Jessica Chastain backs strikes as she closes political Venice fest

VENICE, Italy -- Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain came to the Venice Film Festival Friday with a provocative new film, "Memory", and an impassioned message in support of the Hollywood strikes by actors and writers.

Chastain said she was "incredibly nervous" about attending the festival amid the weeks-long strikes over pay and concerns over the use of AI, which have brought Hollywood to a standstill.

But actors were too often told "to be quiet in order to protect future working opportunities", she said.

"That is the environment that has allowed workplace abuse to go unchecked for many decades and it's also the environment that has saddled members of my union with unfair contracts," said Chastain, wearing a T-shirt supporting the unions.

Several stars have been forced to skip Venice due to the strike, but Chastain's new film, "Memory" was made outside the Hollywood studio system and so received an exemption from unions to allow promotional work.

In her first role since winning an Oscar for "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" two years ago, Chastain plays a recovering alcoholic who falls for a man with dementia (Peter Sarsgaard).

Variety said the film by Mexican director Michel Franco featured "unforgettable performances", while The Hollywood Reporter praised the film as a "laser-like drama about trauma and connection".

- Biopics trend -

Despite the lack of A-listers, the festival has seen some instant Oscar frontrunners and hard-hitting political dramas at its 80th edition, which concludes Saturday.

Highlights from the 23 entries competing for the top prize Golden Lion include "Poor Things", a feminist reworking of Frankenstein which made Emma Stone a shoo-in for award nominations with her hilarious and shockingly explicit turn as a sex-hungry reanimated corpse.

So are Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan for their roles as conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia in Cooper's elegant biopic, "Maestro".

Biopics were a thing this year: from Michael Mann's long-awaited take on racing car impresario Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, to Sofia Coppola's lauded "Priscilla" about the wife of Elvis Presley.

- Migrant tales -

The jury, led by writer-director Damien Chazelle ("La La Land") and including Jane Campion and last year's Golden Lion winner Laura Poitras -- all three Oscar winners -- may be swayed by more political entries.

Critics have been impressed by two powerful migrant dramas.

"Io Capitano" tells the epic and brutally powerful story of a Senegalese teenager crossing Africa to reach Europe, with newcomer Seydou Sarr wowing audiences in the central role.

And "Green Border" offered a harrowing account of refugees trapped between Belarus and Poland during a real-life crisis on the EU border in 2021.

The jury might wish to reward one of the odder entries, "El Conde" by Chile's Pablo Larrain, which reimagines Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a blood-sucking vampire.

At the more arthouse end of the spectrum was Bertrand Bonello's "The Beast", starring Lea Seydoux, a surreal era-jumping love story with touches of David Lynch that got strong reviews.

The strong competition line-up helped distract from the controversy around the inclusion of Roman Polanski in the out-of-competition section.

As a convicted sex offender, the 90-year-old director was already struggling to find distribution in the US and other countries for his slapstick comedy "The Palace". The disastrous reviews at Venice will not have helped.

Currently holding a resounding zero percent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it was variously described as a "laughless debacle" and "soul-throttlingly crap" by critics.

Another director who has been effectively blacklisted in the US, Woody Allen, had a better time with his 50th film (and first in French), "Coup de Chance", which was widely considered his best in at least a decade.

Agence France-Presse

Hollywood strike forces Venice fest to switch opening film

ROME, Italy - The Venice Film Festival has switched its opening selection, after the movie that had been slated to open pulled out because of the ongoing Hollywood strike, organisers said.

Edoardo De Angelis' "Comandante" will now open the 80th Venice International Film Festival, in place of Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers", the festival said in a statement late on Friday.

"Challengers" featuring US star Zendaya, "will not participate at the Festival following a decision made by the production," owing to ongoing industrial action in Hollywood, it said.

"Comandante" will have its world premiere on Wednesday, August 30 in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema on the island of Lido di Venezia during the opening ceremony.

The change comes two weeks after actors joined a writers' strike, triggering the first industry-wide walkout for 63 years, effectively shutting down Hollywood.

The SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild) went on strike after negotiations to reach a new deal with production studios ended without an agreement.

The union's demands have focused on dwindling pay in the streaming era, as well as the threat to the industry posed by artificial intelligence.

Based on a true story, "Comandante" depicts the rescue of 26 shipwrecked Belgians during World War II by a submarine skipper played by Pierfrancesco Favino.

De Angelis, 44, was behind 2016 film "Indivisibili" and the TV drama series The Lying Life of Adults.

The Venice festival will end on September 9 with the screening of "La sociedad de la nieve" ("Society of the Snow") by Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, the organisers said.

Agence France Presse

Mum and Malaysia celebrate Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win

KUALA LUMPUR – "Malaysia boleh!" cried Michelle Yeoh's mother in a video chat with her daughter minutes after her historic Oscars win was announced -- citing a popular slogan that loosely translates into "Malaysia can do it!"

"I'm very happy... I'm proud of my daughter. She is very hardworking," Janet Yeoh told reporters after her daughter became the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress.

"I'll call her to come back (to Malaysia) and celebrate very soon. Next month is my birthday."

She and other relatives and friends of Yeoh's were gathered at a live screening of the awards ceremony at a Kuala Lumpur cinema, where there were loud cheers, embraces and tears of joy the second the announcement was made.

"It was such a jaw-dropping moment," Yeoh's niece Vicki said. 

"I was speechless, I cried. Everything was, it happened so quickly. We are so happy that she won, that our auntie won...

"We kept telling her: 'You will win... You're going to stand on stage with the golden man," she said, referring to the Oscar statuette.

'Pride of Asia' 

The 60-year-old Malaysian actress won the award for her role in the sci-fi film "Everything Everywhere All at Once," beating Cate Blanchett who had long been favorite to win a third Oscar for "Tar."

