Netflix acquires Brian Jacques’ Redwall for film & TV adaptations

Netflix has revealed that it has acquired the rights to late author Brian Jacques’ popular fantasy novel franchise Redwall and is currently at work developing a film adaptation based on the first novel in the 22-book series as well as an event series centered on iconic character Martin the Warrior.

RELATED: Leslie Mann, Pedro Pascal & More Join Judd Apatow Netflix Comedy

“Brian often travelled the globe to tell his Redwall stories to young audiences, more often than not at their schools,” Alan Ingram, representative of The Redwall Abbey Company (owner of Jacques’ intellectual property), said in a statement. “Brian would have been very happy to see that Netflix shares his joy and desire to bring his stories to life as a new universe of films, series and potentially much more for audiences of all ages to enjoy. We are very excited to embark on this new endeavour with Netflix and Penguin Random House UK.”

First published in 1986, Redwall chronicles the adventures of the heroic animals that inhabit the forest haven of Redwall Abbey. The first novel was then followed by thirteen more book sequels and nine prequel books. The novel series have sold in excess of 30 million copies and been translated into more than 20 languages.

Pick up a copy of the complete set of the Redwall 22-book series!

The Redwood film adaptation will be written by Patrick McHale (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio). The deal marks the first time that the film rights to the entire book series have been held by the same company and the first time a feature film of any of Jacques’ works will be made.

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Brad Pitt-led Bullet Train adds Sandra Bullock to ensemble roster

Just when it seemed like David Leitch’s Bullet Train had finished rounding out its ensemble roster, Deadline has brought word that the Brad Pitt-led cast has continued to expand with the addition of Oscar winner Sandra Bullock (Ocean’s 8), marking the first time the two actors have worked together.

RELATED: Latin Grammy Winner Bad Bunny Joins David Leitch’s Bullet Train

Bullet Train will mark the eighth collaboration between Leitch and Pitt, who first worked together in 1999 on Fight Club on which Leitch worked as an uncredited stunt double for Pitt, followed by 2001’s The Mexican, Ocean’s Eleven and Spy Game, the latter two in which he doubled again for Pitt and helped coordinate the martial arts stunts on the Tony Scott-helmed film. Leitch would once again double for Pitt in 2004’s Troy and 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith and would later reunite with the star in 2018’s Deadpool 2, in which Pitt cameoed as Vanisher and Leitch directed.

Plot details for the film are currently being kept under wraps, but it is based on the Japanese novel Maria Beetle by Isaka Kotaro. The cast for the film, led by Pitt, already includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Andrew Koji (Warrior), Joey King (The Lie), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water), Logan Lerman (Hunters), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine), Masi Oka (Spies in Disguise) and Bad Bunny (American Sole).

On top of directing, Leitch will supervise the script written by Zak Olkewicz (Fear Street). Leitch and Kelly McCormick will produce the project via their company 87North along with Antoine Fuqua (The Magnificent Seven, Training Day, The Equalizer) and Kat Samick (The Equalizer, Southpaw, Infinite). Ryosuke Saegusa and Yuma Terada are executive producing in behalf of Kotaro. Brittany Morrissey is the executive overseeing the film for Sony Pictures.

RELATED: David Leitch-Helmed Bullet Train Adds Lady Gaga to Cast

Leitch and McCormick recently signed a first-look deal at Universal and produced the action film Nobody, starring Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk, which is slated for a February 26, 2021 release. The duo is also developing a biopic of Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first and only woman to win the brutal off-road endurance race known as The Dakar Rally, as well as the rights to her book My Victory at Dakar.

(Photo Credit: Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images)

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J.K. Simmons & Nina Arianda in talks for Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos

Just a month after entering talks with Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem for its central roles, Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming biographical drama Being the Ricardos is continuing to build its ensemble cast as J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Nina Arianda (Goliath) have begun negotiations to star in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: Bardem & Kidman in Talks for Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos

Penned by Sorkin, the film is set during a week of production on the iconic 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy, which began with table reads on Mondays and ended with audience filming on Fridays, and will focus on the real relationship between stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, namely as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage. Sources previously reported that Sorkin originally did not intend to direct the project, only write, but after enjoying the directing experience on the Netflix-acquired historical drama elected to take the director’s chair this past summer.

Simmons is currently being eyed to portray William Frawley, the actor who starred as Fred Mertz on the iconic sitcom, while the Stan & Ollie actress is in talks to join as Emmy winner Vivian Vance, who starred as Ethel Mertz and would later join Ball in her ’60s sitcom The Lucy Show.

