Category: Industry News

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Stock In AMC Theatres Goes Way Up, Thanks To Amazon Buyout Rumors

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As we all know, the movie theater industry has been hit extremely hard by the coronavirus. Most theaters have been shutdown for over a month now, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be opening back up until at least July.

This has left AMC Entertainment in a bad place. Stocks were dropping, there were rumors of bankruptcy, etc.

But now things have turned around (at least briefly) all because of a little rumor. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Amazon had expressed interest in acquiring the theater chain.

This caused shares of AMC to shoot up 45% in early trading.

For Amazon, which has had intermittent success in backing and releasing original films such as ‘Manchester by the Sea’ and ‘The Big Sick,’ owning AMC would give it a showcase for its major releases. Last year, the company started moving away from a traditional theatrical release strategy of screening films in cinemas exclusively for 90 days before debuting them on its streaming service, Amazon Prime

The report also indicates that Amazon’s interest has been fading recently, but they are still considering it.

It would be a huge deal if it actually happened, but it’s unlikely a deal is made.

Analyst Eric Wold told Variety the following…

We would be surprised if an acquisition down near all-time lows by Amazon in a transaction that would more than likely be for cash (and not stock) would appeal to AMC’s major shareholders.

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Check Out Kevin James Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before In Horror/Thriller Trailer ‘Becky’

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Throughout the years, Kevin James has been the lovable goofball. He was hilarious in ‘The King of Queens‘ for several seasons. He played his role perfectly, and that’s kinda how we all view him now.

But he’s taking a risk in his most recent role. James will be playing the villain for the first time in his career.

James stars in the upcoming horror/thriller ‘Becky‘ as the leader of a group of convicts who invade a lake house in search of a mysterious key.

The film centers on rebellious 14-year-old Becky (Wilson) as she’s brought to a weekend getaway at a lake house by her father in an effort to try to reconnect after her mother’s death. The trip takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts on the run, led by the merciless Dominick (James), suddenly invade the lake house.

In addition to James and Lulu Wilson, this film also stars Joel McHale.

The film, which is rated R, is set to be released on demand on June 5, and to get people excited, the studio put out the trailer you see below.

I’ll be honest, it looks a bit comical, but I’m also intrigued by the story. I want to see how this Becky girl takes down these convicts. It’s like a horror version of Home Alone.

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Watch The First Trailer For Judd Apatow/Pete Davidson’s ‘King of Staten Island’ Film

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If you’ve been following the headlines recently, then you know Pete Davidson is growing tired of Saturday Night Live. It’s likely this season or next will be his last on the show.

And it looks like following his SNL gig, he wants to transition into movies.

The 26-year-old comedian is the star of the upcoming comedy The King of Staten Island. The movie is described as “semi-autobiographical” and was co-written by Davidson himself.

Judd Apatow directed the project, which was originally set to release inside theaters across the country. Due to the coronavirus, the release date was canceled, and those involved decided a streaming/on demand release would be best.

The movie will premiere on demand on June 12.

The movie follows Davidson as Scott, a 20-something aspiring tattoo artist living at home in his New York City borough hometown, still grieving the loss of his firefighter father, who died 17 years prior.

As most of you know, Davidson’s dad in real life was a first responder in New York City during the 9/11 attacks. He died when Pete was just 7-years-old.

Check out the trailer for ‘The King of Staten Island’ below…

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Check Out Charlize Theron In First Look Photos From New Netflix Film ‘The Old Guard’

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Charlize Theron and Netflix teamed up recently to film the upcoming action-fantasy flick, The Old Guard.

The Oscar winner stars as Andromache of Scythia, the leader of a small group of immortal soldiers.

Based on Greg Rucka and artist Leandro Fernandez’s comic book of the same name, The Old Guard tells of a small group of soldiers, led by a woman named Andromache of Scythia or Andy, who are inexplicably immortal and have been working as mercenaries through the ages.

But in the 21st century, the novelty of not dying is long gone as the group gets a jolt in their bones when they discover the existence of a new immortal, a black woman serving in the Marines, at the same time as a nefarious organization captures their undying actions on camera.

Did you get all that? I’m not sure I did, but I suppose it sounds interesting enough. Not a huge action-fantasy fan, but I feel the need to watch every film Theron stars in. She brings it every single time.

The movie is set to premiere on Netflix on July 10, which means a trailer should be coming soon.

For now, check out the first look photos…

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Dwayne Johnson And Emily Blunt To Team Up For Odd Superhero Film ‘Ball and Chain’

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There are two things Hollywood loves without question, and those two things are superhero films and Dwayne Johnson.

So why not combine them? It’s being reported that Johnson and Emily Blunt will star in an upcoming superhero flick titled Ball and Chain.

Ball and Chain is being written by Oscar nominee Emily V. Gordon and is an adaptation of the ’90s comic of the same name by Scott Lobdell. It follows a married couple going through relationship turmoil who also have superpowers, but they only work properly when they’re together.

Gordon co-wrote ‘The Big Sick‘ with her husband Kumail Nanjiani, so at least we know there will be a talented screenwriter behind the project.

But still, the premise sounds a little…uh, silly? I feel like it’s going to be hard to pull off, but there are a lot of talented people involved, so maybe they can do it together.