"Everything Everywhere" follows a Chinese immigrant laundromat owner locked in battle with an inter-dimensional supervillain -- who happens to be her own daughter.

Emily Ng, a Yeoh fan, said: "She is the pride not just for Malaysia, but she is the pride of Asia as well."

The former Bond girl was born to Malaysian-Chinese parents in 1962 in the city of Ipoh, 200 kilometers north of Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

She embraced dance as a child and specialized in ballet, which she studied in England.

On a vacation while visiting family, her mother entered her in the Miss Malaysia contest without consulting her. 

"I agreed to go to shut her up," Yeoh, who went on to win the beauty pageant, told a talk show.

A back injury made her give up her dancing career, but by the mid-1980s, she was using the body control she had learned in ballet to appear in action films alongside the likes of Jackie Chan.

Yeoh was awarded the title of "Tan Sri" by the Malaysian king in 2013, one of the country's highest honorifics bestowed upon civilians.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, where Yeoh worked for a decade before becoming a Hollywood star, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung congratulated Yeoh, calling her a "shining star with impressive achievements."

"This is a testimony to the strong potential of Hong Kong's talents and film industry," he said.

Agence France-Presse

Netflix banks on vast production line to weather pandemic

LOS ANGELES - While coronavirus has brought Hollywood to a halt, Netflix has enjoyed record success. But will the streaming giant's well-stocked slate of future shows be enough to maintain that growth?

Netflix announced this week that it has finished filming the majority of movies and series due for release this year, playing down concerns that its flow of hit shows such as "Tiger King" could run dry, or the next "Unorthodox" be delayed.

"Our 2020 slate of series and films are largely shot, and are in post-production remotely in locations all over the world," said content chief Ted Sarandos.

"And we're actually pretty deep into our 2021 slate. So we're not anticipating moving things around."


Analysts say Netflix's scale, in terms of its sheer number of ongoing productions and global presence, make it best-placed to weather the pandemic storm.

"Any other studio... might have 4 or 5 films in the can, or in post-production that they can still work on. But Netflix has possibly hundreds," said Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations.

"There are so many productions that are financed by Netflix, it's almost mind-boggling. They're almost putting out as much content as all the studios put together."

The deep-pocketed platform can also turn to its vast network of overseas partners to license content -- often subtitled -- for domestic audiences.

HURT 

But even Netflix's content pipeline has inevitable limits if an unprecedented shutdown nobody could have predicted extends much longer.

"They like to put out a lot of content, each and every week," said Bock. "Maybe as we go along into the fourth or fifth month in terms of lockdowns... they certainly will be ahead of the game, but they'll certainly be hurt."

New, original programming plays a bigger part in Netflix's appeal than rival platforms like Disney+ -- home to the Mouse House's enviable 80-year back catalog. 

"People are, in a sense, distracted by all the archival content -- they can watch shows over and over," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior Comscore analyst. "There's a lot of buffer there."

With the streaming wars heating up, Netflix has lost evergreen hits like "Friends" and "The Office" to upcoming rivals HBO Max and Peacock.

The delay of this summer's entire movie theater blockbuster slate also means those films will arrive later at streamers such as Netflix, according to Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates.

"Maybe not in the short term, but in the longer term, that hurts Netflix," he said.

'BETTER SHAPE' 

But Netflix has another tool at its disposal: its ability to find ways to keep making new content.

Thanks to rapid global expansion, Netflix is now ramping up production in countries that are easing restrictions -- namely Iceland and South Korea -- while Hollywood remains closed.

"Certainly the Netflix brand is worldwide -- there's no reason why they can't buy their own island honestly and shoot things there," Bock told AFP.

Its recent successes in reality TV, such as "Love is Blind" and "Too Hot to Handle," point to avenues requiring smaller crews and with rapid turnaround times.

Netflix quickly capitalized on the phenomenal success of surreal zookeeper documentary "Tiger King" with a follow-up episode featuring interviews with show alumni conducted via low-budget video calls.

"A lot of different content distributors are looking into (documentary programming) in the short term, to fill some of those holes," said Nason. "Netflix has already done that."

"If the production halt goes on nine to 12 months, everyone is going to be hurt," he added. "But compared to some of their competitors... (Netflix) are going to be in much better shape."

Agence France-Presse 

Universal Pictures will make movies available at home and in theaters on the same day

(Reuters) - Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast Corp-owned NBCUniversal, will make its movies available at home on the same day they are released in theaters worldwide, beginning with the DreamWorks Animation film “Trolls World Tour” - which opens in the United States on April 10.

The decision, announced by NBCUniversal on Monday, is a response to changing consumer behavior as the coronavirus spreads. It upends the traditional practice of keeping a movie exclusively in theaters for what is typically a 90-day window before releasing it on other platforms.

NBCUniversal will “continue to evaluate the environment as conditions evolve,” the company said in a statement, adding it will revisit the strategy when the current situation changes.

On Sunday night, the mayors of New York and Los Angeles ordered movie theaters in their respective cities to close in response to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

NBCUniversal said that by Friday, recently released films including “The Hunt,” “The Invisible Man” and “Emma” will be available from sister companies Sky and Comcast and on a variety of on-demand services. The suggested price will be $19.99 in the United States for a 48-hour rental, and the equivalent price elsewhere.

“Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Shell in a statement.

Between this past Friday and Sunday, North American movie box office sales hit their lowest levels in over two decades, according to Comscore, as viewers stayed home and theaters capped their seating capacity to create more space between moviegoers.

Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis

Netflix to release 'Top 10' feature in push toward transparency, ease of search

Netflix Inc on Monday announced plans to launch a new Top 10 feature that will allow users to see the most popular TV series and films in their country.

The Los Gatos, California, company has guarded its viewership data for years and only recently started revealing information about how many people watch its shows.

