Sour Grapes? “Valerian” (@ValerianMovie) Director, Luc Besson (@lucbesson), Calls Captain America Propaganda

We are here for the superheroes, especially for the films! One European director is not, and he has targeted one superhero in particular as propaganda.

Valerian and The City of a Thousand Plants director, Luc Besson, has called Captain America and his movies propaganda!

via Screenrant.com

Luc Besson thinks Captain America is “propaganda.” This isn’t the first time that he has railed against superhero movies, previously saying that he finds protagonists with superpowers hard to relate to, and stating his preference for more normal, flawed heroes. Besson is of course far from the first filmmaker – or moviegoer for that matter – to express fatigue with the now constant onslaught of superhero-based pop culture, as it sometimes seems like nearly every possible superhero is now getting a film or TV show made about them.

For reference, in 2017 alone, Marvel has released or will soon release Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok, while DC’s 2017 docket includes Wonder Womanand Justice League. Over on Netflix, Marvel already released Iron Fist season 1 this year, with The Defenders and The Punisher soon to follow. The CW continues to be dominated by DC heroes, FOX has Gotham, and ABC continues to air more than one Marvel show. 2018 won’t ease up the pace either, with the arrival of the mammoth Avengers: Infinity War on the horizon.

“What bothers me most is it’s always here to show the supremacy of America and how they are great. I mean, which country in the world would have the guts to call a film Captain Brazil or Captain France? I mean, no one! We would be like so ashamed and say, ‘No, no, come on, we can’t do that.’ They can. They can call it Captain America and everybody think it’s normal. I’m not here for propaganda, I’m here to tell a story.”

We can respect Besson’s opinion but we have to wonder if his rant and assessments of Cap are sour grapes. It is no secret that Valerian was an epic fail at the box office, despite being the most expensive independent film ever made. Luc might want to let this argument go clearly superhero films aren’t going anywhere and Captain America is well over 70 years in the works we doubt he’s losing any popularity or momentum anytime soon.

Written By: Michael “Hey Mikey” Fanning

Follow me on Twitter/IG @HeyMikeyATL

[TRAILER] Lakeith Stanfield (@stanfield_keith) to Star in “Crown Heights” film About A Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for Murder for 20+ Years!

Major congrats are in order for Lakeith Stanfield!

He is one actor who knows how to not let one role define him. For many, the first time they saw Lakeith Stanfield act was in the Jordan Peele critically acclaimed film “Get Out” and for others, they know him for his role as Darius in the FX network show “Atlanta”. Now they can get ready to see Lakeith star as Colin Warner, a man wrongfully imprisoned for over 20 years for a murder he didn’t commit, which is based on a true story.

“Crown Heights” still starring actor Lakeith Stanfield

via Deadline.com

Based on a podcast titled This American Life, the pic is set spring of 1980, where a teenager is gunned down in the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn. The police pressure a child witness to identify a suspect. As a result, Colin Warner, an 18-year-old kid from nearby Crown Heights, is wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Colin’s childhood friend Carl ‘KC’ King devotes his life to fighting for Colin’s freedom. He works on appeals, takes loans for lawyer fees and becomes a legal courier to learn the court system.

Many will read this and think this film comes on the heels of the many racial injustices we’ve face in the last few years but the story of Colin Warner is in fact true. Warner’s conviction was overturned in 201 with the help of his friend Carl King (who will be portrayed by former NFL cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha). The Ringer poses a very intricate question in the write-up of the film’s trailer; The more compelling question is whether writer-director Matt Ruskin can illustrate the immense human cost of discriminatory practices thoughtlessly signed into law.

I decided to do my own research on the background of this case and I can honestly say that I will be going to see this film. What about you loves? Check out the trailer below and sound off below because we’re long overdue for #OpinionHour.

Written By: Monique C. Tillman

@moniquechanae

More Whitewashing? Disney (@Disney) Slammed for Casting Non-Arab Actress for Aladdin’s Princess Jasmine!

In 2017 you would think whitewashing and accusations thereof would be a thing of the past. Well we definitely thought wrong!

Casting news for Disney’s upcoming, live action remake of Aladdin has been marred by accusations of whitewashing after casting Power Rangers actress, Naomi Scott, in the role of Princess Jasmine!

via Fortune

Casting for Disney’s Aladdin; Will Smith, Naomi Scott, and Mena Massoud

To find the cast for its upcoming live-action reboot of the 1992 animated classic Aladdin, Disney and director Guy Ritchie reportedly undertook a months-long, worldwide search with an estimated 2,000 actors reading for the lead roles of Jasmine and Aladdin.

And after all that buildup, fans are still finding fault in the studio’s picks. Disney is catching some blowback for casting a non-Arab actress to play Jasmine.

Naomi Scott, who starred in this year’s Power Rangers film, landed the role alongside Mena Massoud as Aladdin, and Will Smith as Genie. Scott is of British and Indian heritage and some critics of the decision see it as a suggestion by Disney that women of Indian and Middle Eastern heritage look the same. Massoud is of Egyptian descent.

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[PHOTOS] “Creed 2 (@creedmovie)!” Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone) Drops Major Teaser for Sequel!

It is hard to believe it has been two years since Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone starred in Rocky franchise spinoff, Creed.

Jordan played the role of “Adonis Creed,” the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’s friend and rival. We know a sequel to the film is in the works, but we have not heard much about it until today when Stallone dropped a huge teaser for it via Instagram!

