CS Recommends: Thor Comics, Plus Video Games & More!

Stuck inside? Don’t know what to watch/read/play/listen to? ComingSoon.net has got you covered. In this week’s CS Recommends our staff gives you solid tips on the best media to consume during your downtime, including Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection & more. Check out our picks below!

RELATED: June 30 Blu-ray, Digital and DVD Releases

MAX EVRY’S RECOMMEND: Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection

Click here to purchase Volume 1!

Click here to purchase Volume 2!

I want to make a confession: I was a regular reader of the Thor comics by Jason Aaron for awhile, and was loving every issue. Then when they introduced the concept of Lady Thor I immediately reacted like the book jumped the shark and stopped buying the floppies from my homebase comic book store, Midtown Comics in NYC.

Then Taika Waititi announced he was making Thor: Love and Thunder based on this very run that I had stopped reading, so I decided to take the plunge and read it and… IT’S GREAT! The artwork by artists like Esad Ribic and Russell Dauterman (among others) is iconic, and the story of Jane Foster inheriting Mjölnir/the power of Thor while battling cancer is touching and powerful. This is Marvel Comics at its very best, with lots of great mythic detours involving Frost Giants, the Roxxon corporation, Malekith and more. Highly recommended before the new movie comes out! The Lady Thor stuff begins in Volume 2 of The Complete Collection.

KYLIE HEMMERT’S RECOMMEND: BioShock: The Collection

Click here to purchase!

The BioShock franchise is probably my absolute favorite of any video game series. The collection consists of the first two games, BioShock and Bioshock 2 in the underwater city of Rapture, as well as the third game, BioShock Infinite, which takes place in 1912 in the flying city of Columbia. The original will probably always be my favorite, the one that really cemented my love of the first-person shooter with a story as unique as its characters and settings, but all three games are vastly entertaining and worth a playthrough. Between the design, story, and gameplay style including plenty of choices and hacks for the player to navigate in the FPS/RPG hybrid (with a bit of survival horror mixed in), the titles offer a lot in immersive gaming.

GRANT HERMANNS’ RECOMMEND: Rocketman

Click here to purchase the movie!

Click here to purchase the soundtrack!

As we close June and Pride Month, we also come to the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in New York City and though there are a number of important and eye-opening dramas and documentaries audiences should go watch, I believe one of the best ways to celebrate the day is to dive into the powerful and exhilarating Elton John biopic Rocketman. The long-developed project is an unashamed look at the highs and lows of the legendary musician’s 50-plus year career and finds a beautiful way to weave his Grammy-winning catalogue of songs into the story without simply being concert performances or studio recordings. The unique structure and stellar direction from Dexter Fletcher aside, the film is carried by what should’ve been an Oscar-winning performance from Taron Egerton, who also performs every song on the soundtrack depicted in the story in such an impressive manner it’s almost impossible to distinguish between the 30-year-old star and his real-life subject. Unlike a certain other four Oscar-winning musical biopic that mishandled its portrayal of its lead character’s sexuality, Rocketman is willing to fully embrace every element of John’s struggles with whether he was bisexual or gay and even features the first gay male sex scene to come from a major film studio. In choosing to celebrate John’s life, both professional and personal, good and bad, the film is, for the most part, an honest and wonderful representation of a legend and is not only a magnificent film to visit to honor Pride Month, but one of the best music biopics to ever grace the screen, and the fact it earned one lone Oscar nomination/win while that other movie-that-shall-not-be-named earned five is criminal. And once you’ve finished the film, dive right into the soundtrack, because Egerton’s renditions of John’s iconic sings are works of art to revisit time and again.

MAGGIE DELA PAZ’S RECOMMEND: Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride Part II (1995)

Click here to purchase!

Starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton, Father of the Bride is a comedy film that follows the story of a successful businessman named George Banks, whose perfect and happy life gets suddenly disrupted when her 22-year-old daughter Annie announces that she is engaged to someone she had only been dating for three months. As an overprotective father, George didn’t take the news lightly and immediately disliked Annie’s fiancé Bryan for taking his daughter away from him, even though Bryan’s a nice guy and comes from a wealthy family. Throughout the film, George gets unwillingly dragged into the madness and expensiveness of wedding preparation all the while reminiscing through his and Annie’s father and daughter moments.

This 1991 film is a remake of Vincente Minnelli’s 1950 film of the same name. Overall, it is a really entertaining and heartwarming film about parents learning how to accept the reality of their children’s inevitable path towards growing up. I definitely consider Father of the Bride as one of my most favorite family comedies because it’s a feel-good classic that you can rely on a bad day.

What I love the most about the film is the scenes involving Steve Martin and Martin Short where their dynamic comedic chemistry transcends throughout their scenes together even though their characters are always at odds with each other. If you haven’t got the chance to watch Father of the Bride, I guarantee you that you won’t get disappointed with this 90s classic. However, in case you’ve already seen this film, you should also check out its 1995 sequel, which is equally fun and entertaining as the first one.

JEFF AMES’ RECOMMEND: The ‘Burbs

Click here to purchase!

If you’re looking for some wacky summer fun, check out Joe Dante’s 1989 classic The ‘Burbs, starring Tom Hanks before he became Academy-Award winner Tom Hanks. The story is simple: a weird family moves onto the Universal Tour backlot block and causes the local residents to go berserk. There are crazy situations involving sardines, power lines, garbage, gas lines, infrared scopes … all told from Joe Dante’s clever, if not dark, perspective; and brought to life by Jerry Goldsmith’s terrific score and a wonderful cast that also includes Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, and Wendy Schaal.