Director of Product Innovation Cameron Johnson wrote in a company blog post that Netflix would update the Top 10 feature daily. It will include an overall top 10 list as well as lists for the most popular TV series and films.

Shows that make these lists will be designated with a "Top 10" badge elsewhere on the platform. The streaming giant has been experimenting with top 10 lists in Mexico and the United Kingdom for the last six months, wrote Johnson.

Netflix uses an algorithm to serve up content based on a user's viewing history, but still faces criticism that it is difficult to browse. The Top 10 list addresses that criticism, and also reflects a trend by the company to be more transparent about how its shows are performing.

In December Netflix released a list of its most popular shows and films of 2019 in the United States, based on the number of households watching at least two minutes of a series, movie or special during its first 28 days on the service. The numbers were not verified by a third party.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tom Hanks and J-Lo strippers raise pulses at Toronto film fest

TORONTO -- Scantily clad strippers and softly spoken kids' TV stars were on show Saturday as the Toronto film festival hit its stride
with a wide range of hotly anticipated premieres.

Screams from the red-carpet crowd could be heard blocks from the city center as Jennifer Lopez headed a cast of glamorous leading ladies for the world premiere of "Hustlers."

Constance Wu ("Crazy Rich Asians") and singers Cardi B and Lizzo appear in the star-studded movie about New York strippers who turned the tables on wealthy businessmen during the financial crisis.

The real-life tale -- billed as a female "Wolf of Wall Street" -- depicts how a group of women resorted to increasingly criminal tactics, such as spiking men's drinks before emptying their bank accounts, as the stock market crash hit strip club receipts.

Lopez said the film puts a spotlight on how society is more harsh to judge women than men "when they're stealing or robbing people blind."

Men "are doing it on this big corporate level and these girls are doing it that kind of small street level -- and they get off and (the girls) go to jail," she said.

Introducing the film, director Lorene Scafaria dedicated it "to strippers and sex workers everywhere."

Earlier, Tom Hanks kicked off the evening with "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," based on the unlikely true friendship between a cynical investigative journalist and Fred Rogers, the impossibly nice US television presenter he is sent to interview.

The movie, directed by Marielle Heller on a gala night dedicated to female filmmakers, blends Rogers' trademark nursery-rhyme stylings with hard-edged family drama, and drew a lengthy ovation at its world-first showing.

While describing Hanks as the perfect casting to play a beloved national treasure, Heller insisted the "Forrest Gump" star's preparations for the role had been "transformative."

"He did not just slip on this cardigan and 'boom' he was Mr. Rogers -- he actually truly goes to a very deep place," she told AFP.

Hanks said had been too old to watch the long-running "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" program while it aired, admitting he "didn't get" the "really weird black and white TV show" as a child, but was won over by its host.

"Mr. Rogers doesn't want anything except for people maybe to understand themselves and the world a little better," he said.

Matthew Rhys, the Welsh actor who plays the film's journalist, said Rogers -- who died in 2013 -- "bucked the norm" of goofy custard pie-throwing theatrics on kids' TV.

"That's the last thing children want -- they want calm, they need to be treated maturely," he told AFP.

'Sinister undercurrent'

Across the street, Eddie Murphy marked his big screen comeback by attending the premiere of "Dolemite Is My Name," his biopic of US comedian Rudy Ray Moore, famed for his outlandish 1970s Blaxploitation character.

The "Beverly Hills Cop" star, who recently announced he would return to stand-up comedy from next year, received a standing ovation from the Toronto crowd.

Also in town were 007 actor Daniel Craig and "Captain America" Chris Evans for "Knives Out," the Agatha Christie-style whodunnit movie from "Star Wars" director Rian Johnson.

Craig praised the cast for the film -- described by the Hollywood Reporter as a "deviously irreverent crowd-pleaser" -- as "a lightning in a bottle situation."

Earlier on Saturday, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx called on America to tackle the "sinister undercurrent" of racism in its justice system, after his courthouse drama set in a starkly polarized Deep South debuted the previous night.

Foxx and Michael B. Jordan -- two of Hollywood's top black A-listers -- co-star in "Just Mercy," the true story of a black man put on death row in Alabama in 1988 for the murder of a young white woman he did not commit.

"We wanted to make sure people understand how tragic it is, and how commonplace it is -- it happens all the time," said Foxx, who plays wrongfully convicted Walter McMillian.

The Toronto International Film Festival, the largest in North America, runs until September 15.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hidden figures no more: women shining in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Women enjoyed a banner year in Hollywood movies and on television over the past year, notching up record highs in lead roles and gaining ground in influential jobs behind the scenes such as directors and writers, according to two studies published on Wednesday.

Box office hits like “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” also shattered barriers for black and Asian characters, reflecting the drive for wider changes in the entertainment industry that were fueled by the 2017 sexual misconduct scandal in Hollywood and the #OscarsSoWhite backlash four years ago.

Thirty-nine of the top 100 films of 2018 featured a woman in a leading or co-leading role, up from 33 in 2017 and just 20 in 2007, according to a study by the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

There was also a 12-year high in the percentage of black and Asian speaking male and female characters, while women featured more frequently in action and adventure movies.

“In 2018 we saw companies taking steps to ensure that certain groups were included in some of their most notable movies,” Stacy L. Smith, one of the authors of the Annenberg study.

On television, female characters made up a record 45% of speaking roles across comedies, dramas and reality shows on broadcast, cable and streaming services, compared to 40% in the 2017-2018 TV season, the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego University found.

Behind the scenes on television, women accounted for a record 31% of all creators, directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and directors of photography.

Both studies said that despite progress, there was still much to be done.

While women comprised a historic high of 26% of directors in the 2018-19 television season just ended, men still outnumber women 3 to 1 in this role, the San Diego study found.

