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https://blackgirlnerds.com/kingsley-ben-adir-stars-as-bob-marley-in-bob-marley-one-love/

Bob Marley: One Love celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. On the big screen for the first time, discover Bob’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music. Produced in partnership with the Marley family and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the legendary musician and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita, Bob Marley: One Love is in theatres January 12, 2024.

The film stars: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Tosin Cole, Anthony Welsh, Michael Gandolfini, Umi Myers, and Nadine Marshall.

https://nerdist.com/article/iconic-movies-that-opened-on-the-same-weekend-oppenheimer-barbie/

The internet is having a blast right now, speculating which upcoming high-profile summer movie is going to win its respective weekend. Will it be Christopher Nolan’s gritty WWII period piece/biopic Oppenheimer, or will it be Margot Robbie in hot pink in Barbie? The term “Barbenheimer” has already become a thing on social media. Are the studios out of their gourds releasing two such expensive movies on the same weekend? One will surely cannibalize the other’s box office, right? Well, not so fast. It wasn’t always like this.

Once upon a time, big Hollywood movies frequently opened on the same weekend. The hope was, if someone didn’t see the movie one weekend, they’d just see it the next. Or the next. Imagine that! Most listed here are from the ‘80s, if only because that was the last time Hollywood wasn’t so skittish about this practice. Now, it’s almost unheard of. For those worried that Oppenheimer and Barbie will cancel each other out, the films below proved two big movies can have the same opening weekend and go on to great success.

The Empire Strikes Back and The Shining (May 21, 23, 1980)

Of all the same weekend openers on this list, we dare say the first is maybe the most legendary. On Wednesday, May 21, 1980, The Empire Strikes Back, or “Star Wars II” as some folks called it then, was released on hundreds of screens nationwide. At the time, it was the most anticipated film ever made. Two days later, premiering on a mere ten screens in major cities, you could also catch Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. (It would get a larger rollout weeks later). Four decades later, both movies are considered titans of their genre, and among the greatest films ever made. Who doesn’t know “I am your father” or “Come play with us, Danny. Forever and ever?” They are both part of the cultural fabric.

If one was lucky enough to be in the right city in 1980 that weekend, they simply could have had the best day at the movies ever. Interestingly, a few other fun facts tie Empire and Kubrick’s Stephen King adaptation together. Kubrick repurposed most of the fake snow used for The Shining from the Hoth set from Empire. They shot both films at Elstree Studios in the UK, and a fire on The Shining set delayed shooting on Empire for weeks. Although Empire was the clear box office winner, The Shining did respectable business for an ’80s horror movie. Today, one can make the argument that these are two of the most memed movies ever.

Poltergeist and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (June 4, 1982)

1982 was a banner year for nerd cinema. It’s perhaps the greatest geek movie year of all time. And here are two perfect examples as to why. On the weekend of June 4, 1982, you could go to the movies and take your pick of two stone-cold classics — Tobe Hooper’s suburban haunted house thrill ride Poltergeist, and Nicholas Meyer’s space opera Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Both the Star Trek sequel and the PG-rated scare-fest were big-budget, special effects extravaganzas, aimed at the same target demographic. Today, no studio would ever think of pitting them up against each other, for fear one would inevitably fail as audiences could only choose one. But both movies did incredible business, with neither one hurting the other’s box office.

Blade Runner and The Thing (June 25, 1982)

Hey, remember how we just said that 1982 was a banner year for geek cinema? And how Poltergeist and Star Trek II went on to great success financially even though they opened on the same day? Well, we can’t say the same for these two iconic films from the same month in the same year — John Carpenter’s The Thing and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Both of them hit theaters on June 25, 1982. And at least at first, both landed with a giant thud.

In this case, it wasn’t one movie that killed the other at the box office. It was Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, which opened two weekends before and absolutely crushed them both. Today, most consider both of these sci-fi films among the greatest of their genre, but in 1982, average moviegoers wanted cute and cuddly sci-fi, and not anything too bleak or dystopian. Something that both Blade Runner and The Thing very much were. History has been very kind to both films since, however. Box office, shmox office.

Ghostbusters and Gremlins (June 8, 1984)

If you were an ‘80s kid, and you happened to see these two films opening day, then this weekend might have formed an essential core memory for you. On June 8, 1984, Columbia Pictures released the horror-comedy Ghostbusters, while Warner Bros. released their own horror-comedy, the Steven Spielberg-produced Gremlins. Both films were absolutely massive at the box office, playing for months and months. And both movies also sold a ton of merchandise to kids (and adults) everywhere.