As a side, and this is a spoiler in case you haven’t seen the movie, the original ending revealed that Hanks’ character had lost his job, which added to his stressful state; and the finale absolved the Klopeks of any crimes, which fits the narrative a little better if you ask me. As it turns out, the Klopeks were just weird people; and it was Hanks and his buddies who were the lunatics. Another ending had Ray murdered by Dr. Klopek in the ambulance and a final shot showing trash bags being stuffed into the back of the Klopeks’ car, which would have been darkly humorous but a little too … much. In any case, the ending as is works just fine, even if it runs counter to the themes of the film.

ComingSoon.net recommends all readers comply with CDC guidelines and remain as isolated as possible during this urgent time.

The post CS Recommends: Thor Comics, Plus Video Games & More! appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

I Wish I Made That: Valley Girl & Vampire’s Kiss

Welcome to this month’s edition of ComingSoon.net’s I Wish I Made That, in which filmmakers Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here, Mohawk) and Victoria Negri (Gold Star) each pick a film they wish they had actually made! This discussion focuses on the Nicolas Cage comedies Valley Girl (1983) and Vampire’s Kiss (1988). Check out their conversation below!

RELATED: I Wish I Made That: Airplane & Clue

Victoria Negri is an actress, producer, writer, and director known for The Walk (2020) and The Fever and the Fret (2018). Gold Star, her 2017 debut feature as director, served as the final onscreen performance by noted actor Robert Vaughn. You can purchase Gold Star by clicking here!

Negri just announced that her horror-themed short film The Walk will be screening as part of June’s virtual edition of New Jersey’s Lighthouse International Film Festival!

Ted Geoghegan studied screenwriting under the tutelage of the late Carroll O’Connor. After writing numerous genre features in Europe and The United States, he made his directorial debut with the 2015 horror film We Are Still Here, then followed it up with the Native American revenge movie Mohawk (2017). Click here to purchase We Are Still Here, and click here to purchase Mohawk!

Geoghegan recently began a well-received podcast titled “This is Not a Story About…” Each episode of the program begins as the story of someone or something in the world of film that cinephiles know very well, but transforms into an expertly-researched tale about a new topic: one that can be closely-related or worlds away from where its story began. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here!

RELATED: I Wish I Made That: Willow & The NeverEnding Story

I WISH I MADE THAT #3: CAGE COMEDIES

Victoria Negri: Hey Ted! I’m excited to chat with you for this edition of “I Wish I Made That” about films with Nic Cage. The man, the myth, the acting legend. You chose another film I’ve never seen “Valley Girl” and I picked the cult film “Vampire’s Kiss”. Two very different movies. It was crazy watching them back to back. Tell me about “Valley Girl”. What made you pick that one? I loved it, by the way!

Ted Geoghegan: Oh, I’m so glad you dug it! I picked it because it was always a film that I enjoyed as a kid, and it held up as I got older. I like that it feels very innocent and pure. And, I admit, I also picked it because it was recently remade!!!

Negri: I noticed that! Yeah, I haven’t seen the remake. But I want to. I loved that it was quite clearly an 80’s version of “Romeo and Juliet”. They really don’t shy away from that. The characters are literally standing underneath the marquee saying “Romeo and Juliet”.

Geoghegan: Yeah, the film doesn’t quite understand subtlety. But it’s sweet.

Negri: I’m all for it though. Go for it!

Geoghegan: I was drawn to that sweetness when I picked a Nic Cage movie I wish I’d made. Even though I love horror movies, I’m kind of a big softy.

Negri: Yeah he’s done such a huge range of films, especially when he was younger. I almost picked “Moonstruck” because I’m also a softy.

Geoghegan: On the other end of that spectrum, you picked “Vampire’s Kiss” – which might be one of the meaner Cage movies he’d ever made! It always rubbed me the wrong way, both as a child and an adult! Yeah, it’s the first film for this series that by “I Wish I Made That” what I really want to do is go in there, tear it up and make something that’s not so I guess repulsive in many ways.

Negri: The concept is so interesting to me though.

Geoghegan: The concept, on its surface, works for me. But the execution is so mean. Cage’s Peter Lowe is all-time uncomfortable example of a toxic dude. It’s legit hard for me to watch him in that film.

Negri: Yeah he’s awful. The way his character is written, he’s screaming at women for 90 percent of the film, and just violent.

Geoghegan: So, before I dive into the cuteness of “Valley Girl”, tell me more about how and why you want to deconstruct your title!

Negri: Yeah I mean, I want to deconstruct everything about it. I feel like this could become a big rant… But…To me what’s interesting in the concept is this person who hates himself so much that he wants to be something else, something people are afraid of to keep others away. Also, this psychosis through sexuality that’s touched on but just kind of tossed off with sexualized vampires. What’s that about? I would RATHER change it to have a woman play the leading Nic Cage role, and have her fall down this rabbit hole of hiding beneath the belief that she’s a vampire. The thing to decide is whether the character gets lost in this world (a la Joker) or if there’s light at the end of the tunnel and they realize the vampire persona was a cloak (pun intended) because of their fears of society. I think too many people watch the film like — oh Nic Cage is so crazy! Hilarious! But there’s a lot to talk about beyond his over the top performance.

Geoghegan: I totally get you. I feel like the toxicity of the role is almost completely overlooked by its fans. Gender-swapping it would be a great step in flipping the script, but the nastiness would have to be toned down, regardless of its lead’s sex.

