Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 19th to 25th, 2020 - Update #26

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS - Hollywood and Beyond:

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooNYT:  COVID-19 may have been spreading throughout the United States much earlier than originally thought.

From Truthout:  The US’s Failed Response to the Pandemic Is Rooted in Anti-Blackness.

From THR:  "Better Call Saul" actor Bob Odenkirk talks about his son, Nate's bout with COVID-19.

From Variety:  Saturday, April 18th's star-studded "One World: Together at Home" concert raised $127 million for health care workers and coronavirus relief.

From YahooEntertainment:  Actor Tom Hanks recalls he and wife, actress-producer Rita Wilson's struggle to recover from COVID-19.

From YahooMoney: (4/17) - American are applying for "Food Stamps" in droves.

COVID-19 OBITS:

From MSN:  Donald Reed Herring, the oldest of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren's three brothers, has died at the age of 86, Tuesday, April 21, 2020 of complications related to COVID-19.

From THR:  American cinematographer, Allen Daviau, has died at the age of 77, Wednesday, April 15, 2020, from complications of COVID-19.  He was a five-time Oscar-nominee for best cinematography - three for his work with Steven Spielberg ("E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "The Color Purple," and "Empire of the Sun") and two for his work with Barry Levinson ("Avalon" and "Bugsy").

From Billboard:  Celebrated jazz saxophonist, Lee Konitz, has died at the age of 92, Wednesday, April 15, 2020 from complications of COVID-19.  Konitz was known for his association with the "cool jazz movement" and for his participation with Miles Davis' "Birth of the Cool" sessions.  In fact, Konitz was the last surviving performer of those sessions.

COVID-19 STIMULUS CHECK NEWS:

From YahooMoney:  What to know about the mailing of COVID-19 stimulus checks.

From YahooFinance:  (4/19) Here is why you aren't able to track your stimulus money.

From YahooNews:  Deceased people are getting stimulus check... and the heirs and spouses may be able to keep them.

From YahooNews:  This article updates information on COVID-19 stimulus checks, including the introduction of a web tool that will let people track their checks.

According to the Washington Post, here is the timetable for when the IRS will start issuing checks to those who will receive their checks by mail:

Taxpayers with income up to $10,000: April 24
Taxpayers with income up to $20,000: May 1
Taxpayers with income up to $40,000: May 15.

The article has information about mailing dates after May 15th.

REGULAR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

ANIMATION - From CartoonBrew:  The new series of Looney Tunes cartoon shorts that were originally announced back in 2018 will debut on HBO Max streaming service when it debuts on May 27th.  They are being packaged as 80 episodes of 11 minutes in length.  Each episode will by comprised of animated shorts of varying lengths.

From CartoonBrew:  This link will let you see one of the shorts, a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd short entitled "Dynamite Dance."

STREAMING - From Variety:  Warner Media will launch its new streaming servie, "HBO Max," May 27th, 2020.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. has decided to release its upcoming theatrical animated feature film, "Scoob!," on VOD (video on demand) and premium digital ownership.  The film had been slated for a May 15th release in theaters.  The film details how Scooby-Doo and Shaggy first met and how they joined Fred, Daphne, and Velma to form "Mystery Inc."

MARVEL - From THR:  Marvel has terminated showrunner deals with Steve Lightfoot (Netflix/Marvel's "The Punisher") and Paul Zbyszewski ("Helstrom").

SEX - From BET:  Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish explains why she prefers men with small penises.

MOVIES - From GamesRadar:  Director Colin Trevorrow posts the first image from "Jurassic World: Dominion," the third film in the "Jurassic World" franchise.

MOVIES - From THR:  Lionsgate will begin work on a "Hunger Games" sequel film that will be based on the upcomig prequel novel, "The Battle of Songbirds and Snake" (May 19th).

STAR TREK - From Newsarama:  Actor LeVar Burton says that he is in talks to reprise his "Star Trek: The Next Generation" role of "Jordi La Forge" for season two of streamer, CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Picard."

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Netflix pays $20 million dollars for "The Starling," which stars Melissa McCarthy and is directed by Ted Melfi.

STREAMING - From Variety:  Apple may be about to make a $200 million+ risk on Martin Scorsese's next film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," which will star Leonard DiCaprio.

SPORTS - From Variety:  Jennifer Lopez and her fiance, former Major League Baseball great, Alex Rodriguez, may be working on a bid to buy the New York Mets baseball team.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Hot off "Harriet," Kasi Lemons will write and direct WWII drama, "The Shadow King."  It focuses on the women soldiers of Ethiopia who fought against a German invasion, but were left out of history.

OBITS:

From THR:   The film, TV, and stage actress, Shirley Knight, has died at the age of Wednesday, April 22, 2020.  She was a two-time best supporting actress Oscar nominee ("The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," and "Sweet Bird of Youth").  She was a three-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, and won a Tony Award for her performance in "Kennedy's Children."

From THR:  The actor, Tom Lester, has died at the age of 81, Monday, April 20, 2020.  Lester is best known for playing the lanky, wide-eyed, easygoing farmhand, Eb Dawson, on the CBS comedy series, "Green Acres" (1965 to 1971).  He was the last surviving regular cast member of the series.  

From Deadline:  The Indian/Bollywood actor, Ranjit Chowdhry, has died at the age of 64, Wednesday, April 15, 2020.  He crossed over into American films and television, beginning in the early 1990s.  He appeared in such American TV series as "The Office" (NBC) and "Prison Break" (Fox).  His most prominent American role was probably in the 2006 Queen Latifah film, "Last Holiday."

From Syfy:   The illustrator, animator, and comic book artist, Gene Deitch, has died at the age of 95, Thursday, April 16, 2020.  He directed the Oscar-winning animated short film, "Munro" (1960,) with the Oscar going to the film's producer.  In 1964, two animated short films Deitch directed earned Oscar nominations.  Deith may be best known for directing and creating the "Tom Terrific" cartoon shorts for the legendary children's TV series, "Captain Kangaroo" (CBS).  Gene's three sons are prominent figures in the Underground Comics movement, especially Kim Deitch.

