Taika Waititi joins this week’s Russo Bros. Pizza Film School

The guest roster for the Russo Bros. Pizza Film School has seen a large array of talent in the previous weeks and it’s been announced that this week’s episode will feature none other than Oscar-winning writer/director Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) with the group looking back at 1980’s Flash Gordon! Click here to rent or purchase Flash Gordon!

RELATED: Russo Bros. Pizza Film School Episode 5 Details Revealed!

Directed by Mike Hodges and starring Sam Jones in the titular role, Flash Gordon centers on the star quarterback as he and travel agent Dale Arden come across Dr. Hans Zarkov, a scientist who believes there’s a more sinister reason behind a sudden eclipse and hot hail affecting the Earth. As they take off to space to try and solve the problem, they land on planet Mongo and learn that the evil Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) is attacking the Earth out of pure boredom and must team up with a race of Hawkmen to save the world.

Previous movies discussed on the show include La Haine, Ronin, The Evil Dead, The Empire Strikes Back featuring Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, and most recently, No Country for Old Men with star Josh Brolin. The Russos have been joined on other episodes by film critic Pete Hammond and the screenwriting duo Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who also serve as Co-Presidents of Story for AGBO.  Previous episodes are currently available to watch on the AGBO YouTube Channel.

The weekly show created and hosted by Joe and Anthony Russo (The Russo Brothers) aims to educate and spread some love to favorite classic films, as well as local pizzerias while movie lovers are stuck at home during the pandemic.  The Bros will assign a movie for the class every week, and tune in with guests to talk about how different flicks have transformed their relationship to cinema, while enjoying pizza from a local pizzeria.

RELATED: Taika Waititi Leading Ensemble James and the Giant Peach Read-Along!

The next episode of Russo Bros. Pizza Film School is set to air this Friday at 12 p.m. PST on IGTV and the AGBO YouTube Channel.

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Train to Busan Sequel Peninsula Sets U.S. Theatrical Release

Well Go USA has officially set the U.S. release date for director Yeon Sang-Ho’s highly-anticipated Train to Busan sequel Peninsula. Selected as one of the 56 titles for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, the South Korean zombie thriller is scheduled to arrive in 150 theaters across the U.S. and Canada on Friday, August 7. In addition, Deadline is bringing word that Shudder has successfully acquired the exclusive streaming rights for the sequel which they’re planning to debut in 2021.

“Peninsula is one of the most anticipated horror movie sequels of the last decade and exactly the kind of film Shudder members are hungry for,” Shudder’s general manager Craig Engler said. “Yeon Sang-ho set the bar for zombie movies with Train to Busan and its prequel Seoul Station, and we’re thrilled to be the home of his new masterpiece—and the only place where movie lovers will be able to stream this outstanding trilogy together.”

RELATED: Peninsula Trailer: The Train to Busan Sequel Arrives!

Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in Train to Busan the zombie thriller that captivated audiences worldwide, acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho brings us Peninsula the next nail-biting chapter in his post-apocalyptic world. Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.

Haven’t seen Train to Busan? Check out this Amazon link to the original.

The sequel will star Gang Dong-Won (My Brilliant Life) as Jung-Seok, Lee Jung-Hyun (The Battleship Island) as Min-Jung, Lee Re (Witch’s Court) as Joon, Kwon Hae-Hyo (The Crowned Clown) as Kim Noh, Kim Min-Jae (Urban Cops), Go Kyo-Hwan, Kim Do-Yoon, and Lee Ye-Won

RELATED: New Line Wins Bidding War for American Train to Busan Remake

In 2016, Train to Busan set the box office ablaze across Asia, smashed box office records in South Korea and became the biggest Korean film of all time, stars Gong Yoo (The Age of Shadows), Jung Yu-mi (Manhole), Ma Dong-seok (Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days, The Eternals ), Choi Woo-sik (Big Match. Okja, Parasite), An So-hee (Hellcats), Kim Eui-sung (Assassination), and Kim Su-an (The Battleship Island, Along With the Gods: Two Worlds).

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Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies Documentary Trailer

Quiver Distribution has released the official trailer for the upcoming documentary Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies, directed by Danny Wolf (Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time series). You can check out the trailer in the player below as well as the official poster!

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A definitive documentary on the history of nudity in the movies, beginning with the silent movie era through present day, examining the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological, and artistic changes that shaped this rich history.