Negri: Totally.

Geoghegan: The character, as its currently written, would be reprehensible as a woman too.

Negri: Peter really is vile.

Geoghegan: I think the deeper dive that you spoke of is the first step. Asking why this character is so awful and why they choose to live this life… that’s interesting.

Negri: Exactly. What are they hiding from and why are they pushing people away?

Geoghegan: And a lot more fun, as a viewer, than watching someone in power scream at the people who work for them.

Negri: Yeah the power screaming. Not a good look. And the plot of the film doesn’t even matter as it’s written.

Geoghegan: Sexuality in the film is a huge focus, but also something that doesn’t get the attention it rightfully deserves. Showing it as both a drug and a crutch would be key to making the character more relatable.

Negri: Yeah and that’s what makes me interested in making the protagonist a woman also, exploring that through a female perspective. And giving the character some back story to aid in all of this — who is this person?

Geoghegan: So, Victoria’s version sees a real, honest-to-God woman with ample power, believing she’s been bitten by a vampire and delving into a new world to sex and power. But how do you keep that concept funny in 2020? …Or do you drop the humor?

Negri: Hmm… Yeah, keeping humor in it would be challenging but I think it’s important to have something in there for levity. Maybe another character that pulls her out of it, someone that can keep her grounded. A family member or mother character. Somebody to point out how ridiculous it is. Or, maybe she does dive into the vampire world and joins some kind of really dedicated club of people that are fun and she believes they’re actually vampires, but they’re not. I also really like “What We Do in the Shadows”, but that’s tonally such different vampire humor haha.

Geoghegan: Also a superfan, but yeah, tonally quite different.

Negri: I think it’s through another character that throws her off somehow.

Geoghegan: I think there’s a world in which the humor around this can be found, even in our current landscape. It’s kind of sad and scary, what the film’s lead goes through, but if handled properly, it could be funny. Maybe that’s what I’ve always had an issue within the film. It *could* work.

Negri: Yeah. What would you do with it to keep it funny? Or not keep, but give it humor, I should say.

Geoghegan: I feel like the film would have worked much better with its original lead. Dennis Quaid was supposed to star in it, but dropped out last-minute after getting “Innerspace”. I love Cage, but I think Quaid playing the part with less rage and more humanity would have been a huge help.

Negri: Oh! I had no idea!

Geoghegan: Quaid’s also got a sense of humility that I think the role required.

Negri: Yeah I agree, that would’ve been much more interesting to see. Maybe some subtlety.

Geoghegan: Yeah, it wasn’t originally conceived as Cage going bonkers. He brought all that, himself.

Negri: He’s like a crazy hurricane in the film.

Geoghegan: And again, big Cage fan. But when I think of the film with Dennis Quaid in the lead, it reads completely differently.

Negri: Yeah I wonder why Cage went as big and angry as he did. I wonder why he often does that in a lot of his work. He’s never not interesting, at least!

Geoghegan: I think this perfectly brings up something I wanted to address, which is “When did Cage get big and angry?” He’d always been over-the-top, but at a certain point, it was almost as though he lost the ability to play anything but crazy.

Negri: Yeah I loved some of his other over the top choices, like using different character voices, etc., that weren’t big/angry. I don’t know.

Geoghegan: I feel like it was after “Leaving Las Vegas” in ’95. He was playing an out-of-control drunk, and he won an Oscar for it. After that, I think he was just like, “Oh. This is what they want? Fine, then.”He’d done plenty of gonzo parts before then – including “Vampire” – but I feel like that Oscar changed everything.

Negri: Yeah I think it’s self-perpetuating, like, oh, this works. This is what people expect. I think you’re right.

Geoghegan: He’s forever chasing that second Oscar nod by getting sillier and sillier…

Negri: Yeah. He’s got to choose something different. Although I loved “Mandy”. So I’ve been thinking about anything that could link our films together in thinking about, okay, well what about these parts would makeCage want to play them? And they’re both people that are in worlds that aren’t their own, like people who are out of place. Maybe he’s drawn to parts like that? Although maybe now it’s money? But back in the day, these are characters out of their element.

Geoghegan: I think that’s a very fair assumption. He wants to play characters that are outsiders. And that’s very charming. If you remade “Vampire’s Kiss”, where would you put Cage in it? What outsider role could you dream up for him that isn’t the lead? I thought about that with “Valley Girl” and was amused by the idea of him playing a yuppie dad in the 1980s. I’d love to see him play against type… however hard that might be to accomplish.

Negri: Oooooo awesome question. I think the foil to the lead. Like maybe he plays the version of Alva or a love interest to the woman who is the Peter character rewritten. Maybe he’s trying to be in her world and it doesn’t work. A yuppie dad in the 80s would be amazing. Yeah, I think he’s fully embraced his outsider-I-go-bonkers persona. So tell me more about “Valley Girl”. What if anything would you change about it? How would you update it for 2020? I loved that New Wave soundtrack, by the way.

Geoghegan: Well, my thoughts regarding “Valley Girl” are peculiar because I could never remake it. They tried recently and I hear it’s not bad, but I picked this title because, as the column’s title goes, “I wish I made it.”I wish that I was of-age when the film was shot and that I could experience those moments for real – not re-imagine them.

Negri: Yeah there’s something so innocent and nostalgic about it. As we were talking about, it’s like “Romeo and Juliet”, with very little of the dark aspects of it. Just some of the friend gossip that happens. When did you first see it? And how was it re-watching in thinking about wanting to experience those moments and how that may have evolved for you over time?

