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We all know who the main characters of George Lucas’ six Star Wars films are: Anakin Skywalker, his son and daughter, and their friends. But who’s the narrator? Turns out Lucas had a crazy theory that makes total sense.

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All men must die, but some shows get to look Death straight in the eye and say “not today.” HBO has officially renewed Game of Thrones for season 7, to the surprise of absolutely no one. And while they were at it, the network went ahead and re-upped on Game of Thrones‘ usual Sunday night companions Veep and Silicon Valley as well. 

HBO officially announced the Game of Thrones season 7 renewal today. While it’s long been expected that Game of Thrones would return for season 7, today’s press release makes it official. Still unclear is how many episodes season 7 will run. Last week a report went around suggesting Game of Thrones could close out its run with two shortened seasons — 7 episodes for season 7 and 6 episodes for season 8, as opposed to the usual 10 episodes per season — but the statement does not say.

Game of Thrones is HBO’s most popular drama ever, and it’s still going strong at a time when the network has struggled to get other would-be prestige dramas off the ground. (Vinyl, anyone?) It’s no wonder, then, that HBO seems reluctant to let it go, even as showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have begun plotting their endgame. “As a television executive, as a fan, do I wish they said another six years? I do,” said HBO’s Michael Lombard recently. “[But] I’m always an optimist, and I do believe we will figure this out.”

Today’s news also brings Veep and Silicon Valley into their sixth and fourth seasons, respectively. Veep season 6 will be the second without series creator Armando Iannucci, who departed after season 4 and was replaced as showrunner by David Mandel. The renewals for Veep and Silicon Valley are hardy more surprising than the one for Game of Thrones; while neither comedy boasts the massive rating of that “tits and dragons” drama, both have been solid performers and a favorite of critics and awards voters.

All three of the just-announced new seasons will air in 2017 — probably on Sundays in the spring, because why fix what isn’t broken? In the meantime, the latest seasons of all three series will premiere this Sunday, April 24 on HBO. Game of Thrones kicks things off at 9 PM, followed by Silicon Valley at 10 PM and Veep at 10:30 PM.

The post ‘Game of Thrones’ Officially Coming Back for Season 7; ‘Veep’ and ‘Silicon Valley’ Also Renewed appeared first on /Film.

Filed under: News, UFC, Videos

Yair Rodriguez is known for being a bit of a walking highlight reel, but he outdid himself with a flying switch kick knockout of Andre Fili at UFC 197.

The featherweight bout opened up the main card of the UFC 197 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Fili (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was on his toes from the first second with Rodriguez (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) whipping flashy kicks at his legs, body and head. Making matters worse for the Team Alpha Male fighter was Rodriguez’s ability to score takedowns and work from top position.

After managing to get the fight back to the feet, Fili found himself on the receiving end of a knockout that will become a staple of UFC advertising for years to come. Rodriguez launched himself into the air and landed a switch kick to the face of Fili, knocking him stiff and ending the bout at the 2:15 mark of Round 2.

Check out the video highlights above.

Also see:

• UFC 197: Jon Jones vs. Ovince Saint Preux video highlights
• UFC 197: Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo video highlights
• UFC 197: Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Pettis video highlights

For complete coverage of UFC 197, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(Photo: Jayel Aheram)

You can travel around the world and find some of America's most famous restaurant chains, such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. But the market works both ways. Dan Gentile of Thrillist writes that 9 non-US restaurant chains have penetrated the American market and are poised for great growth.

Among them is Jollibee, a Filipino chain with at least 750 locations worldwide, including 32 in the United States. It's a fast food restaurant that offers cuisine novel to Americans:

Jollibee's already developed a cult following at its 30+ American locations, and our country's hunger for Asian fusion, combined with a love of wacky marketing, means that Jollibee's signature style of bizarro fast food has a good shot at catching on.

There Is No Zuul! by Lederman Studio

Venkman had used the force to discover an anomaly aboard the starship Serenity, and he was about to phone a Vulcan named Greedo for help when he heard a voice calling him from the sleeping quarters. He rushed over because it sounded like a sexy lady, but all he found was a large, stinky demon dog drooling on the sheets and claiming to be a Federation Jedi ready to open the gate between universes. Peter's mind was blown by this chance encounter, but before he could draw his light saber and swing the demon dog pounced on his chest and started quoting Master Yoda...

