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If you grew up with video games as a kid, you probably struck a deal with your parents: pass a school test with flying colors and you can play more. Tencent wants to formalize those arrangements. Chief executive Ma Huateng has proposed digital contra...

The 90th Academy Awards aired Sunday night. It was Hollywood’s biggest night, at least until next year and we’ve got the full list of winners who went home with Oscar gold.

In a tight race for Best Picture, The Shape of Water came home with Best Picture and Guillermo del Toro won Best Director. But the movie didn’t sweep all the categories it was nominated for. Get Out writer Jordan Peele won Best Original Screenplay, and Dunkirk took home a trio of technical awards. Get the full list of 2018 Oscars winners below.

2018 Oscars Winners List Updated Live (Most Recent on Top)

*Winners will appear in bold*

BEST PICTURE

Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Commentary: While it would have been great for Get Out to win this award, The Shape of Water couldn’t be more deserving. This is a beautiful movie about love, acceptance and passion in many forms.

BEST ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post

Commentary: This was Frances McDormand’s prize to lose, but she won it like all the other awards she did this year.

BEST ACTOR

Timothee Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Commentary: Was there any way that Gary Oldman wasn’t going to win this? He was incredible, so of course he won.

BEST DIRECTOR

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Commentary: Guillermo del Toro worked wonders with a small budget. It’s a beautiful movie, and it makes you shocked that a movie about a woman falling in love with a fish man made it to this point. That’s magical.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
Get Out, Jordan Peele
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig
The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh

Commentary: Oh boy, could this mean that Get Out is going to get Best Picture? This is a big deal and a deserved win.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory
The Disaster Artist, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Logan, Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold
Molly’s Game, Aaron Sorkin
Mudbound, Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Commentary: James Ivory wrote a beautiful story of love found and lost just as easily, and while every other script was just as deserving, it’s hard to argue with the fact that this was the best. Sorry, Aaron Sorkin.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Commentary: Another predicted win confirmed after the long road Allison Janney had winning every other conceivable award for Best Supporting Actress. She’s had an award like this coming for a long time.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Commentary: This was expected since Sam Rockwell has been sweeping this award all over the place, and it’s a deserving win for one of the best performances in his career.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Mighty River” (Mudbound)
“The Mystery of Love” (Call Me by Your Name)
“Remember Me” (Coco)
“Stand Up for Something” (Marshall)
“This Is Me” (The Greatest Showman)

Commentary: The performance of “This Is Me” was incredible, but the song from Coco is just beautiful on another level.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer)
Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood)
The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (John Williams)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Carter Burwell)

Commentary: It would have been amazing if Jonny Greenwood won for Phantom Thread, but the score for The Shape of Water s absolutely stunning.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Blade Runner 2049 (Roger Deakins)
Darkest Hour (Bruno Delbonnel)
Dunkirk (Hoyte van Hoytema)
Mudbound (Rachel Morrison)
The Shape of Water (Dan Laustsen)

Commentary: Finally! Roger Deakins gets the award he’s deserved for years! And it likely won’t be his last.

BEST FILM EDITING

Baby Driver (Jonathan Amos & Paul Machliss)
Dunkirk (Lee Smith)
I, Tonya (Tatiana S. Riegel)
The Shape of Water (Sidney Wolinsky)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Jon Gregory)

Commentary: Another huge technical win for Dunkirk, which likely means it won’t be taking home any of the bigger awards. But we’ll see how it plays out.

BEST FOREIGN FILM

A Fantastic Woman, Chile
The Insult, Lebanon
Loveless, Russia
On Body and Soul, Hungary
The Square, Sweden

Commentary: This was the favorite foreign film to win, and many people thought it should have been a Best Picture nomination.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent

Commentary: It was a weak year for animated fare, so of course Pixar had to take it this year with this wonderful film.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Blade Runner 2049, John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick
Kong: Skull Island, Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
War for the Planet of the Apes, Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist

Commentary: Creating the realistic world of futuristic Los Angeles was no easy feat, but making it look gorgeous in a way that is distinct from the original is even more impressive. Incredible work all around. It’s a shame that War for the Planet of the Apes didn’t win this year though.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Beauty and the Beast, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
Blade Runner 2049, Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola
Darkest Hour, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
Dunkirk, Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
The Shape of Water, Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin

Commentary: The fact that this movie looks like it cost way more than it actually cost, the production design deserved this Oscar through and through. The movie is stunning, and it’s thanks to this team’s collaboration with Guillermo del Toro.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Baby Driver, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin and Mary H. Ellis
Blade Runner 2049, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth
Dunkirk, Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo
The Shape of Water, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern and Glen Gauthier
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson

Commentary: The sheer scale of this movie is enough of a reason for this film to get Best Sound Mixing. But besides that, the work done to bring together all of the sounds, music and more to make World War II echo in our ears was outstanding. Again, Baby Driver would have been a great winner too.

BEST SOUND EDITING

Baby Driver, Julian Slater
Blade Runner 2049, Mark Mangini and Theo Green
Dunkirk, Richard King and Alex Gibson
The Shape of Water, Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreira
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce

Commentary: Considering the wall of sound needed to make this movie feel so realistic and booming, this win absolutely makes sense. But seeing Baby Driver get this award would have been great too.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men in Aleppo
Strong Island

Commentary: I’ve yet to see Icarus, but this movie will be on my list to watch immediately now. It was the favorite to win, so this was not a surprise.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Beauty and the Beast (Jacqueline Durran)
Darkest Hour (Jacqueline Durran)
Phantom Thread (Mark Bridges)
The Shape of Water (Luis Sequeira)
Victoria & Abdul (Consolata Boyle)

Commentary: The wonderful fashions of Reynolds Woodcock absolutely deserved this award for the stunning dresses and much more on screen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s gorgeous film.

BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING

Darkest Hour, Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick
Victoria & Abdul, Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
Wonder, Arjen Tuiten

Commentary: This was another foregone conclusion. The make-up that turned Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill was astounding and so lifelike.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Dear Basketball, Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant
Garden Party, Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon
Lou, Dave Mullins and Dana Murray
Negative Space, Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
Revolting Rhymes, Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer

Commentary: Another predicated win. This is a wonderful, unconventional animated movie that even non-sports fans can enjoy. Also, Kobe Bryant has an Oscar? Crazy!

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

DeKalb Elementary, Reed Van Dyk
The Eleven O’Clock, Derin Seale and Josh Lawson
My Nephew Emmett, Kevin Wilson, Jr.
The Silent Child, Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton
Watu Wote/All of Us, Katja Benrath and Tobias Rosen

Commentary: This is one I haven’t seen, but it sounds like a heartwarming film, and it was lovely that the filmmaker used sign language during her speech.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Edith+Eddie, Laura Checkoway and Thomas Lee Wright
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405, Frank Stiefel
Heroin(e), Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Kerrin Sheldon
Knife Skills, Thomas Lennon
Traffic Stop, Kate Davis and David Heilbroner

Commentary: This was the first real surprise of the night. Having not seen any of the documentary shorts, all I can say is well done.

The post 2018 Oscars Winners List: ‘The Shape of Water’ Wins Best Picture of the Year appeared first on /Film.