Check it out below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWEa6DRjrBN/?taken-by=officialslystallone

[VIDEO] WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES | Watch Andy Serkis Transform into Caesar in Powerful new “Face of Caesar” promo!

Not all heroes are human. 

20th Century Fox has just released “Face of Caesar,” a new WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES promo highlighting the incredible transformation of Andy Serkis to “Caesar.”

In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel.  After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.  As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

 

Over the course of three films, Weta Digital has mastered the art of translating human actors to apes. The apes level of sentience has developed throughout each film and so too have Weta Digital’s techniques and toolsets. Developing some of the most advanced techniques in the industry Weta artists employ these tools to create exceptional CG characters. Check out the process below!

You never really know just how much goes into making these CGI effects into movies. The animators for War For The Planet of The Apes definitely put in some serious work on this film. Caesar looks so realistic and the way they mimic the actor’s face is truly astonishing. We definitely have high hopes for this film and are hoping we finally get to see how it all went down for the humans and gave rise to an Earth dominated by apes.  What do you think of Andy Serkis’s tranformation? Sound off in the comments’ section below!

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES hits theaters everywhere July 14, 2017! Happy viewing!

$223 Million Dollars! “Wonder Woman” (@WonderWomanFilm) Rules Weekend Box Office & Breaks Records!

It is no surprise that Wonder Woman was this weekend’s top grossing film grossing a whopping $223 million dollars!

Wonder Woman surpassed everyone’s expectations as is being hailed as one of the greatest superhero films to date and the best film the DC Cinematic Universe has released to date. Even more impressive, however, are the records the film has broken. As of now it is the biggest opening for a female director ever! This breaks a glass ceiling in Hollywood and will definitely open opportunities for female directors in the action genre.

via Love B. Scott

DC’s ‘Wonder Woman’ is a hit!

As of Sunday morning, the movie raked in a massive $100.5 million domestically combined with an additional $122.5 internationally for a total global opening of $223 million.

$18.3 million of the global total came from Imax screens — that’s the third biggest opening for a DC Comics film behind ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and ahead of ‘Suicide Squad.’

[VIDEO] Yesss! Wonder Woman Movie (@WonderWomanFilm) Receives 96% From Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes)!

Marvel Entertainment eat your heart out!

Warner Bros./DC Comics films have just received their highest rating yet from Rotten Tomatoes all thanks to the new Wonder Woman movie!

The highly anticipated superhero film has received an amazing, and surprising, 96% from the film critic site which is highly coveted!

As you may recall most of the DC superhero films have been met with lackluster reviews from the critics. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice received 63%, and Suicide Squad received 62%, despite mass fan approval and controversy. It looks like Warner Bros. finally got it together behind the scenes and are delivering some serious storytelling when it comes to The Amazon Princess. This means we are going to see a lot more female superheroes on the Big Screen and makes this film the highest rated female-led superhero to date!

It’s Happening! Ice Cube (@icecube) Confirms New “Friday” Movie!

There are a few movies that make us laugh like none other, but very few franchises that keep the laughs coming consistently. Ice Cube’s Friday movies are definitely a few of them.

For this many and more we are so happy that Ice Cube has confirmed there will be a fourth installment in the Friday movie franchise!

via Love B. Scott

We can officially put all of the speculation to rest.

A month after John Witherspoon said that another ‘Friday’ movie was in the works, Ice Cube himself has come through with the confirmation.

During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Ice Cube announced the fourth installment is in development..

“We’re working on one right now,” Cube said. “We’re gonna call it Last Friday.”

“Hellboy” Reboot Set to Be Scarier, Bloodier and More Gruesome than Ever!

Reboots are a dime a dozen these days and while there are some we could honestly do without, there are others we all have just been dying to see.

The film franchise “Hellboy” is one of them.

According to the screenwriter for the film, this reboot of Hellboy will be darker and more gruesome than the previous films.

Ron Perlman as Hellboy

Fans of the film franchise have been asking for a third and final installment in Guillermo del Toro’s series, which starred Ron Perlman as the titular character, for years now, and they have yet to see their wishes fulfilled. After some back and forth with everyone involved in the series, earlier this year, del Toro finally said that a third Hellboy movie ‘simply isn’t in the cards’, but that didn’t mean audiences were done with the character forever. ‘Game of Thrones’ director Neil Marshall will be helming an R-rated reboot of the franchise based on a screenplay from Mignola, Andrew Cosby, and Christopher Golden, which will see ‘Stranger Things’ actor David Harbour taking over for Perlman as Brother Red.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (@Guardians) Is Leading As Most Talked About Film!

Guardians of the Galaxy are back and Peter Quill and his fellow Guardians are hired by a powerful alien race, the Sovereign, to protect their precious batteries from invaders.

When it is discovered that Rocket has stolen the items they were sent to guard, the Sovereign dispatch their armada to search for vengeance. As the Guardians try to escape, the mystery of Peter’s parentage is revealed.

Peter meets his father in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’

Variety states that “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” generated the most social media buzz last week, according to media-measurement firm com-score and its PreAct service. The movie which opens May 5 in the U.S. amid massive expectations, generated more than 76,000 new conversations last week in the wake of its international release in 37 territories this past weekend. The movie took in more than $100 million from 37 markets, led by $15 million in the U.K.