Show the world you're one mixed up sci-fi fan with this There Is No Zuul! t-shirt by Lederman Studio, it's the funniest way to live long and use the force!

Visit Lederman Studio's Facebook fan page, official website and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more ridiculously cool designs:

SMASHED	HAIR HYDRA	Che FC	The TANGERINE!

View more designs by Lederman Studio | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Rocket News 24 tells us about English Vocabulary Not on Any Test. This is a new guide for native Japanese speakers who would like to learn English as it is actually used in conversation in the Anglosphere. The book describes ordinary people in daily activities, using both English and Japanese. You can view more pages here. They are, I cannot understate, extraordinarily funny.

Redditor djambithechocolates found a picture of The Lord of the Rings cast showing off the new tattoos they got when filming was completed in 2001. The tattoo is of the word “nine” written in Elvish. Yes, the little girl got one, too, although hers was inked on top of her skin with a pen instead of a needle. That’s Alexandra Astin, Sean Austin’s daughter, who appeared as Samwell’s daughter at the end of the trilogy. She’s nineteen years old now. No word on whether she ever got a permanent tattoo. Sean Bean also got the tattoo, but he was off doing other things by the time this picture was taken. See the tats a little clearer in pictures here.

Dangerous Minds appropriately calls this outfit the "holy grail" of fashion. Fashion designers might as well pack it in because the long quest for the perfect, every day, all day outfit is now finally complete. Rage On sells an adult onesie covered with faces of actor Steve Buscemi's movie characters.

Minor problem: there's no flap in the back. You could probably cut one, though.

Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould like to include Easter Eggs in their shows for observant fans to find, and viewers enjoyed finding secret stuff on Breaking Bad so much Vince and Peter decided to keep the Eggs rolling in Better Call Saul. (Spoiler-ish material ahead)

For the second season of Saul they decided to go beyond the visual and play with words by including an anagram in the episode titles, so they put the puzzle in place and didn't give it a second thought.

But a fan named Shaquita discovered the Easter Egg faster than a tweeker on Blue Sky, posting her findings on Twitter with the caption “on vacation this week, and have nothing but time lol".

@BetterTalkSaul on vacation this week, and have nothing but time lol pic.twitter.com/KvHF8WY4JV

— Shaquita (@sirena6783) March 28, 2016

The creators confirmed Shaquita's findings and were blown away by how fast she found it:

“We had this—to us—this very bright idea of encoding the words “Fring’s Back” in the episode titles,” Gould told Vanity Fair. “And we thought we’d be revealing it maybe sometime over the summer. I guess we really underestimated the genius and hard work of our fans.”

“And their attention to detail, and God bless them for it,” Gilligan chimed in.

Gould concluded: “It’s hard to complain about people paying attention to every aspect of the show. It certainly reminds us again that we better keep all our i’s dotted and our t’s crossed in every aspect of the show.”

-Via Independent

Noah Hawley is a TV vet whose credits include Bones, The Unusuals, and My Generation, but he’s probably gotten the most attention for creating and showrunning Fargo. FX was so pleased with the results that it quickly set up two more projects for him, the Kurt Vonnegut adaptation Cat’s Cradle and the X-Men-inspired Legion, in addition to a third season of Fargo.

You’d think all that would be enough to keep him busy for the foreseeable future, but Hawley’s apparently still got room on his plate for more. He’s just added another new project to his list, and this one’s a little different from the others in that it’s a movie. Hawley is set to make his feature directing debut on Man Alive, a sci-fi script set up at 20th Century Fox. 

Deadline reported on the Noah Hawley directorial debut. 20th Century Fox struck a six-figure deal to pick up the spec script by newcomer Joe Greenberg. Plot details are still under wraps, but Man Alive is described in vague terms as an “elevated sci-fi” project. Leigh Kittay and John Cameron will produce along with Chris Bender, Jake Weiner, and Jake Wagner.

Hawley has previously directed a single episode of Fargo (season 2’s “Before the Law”) and is directing the pilot episode of Legion. Although he is best known for his TV work, he’s done some film work lately as well. He’s part of the Universal Monsters writers’ room, and he was working on a screenplay based on his own novel Before the Fall, which was picked up by Sony.

Not every brilliant showrunner turns out to be a brilliant film director (see Mad Men mastermind Matthew Weiner’s Are You Here), but Hawley’s got a ton of talent and it should be interesting to see him stretch his horizons. There’s no word yet on Man Alive will get rolling, but considering all the other stuff Hawley’s got going on it could be a little while.