Geoghegan: I first saw it shortly after it came out, but I was in grade school. Still, it resonated with me. I’d never been to California, but it seemed magical. I wanted to hang out these people. I wanted to be in their world.

Negri: Yeah it’s very cool.

Geoghegan: And as I grew up, visited California, and watched the world change, I always hung onto that sweet little slice of cinema.

Negri: Yeah it made me want to go back in time and be that person that goes to a party and then runs off with someone new, that discovery of young love in a place that feels magical. California always seemed exotic and magical — that’s where movies are made — to me growing up in Connecticut.

Geoghegan: It’s the perfect example of a film that I desperately wish I could have made, but would never try to now. It’s a time capsule. And I think the idea of making a time capsule is pretty special.

Negri: Yeah what would be a time capsule now that holds onto this feeling, like an ode to it? A modern-day “Romeo and Juliet”? Where would you set it? Still California?

Geoghegan: God help anyone who wants to make a time capsule of 2020…

Negri: I know, I was just thinking, how would you even make a movie like that today?

Geoghegan: That innocence is, in many ways, gone.

Negri: Yeah even before 2020 hit, I feel like the internet and cell phones ruined so much of what make those movies magical.

Geoghegan: The 80s were *not* an innocent time, but a lot of their storytelling techniques were.

Negri: What about the storytelling to you was innocent?

Geoghegan: The stakes are high, but they’re not scary. It can be life or death, but it somehow also feels safe. It’s daring, but… not too daring. I think it’s why so much 80’s cinema resonates with people. It feels like true escapism. And a lot of cinema these days has lost that.

Negri: Yeah it really rides a line. I really appreciate that in “Valley Girl”. Tommy adds tension in trying to break up the romance, but unlike “Romeo and Juliet”, Julie’s parents are really supportive of her and the relationship, which was so awesome to see. I had so much fun watching it.

Geoghegan: If I was to make a feel-good time capsule movie of “right now” (not 2020), I think it would need to be about little kids. Something like “Good Boys”, which I thought was sweet and hilarious.

Negri: Yeah I have to check that movie out. Kids would work, before they realize all the awful stuff going on, before they’re completely corrupted by technology and social media.

Geoghegan: People become adults too quickly now. The teens in “Valley Girl” feel like children, yet 13-year-olds in2020 are practically grown-ups.

Negri: And there’s this mystery about getting to know new people that I really like. You can’t Google people. You can’t stalk their social media accounts. It takes more time. It’s so refreshing to see that. I’m really ripping into the internet despite it bringing a lot of good.

Geoghegan: Here’s to no digital stalking… or any stalking, for that matter!

Negri: None of it!

Geoghegan: Agreed. I’m a digital addict, but I hate what it’s done to the world.

Negri: Yeah I try to lessen its hold over me. Put my phone away when watching movies. It’s why I miss watching movies in theaters, because you can’t just turn on your phone and be like, hmmm what’s happening over here. Also something I really love about “Valley Girl”, how Julie really defends Nic Cage’s character to her friends. She takes action. She’s not a passive character. None of them are, they’re all moving towards something. When she got in that car with him I was like YES!

Geoghegan: Again, I think it’s why it resonated so strongly. It’s sweet-yet-powerful. It makes you wanna cheer on its heroes… warts and all. They’re all a bit off, and that’s what makes them so good. I’d like to think that’s why Cage wanted to do it.

Negri: Yeah he still gets to be kind of a weird outsider and it works. It’s charming.

Geoghegan: This conversation feels a bit different than our past ones, and I think it’s because we’ve both dug so deep into the existing films, good or bad, to talk about why we’ve chosen them. We’ve turned into armchair critics.

Negri: I know! I was thinking that when I was ripping into “Vampire’s Kiss”. I was like, oh no. People made this movie and tried and anyone who makes a movie deserves a huge WELL DONE because it’s a feat in itself. And I feel like we could sidetrack and talk about cinema of the 80s overall in this mindset, too.

Geoghegan: I don’t think you were ripping into it as much as you were pointing out what you’d do differently, both for yourself and for the mercy of your audience. And I think that’s a fair notion for any director to have.

Negri: Appreciate that. Yeah, I always get a bit iffy when I point out what I don’t like in other filmmakers’ movies publicly because we’re all, you know, sensitive artists. And again, making movies is HARD.

Geoghegan: And kudos for choosing a film that you weren’t gushing about, as I’ve done every column. I need to be bold next time and pick something that I disagree with!

Negri: I love that you keep picking such great films. “Valley Girl” is one I’ll go back to when I need to smile.

Geoghegan: Making movies *is* hard, and I’m sure that making a movie with someone as eclectic and incredible as Nic Cage is a journey not soon forgotten.

Negri: I know! I wonder how the director worked with him and what that was like on that film. Interesting, to say the least.

Geoghegan: My hat is off to anyone who takes that plunge! And you’re very welcome! You’re seeing deep into my psyche!

Negri: And you, mine! I’m like – let me pick the films about the strange outsiders.

Geoghegan: I always appreciate your insight, and I love the ideas that you’ve got bouncing around inside your head. While you’ll never be able to travel back to 1989 and right all of the wrongs in “Vampire’s Kiss”, I have faith that you’ll be able to give the world something even more amazing in the future!

Negri: I hope so! And thank you! I want to see a Ted version of “Valley Girl”, not a remake, but something similar.

