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Lionsgate Acquires Kevin Coughlin & Ryan Grassby’s Mother Land

Lionsgate Acquires Kevin Coughlin & Ryan Grassby's Mother Land

Lionsgate Acquires Kevin Coughlin & Ryan Grassby’s Mother Land

After a competitive bidding war amongst various studios, Lionsgate has acquired the latest project from Mean Dreams co-writers Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, a horror spec entitled Mother Land with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen attached to produce.

RELATED: Ryan Reynolds & Shawn Levy Action-Adventure Film Bought by Netflix

The story is described as a timely and high-concept piece that deals with a family who has been haunted by an evil spirit for years and their safety and surroundings come into question when one of their children begins to question if the evil is even real.

Coughlin and Grassby wrote the 2016 feature Mean Dreams, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and starred Bill Paxton, and was heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “a beautiful, dangerous picture of rural America with echoes of Terrence Malick.”

Lionsgate’s Aaron Janus and Chelsea Kujawa and 21 Laps’ Emily Morris will oversee the project, while Levy and Cohen will produce for Levy’s banner. Mother Land marks the most recent project 21 Laps has sold amidst quarantine, with last month seeing their acquisition of the highly-sought-after Reddit No Sleep article My Wife & I Bought a Ranch for Netflix, as well as successfully rebooting Unsolved Mysteries for the streaming platform and are currently awaiting to resume production on the fourth season of Stranger Things.

RELATED: Arcana: Chad Stahelski to Helm Lionsgate’s Urban Fantasy Film

21 Laps has also moved an untitled time travel pic starring Ryan Reynolds (Free Guy) from Paramount Pictures to Netflix while seeing their post-apocalyptic film Love and Monsters recently set for a PVOD release by the former studio on October 16.

The post Lionsgate Acquires Kevin Coughlin & Ryan Grassby’s Mother Land appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Tenet Review: It’s Hard Not to Be Impressed

Rating: 

7.5/10

Cast:

John David Washington as The Protagonist

Robert Pattinson as Neil

Elizabeth Debicki as Kat

Dimple Kapadia as Priya

Michael Caine as Sir Michael Crosby

Kenneth Branagh as Andrei Sator

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ives

Himesh Patel as Mahir

Clémence Poésy as Laura

Martin Donovan as Victor

Written & Directed by Christopher Nolan

Tenet Review:

DISCLAIMER: ComingSoon.net does not condone attending screenings at indoor movie theaters/cinemas at this time due to risks of contracting COVID-19. This review was supplied by a writer outside our staff in England who had already seen the film “Tenet” on their own accord. The author was not assigned to attend the screening by ComingSoon.net editors.

2020 has been a truly wild year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a large part of the world being under lockdown for months, and some areas still quarantined. However, one “visionary” director had a movie he believed would save movie theatres after months of closure. This “visionary” is Christopher Nolan, and the film is Tenet—but it’s being marketed in such as way that it should be all capitalised as “TENET,” as if it’s the saviour of cinema, and maybe even the cure for COVID-19 itself.

Nolan’s films are always an event, and with Tenet being the first major studio film release across the globe since March, it most certainly is that. The strange thing about Tenet being ahead of, for example, Wonder Woman 1984, is that it’s a far riskier release than a known quantity, like a sequel to a fun spandex spectacular. However, Nolan was adamant that his film would be first, despite it being delayed three times. It’s also risky because it stars the up and coming young actor John David Washington (Denzel’s son) as “The Protagonist” (that is literally the character’s name), whose most high-profile film to date was BlackKklansman. Then there’s the puzzle-box nature of the film, which is bound to cause divisions in the audience, but could also attract second or third viewings—only time will tell.