Netflix has released a trailer for The Outsider, a bloody noir starring Jared Leto as a former American POW set in post-World War II Japan.

Leto gets to Last Samurai it up as an American soldier who becomes indebted to the Japanese yakuza, a catch-all for the country’s organized crime, and is forced to navigate Japan’s seedy criminal underworld to repay his debts.

The Outsider Trailer

If you like watching Jared Leto beat people up in Asian-inspired locales, you’re in luck. The last time we saw Leto in a feature film, he was donning a kimono and gutting android women like fish in Blade Runner 2049. Now, he sheds the kimono for a snappy suit and goes to war-torn Japan.

Leto’s hollow cheekbones and blank eyes don’t communicate much — except that he’s a ruthless killer who descends further into madness as he gets caught in the yakuza’s bloody web. There’s really not much to say about this trailer: it’s moody, it’s brutal, and it doubles down on Netflix’s current fixation with Japan — whether it’s through cyberpunk science-fiction (Altered Carbon), anime adaptations (Death Note), or anime itself.

The Outsider has long been in the works. A script was written in 2011 and bounced around to different studios, with high profile names like Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy attached. But Netflix saved it from development hell when it acquired worldwide distribution rights in 2016.

You can see the stylish poster for The Outsider below.

Danish filmmaker Martin Zandvliet, best known for the Oscar-nominated Foreign Language film Land of Mine, makes is English language debut with the film. The script was co-written by Andrew Baldwin (Bastille Day) and John Linson (producer of Lords of Dogtown).

The cast is rounded out by Tadanobu Asano, Kippei Shiina, Shioli Kutsuna, Emile Hirsch, Raymond Nicholson, Rory Cochrane, Nao Omori, and Min Tanaka.

Here is the official synopsis for The Outsider:

Set in post-WWII Japan, an imprisoned American soldier (Leto) is released with the help of his Yakuza cellmate. Now free, he sets out to earn their respect and repay his debt while navigating the dangerous criminal underworld.

The Outsider is set to premiere on Netflix on March 9, 2018.

The post ‘The Outsider’ Trailer: Jared Leto Joins the Yakuza in New Netflix Thriller appeared first on /Film.

Hundreds of servers designed to mine bitcoin have been stolen in Iceland, and authorities have been unable to track down a single system. The missing hardware includes 600 graphics cards, as well as 100 processors, 100 power supplies, 100 motherboards, and 100 sets of computer memory. Law enforcement is hoping for an energy surge somewhere, as they appear to be out of leads. "This is a grand theft on a scale unseen before," Police Commissioner Olafur Helgi Kjartansson said, according to the AP. "Everything points to this being a highly organized crime." The AP reports that police are tracking energy consumption across Iceland in case the thieves turn on their new computers and place a strain on the grid, since that could potentially lead them back to the stolen computers' location. Discussion

Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Friday’s episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Read at your own risk!

Dove Cameron made her debut during Friday’s episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — and boy, did she make a memorable first impression.

After Team S.H.I.E.L.D. returned from the future, they were basically lured into a trap by Hale’s team, led by a mysterious masked assassin who uses a chakram to shockingly cut off Yo-Yo’s arms. The future has come true! The person under that mask? Hale’s daughter, a.k.a Cameron’s character Ruby! EW turned to the actress to get the scoop on this surprising turn.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How much did they tell you about this character during the casting process?
DOVE CAMERON: I think they auditioned loads of actresses. I didn’t get called in and get any special information. I just went in like anybody else would, and they told me nothing, basically. The sides, the script that they gave me, was this one-page monologue — and I can’t tell you what it was because I think it reveals some stuff down the line. But the monologue itself was clearly fictitious. It didn’t end up making the scripts, the scene never happened. It was just a test scene so none of us would really know any information about the show. My favorite thing in the world as I’ve gone through my career is if I don’t know anything about the character — obviously, if she has a lisp, a left eye twitch or broken left, you’re going to know how to play those things, because they’re very specific. If it says, “She’s very intelligent and mysterious,” then it’s up to interpretation. I’ve learned to play those characters in a way that I would want to see them done, almost as if I was director.

I really wanted to see Ruby be kind of unhinged, just fully off her rocker, that she’s angry and is almost like a murderer. I played her basically like a murderer, someone you wouldn’t want to run into on the street. They seemed to like that interpretation, but I really didn’t know anything about the character, and it ended up being great because Ruby is clearly is some form of an assassin. But they didn’t tell me anything because it’s Marvel. They’re very secretive, as they should be. As the season went on, I was very pleased to see where Ruby goes, what happens to Ruby — it’s a very challenging character. She’s got every layer in her, so you can say whatever you want about Ruby and it would probably be, to some degree, correct and, to some degree, not so on the money. She’s a wild card.

Because we know she’s been locked away, is that because of her killer instinct, or does she have actual powers?
I can’t speak to the powers thing. You’re going to have to stay tuned about that. But I can say why she’s locked away is because Hale is afraid of what she can do. Clearly, by the end of the first episode, Hale has raised this girl. She can’t be older than 18, and she’s raised this girl probably since birth, probably since she could talk, to be an assassin, to be this murderous, crazy, skilled assassin. You see her throw the chakram. That’s a blade, that’s not like Captain America’s shield with safe edges. So for her to throw it like that, and then for her to catch it in as much time as it would be to get ahead of Yo-Yo’s speed, and how much force it must be coming her way, for her to catch it between her fingers and not slice her hand in half? That girl is skilled. That girl is not someone who you would want going up against you. The fact that she trained her daughter like that to keep her in line, she’s got to be strict with her, she’s got to keep her caged, because if she mutinied, something bad could happen. I think Hale fears that she could kill her.

Ruby cut off Yo-Yo’s arms. Will you be actively avoiding Twitter Friday night in fear of fan ire?
I’m going to be all over Twitter! It has nothing to do with me as an actress. I think if people hate me, that’s a good thing. If they leave this episode feeling super heartbroken over Yo-Yo’s arms and couldn’t stand to look at me and wish I’m not on the show anymore, that’s a great thing. You never bring on a villain to be liked. I’m excited, actually. Yo-Yo also loses her arms in the comics, so they had to fulfill that in some way, so I feel lucky that I was the one they trusted to pull off a big plot point. I feel badass.

Can you talk about why Ruby is so obsessed with Daisy?
Ruby’s obsession with Daisy is layered. Take somebody who is a massive fan of somebody — we’ve heard these stories before, and they’re very sad stories about how a love and an obsession can turn very sour in relationships, especially in a fan-celebrity relationship. It’s almost like the line between hatred and love can be very, very thin. Ruby doesn’t do anything halfway, and she’s very calculated and very unfeeling. So for her to be fixated on you is never, ever a good thing. Nobody is ever like, “Aww, that’s so sweet, she’s such a big fan.” It’s like, “Oh no, she has zeroed in on you.” There’s a love for Daisy, in some way. It’s a twisted love. I can’t tell you anything, really, about that relationship, but it’s definitely not straightforward.

Can you tease at all what their first meeting might look like?
No, I can’t, because it’s too big. I wish I could.

