Some days, there are bits and bobs of news that don’t have quite enough meat on the bone for a full article. Still, they’re cool tidbits worth getting some love. We round them up for you in our Quick Hits column.
‘Dirty Dancing’ Reboot/Sequel In The Works At Lionsgate
In keeping with the trend of recent years for new movies in franchises whose last movies were 20-30 years ago, Lionsgate announced on an earnings call that it’s working on a new Dirty Dancing movie. Original star Jennifer Grey will both star and serve as EP and Jonathan Levine is set to direct. While technically a sequel, it’s one of those sequels happening so many years later that it serves as a franchise reboot. The reboot has been rumored for years, but it’s apparently all coming together now. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer explained it will be true to the spirit of the original, saying, “It will be exactly the kind of romantic, nostalgic movie that the franchise’s fans have been waiting for and that has made it the biggest-selling library title in the company’s history.”
‘300’ Is Finally Coming To 4K Ultra HD In October
Fourteen years after its original release, Zack Snyder’s 300 is finally getting a 4K Ultra HD release. The movie adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s graphic novel based on the Battle of Thermopylae made a splash upon release. As Snyder’s first big-budget movie, 300 was exceptionally simple in narrative but highlighted Snyder’s distinctive visual language-over-story style, cementing his signature trademarks of extreme slo-mo action sequences, heavy-handed melodrama and specific color palettes. It made almost half a billion dollars worldwide and became an instant action classic. There was not a person alive of a certain age who didn’t yell, “This is Sparta!” and mime kicking someone down a well at least once. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced the 4K UHD release will be available as a physical Blu-ray and digital download or stream. There will be a number of extras bundled into the release, including commentary from Snyder and others on the crew, along with behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the movie. Both the physical and digital versions will be available on October 6th.
‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Releases New Teaser For Cheetah
Ahead of what’s sure to be plenty more footage during the DC FanDome event this month, the Wonder Woman 1984 Instagram account released a new teaser video giving us a better look at Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva, a.k.a. Cheetah, the villain of the movie. The extremely brief clip shows Minerva at a party and later sprinting, with a voiceover of her saying she wants to be “an apex predator.” Back in April, director Patty Jenkins explained the psychology behind Barbara’s transformation. “What makes Barbara turn into Cheetah is feeling like she’s never been as good as someone like Diana,” Jenkins said. “She reminds me of certain people I’ve known who have such low self-confidence, that they’re always holding themselves back. Then once they start to embrace change, out comes this ugly resentment built up over all those years.” Check it out:
James Wan Developing A ‘Knight Rider’ Movie With Spyglass Media
James Wan continues to expand his footprint in Hollywood and he’s found his next project. Deadline reports Wan is teaming up with Spyglass Media Group and Michael Clear to develop a Knight Rider feature film. Video game writer-turned-screenwriter TJ Fixman is adapting the script based on the classic ’80s action TV series. The TV series starred Michael Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a lone wolf hero who fought crime with the help of KITT, his high-tech, intelligent car. It became wildly popular, amassing a huge and loyal following, generating TV spinoffs, books, games, movies, merchandise, and even a convention known as KnightCon. There are no plot details for the reboot yet, but sources say it plans to maintain the anti-establishment tone of the original TV series.
Sam Neill Shares Photo Of An ‘Old Friend’ To Tease His Return To The ‘Jurassic Park’ Franchise
Sam Neill is a treasure. He doesn’t act as much these days, preferring to spend time on his ranch and Two Paddocks vineyard, posting delightful and heartwarming videos about his farm animal friends. But the actor is returning to the franchise that made him famous, reprising his iconic role of Dr. Alan Grant in the currently filming Jurassic World: Dominion. Naturally, he did it in the most Sam Neill-like way possible, announcing his return to the set by sharing a picture of Alan Grant’s famous suede fedora and saying hello to his “old friend.”
What a gift he is.