Ghostbusters was ultimately the bigger hit, topping the box office for six straight weeks. The comedic power of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis could not be slowed down in 1984. And it had a very catchy theme song on the radio playing 24/7. But on opening weekend, Gremlins was only #2 at the box office by a (Mogwai) hair, and also had an incredible run. To this day, both movies remain iconic, symbolic of their era. Ultimately, opening on the same day didn’t hurt either film one bit. To put it simply ‘twas a different time.

Batman and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (June 23, 1989)

The lead-up and hype for 1989’s Batman was something never seen before in Hollywood. In the summer of ’89, the Bat symbol was everywhere, one of the shrewdest pieces of movie marketing of all time. Many pundits thought that any movie to go against Jack Nicholson’s Joker and Keaton’s Caped Crusader was foolish to try. But Disney decided to release their Rick Moranis family sci-fi comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on the same weekend anyway, and it was a gamble that paid off.

Batman might have sucked all the air out of the room that summer, steamrolling through box office records, but Disney’s little movie (pun intended) went on to make $222 million. It later received two more sequels, a TV series, and a long-running Disney Parks attraction. Not to mention, it became a Disney Channel staple and a favorite of Millennial kids. Despite its success, for much of the next decade, two big tent pole movies rarely opened on the same day in the following decades. But, there were a handful of exceptions to that rule. But Batman and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids felt like the end of an era.

The Matrix and 10 Things I Hate About You (March 31, 1999)

Back in the spring of 1999, no one saw The Matrix coming. The last cyberpunk movie starring Keanu Reeves, Johnny Mnemonic, had tanked. Besides, the summer of ’99 was only going to be all about The Phantom Menace, right? Well, the Wachowski siblings’ innovative sci-fi action flick blew the collective minds of everyone, and it was a big hit with critics and audiences. Regardless of one’s feelings about its subsequent three sequels, the original film has stood the test of time. But few recall that another iconic movie of a different genre had the same release date.

Teen comedies were also all the rage as well in the late ‘90s, and on the very same weekend, the rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You hit theaters. Starring teen faves like Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it introduced America to Heath Ledger. Back then, Ledger was viewed as just another teen heartthrob, no one knew he’d become an acting powerhouse. Even with The Matrix being an unknown quantity, most still expected a sci-fi action movie to crush 10 Things. But the film found long-term success, especially with teen Millennials. And Neo dodging bullets in the adjacent movie screen didn’t dent Heath Ledger’s appeal to teen moviegoers at all.

The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! (July 18, 2008)

The Oppenheimer/Barbie fight is not the first time Christopher Nolan has found himself in this position. Back in 2008, his much-hyped follow-up to Batman Begins hit theaters, and was the talk of that entire summer. Meanwhile, in a shrewd bit of old-school counter-programming, Universal opened their adaptation of the Broadway hit musical Mamma Mia!, hoping female audiences not as into men in tights punching each other would flock to hear ABBA tunes in wondrous AC comfort.

This particular strategy paid off; Mamma Mia! was an enormous crowd-pleasing hit. And it very nearly outmatched the overseas grosses for The Dark Knight, which we all know went on to be one of the biggest films ever made. This was perhaps the last time two such high-profile movies attempted to launch on the same weekend. And it’s now been 15 years. Can history repeat itself, and allow both Oppenheimer and Barbie to find box office gold? We’ll find out soon.

Barbie and Oppenheimer open on July 21.

The post Like BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER, These Iconic Movies Opened the Same Weekend appeared first on Nerdist.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/vivica-a-fox-jumps-into-the-world-of-true-crime-with-new-series-the-interrogation-room/

There’s no doubt that in recent years, the world of true crime has become a mecca for crime sleuths, fans, and keen observers. With the rise of podcasts, true crime shows, and even networks dedicating their space to visual storytelling, true crime series have both educated and captivated audiences and given victims and their families closure.

Along with crime, tragedy, and the fight for justice comes the harrowing process behind acquiring justice. Coming this July, actor, producer/director, and author Vivica A. Fox will take true crime fans on an unprecedented journey into the place justice begins: the interrogation room. Fox will join the true crime community as host of the new series from FilmRise and Zig Zag Productions, The Interrogation Room. This series will finally uncover what occurs behind the scenes of the interrogation process as suspects are profiled individually. 