We know by the end of this hour that Hale is making up this group of bad guys and recruits Creel. Is Ruby going to be a part of, or even leading, this group?
So Hale is putting together a group, like an anti-S.H.I.E.L.D., right? I can’t really tell you. But Ruby is definitely Hale’s greatest, proudest creation, so she’s not going to be left out of it. Ruby is ready to fulfill what she feels is her purpose. Ruby isn’t going to shy away from an opportunity to be a part of a group like that. You’re just going to have to see. I really can’t tell you much. I wish I could tell you anything. It’s definitely not a good thing that Hale is up to, definitely a lot of bad things. Ruby is at the center of that.

What is it like for you getting to really lean into the dark side of this character?
It’s the best. Honestly, it’s very funny because everybody is like, “Are you doing everything you can to break away from your Disney image?” I don’t choose roles based on that. Always, since I was 15 and signed on to work for the Disney Channel, it was a huge surprise to me that they even wanted me at all. When I first auditioned for Disney Channel a whole bunch of times, they didn’t want me. They were like, “She’s not funny, she’s really intense, she’s coming off something edgy, she’s kind of strange,” and then it ended up working with the twin show, because I got to do so many things on that show and I got to be two very dramatic characters. Then I learned about comedy and became funny. Truly, I was always leaning toward dark stuff. I used to get people turning me down for roles all the time and the No. 1 thing would be, “She’s too edgy, she’s making us uncomfortable.” So this kind of role has been something that I’ve always wanted to play and felt I should be playing. It just hasn’t been the right thing. I’m kind of graduating from the Disney house right now. I’m definitely done with Liv and Maddie. It’s the right time to be doing a character like this, and you’ll see what I mean as time goes on, but it’s really just because I’m having so much fun with it, and not because it’s something I should be doing. This is the character I’ve always wanted to play.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Ray Bradbury‘s classic novel Fahrenheit 451 is getting a sleek, neon-lit, star-studded update courtesy of HBO. The new Fahrenheit 451 trailer features Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon as futuristic fireman who burn books for a living. Sweat and tension follow.

“Have you ever seen a physical book before?” Michael Shannon asks with his trademark intensity. “Do you want to know what’s inside? Insanity.” Thus begins the extremely effective Fahrenheit 451 trailer, giving us our first real glimpse of HBO’s new take on Ray Bradbury’s classic novel. There’s style aplenty on display here, and there’s the added bonus of Shannon and Michael B. Jordan in the lead roles. Check it out.

Fahrenheit 451 Trailer

The film, like Bradbury’s novel, is set in a totalitarian future where books are outlawed, and “firemen” are tasked with the job of finding any remaining written works and torching them for the greater good. Michael B. Jordan – who is currently making audiences fan themselves when he takes his shirt off in Black Panther – plays Guy Montag, a young fireman who begins to have serious doubts about his profession.

This new take on Fahrenheit comes from Ramin Bahrani, who directed Shannon in the indie film 99 Homes. Bahrani wrote the script with Amir Naderi. “I have always loved Ray Bradbury’s prophetic novel Fahrenheit 451,” Bahrani said when the project was announced. “Two years ago, as I looked at the world around me, it seemed like the ideal time to do a modern interpretation. I am grateful to HBO for helping me bring my vision of the film to audiences with this incredible cast.”

Fahrenheit 451 was previously adapted in 1966 by French New Wave filmmaker François Truffaut. Bradbury’s story has also been often imitated by similar totalitarian society flicks, most notably the goofy-as-hell Equilibrium, which basically told the same exact story but also added gun-fu. I’m very curious to see what Bahrani does with the material, especially since he’s working with Jordan and Shannon – two actors who are fantastic in everything they do. Fahrenheit 451 also stars Sofia Boutella (The Mummy, Atomic Blonde).

Look for Fahrenheit 451 on HBO in May.

Starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon, Fahrenheit 451 is based on Ray Bradbury’s classic novel. In a future where the media is an opiate, history is rewritten and “firemen” burn books, Jordan plays Montag, a young fireman who struggles with his role as law enforcer. Battling his mentor, fire captain Beatty, played by Shannon, he forsakes his world in an effort to regain his humanity.

The post ‘Fahrenheit 451’ Trailer: Michael B. Jordan Wants to Burn appeared first on /Film.

Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel has always felt like one of those movies the studio would make eventually, but now that we’re just over a year away from its release, it’s finally starting to feel like a real project. Brie Larson is suiting up as the title character in Marvel’s first movie with a female lead, and now another woman has joined the team. Actress Gemma Chan (Humans) will play Minn-Erva, who, in the comics, is a Kree scientist and spy. Learn about the Captain Marvel Minn-Erva casting below.

Deadline reports that Gemma Chan will play Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel, joining a solid cast that already includes Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, and DeWanda Wise. Chan is no stranger to franchise filmmaking: she played Madam Ya Zhou in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, portrayed the villainous Quintessa in Transformers: The Last Knight, and had a small role in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Later this year, she’ll appear in Mary Queen of Scots alongside Margot Robbie and in Crazy Rich Asians, one of /Film’s most anticipated films of the year.

That’s “Doctor Minerva” To You

In the comics, “Minn-Erva” also goes by the name “Doctor Minerva.” She’s a member of the Kree, an alien race that plays a significant role in the Marvel comics universe and was featured on screen in Guardians of the Galaxy. (Lee Pace’s Ronan the Accuser was a member of the Kree.) In one storyline, Doctor Minerva takes a human hostage to convince the original Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell, who’s being played by Jude Law in the movie) to assist her in breeding a genetically superior race of Kree.

Will directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck include that particular storyline in their movie? It’s still too early to say. We know the film will be set in the 1990s (back when Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury had both eyes), and we’ve seen an early look at Larson in her superhero costume. It’s a strong guess that a good chunk of the movie takes place on an Air Force base since Larson has publicly visited one and a base is an integral location in the comics – it’s where Larson’s Carol Danvers first gets her powers and becomes the new Captain Marvel.

As for Chan, she’s spoken out about diversity on screen in the past, telling Vice, “You are more likely to see an alien in a Hollywood film than an Asian woman.” Now she’ll get to do both…assuming she’s not buried under pounds of makeup.

Captain Marvel began filming earlier this month, and the movie is slated to arrive in theaters on March 8, 2019.

The post ‘Captain Marvel’ Casts Gemma Chan as Kree Spy Minn-Erva appeared first on /Film.

Have you noticed how some of the biggest names in black supeheroism often operate in a corner of their hometown instead of saving the world? While Superman, Batman, and others often take an entire city under their wing, black superheroes like Luke Cage and Black Lightning only look out for their neighborhood. Why is that?

The answer lies in America itself. For too long, America has been a divided country, with black Americans deemed unimportant and low-rung next to white Americans. Because of that segregation, we have historically looked out for each other, since no one else would help us. Interestingly enough, the same racial and social politics of our country has bled into comics, whether people realize it or not.

Too often, black superheroes are called in out of necessity, not choice. Their neighborhoods are overrun with crime and lawlessness, and the other superheroes aren’t going to help. Therefore, it’s up to black superheroes to take the reins and act as their neighborhood’s regulator.