Review: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" a Fall Off From First Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2019) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril 
DIRECTOR:  J.A. Bayona
WRITERS:  Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (based on characters created by Michael Crichton)
PRODUCERS:  Belen Atienza, Patrick Crowley, and Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Oscar Faura (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Bernat Vilaplana
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Ted Levin, Geraldine Chaplin, Isabella Sermon, James Cromwell, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones, and Jeff Goldblum

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 science fiction-thriller and dinosaur film from director J.A. Bayona.  It is the direct sequel to Jurassic World, the 2015 film that was a restart of the Jurassic Park film franchise, of which this film is the fifth installment.  Fallen Kingdom returns to Isla Nublar where an active volcano forces a rescue mission of the island's remaining dinosaurs, a mission that is not quite what it is supposed to be.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens on Isla Nublar, the setting of the failed dinosaur theme parks, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, where a secret mission takes place.  A once dormant volcano on the island has roared back to life and threatens to initiate an extinction-level event for the island's remaining dinosaurs.  Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) is the former partner of John Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park and the founder of InGen (the company that first cloned dinosaurs).  Lockwood and his aide, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), have a plan to relocate the dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary.

Lockwood summons Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), former Jurassic World operations manager, to reactivate the park's dinosaur tracking system.  She convinces Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), who trained the park's Velociraptors (raptor) to accompany her.  Grady is interested in rescuing the sole remaining raptor from his trainees, the pack leader, Blue.  With a former park technician, Franklin Webb (Justice Smith), and a paleo-veterinarian, Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), in tow, Dearing and Grady join mercenary leader, Ken Wheatley (Ted Levine), on a rescue mission to Isla Nublar.  As the volcano destroys the island, however, Dearing and Grady soon discover that not everything about this rescue mission as it is supposed to be.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom may be described as a science fiction-adventure film, but that is what the original Jurassic Park trilogy of films were.  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, like the first film, Jurassic World, is a science fiction-action film with elements of a techno-thriller.  Hanging over Fallen Kingdom are the threats of ecological disaster and environmental or biological apocalypse.  The original Jurassic Park films were about adventure, the chase, and the escape.  The Jurassic World films are about technology and conspiracy.

Beyond that, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a serviceable scary movie.  Director J.A. Bayona offers a by-the-numbers directing style that makes the work of Jurassic World's director, Colin Trevorrow (who returns as this film's co-screenwriter), seem more imaginative than it actually is.  At least in Jurassic World, Trevorrow was able to make the characters and their conflicts, struggles, and dilemmas seem interesting.

In Fallen Kingdom, Claire Dearing and Owen Grady are mostly wooden, except for a few moments.  When he has to play Grady as the ass-kicking hero and rescuer of white maidens in distress, Pratt does not seem to really put his heart into his performance.  I think a child playing with action figures could make his toys more convincing as heroes than Pratt in in this film.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is pass-the-time entertainment that you watch because it is the most convenient or most available thing available, the way a one-dollar McDonald cheeseburger has to satisfy your hunger because that is all that is available to you.  Would I watch Fallen Kingdom again once it starts making the basic cable movie channel rotations?  Sure, if Jurassic World is not playing.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, March 15, 2019


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 1, 2019

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUL180487    ALIENS TP DUST TO DUST    $17.99
FEB190350    AVATAR TSU TEYS PATH #4 CVR A WHEATLEY    $3.99
FEB190351    AVATAR TSU TEYS PATH #4 CVR B STANDEFER    $3.99
MAR190338    BEASTS OF BURDEN PRESENCE OF OTHERS #1 (OF 2)    $3.99
MAR190293    BLACK HAMMER 45 FROM WORLD OF BLACK HAMMER #3 CVR A KINDT    $3.99
MAR190294    BLACK HAMMER 45 FROM WORLD OF BLACK HAMMER #3 CVR B COWAN HU    $3.99
JAN190437    CALL OF DUTY ZOMBIES 2 TP    $17.99
MAR190358    GIRL IN THE BAY #4 (MR)    $3.99
JAN190441    HALO OMNIBUS TP VOL 02    $24.99
JAN190475    HOUSE OF FEAR TP ATTACK OF KILLER SNOWMEN & OTHER STORIES (C    $12.99
NOV180269    JURASSIC WORLD FALLEN KINGDOM COLORING BOOK TP    $14.99
DEC180405    OLIVIA TWIST HC HONOR AMONG THIEVES    $19.99
JAN190414    QUANTUM AGE TP FROM WORLD OF BLACK HAMMER VOL 01    $19.99
JAN190427    STRANGER THINGS TP VOL 01 OTHER SIDE    $17.99
JAN198507    TERMINATOR SECTOR WAR #4 (OF 4) CVR A    $3.99
JAN198508    TERMINATOR SECTOR WAR #4 (OF 4) CVR B YOUNG    $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 20, 2019

DARK HORSE COMICS

JAN190424    AVATAR TSU TEYS PATH #3 CVR A WHEATLEY    $3.99
JAN190425    AVATAR TSU TEYS PATH #3 CVR B STANDEFER    $3.99
NOV180225    BEASTS OF BURDEN WISE DOGS & ELDRITCH MEN HC    $22.99
NOV180278    BLADE OF IMMORTAL OMNIBUS TP VOL 08    $21.99
JAN190454    BPRD DEVIL YOU KNOW #14    $3.99
NOV180232    BPRD HELL ON EARTH HC VOL 05    $34.99
OCT180364    EROMANGA SENSEI TP VOL 02    $11.99
OCT180365    GANTZ G TP VOL 03    $13.99
NOV180237    HARROW COUNTY LIBRARY EDITION HC VOL 02    $39.99
JAN190409    INVISIBLE KINGDOM #1    $3.99
JUL189183    JURASSIC PARK ADULT COLORING BOOK TP    $14.99
NOV180223    MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 #5 CVR A NAUCK    $3.99
NOV180224    MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 #5 CVR B VANCE    $3.99
NOV180252    POLAR HC VOL 04 KAISER FALLS    $19.99
JAN190439    STARCRAFT SOLDIERS #3 (OF 4)    $3.99
NOV180220    WORLD OF TOM CLANCY DIVISION HC    $39.99

20 Films Compete for Visual Effects Noms at 91st Academy Awards

20 CONTENDERS ADVANCE IN VFX OSCAR RACE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 20 films are in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 91st Academy Awards.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

“Ant-Man and the Wasp”
“Aquaman”
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Black Panther”
“Bumblebee”
“Christopher Robin”
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”
“First Man”
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”
“Mortal Engines”
“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”
“Paddington 2”
“A Quiet Place”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”
“Welcome to Marwen”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary list of films eligible for further awards consideration.  Later this month, the committee will select a shortlist of 10 films that will advance to nominations voting.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

The 91st Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television.

