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Jason Statham Calls ‘Expendables’ Movies Ultimate Escapism

Jason Statham(instagram)

The actor also shared his opinion on the world of cinema and music being slightly related…reports Asian Lite News

Actor Jason Statham, who has been playing Lee Christmas, the right hand man on the ‘Expendables’ team, in the franchise since 2010, has said that the movies from the franchise are essentially escapism.

Talking about the success of the franchise, Statham said that he thinks Sylvester Stallone has a great hand in it.

He said: “He has created these characters, and given us the identity within these characters. We are these guys that can’t navigate through life in general, and they are only good when they are together saving the world.”

He thinks there is an appeal when it comes to the “dysfunctional guys with the same problems, as everyone else has in their life; they can’t hold a relationship down, one goes to therapy because he can’t think properly, the other one is just a bit of a whack job. Everyone has their cross to bear, and as long as you have these characters relatable, instead of them being these indestructible robots that don’t feel pain and never get hit. I think people can relate to that and these movies are essentially escapism.”

The actor also shared his opinion on the world of cinema and music being slightly related.

“Some people like rock and roll, some people like country music, people don’t always have the same taste. If you like action movies, you like the ‘Expendables’, because we try and interject into these franchises what the expectations are for action movie junkies. We try to give a bit of care and attention, not just the action, but to some of the lesser stuff that is relevant.”

‘Expendables 4’ is set to debut in Indian theatres on September 22 in Hindi, English, Telugu and Tamil.

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‘Fall of the House of Usher’ Unleashes Nightmare-Fueled Trailer

Featuring some very high production and grand set design, Mike Flanagan is bringing home his standard modern touch of gothic horror in what looks like a bloody nightmare fueled revenge plot…reports Asian Lite News

Director Mike Flanagan is one of the prime names in the horror genre, known for his work with serials such as ‘The Haunting at Hill House’, ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ and ‘Midnight Mass’. The director’s new series ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ has released its new trailer,  serving as great nightmare fuel once again.

The official synopsis of the show reads: “In this wicked series based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire of wealth, privilege and power. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.”

The trailer features everything from ‘Bly Manor’, a massive decorated mansion with a spooky aura, courtroom drama, a droll and pompous dinner party, mysterious death threats, morbid jokes and much more.

Featuring some very high production and grand set design, Mike Flanagan is bringing home his standard modern touch of gothic horror in what looks like a bloody nightmare fueled revenge plot.

And of course, there are also specters and unnatural occurrences, a psychotic mania inside a grand house, and some dark forces lurking within the house who are enjoying the torture, and mental breakdown of everyone, as deathly spirits of old take their hold.

Talking about the show on his X (formerly Twitter), Flanagan had said: “This miniseries is a modern remix of some of the most iconic works of Edgar Allan Poe. This miniseries is unique for Intrepid, we’ve never done anything quite like this before. I’m so grateful to be working with my long-time collaborator Michael Fimognari, who will be directing four of the eight episodes, and my producing partner and executive producer Trevor Macy.”

He had further mentioned: “We’ll see you on the other side. In the meantime, dim the lights, light a fire, and just imagine a deep voice in the dark, quietly intoning… ‘Once upon a midnight dreary.” 

The cast for this eight-episode series features several common faces from Flanagan’s many projects, most of whom were seen in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’, ‘Midnight Mass’, and ‘The Midnight Club’. However, there are some new faces to add to the list.

The cast includes a massive ensemble, which includes: Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino, Mary McDonnell, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill, Michael Trucco, T’Nia Miller, Paola Nunez, Henry Thomas, Kyleigh Curran, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel.

Additional members include: Sauriyan Sapkota, Zach Gilford, Willa Fitzgerald, Katie Parker, Malcolm Goodwin, Crystal Balint, Aya Furukawa, Daniel Jun, Matt Biedel, Ruth Codd, Annabeth Gish, Igby Rigney, and Robert Longstreet.