The post ‘Fargo’ Creator Noah Hawley Making Feature Directing Debut With ‘Man Alive’ appeared first on /Film.

Charrito’s – Hoboken, NJ – 518 Washington St. Coming soon to the doomed Sabores spot at is a well-known brand in Hoboken: Charrito’s Restaurant. I know what you’re thinking: “How many Charrito’s does Washington...

The post Charrito’s {midtown} appeared first on Hoboken411.com.

The World Trade Center Transit Hub—aka The (other) Oculus—has already gone down in history as the most expensive train station , ever. The grand total was $4 billion, about twice what it was supposed to cost, and more than the skyscraper adjacent to it. But there might be another record-breaking figure associated with this project. I couldn’t believe how much the architect got paid.

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Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for Jason Bourne, the fourth film involving the title character and the fifth in the franchise if you count The Bourne Legacy. The film marks the return of Matt Damon reprising the titular role with director Paul Greengrass also returning to the director's chair.

Drawing inspiration from the computer hacking and Edward Snowden leaking highly sensitive government material to the world, the film centers on a hack against a highly secured U.S. government computer network that puts the world in unprecedented danger forcing former CIA agent is to come out of hiding after spending many years off the grid. Check out the full trailer below. [...]

The post ‘Jason Bourne’ Trailer: Matt Damon Brings Title Character Out Of Hiding appeared first on Geeks of Doom.

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, then you likely know we’re just a few days away from the premiere of the sixth season of the HBO fantasy series based on George R.R. Martin‘s ongoing book series, which he’s having a little trouble finishing. However, if you’re not a hardcore follower of all the death, betrayal, war, sex and incest in the world of Westeros, then maybe you’ll need a refresher of what happened in the fifth season last year.

Thankfully, a new video gives us a Game of Thrones season 5 summary in just six minutes. It hits all the finer points you’ll need to know before this weekend. Watch the Game of Thrones fifth season recap after the jump.

Here’s everything you need to know from season five of Game of Thrones from Fine Brothers Entertainment:

Don’t forget, this season will be the first to have story developments that haven’t been revealed in the books yet. George R.R. Martin was supposed to finish the next book in his series before the end of last year in order for it to be published before the sixth season of the HBO show. However, he didn’t meet the deadline, and now there will be spoilers for the next book hitting TV first.

If you don’t care about ruining the books for yourself, or you’re just a fan of the show by itself, you can check out the most recent trailer for the forthcoming season right here. Plus, we break down the trailer to see what secrets can be deciphered from the footage we’ve seen so far.

The post VOTD: Everything You Need to Know from ‘Game of Thrones’ Season Five in Six Minutes appeared first on /Film.

Screenwriter John Ridley, rightfully so, has been rather busy since winning an Academy Award for 12 Years a Slave. The director of Jimi: All Is by My Side is currently producing American Crime on ABC, working on a Marvel television series, and is set to direct a film about the L.A. riots. On top of all that, he’s also credited on this summer’s reimagining of Ben-Hur.

The writer-director has added another project to his slate: Guerrilla, a miniseries that will star Idris Elba (Luther). Learn more about the John Ridley TV project below.

The six-part miniseries will begin filming in London this summer. Ridley is executive producing the drama with Elba, in addition to writing most of the miniseries and directing the first two episodes. The project is described as a “love story” set in 1970s London. Elba and an actress to to be announced will play a politically active couple that form a racial underground cell. They target a secretive counter-intelligence agency, Black Power Desk, that attempts to prevent black activism.

In the UK, the international co-production will air on Sky Atlantic, but for those of us in the States, we’ll have to tune in to watch Guerrilla on Showtime sometime in 2017.

In a press release sent out, Elba expressed his enthusiasm for the project:

It’s been a long time desire of mine to collaborate with Mr. Ridley and his work here is nothing short of a masterclass in character building and story-telling. TV is in for a treat.

John Ridley added:

I am both humbled by and impressed with Idris’s passion toward bringing this story to life. I share his commitment for populating the culture with driven and complicated people of color, and believe we have great partners on the producorial level, and with our broadcasters Sky Atlantic and Showtime.

A six-part drama from the screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave starring Idris Elba — one of the most innately talented, watchable, and manly actors working today — sounds promising all around. Ridley is just as skilled as a director as he is a screenwriter, too. Right now, this miniseries has a director, star, and writer that could, potentially, make something special, a real event series for Showtime and Sky Atlantic.