But while there is something empowering in that sentiment, the penchant for having black superheroes remain in “black-only territory,” as it were, reinforces another erroneous notion that America has struggled with in both politics and in comic books: the idea that the blackness doesn’t deal in universal truths. How could a black superhero properly deal with the Lois Lanes and Jimmy Olsons of the world? How could white audiences, by extension, properly empathize with black superheroes wanting to make their country a better place?

In the world of comic books, it was thought that it’d make more sense to have a black superhero deal with narrower pursuits, which usually meant pigeonholing him in a stereotypical version of the ‘hood.

The racial weight of black superheroism

The TV productions of Luke Cage and Black Lightning are definitely in conversation with each other. Both shows feature black men who want to have normal lives, but are often called upon to do superheroic things for the sake of their family and community.

The CW version of Black Lightning, AKA Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), actively tries to stay away from superheroism, wanting only to change his community through his work as a high school principal and mentor. His past as a vigilante crimefighter keeps him close to the hearts and minds of those old enough to remember, but he wants to turn over a new leaf and simply be a family man and (non-powered) community leader. But the criminal group known as The 100 just won’t let up, and the police seem increasingly ineffective. It’s only when his own kids are kidnapped that he realizes he can’t escape his calling as a superhero, so he suits up once again –not just for his kids, but for all of the families impacted by rampant crime.

Luke (Mike Colter), like Jefferson, didn’t get into superheroism as a hobby. The Netflix version of the character was pushed into doing it after the death of his mentor, Henry “Pop” Hunter, who was killed by the villainous Cottonmouth’s henchman. At first, Luke only wanted vengeance for Pop’s death, but eventually, he realizes that the entire borough of Harlem needs his help, especially since it seems like no one else is going to step in the ring and bring justice to a neighborhood that sorely needs it.

The trend continues with other comic book characters as well. Steel, AKA John Henry Irons, was a weapons engineer before he became a superhero. His change towards superheroism was only spurred once he realized inner-city gangs in Metropolis were using his inventions, propelling him make a suit and fight crime.

Why are black superheroes often called to save their own, while white superheroes – who are supposed to protect the entire city – seemingly segregate themselves from the inner city? For instance, why, in the “Heavy Metal” episode of Superman: The Animated Series, does it seem like Superman’s never entered Metropolis’ inner city until his run-in with Metallo? Why is Steel immediately seen as the inner city’s superhero, the guy who holds down the black side of town while Superman stays in the equivalent of Manhattan, near the Daily Planet?

One theory is that blackness, including black superheroism, was seen as something that wasn’t understandable by mainstream (white) comic book-reading audiences, unless it was in stereotypical and limiting forms. Milestone Comics founder Dwayne McDuffie described the limited scope that used to trap black superheroes.

“You had the stupid angry brute and the he’s-smart-but-he’s-black characters,” he said to The New York Times in 1993. “And they were all colored either this Hershey-bar shade of brown, a sickly looking gray or purple. I’ve never seen anyone that’s gray or purple before in my life. There was no diversity and almost no accuracy among the characters of color at all.”

In 2009, he expounded on this further with Mania.com, examining how comic books hadn’t moved much beyond the 1940s and 1950s, when the country’s population was majority white.

“A big part of [portraying a more accurate version of the real world] was creating characters from a wide-range of backgrounds – ethnic, religion class,” he said to the website. “Usually, heroes are white, middle-class males or upper class males like Batman. This made sense in the 1940s and 1950s, but it didn’t represent the world very well (in the 1990s), nor did it represent the audience very well.”

Even by today’s standards, which are more diverse than they were in the ‘40s and ‘50s, comic books and the films and TV shows they spawn still overwhelmingly cater to white characters, reinforcing the notion that white heroes are more marketable and more relatable than minority characters. What’s often taken as truth is actually a well-oiled myth of black ineptitude, a myth fueled by American racism and oppression.

“In 2018, we live in a world where white fantasies about black inferiority still rage,” said Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor for The Washington Post. Her point is backed up by Kolton Harris in his essay, “Flying in Place: Black Superheroes and Their Origin Stories. Harris asserts that the myths of blackness that make their way into comic books stem from the very real issues of inequity and segregation.

“The Black male experience in America has been categorized as historically exclusive, in the sense that Black men were excluded from the white world in many ways. As [essayist Allan] Spear puts it: ‘[t]he Afro-American, unlike white ethnic minorities, lived constantly in the shadow of racial discrimination.’ Regardless of his economic status, regardless of his cultural preferences, he was isolated from whites in the Northern city”…Clearly the theme of isolation is ingrained in the historical narrative of Black men, which is why it makes its way into the superhero narrative.”

It’s with this background that black superheroes are often left to support and uplift their own communities, carrying the burden that should be shared by other superheroes within the same city. Too often, white superheroes aren’t charged with their neglect of black areas. For instance, the first time I remember seeing anything resembling a black neighborhood in Metropolis was in the “Heavy Metal” episode. Up until then, I’d never seen Superman actively go into a black or otherwise POC area of town, and even while he was there in “Heavy Metal,” the feeling I got while watching was that he’d never been there before.

This feeling got heavier when Superman tells Steel he’ll call him if he ever needs back-up in Metropolis proper. The only thing I can infer from that is that Steel is meant to be the Superman for the black folks, while Superman stays on the whiter side of town. What about Superman learning from Steel that he needs to check out all areas of Metropolis, not just the ones closest to the Daily Planet building?

I’m not the only one who’s noticed how white superheroes don’t tend to stray too far from their comfort zones. In 2017, Saturday Night Live aired a skit about Bruce Wayne hosting a charity Thanksgiving for Gotham’s marginalized citizens. In the skit, the locals, played by Leslie Jones, Chance the Rapper, Chris Redd, and Kenan Thompson, all rail on Batman to Bruce’s face, saying how Batman assaulted them while mistaking them for criminals, providing commentary on the very real issue of police brutality. While it’s funny, the skit does comment on the unofficial racial lines in comic book superheroism; white people stay on one side with their superhero, black people on another with theirs.

Black superheroes are often othered in the same way alien superheroes like Martian Manhunter are othered; they’re seen as otherworldly, exotic, and somehow too difficult for the masses to understand. But much of this is taught ignorance. In order for many of America’s racist practices to be kept up, blackness had to be othered and distorted; historically, the amount of advertisements featuring black stereotypes and the amount of shows, movies and Vaudeville acts that featured blackface show how much American life functioned on the existence of this distortion. For blackness to be seen as untouchable, black people had to be viewed as untouchable. Thus black superheroism itself is viewed as unimaginable, a paradox that can only come about if the superhero in question has a link to crime himself or if the superhero has a white superhero friend who can vouch for him.

The latter can be seen in many of Marvel’s superhero films, which often feature a white leader who has a black or otherwise POC sidekick.