Hollywood remains far below the 50/50 male-female parity that advocates are pushing for among on-screen talent, behind-the-scenes workers and studio executives.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by David Gregorio

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'The Meg' bites off strong $44.5-M debut

LOS ANGELES -- "The Meg" devoured the competition at the domestic box office.

Warner Bros.' big-budget shark thriller opened well above expectations, biting off $44.5 million when it opened in 4,118 North American locations. That was easily enough to nab the No. 1 slot over "Mission: Impossible - Fallout," which picked up $20 million in its third outing.

"The Meg," which is a co-production with China, will still have to secure big returns overseas to justify its expensive $130 million production budget.

Fellow newcomer "BlacKkKlansman" debut in fifth place with $10.8 million in 1,500 locations, earning director Spike Lee his best opening in over a decade. Lee's Cannes Grand Prix winning crime drama, which debuted on the first anniversary of the deadly Charlottesville rally, has maintained enthusiasm with a promising 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating and A- CinemaScore.

Horror auteurs Jason Blum and Jordan Peele co-produced the Focus Features title, which tells the true story of black detective Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), who goes undercover -- with the help of Jewish cop Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) -- to infiltrate the Colorado Springs chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

Prior to "BlacKkKlansman," Lee's 2006 film "Inside Man" launched with $28 million. His latest outing, "Chi-Raq," picked up $2.5 million during its limited theatrical run ahead of an Amazon release.

Sony's "Slender Man," also debuted nationwide this weekend, landing in fourth with $11 million in 2,358 locations. That's a solid start given the low-budget thriller carries a $10 million price tag.

The final weekend opener, "Dog Days," picked up $2.6 million when it launched in 2,442 locations.

Meanwhile, Disney's "Christopher Robin" earned $12.7 million in its sophomore frame, landing the fantasy drama based on the characters from Winnie the Pooh in third place. To date, it has generated $50.3 million in North America.

At the speciality box office, Magnolia Pictures' "Skate Kitchen" bowed with $17,000 when it opened in just one location. The best per-screen-average, however, went to Oscilloscope's "Madeline's Madeline," which pocketed $20,000 from one venue.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cinema makes return to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia hosted its first public film screening in over 35 years on Friday, two days after US movie giant AMC unveiled the kingdom's debut theatre in Riyadh.

Clutching prized tickets for the sold-out showing of Hollywood blockbuster action film "Black Panther", men and women walked into the movie hall with tubs of popcorn and fizzy drinks.


AMC chief executive Adam Aron on Wednesday said its multiplex theatre at Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District will for now operate one screen with a seating capacity of around 250.

He said plans were afoot for three more screens in the coming months.

The conservative desert kingdom lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas last year as part of a far-reaching modernisation drive, with AMC Entertainment granted the first licence to operate movie theatres.

Religious hardliners, who have long vilified movie theatres as vulgar and sinful, were instrumental in shutting down cinemas in the 1980s.

Reopening movie theatres is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious reform drive as he seeks to balance unpopular subsidy cuts in an era of low oil prices with more entertainment options.

The choice of "Black Panther", a film about a young monarch of a fictional resource-rich African kingdom, has drawn parallels with the Saudi prince.

On social media, many Saudis complained that the ticket price of 75 Saudi riyals ($20), which included a new entertainment tax and value-added tax introduced this year, was too exorbitant in an age of austerity.

"If we go as a family we will need a loan," one Saudi tweeted.

Saudis currently splurge billions of dollars annually to see films and visit amusement parks in neighbouring tourist hubs like Dubai and Bahrain.

"Welcome to the era when movies can be watched by Saudis not in Bahrain, not in Dubai, not in London... but inside the kingdom," Aron said Wednesday at the launch of the theatre.

International theatre chains have long eyed Saudi Arabia as the Middle East's last untapped mass market, with its more than 30 million people, the majority of whom are under 25.

AMC will face stiff competition from heavyweights such as Dubai-based VOX Cinemas, which on Thursday announced it had also secured a government licence to operate in Saudi Arabia and would open the kingdom's first IMAX theatre in the coming days.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

WATCH: Netflix unveils trailer for 'Annihilation'

MANILA – Netflix has released the trailer for its anticipated film “Annihilation” starring Natalie Portman.

The movie will available on the streaming service starting March 12.

Here’s a look:

Directed by Alex Garland, “Annihilation” is a science fiction film based on the acclaimed “Southern Reach” trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer. 

The upcoming Netflix movie also stars Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tuva Novotny. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Wonder Woman' stumbles, 'Get Out' surprises at Oscar nominations

LOS ANGELES -- "Wonder Woman" failed to conquer Oscar voters on Tuesday despite riding to one of the biggest box office hits of 2017 on a wave of female empowerment, making it one of the biggest snubs for Hollywood's highest honors.

The Warner Bros. movie, featuring Gal Gadot as the sword-wielding Wonder Woman, was the first stand-alone female superhero film since 2005 and earned some $825 million globally, making its filmmaker Patty Jenkins, 46, the highest-grossing female director in Hollywood.

But at Tuesday's Oscar nominations, Jenkins was left off the director's race and the film was snubbed in the best picture category, despite nods for other movies about women and made by women.

   

Instead, it was Guillermo del Toro's surreal fantasy romance "The Shape of Water" that led the Oscar nominations with 13 nods.

Speaking to Reuters, del Toro said that despite the omission of "Wonder Woman" at the Oscars, the impact of the film was "undeniable."

"Not only did ('Wonder Woman') break this archaic notion that this grand superhero-sized myth was done for 'the boys,' but it delivered it at a level of excellency that is a high watermark," the filmmaker said.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has traditionally disdained big action and superhero movies in favor of smaller art-house fare, like last year's Oscar champion "Moonlight" and this year's dark comedy "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," which landed seven nods.

