Dave Franco to portray Vanilla Ice in biopic To The Extreme

Dave Franco may be prepping for the wide release of his already well-received directorial debut The Rental but he’s not slowing down on work one bit as the 35-year-old is set to portray infamous ’90s rapper Vanilla Ice in a new biopic entitled To The Extreme, according to The Wrap.

RELATED: The Rental Trailer: A Secluded Getaway With Killer Views

First announced in 2019, the film centers on the rise of its central subject, real name Robert Van Winkle, from his time as a high school dropout selling cars in Dallas to becoming the first hip-hop artist to have a single top the Billboard charts with 1990’s “Ice Ice Baby.” The film will also chronicle Ice’s struggles with stardom, extortion attempts and criticisms of selling out.

Written by Chris Goodwin and Phillip Van, Franco said in an interview with Insider that the tone of the film is being envisioned as akin to the 2017 acclaimed biographical dramedy The Disaster Artist, focused on Tommy Wiseau’s notorious cult classic The Room. Franco co-starred in Disaster alongside his brother James Franco, who also acted as producer and director on the hit.

“We have been in development for a while but we are inching closer and closer to preproduction,” Franco said. “With that movie, people expected us to make a broad comedy where we make fun of Tommy Wiseau, but the more real we played it, the funnier and heartfelt it was — that’s the tone we want for this one as well.”

RELATED: The Now: Dave Franco to Star in New Quibi Comedy Series

With production still shut down across the country, Franco confirmed that the project hasn’t set a production start date just yet and that there is no director currently attached to the film, but expressed his excitement at diving into the film and role.

“Rob is such a sweet and intelligent guy and he’s been super helpful in the process of getting all the details correct and making us privy to information the public doesn’t know,” Franco said. “Just talking to him I can’t help but think about the rabbit holes I’m going to go down to get ready for the role.”

(Photo Credits: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic and Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

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New to Stream: Arrow Video Channel’s August 2020 lineup

Acclaimed British indie film distributor Arrow Video has unveiled its lineup of programs set to debut on their streaming platform, Arrow Video Channel, in August which includes the fan-favorite adaptation of Stephen King’s Children of the Corn and new seasons of curated titles! The full list of titles set to premiere can be viewed below!

RELATED: Exclusive Zombie for Sale Clip from Arrow Video!

RELATED: New to Netflix August 2020: All Movies & Shows Coming and Going

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RUMOR: Is Donald Glover returning as Lando for Disney+ series?

While many fans have been itching for a follow-up to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story for more of Alden Ehrenreich’s portrayal of the titular smuggler, more are hoping for the sequel to see Donald Glover return as Lando Calrissian and a new big rumor circulating may see fans get just that and more.

RELATED: Alden Ehrenreich Teases Possible Solo Return

Star Wars-centric podcast Kessel Run Transmissions has reported in their latest episode that streaming platform Disney+ is currently developing a series centered on the gambler/con artist/original owner of the Millennium Falcon with the Atlanta creator/executive producer/star set to reprise the role from the box office disappointment.

We can finally announce that Donald Glover will be reprising his role as Lando in a future #StarWars series! What do you guys think of this news?? pic.twitter.com/TyQGjM0kdn

— Noah Outlaw (@OutlawNoah) July 22, 2020

There’s been no official word from the House of Mouse or Lucasfilm, or sources with inside knowledge on the state of the Star Wars universe and plans for future projects, though to Kessel Run Transmissions’ credit they did have the inside track on the upcoming Clone Wars spin-off series The Bad Batch prior to its official announcement.

It’s not entirely impossible that Glover would reprise the role in some shape or form for the future, with Ehrenreich recently teasing that he had word about a possible future for his iteration of Solo, but it seems highly unlikely that he would attach himself to a series strictly based on the fact he has very little time on his hands. The 36-year-old was prepping to shoot a third and fourth season of Atlanta back-to-back before the pandemic shut down production on the series and has a number of other projects in the works, both musically and visually, and though shooting consecutive seasons of his mammoth hit may clear up some time on the schedule, it’s hard to imagine him committing to another live-action series.

RELATED: POLL RESULTS: How Should Solo Return to the Star Wars Universe?