“Characters like Avengers’ Nick Fury, Man of Steel’s Perry White, and Captain America: Winter Soldier’s Sam Wilson [aka the Falcon] are an important part of the core group of characters, but they are never the leader,” writes Harvard Political Review’s Julianna Aucoin. “…Even though [Iron Man character] Rhodey and the Falcon are wonderful characters, they still come second to their white superhero partners.” Even Doctor Strange, which is one film Marvel hoped would subvert stereotypes, ends up playing into them even more heavily; even though Chitwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo ends up breaking with Strange, he holds the sidekick card to both Strange and the Ancient One for most of the movie until the sidekick mantle gets bestowed upon Wong (Benedict Wong).

Continue Reading The Necessity, and Painful Limitations, of Black Superheroes >>

The post The Necessity, and Painful Limitations, of Luke Cage and Black Lightning appeared first on /Film.

2013’s Frozen became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, so it’s fair to say that expectations will be pretty high when Frozen 2 comes out next year. But even before the original became a worldwide smash hit, one of the film’s directors initially didn’t think she’d be doing a sequel at all.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jennifer Lee, who wrote and co-directed Frozen and will be doing the same for its sequel, and she told me about what made her change her mind about returning to the world of Arendelle once again.

Frozen 2 update

Lee wrote the screenplay for Disney’s live action adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. When I sat down with her at the press junket to chat about the film, I snuck in a quick question about Frozen 2.

/Film: I’m a big fan of your animated work. Wreck-It Ralph is one of my absolute favorites, and Frozen is excellent. You’re writing and directing Frozen 2. How did you approach writing that script so that it didn’t just become a copy of what everyone loved about the original?

Jennifer Lee: The big thing for us – and I’m being careful because I can’t give away anything. I’ll get in so much trouble. I think the big thing for me is; we weren’t going to do a sequel. [Co-director] Chris [Buck] and I were like, ‘That story’s done.’ But then one day we just made the mistake of talking about something and going, ‘Oh my gosh. That’s the thing we still haven’t explored, and it’s important.’ Then I spent time writing these journals as the girls. I didn’t do it from exactly what you said because I can’t. And if we tried to do it that way, I think we would have something very hollow.

Right.

So just like the first one, I approached it from the inside out, because I have to. So I hope – but in some ways, it gives it that inevitable feeling and yet surprise. ‘Oh, it’s going there!’ But yet it completely feels like that’s the journey they have. So that’s my hope.

*****

It’s fascinating that Lee and Buck did a complete 180 on the notion of even making a Frozen sequel. She obviously couldn’t tell me what the idea was that sparked such a drastic shift for them, but it’s encouraging that it seemed to emerge from an organic place and wasn’t a reaction to the movie’s massive popularity.

The notion of her writing journals as Elsa and Anna to get back into their mindsets is interesting to me, too. Writers have all sorts of different approaches to unlocking the frame of mind of their characters, and it sounds like Lee has found a cool way to tap into the mentality of the princesses of Arendelle. You can read a few tiny details about the sequel right here, but the plot is still mostly being kept under wraps.

Our full conversation about A Wrinkle in Time will be published sometime next week, so stay tuned for that. Frozen 2 is currently slated for release on November 27, 2019.

The post ‘Frozen 2’ Will Cover an Important, Unexplored Aspect of Elsa and Anna appeared first on /Film.

There is increasing evidence that standing desks do more harm than good: in a new study, researchers at Curtin University in Australia found that they actually increased discomfort in the lower back and lower limb regions of participants, while reducing mental reactiveness. Professor Alan Taylor, a physiotherapy expert at Nottingham University, said: "The bottom line is that this expansion has been driven more by commercial reasons than scientific evidence. But the evidence is catching up and it's showing there are some drawbacks. They are not a panacea for back pain, yet companies are worried that if they provide them they'll be sued." Discussion

Author Yasha Levine is writing a book called Surveillance Valley, and in his research, filed a FIOA request that produced nearly 2,500 pages of correspondence between the Tor Project, and it's main funder, a CIA spinoff now known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Yasha has released all the documents obtained in the FIOA request on document cloud. WOW! While I obviously have not had a chance to go through 2.500 pages yet, there is some really amazing things in just what I have skimmed through. On 12/16/2009 09:13 AM, Ken Berman wrote: > Roger - Pis help us out on something. Sarah at State is trying to do > some good things in our arena and is receiving some pushback from > some of the policy types at State re some of the so-called dual use > nature of our tools: good for circumvention, bad for allowing the > bad guys to do their thing. Discussion

For more scoop about the second season of The Good Fight, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday — or buy it right now here. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

These days, the temptation for spoilers from Game of Thrones is just too strong. The drama is, after all, in the midst of shooting its final season.

That’s why Rose Leslie has developed a system to make sure she’s never presented with the opportunity to get scoop from her fiancé Kit Harington, a.k.a. Jon Snow on GOT: She simply doesn’t look at him when he’s reading a script from the HBO drama.

“I for sure ask Kit not to show me his excitement after he has read an episode, simply because I don’t want to read anything in his eyes,” says Leslie, who met Harington while starring on GOT from 2012-14. “I know the anticipation is killing a lot of people, and my God the build-up is fantastic. I can’t wait until next year. So when he’s at the other end of the room and reading the episode, it’s like, no … we are not going to have eye contact for a long time. Go make a cup of tea. Calm down.”

These days, Leslie is talking up the second season of The Good Fight, the spinoff of The Good Wife that begins streaming this Sunday on CBS All Access. The action will pick up several months after her character, attorney Maia Rindell, served time in jail; the feds arrested her in connection with the disappearance of her Ponzi-scheming dad Henry (Paul Guilfoyle)during last season’s finale. As of Sunday’s premiere episode, Henry is still on the lam, and FBI investigator Madeline Starkey (the delicious Jane Lynch) feels like Maia is hiding something.

“Now she has an ankle bracelet on, so I rather fabulously got to wear some flashy trousers rather than the dresses and the skirts,” explains Leslie. “There has been time for Maia to heal but she is going to suffer the consequences of her father’s appalling behavior and abandonment issues. That dilemma that she has gone through has allowed for her to mature and harden, and as a result, evolve.”

GitHub, a web-based code distribution and version control service, survived a massive denial of service attack on Wednesday. According to a report at Wired, a staggering 1.35 terabits per second (Tbps) of traffic hit the site at once. Within 10 minut...

It's been almost a year since Google first mentioned Hangouts Chat -- a totally redesigned messaging service that's more like Slack than the Hangouts most consumers know today. As of now, Hangouts Chat is out of its "early adopter" program and will b...

Last week, the FCC officially published its net neutrality rollback plans, which were voted on back in December. Today, the next stage of the battle begins. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced his Congressional Review Act "resolution of...

Smartphones have revolutionized software, but when they need to interact with the real world, they usually rely on external accessories. The Cat S61 is unique in that it's a venerable toolbox that can be used in a variety of professions. Going in, we had no idea just how many uses this phone has. The Cat S61 is the toughest, most-capable phone The thermal camera is the key draw. It can be used by handymen working on the insulation on your house or for checking for hidden leaks. Or it could be used by vets, e.g. it can be used to spot the extra heat of an infected area or the lack of...