In a nutshell, Tenet is basically Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys if it was incorporated into a James Bond-style spy film. The Protagonist is recruited by a shadowy government agency to help bring a stop to World War 3, and thus the extinction of all life on the planet. The only way to stop this is using Time Inversion, which is basically a form of reverse time travel, where the entropy of objects is reversed to allow you to travel back in time. The contact from the government is old Hal Hartley regular Martin Donovan, who is always a pleasure to see on the big screen. He was also in Nolan’s first studio film, Insomnia. Soon Robert Pattinson’s dashing yet slightly debauched Neil arrives, who essentially becomes the wingman for The Protagonist and in many regards ends up being the most important character in the whole film. R-Patz claims he based the mannerisms of the character on proto-neocon Christopher Hitchens, and you can see it, especially when he is disappointed that The Protagonist doesn’t drink on the job. This puts him in a rare club of actors that includes Bruce Willis, who played the Hitchens-inspired character Peter Fallow in The Bonfire of the Vanities.

From its opening scene centering around a terror crisis, which is the sequence that played before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker film on IMAX, the film is just pure cinematic spectacular. The film puts both the best and worst of Nolan on full show. It never lets up, and by the middle you are exhausted, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, Nolan is a director who can’t write women to save his life, and he is terrified of any kind of sexuality… this is the man who made Catwoman deeply “unsexy” in The Dark Knight Rises, whereas Tim Burton’s Batman Returns was the horniest film of 1992! Elizabeth Debicki’s Kat is the only female character of note in all of Tenet, and is just there as a cog in the mechanism of the plot—she acts as a way for Washington and Pattinson’s characters to get to the villain of the piece, Kenneth Branagh’s Russian oligarch Andrei Sator. The other women in the film are simply present to spout exposition, but Nolan is an equal opportunist: to be fair, most of the men are put in the same position, like Michael Caine in his glorified cameo.

If The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was like a greatest hits album of David Fincher’s films, Tenet is the equivalent for Nolan. The set pieces come one after another, from the opening sequence to the big car chase, a backwards bungie jump and, of course, the grand finale. The scenery is also breath-taking, with the film being shot in Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and even Estonia—it’s first large-scale film partially shot in Estonia since Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker. The cinematography by Nolan’s new go-to Hoyte van Hoytema adds to the scope of the film. It never quite achieves that moment of jaw-dropping cinematic bliss, like the opening of Dunkirk or the tesseract in Interstellar. All the typical mind-bending science fiction you would expect from the director of Inception is present, and, no, it’s not a sequel, although it could in theory share the same Nolan cinematic universe.

The futuristic battle sequences in the desert, glimpses of which were shown in the “final trailer,” are all from the final act. The general action of the film is for the most part very reminiscent of the opening sequence of Inception, before you are taken into the dream within a dream. All of the Time Inversion bullet impacts and explosions are impressive, often due to their simplicity: it’s mainly just shooting the action backwards and forwards. Perhaps the most dazzling sequence is the airplane crash heist, mainly because they blew up a real Boeing 747, and it’s all in camera with real flames. Sadly, using real fire is becoming a scarcity in films today, and CGI fire almost always looks fake.

The performances are fine. Nobody in particular stands out, although Pattinson has a couple of humorous moments and radiates serious movie-star charisma, even if it’s by far one of his weaker performances in recent years. In his first big-budget starring role, John David Washington pulls his weight, but much like the name of his character, it’s a nothing role in lieu of the mechanics of the puzzle Nolan is presenting to the audience. He’s just the man who’s trying to slot all the pieces in the correct place to save humanity.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in completely unrecognisable as Ives, who is part of the team The Protagonist and Neil assemble for the final onslaught of the film. He is mainly there for more exposition. It’s the kind of role any actor could play, but I guess you never turn down the Nolan.

It goes without saying that Tenet is a must-see, even if it’s just so you can be a part of the conversation. If you aren’t quite ready to go to the movies again, you are probably safe to stay home a little longer. The film cost upwards of a quarter of a billion dollars to produce, so it might be playing longer than the typical movie in theatres, and that means even the hesitant should get a chance to see it on the big screen. Nolan has made better films, but Tenet is a culmination of his distinctive filmmaking, so it’s hard not to be impressed.