Flanagan created the series, and he directs four episodes, with Michael Fimognari directing the rest. The series will premiere on Netflix on October 12, 2023.

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Zack Snyder’s Sci-Fi Epic ‘Rebel Moon’ Unveils Intriguing Trailer

The official synopsis of the movie states: “When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival.”…reports Asian Lite News

Filmmaker Zack Snyder has been keeping relatively secretive about the developments regarding his work on his sci-fi film ‘Rebel Moon’. With a trailer of the movie released, it tells the story in two parts: the first titled ‘A Child of Fire’, which showcases the vastness of space using ‘Blade Runner’-esque dystopia, intense action and dramatic sequences.

The movie is a passion project of the former DCEU director and looks like he is tonally shifting gears, going all out with his older ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ style for this film, except with a slightly brighter colour palette.

The trailer is layered with the visuals of a dystopian, dark futuristic nightmare as it mixes ‘Star Wars’ with ‘Blade Runner’. A space opera of epic proportions, we have it all here, a prophesied one to end a cataclysmic war, spaceships raining lasers down on a hapless village with a bloody carnage, talking robots, a spider creature, an awesome fighter wielding glowing red laser swords, a flying pegasus-like animal and lots of slow-motion.

The official synopsis of the movie states: “When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival.”

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“Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.”

‘Rebel Moon’ looks like the perfect treat for Zack Snyder and sci-fi fans as it has elements of everything, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Blade Runner’, a bit of DC thrown in with the elements of a graphic novel.

The cast for the film includes Sofia Boutella, Fra Ree, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Jena Malone, Staz Nair, E. Duffy, Charlotte Maggi, Cleopatra Coleman, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Sky Yang and more.

‘Rebel Moon: Part 1- A Child of Fire’ will release on December 22, 2023 and ‘Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver’ will be released April 19, 2024.

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Hercule Poirot May Return for Future Detective Adventures

Back in 2017, he had said, “I think there are possibilities, aren’t there? With 66 books and short stories and plays, she – and she often brings people together in her own books actually, so innately – she enjoyed that.”..reports Asian Lite News

Kenneth Branagh’s version of the famous detective Hercule Poirot is very likely to return once again after his third outing as the Belgian detective from the Agatha Christie novels, as executive producer James Prichard is more than open to making more films as long as Branagh and writer Michael Green are still interested.

According to Aceshowbiz, “If Ken wants to do more, and Michael wants to write more, we’ll certainly do another. There’s a lot of material still to go, so we’re not going to run out of inspiration,” Prichard told ‘Total Film’ magazine.

Kenneth Branagh for his part has been more than open to return as the iconic detective once again, as he’s made it clear before that there is an element of charm and intrigue to the character, which got him interested to play the role in the first place.

The 62-year old veteran actor had earlier even teased the possibility of creating an entire Agatha Christie based universe, as there is a lot of material on Hercule Poirot and his many intriguing investigations into crimes of unique nature.

Back in 2017, he had said, “I think there are possibilities, aren’t there? With 66 books and short stories and plays, she – and she often brings people together in her own books actually, so innately – she enjoyed that.”

“You feel as though there is a world – just like with Dickens, there’s a complete world that she’s created – certain kinds of characters who live in her world – that I think has real possibilities”, he added.

The actor who was last seen as the Belgian detective in the 2020 film ‘Death on the Nile’ will be reprising his role as Poirot for a third time with ‘A Haunting in Venice’.

Kenneth Branagh was last seen in ‘Oppenheimer’ playing the scientist Niels Bohr.

Set in post-World War 2 era, the movie sees an old and retired Hercule Poirot who is living a quiet life, but returns to being a detective after a special case presents itself, where the renowned detective goes to Venice to investigate a mysterious murder which takes place in an aristocratic séance.

The movie is based on the 1969 novel ‘Hallowe’en’ Party’ and will adapt a supernatural horror based tune, in comparison to the earlier suspense based work, as Poirot too is unable to grasp what is going on due to the supposed supernatural part of the experience, putting his own reasoning into doubt.