“Danger, Will Robinson!” Those famous words were first uttered on television in the 1960’s with the original LOST IN SPACE series. Now Netflix is bringing an updated version of the show to your screens. The new LOST IN SPACE will be set 30 years in the future, when space colonization is now a reality. The […]

BARCELONA, ESP — Bullitt Group has announced its new flagship Cat-branded rugged smartphone, which is listed with improved performance and new features over its predecessor. The Cat S61 is aimed at people who work in harsh environments and require special-purpose tools, such as a thermal camera, a laser-assisted measurement tool, or an air quality sensor.

Ruggedized smartphones are not uncommon, especially in environments that have harsher condititions than an office. While the latest handsets from the main Android vendors are splash-resistant, and some also enhanced protection against liquids and drops, these are still aimed at the bulk of the professional market that do a lot of sitting down. By contast, there are a number of companies building smartphones for severe environments, so ruggedizing itself is both an additional step up, but no longer a unique differentiator. Users that actually need smartphones with enhanced protection usually have to do work that requires various special-purpose tools.

Cat/Bullitt realized this several years ago and decided to build the Swiss-army knife smartphone that would offer more special-purpose capabilities than other ruggedized handsets. The first of this family was the Cat S60, with an integrated FLIR thermal imaging sensor, released in 2016. Apparently, market response was good, so the company decided to enhance feature set of its Cat S61 even further by integrating more special-purpose hardware.

The new Cat S61 has FLIR's latest Lepton thermal sensor and software that can measure temperatures from -20°C to 400°C and features an HD resolution. The manufacturer claims that the new sensor not only improves precision/quality, but also enables new use cases. In addition, the Cat S61 comes with an indoor air quality sensor from Sensirion that can detect indoor air pollutants (Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs) and notify users when an unhealthy environment is detected. In addition, this sensor can detect humidity and current temperature. Finally, the Cat S61 also has a laser assisted distance measurement tool.

While the advanced sensors that Cat has integrated into its S61 provide valuable capabilities, the combination of these features essentially transforms the smartphone. Just like its predecessor, the Cat S61 is completely dust- and water-proof, and the IP68 rating means it can survive for one hour if it is submerged three meters underwater (the S60 is rated for five meters). It can also be repeatedly dropped from 1.8 meters on concrete without fatal consequences due to reinforced aluminum die-cast frame and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 display protection. Speaking of the LCD, Cat has upgraded it from top-to-bottom: it is now 5.2-inch in size and has a Full-HD (1080p) resolution. It is designed to be operated with wet fingers or while wearing gloves.

The smartphone is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC (four ARM Cortex A53 cores running at 2.2 GHz and four more A53 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz, Adreno 508 graphics, a dual-channel LPDDR4 memory controller, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, an integrated X12 LTE modem with Cat 12/13 baseband capabilities, etc.) that is outfitted with 4 GB of LPDDR4 DRAM and 64 GB of NAND flash storage (expandable using microSD cards). Since we are dealing with the A53 cores, we do not expect the S61 to set records in benchmarks, but because the target audience of this handset hardly uses demanding games or data intensive applications, but rather prefers long battery life, the choice of low-power cores seems logical. In addition, the developer equipped the S61 with a 4500 mAh battery to maximize its life on one charge. As for imaging capabilities, the device comes with a 16 MP rear camera with a dual LED flash as well as an 8 MP front camera. Last but not least, the S61 now uses a USB Type-C interface for charging and connecting to computers.

The Cat S61 Ruggedized Smartphones with Special Features
	Specifications
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 4 × ARM Cortex-A53 at 2.2 GHz 4 × ARM Cortex-A53 at 1.8 GHz Adreno 508
RAM	4 GB LPDDR4
Storage	64 GB + microSD
Display	5.2" 1920×1080 (423 ppi) ? nits brightness ? contrast ratio ? NTSC color gamut Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Network	4G/LTE Bands: EU/ROW: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 Americas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 28, 29, 66 3G Bands: EU/ROW: 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 Americas: 850, 900, A WS, 1900, 2100 2G Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
LTE	Down: 600 Mb/s Up: 150 Mb/s
Sensors	Thermal camera (FLIR) Indoor Air Quality Sensor (humidity & temperature) E-compass Proximity Sensor Ambient Light Sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Location Barometer
Fingerprint	No
Dimensions	150 × 76 × 13 mm
Weight	? grams
Ingress Protection	IP68: Sand, dust and dirt resistant Waterproof: Up to 3M for 60 minutes
Military Standard Tests	MIL SPEC 810G Thermal Shock: handles low to high temperature differences between -30°C (-22°F) to 65°C (149°F) for up to 24 hours Resistant to vibration: Category 4 Resistant to humidity and salt mist
Rear Camera	16 MP with autofocus, PDAF, dual LED flash FLIR Lepton thermal sensor
Front Camera	8 MP
Battery	4500 mAh
OS	Google Android Oreo
Connectivity	802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, USB-C, 3.5mm TRRS
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS, iZat, BeiDou (select SKUs)
SIM Size	Nano SIM/Dual Nano SIM
Colors	Black + Grey
Launch Countries	U.S., U.K., E.U.,etc
Price	€899/£799/$999

The product will be available in Q2 at an MSRP of €899/£799/$999. The Cat S60 used to carry a €649 price tag when it was released in 2016. Given that the S61 does not have direct rivals with the same set of sensors, its price point can arguably be justified. Moreover, given its capabilities, most of these phones will be sold to businesses, not to individuals. Companies are naturally less worried about the actual price and performance of smartphones in general applications but are more concerned about the advantages these devices might bring to their businesses immediately and going forward. To ensure that buyers can deploy the Cat S61 quickly, the manufacturer will offer a catalogue of pre-selected applications for ruggedized smartphones. Furthermore, Bullitt will ship the S61 with Android 8 (Oreo) to ensure compatibility with the latest software today and going forward.

Related Reading

• Cat Announces S41 Rugged Smartphone: 5” FHD, IP68+, 5000 mAh
• CAT Announces S60 Rugged Smartphone with integrated FLIR Thermal Camera
• MWC 2017: AGM Preparing IP68 Rated Snapdragon 835 Smartphone with 8GB DRAM

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In a report from Business Insider, Jonathan Kay, chief operating officer of app analytics firm Apptopia goes into several of the ways that app developers use to get people hooked on using them. The article is incredibly detailed, going from Instagram's push notifications, to Twitter using the spinning wheel for loading in the same way as used in slot machines. Fascinating stuff for sure. We have seen for years how companies use subliminal messages in ads and the like, so seeing how it's implimented in apps is new territory. I'm also happy to say I have exactly zero of the apps mentioned in the article on any of my devices, dirty sneaky devs can't trick me. For another, app makers are using deliberate techniques to attract your attention. They aren't simply relying on you to come to them whenever you have downtime. "I think people want to be sucked in," Kay said. "Then it becomes a game of who can be more clever at grabbing that attention." Discussion

I have never felt the way I do right now after watching a movie.

Black Panther was so much more than I thought it would be. As a Black woman who has loved film her entire life, I know how much representation matters and I’ve never seen a movie on the scale of Black Panther. I knew going in that it is a Marvel Studios movie, which also means it’s a Disney movie. There are expectations that come with that. But in my head, no matter the hype, I figured they would never give us the same love and attention they give to heroes like Captain America.