Here’s the full plot synopsis:

Guerrilla is a love story set against the backdrop of one of the most politically explosive times in U.K. history. It tells the story of a politically active couple whose relationship and values are tested when they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell in 1970s London. Their ultimate target becomes the Black Power Desk, a true-life, secretive counter-intelligence unit within Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism. Whilst the series is set against a background of social and political activism, at its heart Guerrilla is about a relationship under pressure, and the reality that for any couple there comes a point when the choices they make have real and lasting consequences.

The post Idris Elba and John Ridley Team for Six-Part Miniseries ‘Guerrilla’ appeared first on /Film.

Every successful business is a story. There are those hopeful and desperate beginnings, when someone puts their livelihood on the line to pursue a dream. There are those dramatic rises to power, where everything pays off and the money and accolades start to roll in. And, often enough, there are those dramatic third acts where all kinds of chickens come home to roost and the shape of that original dream has been distorted beyond measure.

The Founder tells the story of Ray Kroc, the struggling businessman who stumbled across a homegrown hamburger restaurant called McDonald’s, recognized its potential for greatness, and dragged it kicking and screaming into the future, where it set the template for how Americans would consume food for the rest of the century and beyond. Oh, and as the new trailer makes it clear, he was probably a bit of a dick.

Here’s the first The Founder trailer from USA Today:

National treasure Michael Keaton stars as Kroc, who sells a couple of milkshake machines to a restaurant owned and operated by Richard McDonald (Nick Offerman) and Maurice McDonald (John Caroll Lynch), sees their revolutionary system for preparing food quickly, and decides to get in on the action. What begins as a stable partnership soon crumbles as Kroc seizes control of the company and begins to franchise the McDonald brothers’ system. The rest of the cast includes Laura Dern, Patrick Wilson, B.J. Novak, and Linda Cardellini.

Maybe it’s because I’ve lived my entire life in a nation where you can’t drive ten minutes without stumbling across another Golden Arches, but this all looks completely and totally fascinating to me. Then again, I would never say no to a few hours of Keaton being a conniving scumbag who destroys more than a few lives just so he can get a piece of hamburgers that are ready to go in 30 seconds.

The Founder is the latest film from John Lee Hancock, a capable director who has built his career on crowd-pleasing, down-the-middle entertainment. This looks like an interesting change of pace for the filmmaker, whose movies have often dwelled in more uplifting realms where good people get what they deserve. After all, this trailer does name-drop The Blind Side. However, the fact that screenplay for his latest film was written by Robert Siegel, the cynical scribe behind The Wrestler and the hugely underrated Big Fan, suggests that this will have a sharper edge than many of Hancock’s previous films.

The Founder will open in theaters on August 5.

The post ‘The Founder’ Trailer: Michael Keaton “Founds” McDonald’s, Leaves Hopes and Dreams Shattered in His Wake appeared first on /Film.

Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes was one of 2009’s more pleasant surprises, a slick, silly, and surprisingly faithful cinematic re-imagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary “consulting detective.” It’s 2011 sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, wasn’t nearly as good, replacing much of the original’s charming bombast with very loud bombast. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the rapport between Robert Downey Jr.‘s insufferable genius investigator and Jude Law‘s put-upon Dr. Watson. I’d be lying again if I said I wouldn’t plunk down the cost of a movie ticket to watch those two bicker and banter one more time.

And while we haven’t heard any solid news about Sherlock Holmes 3 for a few years, Downey Jr. himself says the film is still in development, even hinting that it may shoot later this year.

Downey Jr. has been making the press rounds for Captain America: Civil War, which means he’s had the opportunity to talk about the dozen or so other projects on his plate. ShortList spoke to him about the status of the third Sherlock Holmes movie and he confirmed that it is still alive:

“We’re talking about it right now. We can do some preliminary stuff.”

He elaborated, explaining that the busy schedules of everyone involved make getting together for another movie a tricky, exhausting proposition:

“If we could shoot it on Skype, we could have the whole [movie] done in a week. When we’re making those Sherlock movies it is off the hook. [So] we’ll attempt to make one this year. It really is a big deal to go and do those movies. I’m tired all the time, but I’m so excited about it.”