The Golden Eagle Armor In ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Is Entirely Practical And Built By Hand
The behind-the-scenes of below-the-line crew on movies is as fascinating as anything an actor or director does. Costume designers are often the unsung heroes of movies, especially comic book movies where the characters’ look is just as important as how the act. Sometimes, that requires creating parts of costumes with CGI. You’d think that’d be the case with Wonder Woman 1984’s iconic and complicated Golden Eagle armor, but costume designer Lindy Hemming revealed to ComicBook.com it’s entirely practical. “Every single piece of it is real, including the underbody suit, which looks almost like it’s been put on digitally, but it isn’t,” Hemming explained. The effort required was extensive:
“We made it in a fabric, which Pierre Bohanna had invented a way of using gold and a mirror effect. So every piece was like a mirror, but the challenge was the mirror couldn’t show the crew. So you can imagine it was really, really complicated. Because anytime she was wearing it, you must not be able to see cameras or lights or anything, you know. Anyway, he had invented this fabric, which somehow is mirror-like, but does not reflect in a clear way.”
Talk about dedication.
Ryan Reynolds Debunks Rumors He’s Showing Up In ‘Black Adam’
Yesterday, an unverified rumor from a random blog claiming that Ryan Reynolds was being eyed to play Carter Hall, a.k.a. Hawkman, to appear alongside Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam started circulating on Twitter. As with most thin rumors, it still gained some traction despite the lack of credibility. Today, Reynolds took to Twitter to set the record straight and debunk the rumor in an extremely Ryan Reynolds way – by making a joke about it and referencing one of his fellow actors:
Because clickbait’s gonna clickbait, some sites started framing his joke about Justice League as if it were serious confirmation from him he’s in the movie, prompting Dwayne Johnson to then make fun of that this morning with his response to Reynolds:
You heard it here first (er, second), folks: Ryan Reynolds is Kevin Hart’s dad.
‘Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings’ Resumes Filming In Australia
The world outside the U.S. is slowly getting back up and running, and that includes Hollywood productions being shot overseas. One of the most recent productions to get going again is Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is set to film in Australia. It was reported last month that the studio was aiming to restart production on the movie by the end of July, and it looks like they’re right on track. Sydney, Australia’s 7News reported that production had resumed and the crew was busy building a massive set that looks to be a stand-in for a village in China. You can check out the footage shot by the 7News chopper in the second tweet below.
Dwayne Johnson And Business Partner Dany Garcia Buy The XFL
The XFL. The sports league that starts out with grand ambitions only to end in spectacular failure every time someone tries to resurrect it. But if anyone can get it off the ground and turn it into an actual viable league, it’s Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia. The longtime Seven Bucks business partners have partnered up with Red Bird Capital to buy the XFL – like, the whole thing. They snapped it up for a cool $15 million, which is insanely cheap for an entire sports league, but a move that rescues the XFL from where it’s been languishing in bankruptcy. Garcia and Johnson have big plans for the league, too, with plans to expand and grow the brand, according to Johnson.
The XFL hasn’t exactly shown itself to be a viable sports league yet, but like I said, if anyone can make it work, it’s the two of them. With Johnson’s charisma and Garcia’s brilliant business mind, they just might have their next multimillion-dollar partnership.
Patty Jenkins Plans For ‘Wonder Woman 3’ To Be Her Last Wonder Woman Movie
Much like celebrity deaths, it seems like many genre franchises come in threes. When the first in a blockbuster tentpole series is released, we expect it to be the first in a trilogy – that’s just how studio franchises operate now. Yet, more and more, we’re seeing trilogies extend past three movies if there’s still money to be made. You can count Patty Jenkins out, however. In an interview with German magazine, Geek (transcribed by DC Movie News), the Wonder Woman 1984 director says she’s always planned her Wonder Woman story to happen over three movies and that Wonder Woman 3 would be her last film with the character. You can check out the transcribed comments in the tweets below:
Bradley Cooper In Talks To Star In Paul Thomas Anderson’s New 70s-Set Drama
Respective eight-time Oscar nominees Bradley Cooper and director Paul Thomas Anderson are finally teaming up for a project. THR reports Cooper is in talks to star in Anderson’s upcoming drama, a coming-of-age movie set in the 1970s in the San Fernando Valley. It’s unclear what role Cooper would play, as reports have indicated the movie will weave together multiple storylines centered on a kid actor living in the Valley, also the setting of some of Anderson’s best-known films. Anderson also wrote and will produce the movie, along with Sarah Murphy. The project, which was with MGM before moving to Focus Features, was originally scheduled to start filming earlier this year before the shutdown. It’s now aiming for a fall start date, depending on when productions are once again given the green light to resume filming in Los Angeles.