Skin delves into the gender bias concerning nudity in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has pushed for gender equality in feature films today. A deep discussion of pre-code Hollywood and its amoral roots, the censorship that “cleaned up” Hollywood and how the MPAA was formed leads into a discussion of how nudity changed cinematic culture through the decades. It culminates in a discussion of “what are nude scenes like in the age of the #METOO movement?”

The film features revealing interviews with actors including Pam Grier (Jackie Brown, Foxy Brown) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Caligula) as well as directors Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon), Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Clerks) and Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless). Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie, Scary Movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), Diane Franklin (The Last American Virgin, Better Off Dead, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure), Eric Roberts (Runaway Train, Inherent Vice, Star 80), Sean Young (Blade Runner, Dune, No Way Out), and Jim McBride (creator of Mr. Skin) are also featured.

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The documentary is co-written by Wolf and Paul Fishbein and is produced by Fishbein (Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time series) and executive produced by Jim McBride.

Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies will be available everywhere on Digital and VOD on August 18, 2020.

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Theater chains suing New Jersey over ‘unconstitutional’ closures

The past few weeks have seen businesses across the country, namely movie theaters, struggle to reopen safely and get things back to normal and while the state of New Jersey is allowing some other businesses to reopen, cinemas aren’t one of them and now the major theater chains are suing the state, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: Fandango Announces New Theater Reopening Program

AMC, Cinemark and Regal are coming together in court to sue New Jersey with the claim that in allowing churches and other businesses to reopen but not movie theaters, they are committing constitutional injury to the theater chain industry.

“By this Complaint, Plaintiffs challenge Defendants’ unconstitutional and unlawful distinctions in allowing certain places of public assembly to reopen, while requiring movie theatres to remain closed,” states a complaint being led by the National Association of Theatre Owners of New Jersey. “COVID-19 represents a serious public health risk, and Plaintiffs support fair and reasonable actions by the government to address that risk. However, the government-mandated total closure of movie theatres is neither fair nor reasonable, and is instead a violation of Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, Equal Protection of the laws, Due Process under the law, and is a Taking of property without just compensation.”

The lawsuit, which discusses how New Jersey has now entered Stage 2 without any timeline given for Stage 3 of which theaters are a part of, is being handled by First Amendment attorneys at Davis Wright Tremaine, a prominent law firm in the media industry.

RELATED: NATO Expects Global Theaters to Open in Time for Tenet

Though the country is currently seeing a spike in cases of the coronavirus as people rush to get back to a sense of normality, the COVID Tracking Project shows that New Jersey has been faring better than most states. The complaint, which can be read here, also sees the industry asking for an order from New Jersey that treats movie houses the same as other businesses and that a declaration of Governor Philip Murphy’s actions as a “deprivation of just compensation” be issued.

“Defendants have a legal obligation to promulgate orders that treat like entities in a like manner, and not to create arbitrary or irrational distinctions, particularly where First Amendment rights are at stake,” states the complaint. ” Although Defendants have issued orders allowing other public assemblies such as religious services and ceremonies to open, they have withheld approval for movie theatres, which are similarly situated, if not less of a risk, from a public health perspective. Representatives of Plaintiffs met with representatives of Defendants, and the representatives of Plaintiffs shared detailed safety protocols that would be implemented for the reopening of movie theatres in the State that Plaintiffs are ready, willing, and able to implement.”

(Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

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Leigh Whannell in talks for Ryan Gosling’s Wolfman at Universal

This year saw Leigh Whannell bring a modern-day twist to H.G. Wells’ classic The Invisible Man for Universal Pictures in brilliant fashion and now he has his eyes set on another classic monster in the studio’s roster as he has entered talks to direct the Ryan Gosling-led reboot of Wolfman, according to The Wrap.

RELATED: Ryan Gosling Set to Play the Wolfman in Universal’s Reboot!

Sources previously reported that executives at the Hollywood studio had been meeting with directors this past month in hopes of making a decision on who will helm the project, and that Bad Education‘s Cory Finley was reportedly one of the directors in talks to take on the job, but it appears the studio is sticking with someone who not only just delivered them success but also is a major talent in the horror genre.

Should the deal go through, Whannell will also write the story treatment for the film whilst Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo (Orange is the New Black) are set to pen the script for the reboot. In addition to Whannell, sources report that Jason Blum has signed on to produce the film alongside Gosling via his indie powerhouse banner Blumhouse Productions.