The post Tenet Review: It’s Hard Not to Be Impressed appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Gameplay Trailer Revealed!

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Gameplay Trailer Revealed!

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga gameplay trailer revealed!

After announcing the title at last summer’s E3, Traveller’s Tales and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have unveiled a full gameplay trailer for the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which is set to hit shelves sometime in early 2021! The trailer can be viewed in the player below!

RELATED: Marvel’s Avengers Open BETA Kicks Off This Weekend

The latest title in TT’s gaming franchise will see everything revamped from their early titles, with players being able to start from any of the nine Skywalker Saga episodes instead of chronological order, each episode featuring five missions for a total of 45 levels and combat being revamped so that lightsaber wielders will now have a variety of combos with light and heavy attacks and Force moves while blaster characters will have an over-the-shoulder camera akin to many third-person shooters.

In addition, the structure for the game’s hub will follow in the footsteps of the previous title, The Force Awakens, in which it will not be isolated to one areas but instead a wide range of fully explorable planets including Coruscant, Naboo, Tatooine, Geonosis, Kamino, Utapau, Kashyyk, Mustafar, Yavin 4, Hoth, Dagobah, Bespin, Endor, Jakku, Takodana, D’Qar, Starkiller Base, Ahch-To, Cantonica, Crait, Ajan Kloss, Pasaana, Kijimi, Kef Bir and Exegol.

Ships will also have freely explorable areas in the hub, such as Star Destroyers and the Death Star, and players can experience random encounters in the hub, such as an Imperial Star Destroyer jumping out of hyperspace and sending fleets of TIE fighters after the player, who can then engage in an optional dogfight.

RELATED: DC FanDome: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Game Brings the Heat

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which will feature nearly 500 characters, is scheduled for a Spring 2021 release for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5 and Xbox One and Series X.

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Exclusive: Screenwriter Ed Solomon Talks His Involvement in X-Men

Exclusive: Screenwriter Ed Solomon Talks His Involvement in X-Men

Exclusive: Screenwriter Ed Solomon Talks His Involvement in X-Men

Tomorrow will be an interesting day for screenwriter Ed Solomon, as both Bill & Ted Face the Music and The New Mutants will be opening on the same day. Solomon and co-writer Chris Matheson created the Bill & Ted franchise over 30 years ago, and while he had no involvement with New Mutants he DID have a hand in writing the very first Fox X-Men movie in 2000. Now both franchises will be debuting their swan songs on the same day! A recent expose on X-Men‘s 20th anniversary had Solomon admit he and Christopher McQuarrie took their names off the film’s screenplay VOLUNTARILY, so during press for Bill & Ted ComingSoon.net asked the writer to clarify why he did that at the time.

“Well, Chris McQuarrie and I were originally given credit on the movie and we both believed David Hayter deserved credit as well,” Solomon told us. “Probably the appropriate credit would’ve been the three of us. I took my name off of it in an act of immature hubris because I had had an experience on ‘Super Mario Bros’ where I worked two weeks on it, and then another week or two on set. I was away when the arbitration happened. I didn’t deserve credit on that movie. I was seventh of nine writers. I was given credit probably because no one else wanted credit. And so, when ‘X-Men’ came along, I thought, I don’t want my name on a movie that I wasn’t the sole writer or at least the last writer on. Where I was making these choices. So I took my name off it. That was immature. It was self-indulgent, immature hubris. It was stupid on a business level and it was stupid on a creative level. It was just juvenile, but it taught me a lot. It taught me a lot about myself, and it actually changed my own relationship with my ego and with my work.”

Solomon also clarified what he specifically brought to the table for the first Bryan Singer entry in the mutant series, and it involves honing in on the characters’ abilities.

“In hindsight, was it stupid? Absolutely,” Solomon went on. “But what am I proud of? I got fired initially because I chose to write a superhero movie where their physical powers were external manifestations of their internal issues, and that they were written as real human beings. I’m still to this day really proud that I was the first person to do that.”