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Review: "Jurassic World" is a Vending Machine Treat

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

Jurassic World (2015)
Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril 
DIRECTOR:  Colin Trevorrow
WRITERS:  Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly; from a story by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (based on characters created by Michael Crichton)
PRODUCERS:  Patrick Crowley and Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John Schwartzman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Kevin Stitt
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, B.D. Wong, Judy Greer, Andy Buckley, Lauren Lapkus, Katie McGrath, Eric Edelstein, and Jimmy Fallon

Jurassic World is a 2015 science fiction-thriller and action-adventure film from director Colin Trevorrow.  The film is a restart of the Jurassic Park  film franchise.  Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures and Steven Spielberg, who directed the original film, Jurassic Park (1993), are the executive producers of this movie.  Jurassic World returns to the setting of the first film, which is now a popular dinosaur theme park, but a new attraction turns the place into a nightmare.

Over two decades after the disaster that was the late John Hammond's Jurassic Park, the island of Isla Nublar now has a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, named Jurassic World.  That is where Gray Mitchell (Ty Simpkins) and his older brother, Zach (Nick Robinson), are headed, with VIP access thanks to their aunt, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is Jurassic World's operations manager.

This new park is run by the Masrani Global Corporation, which also owns InGen, Hammond's genetics company that invented the process of using DNA found in dinosaur fossils to make new dinosaurs.  However, after a decade in operation, Jurassic World has been experiencing a decline in visitor rates, because dinosaurs are no longer the “hot thing.”

Park owner Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) demanded that a new attraction be created to spark visitors' interest.  Behold Indominus‍ rex, a hybrid dinosaur made by combining the DNA of an unknown number of animals.  U.S. Navy veteran, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), trains Jurassic World's four Velociraptors, which have imprinted on him as the pack alpha.  Masrani wants Owen to evaluate Indominus‍ rex before this new attraction is presented to the public. Owen discovers that this hybrid dinosaur is really dangerous.  Then, everything goes bad...

Jurassic World is quite an entertaining movie.  I watched it on DVD, and there were times that I could not stop watching it, even when the phone rang.  Like the Indominus rex, Jurassic World is itself a hybrid, as it blends the disaster film with the monster movie (much in the way a Godzilla film does).  This is pure escapist entertainment.  Pop some popcorn; sit on the sofa and turn out the lights.  Watch this movie and have a blast...

...because beyond that, you won't have much.  Jurassic World may be a restart of the franchise, but it lacks the newness and freshness, the sense of wonder and awe, that defined the original, 1993's Oscar-winning Jurassic Park.  So rather than being a restart, Jurassic World is in actuality nothing more than another Jurassic Park film.

The characters are not interesting, and their plight did not grab me, as the characters' troubles in the first film did.  When the most interesting female character in this film is a CGI dinosaur, as is the case with the raptor, Blue, then, the movie has fundamental problems.  Even the relationship troubles between the two brothers and its resolution feel forced and phony.  I can't remember the last time juvenile sibling characters had the kind of stiff dialogue that the Mitchell brothers had.

I like Chris Pratt, and he uses all his charm to make something out of Owen Grady, a character with potential, which the writers and director of this film did not seem to realize.  Bryce Dallas Howard uses her acting skills to make something of the mannequin that is Claire, but that character is beneath her.  And poor Omar Sy comes across as a pitiful token, playing Owen's stuck-in-the-corner assistant, Barry; yeah, Barry wasn't even worth a last name.

Yeah, Jurassic World is a blast as a scary monster movie, a dumb sci-fi thriller that actually delivers on the thrills.  But in the end, it is nothing more than film product – the equivalent of a fast food hamburger that you have already forgotten a few minutes after eating it.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, November 28, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

10 Compete for "Visual Effects" Oscar at 88th Academy Awards

10 CONTENDERS REMAIN IN VFX OSCAR RACE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 88th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

    “Ant-Man”
    “Avengers: Age of Ultron”
    “Ex Machina”
    “Jurassic World”
    “Mad Max: Fury Road”
    “The Martian”
    “The Revenant”
    “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
    “Tomorrowland”
    “The Walk”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist.  All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 9, 2016.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations - Film Categories

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is an American labor union that represents film and television performers worldwide.  Most people probably know SAG for the various actors’ strikes or for the Screen Actors Guild Award, which SAG uses to honor outstanding performances by its members.  The first SAG Awards ceremony was held in February 1995 (for films released in 1994).

Nominations for the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced on Wednesday, December 9, 2015.  Winners will be revealed during the January 30, 2016 awards ceremony that will be simultaneously telecast on TBS and TNT.

The “Ensemble” categories are SAG's equivalent of a “Best Picture” or “Best Television Series” award.

2016/22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations:

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
BRYAN CRANSTON / Dalton Trumbo – “TRUMBO” (Bleecker Street)
JOHNNY DEPP / James “Whitey” Bulger – “BLACK MASS” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Hugh Glass – “THE REVENANT” (20th Century Fox)
MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Steve Jobs – “STEVE JOBS” (Universal Pictures)
EDDIE REDMAYNE / Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT / Carol Aird – “CAROL” (The Weinstein Company)
BRIE LARSON / Ma – “ROOM” (A24)
HELEN MIRREN / Maria Altmann – “WOMAN IN GOLD” (The Weinstein Company)
SAOIRSE RONAN / Eilis – “BROOKLYN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
SARAH SILVERMAN / Laney Brooks – “I SMILE BACK” (Broad Green Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
CHRISTIAN BALE / Michael Burry – “THE BIG SHORT” (Paramount Pictures)
IDRIS ELBA / Commandant – “BEASTS OF NO NATION” (Netflix)
MARK RYLANCE / Abel Rudolph – “BRIDGE OF SPIES” (DreamWorks)
MICHAEL SHANNON / Rick Carver – “99 HOMES” (Broad Green Pictures)
JACOB TREMBLAY / Jack – “ROOM” (A24)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
ROONEY MARA / Therese Belivet – “CAROL” (The Weinstein Company)
RACHEL McADAMS / Sacha Pfeiffer – “SPOTLIGHT” (Open Road Films)
HELEN MIRREN / Hedda Hopper – “TRUMBO” (Bleecker Street)
ALICIA VIKANDER / Gerda Wegener – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features)
KATE WINSLET / Joanna Hoffman – “STEVE JOBS” (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:

BEASTS OF NO NATION (Netflix)
ABRAHAM ATTAH / Agu
KURT EGYIAWAN / 2nd I-C
IDRIS ELBA / Commandant

THE BIG SHORT (Paramount Pictures)
CHRISTIAN BALE / Michael Burry
STEVE CARELL / Mark Baum
RYAN GOSLING / Jared Vennett
MELISSA LEO / Georgia Hale
HAMISH LINKLATER / Porter Collins
JOHN MAGARO / Charlie Geller
BRAD PITT / Ben Rickert
RAFE SPALL / Danny Moses
JEREMY STRONG / Vinny Peters
MARISA TOMEI / Cynthia Baum
FINN WITTROCK / Jamie Shipley

SPOTLIGHT (Open Road Films)
BILLY CRUDUP / Eric MacLeish
BRIAN D’ARCY JAMES / Matty Carroll
MICHAEL KEATON / Walter “Robby” Robinson
RACHEL McADAMS / Sacha Pfeiffer
MARK RUFFALO / Michael Rezendes
LIEV SCHREIBER / Marty Baron
JOHN SLATTERY / Ben Bradlee, Jr.
STANLEY TUCCI / Mitchell Garabedian

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (Universal Pictures)
NEIL BROWN JR. / DJ Yella
PAUL GIAMATTI / Jerry Heller
COREY HAWKINS / Dr. Dre
ALDIS HODGE / MC Ren
O’SHEA JACKSON JR. / Ice Cube
JASON MITCHELL / Eazy-E

TRUMBO (Bleecker Street)
ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE / Virgil Brooks
LOUIS C.K. / Arlen Hird
BRYAN CRANSTON / Dalton Trumbo
DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT / John Wayne
ELLE FANNING / Niki Trumbo
JOHN GOODMAN / Frank King
DIANE LANE / Cleo Trumbo
HELEN MIRREN / Hedda Hopper
MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Edward G. Robinson
ALAN TUDYK / Ian McLellan Hunter

SAG AWARDS HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“EVEREST” (Universal Pictures)
“FURIOUS 7” (Universal Pictures)
“JURASSIC WORLD” (Universal Pictures)
“MAD MAX: FURY ROAD” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION” (Paramount Pictures)

52nd Annual SAG Life Achievement Award
CAROL BURNETT

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20 Films Vie for 5 "Visual Effects" Nominations for Feb. 2016 Oscars Ceremony

20 CONTENDERS ADVANCE IN VFX OSCAR RACE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 20 films are in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 88th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

    “Ant-Man”
    “Avengers: Age of Ultron”
    “Bridge of Spies”
    “Chappie”
    “Everest”
    “Ex Machina”
    “Furious Seven”
    “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”
    “In the Heart of the Sea”
    “Jupiter Ascending”
    “Jurassic World”
    “Mad Max: Fury Road”
    “The Martian”
    “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”
    “The Revenant”
    “Spectre”
    “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
    “Terminator Genisys”
    “Tomorrowland”
    “The Walk”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary shortlist.  This year, in the Visual Effects category, the number of eligible films initially shortlisted for further consideration was increased to a maximum of 20 titles.  The number of films that will be shortlisted for nominations voting remains at 10, which will be announced later this month.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow to Direct "Star Wars: Episode IX"

Colin Trevorrow to Direct Star Wars: Episode IX

Friday, August 18, 2015, at D23, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn announced that writer-director Colin Trevorrow will direct Star Wars: Episode IX, which is set for release in 2019.

While production won’t begin for a few years, Trevorrow is heading to Lucasfilm this year to begin working with artists and his fellow Star Wars directors. “Colin is someone I’ve been interested in working with ever since I saw Safety Not Guaranteed,” says Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. “The power of that film paired with the enormous success of Jurassic World speaks volumes about his abilities both as a storyteller and skilled filmmaker. We are thrilled to have such an incredible talent as Colin join our family and step into the Star Wars universe.”

Trevorrow states “This is not a job or an assignment. It is a seat at a campfire, surrounded by an extraordinary group of storytellers, filmmakers, artists and craftspeople. We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had—a mythology to call their own. We will do this by channeling something George Lucas instilled in all of us: boundless creativity, pure invention and hope.”

Star Wars: Episode IX will conclude the third trilogy of Star Wars movies that begins with Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 18, 2015.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 21st to 30th, 2015 - Update #20

Support this writer on Patreon.

NEWS:

From YahooMovies:  Whatever for the first victim in the movie Jaws?

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 6/26 to 6/28/2015 weekend box office is Jurassic World.  With an estimated take of $54.2 million, this is the film's third week at #1.  Inside Out repeats as the #2 film with an estimated haul of $52.1 million.

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From FlickeringMyth:  Yep, "Top Gun 2."

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From CheatSheet:  What is known and unknown about "Star Trek 3."

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From YahooAutos:  Warner Bros. stops licensing the "General Lee" from "The Dukes of Hazzard."

From YahooAutos:  Cooter won't let it go, though.

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From THR:  "Independence Day 2" has an official title - Independence Day Resurgence.

From CinemaBlend:  Why isn't Will Smith in Resurgence.

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From YahooTech:  A William Shatner interview.

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 6/19 to 6/21/2015 weekend box office is Jurassic World with an estimated take of $102 million take.  It's still setting records.  Meanwhile, debuting at number two if Pixar's Inside Out with an estimated take of $91 million.

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From SlashFilm:  New news on various sequels.


COMICS - Films and Books:

From YahooNews:   There is supposedly an on-set therapist for Suicide Squad.