Gosling himself was reportedly eyed to helm the project and direct at one point, which would’ve marked his second venture behind the camera after 2014’s Lost River, but after talks with the studio, both parties agreed it would be better for the Oscar nominee to remain in an actor position.

The film, based on a pitch from Gosling himself, is set to be penned by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebeca Angelo, known for working on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, and though details on the plot are unknown at this time, it’s believed to be set in modern day and follow in the footsteps of the Jake Gyllenhaal-starrer Nightcrawler.

RELATED: Luca Guadagnino Signs On For Scarface Remake At Universal

Gosling’s project marks one of a few in which the studio is looking to help bring to life after the financial and critical failure of its attempted interconnected franchise, Dark Universe, which began with the Tom Cruise vehicle The Mummy. With the studio looking to focus on more character and filmmaker-driven projects rather than major franchise fare, they are currently working with Paul Feig for a crossover horror comedy Dark Universe, as well as taking pitches from James Wan and John Krasinski for other adaptations of their classic monster library. While the original Dark Universe was still in play the studio was previously courting Dwayne Johnson to portray the Wolfman.

(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

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New Halloween Kills Teaser Released by John Carpenter!

Following the news that Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends had their release dates adjusted by Universal Pictures, with Kills now debuting on October 15, 2021, along with an IMAX release that same month, John Carpenter shared a new Halloween Kills teaser, which you can view below!

pic.twitter.com/LOgkb19lwq

— John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) July 8, 2020

RELATED: Universal Sets New Release Dates for Candyman, Halloween Kills & More

In the upcoming sequel, Haddonfield Memorial Hospital will be returning to the new canon with Anthony Michael Hall set to play Tommy Doyle, who first appeared as a child in the original Halloween movie as one of the kids Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) was babysitting. The adult version of the character was previously played by Paul Rudd in The Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth movie of the original storyline. The new universe avoids those sequels, however, as the 2018 movie picks up the narrative after the 1978 film.

Buy the original Halloween film here.

Nancy Stephens’ Nurse Marion is also set to return for Kills with Robert Longstreet as Lonnie Elam (the young bully in the original film) and Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace, reprising her role from the 1978 original. It was also previously announced that Halloween filmmaker and composer John Carpenter will be composing the score for both Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.

John Carpenter will be providing the music for both sequels. David Gordon Green returns direct and co-wrote the script with Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones) and Scott Teems. Halloween Ends will be released on Friday, October 14, 2022, which Green will also direct and co-write, this time with Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier.

Both films are based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, and will be produced by Malek Akkad, Jason Blum, and Bill Block. Carpenter, McBride, Green executive produce alongside star Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ryan Freimann.

RELATED: Jason Blum Says Halloween Kills Feels Like a Complete Movie

Released to critical acclaim and huge box office success, 2018’s Halloween brought in over $250 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing slasher film of all time.

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French Exit first-look image features Michelle Pfeiffer & Lucas Hedges

Sony Pictures Classics has released the first image from director Azazel Jacobs’ forthcoming dark comedy film titled French Exit, providing us with our first look at Academy Award nominees Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges as mother-son duo Frances and Malcolm Price. The film is expected to make its debut sometime this year. Check out the full photo below!

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Based on Canadian author Patrick deWitt’s 2018 best-selling novel, French Exit will follow the story of a wealthy widowed mother and her adult son Frances Price and Malcolm Price, who have a dysfunctional relationship with Frances described as a possessive mother while Malcolm is emotionally-stunted. Joining the duo is their family’s aging cat named Small Frank, who is inhabited by the spirit of Frances’ dead husband. Because of an impending bankruptcy, she decided to move the family from New York to Paris.

Pick up a copy of the book here!

The film stars Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Liaisons) as Frances Price, Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) as Malcolm Price, and Tracy Letts (Homeland) as the voice of Small Frank the cat. It will also feature Danielle MacDonald (Dumplin’), Valerie Mahaffey (Desperate Housewives), and Susan Coyne (Slings & Arrows).

RELATED: Zoë Kravitz Opens Up About Matt Reeves’ The Batman

French Exit is written and directed by Azazel Jacobs with Thorsten Schumacher serving as a producer.

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Ridley Scott & Kevin Macdonald planning Life in a Day sequel

Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and Ridley Scott (All the Money in the World)’s 2011 crowdsourced documentary Life in a Day was a rave success after its release and after spawning similar projects in other countries, the duo are reuniting to craft a 2020 sequel, according to Deadline.