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TikToker’s Taylor swift prank at Disneyland goes viral

For the Saturday outing, she donned a burgundy beret, sunglasses, black long sleeve shirt and jeans, giving off a “Red” era look…reports Asian Lite News

Pop singer Taylor Swift’s impersonator and  TikToker Ashley Leechin caused a buzz on social media for pretending to be the singer at a store here.

Leechin intentionally dressed up to look like the Grammy-winner and decoy Swifties at two locations in the Los Angeles area.

On Sunday, she entered The Grove outdoor shopping area with a few men wearing all-black, leading people to believe that they were security for her, reports aceshowbiz.com.

She wore a white top, blue jeans and a red cap with a pair of dark shades on while carrying a red bag. She also sported Taylor’s trademark red lipstick and let loose her long blonde hair as she entered the shop with her entourage, trying to prank some shoppers.

Almost instantly, people flocked to her in an attempt to get selfies with Leechin, whom people believed was the pop superstar. Her disguise apparently was quickly discovered though as security at the shop escorted her out.

One day before, Leechin also channeled Taylor while visiting Downtown Disney, the shopping district of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, along with some men in black.

For the Saturday outing, she donned a burgundy beret, sunglasses, black long sleeve shirt and jeans, giving off a “Red” era look.

Leechin later took to her Instagram Story to explain that she had sort of social experiment with her impersonation. “What a way to show what it’s like to live in the shoes of a well-known celebrity. I think this why they hire decoys so they can go to private events & enjoy themselves without being swarmed by fans,” she wrote alongside an image from YouTuber VicInTheGame, who admitted that the video they were collaborating on may have been too brazen.

The real Taylor Swift, meanwhile, was in New Jersey over the weekend to celebrate her longtime collaborator Jack’s wedding to actress Margaret. After attending the pair’s rehearsal dinner on Friday, the “Begin Again” songstress came to the nuptials on Long Beach Island on Saturday. She reportedly partied into the early hours of the morning with Cara Delevingne.

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FFI launches call for Indian films to compete at 96th Oscars

Kottarakara also called upon filmmakers to participate in large numbers to get nominated as India’s official entry to the 96th Oscars for which the FFI will provide all help…reports Asian Lite News

The Film Federation of India (FFI) — the country’s apex body of all film associations — has invited applications from Indian films which could go as the official entry to the 96th Academy Awards this year, an official said here on Tuesday.

FFI President Ravi Kottarakara said that the entries are open for 25 days — from August 15 to September 10 — for this year’s Oscars nominations.

“India is on the cusp of another amazing year in the films and entertainment space and our movies are making a mark at various international platforms, including the Oscars. Last year, films like ‘RRR’ and ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ brought glory to India at the Academy Awards,” Kottarakara said.

Soon, he said the FFI will nominate a chairman of the jury for the Oscars entry along with other big names from the creative field who will be part of the jury.

The jury will conduct a closed viewing of all the films that would apply for this year’s Oscars nomination between September 15 and September 25 in Chennai, and decide the country’s final entry which will be announced on September 26.

Kottarakara also called upon filmmakers to participate in large numbers to get nominated as India’s official entry to the 96th Oscars for which the FFI will provide all help.

Among the requirements for the International Film Feature category of Oscars, the films must be released between December 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023, and must be publicly exhibited for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial theatre.

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Seattle’s museum of pop culture removes J.K. Rowling’s exhibits amid controversy

While initially the museum kept a memorabilia, in light of her socio-political controversies, the MOPC removed that as well, as such fully dusting her off the shelf…reports Asian Lite News

The Seattle based Museum of Pop Culture (MPC or MoPOC) which is dedicated as implied by its name to celebrate pop culture has removed all exhibitions of English author J.K Rowling from its Harry Potter exhibition in light of her alleged “transphobic views.”

As reported by Deadline, the MOPC had previously published a blog explaining its decision to airbrush Rowling from its display, due to her controversial views and allegedly negative views.