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From ThePlaylist:  Marvel may want Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first Thor film to return for the third film, "Thor: Ragnarok."

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From ThePlaylist:  An interview of Marvel Studio's Kevin Feige.

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From YahooMovies:  Tom Holland is our new Spider-Man.

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From YahooPolitics:  Justice Elena Kagan drops a Spider-Man beat (references) in a Supreme Court ruling involving the web-head.

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From SlashFilm:  Ron Perlman still valiantly trying to make "Hellboy 3" happen.

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From TheVerge:  Beginning this Fall (2015), Miles Morales will be the Marvel Universe's main Spider-Man.


STAR WARS:

From YahooCelebrity:  Jake Lloyd, Anakin Skywalker, in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, was arrested after a high-speed chase.


TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  Official trailer for Hitman: Agent 47 from 20th Century Fox.


OBITS:

From Variety:  The composer James Horner was killed in the crash of a small plane on Monday morning, June 22, 2015.  He won two Oscar for his music for the 1997 best picture Oscar winner, Titanic.  He was one of my favorite composer, and I am sorry to hear of his passing.  Horner was 61.

From EntertainmentWeekly:  The actor Dick Van Patten has died at the age of 86.  His career spanned six decades.  Like many people, I remember him for playing the patriarch of the ABC television series, "Eight is Enough" (1977-81).

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of June 14th to 20th, 2015 - Updated #13

Support this writer on Patreon.

NEWS:

From CinemaBlend:  Vin Diesel as "Kojack" apparently is happening.

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From Vulture:  First look at leads from Ghostbusters reboot.

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From YahooMovies:  The Blind Side hurt Michael Oher's NFL career?

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From YahooStyle:  Yeah, there are several things "wrong" with this photo.

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From YahooMovies:  Season 5 finale of "Game of Thrones" killed it.

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From Deadline:  Box office updates this morning say that Jurassic World passed Marvel's The Avengers for the highest 3-day weekend box office gross - with $208 to $210 million haul.

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the June 12th to 14th, 2015 box office is Jurassic World, with an estimated take of $204.6 million.  That is the biggest June opening weekend ever, the biggest opening weekend of the year (ahead of Avengers: Age of Ultron's $191.2 million last month), and the second largest opening weekend ever (behind Marvel's The Avengers $207.4 million in May 2012).

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From HuffingtonPost: "A Suite Life of Zack & Cody" mini-reunion" because they stars, twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse, graduated from New York University.  I love that show.


COMICS - Films and Books:

From YahooMovies:  A history of the ill-fated proposed Batman films leading up to Chris Nolan's Batman Begins in 2005.


TRAILERS and REVIEWS:

From Apple:  New Peanuts trailer.

From DreamWorks:  New Kung Fu Panda 3 trailer.

From TheVillageVoice:  Amy Nicholson reviews Inside Out.


OBITS:

From YahooMovies:  Kirk Kerkorian has died.  A Hollywood wheeler-dealer, he is best known for his association with MGM and United Artists.

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From Deadline:  Film producer Robert Chartoff died Wednesday, June 10, 2015.  Along with his partner, Irwin Winkler, he won the best picture Oscar for producing Rocky.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of June 7th to 13th, 2015 - Update #8

Posted by Leroy Douresseaux; you can support him on Patreon.

NEWS:

From YahooTV:  Jurassic World is apparently about to take over the world... box office.

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From Collider:  Pixar has apparently replaced the entire voice cast (except maybe one actor) of The Good Dinosaur, which is due in December 2015.  

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From Variety:  The great British actor, Christopher Lee, died on Sunday, June 7, 2015 at the age of 93.  He is probably best known as the actor who revitalized Dracula in the 1958, Horror of Dracula.  He was the 20th Century's second most famous screen Dracula.

Young fans will know him for his appearances in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.  He was a James Bond villain in The Man with the Golden Gun.  He was "Count Dooku" in the second and third films of Star Wars prequel trilogy.  He was a close friend of one of my favorite actors, Peter Cushing (who died in 1994).  I believe that they are reunited.

From IMDb:  Christopher Lee: A Life in Pictures.
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From THR:  Apparently, Sony still wants "Bad Boys 3."  Joe Carnahan is circling to work on the script and to direct.  Michael Bay directed the first two films in the series.

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From THR:  The new comedy, Spy, wins the 6/5 to 6/7/2015 weekend box office with an estimated take of $30 million.  The Paul Reig film stars Melissa McCarthy.

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From CinemaBlend:  J.K. Rowling offers clues about an American wizarding school.


COMICS - Films and Books

From Collider:  Marvel and Sony at odds over which actor will be the next Spider-Man, apparently, my fave, Asa Butterfield, is out.

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From Vulture:  Someone else takes a shot at writing a screenplay adaptation of one of the greatest manga and comic books of all time, Akira.

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From YahooTech:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt says his "Sandman" film won't be a typical superhero film.


TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  The new trailer for Ridley Scott's "The Martian."


OBIT:

From Variety via YahooMovies:  The actress, Mary Ellen Trainor, died May 20, 2015 at the age of 62.  She appeared in numerous movies, including The Goonies, Die Hard, and all four Lethal Weapon movies, among many.

Dairy Queen Announces "Jurassic World" Promotion

The Dairy Queen System Announces Jurassic Smash Blizzard and Promotional Partnership for Jurassic World

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment Film to be Released in North America on June 12, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dairy Queen® system, the international retail food and treat category leader and part of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B), today announced a strategic marketing partnership for Jurassic World, the long-awaited next installment of Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking Jurassic Park series.

    “We have six specially designed Blizzard® cups inspired by movie moments, in-store signage and point-of-sale materials worthy of selfies, our film-inspired Jurassic Smash Blizzard® Treat and Jurassic Snack Wrap Duos, all of which promise an adventure in every bite.”

“Beginning May 25, 2015, our fans can visit participating Dairy Queen® and DQ Grill & Chill® restaurants to experience some of the unique and creative ways we are bringing Jurassic World to life in our locations,” said Tim Hawley, Vice President of Marketing Communications for American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ). “We have six specially designed Blizzard® cups inspired by movie moments, in-store signage and point-of-sale materials worthy of selfies, our film-inspired Jurassic Smash Blizzard® Treat and Jurassic Snack Wrap Duos, all of which promise an adventure in every bite.”

