV series Dune: Prophecy, there are plans to continue adapting Frank Herbert's novels with the next book CHILDREN OF DUNE. OLDER NEWS >> | ||
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S T A G E & M O R E beyond the big screen... | |||
 December TV Roundup SCREEN: Disclaimer, A Man on the Inside, Monsters, Perfect Couple, Only Murders 4, Heartstopper 3 and more...  This is the greatest show STAGE: Riches and Kearns are hilarious as Ball and Boe for 14 nights only at Soho Theatre...  A gleeful panto mashup STAGE: Potted Panto makes a triumphant return to Wilton's Music Hall for the holidays.  Walk away the blues DANCE: Rosas brings Exit Above, an extraordinary explosion of movement, to Sadler's Wells...
COMEDY: Larry Dean takes his
INTERVIEW: An encounter with STAGE: Tom Gaskinbrings his endearing, impressive Filibuster to Jackson's Lane... COMEDY: Paly & Jay bring their Ultimate Roadshow to London...
DANCE: Chicos Mambo bring Tutu STAGE: Emma Hemingford's new play Foreverland at Southwark Playhouse Borough... DANCE: Frontiers showcases Canadian choreographers at Sadler's Wells... DANCE: Akram Khan brings his powerful take on Giselle to Sadler's Wells... STAGE: The Sex Lives of Puppets returns for another run at Southwark until 28th Sep...
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NEWS SOURCES:
Dark Horizons.
The Hollywood Reporter.
Variety.
Deadline.
Empire.
IMDb.
Rotten Tomatoes.
| ALSO: Ain't It Cool News. Digital Spy. The Wrap. Sight and Sound. Entertainment Weekly. BBC. CNN. Evening Standard. The Guardian. Film Threat. indieWire. Screen International. © 2024 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK | ||
MUFASA: THE LION KING
DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA
WICKED: PART I