Fortunately the decision to abdicate his credit gave Solomon a different kind of spiritual benefit.

“I was an idiot for taking my name off it, not just financially, but it was just an immature act made by a young writer who needed to grow up,” Solomon admits. “It was just that there were other voices on it. I just thought it wasn’t appropriate. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was stupid. I am proud of it. I’m proud of having worked on it, I just feel… Look, how would my life be different had I not taken my name off it? Well, I’d have more money and I’d have that credit. But at the end of the day, would I be a happier person? No, because it forced me into a kind of self-analysis and retooling of my own inner experience of work that made me a healthier person and maybe a better person overall. So in hindsight, it probably wasn’t a bad decision, but only because I chose to turn it into something that would hopefully in the long run be healthier for me. If I were to do it all over again, of course, I wouldn’t take my name off it.”

RELATED: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure/Bogus Journey Retrospective Review

Be sure to check back on ComingSoon.net this week for more of our interview with Ed Solomon for Bill & Ted Face the Music, which you can pre-order now on Premium VOD!

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Disney Recasts Raya and The Last Dragon With Kelly Marie Tran as New Lead

Disney Recasts Raya and The Last Dragon With Kelly Marie Tran as New Lead

Disney recasts Raya and The Last Dragon with Kelly Marie Tran as new lead

In a historic move, Disney has chosen to recast the forthcoming animated adventure Raya and The Last Dragon with Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) now taking over the titular role and becoming the first Southeast Asian to lead a Disney animated film, according to Deadline.

RELATED: Disney Reveals Updated Release Schedule for Soul & Raya and The Last Dragon

Written by Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians) and Qui Nguyen and directed by Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting), the film is set in the mysterious realm of Kumandra and centers on warrior Raya as she seeks for the last dragon before Druun an Evil Force Destroys the Realm.

The titular role was originally set to be voiced by Cassie Steele (Rick and Morty), but the filmmakers and studio have chosen to adjust their vision and bring Tran in as the lead star, joining the previously cast Awkwafina (The Farewell), who is starring as a dragon in human form named Sisu.

As filmmakers, Don and Carlos bring a combination of animation know-how and emotional storytelling to Raya and the Last Dragon, bringing our fantasy adventure to surprising, original, and dynamic heights,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee said in a statement. “They both saw the potential for this film and had a strong vision for the story, especially for our lead character, played by the wonderfully talented Kelly Marie Tran. And no small feat, directors Don and Carlos, writers Qui and Adele, and the entire crew of 400 Disney Animation artists are making this film together, while separated and working from home.”

RELATED: Emmy Raver-Lampman Replacing Kristen Bell as Molly in Central Park

Raya and the Last Dragon, which is also being co-directed by Paul Briggs (Zootopia) and John Ripa, is set to hit theaters on March 12, 2021.

(Photo Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage)

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Netflix Unveils Trailer & Key Art for The Babysitter: Killer Queen

Netflix Unveils Trailer & Key Art for The Babysitter: Killer Queen

Netflix unveils trailer & key art for The Babysitter: Killer Queen

After giving audiences an early look at the horror sequel with first-look photos earlier this month, Netflix has unveiled the first trailer and key art for The Babysitter: Killer Queen, which is set to debut on the streaming service next month. The trailer can be viewed in the player below!

RELATED: Netflix Unveils First-Look Images & Premiere for Babysitter Sequel

Written by Dan Lagana (American Vandal) and helmed by McG (Rim of the World) once again, the story picks up two years after defeating a satanic cult led by his babysitter Bee and see Cole trying to forget his past and focus on surviving high school. But when old enemies unexpectedly return, Cole will once again have to outsmart the forces of evil.

The cast for the sequel will once again include Judah Lewis (The Christmas Chronicles), Robbie Amell (Upload), Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect 3), Bella Thorne (Infamous), Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep), Andrew Bachelor (Coffee & Kareem), Ken Marino (The Sleepover), Leslie Bibb (Tag), Carl McDowell (Rim of the World) and Chris Wylde (When We First Met), with the addition of Jenna Ortega (Elena of Avalor).