Sources also report that though all deals have yet to be closed, Kidman and Bardem became interested in the project following the release of The Trial of the Chicago 7 and that a production start date has yet to be set as the pandemic continues to prove to be a problem to productions across the country. The project was previously in development with Cate Blanchett set to star, though it’s unclear why the two-time Oscar winner dropped out.

RELATED: I Wanna Dance With Somebody: Naomi Ackie Nabs Whitney Houston Role in New Biopic

The film is set to be produced by Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, with Escape’s Jenna Block and David Bloomfield, Stuart Besser, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lauren Lohman all attached to the project as executive producers.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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February 9 Blu-ray, Digital and DVD Releases

Welcome to ComingSoon.net’s February 9 Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD column! We’ve highlighted this week’s releases in detailed write-ups of different titles below! Click each highlighted title to purchase through Amazon! 

New Movies on Blu-ray/DVD

Freaky
From Blumhouse, things get Freaky at Blissfield High when 17-year-old Millie (Kathryn Newton) swaps bodies with an infamous serial killer (Vince Vaughn).

Greenland
A family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet races to Earth. John Garrity, his estranged wife Allison, and young son Nathan make a perilous journey to their only hope for sanctuary.

Jiang Ziya
To earn his place amongst the gods, celestial army commander Jiang Ziya must vanquish a terrifying fox demon threatening the very existence of the mortal realm. The follow up to international blockbuster, Ne Zha and second chapter in the Fengshen Cinematic Universe.

Wander Darkly
Sienna Miller and Diego Luna lead this thriller about a couple forced to revisit the past and unravel haunting truths in a captivating journey of loss, love, heartbreak, and hope.

The El Duce Tapes
A long, hard look at Eldon ‘El Duce’ Hoke, the front-man of the controversial ’90s shock metal band The Mentors.

The State Of Texas Vs. Melissa
Melissa Lucio was the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in Texas. For ten years she has been awaiting her fate, and she now faces her last appeal.

Deep In Vogue
“Deep in Vogue” celebrates the colorful, queer, emotional and political stories of Northern Vogue and its people.

Helter Skelter: An American Myth (DVD)
In the most comprehensive visual telling of the Manson Family, Helter Skelter: An American Myth features never-before-accessed interviews from former family members and journalists, weaving these original narratives with archival footage and newly-unearthed images. It will upend what people think they know about this complex story and cast an entirely new light on this Crime of the Century.

Book Club

Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy
Featuring 28 projects based on George Lucas’s epic film saga, Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy is the ultimate guide to creating stunning projects inspired by Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Rey, and a whole host of droids, ships, and aliens from a galaxy far, far away.

Criterion Corner

The Parallax View
Three years after witnessing the murder of a leading senator atop Seattle’s Space Needle, reporter Joseph Frady (Warren Beatty) begins digging into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the event—and stumbles into a labyrinthine conspiracy far more sinister than he could have imagined. The Parallax View’s coolly stylized, shadow-etched compositions by acclaimed cinematographer Gordon Willis give visual expression to a mood that begins as an anxious whisper and ends as a scream into the void.

Reissues

The Hills Run Red
Revenge is never easy and in this slam-bang western full of fast-paced action and mounting suspense, revenge is never sweeter, either! At the end of the Civil War, a Confederate soldier is jailed for a heist engineered by his buddy, who escapes with the loot and builds himself a life of leisure. While suffering behind bars, he realizes he was double-crossed… and vows revenge.

Man of the East
To claim his father’s ranch, Sir Thomas Fitzpatrick Phillip Moore (Hill) has come to the west. Unbeknownst to him, his father’s dying wish was that his friends and fellow highwaymen teach the lad how to be a real man.

So Evil My Love
In the late 19th century, English widow Olivia Harwood (Ann Todd) meets Mark Bellis (Ray Milland), a charming-but-dangerous criminal who’s renting a room in her boarding house. Hopelessly in love with a man who is playing her for a fool, Olivia soon descends into a life of crime as Mark persuades her to steal from her friend Susan Courtney (Geraldine Fitzgerald), the wife of a wealthy peer.

The Suspect
Philip Marshall (Charles Laughton) is a kind, henpecked accountant who strikes up a friendship with Mary Gray (Ella Raines), a young unemployed stenographer who had approached him for work. He gradually finds himself falling in love with her, but keeps the relationship platonic. With his wife suspecting him of having an affair, Philip asks her for a divorce, but she refuses and threatens him with exposure and scandal.

Jazz on a Summer’s Day
Filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island and directed by world-renowned photographer Bert Stern, Jazz on a Summer’s Day features intimate performances by an all-star line-up of musical legends including Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Anita O’Day, Chuck Berry, Dinah Washington, and closes with a beautiful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer by Mahalia Jackson at midnight to usher in Sunday morning.

