Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated new film, The Irishman, is set to premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 27th. The film is a mafia epic about Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, Jimmy Hoffa, and Russell Bufalino. Robert DeNiro will star is The Irishman with Al Pacino and Joe Pesci as co-stars. Surprisingly, this is being distributed by Netflix which means it will probably be on the streaming platform by the end of the year. (Paramount was supposed to distribute the film, but the budget became too high, so Netflix bought the rights.) There has been no official announcement on whether or not there will be a theatrical release for The Irishman. Considering Martin Scorsese’s track record, I’m sure it will play in a few theaters for at least a limited release. There is no official release date on The Irishman at this time.
Tom Hanks is Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Tom Hanks is at it again. Just when everyone thought he’d played every iconic American possible, he’s back with another surprise. After playing Walt Disney, Captain Phillips, and Sully, he’s taken on the role of Mr. Rogers. The first trailer for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was just released by Sony and the film will follow a journalist who writes a profile on Mr. Rogers. It stars Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper and is directed by Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) . A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood will be in theaters on November 22nd. I know what I’ll be doing for Thanksgiving! (getting emotional over a Tom Hanks movie)
Cats Trailer Looks a Little Different Than Expected
The popular Broadway musical Cats is headed to theaters this Christmas. The first trailer is making waves for its use of something called “digital fur technology”. Instead of the actors wearing costumes and makeup like the original musical, the film blends motion capture suits with the performers facial expressions to make up some bizarre looking cats. They look animated with human faces. While the effects look odd at this point, I thought the same thing about Will Smith’s Genie in Aladdin before the movie was released. That ended up being fine in the theater. Maybe we should all calm down and give these cats a chance. (Or maybe I’ve seen the trailer way too many times and have become immune to it.) Cats is directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables) and stars Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellan, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and Jason Derulo.
Elvis Biopic Finds a Star
Baz Luhrmann has officially cast an Elvis in his upcoming biopic of the iconic musician. Early this month, reports stated that Harry Styles, Miles Teller, Austin Butler, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were all in talks for the role. It’s now been confirmed by Deadline that Austin Butler (The Carrie Diaries, The Dead Don’t Die) will be playing “The King.” In another bit of casting info, Tom Hanks will be playing Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The still untitled biopic will focus on Elvis’ rise from rags to riches as a global superstar. It will begin filming next year in Australia.
Kingsman Prequel to Premiere in February 2020
This morning, 20th Century Fox premiered the first look at the Kingsman prequel titled, The King’s Man. The film will take place around World War I as a group of history’s worst tyrants plot to wipe out millions. Can they be stopped? Something tells me if the Kingsman are involved, things will be okay. The cast list includes Ralph Fiennes, Harris Dickinson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Gemma Arterton. Matthew Vaughn, who directed the last two Kingsman films, is the director for the prequel as well. The King’s Man is set for release on February 14, 2020! Just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Watch the trailer right here!
David Fincher to Direct New Film About Citizen Kane Screenwriter
David Fincher is making his way back to film directing. Since directing Gone Girl in 2014 and being unfairly snubbed by The Academy, he decided to focus his efforts on TV shows like House of Cards and Mindhunter for Netflix. Today, we learned the drought is over! He will be directing Mank, a black and white film about the writer of Citizen Kane, Herman Mankiewicz. Gary Oldman will star as the lead character. The script was written by David Fincher’s father before he died. Mank will be distributed by Netflix so audiences shouldn’t get too excited for a theatrical release. There’s no official release date, but production is rumored to start for the film in November of this year.
First Trailer for Star Studded "Knives Out"
Director Rian Johnson (The Last Jedi, Looper) has unveiled the first trailer for his upcoming film, Knives Out. It follows a detective investigating a murder in a very eccentric family. The trailer feels a bit like Murder on the Orient Express meets Bad Times at the El Royale. Have I mentioned the cast? The film will star Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon, Ana DeArmis, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, and Katherine Langford. We’ll all have to wait a little longer to solve this mystery because Knives Out won’t be in theaters until November. The official release date is November 27, 2019, just in time for Thanksgiving!
Photos of Greta Gerwig's Little Women Adaption
Vanity Fair has published the first photos from Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaption of Little Women and this is a very exciting day! The film reunites Gerwig with Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, who starred together in Lady Bird. They will be playing Jo March and Laurie. Also starring in the film is Emma Watson as Meg March, Florence Pugh as Amy March, Eliza Scanlen as Beth March, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March. So it looks like we’re also getting a little bit of a Big Little Lies Reunion! If you love costume dramas and awesome casts, it’s time to prepare yourself for this movie! The sad part is it doesn’t release until December 25th. That’s a pretty great Christmas present though! I’m marking it down on my calendar right now. Take a look at these photos to let the hype begin.
Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Eliza Scanlen
Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet as Jo March and Laurie
To see more photos, go to Vanity Fair online, right here!
All photos belong to Sony Pictures
First Image of New West Side Story
Steven Spielberg is remaking West Side Story. The classic musical about two rivalry gangs won 10 Oscars in 1962. To say it’s a beloved musical is an understatement. The new version is currently filming and stars Ansel Elgort as Tony and Rachel Zegler as Maria. The film will also star Corey Stoll, Maddie Ziegler, and Rita Moreno (who won an Oscar for her portrayal as Rita in the original version.) How do you feel about West Side Story getting remade? It’ll be a long wait to see this version since it doesn’t hit theaters until December 18, 2020. You can see the first picture here though!
Image Belongs to 20th Century Fox
Trailer for Doctor Sleep (The Shining Sequel)
One of the most iconic horror films of all time is getting a sequel. 39 years after The Shining, Doctor Sleep will be released in theaters. Based on Stephen King’s book of the same name, Doctor Sleep follows Danny Torrance as an adult attempting to cope with the traumatizing events of his childhood. The film will star Ewan McGregor as Danny Torrance with Rebecca Ferguson and Kyliegh Curran in the supporting cast.
Truthfully, I’m pretty skeptical of adding on to The Shining. Stanley Kubrick did such a fantastic job creating a sense of extreme tension and mystery throughout every scene. A sequel seems like a questionable idea. Some good news about this is Doctor Sleep is directed by Mike Flanagan who recently directed the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, a very engaging horror anthology series. Hopefully he can bring some of that creativity over to Doctor Sleep. We’ll see what happens when the film hits theaters on November 8, 2019.
Love Antosha Explores Life of Actor Anton Yelchin
Actor Anton Yelchin is the subject of a new documentary that will premiere in theaters later this summer. The talented actor, best recognized for his work in the films Like Crazy, Star Trek, and Charlie Bartlett, was tragically killed when he was hit by his own car at 27-years-old. The documentary will explore what inspired him to work in film and his acting career. It will include interviews with several of his co-stars including Willem Dafoe, Jennifer Lawrence, and Chris Pine. Love Antosha will be in theaters on August 2, 2019.
Brad Pitt in Ad Astra Trailer
Brad Pitt is making his way back on the silver screen with 2 films this year. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has generated its fair share of hype as it prepares to make its way into theaters in July. However, Brad’s got another movie making its way to theaters this fall and today we got a look at the film. Ad Astra is a space drama following an astronaut named Roy McBride who goes to space to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the planet. It looks to be a mysterious and thrilling drama like First Man meets The Martian. The film co-stars Liv Tyler, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Nega, and Donald Sutherland. Ad Astra is directed by James Grey (The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z) and is produced by Pitt’s company Plan B Entertainment. It will be in theaters on September 20, 2019.