Hello my name is Luke Dunne and twice a week I’m going to be discussing the latest movie news, looking at things such as casting, new trailers and the announcements of the latest superhero movie schedules that will be appearing every three months or so from now until we turn to long-forgotten dust. Here are some of the stories from this week in film:
FANBOYS HATE THEM! THESE WOMEN MAKE MILLIONS WITH THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK FOR BUSTING GHOSTS.
Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon and Melissa McCarthy. Image from Hollywood Reporter
Probably the biggest news this week concerns the women-led Ghostbusters reboot reportedly casting its four leads. The Hollywood Reporter among other has said that Sony are in negotiations with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones to star in the new film, which will be directed by Paul Feig, AKA the director of Bridesmaids and The Heat AKA the science teacher from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Negotiations are ongoing buts it’s expected that the four will be confirmed soon.
McCarthy and Wiig have seemed like strong bets to be cast in this since it was announced, having both worked with Feig before, while along with Wiig, McKinnon and Jones keep links to the original film alive as Saturday Night Live players. Having faces (especially the polarising McCarthy) to put to the female Ghostbusters has only strengthened the complaining from some about “ruining the franchise”, but a) shut up and b) this is ‘can’t lose’ situation, either the film is good which is bad or the film is bad and everyone ignores it and carries on pretending that Ghostbusters is a “franchise” with a great batting average, just like everybody does with Ghostbusters 2. Simmer down.
PICKING A MOVIE TRAILER TO WRITE ABOUT: BETTER OFF TED
That is to say, I could have chosen to write about the teaser for the Fantastic Four reboot, but the trailer for Ted 2 features someone actual slipping around in human secretions, whereas the latest FF only features that in a metaphorical sense.
If Ted is your thing more power to you, the first one was certainly a big hit and from the trailer it does look like the sequel is going to avoid the obvious route of just repeating the story and jokes of its predecessor, which is a plus. Those who criticise Seth MacFarlane’s creativity may note that the plot, with Ted realising that he is a second-class citizen and fighting for his rights in court, was already done on Family Guy. In 1999. Maybe MacFarlane wants an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay instead of Best Song this time.
NEW STAR WARS WILL BE ‘WORTH THE WAIT’ SAYS MAN WHO WILL MAKE MILLIONS FROM ITS SUCCESS
John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Image from Hollywood Reporter
It’s possible that this news may have passed you by but they’re bringing Star Wars back and it’s looking pretty exciting. With The Force Awakens out in December, a spin-off of some kind planned for 2016 and the likes of Rian Johnson and Gareth Edwards in line to direct future films, things are looking bright for Star Wars and at a recent shareholders report, Disney CEO Bob Iger took some time to talk about the franchise. Here’s the quote via Get Your Geek:
“As one of the few people allowed to visit the set during filming….and one of the fewer who’s seen most of the footage…I can assure the millions of Star Wars fans who have spent the last decade hoping for a new movie this one will be worth the wait. And it’s only the beginning of a new era of exceptional Star Wars storytelling; next year we’ll release our first standalone movie based on these characters, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017, and we’ll finish this trilogy with Episode IX in 2019.”
With confirmed release dates for the next two episodes along with all those spin-offs, the next few years are certainly going to be busy for Star Wars, a franchise that looked dead and buried on the big screen after the prequels wrapped up. It’s reassuring to hear that the film is looking good from Iger, who surely would have been honest with us if he visited the set and thought the film was looking a bit rubbish. Sorry, that was too cynical. I’m going to go watch the teaser a few more times to get back in the right frame of mind.
Be sure to check back in next week for more film news, which will hopefully involve the words “reboot” and “franchise” a little less! And if you liked reading this or want to give me hell for slagging Ghostbusters 2, why not hunt me down on Twitter and let me know?