RELATED: The Babysitter’s Original Cast Set to Return for Netflix Sequel

The Babysitter: Killer Queen is set to premiere on Netflix on September 10.

The post Netflix Unveils Trailer & Key Art for The Babysitter: Killer Queen appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Exclusive The 2nd Clip Featuring Ryan Phillippe & Casper Van Dien

Exclusive The 2nd Clip Featuring Ryan Phillippe & Casper Van Dien

Exclusive The 2nd Clip Featuring Ryan Phillippe & Casper Van Dien

ComingSoon.net has an exclusive clip from Momentum Pictures’ new action movie The 2nd, starring Ryan Phillippe (CrashGosford ParkShooter) and Casper Van Dien (Starship TroopersAlita: Battle AngelSleepy Hollow). You can check out the clip now in the player below!

RELATED: Momentum Pictures’ The 2nd Trailer & Poster Starring Ryan Phillippe

Secret-service agent Vic Davis (Ryan Phillippe) is on his way to pick up his estranged son, Shawn (Jack Griffo), from his college campus when he finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes terrorist operation. The daughter of a Supreme Court Justice (Lexi Simonsen) is the target and this armed faction will stop at nothing to kidnap her Vic quickly realizes that there’s no one coming to rescue them and must now use his entire set of skills to save her and his son from an incredibly dangerous and lethal situation.

The movie also stars Jack Griffo (Alexa & Katie, The ThundermansThose Left Behind), and Lexi Simonsen (Roller WorldSatan’s SevenVegas High). The movie was directed by Brian Skiba (Dirty Little Trick) and written by Eric Bromberg (Enemies Closer) and Paul Taegel (Vandal).

RELATED: Exclusive The Walrus and The Whistleblower Trailer: Meet the Tiger King of Mammals

The 2nd will be available On Demand and on Digital September 1, 2020.

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Exclusive The Walrus and The Whistleblower Trailer: Meet the Tiger King of Marine Mammals

Exclusive The Walrus and The Whistleblower Trailer: Meet the Tiger King of Mammals

Exclusive The Walrus and The Whistleblower Trailer: Meet the Tiger King of Marine Mammals

ComingSoon.net has the exclusive trailer for the upcoming documentary The Walrus and The Whistleblower produced and directed by Nathalie Bibeau and centering on Phil Demers, aka the “Walrus Whisperer.” You can check out the trailer now in the player below!

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The Walrus and The Whistleblower follows Niagara Falls-native Phil Demers, known as the ‘Walrus Whisperer.” Phil worked a decade-long dream-job as a trainer at MarineLand Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, swimming with killer whales and training belugas, seals, and Smooshi, the walrus he raised and trained since arriving as a young pup. Phil then quit and blew the whistle citing animal abuse, and called for an end to the 60-year-old practice of keeping marine mammals in pools. Now Phil is being sued for 1.5 million dollars from the amusement park but nothing is stopping him from his mission to #SaveSmooshi.

Winning the Audience Award – the highest rated film with audiences – at this spring’s Hot Docs International Film Festival, qualifies The Walrus and the Whistleblower for consideration at the Oscars in the Documentary Feature category.

The Walrus and The Whistleblower was made in association with documentary Channel and CBC Docs.

RELATED: Gamemaster Trailer Plus Exclusive Clip From Board Game Documentary!

Northern Banner will release the film in Canada first at the end of this week with the documentary playing throughout September. Starting October 9, Gravitas Ventures will release the film in the U.S. with plans to play throughout the fall.

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Exclusive: Russell Crowe Reflects on Gladiator’s 20th Anniversary

Exclusive: Russell Crowe Reflects on Gladiator's 20th Anniversary

Exclusive: Russell Crowe reflects on Gladiator’s 20th anniversary

While chatting with the Oscar-winning star for his latest thriller Unhinged, ComingSoon.net stepped back in time with Russell Crowe to reflect on the 20th anniversary of the multiple Oscar-winning historical drama Gladiator. Our interview can be viewed in the player below!