Since 1990, only the 2003 fantasy epic "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" snapped that trend to win the top Oscar honor. Sci-fi movie "Avatar," still the biggest box office movie of all time, received a best picture nomination in 2010 but lost out to "The Hurt Locker."

SUCCESS FOR 'GET OUT' 

This year's surprises include four nominations - including best picture, and best actor for Daniel Kaluuya - for Jordan Peele's "Get Out," in which an African-American man finds himself trapped at his white girlfriend's house with her strange family.

The $5-million horror movie from Universal Pictures became a box office success with more than $250 million globally and became a talking point around modern day race relations in America.


"I think that there's a piece of the black experience that is communicated in the film and through Daniel's performance that people of color recognize and haven't seen and that people not of color needed to see as well," Peele told Reuters.

Veteran actor Christopher Plummer, 88, was also a surprise contender in the supporting actor race for Sony Pictures' Getty kidnapping film "All the Money in the World." Plummer boarded the movie a month before its release, replacing actor Kevin Spacey because of sexual misconduct allegations.

Plummer stepped in after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men. Spacey issued an apology for the first reported incident, involving actor Anthony Rapp.

"Everything has happened so quickly of late that I am still a trifled stunned but excited by it all," Plummer said in a written statement of his nomination.

James Franco was excluded from the best actor race for "The Disaster Artist" after facing accusations of sexual misconduct earlier this month following his Golden Globe win.

Franco said the accusations were "not accurate." He lost out on Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild awards to Gary Oldman for "Darkest Hour."

Other snubs included Steven Spielberg in the directing race for press freedom movie "The Post," and its star Tom Hanks. "Mudbound" was left out of best picture and its filmmaker, Dee Rees, was also excluded from the directing race, but she landed a nod for adapted screenplay.

German film "In The Fade," which won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film and received praise for its lead star Diane Kruger, was left out of the Oscar foreign language race.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Tops $1 billion worldwide

LOS ANGELES - Disney-Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has cleared the $1 billion milestone in worldwide grosses in less than three weeks.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" pulled in $120.4 million globally on the New Year's Eve weekend with $52.4 million at 4,232 domestic venues and $68 million internationally during the Friday-Sunday period.

"The Last Jedi" is now the eighth highest-grossing domestic movie of all time with $517.1 million -- only $15 million behind last year's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" in the seventh spot. On the worldwide chart, it's now 24th with $1.04 billion, edging Universal-Illumination's "Despicable Me 3." The tentpole's international total, currently at $523.2 million, will see a significant jolt when it opens on Jan. 5 in China, its final market.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has also topped Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," which grossed $504 million in North America, for the top spot among 2017 releases domestically. It's the fourth 2017 title to go past $1 billion worldwide, along with "Beauty and the Beast" at $1.26 billion, "The Fate of the Furious" at $1.24 billion and "Despicable Me 3" at $1.03 billion.

"The Last Jedi" is also winning the domestic weekend box office crown for the third time with $52.4 million, edging Sony's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," which took in $50.6 million at 3,765 locations for the Friday-Sunday. However, Sony's projection showed the "Jumanji" sequel grossing $16.5 million on New Year's Day on Monday -- well above Disney's forecast of $13.2 million for "The Last Jedi." Should those numbers hold, "Jumanji" would edge "Jedi" over the four-day period with $67 million, winning by $1.4 million.

"Jumanji" has been "The Last Jedi's" biggest competitor by far since it opened on Dec. 20. The action-comedy should wind up with an 11-day domestic total of $186.3 million by the end of Monday. The action-comedy, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, has a $90 million budget. It's also performed impressively in international markets with $107 million thr0ugh Dec. 28.

"Jedi" and "Jumanji" helped lift the entire domestic box office for 2017 to $11.12 billion, down 2.3% from last year's $11.38 billion and off slightly from 2015's $11.14 billion, according to comScore. The gap for 2017 had been more than 6% at the end of the worst summer in a decade but performances by "It," "Thor: Ragnarok," "Justice League," "Jedi" and "Jumanji" closed most of that margin.

"With another $11 billion plus year on the books, the industry looks ahead to awards season and a 2018 packed with blockbuster titles and a hope for a year slightly less volatile than 2017," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore. Universal's "Pitch Perfect 3" led the rest of weekend's domestic pack with a projected $22.7 million at 3,468 locations for Friday-Monday, lifting its 11-day total to $69.2 million. The comedy trilogy, starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, took in $13.1 million this weekend from 34 international markets for a foreign total of $28.6 million.

Hugh Jackman's musical drama "The Greatest Showman" is finishing a close fourth with $20.3 million at 3,316 theaters forecasted for the four days. The Fox-Chernin Entertainment title showed the biggest gain in the top 10 movies from the Christmas Eve weekend with an impressive 73% surge. The domestic total should hit $53.8 million through Monday.

Fox's second weekend of "Ferdinand" -- the only film to open on the same weekend as "The Last Jedi" -- followed in fifth with $15.1 million at 3,337 North American venues, giving the animated comedy $57.3 million in 18 days. Disney-Pixar's seventh weekend of "Coco" finished sixth with a projected $8.8 million at 2,845 sites for a domestic total of $181.1 million and $539 million worldwide.

Sony's "All the Money in the World" and Focus Features' "The Darkest Hour" were in a battle for seventh place at about $7.2 million for the four days. "All the Money" opened on Christmas Day as the final wide release of the year at 2,074 locations after director Ridley Scott excised Kevin Spacey's scenes and reshot them with Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty, following the early November sexual abuse allegations against Spacey. Its eight-day total will be around $14.4 million.

Awards contender "Darkest Hour," starring Gary Oldman as the 1940 version of Winston Churchill, expanded to 943 venues in its sixth weekend and will have taken in $19.8 million by the end of the weekend. Focus reported strong performance in Washington, D.C./Maryland, Phoenix, Boston, Salt Lake City, and Florida markets.