In an interview with Black Girl Nerds, Fox opened up about her new show, her passion for true crime, and giving grieving victims a voice as part of the healing process.

So you have a diverse range in your work, from Kill Bill to classics like Independence Day to hosting. What was the experience like, shifting to a project with a serious undertone that retells people’s tragedies? 

This was totally different. I played a detective before on a show called Missing for Lifetime, but that was me catching criminals. What’s wonderful about this show is that it takes viewers inside the interrogation — how the detectives work their magic to get confessions and materials needed to convict criminals. 

Telling the stories of some of these cases was very emotional for me. The eight-year-old little girl who was killed was probably one of the most emotional episodes for me when we were doing the narration and I got to see the actual footage. It’s one of those tearjerker cases that just sticks with you. But I was glad that we could get justice for her and for her family. For me, this was totally new. I had never been inside the interrogation room. So I learned a lot.

What factors influenced you to pursue true crime?

I’ve been a fan of the genre for a very long time, since back in the day, from watching 48 Hours and watching Dateline. I used to watch the true crime stories so much that before I went to sleep it would creep into my dreams. I love seeing how detective and police work can solve crimes.

What methods did you use to prepare for this role and better understand the investigative process? 

I did my homework. I watched a lot of shows that were hosted by some celebs that I know, like Donnie Wahlberg. I went back and watched some shows with John Walsh. Also, there is a version that’s in England where they have a gentleman that hosts the shows. I watched some of his episodes as well because it’s so serious. His delivery was just mesmerizing, to be honest with you. He really would take you inside the interrogation room. I watched a lot of his footage as well. Can I tell you that I was honored that they picked a woman, mainly an African American woman, to host?

What can viewers look out for regarding each episode and the interrogations that take place? 

The way they break down criminals, I found to be absolutely fascinating. From their body language to the way they would move in on them to draw them in and make them comfortable. Sometimes they would let them marinate, leave them in there by themselves just a little bit longer than they thought, then come back. Just the little things that get them to break a criminal down. I think people are going to be really surprised by that.

What kinds of tactics are investigators using when it comes to interrogations?

Well, the body language and how interrogators could start so far away from them and how slowly but surely they move in and then they really go in for the kill. Also, how close they get to them and make them feel like, “I’m your best friend, come on, you can tell me.” I found that too to be interesting because I can see after taping so many episodes, they’re going in for the kill. So body language is imperative. And then people forget they’re being recorded.

What do you hope this series can accomplish as a catalyst for change? 

Well, I hope that we do this for many seasons to come and that they enjoy my hosting abilities and that I give a touch of femininity to the interrogation room. So many times you think it’s a male-dominated field, but no, there are women that are involved in this and you have an excellent hostess with the mostest by the name of Vivica Fox.

There’s so much to learn and invest in. What do you hope viewers absorb from this series? 

To not commit crime. Stop doing stupid stuff thinking that you can get away with it. Try to do the right thing. Or if you see a crime happening, don’t be afraid to pull out your camera to assist the police in solving a crime or keeping a crime from happening. 

Lastly, what do you hope for the victims and families to get out of the experience of having their stories heard?

The memory of their family members isn’t forgotten. Their memories will live on. There’s justice being brought to the criminals who committed these crimes, and their stories get heard, because sometimes that’s just all you want. 

The Interrogation Room, hosted by Vivica A. Fox, will stream for free on major platforms in the U.S. in July 2023. 

https://blacknerdproblems.com/a-sign-of-affection-trailer-drops/

When I went to Twitter, broken as it is today, I was instantly surprised to see the short but stunning preview trailer for Yubisaki to Renren better known in English as A Sign of Affection. As I wrote before when I praised this manga creating duo: In the modern age of Shojo, suu MORISHITA truly is one of the hardest working and most relevant creators in the game. The duo originally met in high-school and were classmates. Makiro creates the storyboard/layouts (writer), and Nachiyan illustrates the story. Among manga readers, they are perhaps best known for their polished art style of their books and the very engaging, layered stories of their characters.