RELATED: CS Interview: Producer Douglas Wick Talks Gladiator 20th Anniversary

The original film, which hit theaters in 2000 and won five Oscars out of its 11 nominations and grossed over $457 million worldwide, followed Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe, The Nice Guys) who is betrayed by Commodus, the son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and framed for Aurelius’ murder by Commodus. Maximus is sent into a life of slavery and fights in the gladiator arena to avenge his slaughtered family and Aurelius.

Click here to purchase the Oscar-winning epic!

The first film ended with Maximus successfully killing Commodus, though also being mortally wounded during their fight and dying, joining his family in the afterlife and saving Commodus’ sister and son from her demented brother. The in-development sequel is set to follow the son, Lucius, following Maximus’ impression and exposure of Commodus’ corruption.

Gladiator was originally produced and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures in the United States and Universal Pictures internationally, but DreamWorks will no longer be involved for the sequel and Paramount Pictures will be producing and distributing the sequel with Universal having the option to co-finance the film.

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Scott is well-known for his work on the Alien franchise, including the most recent installment Alien: Covenant, and most recently directed the 2017 crime thriller All the Money in the World based on the J. Paul Getty kidnapping. The 80-year-old director is currently working on the TNT sci-fi series Raised by Wolves, on which he will make his television directorial debut that will shoot in South Africa.

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CS Interview: Co-Writer/Director Josh Boone on The New Mutants

CS Interview: Co-Writer/Director Josh Boone on The New Mutants

CS Interview: Co-writer/director Josh Boone on The New Mutants

ComingSoon.net had the opportunity to chat with 20th Century Studios’ The New Mutants co-writer/director Josh Boone to discuss the long-awaited and long-delayed final installment in Fox’s X-Men franchise. The New Mutants is finally heading to theaters this week!

RELATED: The New Mutants TV Spots Highlight Main Cast’s Powers & Fears 

Even before the film began its extended stay in post-production hell, the project had a few early bumps in the road, including the early leak of the Demon Bear animatics in late 2016, and while Deadpool‘s leaked test footage helped Fox earn faith in Ryan Reynolds and co. to launch the beloved franchise, the same can’t be said for Boone, who had to work a little harder to convince the studio on his vision.

“It’s funny, the process of developing it took a long time, I made Fault in Our Stars for Fox, it did well, so I felt like I could go ask Fox for something else,” Boone recalled. “My best friend and I, who I’d grown up with in Virginia Beach, we grew up Marvel fans of the highest order, we kind of read everything we possibly could, I would always remember the Demon Bear story because Bill Sienkiewicz’s art was so distinct. I hadn’t seen anything like it in the comic book before. It was impressionistic. It was dark. It was moody. None of the characters wore super hero costumes. It was angsty, which was Chris Claremont’s forte, but not with art like this. You know? I mean, it was in a different level. I always thought Demon Bear would make a great movie of some sort. I had a stack of New Mutants comics in my apartment when I lived in LA 10 years before I made movies, I worked in a record store. But I held onto that story and I thought about that story, and when I had the opportunity, we made Fox a comic book, kind of pitching them what the movie would be, utilizing all of the art from the series that we loved. I never had a light bulb go off that was like, ‘You have to make a horror comic book movie.’ It was because the material was already that. It sort of organically just said, this is what I’m going to be. And I knew I wanted to merge it with sort of John Hughes and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that sort of like, I don’t know, like a deeper look at kids than a typical comic book movie typically would, and a comic book movie that actually stars kids as opposed to adults, which is most of them.”

Pick up a copy of the New Mutants Vol. 1 here!

One of the most important things to Boone when it came to Fault and New Mutants was to have original author John Green and artist Sienkiewicz on the sets and to “have them as involved as possible” so as to be “a vessel” for bringing their work to life on screen. That being said, Boone did also note that comic creator Chris Claremont was “not really” involved with the production, nor really talked with the 41-year-old filmmaker, but stated that Sienkiewicz would “keep Chris appraised of what was going on” and describing the artist’s involvement in the source material.