The project is currently being shopped among multiple studios, but no deal has closed yet.

We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, you can catch Johnson and Blunt together in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, which is set to hit theaters next summer.

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‘Black Bear’ Drama/Thriller Starring Aubrey Plaza Bought By Momentum Pictures

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Way back in January (remember January?) Lawrence Michael Levine debuted his film ‘Black Bear‘ at the Sundance Film Festival.

It premiered to mostly positive reviews and currently sits at an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The drama/thriller, which stars Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon, was looking for a distribution home at the festival.

And now four months later, it has found one. Momentum Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the film.

Set at a remote house in the Adirondack Mountains, Abbott and Gadon portray an expecting couple confronted with Plaza’s out-of-town guest, who is suffering from writer’s block. She seeks solace in the woods, but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.

Plaza feels like the perfect actress to play such a role. It’s easy to see her causing a little mischief.

No release date has been announced, but we’re sure the folks at Momentum are planning it all out right now.

We’ll keep you posted.

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Australia Theaters Hope To Open In July With Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ Being The Guiding Light

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It’s still unclear when theaters here in the states will reopen. There are several states where theaters can open (at 25% capacity) but most theater chains have decided to remain closed.

Theaters in Australia are also still closed, but they have a plan to open in July. The goal is to open in time to release Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film ‘Tenet‘ which is currently scheduled for a July 17 release date.

Theater operators say they are banking on Nolan’s Warner Bros. sci-fi tentpole Tenet to be the blockbuster leading them out of the coronavirus-shutdown doldrums. Cinemas across Australia have been shuttered since mid-March as part of the country’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

Nolan’s film Tenet is like a totem guiding the industry towards its reboot.

And while this is the plan, the National Association of Cinema Operators made it clear they would not force an early opening if the government informed them it would be unsafe to do so.

Industry players also are expecting that caps on seating capacity will be required to maintain social distancing guidelines, as well as other safety measures, including staggered screening times, contactless ticketing transactions, sanitization stations at entries and frequent cinema cleaning.

Check out the trailer for Tenet below…

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Watch The First Trailer For Michelle Obama Documentary ‘Becoming’

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Back in 2018, Michelle Obama released her memoir titled ‘Becoming‘ and it was a massive hit. It sold more copies than any other book published in the United States in 2018, and it broke that record in just 15 days.

Now, two years later, a ‘Becoming’ documentary is set to hit Netflix.

The film, directed by Nadia Hallgren (She’s the Ticket), promises an intimate look into every facet of Obama’s life, from her beginnings to the present. It also promises more-than-wholesome footage of Obama inspiring young black women and answering questions about racism with honesty.

The documentary will provide more behind-the-scenes footage, following Obama on the 34-city tour she went on to promote the book.

This film, which hits Netflix on May 6, is part of the deal Barack and Michelle reached with Netflix back in 2018. Their production company signed an exclusive deal with the streaming giant.

One of their recent projects, Crip Camp, premiered on the streaming service back in January. It currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Say Whaaat? Tom Cruise And Elon Musk Are Trying To Film First Narrative Feature Movie In Space

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Tom Cruise is a badass action star. There is no denying that. You can dislike him as a person, but you can’t deny his box office appeal. The dude brings in the money, and for good reason, he’s a great actor.

And he’s not afraid to push the limits, which is why it’s not surprising to hear that he wants to film a movie in space.

We’re hearing that Tom Cruise and Elon Musk’s Space X are working on a project with NASA that would be the first narrative feature film – an action adventure – to be shot in outer space.

It sounds ridiculous, but sources insist it’s true. No studio is involved with this project currently, but with Cruise attached, it shouldn’t take long.

No word on what exactly the story would be, but it would NOT be part of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Obviously this is still in the early stages, but if Cruise and Musk can pull this off, it would be pretty incredible.

We’ll keep you posted.

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Chris Hemsworth Thanks Fans For Making His Netflix Film ‘Extraction’ The “Number One” Film On The Planet

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It feels like Netflix releases a new movie daily. Some better than others, but for the most, the risk is low. Most Netflix projects work on a small budget, but here lately, the studio has been taking more chances.

Their latest ~chance~ was the action flick ‘Extraction‘ starring Chris Hemsworth. The movie worked with a budget just north of $60 million, which is a pretty decent amount for a streaming service.

But Netflix believed in the movie, and it looks like they knew what they were doing, ’cause the film is super hot right now. They released the movie back on April 24, and according to their own statistics, around 90 million households have at least turned on the movie.

Hemsworth went on his Instagram account the other day to thank his fans for all the support.

You’ve made it the number one film on the planet right now, and it looks like it’s going to be Netflix’s biggest feature film of all time, which is absolutely mind-blowing.

We are blown away by the response and the support. On behalf of myself, the Russo Brothers, Netflix, our director Sam Hargrave, thank you so so much. We love you guys.

That’s right, folks. It could be Netflix’s biggest feature ever, which means a sequel could be in the works. Hemsworth hinted that he’d be ready to jump back in for a sequel or a prequel.

If you haven’t watched the film yet, check out the trailer below to see if it’s of interest to you…