Of course, the interesting phrase there is “we’ll attempt to make one this year,” which sounds wildly optimistic. After all, production this year would require Ritchie to finish up his King Arthur movie (which is due out March 24, 2017) in record time while screenwriters Drew Pearce and Lionel Wigram hammer out a screenplay worth shooting while Downey Jr. and Law both carve out enough time to film the project.

I have a hard time believing that Sherlock Holmes 3 won’t get made eventually since the first two films grossed north of $500 million worldwide, but I’ll remain nice and skeptical about a 2016 start date for now. Maybe 2017, if Avengers: Infinity War doesn’t occupy every waking moment of Downey Jr.’s existence. And even that would require Ritchie to not be pre-occupied with those King Arthur sequels that are apparently already in the works.

So there you go. Sherlock Holmes 3 – everyone wants to make it! But who knows when?

The post ‘Sherlock Holmes 3’ is Still Afoot, Says Robert Downey Jr. appeared first on /Film.

Roberto Durán went 103-16-0 as a boxer, with a total of 70 knockouts. Durán, who started his boxing career at the age of 16, was nicknamed “Manos de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”). Throughout his incredible career, the Hands of Stone faced off against Sugar Ray Leonard a total of three times, but their most famous fight occurred in 1980, known as the “No Más Fight,” in which Durán called it quits.

Now, The Weinstein Company has made a film about Durán, starring Edgar Ramírez and Robert De Niro, and the historic 1980 boxing match looks like a prominent storyline in the biopic.

Watch the Hands of Stone teaser trailer below.

Ramírez plays Roberto Durán in Hands of Stone. Since the actor’s breakout performance in Carlos, he’s starred in a few studio movies — Point Break, Wrath of the Titans, and Deliver Us From Evil — that didn’t exactly light up the box-office. Hands of Stone is his next major release, and thankfully, it’s considerably more enticing than the Point Break remake. The actor certainly looks the part of Durán, based on the first footage from writer-director Jonathan Jakubowicz‘s film.

Hands of Stone Teaser Trailer

The film also stars Ana de Armas, Ellen Barkin, John Turturro, and, playing Sugar Ray Leonard, Usher Raymond IV. The pop artist has acted a bit throughout his career, but him playing Sugar Ray Leonard is, admittedly, a leap. Perhaps I haven’t seen enough of Usher’s performances to suggest he’s a strong candidate to convincingly play Sugar Ray Leonard, though. Plus, this is also the kind of outside-the-box casting choice that could just work and surprise audiences.

There are familiar elements to Durán’s story we’ve seen in other biopics, but seeing Edgar Ramírez as the famous boxer and De Niro taking on the trainer role, Ray Arcel, has the potential to make for an inspiring and exciting sports biopic, if done well.

A story centered around Leonard and Durán’s 1980 match would definitely set the film apart from other boxing movies. How many huge boxing matches in movies come to an end because the protagonist says “no more”? Durán actually later went on to claim he never said “no more,” but by now, it’s a famous part of his history.

Here’s the official synopsis for Hands of Stone:

HANDS OF STONE follows the life of Roberto Durán (Edgar Ramirez), the Panamanian fighter who made his professional debut in 1968 as a 16-year-old and retired in 2002 at the age of 50. In June 1980, he defeated Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond) to capture the WBC welterweight title, but shocked the boxing world by returning to his corner in their November rematch, famously saying the words “no mas” (no more.)

Hands of Stone opens in theaters August 27th.

The post ‘Hands of Stone’ Teaser Trailer: Edgar Ramirez and Usher Transform for the Boxing Drama appeared first on /Film.

(Video Link)

At a basketball game on Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics. During the game, the Kiss Cam panned around, looking for romantic couples. It found the perfect relationship: a woman and her pizza.

The unidentified lady joyfully stuffed not one, but two slices of pieces into her mouth.

This is a love story for all time.

-via Matthew Caverhill

In 2006, Fox dumped Mike Judge‘s Idiocracy into theaters. The film sat on the shelf for over a year, dealt with poor test screening scores, and, worst of all, with little promotion, it barely got a theatrical release. Over the years, though, Idiocracy has gained a passionate cult following.

With the comedy’s 10th anniversary coming up, actress Maya Rudolph says Mike Judge is considering going on tour for the film, conducting screenings and Q&As. Learn more about the potential event below.

