7 minutes ago It's been a few weeks now since Aquaman released in theaters and it is no longer up for debate: Aquaman is a smash hit. After a modest (by superhero movie standards) opening weekend of $67.8 million, James Wan's film has gone on to make over $266.4 million domestically and is racing towards $1 billion with $963.3 million. That makes Aquaman the DCEU's most successful film to date from a total box office standpoint by a pretty sizable margin. So why, after Justice League sank so spectacularly just a year ago, did Aquaman make such a splash? Aquaman obviously succeeded financially in large part because of its foreign box office, with international sales accounting for over 72% of the film's haul, according to Box Office Mojo. I'm interested not in the dollars and cents specifically, but the reasons why people were willing to pay them to see this film when the last DCEU film featuring Aquaman and a bunch of other heroes found so many wallets tightly gripped. What … [Read more...] about 6 Big Reasons Why Aquaman Succeeded
Awakening big fish
Keira Knightley illuminates a writer’s awakening in the shrewd, witty ‘Colette’
The history of the arts, among other zones of human accomplishment, is full of mediocre men who have taken credit for the accomplishments of extraordinary women. Sometimes, the man and the woman happen to be married to each other. Film scholars have been gradually restoring the legacy of the silent-era director and producer Alice Guy-Blache, whose trailblazing work was often misattributed to her husband. A few years ago, the movie “Big Eyes” recounted the trials of the popular artist Margaret Keane in the 1950s and ’60s, when her charlatan of a spouse passed off her paintings as his own. We can imagine how much worse it was for female artists working in earlier, even more repressive societies. Here to prove the point — and also to complicate it, in unexpected and pleasurable ways — is “Colette,” a witty, spirited portrait of the great French writer and libertine during the early Belle Epoque years of her career. The film recounts the … [Read more...] about Keira Knightley illuminates a writer’s awakening in the shrewd, witty ‘Colette’
Scheer hopes Galaxy Quest show will be what Force Awakens was to Star Wars
When STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS was released, it brought back the franchise in a big way for a whole new generation of fans, and Paul Scheer is hoping that his Galaxy Quest TV series will similarly revitalize the GALAXY QUEST franchise. Scheer spoke on the Shoot This Now podcast to offer an update on the Galaxy Quest show, but unfortunately, it seems that the series is in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment after Paramount Television president Amy Powell was fired for insensitive comments. Despite that, Paul Scheer seems confident that the series will be quite the epic follow-up. "We want to create this kind of thing that feels like this epic sequel, but a continuation," Scheer said. "For me, I compared it to what ‘The Force Awakens’ is to ‘Star Wars.’ It is continuing a story but bringing in new characters." Scheer went on to say that what was so great about the GALAXY QUEST movie was that it was a fish-out-of-water story, and he hates when similar … [Read more...] about Scheer hopes Galaxy Quest show will be what Force Awakens was to Star Wars
Pastor’s girl and devout Christian Naomi Scott is set to join big-screen A-list after seeing off Little Mix star to win star role in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin
SHE’S the pastor’s daughter who made the move from an unremarkable London suburb to Hollywood — now Naomi Scott is set to join the big-screen A-list. With no formal acting training, the former church singer saw off Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall and thousands of other auditionees to win the star role alongside Will Smith in Guy Ritchie’s forthcoming live-action movie Aladdin. And Hollywood producers have backed Naomi by lining up even bigger roles for her. Naomi, who is married to Ipswich Town defender Jordan Spence, has already been announced as one of the stars of the Charlie’s Angels reboot. Former pop star Kelle Bryan discovered Naomi by chance when she was just 12. Kelle explained: “With everything she gets, she’s still refreshingly surprised. “She goes, ‘Oh my God, I landed it, I can’t believe it’, and I’m like, ‘No, you’re super-talented’. The Beast made a secret cameo in … [Read more...] about Pastor’s girl and devout Christian Naomi Scott is set to join big-screen A-list after seeing off Little Mix star to win star role in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin
Mark Hamill Calls Out Star Wars: The Last Jedi For Lack Of Emotion For Luke
x If you’re a discerning and intelligent cinemagoer, you’ll have recognized the scene where Luke Skywalker milks a big ol’ alien titty and gulps down its suspiciously colored milk as one of the finest moments of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. One of Rian Johnson’s most successful tactics in the film was to demolish the idea of Luke as some invincible hero and rub our faces in the grubby reality of his miserable life. This involved chugging down gross-looking liquids, hauling gigantic fish across cliff-sides and spending his time huddled in a stone-age hovel on a grey, rainy island dealing with an infestation of Porgs. Of course, all this was in service of eventually revealing the glowing hero of the Original Trilogy in that amazing Force-projection climax in which Luke appears to stand alone against the might of the First Order. So, it’s a little annoying that Mark Hamill apparently isn’t down with the milking scene, saying the following in a … [Read more...] about Mark Hamill Calls Out Star Wars: The Last Jedi For Lack Of Emotion For Luke