And I was right. They didn’t give us the same love as Captain America. They gave us so much more.

I have never seen a movie with so many black people in leading roles, playing such complex and unique characters. And on top of that, there are so many powerful black women in a world where they themselves hold great power and respect. And it all takes place in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a place where black people are not only thriving, but excelling at everything they touch. Black Panther is a portrait of black excellence exemplified, and to be helmed by a black director (Ryan Coogler) and feature the talents of a black costume designer (Ruth E. Carter), black hair stylists (Camille Friend), and black writers (Coogler and Joe Robert Cole), all of whom are given free rein to tell their story… I was awestruck by the end of the film.

Black Panther is a wonderful film that completely lives up to and even exceeds the hype that has been surrounding it. Ryan Coogler’s direction is thoughtful and poignant and what he is able to borrow from the original Marvel comics and bring to the screen is so satisfying. Coolger and his team are able to infuse Black Panther with cultural dialogue, that usual Marvel superhero grandeur, and plenty of humor.

But it’s the characters of Black Panther that make the movie work. There’s Chadwick Boseman as the new king T’challa, trying to find his footing in a role he was thrust into by the death of his father in Captain America: Civil War. There’s Shuri, T’Challa’s brilliant, funny, tech genius, scene-stealing baby sister played by Letitia Wright. And in a break from the typical Marvel mold, the villain is exceptional – Michael B. Jordan‘s Killmonger is a standout player.

In order to talk about Jordan’s character and performance (and so much more), I would have to spoil the film for you. And that is a definite no-no. So just trust me when I say that each actor and each character they play is not the typical one-note black character you are used to seeing in a blockbuster film. They are all fully fleshed out and vivid on the screen, each with their own ambitions and agency.

The fight scenes are, as you’d expect, excellent. They are fast-paced, beautifully choreographed, and feature some of the most thrilling moments I’ve seen in a Marvel film. When the Dora Milaje, T’Challa’s all-female band of bodyguards, walked on screen and wielded their spears, I couldn’t help but break into a grin. They are the stars of every battle and the film doesn’t shy away from their strength and fierceness.

But even more important than the action is Wakanda itself. The set design is colorful and vibrant, a nation that is opulent and rich in colors and textures. Each space had a defined feel and emotion to it. Shuri’s lab is playful, curious, and bright – just like her. The throne room is sparse, offering a view of the golden city, showing the focus and seriousness of the space. When you are watching the film you are fully immersed in its universe.

I was, and still am, an emotional pile of feelings after watching this film. It’s going to take a few more viewings to sort myself out, but one thing I do know is that Black Panther is definitely an achievement, especially if you are black. I know some people will take that last statement as some kind of weird jab, but all black people should be able to see themselves on this scale. To see a multi-million dollar blockbuster superhero movie with a predominantly black cast is wonderfully jarring, and filled me with so much pride. I want everyone who looks like me to feel the joy of seeing black people triumph in a movie instead of the endless suffering cinema doles out when telling stories about us.

This isn’t a film where you’ll see broken black bodies, a tale of enduring pain and survival. It’s a film where we see a diverse group of black people thrive, fight, and win. I know my emotions are high, but this is one of the best stories Marvel has told so far.

/Film Rating: 9 out of 10

The post ‘Black Panther’ Review: Marvel’s Latest Adventure is a Triumph appeared first on /Film.

A couple of weeks ago, I trekked over to Beverly Hills to attend the press junket for Marvel Studios’ Black Panther and had the chance to sit down with actor Andy Serkis, who reprises his role as the villainous Ulysses Klaue in Ryan Coogler’s new movie. Klaue is funnier (and deadlier) this time around than he was in his brief appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and I spoke with Serkis about the character’s motivations, being involved in some of the movie’s biggest action scenes, a fascinating tease about the future of his Star Wars character, and his interest in returning to Fox’s Planet of the Apes franchise.

Read our full Andy Serkis interview below.

(Ever-so-light spoilers ahead, so if you’d rather go into the movie completely fresh, save this article and come back to it.)

First thing’s first: aside from “What is Love”, what else do you think is on Ulysses Klaue’s mixtape?

Andy Serkis: (laughs) I think he’s probably got a little bit of Janelle Monae, he’s probably got some Burt Bacharach, he’s probably got a little bit of Pink Floyd. I think he’s pretty eclectic.

How did that “What is Love?” moment come about? Was it in the script that Klaue would be singing that specific song?

There was a scene which preceded that moment, where he’s chained and left alone. He just starts tapping his feet and setting up a riff, and I was just making all these noises and singing, and going to this kind of hip hop beat. And Ryan came in and said, ‘Why don’t we try…’ So we tried a few different songs and then ‘What is Love’ came out of that.

How much does Marvel tell you about your character’s backstory? Do you know, for example, if Klaue ever sold Vibranium to Howard Stark?

I knew about Klaue from the comics. Klaue from the comics is slightly different to that of the movies, so I didn’t want to get hung up on either version, in a way. It’s a bit of an amalgamation, I suppose. I’ve picked and chosen the things that I wanted to use for me as stimuli for the character.

I loved the single shot fight scene in the casino. Walk me through how you filmed that and what that experience was like for you.

It was an amazing week. I think it was about a week, or five days of filming, actually. It was choreographed in chunks, in sections. It was thrilling to be a part of. It really was. All the extras there. All the key players there, and the timing was absolutely crucial. Every single set-up obviously took time, and if you cut and it hadn’t gone, it was a big set-up. So we rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed, and then it was just having the confidence of having everyone be in the moment and have freedom with it. I really enjoyed those few days.

The rehearsal part, was that built into those five days? Or did it actually take five days of filming to capture it?

It was rehearsal and then shoot.

What was the most challenging part of that for you?

To be honest, for me, I didn’t have the greatest technical challenges. Some of them were – like Danai had obviously that stunt sequence, which is amazing. There’s the shot where I blow up – using the sonic disruptor – I send the Black Panther flying backwards, and the stunt guy who did that, I mean, they did that for real. I don’t know if you really see that in the shot. But it was an amazing stunt to be a part of, because this guy had the wires around him and he literally went from twenty feet up in the air, right across the room. So that was pretty incredible.

Was there anything else about that scene that stood out to you?

Getting the timing right when Danai’s character kicks that guy off and he lands on the pool table, so getting that timing into starting firing. Getting the bullet shots. For the technical guys, getting the bullet shots to time so that it hits the case. Lots of squibs and practical effects, as well as CG effects. And then the other section for me was up at the top with T’Challa and running away. Oh, that was the first time of using his arm. So it was like [figuring out] in terms of the shot and how that was going to work, and working out the choreography so it was rightly placed in the frame. And what happens to the arm when it fires, where do you feel the recoil, and all of that. The physicality of that. The size of it: how much it expands and extends.

And were you really hanging out of the side of moving SUVs in South Korea? What was shooting that chase sequence like?