Nationtime
Nationtime is his vivid account of the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered Black delegates from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Richard Hatcher, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, Isaac Hayes, Richard Roundtree and H. Carl McCall.

A Man Called Adam
Legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. (Anna Lucasta) headlines a star-studded cast including Louis Armstrong (Paris Blues), Ossie Davis (Jungle Fever), Cicely Tyson (Bustin’ Loose), Mel Tormé (The Big Operator) and fellow Rat Pack member Peter Lawford (Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell) in this powerful drama about a jazz musician who “has it all”—love, friendship and fame—but whose tormented past threatens to destroy him and his career.

A Tale of Two Cities
Ronald Colman (The Prisoner of Zenda) stars as Sydney Carton sardonic, dissolute, a wastreland destined to redeem himself in an act of courageous sacrifice. It’s a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done, Carton muses at that defining moment.

Wings of the Hawk 3-D
Gringo miner Irish Gallager (Heflin) is caught up in the Mexican revolution of 1910-11 when corrupt administrator Colonel Paco Ruiz (George Dolenz, Scared Stiff) unjustly seizes his gold mine.

Madame Claude
Starring French New Wave icon Françoise Fabian in the title role along with a sinister Klaus Kinski and the lovely Dayle Haddon, MADAME CLAUDE is an incredibly timeless look at one of the most controversial figures in recent French history.

The Mary Millington Movie Collection
Released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mary Millington s death, this special edition Blu-ray box set (individually numbered and limited to 3,000 units) features Mary s most glamorous film roles, with new, stunning 2K restorations, including: Come Play with Me (1977), The Playbirds (1978), Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (1979), Queen of the Blues (1979), Mary Millington s True Blue Confessions (1980) plus Respectable: The Mary Millington Story (2015), an in-depth documentary chronicling her extraordinary life.

Beach Babes From Beyond
Hot! Tan! Alien! An intergalactic babe borrows her dad’s T-bird ship to do a little planet hopping with her two friends, but they run out of fuel unexpectedly, and must land on earth.

Elizabethtown
Drew Baylor, a hot-shot designer whose life becomes completely unraveled on one fateful day. En route to Elizabethtown, Drew meets Claire. She’s beautiful, and she has decided to be just the gal to guide Drew on his journey back home.

Love Story
Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal star in this heartrending 1970 romance about two young lovers whose passion can’t change their fate.

The Little Prince
A pilot crash-lands in the Sahara and finds a boy who says he’s a prince fallen to Earth from his asteroid home.

Elysium (4K)
In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth.

Six By Sondheim
Explore the life and career of renowned Broadway lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim through six of his best-known songs.

New On Digital HD

The Croods: A New Age
In search of a new home, the Croods encounter the more sophisticated Betterman family. A new threat forces the two families to set aside their differences to avoid extinction.

Reunion (exclusive clip)
A pregnant woman returns to her recently-deceased grandparents’ family home to spend time with her estranged mother. What begins as a reunion turns terrifying.

The Reckoning
Thrown in jail after being falsely accused of being a witch, Grace must endure extreme physical persecution at the hands of a ruthless witch-hunter.

A Glitch in the Matrix
Are we living in a simulation? Filmmaker Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE) wrestles with this existential question in his latest documentary, a multimedia journey that’s part sci-fi mind-scrambler, part true-crime horror story.

Falling
John Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father Willis from Los Angeles who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.

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Leslie Mann, Pedro Pascal & more join Judd Apatow Netflix comedy

The King of Staten Island director Judd Apatow has finally set the star-studded cast for his first streamer feature titled The Bubble as The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal and MCU alum Karen Gillan have officially signed on to join Netflix’s upcoming comedy alongside Apatow’s frequents Leslie Mann and Iris Apatow, according to Deadline.

RELATED: The Sandman: Sturridge, Christie & More Join Netflix Series Adaptation

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout star Maria Bakalova, who recently scored her first Golden Globe nomination, is also joining the cast of The Bubble along with Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, and Peter Serafinowicz.

The Bubble, which Apatow is directing, producing and co-writing with Pam Brady (Team America: World Police), will center on a group of actors and actresses struggling to complete a film while trapped in a hotel as part of the pandemic bubble. The streaming platform is reportedly fast-tracking the project by forming a roster that could rival that of the all-star hits Knives Out and The Disaster Artist.