“I’ll get my own stuff in there and all that, but like, I’m really trying at the end of the day to capture something special about their work,” Boone explained. “So trying to keep that in there is sort of the trickiest and hardest part. Having them involved always helps. Bill was the best cheerleader. He read drafts of the script. Instead of doing an actual audio commentary for the Blu-ray or whatever, I did a career retrospective interview with him you can listen to over the movie. Bill was so creatively involved in this as much as Chris was in the Demon Bear story, he was really a co-creator/partner on it, when they did these issues. I think it’s the longest Bill’s ever stayed on a book, other than Moon Knight, maybe those two. So he jumps around a lot, but there was something special about this one, where there was a lot that he could do. We made the bible because nobody at the studio even knew what Mutants was. Truly. I mean, Simon of course knew, but he was dealing with all the X-Men stuff, so it’s like, he didn’t have any time to go and try to figure out the other X-Men properties, you know? I guess I would say this, we’re lucky because the things that we loved a lot when we were kids have now become popular. I guess is I would say, Stephen King has become as legit as they come. X-Men, New Mutants, Marvel. This was my childhood in the 80s, and back then it was frowned upon by everyone.”

While the constantly shifting release schedule may have proved somewhat frustrating for both fans, cast and Boone, the co-writer/director did find that this delay and acquisition by Disney allowed him to keep it as much in line with his original vision as possible, especially as they made it for “probably half the price that we really wanted” originally.

“The movie became what it is by doing that, which is always the process, the tension and friction are usually good and helped, and definitely, there were much more expensive problems for them to worry about than us,” Boone expressed. “We had a really great cast, an interesting story that had gone through a lot of evolutions during the screenwriting process from having Professor X and Storm in it, and Storm was very much the Alice Braga character, all the way to it being separated in time from those movies, you know? Interesting development, and any time you get involved with a corporation that owns a giant IP, this is what you will surely go through to some degree or another. I asked my agent once, I was like, ‘Is this supposed to be this, you know, this much?’ He’s like, ‘Dude, if you’re working on a Marvel movie or a comic book movie and you’re anything but miserable, I’d be worried about you.’ So I’d say I wasn’t miserable the whole time, but occasionally.”

When it came to getting the look and style of the film, Boone has pointed to multiple inspirations from the past, including Dream Warriors and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and in looking at the footage that continues to be teased leading up to release, he also points towards the 1990 cult classic Jacob’s Ladder as a point of inspiration and how he sought out the right cinematographer to bring that dark and moody look to the film.

“I went and got Peter Deming, who’s like the greatest cinematographer on the planet,” Boone brightly stated. “He did Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, the last season of Twin Peaks. I just like, I did not want it to look like a comic book movie. I know comic book movies mostly build every set you see. Some of them are virtual, you know, we shot in all real places. We only built really two sets. We wanted it to look real, and because of that, we wanted the movie to feel grounded. So we spent a lot of time building character and dealing with reality of things on the way to getting to all of the big super heroics and Marvel type of stuff.”

RELATED: New Mutants Synopsis Confirms Magik’s X-Men Link!

20th Century Studios in association with Marvel Entertainment presents The New Mutants, an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring. When strange occurrences begin to take place, both their new mutant abilities and their friendships will be tested as they battle to try and make it out alive.

The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy (SplitThe Witch) as Magik and Maisie Williams (Game of Thronesgen:LOCK) as Wolfsbane, with Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why) as Sunspot, Blu Hunt as Dani Moonstar, and Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton as Cannonball.

The New Mutants adapts the monthly comic book series of the same name that launched in 1982. Created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, The New Mutants follows on a group of teenage mutants as heroes in training in the Marvel Universe. The feature is expected to be a departure from the sci-fi-action spectacle of other X-Men films and is instead being described as a “Stephen King meets John Hughes”-style horror movie.

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