"'Darkest Hour' is taking America by storm," said distribution chief Lisa Bunnell. "We're seeing audiences coming out in big numbers. It's a movie they found inspiring over the holiday break and the word of mouth gives us a strong outlook for the upcoming weeks."

Matt Damon's comedy-drama "Downsizing" finished ninth with a projected $6 million at 2,664 sites for the four days for Paramount. The 11-day total for "Downsizing," which carries a $65 million budget and was directed by Alexander Payne, should come in around $18.5 million.

Warner Bros.-Alcon Entertainment's second weekend of R-rated comedy "Father Figures" rounded out the top 10 with a projected $5.5 million at 2,902 locations. The 11-day total for the Owen Wilson-Ed Helms vehicle, which has a $25 million price tag, should hit about $14 million.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Netflix vs. cinema: Will Smith, David Ayer weigh in

TOKYO, JAPAN – For director David Ayer, doing a movie with Netflix is just like working on a film with a traditional studio.

His latest movie, “Bright,” is Netflix’s biggest project to date and marks his reunion with Hollywood superstar Will Smith after “Suicide Squad.”

It premiered on the video streaming service last December 22.

“The basics of filmmaking never change. It’s about script, the actors, and the camera and you grow and learn from everyone,” Ayer said in a recent press conference for “Bright” at The Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo.

“I have to own everything that happened with ‘Suicide Squad,’ and it really taught me a lot of amazing lessons as a director. I learned about large-scale action, computer imagery, and makeup, and I was able to bring those lessons into ‘Bright,’” he added.

Perhaps the only major difference Ayer saw between a Netflix movie and a film that is meant for cinema is that the former gave him more freedom as a director.

Noting the flexibility and adaptability of Netflix as a platform for creative storytelling, the director said: “Making ‘Bright’ was wonderful for me because Netflix is very nourishing to filmmakers and they really let me have my voice.”


Smith shared the same sentiment, saying that he could not imagine a traditional studio spending more than a $100 million for a rated R movie.

“With Netflix, everything about the production was identical to a major big-budget Hollywood feature,” said Smith, who has starred in movies like “Men in Black,” “I Am Legend,” and “Independence Day.”

“But what happens with studios is if they’re going to spend more than a hundred million dollars on a movie, they will have certain creative demands because of the risk profile,” he continued.

“So what happens with the demand is it jams the creative process. In a way, you can’t make a movie like ‘Bright’ in a studio because of how much it costs. Just the very cost of it changes the entire creative process. [In the end] It has to be PG-13. They’re not going to make a hundred-plus-million rated R movie that’s not about an IP (intellectual property) that is historically proven.”

  
CHALLENGE 

But doing a big-budget Netflix movie like “Bright” was not without its challenges, according to Smith.

And the biggest challenge for them, he believes, is making sure the movie will have “the same kind of emotional penetrating power” to viewers as they watch it from their electronic devices at home instead of the cinema.

“So the question is, does the big cinematic experience of seeing it in the theater have any emotional reaction? Can you get that same emotional reaction if you’re watching it in your house? That’s what I’m not certain yet, that’s the big question,” he said.

“Does it penetrate the human mind and the human heart? Does it penetrate in the same way that it does in the cinematic experience, that you have to drive an hour to get to the cinema with hundreds of other people? Does it have that same kind of emotional penetrating power?” he added.

Actress Noomi Rapace, who plays the elf villain Leilah in “Bright,” also recognized people’s difficulty in focusing on a movie because of distractions like smartphones and tablet computers.

“I think one of the biggest problems today is that it’s really hard for people, including myself, to stay concentrated. And when you watch a film at home, you have your iPad, you have your computer, you have your iPhone, all your devices next to you. To actually switch them off and decide that you are watching a film as if you are watching it in the theater, that is a decision that you have to do,” she said.

“You want to check your e-mails and text, and you respond to them and you miss out on the film because you’re going between different things… So it’s something that you really need to decide on, that you’re watching the movie and putting everything else away. So I would love everyone to do that [with ‘Bright’],” she ended.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'The Last Jedi' tops Christmas box office in North America

LOS ANGELES - The force was with Disney as the latest Star Wars movie "The Last Jedi" beat out the competition to top the Christmas weekend box office, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

The eighth installment of the blockbuster space saga topped the charts in North America for a second week, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, pulling in $68.5 million to rack up total earnings of $365 million since it opened last weekend.

Its triumph echoed last year's Christmas number one, "Star Wars: Rogue One," which told the backstory to the original 1977 hit.

The movie has so far netted $745.4 million worldwide, according to industry analyst Paul Dergarabedian, although the record to beat remains 2009's "Avatar,"
which earned $2.7 billion.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," the 2015 predecessor to the "The Last Jedi," made just under $2 billion.

Christmas week is traditionally a time when studios flood the screens with new releases, and the Star Wars epic was trailed by three new films.

In second place was the Dwayne Johnson family adventure "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" which made $34 million for Sony.

"Pitch Perfect 3," which follows the continuing adventures of glee singers the Bellas, led by Anna Kendrick, was in third, earning $20.5 million for Universal.

That was followed by "The Greatest Showman," a musical in which Hugh Jackman plays the legendary circus impresario PT Barnum. That earned $8.6 million over the three-day weekend period.

Animated feature "Ferdinand," the story of a pacifist bull forced to face down the greatest bullfighter in the world, was fifth. It netted weekend receipts of $7 million in the United States and Canada in its second week.

Rounding out the top ten were:

"Coco" ($5.2 million)

"Downsizing" ($4.6 million)

"Darkest Hour" ($4.1 million)

"Father Figures" ($3.2 million)

"The Shape of Water" ($3.1 million)

jh/acb

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Netflix movie 'Bright' sends anti-bullying message

TOKYO, JAPAN – Netflix’ newest movie not only seeks to entertain as it also sends a powerful message about bullying.