Apatow made his feature directorial debut with 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which became a breakout hit for the comedian and established him as a powerhouse talent for Universal Pictures, following it up with hits Knocked Up, Trainwreck and The King of Staten Island, while also producing Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. The 52-year-old filmmaker has worked with Netflix in various capacities over the years, with cameos in Lady Dynamite and Sandy Wexler and acting as co-writer, co-creator and executive producer of Love.

RELATED: Awkwafina & Sandra Oh to Lead Untitled Netflix Comedy

Sources also report that Apatow’s shift to Netflix for the feature project instead of Universal stemmed from the streaming platform’s ability to get the production underway quicker while the latter is still determining which productions to fund in the midst of the pandemic.

(Photo Credits: Getty Images)

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to be helmed by Watchmen’s Nicole Kassell

New Line Cinema’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has found its director in Emmy winner Nicole Kassell, known for directing episodes of Watchmen, Westworld, The Killing, and more (via Deadline).

RELATED: Those Who Wish Me Dead: Angelina Jolie-Led Western Sets Release Date

“I am incredibly honored to join Temple Hill and New Line in bringing this beloved classic to the screen,” Kassell said. “While 1939 musical is part of my DNA, I am exhilarated and humbled by the responsibility of re-imagining such a legendary tale. The opportunity to examine the original themes—the quest for courage, love, wisdom and home— feels more timely and urgent than ever. These are profoundly iconic shoes to fill, and I am eager to dance alongside these heroes of my childhood as we pave a newly minted yellow brick road.”

Pick up your copy of the novel here!

The beloved children’s book was originally published in 1900. The story inspired 13 additional Oz books and was famously adapted in 1939 with the Judy Garland-led, Oscar-winning classic musical feature The Wizard of Oz.

Previous screenplay drafts were reportedly written by Darren Lemke and the duo Neil Widener and Gavin James.

RELATED: Godzilla vs. Kong Delayed a Week, Plus James Wan’s Malignant Set for September

Temple Hill partners Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will produce along with Marc Platt. Isaac Klausner will serve as executive producer.

(Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

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BEGIN SLIDESHOW

CS Interview: Kathryn Newton talks return to horror in Freaky

Ahead of the film’s highly-anticipated arrival on Blu-ray and DVD, ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with star Kathryn Newton (Blockers, Supernatural) to discuss her return to the horror genre with Chrisopher Landon’s body-swapping comedy genre mashup Freaky!

RELATED: CS Interview: Christopher Landon Talks Freaky, Potential Sequel & HDD Crossover

ComingSoon.net: I loved Freaky back when I saw at Beyond Fest and it’s still a blast, I remember reading that you weren’t initially interested in the script, so how did your interest come around on it?

Kathryn Newton: I was always interested in the script actually, just gotta say that, because Chris Landon and Michael Kennedy wrote an amazing story about a girl and when I read it I was just blown away, because I thought, this is the best character for me ever. Being in a film where I got to play serial killer and a teenage girl, it was insane. The holdup, I don’t know where the holdup came from but it was just because there was a moment where I think my team was — when you’re young, you don’t know what to do, so I listened to people all the time. You know, I’m learning to just do what I want, but that’s my own thing. So my team was like, “No, you’re not going to do this movie.” Then I had a meeting with Jason Blum, and I was like, “I’m gonna do this movie. I’m talking to Jason today, I’m going to walk out getting a movie” and that’s exactly what happened. We called my agent during the meeting and Jason was like, “Kathryn’s doing this movie.” And I really wanted to be in this movie! I worked with Chris Landon and Jason Blum on a film called Paranormal Activity 4 when I was 14 years old. It was the first lead of a film I was in and it was the best experience. I mean, I grew so much, it was all improv. So then I think Chris knew that I could do this, because he saw me on that film and so because of our history on that one, it brought me this great opportunity on Freaky and I was not going to miss out on that. It was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film and then Vince Vaughn came on board and everything got even better, because he elevated the project. It was already good. It was already a great script, it was already going to be a great movie and then he made it incredible because he’s an amazing actor. Not only that, he really cared and you can see that in the movie. You know, he elevated the project.

ComingSoon.net: So what was it like working with Vince to hone in on each other’s personalities for your characters?