As a side character in a new Disney+ series or sequel to Solo is much more understandable and viable, as Glover consistently reiterated in the marketing for the film that despite its troubled production, he enjoyed playing the role and it showed, as his performance was one of the positive elements that stood out to critics even in more negative reviews. Though Disney isn’t necessarily shying away from continuing the story threads from Solo, especially given the cult following that’s built in the years since its release, it was still a financial flop and with their theme parks not bringing in as much money with everything being shutdown, the studio will want to ensure another Star Wars project doesn’t balloon to unreachable financial heights or see another tug-of-war with creative control between filmmakers and writers.

Directed by Ron Howard, the fun-filled galactic heist movie starred Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Paul Bettany. Joonas Suotamo returned to play Chewbacca.

Written by Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan, Solo: A Star Wars Story was produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel. Lawrence Kasdan, Jason McGatlin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller remained attached as executive producers after being fired from the directorial position.

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CS Interview: Olga Kurylenko on psychological thriller The Room

ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with Olga Kurylenko (The Bay of Silence) to discuss her role in the psychological thriller The Room, which acquired by Shudder last summer and has now arrived on VOD, Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms! Click here to purchase your copy of the film!

RELATED: CS Interview: Tobin Bell on Chilling Possession Pic Belzebuth

When the film first started coming together in development and Kurylenko was sent the script for the project, she found herself thoroughly compelled by the material and that with how much she connected to the writing she really wanted to be a part of the film.

“It was the fact that it was original to me and unusual from what I had seen, it had an interesting twist and I like the psychological part of it and all the metaphors that are in the film,” Kurylenko described. “The film speaks about so many different subjects and mixes of things, there are a lot of metaphors for material abundance, for the dynamic in the family, the Oedipus complex, all of that stuff, it was all put together in a thriller and I couldn’t put it down when I was reading it.”

Though there is a heavy psychological aspect to her role in the film, the 40-year-old star found it to be much easier stepping into her character and bringing her to life, especially in comparison to her work on her breakout hits in the action genre, while also noting this isn’t her first dive into horror as she started in the genre with the Vincenzo Natali-helmed segment of Paris, je t’aime.

“For me, sometimes in action films I’ll say, ‘Oh the stunts will be the big challenge,’ but here it’s just acting and it’s all psychological, the challenge was the emotional side of it,” Kurylenko explained. “I started in the horror genre, my first movie was kind of like, not similar story wise, but it was a mystical, fairy tale French film. It’s true that maybe in English-speaking films I’m more of an action hero, but in Europe, I’m actually a romantic character [laughs]. This here is a big serious where I change from the object of romance and it was such a fun thing, because I thought it was such a completely different image and role than what I’m used to here. It’s true that in England there’s a lot of being a fighter or a strong woman who’s riding a bike and wins every battle. In France, there’s more of this, this film is a France and Belgium production and this is exactly the type of role that I get there, so I love it. I couldn’t do only action films because I need variety, I need to do something more which is why I act. I could’ve abandoned Europe, for example, and I could’ve just moved to Hollywood and only do Hollywood films, but I need dramas, I need comedies. I especially love comedies as a genre, I recently did Johnny English with Rowan Atkinson. The idea was to try more of a comic role, because I think I’m actually made more for this kind of role. Not that I can’t do physical stuff, but I eschew more for the drama or romantic rather than the usual. The thing with the action films is that they are fun to do, it’s just such fun while you’re on set, but they’re all totally different things. You can explore different parts of your personalities, whether you do an action film or a comedy or a thriller, you go to different places when you do that and I would like to not only have one of them in my life, I want to do all of them. Every genre I think gives me a different pleasure and satisfaction and fun, so it’s great and I’m grateful that I’m managing to do a little of everything.”

Though finally hitting digital platforms and physical home media for American audiences the film has been making its rounds on the European film festival circuit for nearly a year now and when news broke that Shudder had acquired the film for a North American release, Kurylenko recalled she “was so happy.”