This is the first major motion picture collaboration for the iconic treat leader in more than 20 years and comes as the brand celebrates its 75th anniversary. The DQ marketing campaign for Jurassic World, includes television and digital advertising as well as social media and PR support.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Universal Pictures for the new Jurassic World promotion,” said Hawley. “Like the Dairy Queen system, the Jurassic Park franchise has a tremendous fan base and incredible staying power. This is a spectacular cross-promotional, retail marketing program for us to kick off the summer season and it is certainly one of the highlights of our 75th Fanniversary year.”

For more information about the Dairy Queen system, visit DairyQueen.com. Connect with the DQ system on Twitter using #LOVEmyDQ and at twitter.com/dairyqueen. Visit the DQ Facebook fan page, which has more than 9.7 million friends and become a friend at facebook.com/dairyqueen.


About ADQ:
American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops, licenses and services a system of more than 6,400 Dairy Queen® stores in the United States, Canada and 25 other countries. ADQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies led by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. For more information, visit DairyQueen.com.

About Jurassic World:
Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure based on characters created by Michael Crichton. The screenplay is by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, and the story is by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.

Jurassic World will be released in 3D by Universal Pictures on June 12, 2015. www.jurassicworld.com

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of November 23 to 30, 2014 - Update #11

NEWS:

From Billboard:  She has an Oscar, and Jennifer Lawrence may very well have a Top 40 hit on the Billboard charts by next week.  It's "The Hanging Tree" from the album featuring James Newton Howard's score for Mockingjay Part 1.

From Playlist:  5 Things to Know about Beetlejuice on its 25th anniversary.

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From Variety:  Amy Berg, Nate Parker, and Matthew Cooke crowd fund for Ferguson-related doc.

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From THR:  Universal releases "Jurassic World" teaser trailer.

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From Variety:  The #1 movie at the box office for the weekend of Friday, November 21st to 23rd, 2014 is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 with an estimated take of $123 million, the biggest weekend opening of the year, thus far.


STAR WARS:

From YahooMovies:  John Boyega answers haters of the "Black stormtrooper."

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From YahooTV:  Apparently, Andy Serkis is the narrator or provides the voice over for the Episode 7 teaser.

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From TechCrunch and iTunes:  The first trailer for "The Force Awakens."

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Star Wars News Dump:
YahooMovies:  Joe Johnston, a special effect pioneer, is selling some of his Star Wars items.

YahooMovies:  JJ Abrams teases Star Wars teaser.

YahooMovies:  A list of theaters showing the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer.

From io9:  Rumors about first Star Wars spin-off film.

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From FlickeringMyth:  "Star Wars The Force Awakens" trailer will premiere Friday, November 28, 2017...

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From EntertainmentIE:  A possible two-second clip from the first Episode 7 trailer.


TRAILERS:

From 20th Century Fox, new trailer for Unfinished Business.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for August 24th to August 30th 2014 - Update #15

NEWS:

From TheWrap:  Team behind 22 Jump Street to reboot old ABC television series, "The Greatest American Hero," for television.

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From DeadlineHollywood:  A&E cancels its most popular scripted television series, "Longmire."

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From DeadlineHollywood:  Emma Roberts is set for the horror-thriller "February."

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From TheHuffingtonPost:  See Miley Cyrus' bathing suit for the cover of V Magazine.  You can't swim with that!

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From the AP via Yahoo:  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie reportedly, secretly married in the France on Saturday, August 23, 2014.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  A complete list of winners at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards

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From the WashingtonPost:  Fix the Emmys?

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From PostandCourier:  Emma Stone set to make Broadway debut in "Cabaret."

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From TheTelegraph:  Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor renew awards "rivalry" at tonight's (Monday, August 25, 2014) 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.

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From TheVox:  "True Blood" never figured out what it wanted its vampires to be

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From YahooMusic:  Amber Rose's chain-link dress at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards

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From TheWrap:  Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is not gone, nor is it forgotten.  It stole the August 22nd to 24th, 2014 weekend box office, according to early estimates.  It returns to #1 after spending two weeks at #2 behind Paramount's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, which is at #2 for this weekend.  Guardians won the box office for its debut weekend, before the Turtles returned to cinemas.  Guardians is also the #1 box-office hit of the Summer 2014, moving past Transformers: Age of Extinction.

The teen-oriented, If I Stay, opens at #3, according to early estimates and could end up battling the Turtles for #2, when the finally tally comes about sometime Monday afternoon.  Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," a sequel to the 2004 film, Sin City, is likely a bomb with its $6.6 million debut.

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From BleedingCool:  With all the good news Marvel is getting, I thought that I'd bring back this classic bit of bad press.

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From TheWrap:  Five Freaky Facts about the Fractured Summer Box Office.

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From YahooCelebrity:  "Sleepy Hollow" actor, Orlando Jones, puts a powerful twist on the "ice bucket" challenge.  Call it "Bullet Bucket Challenge."


STAR WARS:

From HuffingtonPost:  Episode VII cast members take "ice bucket challenge," including Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.


COMIC BOOKS - Movies and Comics:

From EW InsideMovies:  Marvel still trying to talk Joaquin Phoenix into portraying the title character in their planned "Doctor Strange" film.  It's a close call, apparently.

From Yahoo:  Images from the set of "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

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From CinemaBlend:  Rumors, spoilers, and speculation about "Captain America 3."

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From YahooMovies:  See Evangeline Lilly's "wasp-y" haircut for "Ant-Man."

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From The Hollywood Reporter via YahooMovies:  "Ant-Man" adds new cast members:  Rapper T.I., John Slatterly, Judy Greer, and Bobby Cannavale.


OBITS:

From Variety:  Actor, director, and producer, Sir Richard Attenborough died today, Sunday, August 24, 2014.  He was 90 years old.  In 1982, Attenborough won two Oscars for producing and directing the 1982 film, Gandhi.  [Sir Ben Kingsley won the best actor for playing the title role.]  Attenborough was probably best known for playing park creator John Hammond in the 1993 film, Jurassic Park, and in the sequel, The Lost World.