No. The chase sequence, the way it was shot was the last part of it was the first part that we shot. The car doing that big tumble, coming to a screeching halt, and me falling out of it. So that was a night shoot, which kind of went on and on. And then T’Challa catching up and beating up Ulysses Klaue, which we did so, so many times. That was brutal. That was brutal. The rest of it was on a gimbal. The car was on a gimbal so it could be moved in all different directions for the jumps and the flips and all of that sort of stuff. We were strapped into the car and I had to lean out, but that was against – that was a blue screen shoot.

Klaue is a villain and does horrendous things, but we know he at least has some kind of moral code. We know he detests hypocrisy, for example. Did you have any conversations with Ryan and Joe about Klaue’s motivations in this movie?

We talked about him on the moral spectrum as being someone who is…this film is about isolationism, or it’s about sharing and inclusion, and he represents the world’s greatest taker. He is a consumer and a taker and a thief and steals stuff. He trades. He cares about no one. He has no empathy for anyone else. He’s like a sort of moral vacuum cleaner in a way, and that’s something we discussed. That he’s on the spectrum of characters in this movie, that’s what he represents.

I’d like to ask a quick Star Wars question if you don’t mind. Supreme Leader Snoke was seemingly set up as this ultimate galactic villain in The Force Awakens, so what was your reaction when you first read the script for The Last Jedi and discovered that your character would die in that way?

Look, it’s Star Wars, so you never know how life, or whether life can be come back to or not. Whether you can be resuscitated or brought back. I was shocked. Dramatically, it felt absolutely right for that moment in the film, so I didn’t question it. I just think it’s a very, very important scene, so I didn’t question it. But I do, I know it’s left fans feeling like, that they were really searching for something there. And what I’m saying is, who knows?

Have you spoken to J.J. about returning?

I’ve not spoken to him, no.

I want to congratulate you on War for the Planet of the Apes and the phenomenal work you did across that entire trilogy. I imagine you’re probably done playing Caesar, but are you interested or have you had any conversations with the people at Fox about the idea of coming back to that franchise in some capacity? Maybe playing another character or directing a movie set in that world?

Certainly both of those, in my mind, would be great possibilities. That’s the great thing about performance capture: you can come back and play anything else. And I love the world, I love the metaphor of talking about the human condition through the eyes of apes. I just think it’s really powerful. And there are still so many stories that can be told, and there are still a lot of chapters in the ape mythology that will get you from where we left off back to the 1968 version, the ascension of the apes. So I mean, yeah, if they were to happen, I’d definitely be interested.

*****

Black Panther hits theaters on February 16, 2018.

The post Andy Serkis on ‘Black Panther,’ Potentially Returning to ‘Planet of the Apes,’ and More [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Marvel’s Black Panther is finally in theaters, and it’s clear that the king has arrived. The film has already earned tremendous critical acclaim (here’s our full review), fans are loving it, and it’s set to break all sorts of box office records this weekend. But with Avengers: Infinity War looming in the distance, there’s an aspect that detail-oriented Marvel fans might have noticed about Black Panther: it doesn’t contain any Infinity Stones.

Learn what co-writer/director Ryan Coogler has to say about the lack of Black Panther Infinity Stones below. We’ll also give you a refresher of the whereabouts of every Stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point in the timeline.

Why Doesn’t Black Panther Have An Infinity Stone?

In an interview with IGN, Coogler was asked if there were ever any plans to include the final Infinity Stone in his movie, and here’s what he said:

“I love the Infinity Stones as much as any comic book fan, it’s just Wakanda already has its thing, which is Vibranium. For us, that was special enough, so to throw in something, like another special thing, didn’t feel right. It felt like we should stick with our one MacGuffin for the country and explore that, let that be the important thing because, frankly we didn’t need to have another piece like that. The studio was never really interested in putting a stone in there, either.”

He makes a good point. Black Panther already has enough on its plate with the introduction of Wakanda and filling out the history and traditions of the country without tossing an Infinity Stone into the mix. There’s only so much an audience can take in one film, after all. Plus, one of the best parts of Black Panther is specifically that it isn’t hampered by excessive connections to the rest of the MCU.

If Marvel was never interested in squirreling a Stone away in Wakanda, it seems as if they already have a plan in place for the as-yet-unseen Soul Stone. But what is it?

Where Are Each of The Infinity Stones?

For anyone who might be scratching your heads about all of this, remember that the Infinity Stones are the remnants of ancient singularities – they’re incredibly powerful, and Thanos (the Marvel universe’s main villain) has been on a multi-movie quest to track them down so he can put them in his Infinity Gauntlet and wreak untold chaos upon the universe. Let’s run through the locations of each Stone, shall we?

Space (Blue)

The Space Stone, encased within the Tesseract, was featured heavily in Captain America: The First Avenger . It has the ability to teleport its owner anywhere in the universe.

Current location: Loki snatched it from Odin’s vault at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, taking it with him on board the ship that now holds the surviving citizens of Asgard. In that film’s post-credits sequence, we see Thanos’s ship pop up in front of it, and the trailer for Infinity War implies that Loki will offer the Space Stone to Thanos.

Mind (Yellow)

The Mind Stone, originally encased in Loki’s scepter, factored heavily into the plot of The Avengers. It was later used to create Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, and in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it was fused with Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence personality J.A.R.V.I.S. to form Vision (played by Paul Bettany).

Current location: Vision’s forehead, presumably somewhere around the Avengers’ high tech upstate New York campus.

Reality (Red)

Thor: The Dark World marked the first appearance of the Reality Stone, also known as the Aether. It has the ability to warp reality according to the will of whoever wields it. (If you’ll recall, Malekith the Accursed wanted to use it to cover the universe in darkness.)

Current location: The Collector’s museum.

Power (Purple)

The Power Stone, encased in the orb seen in Guardians of the Galaxy, is capable of destroying entire worlds.

Current location: Xandar, under the watchful eye of the Nova Corps

Time (Green)

As we saw in Doctor Strange, The Time Stone is inside the Eye of Agamotto and grants its wielder the ability to manipulate time. (“Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain!”)

Current location: Doctor Strange’s New York Sanctum.

Soul (Orange)

This is the only Infinity Stone we’ve yet to see in the MCU thus far, so it’s still unclear how Marvel Studios will choose to utilize it in the movies. Still, it’s all but guaranteed that Thanos will get his hands on it by the end of the upcoming Infinity War.

Current location: Unknown.

***

Black Panther is in theaters now, and you can read much more from Coogler in /Film’s interview with him right here.

The post Why ‘Black Panther’ Doesn’t Contain Any Infinity Stones appeared first on /Film.

The Black Panther movie has two end credits scenes, so we’re going to explain what they mean for the future of T’Challa and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Warning: beware of spoilers!

Let's start with the post-credits scene first, which shows a small Wakandan village where Bucky is being rehabilitated by Shuri. The last time we saw Bucky was in the post-credits scene to Captain America: Civil War, where he was put in cryogenic stasis until he could be cured of his trigger-word brainwashing.

Marvel Comics released a story that fills in the gap between these scenes called Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #1. There, Shuri explains to T’Challa that she put Bucky on ice in order to scan his brain and do tests on a digital copy of his mind. Her goal was to remove the trigger words and “reboot” his brain, with the challenge of not damaging his original personality.

Continue reading…

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