“This is a huge platform and I think my biggest following is the United States, from what I understand,” Kurylenko laughed. “But also that’s because the US is such a huge country and of course immediately I was thinking that I wanted to do this film, I was always thinking that I hoped it could go further than just Europe. We did have a good thing on our side that it was made in the English language, which is why we made it in English and not French. It’s also happening outside of New York, so the idea was to make this movie international, so I’m thrilled that it’s coming out here. The only thing is, of course, that you can not go to the cinema and watch films on the big screen, but this is life and we’ll just have to embrace what it is and hopefully people can see this at home. What’s interesting about this film is that there’s sort of a connection, I think, that people might make because the couple are stuck and somewhat trapped in this house, which is something we’ve all felt right now because of the virus. All of these lockdowns, people have been in lockdown and they couldn’t really get out, so that’s what’s happening in this story and obviously the story inside the house is very different, not all of us have the magic room, although maybe people would prefer not to have it when you see what it leads to [laughs]. There’s some sort of connection happening with what’s going on in the world and I hope that it’ll appeal to the audience.”

The story of the film does have a number of connections to the real-world pandemic still affecting a number of countries around the globe, with Kurylenko herself being one of the earliest celebrities to announced they had tested positive for it, and in looking at the renewed timeliness of the story and current state of the world, the former Bond girl found it to be “terrifying.”

“I had it kid of early, it was in March, and I really thought that by the summer it would be gone and it would be better and that it would last for a couple of months, but now seeing there’s a second wave coming back and it’s continuing, I have a different view,” Kurylenko opined. “I had more hope back then and now I’m becoming more skeptical to be honest and this is the reality. For example, I felt kind of not worried about being out and about because I already had it and had antibodies and now all these months later, I’m thinking the antibodies have to wear off, so I now feel like I’m in danger again. I don’t feel as confident or comfortable months ago, because I did get tested and did have lots of antibodies, but according to the recent studies the antibodies wear off every day, so I don’t know if today I have them or they’re gone or what the story is. It’s definitely a serious thing and people can get it again and again and again and I’m super careful now, I wear gloves, I wear masks, I’m about to buy the shield for my face.”

RELATED: CS Interview: Brenton Thwaites on Multi-Genre Ghosts of War

In The Room, when Kate and Matt leave the city to move into an old house, they discover a secret hidden room that has the extraordinary power to materialize anything they wish for. Their new life becomes a true fairytale. Yet beneath this apparent state of bliss, something darker lurks: some wishes can have dire consequences.

The film stars Kurylenko (Oblivion, Quantum of Solace) and Kevin Janssens (Revenge, Undercover) and is the live-action feature debut of directorChristian Volckman, whose previously directed the 2006 animated sci-fi action film Renaissance, which featured the voices of Daniel Craig and Jonathan Pryce.

The Room is now available on digital platforms, Blu-ray, DVD and Shudder!

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Stage 13: Edgar Wright to Direct Simon Rich’s Ghost Story for Amblin

According to Deadline, Amblin Partners is teaming up with Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Last Night in Soho, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Emmy winner Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live, Miracle Workers, An American Pickle) on the adaptation of Rich’s ghost short story Stage 13. Wright will develop, direct, and executive produce the film with Rich writing the script and also producing.

RELATED: Last Night in Soho: Edgar Wright Teases Intense Psychological Horror Film

Stage 13 follows the ghost of a silent film-era actress that has haunted the titular soundstage of a backlot for decades. After a struggling director meets the ghost, they find an unexpected kinship and team to make their mark on the world.

Pick up your copy of Simon Rich’s collection Hits and Misses here!

Rich’s Stage 13 short story was initially published in a collection of shorts titled Hits and Misses. The collection won the 2019 Thurber Prize for American Humor.

RELATED: Edgar Wright Signs On to Helm The Chain Adaptation

Wright’s producing partner Nira Park, who co-founded Complete Fiction with Wright, will also produce the project along with Working Title co-chairman Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Amblin Partners’ president of production Jeb Brody and creative executive John Buderwitz will oversee for the studio.

(Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images & Rahav Segev/FilmMagic via Getty Images)

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The Top 10 Superhero Scores of All Time

We live in a day and age where superhero films are a dime a dozen. It wasn’t always like that. Where Marvel more or less makes big-budget TV shows, Richard Donner, Sam Raimi and Tim Burton paved the way for superheroes with films like Superman: The Movie, Spider-Man and Batman. Sure, some of those films don’t hold up as well today, but, at the time, they were groundbreaking cinema.

Part of what made them so special was the music that served as the heroes’ identity. Honestly, can anyone think of Christopher Reeve’s Superman without humming John Williams’ iconic theme? Or look a Michael Keaton and not think about Danny Elfman’s bombastic score?