In Idiocracy, Rudolph played Rita, the prostitute forced into a suspended animation experiment by her pimp, “Upgrayedd.” Hundreds of years later, after waking up from hibernation, Rita and, another guinea pig in the government experiment, Joe (Luke Wilson), greet a horrific future. Society got dumber and dumber as Rita and Joe slept soundly, and now, Joe, an average thinker, is the smartest man on the planet. Some believe the comedy has become more timely since 2006, including screenwriter Etan Coen.

Unfortunately, not many of Mike Judge’s fans experienced the comedy in a theater. Fortunately, according to Rudolph, some of those fans that missed out might finally get the chance to see Idiocracy on the big screen later this year.

Speaking with Collider, the former SNL star says an Idiocracy anniversary tour has been discussed:

How often do you get asked about Idiocracy these days?

MAYA RUDOLPH: Every time Donald Drumpf opens his mouth, pretty much. I saw Mike Judge recently, who I hadn’t seen in many, many years, and I said to him, “I can’t believe…” Because the movie was never properly released, it became a kind of cult favorite and over the years I noticed people must have seen it because people would approach me and say, “Oh my god, Idiocracy! That’s so great!” It was so many years later. But recently, it’s been nonstop. And it’s so crazy. I said, “We should do a road trip or something and then show the movie and talk about it on the anniversary of it.” When we were making the movie, it was so well-written and so sharp and so funny, but it felt like it was so far away. And…

It’s not so much.

RUDOLPH: It’s terrifying. I thought I would be an old granny.

I’d love to watch a road show though.

RUDOLPH: We’re working it out, we’re figuring it out. We’d better hurry up on it, though.

Idiocracy anniversary screenings and Q&Ass does sound almost too good to be true. It’s hard to imagine Fox investing any money into a potential tour, but then again, this is Mike Judge we’re talking about, creator of King of the Hill and Beavis and Butthead. If he wanted to make this tour happen, he probably could, and let’s hope he does, because who wouldn’t want to see Judge and all involved reflect on Idiocracy?

PRESIDENT CAMACHO says:

ALL Y'ALL NEED TO STOP TRIPPIN. CHILL THE F OUT, 'MERICA#CAMACHO2016 pic.twitter.com/qj7UgLU20V

— terrycrews (@terrycrews) January 14, 2016

The post Director Mike Judge Is Considering an ‘Idiocracy’ Anniversary Tour appeared first on /Film.

Yesterday brought us our first look at Antoine Fuqua‘s The Magnificent Seven in the form of some photos, and today the very first trailer has ridden into town. Denzel Washington leads the Western as Sam Chisholm, a gunslinger hired to protect a small town from a ruthless industrialist (Peter Sarsgaard). He rounds up a group of six other outlaws, played by Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Martin Sensmeier.

The Magnificent Seven is, of course, a remake of John Sturges’ 1960 classic, which was itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. So how do the likes of Washington, Pratt, and Hawke stack up against the original all-star cast that included Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson? Watch the Magnificent Seven trailer after the jump.

The new Magnificent Seven has a lot to live up to, but thankfully the trailer makes this one look like a pretty fun adventure in its own right. It feels modern and classic all at once, full of loud gunfire, cool hats, tons of attitude (especially whenever Pratt opens his mouth), and just a touch of humor. Fuqua knows how to direct stylish action, and with this cast at his disposal The Magnificent Seven definitely looks worth watching.

The Magnificent Seven opens September 23.

Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ and Columbia Pictures’ The Magnificent Seven. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.

The post ‘The Magnificent Seven’ Trailer: Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in the Wild West appeared first on /Film.

Gimme Shelter

There’s a map called ‘I Was Here’ that
lets you scratch off the countries you’ve
visited so you can have a poster-size
chronicle your travels. Source

According to a preview screening notice spotted by The Film Stage, James Franco‘s telling of the making of The Room has been renamed from The Disaster Artist to The Masterpiece. The notice also offers a new still from the film featuring Franco as Tommy Wiseau, writer/director and star of one of the worst films ever made.

Having scene some actual behind-the-scenes video of The Room, I can verify that Wiseau wore that hat while shooting.

The notice describes The Masterpiece as “a buddy comedy about two outsiders chasing a dream. When the world rejects them, they decide to make their own movie – and it’s a movie so wonderfully awful due to its unintentional hilarious moments, meandering plots and terrible acting.” The film stars Franco, his brother Dave Franco as actor Greg Sestero (whose book the film is based upon) and Seth Rogen as script supervisor Sandy Schklair.