Geoghegan: Tell you what… Let’s add vampires and we can both make it.

Negri: Hell yeah.

Geoghegan: I suppose our time has come, but it’s always a joy talking to you – and thank you again for the spirited chat. I can’t wait to get nerdy with you again.

Negri: Yes, until next time! Such a pleasure! Can’t wait for the next one!

Click here to purchase Valley Girl!

Click here to purchase Vampire’s Kiss!

The post I Wish I Made That: Valley Girl & Vampire’s Kiss appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Rating:

8.5/10

Starring:

Schea Cotton
Elton Brand
Stephen Jackson
Randy Moss
Metta World Peace
Paul Pierce
Earl Watson

Written by Eric “Ptah” Herbert and Michael Landers
Directed by Eric “Ptah” Herbert

Click here to rent or own your copy of Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story!

Summary:

Manchild is a documentary about a Los Angeles basketball legend by the name of Schea Cotton. There have been many stories told about Schea, and all of the ones about what he did on the court are true. This time though Schea and the people closest to him tell the story about what REALLY happened. A star studded documentary featuring Scoop Jackson, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis, Ron Artest, Tyson Chandler, Jason Hart, Stephen Jackson and Elton Brand to name a few. There is no such thing as a “lock” for the NBA because if that were the case Schea Cotton would be there, no doubt. (IMDB)

Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story Review

Schea Cotton is a name many might vaguely recall, but few will actually remember. At a young age, the kid was anointed the NBA’s next big thing. Heir apparent to Michael Jordan. The LeBron before the LeBron. As a high schooler, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. He dominated opponents and wrecked the likes of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett during youth camps in the mid-90s. He had a friggin’ shoe contract with Nike when he was a teenager!

At 6-foot-6, Cotton had the body of LeBron James, the shooting skills of Kevin Durant and the dunking power of Vince Carter. He was the whole package. NBA scouts salivated at his potential. In his sophomore season at Mater Dei High School, he averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds per game. The Monarchs went 36-1 that season and scooped up a state title to boot.

The list goes on and on. Awards. Accolades. Press. Media. Everything. Cotton should have his own signature brand, a number of NBA championship rings, some Olympic gold medals; and rank among those enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Except, the fame stopped just as quickly as it arrived.

Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story explores the life of a superstar talent who devoted his heart, body and mind to the game of basketball and was ultimately cast aside by the same media moguls who spent so much ink propping him up. It’s the classic rags to riches to rags story, except it’s true. And heartbreaking.

Directed by Eric “Ptah” Herbert, and featuring the likes of Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Metta World Peace and Elton Brand, Manchild dives into the story behind the would-be legend of Schea Cotton and explores his meteoric rise to stardom; and his quick demise that befell him after a freak shoulder injury, poor test scores (mostly related to an illness known as testing anxiety) and a series of questionable allegations directed at him and his family. The documentary shows the grueling, grinding world of the professional athlete in which young people devote their entire body, mind and soul in the hopes of achieving superstardom. If anything, Manchild reveals just how good (and lucky) these professional basketball players are to land a career in an empire as vast an unforgiving as the NBA.

At one point, Cotton’s mother exclaims through tears, “This sport destroys a lot of people.”

Cotton reveals the torment he felt as he waited for his name to be called in the NBA Draft. He expected to go top 10 — 11 at the very least. His name was never called. Instead, Cotton, the once mighty prospect, played overseas and never made it to the NBA. “I didn’t get the breaks Kobe got,” he says mournfully.

His situation reached an apex when he pressed a gun to his head and came close to pulling the trigger. Except, he held back and decided to turn all of the negatives of his life into positives. He has since devoted his life to helping others; and served as a key inspiration — and, perhaps, a warning — to aspiring athletes.

Manchild is as engrossing a docudrama as you’ll ever see. Pieced together via archived footage and interviews with Cotton’s family, as well as a slew of professional athletes, the film gradually builds towards the inevitable tragedy, but shifts into a surprisingly positive reaffirmation of life in its closing minutes. No, it doesn’t break the mold in a manner like, say, Hoop Dreams, but Manchild provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes peak at the exciting but ultimately cuthroat world of professional sports.

As a society we too often focus on the success stories whilst negating the ones that never made it. Cotton never became a superstar, but he overcame a lot to become a great man. His story is worth your time.

The post Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story Review appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

CS Interview: Leslie Odom Jr. Explores World & Himself Through Hamilton Lens

When the COVID-19 crisis reached America’s shores, Tony-award winning actor Leslie Odom Jr. had only just begun a nationwide tour in support of his album Mr., released late last year. The first album to include songs he penned himself, Odom Jr. didn’t hesitate to cancel all his remaining shows, even before his hometown of New York had itself issued a shelter-in-place order.

Throughout his career, Odom Jr. has made decisions where he trusted in himself, and his talent, to see him to his goal. He once turned down a starring role in Aida on Broadway in favor of completing his undergrad degree. After seeing an early staging of Hamilton at Vassar College, the confidence with which he pursued the role of Aaron Burr was more reminiscent of Burr’s relentless rival Alexander Hamilton, than of the character Odom Jr. would later portray so magnificently.

“Adversity is a teacher,” Odom Jr. said, following his announcement to postpone nearly all of the dates on his Stronger Magic tour. From this adversity has also come opportunity. Disney decided to move its premiere of the Hamilton movie, a filmed version of the stage show from 2016 featuring the original Broadway cast, from a theatrical release in October into the homes of Disney+ subscribers just in time for the July 4th weekend. It seems that, in the end, Odom Jr.’s singing will be heard across the nation this summer after all.