If you answered “Yes” to either of those questions, then this probably isn’t the list for you. All others, enjoy our list of The Top 10 Superhero Scores of All Time. Though, please note this is not a list of the best superhero themes, but the film’s score as a whole.

Feel free to share your lists in the comments below!

RELATED: The 10 Best James Horner Scores

Batman
Danny Elfman

Those old enough to remember will remember their first experience with Batman in the movie theater: the Warner Bros. logo, fixed against a dark backdrop and accompanied by moody underscore, slowly fades away as the camera pans down into a dark crevice … the music grows louder and louder until the title “Batman” fills the screen amidst an enormous blast of choir — and then it hits. Trumpets. Drums. Soaring strings. Batman’s theme. As iconic as butter.

Tim Burton’s gothic take on the caped crusader required an appropriately dark score to drive home the action — and Danny Elfman brought it. Like, really brought it. So much so that — hot take! — his work remains the best thing about the film all these years later. Listen to the track Attack of the Batwing. You’re welcome.

Batman: Original Motion Picture Score

Man of Steel
Hans Zimmer

Placing Man of Steel above John Williams’ iconic Superman theme could possibly qualify as treason. Except, Hans Zimmer’s work on Zack Snyder’s Superman flick is nothing short of extraordinary. That theme. Those drums. Part of what makes this soundtrack work so well is its simplistic nature. Have a listen to the track, “Flight,” or “Smallville Battle” if you need further proof of the composer’s genius — or, if you’re simply in need of a good adrenaline pump.

Man of Steel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition]

Superman: The Movie
John Williams

Yeah, John Williams’ instantly recognizable Superman theme deserves ranking amongst the all-time great compositions. Yet, some of the best music on the soundtrack comes early on during the Krypton and Smallville sequences where the maestro unleashes incredibly lush and sweeping secondary themes. What knocks Superman down a peg is the average (by Williams’ standards) love theme and that goofy Lex Luthor march that lacks any ounce of menace. Still, the score stands as a stunning accomplishment in the realm of film scores.

Superman The Movie Soundtrack

The Rocketeer
James Horner

James Horner’s music for Joe Johnston’s underappreciated superhero gem offers enough razzle dazzle to compete with the greats. A terrific main theme for the hooded avenger makes its appearance via a quiet piano melody but continues to evolve and grow as the film progresses; and ultimately reaches its apex during the climactic battle at Griffith Observatory. Still, the best track on the album (including the expanded release) remains “The Flying Circus,” which takes excitement to a whole new level.

The Rocketeer (2CD – remastered Original Soundtrack)

The Dark Knight
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard

With Batman Begins, Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard teamed up to deliver an emotional resonant, atmospheric score that many in the film community embraced. And then The Dark Knight arrived and blew it away. The Joker theme, a weird but perfect blend of noise, guitars and percussion, immediately catapults the listener into Christopher Nolan’s chaos-fueled Gotham, while tracks such as “Like a Dog Chasing Cars” brilliantly sum up the battle taking place between the Clown Prince of Crime and the Batman. Simple, brooding, and absolutely phenomenal.

The Dark Knight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Spider-Man 2
Danny Elfman and Christopher Young

Before Marvel saturated theaters with an endless batch of superhero flicks, Sam Raimi launched the Spider-Man franchise with Tobey Maguire in the title role. While the trilogy would ultimately flame out with the third installment, not many superhero flicks have surpassed Spider-Man 2 in terms of quality, action and heart. Not to mention another terrific score from Danny Elfman, who built on the themes established in the original film and made them even better. Yeah, yeah. There was behind-the-scenes issues regarding Christopher Young, who Raimi chose to write some of the film’s more bombastic cues (including that amazing subway train battle between Doc Ock and Spidey), much to the chagrin of Elfman, but Spider-Man 2 remains one of the better superhero scores to come along.

Spider-Man 2 Original Motion Picture Score

The Shadow
Jerry Goldsmith

It’s too bad that Jerry Goldsmith’s only forays into the superhero genre were Supergirl and The Shadow. Both films suck, but the composer brought A+ talent to the proceedings and crafted memorable work. Of the two, The Shadow stands out a tad more thanks to its gothic themes and creativity.