A Sign of Affection is a Shojosei genre blurring manga that follows the slow burn-ish romance of new college student Yuki, who is deaf, and the jet-setting, world curious Itsuomi when they meet at the same college. Yuki communicates mostly through Japanese sign language, and Itsuomi jumps at the chance to start learning how to sign to not only be able to speak with her and to, eventually, show how much he adores her.

A Sign of Affection as a manga series is simply one of the most thrilling, yet intimate series to hit the Shojo genre in such a long time. The news of its anime adaptation brings so much joy to fans who have been wanting more of this incredible series that has taken the world by Shojo-sparkled storm. Am I extra for a barely-over-the minute trailer that’s not even coming out this year? YES. Is it the hype warranted? YES.

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It Is All About Connection

Something personal that I was willing to share via social media that I hoped was wholesome to read about is that I’ve been slowly re-learning ASL partially due to A Sign of Affection along with all the folks on Tik Tok (Thank you Deaf Tok!) signing with purpose & confidence! I had learned ASL, American Sign Language, as a kid. Unfortunately, I did eventually forget what I had learned as I had no one to practice and sign with. It was easily one of my favorite childhood memories, and my heavy regret of losing this language has lessened once I started to pick it back up at my own pace. Recently during the Transformers Rise of the Beasts press tour, actress Dominique Fishback revealed how and why she learned Sign Language. That video snippet brought me back to why sign language was so important to me as a kid and why it still resonates with me now, as an adult.

A Sign of Affection revolves around Yuki: a first-year college student, whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. She’s happily exploring the world by way of her college classes, the new people she’s meeting on and off campus, and even considers a part time job. A chance encounter on a train leads to her meeting fellow student Itsuomi-san and her world starts to widen. But even though Itsuomi is a globe-trotting young man who can speak three languages, sign language isn’t one of them. The way these two are drawn to each other and how Itsuomi yearns to get to know Yuki and learn Japanese sign language is easily one of the most impactful manga series that I’ve come across in such a long time. Watching these two learn how to communicate, the budding feelings between them has been such an intimate and thrilling read and hearing an anime adaptation means the world to me. Seeing more hearing impaired disabled characters in anime is always welcomed!

Shojo/Shoujo Fans Are EATING

There has been documented and heated discourse in the manga and anime community on the decline of Shojo (and Josei) anime adaptations lately. Coleen, one of my faves on YouTube created one of my favorite videos explaining the problem here, and they returned the topic a year later. To the ones chronically online who enjoy Shojosei, the joke is that the Shojo girlies/fans are EATING after getting a few adaptations in recent anime seasons, yet we’re still in famine.

Then the A Sign of Affection trailer drops, and we’re all embracing each other and crying like Shojo is having a renaissance—You know what????? Bitch We Might be. We just may be, and guess who is here to enjoy the ride? As my favorite genres via manga and anime, it is frustrating the slow dip of coverage and releases dedicated to this fan base of mostly girls and women. As a genre, Shojo is NOT a background character. She breathes main character energy. Oh, he’s HIM? Guess, what? She’s HER. Shojo is THAT Girl. She has whole manga magazines dedicated to her in her native country and that I know she has nothing to prove.

Related news reveals that Kodansha USA announced this week at Anime Expo that their newest slate of print manga licenses arriving in spring 2024. This includes all-new print titles, new omnibus editions, new-to-print titles, and more, include an A Sign of Affection Omnibus of 3-in-1 omnibus edition! This is big news as this series dropped during the pandemic (first volume release: Mar 31, 2020) where manga buying soared among readers. Also, this series gained a bigger following being available digitally–I faithfully read it on the Azuki app and tweeted on chapter release day when I could. If Twitter of the past was my partial online diary, I was preaching the gospel for years about this series, see here in 2020, here in 2021 and here in 2022.

The omnibus means even more fans get a chance to read the incredible series next year as or around the time the anime adaption hits streaming services. I am so excited, and my heart is so full! A Sign of Affection defines what modern day Shojo is in my books, and since Shojo is my first love–when it comes to manga, I really feel like I am receiving a love letter that my much younger self would be so happy to receive. Simply put, A Sign of Affection illustrates that connection is important and trying to understand others is the key. Reasons to live? Anime Adaptation of A Sign of Affection come January 2024!!

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The A Sign of Affection anime is scheduled for January 2024.

See more information of the anime’s official website and Twitter account.

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The post The First ‘A Sign of Affection’ Trailer Dropped, and We’re All in Love appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.