The film is expected to debut later in 2016.

James Franco’s Disaster Artist Gets First Still And A New Name

In case you haven’t heard, the Netflix line-up just got a little sweeter on April 1st with all the episodes of the animated series Animaniacs available to stream. The cartoon followed the wacky adventures of the Warner brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and their sister Dot. It was a favorite of children of the ’90s, as the show often available to watch right after school and on Saturday mornings. Though the series may best be known for bringing us unlikely rat duo of Pinky and the Brain, who eventually got their own spinoff series, perhaps the most iconic thing to come out of the show was “Yakko’s World.”

Airing in the second episode of the show’s debut season, the animated musical segment features Yakko Warner (voiced by Rob Paulsen, who has voiced both Raphael and Donatello in different iterations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) singing almost all of the nation’s of the world as he points them out on a map, all to the tune of “Mexican Hat Dance.” It’s become a popular way for kids to learn the countries, and it’s a damn catchy and informative song. Now it will be updated because the voices of Animaniacs are going on a world tour where they will sing that song and many others from the show.

Learn more about Yakko’s World and the Animaniacs tour after the jump.

Just to get it out of the way, so we’re all on the same page, here’s “Yakko’s World” from YouTube:

Over the years, several discrepancies have been brought up with regards to the song. First of all, countries not covered in the lyrics include South Africa, Singapore, Brunei, Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, San Marino, Vatican City and more. Furthermore, there are names mentioned that aren’t countries, and they even repeat some just to make rhyming a little easier. I mean, it’s really hard to have a song list all of the nations of the world an actually rhyme, so they employed some tricks.

But another problem nowadays with the song, according to The New York Times, is that it was written before 1991, which is when the Soviet Union broke up. Therefore, countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan don’t get called out. And there are several similar exclusions following nations formed after the break-up of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

Therefore, the song will be updated by writer Randy Rogel (Batman: The Animated Series), who wrote it as part of his audition for Animaniacs, to include a verse that will add any nations that have been formed since the song was written. And fans will get to hear it firsthand when Rob Paulsen (Yakko), Jess Harnell (Wakko) and Tress MacNeille (Dot) go on a world tour to perform “Yakko’s World” along with their 50 state capitals tune and another that looks back at all the U.S. presidents.

This isn’t the first time the voice actors have performed live, since they sang songs, including the theme, with a full orchestra in Colorado back in 2014:

As of now, there are no specifics on when and where this Animaniacs tour will begin, but it certainly sounds like it’s going to be a great blast from the past, just with some updates. Whenever details and dates for the Animaniacs tour are made available, we’ll be sure to let you know.

The post The Voices of ‘Animaniacs’ Plan a World Tour, Including an Update of ‘Yakko’s World’ Song & More appeared first on /Film.

You’re gonna need a bigger pair of boat shoes. Actually, you might need a bigger closet when you see just how many different pairs of awesome Jaws shoes are coming from Sperry footwear. The shoes were sported by members of the cast (notably Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss) in the 1975 thriller from Steven Spielberg, and now Sperry is honoring them with six different pairs of shows coming next month. Even the packaging is cool. Check out all the new Jaws shows after the jump.

Here’s images of the new Jaws shoes from Sperry (via Yahoo and Fashionably Geek):

Men’s A/O 2-Eye Shark Attack, $85

Men’s Striper Slip-On Logo, $70

Men’s Striper LL CVO, $70

Women’s Seacoast Logo, $70

Women’s Seacoast Water, $70

Women’s Seacoast Shark, $70

And each pair of shoes will come in a movie-themed box with blood-stained tissue paper:

Most of the time I find movie-themed shoes to be tacky and unappealing, usually too gaudy to match with any normal clothes you might wear. However, these are actually pretty stylish and cool. Just hope that you don’t lose them by getting your foot bitten off by a shark, especially the red ones.

Sperry will start selling the shoes on May 5th at Sperry.com, and then they’ll be on sale in select retailers like Journeys starting on June 9th. Even though the above images indicate which sex the shoe is made for, most of the shoes will be available in men’s, women’s, and unisex styles, so pick your favorite design and get ready to hit the beach.

The post Cool Stuff: An Entire ‘Jaws’ Shoe Line Coming from Sperry appeared first on /Film.