ComingSoon.net got to speak with the man, who brought a complex historical figure to glorious life in Hamilton, about his memories of the show, and the conversations it has inspired in both his personal and professional life.

RELATED: CS Interview: Phillipa Soo Talks Hamilton & Playing Leading Lady Eliza

ComingSoon.net: Leslie Odom Jr., hello! It’s such a pleasure to speak with you.

Leslie Odom Jr.: My pleasure. The pleasure’s all mine.

CS: So I first just wanted to ask, four years ago at this point, what do you remember most about your early days working on Hamilton?

Odom Jr.: Oh man, my early days were spent both in bliss, in just sheer creative bliss that I was getting to work on something so extraordinary, and so special. And then, it was like half that, and then it was also — nervousness and fear all the time because I just wanted to be as good as it was. I just wanted to be as good as the people I was standing next to, namely Lin and Daveed and you know, and Phillipa and the rest of the company. I just wanted to earn my spot amongst them, you know?

CS: So what’s it like then revisiting this show specifically while America is in the middle of another revolution, what some are calling the largest civil rights protest in history?

Odom Jr.: Well, I think that part of that I’m waiting to see myself. As an artist, you don’t get to decide how your work is received or what mark it makes — you don’t get to decide that. And so, I was a part of a collective of people that made this, I think there’s 21 of us in the movie? And if you asked all 21 of us, there would be common ground for sure, but there would be also slightly different answers about what we hoped the movie was able to do and who it’s able to reach. So I think some of that is, as an artist you just make something that you love and that you believe in. And then, you have to wait and see how — if it matters. You have to wait and see if it matters if it’s going to resonate.

So I don’t know what it’s going to say to the streets, if it’s going to speak to the streets. I hope it does. I really do. You know, what I do know — and maybe this is enough — I hope it’s more, truly, but I do know: having seen it, they gave us the opportunity to screen it, I do know that it’s damn beautiful. And beauty, especially Black beauty and Brown beauty, those images are still political. They are still necessary. You know, I’m raising a kid right now. If you can imagine: my kid, we want my kid to watch movies, too. We want my kid to read books, too, okay?

CS: Right.

Odom Jr.: And you think about all of the art that’s been created and you think about your childhood and my childhood. Do you know how much of that stuff is white-centric? It is like, we’re indoctrinated. These kids are indoctrinated with these images, so early on, that are subtly telling them they’re not enough, they’re not important. They’re not centered in their own narrative.

So that’s first and foremost what I told Thomas Kail, from the bottom of my heart, is thank you for shepherding images of Black and Brown beauty into the world, because it is still necessary. As a father raising a kid, I search every day for things to show her that look like her, that are a reflection of who she is. And it’s like, don’t try to go back 30 years. Because the list is, you know what I mean? The list is small.

CS: You portrayed Aaron Burr, who was a slaveholder, who later fought for emancipation. And I wondered what that conflict was like for you, inhabiting that person as an actor and personally?

Odom Jr.: What a great question, what a great question. There’s dissonance. There’s dissonance and there is discomfort there, I have to tell you. But what I trusted was that that would make the performance and the show more interesting. Maybe I knew that it might sicken some people, that it might — I knew that it would be a part of a conversation. There is a tension in that piece, in the fact that we are playing slaveholders and we’re playing men — and there’s some women playing men, too, you know, some soldiers — we’re playing men that did some pretty indefensible things. But as you know, as an artist, I was obviously willing to take on the challenge for I think the greater symbolic victories of the piece, which are simply: it’s confronting, it’s challenging. It’s really the first question that needs to be asked is, okay, whose history is this?

CS: Right.

Odom Jr.: Who gets to tell the stories? Let’s start there. Okay, you say this is a history, right? Well, who gets to tell it? We’re telling it this time and we’re using our own words, our own language to tell it. That’s the first step. The next step is we’ve looked at this history through such…there has been a very concerted effort to tighten that iris, to make sure that we are only looking at it, as it is told by the victors or the perceived victors. And so that iris is so small.

You open that thing up a little bit and you go, yes, where were the women? Were they just throwing parties for the men who did all these wonderful things? Like where are the statues of the women again? We were all there, right? And then you open that iris a little bit and you go, what were the Black people doing? I’m sorry, wait a second, there were Black people here, right? And were there no Black heroes? So there’s no Black heroes in my neighborhood? Where are the Black people? You know what I’m saying?

CS: Yes, I do.

Odom Jr.: Lin, he started with, he started the conversation of, “Well, this is the history that we’ve all agreed on, right?” Okay, so these are the facts: as you’ve told them to me again and again. Okay, great. The first step is, now we’re going to take them and we’re going to tell the story in our own words. Are you okay with that?

Now let’s see what else we can talk about. Let’s see what else. So it’s really getting everybody to the table. Hamilton got so many people to the table because it’s so joyous and brilliant. And it set the table for us to have this conversation we’re having in the streets. It set a table for us. It’s common ground because so many people enjoy it, some people like it. And so, we end up all at the same Hamilton party. And what are you going to talk about once you’re at that party?

CS: You know, living in the Bronx, I saw hundreds of local high school students on their way to see Hamilton. It’s something the show worked really hard to facilitate. And I wonder, kind of jumping off what you were just saying, what were some of the most interesting questions they asked of you? Do you have any memories of that?

