deerstalker

https://blackgirlnerds.com/warner-bros-to-shake-film-and-tv-releasing-major-titles-to-hbo-max/

Warner Bros. announced they will be releasing titles to HBO Max while at the same time having those titles available in theaters. 

“It allows us to do a global release and a national release in what we think is going to be a checkerboarded theatrical market place for the bulk of 2021,” Toby Emmerich Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman said. “We think where theaters are open, and consumers can go, that a lot of people will choose to go to the theater, especially for big movies.”

“This hybrid exhibition model enables us to best support our films, creative partners and moviegoing in general throughout 2021,” Emmerich continued. “We have a fantastic, wide-ranging slate of titles from talented and visionary filmmakers next year, and we’re excited to be able get these movies in front of audiences around the world.

And, as always, we’ll support all of our releases with innovative and robust marketing campaigns for their theatrical debuts, while highlighting this unique opportunity to see our films domestically via HBO Max as well.”

The titles include the following: The Suicide Squad, The Matrix 4, Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong and Space Jam: A New Legacy, Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Reminiscence, Malignant, The Many Saints of Newark, King Richard and Cry Macho.

“No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do,” said Ann Sarnoff, CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group. “We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021. With this unique one-year plan, we can support our partners in exhibition with a steady pipeline of world-class films, while also giving moviegoers who may not have access to theaters or aren’t quite ready to go back to the movies the chance to see our amazing 2021 films. We see it as a win-win for film lovers and exhibitors, and we’re extremely grateful to our filmmaking partners for working with us on this innovative response to these circumstances.”

Jason Kilar, WarnerMedia’s CEO had this to say in closing: “After considering all available options and the projected state of moviegoing throughout 2021, we came to the conclusion that this was the best way for WarnerMedia’s motion picture business to navigate the next 12 months. More importantly, we are planning to bring consumers 17 remarkable movies throughout the year, giving them the choice and the power to decide how they want to enjoy these films. Our content is extremely valuable, unless it’s sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone. We believe this approach serves our fans, supports exhibitors and filmmakers, and enhances the HBO Max experience, creating value for all.”

https://www.themarysue.com/hawkeye-cast/

Just yesterday evening, we got confirmation that Hailee Steinfield is playing Kate Bishop in the upcoming Marvel Disney+ series Hawkeye. Like clockwork, more information on the cast has started to drop. We heard a little birdy tweeting about Florence Pugh joining the cast earlier this week, and now Variety is confirming the Black Widow star’s involvement along with quite the cast of characters from the world of Hawkeye comics.

Actors who are newly confirmed for Hawkeye include Pugh, Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Alaqua Cox, and Zahn McClarnon. Vera Farmiga (The Departed) is set to star as Eleanor Bishop, Kate’s mother, with Fra Fee starring as the mercenary villain known as Clown (Kazimierz Kazimierczak). Tony Dalton will play Jack Duquesne AKA Swordsman, who is a mentor to Hawkeye. Alaqua Cox is the newcomer who will play Maya Lopez (the real name of the character Echo, who is deaf and has “photographic reflexes,” the ability to perfectly match anyone’s movements), and Zahn McClarnon is playing William Lopez, the character who is likely Echo’s father. Even more exciting is that Echo’s casting is wonderfully true to the character:

Alaqua Cox, who is Deaf Native American, will play ECHO in Hawkeye Series! pic.twitter.com/HtkbVH9y0E

— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) December 3, 2020

It seems like there’s some incredible talent hopping onboard Hawkeye, and we can’t wait to see them in action. I was excited about the prospect of just seeing a live-action Kate Bishop on screen, but the inclusion of all these characters means that the show is likely going to center around her training to take on the Hawkeye title from Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton (or at least that’s what I’m assuming) amongst formidable friends and foes.

The new era of Marvel is upon us and honestly, it’s f**king incredible. These characters are inspiring and so strong on the page and to get to see them in live-action is something that many fans never thought would be possible. I long for the day when Riri Williams gets her time and with the excellent MCU Disney+ developments as of late, my dream could come true. Because with Kate Bishop joining the ranks of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau? The MCU’s TV sphere is only getting better and better, and we hope that Hawkeye will play a big part in that.

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

Here are some other stories we saw out there today:

• Republicans are freaking out bc we don’t use slave-wage labor for merch that funds grassroots organizing.

  But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours?

  Ours is made in the US. 🇺🇸

  (& for GOP who joke that we shld give 👕 for free, we actually do – just volunteer 😉) https://t.co/35DnbFYQyC

  — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 3, 2020

• Wondering who Lucky the Pizza Dog is from Hawkeye? Well, here you go. (via ScreenRant)

• Dragons are coming.#HouseoftheDragon begins production in 2021. pic.twitter.com/Bxl763FVdY

  — Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) December 3, 2020

• Mads Mikkelsen talks about joining the cast of the third Fantastic Beasts movie as Grindelwald. (via Entertainment Weekly)

• #Superstore is ending, and I’m SO bummed/flabbergasted by this: https://t.co/pXW84Ne4cI

  — Marisa Roffman (@marisaroffman) December 3, 2020

Anything we missed out there today? Let us know what you saw in the comments below!

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

The post Things We Saw Today: The Cast of Disney+'s Hawkeye Is Stacked first appeared on The Mary Sue.

https://www.themarysue.com/john-mulaney-snl-election-joke/

John Mulaney hosted Saturday Night Live on Halloween of this year, just a few days before the presidential election—an event he (correctly) referred to as an “elderly man contest.”