“Bright” is set in an alternate version of present-day Los Angeles, where humans live alongside supernatural beings like orcs, elves, and fairies.

The movie also marks the reunion of lead star Will Smith and director David Ayer, who last worked together in “Suicide Squad.”

Smith said he was able to experience “a very different social paradigm” in his role as Daryl Ward, a human police officer who is racist against orcs.

“The elves are at the top of society, they’re the rich people that have everything. And the orcs are at the bottom of society. They’re the people that everybody looks down on. So humans are in the middle,” he said in a press conference at The Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo.

“In playing [that role], I learned a lot, looking at the racial and class divides from that angle in a science-fiction film,” he added.

In “Bright,” Smith stars alongside Joel Edgerton, who takes on the role of the earnest orc cop Nick Jakoby.

Bullied all his life by humans, elves, and even his fellow orcs, Jakoby seeks to make a name for himself as a police officer and was tasked to work with Ward (Smith).

Edgerton hopes that through his character in “Bright,” he is able to represent “everybody who is judged, bullied, and mistreated when all they want is to be judged based on their actions and merits.”

“When I read the script… I was very hooked,” he said. “I became very much in love with the character of that orc who is bullied by everybody. I felt like the whole script was saying something about bullying en masse, like bullying other cultures, religions, and groups.”

Ayer, for his part, said he wanted to use “Bright” as “a great opportunity to make a movie with a message in it.”

“Bright” also stars Noomi Rapace and Lucy Fry, who portray the elves Tikka and Leilah, respectively.

The movie is available in Netflix worldwide.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Coco' wins box office as 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' waits in wings

LOS ANGELES -- With anticipation building for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," Disney-Pixar's animated comedy "Coco" handily won its third straight crown at a moderate North American box office with $18.3 million at 3,748 sites.

"Coco" joined "The Hitman's Bodyguard," "Fate of the Furious" and "Split" as 2017 titles to top the domestic box office for three weekends in a row. The major studios have held off on any new openings since the Thanksgiving holiday but that changes on the evening of December 14 when previews start for Disney-Lucasfilm's "The Last Jedi" amid expectations of an opening weekend in the $200-million range.

"Coco," a colorful celebration of Mexico's Day of the Dead, showed impressive holding power with a 33% decline from its second weekend to lift its 19-day domestic total to $135.5 million. It's performed similarly to Disney's animated "Moana," which opened at the same time last year and had totaled $144.7 million after three weekends.

There was a single wide opening this weekend with Broad Green Pictures' final movie, "Just Getting Started," showing little traction with moviegoers with $3.2 million at 2,146 locations. "Just Getting Started," a poorly reviewed action comedy starring Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones, wound up in 10th place behind A24's sixth weekend of awards contender "Lady Bird" with $3.5 million at 1,557 venues.

The fourth weekend of Warner Bros.-DC Entertainment's superhero team-up "Justice League" finished with just over half of "Coco" with $9.6 million at 3,508 locations with a 42% decline. "Justice League" has taken in $212.1 million in 24 days and is the 10th biggest movie of 2017 -- but it's also the lowest performer among the five DC Extended Universe movies. "Wonder Woman" had hit $318 million domestically at the 24-day point in June.

"Justice League" has gone past $600 million worldwide with an international total of $401 million. Its performance pushed Warner Bros. past the $5-billion mark worldwide for 2017. The studio announced Sunday that it's become the first studio to cross the $2-billion mark for the year, led by "Wonder Woman" with $412 million and "It" with $327 million.

Lionsgate's third weekend of inspirational drama "Wonder" finished in third place with $8.5 million at 3,519 North American sites with a 35% decline. "Wonder" became the 27th movie of the year to cross the $100-million mark -- and one of the least costly among that group, given its $20 million budget. Production companies on the Jacob Tremblay vehicle are Mandeville Films, Participant Media, Walden Media and TIK Films.

A24's expansion of James Franco's comedy-drama "The Disaster Artist" came in fourth with a solid $6.4 million at 840 venues, up from 19 last weekend. That edged the sixth weekend of Disney-Marvel's "Thor: Ragnarok" with $6.3 million at 3,047 sites, which put its domestic total above $300 million. The third Thor movie was a key factor in November's box office staying ahead of the same month last year.

Paramount's fifth weekend of "Daddy's Home 2" finished sixth with $6 million at 3,263 locations, down only 21%, to lift its 31-day total to $91.2 million. The original "Daddy's Home" wound up its domestic run two years ago with $150.4 million.

Fox's fifth frame of "Murder on the Orient Express" followed with $5.1 million at 3,201 sites for a total of $92.7 million. The Kenneth Branagh vehicle, which has a $55-million budget, has been a solid performer internationally with $182 million in grosses outside the U.S.

Sony's fourth weekend of faith-based animated drama "The Star" came in eighth with $3.7 million at 2,976 venues, off only 10%. The film, co-financed by Walden Media and released through the Affirm label, has totaled $32.3 million in 24 days.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Wonder Woman,' 'The Post' among AFI's movies of the year

LOS ANGELES - Press freedom movie "The Post," gay romance "Call Me By Your Name," World War Two film "Dunkirk" and superhero movie "Wonder Woman" were among 10 films of the year chosen by the American Film Institute (AFI) on Thursday, in a list likely to be echoed at Hollywood's high-profile awards shows next year.

Racial psychological thriller "Get Out," coming-of-age drama "Lady Bird," fantasy romance "The Shape of Water," romantic comedy "The Big Sick," dark comedy "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and social drama "The Florida Project" were also on the AFI's annual list.