KN: It started with Chris and I talking about Millie and he did a little rehearsal with me one on one as Millie and he recorded me eating and ordering food and talking about my backstory with my mother. I think he sent that to Vince and I think that gave him some ideas for his version of Millie. When we got to Atlanta, Vince and I met at dance rehearsal for the first time, like, cold meeting “Hi, I’m Katherine,” “Hi, I’m Vince. Let’s do a weird, embarrassing dance routine.” I think that kind of broke the ice, there was no director there, there was nobody there, it was kind of like probably a mistake [laughs]. Like no one probably wanted us to meet that way, but it was perfect because he was all in, you know, you can imagine Vince like doing a whole cheerleading routine is hilarious. Then we had we went out and met with our director, Chris Landon, and we has rehearsals with him for a couple days and we just talked about the characters, which I was blown away by because I was going into this project thinking I was going to be copying Vince Vaughn mannerisms. So I started watching all these movies and as soon as I started working on the film, I realized that’s not what we were doing here at all. Vince and I were going to create two characters together. It was completely better than what I imagined, so he came up with ideas, he asked me for ideas and it was a total collaboration between the three of us. I would be on set as The Butcher and thinking about doing something like, “Do you think I would hold the knife this way? What do you think? How would The Butcher really say this line?” I would be able to talk to Vince about it, which you don’t really get to do, it’s not a general thing that actors get to act like a director. Like an actor thinking about a character’s choice is so different, so it was a strange experience to be able to ask someone playing the same character what’s his choice, because we’re both doing the same thing. We were always on the same page, and without Chris Landon, I mean, it’s such an elevated high-stakes movie and he was able to balance the heart with the horror and the comedy. So we really trusted Chris and just let him lead the ship.

CS: Since you mention Vince and going back to a bunch of his movies, what were some of your favorites that watched for research?

KN: I watched Swingers and I hadn’t seen that before, but I kind of realized, watching those movies that it would be impossible to be Vince Vaughn. So I put that away and I just focused on creating a character and that’s exactly what it was. It was never an imitation game and I think that we created mannerisms for each other to be grounded in, but we were never really copying each other. It wasn’t really like that, because that would have been weird in playing The Butcher.

CS: Since you do have that duality of personas what would you say was one of your biggest creative challenges getting to the heart of both souls as you played them? 

KN: I thought it would have been harder, but Millie’s really close to who I am. I was her in high school, just trying to get by like totally not cool and it doesn’t matter what you look like or what your friends tell you, because Millie has great friends who are telling her how great she is all the time, but she doesn’t feel that about herself. I think that’s really important for people to understand that, it’s always those things that you’re maybe insecure about when you’re young or you’re made fun of that actually makes you special and unique. I think she sees that, like the things that she tries to hide The Butcher takes advantage of and is super powerful. For The Butcher, it really wasn’t that hard to be The Butcher, I mean, you just have to go there, I was just like, “All right, I’m a serial killer. I’m going to try to kill these dudes.” You just do it and it was really fun for me [laughs], because I’m not like that at all, I’m so not The Butcher that you just kind of jump into it and you don’t think about it because if I thought about it, I probably would be overwhelmed.

CS: You mentioned Paranormal Activity, but we’ve also seen you explore the world of horror before with Supernatural and killing things in the show, so what was it like getting back into the bloody game of killing with Freaky?

KN: Supernatural changed my life, Paranormal Activity also changed my life. I was so excited to get back into the horror genre, the number one reason is the fans are die-hard and amazing, and I learned that on Supernatural. I played Claire Novak and she became a fan favorite quickly and I never took that for granted and I was so grateful. It turned into they gave Claire her own spin-off show, and it didn’t work out, but that is when I realized the power of a fandom, the true power and if they want something, they’ll get it and they stick with you. I’m SPN family forever and, you know, now we have a Freaky family, so I think that’s pretty cool. Everyone was so scared of me on set and avoided me at all cost when I had that chainsaw in my hand. But I’m pretty, I’m an athlete and we did some training for some of the fight scenes and on the day, it was a breeze. It was really fun to get bloody and cut people up and scare everybody, I’m so not like that. I think I too grew a lot like Millie because I genuinely am just like a normal girl and then when I acted like The Butcher and I saw how people treated me on stage, I was like “Whoa, look at the power that I have” and I didn’t even know, so I definitely took that with me.

CS: What was it then like building up the chemistry with your besties off-camera before bringing that to the takes?

KN: It was so easy, Celeste and Misha are both incredible actors and they were so he was just so happy to be there, because we all thought it was special and fun. I think the first night or the second night of meeting, I brought them to a Post Malone concert just to go have a good time, and we did and I think we were immediately just good friends. I think when you’re young, and you’re in a weird new place, like alone, you immediately find your family on set and I don’t know, I think when you make friends with people and you really love them, that’s how you get a better project. Everyone comes from different places, maybe it’s your first movie or for Vince it’s like his 1000th movie, but we were all there.

CS: What was it like for you also getting the news the film would be making its premiere with the drive-in at Beyond Fest last year?