Odom Jr.: Yeah. I remember it was a little bit after I left, there was this young girl in Philadelphia who worked very hard to get to me. She was like, sending me private messages and she ended up finding a voice teacher of mine who was texting me. I was a little busy, but this young girl really wanted to ask me a question. And I finally got on the phone with her and she said, “So my friends and I talk about Hamilton a lot. And we feel like this show actually isn’t revolutionary at all. It’s just a bunch of People Of Color standing on the stage telling White people stories. What do you think about that?”

So you know, I loved it. I love stuff like that. I’m like, please bring it on, you know? So I love that she worked hard to get to me to ask me that question, to grill me a little bit. And all I could say to this young girl, this young revolutionary, was: Lin wrote the show that was on his heart to write. There is no doubt in my mind that in some time, someone is going to write the show that makes Hamilton look quaint. I have no doubt in my mind. I hope I live long enough to see that show. I said to her, “It’s your job.”

All Lin did was take the baton. Lin created an opportunity for himself and his brothers and sisters that never existed for him. Lin, a young Puerto Rican artist, a young talented actor, and musician. I mean, there are two shows for Lin to do, in the canon of musical theater, in the whole canon. Before he wrote [In the Heights and Hamilton]. You know, there’s literally nothing for him to do.

So all Lin did was take the baton from somebody. He ran his leg of the race, and now it’s your job to run your leg. You write the show that makes Hamilton look quaint. You write the show that answers all the questions that Hamilton didn’t have the courage to, or that you feel like it didn’t have the courage or the bravery to ask. Well, now that’s your responsibility.

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CS: It seems to me that a running thread in your career has been how you trusted in your own worth, even when this may have put other opportunities that you had at risk. And that’s an easy thing to talk about, but hard to do. And I wondered what’s your secret?

Odom Jr.: You know, faith.

CS: Faith?

Odom Jr.: Yeah, I’ve talked to young artists, men, just about not ignoring some sort of spiritual practice. And it’s not unrelated to what we see in the streets. It’s not unrelated. This thing, it works all of our lives. I know I’ve found as a man, there are going to come times where you can’t untie it, where you’ve done all that you can, where you’ve run your leg of the race. And in those situations in my life, I have depended on a God who has helped me through those moments, who has seen me through those moments, and the universe has only ever met me halfway. You know what I mean? More when I take one step for myself, God, the universe, takes two. It is the real stuff.

CS: So faith in something greater than yourself, trusting the process kind of a thing?

Odom Jr.: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I don’t pay lip service to a thing like that. It’s a real practice in my life.

(Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

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Stephen Tobolowsky reveals Groundhog Day series in the works

Groundhog Day is still one of the most celebrated and iconic films in both Bill Murray and Harold Ramis’ careers in the near 30 years since its release and though a sequel had long been ruled out, it appears the time looping comedy is finding new life as a TV series.

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In an interview with The Production Meeting podcast, co-star Stephen Tobolowsky (One Day At a Time) revealed that while working on the Sony lot on one of its ABC co-productions, The Goldbergs or spin-off Schooled, he was pulled aside by a producer and told that they were developing a series and asked if he would reprise his role as iconic nag Ned Ryerson, to which he said, “Yeah, sure!” The 69-year-old star didn’t reveal any further details as to who is penning the script or other stars involved, but he did confirm it would pick up 30 years after the events of the first film.

Click here to rent or purchase the original film!

Co-written by Ramis and Danny Rubin on a story from Rubin, Groundhog Day centered on cynical TV weatherman Phil Connors as he heads to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the titular annual event, only to find himself trapped in a time loop and forced to endlessly repeat the day of February 2.

Alongside Murray, the film featured an ensemble cast that included Andie MacDowell (Ready or Not), Chris Elliott (Schitt’s Creek), Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray (Lodge 49), Marita Geraghty (Broadcast News) and Angela Paton (Trapped in Paradise).

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What are your thoughts on a possible Groundhog Day series? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Stephen Tobolowsky Reveals Groundhog Day Series in the Works appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Exclusive Bushwick: Burnt Trailer Starring Dave Bautista & Brittany Snow

ComingSoon.net is debuting the exclusive Bushwick: Burnt trailer starring Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, My Spy) and Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, Almost Family) in the newly released black and white version of the film available now as an iTunes extra. You can check out the trailer in the player below, as well as the full new poster designed by Stuart Holyrod and Nuno Sarnada!

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“We thought July 4th weekend would be a good time to drop the news that we’re releasing a new Black and White print of our movie Bushwick. Burnt. Inspired by what George Miller did with Mad Max: Fury Road and James Mangold did with Logan, we thought that the subject matter of our movie and the way that it was shot using almost exclusively natural light, lent itself to black and white. We worked with our brilliant cinematographer Lyle Vincent and the amazing colorist Sean Dunckley at Light Iron to produce a beautiful, raw, Burnt version of Bushwick. It’s now up in the iTunes Extra alongside the original color version of Bushwick,” said co-director Cary Murnion.

Compiled by Bushwick directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott to celebrate the release of Bushwick: Burnt, the new black and white print of this timely action/war movie, this was the music that was inspirational to them as they made this movie, set in the neighborhood of Bushwick in Brooklyn, NY.

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Bushwick: Burnt is directed by Jonathan Milott (Cooties) and Cary Murnion (Becky). The script was written by Nick Damici (Hap and Leonard) and Graham Reznick (Until Dawn) from a story by Murnion and Milott.