The AFI's list is non-competitive with no overall winner. The movies are selected because they "advance the art of the moving image, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America's art form, inspire audiences and artists alike and make a mark on American society," the AFI said in a statement.

The list was announced as Hollywood's awards season moves into high gear with nominations next week for the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild awards. Oscar nominations will be announced in January.

The AFI list covered a wide range of movies spanning personal, political, racial and women's issues. "Lady Bird" and "Wonder Woman" are both directed by women, while "The Big Sick," "The Shape of Water" and "Get Out" were written and directed by people of color.

The AFI also picked its top television shows of the year, with HBO's medieval fantasy "Game of Thrones," female-led drama "Big Little Lies," Netflix's 1980s science-fiction series "Stranger Things" and Hulu's dystopian thriller "The Handmaid's Tale" making the list.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Movie review: Virus-induced violence in 'Mayhem'

Being in the medical field, movies about viral infections really freak me out. There have been films about bugs which hew close to real-life viruses, like the Matoba virus in "Outbreak" (1995) inspired by Ebola Virus, or the MEV-1 virus in "Contagion" (2011) inspired by the bird flu.

But there had also been highly fictional viruses (we hope) like that in "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) that brings dead people back to life (giving birth to zombie films), or "28 Days Later" (2002) that turns infected people into murderous creatures. Add "Mayhem" to the second kind.

This new virus is called ID-7, also called the Red Eye Virus. When a person gets infected, his id totally takes over his person, and he loses all moral control, causing him to do absolutely anything he wants to do -- however depraved or violent. The virus itself is not deadly, but the person infected is. A court had already decided to acquit a person of murder because he was under the influence of the virus, setting a dangerous legal precedent.

An outbreak of ID-7 has taken over the building of Towne and Smythe Consulting, turning everyone inside into lunatics indulging in unbridled sex and violence. CDC placed it under an 8-hour lockdown until an airborne disinfectant can take effect. Fired lawyer Derek Cho whipped up a plan, together with another disgruntled lawyer Melanie Cross, to take advantage of the killing wave in the building to fight their way up and barge into the penthouse board room in order to assert their rights to the unscrupulous big bosses John Towne and Irene Smythe, by fair means or foul.

I am not fond of gory films. I purposely missed watching "Jigsaw" (or any of the "Saw" films before it), but I end up watching this instead. When this movie eventually turned out to be a relentlessly gore-fest, I admit was not looking directly at the screen anymore whenever that hammer, or rotatory saw blade, or sharp scissors was about to graphically ram into and maim someone's body. As the film goes on, we will be treated to all sorts of gruesome fight scenes and death scenes. It was sickening for me, but I'm sure some people would find this sick in a cool sort of way.

By the over-the-top way all the actors were portraying their roles, you know the intention of director Joe Lynch for the film was comedy. Admittedly, some of the scenes and lines were pretty amusing (well, until the next bloody death came along). I never watched "Walking Dead," so it was my first time to see lead actor Steve Yeun, who played Derek Cho. Samara Weaving (yes, she is Hugo's niece) played Derek's pretty partner in crime Melanie. Steven Brand and Kerry Fox played the despicable bosses Townes and Smythe with a perpetual evil smirk.

As Freud described it, the id has no morals. It only wants instant gratification. An integral part of the id is the aggressive instinct of destruction which only sought to destroy things that get in our way of getting what we want. This film's showcase for the human id could be fun in a dark, morbid sort of way, but the insanely excessive gore in its murder and mutilation scenes were too much for me. Nevertheless, I did like the attempt at redemption at the end, leaving the audience with a positive message after all the mayhem. 4/10

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Jigsaw' pieces together chart-topping opening weekend

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood may be suffering through a spiritless patch but Halloween films can still lend a needed jolt, as Lionsgate horror film "Jigsaw" and a clutch of other scary films showed by boosting an otherwise flimsy weekend box office.

"Jigsaw," the eighth chapter in the "Saw" franchise, took $16.6 million over the three-day weekend, according to industry website Exhibitor Relations. It beat the same studio's "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween," with $10.1 million.

After that, no film in the top 10 made as much as $6 million, with audiences distracted by baseball's World Series and the return of hugely popular Netflix series "Stranger Things."

Even "Jigsaw," the first "Saw" sequel in seven years, fell some $4 million below expectations in its opening weekend, Variety magazine reported, although its paltry $10-million production budget will ensure it makes a profit.

The latest installment has police investigating a string of horrific murders committed in the style of the supposedly long-dead killer Jigsaw.

Comedy horror sequel "Boo 2" strikes a somewhat lighter tone, with Tyler Perry (who also wrote, directed and produced) and his gang heading to a haunted campground, where -- no surprise -- monsters lurk.

"Geostorm," a new release from Warner Bros., took third place, earning $5.9 million. The sci-fi disaster thriller follows Gerard Butler as an engineer tasked with saving the world from an apocalyptic storm caused by climate-controlling satellites run amok.

"Happy Death Day," another comedy horror flick, took in $5.1 million. The Universal film stars Jessica Rothe as a college student who repeatedly relives the day she was murdered until she discovers who killed her.

In fifth place was sci-fi reboot "Blade Runner: 2049," taking $4.1 million. The film features Ryan Gosling as a Los Angeles Police Department "blade runner" charged with killing bioengineered androids who are becoming too much like humans. He goes on a search for Harrison Ford's character -- the original blade runner -- who had disappeared years earlier.

With ticket sales in October some 5% below the same month last year, Hollywood is eagerly awaiting next week's domestic premiere of Marvel and Disney's "Thor: Ragnarok." It took in an impressive $108 million in its international opening.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Thank You for Your Service" ($3.8 million)
"Only the Brave" ($3.5 million)
"The Foreigner" ($3.4 million)
"Suburbicon" ($2.8 million)
"It" ($2.5 million)

source: news.abs-cbn.com