Attenborough's other directorial efforts included Cry Freedom, Chaplin, and Shadowlands.  In the 1960s, he won a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe for his acting.

Attenborough chronicled his 20 year struggle to make Gandhi (which won 8 Oscars) in the book, In Search of Gandhi.  Negromancer sends condolences to Attenborough's family and friends. R.I.P. Sir Richard.


TRAILERS AND PREVIEWS:

From 20thCenturyFox:  First official trailer for Alexandre Aja's The Pyramid.


MISC:

From GMA via Yahoo:  A great story about two men who were friends as boys in Ottawa, Canada, who found out six decades later that they were brothers.

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From TheVox:  This pie chart GIF shows how we have paid for music over the last 30 years.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for June 1 to June 7, 2014 UPDATED #2

News and Miscellaneous:

TMZ has a suite of photos from the Abu Dhabi set of Star Wars: Episode VII.  Huffington Post posted all of them in one article, including the following

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The Business Insider at Yahoo has a nice article on the children of Jack Kirby and their attempt to get the Supreme Court to here their copyright case against Marvel/Disney.

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Variety has news that Will Smith will star in a drama about the NFL's concussion problem.  Ridley Scott is one of the film's producer.  Peter Landesman will write and direct.

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Jared Leto as Doctor Strange a/k/a Stephen Strange in Marvel's Dr. Strange movie?  Sinister director Scott Derrickson to direct?  Go to Collider.  What happened to Johnny Depp as Strange?

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"12 Years a Slave" came out in America and that sucked up all the guilt about black people that was available. They were so exhausted feeling guilty about slavery that I don't think there was much left over to be nice about our film. So our film didn't do as well as we'd hoped, which was a bit heartbreaking.

Yes, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, William Nicholson, actually said that. [From Hitfix]

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How did James Cameron write three sequels to Avatar simultaneously?  Find out at this Slash Film article.

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Slash Film also has an exclusive article on Jurassic World.  It concerns plot leaks about the film, the latest installment of the Jurassic Park franchise.

Obits:

Ann B. Davis, the actress who played the housekeeper, Alice, on the television series, "The Brady Bunch," died on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at the age of 88.  In the 1950s, Davis won two supporting actress Emmys for her role on "The Bob Cumming Show."

Review: "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" is Both Different and Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
WRITERS: David Koepp (from a novel The Lost World by Michael Crichton)
PRODUCERS: Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Janusz Kaminski
EDITOR: Michael Kahn
COMPOSER: John Williams
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough, Vince Vaughn, Vanessa Lee Chester, Richard Schiff, Peter Stormare, Harvey Jason, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello

The subject of this movie review is The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a 1997 science fiction adventure film and thriller from director Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 1993 film, Jurassic Park. The Lost World: Jurassic Park is loosely based on the 1995 novel, The Lost World, from author Michael Crichton. The first film is based on Crichton’s 1990 novel, Jurassic Park.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park opens four years after the events depicted in the first film. The story focuses on Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), a mathematician, chaos theorist, and one of the survivors of the disaster at Jurassic Park (located on the island of Isla Nublar). Ian is invited to the home of John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), the billionaire industrialist who created Jurassic Park. Hammond has lost control of his company, InGen, to his unscrupulous nephew, Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard). Hammond asks Ian to lead a team to Isla Sorna; also known as “Site B,” this is where he initially engineered the dinosaurs before moving them to Jurassic Park.

Isla Sorna has become a “lost world,” where dinosaurs have been living free in the wild. Hammond wants the island to become a nature preserve. He needs a team to document the dinosaurs in their natural habitat, documentation Hammond hopes to use to rally support for the creation of a nature preserve. Ian initially refuses, as he has his daughter, Kelly Curtis Malcolm (Vanessa Lee Chester), in his custody. Ian changes his mind and rushes to the island when he learns that his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), is part of the team and is already on the island. Once on Isla Sorna, Ian discovers many unexpected visitors to an island full of unpredictable dinosaurs.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is the only one of the three Jurassic Park films that I did not see during its theatrical release. When it was first released in 1997, I thought about seeing it, but a friend of mine (Pete) told me he hated it. I did see The Lost World when it first arrived on VHS, and though I liked the movie, I could see that it paled in comparison to Jurassic Park: the movie, memories of it, and the feelings it evoked. Since I first saw The Lost World, I have seen it countless other times (as with Jurassic Park). I have either liked it or had mixed feelings, leaning towards the positive, about it. Recently, I have started to like The Lost World more and more with each viewing.

The Lost World and the original Jurassic Park are different films. Jurassic Park is a fantasy adventure, wearing a genre suit that is half science fiction-techno thriller and half action thriller. In spite of its violence and intense elements, Jurassic Park is a family film and juvenile fantasy filled with a sense of wonder and discovery. The Lost World is an adult drama that is part monster movie, part science fiction adventure, and part action-thriller.

The Lost World does not have a sense of wonder and discovery about it. It is darker, where its forebear is light and magical (thanks to the magic of Hollywood visual and special effects). The Lost World is the dark side of the mess adults make of the world with their corporations, schemes, mistakes, and even good intentions. Where is the fun in that? As scary and amazing as the Velociraptors are in the Jurassic Park, they’re just filthy, nasty, ugly things that need to be killed in The Lost World. Even the cameo appearance of Jurassic Park’s child stars, Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello, as, respectively, Lex and Tim Murphy, only serves to remind that this movie is something different from the first movie.