KN: It was an honor because Beyond Fest, it’s the people who we made the movie for, horror fans. Obviously the movie is for everybody, but it’s kind of a big deal to be giving the horror fans something that they hopefully love, because we were thinking about them. When we made the movie, we wanted to make people happy and Chris Landon and Michael Kennedy are really in a horror world, they really cared. They really wanted to make everybody feel scared and grossed out and laugh and cry, and so it was a big deal and to hear everybody honking, I got chills. It was really cool. I’d never been to a drive-in before and it was a great experience, I took my friends and they were shaking in the car next to me. Usually I’m the one when I go to a horror film, I’m the one screaming and my eyes are closed and my best friend couldn’t handle it. They were screaming and shaking. I was like, “This is amazing.” Then everyone honking their horns and screaming in the cars next to you, I mean, this movie was amazing to see the audience and I just hope that people watch it with their friends, because it’s fun to see your friends freak out.

CS: So since its success Chris Landon and Jason Blum have teased the possibility of another sequel or even a crossover with Happy Death Day, what are your thoughts on either of those happening?

KN: I’d love to reunite with the Blumhouse family and Chris Landon again and again and I think Happy Death Day is great and Jessica Rothe is an amazing actress. I fell like if the fans ask then, you know the power of fandom, so I think that just has to come from the audience, it’s the audience’s decision now.

CS: What would you hope to see from a story in which the two cross over? 

KN: I don’t think I can comment on that. I just don’t think I can, I don’t really know. I know that usually, in my experience, when you talk about a sequel too much, it doesn’t happen, but it’s just like, I just want to let it happen [laughs]. I’ve been on sets where it’s like, “The sequel, the sequel, the sequel” and then it never happened. So the movies where you don’t talk about it is when it happens, so this is kind of feeling like that. I see the fans putting us in edits together, me and Jessica, and tagging us. You know, that’s what I feel like gets the sequel made, so if the fans want it they have to ask, and that would mean the world to me if they wanted that. I think it would be cool because there’s no, like, iconic horror franchise crossover that I’m aware of right now, that’s new, of our generation, that’s a reflection of the time that we’re in now and is not from my parents time. I think there’s an opportunity to do that for people like me or people like us.

CS: To look away from the film, December saw the awesome announcement you were joining the MCU as Cassie in the next Ant-Man movie and I’m curious what is one of the key things you want to make sure you carry over with your portrayal of Cassie from the previous two actresses? 

KN: I don’t think I can comment on that either [laughs]. But I’m super, super excited, and like, it’s been a dream come true to be part of the MCU, I’ve been a fan my whole life since I was 10 years old going to the movies with my dad. I’ve seen every Marvel movie, I’ve seen Iron Man like 10 times, probably, I just love it. So my whole life, I’ve been thinking about how do I get there and what do I do? I’ve been an athlete, I’ve been training with this in mind to be a superhero, so I’m just ready to do that and I really hope that I make all the fans extremely happy and I give them the best I can.

CS: Since you’ve been a fan of the MCU for so long, which individual franchise did you always hope the most to join between Iron Man, Thor, etc.?

KN: I never really thought about that, I never thought about which one I’d want to join. I think that the MCU is huge and there’s kind of something there for everybody, whether it is on the screen and I’ve seen it in a movie or if you just go to the comics, the worlds are endless, so you couldn’t really dream big enough. I feel like that’s kind of my whole thing in life is you can have dreams of joining Marvel or dreams of making a horror film, like Freaky is above and beyond my dreams of what I thought the film was going to be and like with Marvel, I could have never dreamed of what character because it’s going to be better than it is in my dream. But I like all those Marvel movies, I think Iron Man was my favorite though, I think that Robert is darling, he’s so funny in those movies. I think that was like the first one I saw in theaters was Iron Man, but so think that one’s the one that sticks with me.

CS: It’s also been a while since we’ve heard word about the Detective Pikachu sequel and I was a huge fan of the first, so have you heard any rumblings at all about it lately? 

KN: No I haven’t [laughs]. I heard that they wrote something, but that was like two years ago now, I feel like it was two years ago. That one needs a sequel, in my opinion, I need to know what Lucy and Psyduck are doing, what is going on in Ryme City and can Lucy and Psyduck save the world? This is what I’m asking, I need to see it, I think that we need more people in it. I just think that it was a great film and, I don’t know if you saw it, but I mean it was beautiful. We shot it on film, it was shot in London. Justin Smith is incredible, Ryan Reynolds is so incredibly talented, it was such a great cast. I love that movie so much. I think it’ll happen, maybe it’s one of those sequels that comes after a little while, you know?