Just yesterday, AMC Entertainment head Adam Aron really made a lot of AMC Theatres customers angry by indicating that the chain of movie theaters was considering having some of their screenings become more texting friendly. The consideration came about as a way to help entice more millennials who can’t put down their phone to come to the movies. However, an overwhelmingly negative response from customers has Adam Aron pulling back on any potential plans for AMC Theatres allowing texting in theaters.

Read a full statement about the matter from AMC Theatres after the jump.

Following yesterday’s uproar, AMC Theatres posted this to Twitter:

As the press release notes, “In this age of social media, we get feedback from you almost instantaneously, and as such, we are constantly listening. Accordingly, just as instantaneously, this is an idea we have relegated to the cutting room floor.” It turns out that incessant complaining on social media can do some good from time to time.

Even though AMC Theatres was considering allowing texting in some theaters, they’ve gone in the complete opposite direction by saying, “There will be NO TEXTING ALLOWED in any of the auditoriums at AMC Theatres. Not today, not tomorrow, and not in the foreseeable future.” That’s a pretty strong stance, though they probably won’t be as strict about it as the Alamo Drafthouse has been about texting in theaters.

In fact, yesterday, Alamo Drafthouse founder and CEO Tim League released this full statement about the matter of texting in theaters, doubling down on his company’s strict rules that ban texting in their movie theaters around the country:

First off, I’d like to say that I am very excited for Adam Aron to be taking the helm at AMC. I am a fan of the Starwood Hotel and Resort brand and the customer experience that his former company consistently delivers. Bringing that leadership focus to our industry will undoubtedly yield positive results and drive healthy, innovative competition.

That said, I disagree with his statements on texting in a movie theater. Innovation in this direction could seriously hurt our industry.

My first objection stems from cinema’s relationship with directors and producers, the content creators. Auteurs focus for years to complete their films. We as exhibitors rely completely on these creators for our content and have an unwritten obligation to present their films in the best possible way: on a big screen with big sound and a bright picture in a silent, dark room. You can only be immersed in a story if you are focused on it. If while watching a film you are intermittently checking your email, posting on social media, chatting with friends, etc., there is no way you are fully engaged in the story on screen. I find that to be disrespectful to the creators, those who make the very existence of cinema possible.

My second objection stems from the generalization of millennial behavior.

“When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life.”  – Adam Aron, quoted in Variety.

22-year-olds aren’t alone; heavy cell phone use is far more widespread. Today, 68% of U.S. adults have a smartphone, a staggering increase from 35% just five years ago.

I spend a great deal of my life on my phone, too. I check news, social media and email obsessively. If there is the slightest of lulls in my day, a 20 second pause in an elevator, for example, I impulsively break out my phone and check something. I always carry an external battery because I can’t make it through the day on the standard power. I am not alone. According to some reports, the average American checks their phone over 100 times a day.

This isn’t just a millennial behavior, it is a global attention span epidemic.

Regardless of your age, turning off your phone and focusing on a good movie is much-needed therapy. This time of focus in a darkened room is core to the experience of cinema.  Only with this focus can you lose yourself completely in the story and really fall into the magic spell of the movies.

Plenty has already been written about glowing screens and unchecked chatter driving people from the cinema experience, so I won’t belabor that point further. And I’m fine with “second screen” experimentation with regards to alternative content, gaming, interactive screenings, etc.

But when it comes to our core business, creating a special environment for our customers to experience new stories for the first time, there is absolutely no place for the distraction of a lit phone screen.

At the Alamo Drafthouse we are actively engaged in trying to make sure cinema remains a compelling destination for young people, and I agree this should be a focus for the whole industry. I just don’t believe that this line of experimentation is the right tactic. A firm policy against talking and texting in the cinema is about respect: for the filmmakers and fellow cinephiles of all ages.

Outside of this issue, however, I look forward to being challenged and inspired by what innovations and enhancements Adam Aron brings to the cinema experience.

Honestly, I’m glad that League came out and made this statement, especially with regards to his defense of the millennials who actually want to preserve the magic of going to the movies and don’t need to use their phone while in the theater. Even if the generalization about the younger sect of the population was true, it doesn’t mean they need to be pandered to at the expense of other moviegoers.

Thanks to AMC Theatres for listening to their customers and doing what they can to preserve the experience of seeing a movie on the big screen. Now if they can just get those ticket prices down a bit, that would be great.

The post Whew! AMC Theatres Pulls Back on Allowing Texting in Movie Theaters appeared first on /Film.