“There’s two elderly men and you’re supposed to choose your favorite of the two elderly men,” he said in his opening monologue. “You can put it in the mail or you can go and write down which elderly man you like and then we’ll add ’em all up and then we might have the same elderly man or we might have a new elderly man.”

This election between two elderly white men came after the most diverse Democratic primary race in history, so Mulaney isn’t wrong in reducing it to its most basic components. It’s funny in an endlessly depressing sort of way.

But Mulaney didn’t stop there. “Just rest assured,” he continued, “no matter what happens, nothing much will change in the United States.” The rich will get richer, he explained, families will be upended by mental illness and drug addiction, Jane Lynch will continue to book projects, little girls will still get bullied at sleepovers, etc., etc.

The reaction to that joke was … mixed. On the one hand, it is true that we don’t often get to see the sort of change we want just because our preferred political party is in power. Police killings of BIPOC people, hate crimes, opioid and other drug epidemics, destructive immigration policies—all of these existed under Barack Obama too, just as they have under every president.

The flip side of that is that it’s very easy for a wealthy white cis man like Mulaney to say that nothing in the daily lives of Americans will change under a new president. A lot of people have seen a whole lot of things change under our soon-to-be-gone president. A lot of people have seen their rights stripped away, a lot of people live in fear because of his actions, a lot of people have lost their jobs or their health insurance or other basic necessities. And, of course, a lot of people have died because of his inaction on COVID-19.

Also, three days before an election is not the time to be telling millions of people that their vote doesn’t matter.

I adore John Mulaney so I was really glad to see him address this joke on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week and to know that he agrees: the joke was not great.

“I should have said ‘I very much want one to win over the other and there will be improvements if one wins.’ I deserve the backlash,” he told Kimmel.

He also said that his wife and everyone who knows him was confused by the underbaked joke because he solidly identifies as a Democrat, saying “I like people and I’m generally happy and not deeply angry, so I’m a Democrat.”

The ultimate problem with then? “I forgot to make the joke good.”

Mulaney says he just didn’t work through the joke. He thought the funny bit was the Jane Lynch part, so he didn’t really think through the set-up. That happens to comedians all the time. (Usually, they have an opportunity to work through these issues before taking their set on television but with COVID, Mulaney says he just didn’t have anywhere to workshop the material.) But Mulaney gets it and he’s taking the L without getting defensive. That’s pretty refreshing.

By the way, Mulaney also says in the same interview that after he hosted SNL earlier this year (yes, twice in one year!), he had an even bigger reaction to a joke he made tangentially comparing Trump to Julius Caesar who, you know, just happened to get assassinated by the Senate. In addition to getting attacked by right-wing media outlets on Twitter, it turned out the Secret Service wasn’t a huge fan of that joke.

“I guess they opened a file on me because of the joke, and I have to say, am I stoked there’s a file open on me? Absolutely. Did I enjoy it in the moment? Not so much.”

(via Vulture, image: YouTube)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

The post John Mulaney Gets Why People Were Mad About His Both-Sidesy Election Joke on SNL first appeared on The Mary Sue.

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/netflix-releases-december-2020/

By Kimberly Wilson ·December 2, 2020December 2, 2020

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not the holiday season — the time when Netflix releases their drop of everything new coming for the month. 

In December, we’ll finally see the debut of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Chadwick Boseman’s final screen appearance starring opposite Viola Davis as the legendary blues singer. The story takes place in 1927 on one hot summer afternoon in Chicago, where Ma Rainey and her band are recording several songs, including the one that gives the film its title.

In addition to new releases, classics such as You Got Served, Why Did I Get Married, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler will appear on the streaming platform just in time for holiday gatherings and family movie time. There will be plenty to tune into this month, but here’s just a taste of the new releases that we’re excited to see.

01The Prom – 12/11Theaters may be dark because of the pandemic, but the neon lights of Broadway shine bright in this adaptation of The Prom. The musical tells the story of a small-town Indiana high school that’s has cancelled its prom because the head of the PTA (Kerry Washington) doesn’t approve of a female student attending with her girlfriend, Alyssa (Ariana DeBose). Netflix 02Giving Voice – 12/11Giving Voice closely follows the lives of six vibrant students as they meticulously develop their individual performances with the hopes of embodying August Wilson’s legacy, in a riveting, high-stakes competition on Broadway. It’s executive produced by Julius Tennon and Viola Davis’ JuVee Productions along with John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co. 03Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – 12/18In quite possibly one of the most anticipated films of the year, Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner Viola Davis plays the legendary 1920s blues singer in Netflix’s adaptation of the August Wilson play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The story takes place in 1927 on one hot summer afternoon in Chicago, where Ma and her band are recording several songs, including the one that gives the film its title. Directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Denzel Washington, the film features the final performance of Chadwick Boseman on screen. 04London Hughes: To Catch a D*ck – 12/22Haven’t heard of comedian London Hughes? While the British comedian may not be all that well known to American audiences currently, that could soon change once you watch her upcoming comedy special, To Catch a D*ck. The special will be executive produced by Kevin Hart, and directed by Kristian Mercado, who previously directed Sam Jay’s debut Netflix special. 05Cops and Robbers – 12/28This animated short film is based on a spoken word poetry video created in response to the May 5, 2020, murder of Ahmaud Arbery. TOPICS:  Netflix

The post Here’s What New, Black and On Netflix This Month appeared first on Essence.