The Shadow (OST)

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Shirley Walker

The third Batman film on the list, Shirley Walker’s score for the animated film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, features larger-than-life choir, bombastic horns, and the same high quality the composer brought to WB’s incredible Batman: The Animated Series (not to mention the superb Memoirs of an Invisible Man). Walker’s not messing around. Right from the get-go she presents Batman’s theme via Russian choir and pounding drums; and the big finale, during which Batman takes on the Joker, feels like something out of an opera. It’s amazing!

Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm

The Incredibles
Michael Giacchino

In 2004, audiences were introduced to The Incredibles, Pixar’s superhero comedy that blended world-ending scenarios with common family issues for a supremely entertaining action feature. Along for the ride was then-unknown composer Michael Giacchino, who made the abrupt jump from the world of videos games to big screen fare with tremendous results. His theme for The Incredibles leans more on a James Bond aesthetic, but is no less fitting for our superhero clan.

The Incredibles (Score)

Avengers: Infinity War
Alan Silvestri

Alan Silvestri’s epic tends to borrow some of his more, ah, oft-used compositions, which leaves Avengers: Infinity War sounding a little too much like The Mummy Returns or G.I. Joe at times. And yet, the Avengers theme is so damned good it hardly matters. Especially with tracks like “The Forge” where Silvestri takes the orchestra to a completely different level. It’s thrilling stuff.

Avengers: Infinity War (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Runner-Ups

The Amazing Spider-Man
James Horner

Black Panther
Ludwig Göransson

Joker
Hildur Guðnadóttir

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL

Supergirl
Jerry Goldsmith

X-Men: Days of Future Past
John Ottman

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CS Interview: Theo James Discusses Archive

Gavin Rothery’s Archive is now available to rent or buy on digital platforms, and to celebrate the event ComingSoon sat down with actor Theo James to discuss the sci-fi adventure.

Here’s the plot synopsis via IMDB: “2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs: being reunited with his dead wife.”

Archive is written and directed by Gavin Rothery and stars Rhona Mitra, Theo James, Toby Jones, Stacy Martin, Peter Ferdinando and Richard Glover. The film also features an outstanding score from composer Steven Price.

Rent or purchase Archive here!

ComingSoon: How did you get involved with Archive?

Theo James: Gavin and producer Phil Herd approached me with the script and I loved it. I was struck by its huge existential themes; what it is to be human, the concept of the soul and that inexplicable moment between life and death.

CS: How different is Archive from other films that you’ve done?

James: Different. It’s pretty much a man and his Robots.

CS: The film is a visually dazzling sci-fi adventure along the lines of Ex Machina — what are some of the themes explored in the film that you found interesting?

James: I loved how deeply the story is rooted in those classic sci-fi dilemmas. If you give a machine an unlimited capacity to learn, at what point does it start to mimic human emotion. Then if a machine is able to reproduce emotion at what point does it begin to ‘feel’? If a machine can feel and exhibit all attributes that we define as human, at what point does it become human itself?

CS: How difficult was Archive to film? Because, from the looks of it, you’ve got a lot of CG, makeup, etc.

James: Actually there was very little CG relatively. The robots all had actors inside operating them. As a result they were able to perform varied and subtle performances. It also meant I was able to interact with them in the most real and natural way possible.

CS: Talk about your role, and what makes the character interesting. What personal traits did you lend the character?

James: I had zero understanding of Robotics, so I tried to educate myself…but I didn’t exactly get far, my mathematics fundamentals ended when I was sixteen. So I realised I needed to find a different way into the character. What if you lost everything and what would you do to get it back?

CS: What was it like working with director Gavin Rothery? What did he bring to the production?

James: Gavin wrote and directed the film. So he is the film in its entirety really. So many details had been conceived by him. For example, for a year before shooting, he was drinking from a coffee mug he wanted to use as a prop in the film. Just to make sure it felt lived in. That’s when I realised he had been living and dreaming every detail of this story for years.

CS: What’s next on your agenda? Any exciting projects you can share with us?

James: I was about to open a play in The West End in London when the Corona Virus started its global rampage. So theatre might be off the cards for sometime. I’ll be back to screen next. Exactly when will most likely be determined by Mr Covid.

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