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Exclusive Mr. Jones Clip Featuring Vanessa Kirby & James Norton

ComingSoon.net has an exclusive Mr. Jones clip featuring Vanessa Kirby and James Norton in the upcoming docudrama thriller from Samuel Goldwyn Films. You can check out the clip now in the player below and order your copy of the movie here!

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Agnieszka Holland’s thriller, set on the eve of WWII, sees Hitler’s rise to power and Stalin’s Soviet propaganda machine pushing their “utopia” to the Western world. Meanwhile, an ambitious young journalist, Gareth Jones (Norton) travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind the propaganda, but then gets a tip that could expose an international conspiracy, one that could cost him and his informant their lives. Jones goes on a life-or-death journey to uncover the truth behind the façade that would later inspire George Orwell’s seminal book Animal Farm.

Mr. Jones features an ensemble cast including Peter Sarsgaard (Jackie, Garden State), James Norton (Little Women, Flatliners), and Vanessa Kirby (The Crown, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw). The film is the theatrical debut of writer Andrea Chalupa and directed by Agnieszka Holland whose films In Darkness, Europa Europa, and Bittere Ernte (Angry Harvest) were all nominated for Academy Awards.

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The movie is currently available on Digital and will release On Demand on July 3, 2020.

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Exclusive Carmilla trailer for the classic vampire tale

Film Movement has provided ComingSoon.net with the exclusive trailer debut of Carmilla, the latest screen version of the vampire tale that pre-dates Dracula. Check out the Carmilla trailer in the player below!

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Isolated from the outside world, fifteen-year-old Lara (Hannah Rae of Broadchurch, Fighting with My Family) lives in seclusion on a vast country estate with her father and strict governess Miss Fontaine (Jessica Raine of Patrick Melrose, Jericho). Late one evening, a mysterious carriage crash brings a young girl (Devrim Lingnau) into their home to recuperate. Lara immediately becomes enchanted by this strange visitor who arouses her curiosity and awakens her burgeoning desires.

This atmospheric coming-of-age tale, also co-starring Golden Globe-nominee Tobias Menzies (Outlander, The Terror, Game of Thrones, The Crown) is inspired by the 1872 gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, who crafted the story of Carmilla 25 years before Bram Stoker put the supernatural story of Count Dracula on the page.

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Written and directed by Emily Harris and produced by Lizzie Brown and Emily Precious, Carmilla will open on July 17.

The post Exclusive Carmilla Trailer for the Classic Vampire Tale appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Blue Bayou: Focus Features Acquires Worldwide Rights to Justin Chon’s Drama

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou from MACRO and Entertainment One (eOne) out of Cannes’ virtual market.

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Written and directed by Chon, who won multiple festival awards for Ms. Purple and Gook, Blue Bayou stars Chon alongside Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Mark O’Brien (Arrival), Linh Dan Pham and Emory Cohen (Brooklyn).

Blue Bayou tells the heartbreaking story of Antonio LeBlanc, a Korean adoptee raised in the United States who is forced to confront his distant past and what it means for his own future and his family’s when he unexpectedly faces deportation.

“Justin’s ability to open our eyes to new perspectives by celebrating our shared humanity is more vital now than ever before. We’re so proud to help bring his voice to the world and to reunite with Alicia along with the brilliant teams at eOne and MACRO,” said Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski.

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The film was financed by MACRO and eOne. Producers are Chon, Charles D. King (Mudbound), Kim Roth (Tigertail), and Poppy Hanks (Sorry To Bother You).

Clara Wu, eOne’s Nick Meyer, Zev Foreman, and Eddie Rubin are executive producers. Greta Fuentes of MACRO and Yira Vilaro are also co-producers. Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S. and Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Relativity Media)

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Danny Glover offers update on Lethal Weapon reboot

The Lethal Weapon franchise has been one of the most celebrated and hit action franchises to survive past its ’80s and ’90s run and after reported talks in January of a fifth film in the series, star Danny Glover has given an update on the potential reboot.

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In an interview with Variety, the 73-year-old actor confirmed that there “had been a conversation” in January about another film in the franchise with both Glover and co-star Mel Gibson attached the return and that “there is something of a plan.”

“I don’t want to give away the plot on the script that I read, but I found the plot had very strong relevance to some of things that are happening today,” Glover said. “I can say that. But that was in January. History changes so fast. But yes, there’s been talk about it. I can only tell you, if it does happen, there is something extraordinary in it. If Lethal Weapon gives us some sort of contribution to understanding a little bit more. It would be interesting to do. It would be interesting to see how we take this within the political framework we are in; the economic framework that we are in. And especially that framework as opposed to the communities that have been affected by the kind of police violence, the kind of police standards, and the power that they exert as well. And what would be interesting from that vantage point is what that attempt could be like at this particular moment.”

Created by Shane Black, the first film was directed by Richard Donner and released in 1987 and followed beleaguered veteran detective Roger Murtaugh (Glover) as he is partnered with reckless and PTSD-afflicted Martin Riggs (Gibson). The buddy comedy received rave reviews from critics and grossed over $120 million on a $15 million budget and spawned a franchise that included three sequels starring the two and a TV adaptation with Damon Wayans Sr. and Clayne Crawford taking on the roles of Murtaugh and Riggs that ran for three seasons on Fox before being cancelled.

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A fifth film has been in the talks for years, though stalled for a long time as Gibson and Glover have expressed a lack of interest and problems with various scripts offered over time until January saw the news that Lethal Weapon 5 was in active development with the duo returning alongside Donner.

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