RELATED: CS Interview: Alan Ruck Talks Horror-Comedy Freaky, Plus Exclusive Clip!

Click here to purchase your own Blu-ray copy of Freaky today!

BONUS FEATURES on BLU-RAY, DVD and Digital:

• Deleted Scenes
  • The Butcher Lends a Hand
  • Charlene Hears a Rumor
  • Late for the Party
• Split Personalities: Millie vs. The Butcher – Two opposing characters. One killer chemistry! Go behind-the-scenes to see how Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton worked together to bring these two very different characters to life and how they created distinct personal traits for both. This piece will focus on the magnetism between Vaughn and Newton, and how that chemistry raised the stakes for two characters stuck in such a strange situation.
• Crafting the Kills – This feature will take viewers into the “Wood Shop” set to see how all of the various elements and departments come together to create an extraordinary kill that fans will talk about for years to come. We will also discuss the inspiration behind this bilateral bisection, what makes it both fun and horrifying, and how it is different from anything else you have seen in other horror films.
• Christopher Landon’s Brand of Horror – Blending horror and comedy is a difficult task that not many can achieve, but Christopher Landon has proven time and time again that he is uniquely skilled at it. Freaky is no different. Learn how Christopher’s vision brought new energy to the concept and elevated the story, all while creating a fun and proficient working environment. This behind-the-scenes look at how he weaves humor and gore together will give fans an intimate understanding of why a Christopher Landon film is a genre of its own.
• Final Girl Reframed – The concept of a “Final Girl” is nothing new in the horror genre. However, Millie isn’t your typical Final Girl. We take a closer look at all the ways Freaky takes your genre expectations and smashes them
• Feature Commentary with Co-writer/Director Christopher Landon

From the deliciously debased mind of writer-director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, the Paranormal Activity franchise) comes a pitch-black horror-comedy about a slasher, a senior, and the brutal truth about high school.

In Freaky (formerly titled as Body Swap), Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler is just trying to survive the bloodthirsty halls of Blissfield High and the cruelty of the popular crowd. But when she becomes the newest target of The Butcher, her town’s infamous serial killer, her senior year becomes the least of her worries. When The Butcher’s mystical ancient dagger causes him and Millie to wake up in each other’s bodies, Millie learns that she has just 24 hours to get her body back before the switch becomes permanent and she’s trapped in the form of a middle-aged maniac forever. The only problem is she now looks like a towering psychopath who’s the target of a city-wide manhunt while The Butcher looks like her and has brought his appetite for carnage to Homecoming. With some help from her friends—ultra-woke Nyla, ultra-fabulous Joshua and her crush Booker —Millie races against the clock to reverse the curse while The Butcher discovers that having a female teen body is the perfect cover for a little Homecoming killing spree.

RELATED: Freaky Review: A Bloody & Hilarious, If Mildly Underwhelming, Ride

Freaky is led by Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies, The Society, Blockers) and Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers, True Detective). It will also feature Celeste O’Connor (Selah and the Spades), Misha Osherovich (The Goldfinch), Uriah Shelton (Enter the Warriors Gate) Alan Ruck (Succession), Katie Finneran (Why Women Kill), and Dana Drori  (High Fidelity series).

The film is directed by Christopher Landon, who co-wrote the script with Michael Kennedy. It is produced by Blumhouse’s Jason Blum with Couper Samuelson and Jeanette Volturno set as executive producers.

The horror-comedy is available on digital platforms, Blu-ray and DVD now!

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Disney closes 20th Century Fox animation house Blue Sky Studios

After just over three decades running under 20th Century Fox and subsequently the House of Mouse following their acquisition of the studio, Disney is officially closing the doors on animation house Blue Sky Studios, the company behind the Ice Age franchise and many others, according to Deadline.

RELATED: Disney Delays The King’s Man, Pulls Bob’s Burgers From Schedule

“Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios,” a studio spokesperson said in a statement.

Founded in 1987 by Chris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison Brown, David Brown and Eugene Troubetzkoy, the studio has produced 13 films in its near 34 years of operation, beginning with the 2002 Oscar-nominated family adventure pic Ice Age, whose success would spawn a franchise consisting of four theatrical sequels, multiple short films, two television specials and four video games, with the films adding up to a global box office gross of $3.2 billion.

Sources report that the decision comes as the House of Mouse faced economically tough decisions with the global pandemic keeping its global theme parks and cruise lines closed and concluded that it would not be able to carry a third animation studio alongside Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Blue Sky’s last day of operation is currently set for sometime in April and while word comes that there are no talks for another studio to absorb it, Disney is reportedly going to work with the 450 employees at the Connecticut-based animation house to explore possible open positions at other studios under Disney’s large umbrella, which will maintain hold of the Blue Sky library and IP.