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The new film, entitled Life in a Day 2020, will call on millions of people around the world to film their lives on July 25 and submit it via any video-sharing platform, with the filmmakers then taking the footage and whittling it down into a feature-length documentary helmed by Macdonald.

“This project truly demonstrates the uniqueness of YouTube by showcasing the power of the human experience told through the eyes and cameras of individuals around the world,” Susanne Daniels, global head of original content at YouTube, said in a statement.

The sequel, which is being produced by Scott’s RSA Films in association with Flying Object, is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and on YouTube in 2021. The first film was crafted in July 2010 as a manner of celebrating YouTube’s fifth anniversary, with over 80,000 submissions being sent to the Oscar-winning filmmaker and following its debut on YouTube in 2011 has since been viewed more than 16 million times.

“Making the first Life In A Day was one of the most joyful and eye-opening experiences of my life,” Macdonald said in a statement. “Contributors were generous enough to share often quite intimate moments from their lives as part of a huge, life-affirming, film-making experiment. I am thrilled, 10 years later, that we are making Life In A Day 2020. In that time, how have we changed? How has our relationship to filming ourselves changed? And at this extraordinary turning point in history what are we hoping for in our future?”

RELATED: Gucci: MGM Acquires Ridley Scott’s True Crime Drama Starring Lady Gaga

The sequel is being helmed by Macdonald with Scott and Kai Hsiung serving as executive producers while Jack Arbuthnott and Tim Partridge are attached as producers.

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Universal Sets New Release Dates for Candyman, Halloween Kills & More

Universal Pictures has announced new release dates for a handful of upcoming releases, including Candyman, The Forever Purge, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends.

Candyman will move from September 25, 2020, to Friday, October 16, 2020; The Forever Purge will be released on Friday, July 9, 2021; Halloween Kills will move from October 16, 2020, to Friday, October 15, 2021; and Halloween Ends will move from October 15, 2021, to Friday, October 14, 2022, taking the place of the previously announced Untitled Blumhouse Productions Project.

I know you all have been looking forward to an update on the status of “Halloween Kills”. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/EWivyipYgR

— John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) July 8, 2020

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Oscar-winner Jordan Peele unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend that your friend’s older sibling probably told you about at a sleepover: Candyman. Rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) directs this contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.

For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.

With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.

RELATED: Jurassic World: Dominion Director Discusses Resuming Production

Universal Pictures presents, from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures and Monkeypaw Productions, in association with BRON Creative, Candyman. Candyman is directed by DaCosta, and produced by Ian Cooper (Us), Monkeypaw President Win Rosenfeld and Jordan Peele. The screenplay is by Peele & Rosenfeld and DaCosta. The film is based on the 1992 film Candyman, written by Bernard Rose, and the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker. The film’s executive producers are David Kern, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth.

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Idris Elba reveals Luther film is ‘this close’ to being made

A film focused on Idris Elba’s beloved gruff inspector John Luther has been in the works for over five years now and while it looks as though its small-screen run is currently at an end, the Golden Globe-winning star has revealed that the long-awaited feature story is “this close” to finally being made. (Via Deadline)

RELATED: Idris Elba Says Playing John Luther Got Him ‘Addicted to the Lifestyle’

In an interview for the third season of his Sky comedy series In The Long Run, Elba confirmed that there are no “formal plans” for another series of the hit psychological crime drama, but that he has “made it very clear that I’d like to see Luther come back as a film.”

“Luther has all the ingredients to echo those classic films of the ’90s like Seven and Along Came A Spider and I think what we’d like to attempt is use that as a blueprint to create it,” Elba previously told Metro in 2018. “It will be more murder, more Volvos, more frowning Luther. Essentially we just want to try and take it to a much bigger remit and scale and perhaps international as well.”

First premiering in 2010 and created and solely written by Neil Cross, Luther stars Elba as the titular obsessive detective and has seen him gain a Golden Globe award, a Screen Actors Guild award, an NAACP Image Award, a Critics’ Choice Award, and four Emmy nominations.

RELATED: The Harder They Fall: Idris Elba to Star in Netflix Western

The four-part fifth series premiered in January 2019 to rave reviews from critics and audiences after a four-year hiatus from its previous two-part series.

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