I think when you accept what The Lost World is and also is not (Jurassic Park), you can really enjoy the sequel. I think it is a fine movie, although not the all-time great I think Jurassic Park is. I am also glad that Jeff Goldblum appears in The Lost World. The third film, Jurassic Park III, clearly misses Goldblum’s acerbic, but resourceful Dr. Ian Malcolm. He is the main reason I have come to really like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and why I’ll probably watch it again… soon.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1998 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Randy Dutra, and Michael Lantieri)

1998 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress” (Vanessa Lee Chester)

1998 Razzie Awards: 3 nominations: “Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property,” “Worst Remake or Sequel,” and “Worst Screenplay” (David Koepp)

Sunday, April 07, 2013

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Review: "Jurassic Park III" is a Third of the Original Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Jurassic Park III (2001)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence
DIRECTOR: Joe Johnston
WRITERS: Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor (based on characters created by Michael Crichton)
PRODUCERS: Larry J. Franco and Kathleen Kennedy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shelly Johnson
EDITOR: Robert Dalva
COMPOSER: Don Davis
Razzie Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter, John Diehl, Bruce A. Young, and Laura Dern

The subject of this movie review is Jurassic Park III, a 2001 science fiction and dinosaur movie from director Joe Johnston. Steven Spielberg, who directed the first two films in the Jurassic Park franchise, executive produced this film. Although musical themes by John Williams, who composed the music for the first two films, are used, Don Davis provides the musical score for Jurassic Park III.

Jurassic Park III is purely and simply product; it is created and delivered to its consumers in the form of movies, toys, and interactive media. The movie is a quick, chaotic thrill, that attempts to waste nothing via tight, concise action and storytelling and wastes all its potential to be a really good movie in an attempt to make sure no one gets too long a glance and at this scared, awkward baby.

Based more on the Steven Spielberg directed 1993 original than the 1997 Spielberg follow up The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2, this movie stars Sam Neill who reprises his role from the original as Dr. Alan Grant. William H. Macy and Tea Leoni play a divorced couple that tricks Dr. Grant into finding their son (Trevor Morgan) who is presumed missing on an island used by InGen, the dinosaur creating frankencorp, to produce dino specimens for their dino theme parks.

The cast, led by, Neill is up to the task of making a really good film. Neill is earnest and believable as Grant, and the character fits him like old, familiar clothes. Macy is always a pleasure to watch. His Paul Kirby is a weak, flawed and disingenuous man who climbs out of the morass of wimp hood into manhood as the film progress. Leoni’s Amanda Kirby is equally up to the task of transformation, and that is shocking. She is a likeable actress, but she is usually one note only; it was refreshing to see her play a character that can actually grow as the movie progresses. Morgan as their son Eric and Alessandro Nivola as Grant’s assistant Billy Brennan are also both fully fleshed three-dimensional characters. The viewer cares about these characters, and we cringe when they are in danger as much as we cheer them on their quest for survival.

These wonderful characters are the mark of strong writing, but what does go wrong? Johnston is a capable director and has shown the ability to control the pace of an SFX film that could get out of control in less skilled hands, as he did in Jumanji (1995). It seems as if the movie is hung on a thin, thread. Its premise is a basic and quick “get in, snatch and grab, get out.” The creators are blessed with even more knowledge about dinosaurs than its two predecessors, as well as SFX (special effects) and CGI (computer generated imagery) capabilities that surpass the original's (a movie that is still as good today as it was back in 1993).

One gets the sense that the filmmakers were very concerned about making a short movie, one in which the audience would not get to restless. That’s understandable. No matter how good the computer and effects work get, or how much new technology dates the original, any follow up to Jurassic Park cannot have the impact that the original did. Every dino sighting in the first film was a thrill; it was like discovering a whole new world. Jurassic Park was and will always be a landmark of cinema, a testament to both Spielberg’s savvy and skill and a testament to Hollywood SFX men, the special ones who always introduce us to something that we never thought we’d see on the big screen. They show us the amazing and do it with such class, quality, and skill that they leave us breathless and speechless and wanting more.

So how can part three compete with that? The sequel deals with it by running away from trying to be something special. It scampers through the dino-infested jungle of its predecessors like a madman, as afraid of its own shadow as it is of the raptors.

Granted that the characters are fighting for their lives, they rarely take the time to stop and observe something that would and should leave them speechless. A hallmark of the first was how the characters could be both fascinated and horrified by the wonderful things before them. They’re seeing real living breathing dinosaurs, and they’re only mildly interested. Yes, they’re genetic replicants, but these dinos are as close to the real thing as they’ll probably ever see. Even Dr. Grant didn’t seem too awed by the appearance of this film’s giant predator villain, the Spinosaurus, which runs through the film like a clumsy, wrecking bawl, screeching and slobbering all over the proceedings. Even the new look raptors mostly seem to be stiff and nervous models on the runway of an annual Paris toy show.

Through all this, one can see the skill and talent of Johnston and his writers, which includes Alexander Payne, the auteur of the (sadly) ignored Election. Even in a quick 90 minutes, one can see the quality of the work of the cast and crew. It’s a shame we got a truncated Reader’s Digest version of a story that could have been so much more. Still, it was as nice a treat as one can expect from a summer movie.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2002 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Remake or Sequel”

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"Jurassic Park" Returns in 3D

Universal Pictures' Jurassic Park To Be Released In IMAX® 3D For The First Time Ever On April 5

Steven Spielberg's Classic Returns to the Big Screen in IMAX® Theatres

PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX) and Universal Pictures announced that Steven Spielberg's epic Jurassic Park will return to the big screen with a one-week 3D engagement in IMAX® theatres worldwide simultaneous with the film's wide release beginning April 5, 2013.

With his remastering of this epic film into a state-of-the-art 3D format, Steven Spielberg introduces the three-time Academy Award®-winning blockbuster to a new generation of moviegoers and allows longtime fans to experience the world he envisioned in a way that was unimaginable during the film's original release. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Attenborough, the film based on the novel by Michael Crichton is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen.

"Jurassic Park is the quintessential film for fans to experience in IMAX 3D," said Nikki Rocco, President of Distribution, Universal Pictures. "Jurassic Park was groundbreaking when it was originally released, and The IMAX 3D Experience® will allow today's audiences to become fully immersed in one of the most breathtaking epics Universal has ever released."

"Steven Spielberg's films resonate uniquely with audiences," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "We're thrilled to offer moviegoers an opportunity to see this fan favorite back on the big screen and transport them - for the first time through the power of The IMAX 3D Experience® - into the world of Jurassic Park."

The IMAX release of Jurassic Park has been digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

You can learn more about Jurassic Park in IMAX 3D by visiting the film's official site at http://www.jurassicpark.com/.


About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of Sept. 30, 2012, there were 689 IMAX theatres (556 commercial multiplex, 20 commercial destination and 113 institutional) in 52 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).