The studio was in the midst of production on an adaptation of the fantasy webcomic Nimona and was reportedly 75 percent of the way through it, with just 10 months left and was slated for a January 2022 release, but sources report the Patrick Osborne-helmed project is coming to a full stop and will no longer be released.

RELATED: Wakanda Series in the Works at Disney+ as Disney Inks TV Deal with Ryan Coogler

Other films from Blue Sky included the Ewan McGregor and Robin Williams-starring Robots, Horton Hears a Who!, the Rio films, Epic, The Peanuts Movie, Ferdinand and Spies in Disguise, the final of which proved to be an underperformer for the then-still-active 20th Century Fox and stifled the studios’ hopes of spawning another franchise.

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Happily Trailer: Joel McHale & Kerry Bishé lead dark romantic comedy

After acquiring the film in November and ahead of its March release, Saban Films has debuted the first trailer for BenDavid Grabinski’s dark romantic comedy and directorial debut Happily starring Joel McHale (Community) and Kerry Bishé (Halt and Catch Fire). The trailer can be viewed in the player below!

RELATED: Happily: Saban Films Acquires BenDavid Grabinski’s Comedy Thriller Starring Joel McHale & Kerry Bishé

Happily follows Tom (McHale) and Janet (Bishé) who have been happily married for years. But a visit from a mysterious stranger (Root) leads to a dead body, a lot of questions, and a tense couples’ trip with friends who may not actually be friends at all.

The film stars Emmy Award Nominee Joel McHale (Community, Deliver Us from Evil), Kerry Bishé (Red State, Halt and Catch Fire, Argo), and Emmy Award Nominee Stephen Root (Barry, King of the Hill).

The ensemble’s supporting cast includes Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation), Paul Scheer (The League), Natalie Zea (Justified), Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up), Breckin Meyer (Designated Survivor), Shannon Woodward (Westworld), Jon Daly (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Barry), and Al Madrigal (I’m Dying Up Here).

RELATED: Dead Pigs Trailer Sets U.S. Release for Cathy Yan’s Directorial Debut

This riveting dark comedy was financed by Chuckie Duff’s Common Wall Media and produced by Electric Dynamite’s Jack Black and Spencer Berman, Indy Entertainment’s Nancy Leopardi and Ross Kohn and executive produced by Chuckie Duff, as well as filmmakers Dave Green and Kyle Newman.

Happily is set to debut in select theaters and on digital platforms on March 19!

The post Happily Trailer: Joel McHale & Kerry Bishé Lead Dark Romantic Comedy appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

CS Video: Sacrifice interview with horror genre icon Barbara Crampton!

In time for the film’s theatrical and digital debut, ComingSoon.net go the exciting chance to chat with horror genre icon Barbara Crampton (You’re Next, We Are Still Here, Re-Animator) to discuss her work in the Lovecraftian genre pic Sacrifice! Our interview can be viewed in the player below!

RELATED: Sacrifice Trailer: Barbara Crampton Stars in New Lovecraftian Horror

New Yorker Isaac and his pregnant wife return to a remote Norwegian village of his birth to claim an unexpected inheritance. Here they find themselves caught in a nightmare as an ancient evil awakens to claim a birthright of its own.

The film is co-written and co-directed by Andy Collier and Tor Mian (The Sky in Bloom, Charismata) and sees Crampton starring alongside Dag Sorlie (That’s Interesting), Erik Lundin (Happy Hour in Paradise, Blue Eyes), Jack Kristiansen (Under the Crystal Dome, Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey), Johanna Adde Dahl, Ludovic Hughes (Murder Maps, Ride), Lukas Loughran (The Postcard Killings, Krypton) and Sophie Stevens (The Black Palace, The Haunted).

Click here to rent or purchase Sacrifice!

Crampton’s first dive into the world of H.P. Lovecraft came with one of her breakout roles in 1985’s adaptation of Re-Animator and would continue with her celebrated work in the following year’s From Beyond. Other notable roles of hers in the horror genre include Stuart Gordon’s Castle Freak, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s You’re Next, Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here and Jackson Stewart’s Beyond the Gates.

RELATED: Exclusive Sator Clip Teases Chilling Indie Horror Treat

Sacrifice is now in select theaters and on video on demand platforms and is set to hit shelves on Blu-ray on February 23.

The post CS Video: Sacrifice Interview With Horror Genre Icon Barbara Crampton! appeared first on ComingSoon.net.