Project manager Chris Moore, who is transgender, wrote in the piece: “There’s a certain cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity in the world of Harry Potter and, this time, it is not actually a Dementor.”

“We would love to go with the internet’s theory that these books were actually written without an author, but this certain person is a bit too vocal with her super hateful and divisive views to be ignored.”

“For the time being, the curators decided to remove any of her artefacts from this gallery to reduce her impact. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s what we were able to do in the short-term while determining long-term practices.”

While initially the museum kept a memorabilia, in light of her socio-political controversies, the MOPC removed that as well, as such fully dusting her off the shelf.

Rowling has made no secret of her disdain for LGBTQ movement and its activists and while she has expressed her support for transsexual people, as well as the gay, lesbian and coloured community, she had said that gender is determined solely by biological sex, and as such cannot be altered on the basis of social identification.

For this comment she had received a lot of flak, including from her Harry Potter actors such as Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson all of whom said that they felt ‘hurt’ over Rowling’s comments. This led to her being barred from the 25th celebration of her first Harry Potter novel, ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’. In addition she also did not attend the Harry Potter re-union which marked two decades of the film franchise.

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‘Barbie’ beats ‘Oppenheimer’ at the box-office

The two movies worked together to fuel the biggest collective box-office weekend of the pandemic era, as well as the fourth-biggest overall weekend in history…reports Asian Lite News

Barbenheimer’ is more than just a meme (although Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are still wondering what a ‘meme’ is!). It is, says ‘Variety’, a full-fledged box-office phenomenon.

Over the weekend, moviegoers in North America turned out in force for Greta Gerwig’s neon-coated fantasy comedy ‘Barbie’, which smashed expectations with $155 million to land the biggest debut of the year, ‘Variety’ reports.

But they also showed up to see Christopher Nolan’s R-rated historical drama ‘Oppenheimer’, which collected a remarkable $80.5 million in its opening weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of ticket buyers refused to choose between the seemingly different blockbusters with twin release dates. So they opted to attend same-day viewings of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’, turning the box-office battle into a double feature for the ages.

The two movies worked together to fuel the biggest collective box-office weekend of the pandemic era, as well as the fourth-biggest overall weekend in history.

It’s worth noting the top three weekends were led by the debuts of sequels in massive franchises — ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.

In the end, though, it wasn’t much of a competition as ‘Barbie’ loomed large over box-office charts, thanks to an inescapable marketing campaign, as well as quality to match the stratospheric hype, says ‘Variety’.

The $145 million-budgeted movie, backed by Warner Bros. and toymaker Mattel, dominated the zeitgeist in the weeks leading up to its debut (even reportedly causing a shortage of the colour pink) to a degree that’s rare for original fare, notes ‘Variety’. (Barbie is perhaps the world’s most famous doll, but the movie isn’t a sequel or part of a pre-existing franchise.)

Audiences and critics, in the words of ‘Variety’, dug the film, which landed an ‘A’ on CinemaScore and scored a whopping 90 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Initial crowds were 65 per cent female, but that’s notable because it’s almost always the inverse for any movie that generates over $100 million in its debut.

Among its many records underlined by ‘Variety’, ‘Barbie’ also scored the biggest opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman. ‘Captain Marvel’, which was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, previously held the title with $153 million in 2019.

‘Wonder Woman’, from filmmaker Patty Jenkins, stood as the record-holder for a movie solely directed by a woman with $103 million in 2017.

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 ‘Gladiator 2’, ‘Mortal Kombat 2’, ‘White Lotus 3’ on pause

Major international shoots set to pause production due to the actors strike include the Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal-starring ‘Gladiator 2’ movie, which was filming in Morocco, and martial arts sequel ‘Mortal Kombat 2’, which was filming in Australia, ‘Variety’ notes…reports Asian Lite News

As a historic dual strike by the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), last endured in 1960, gets ready to bring the global film and TV industry to its knees, the worst-case scenario many have dreaded for months is fast becoming a crushing reality, ‘Variety’ reports.

Talks between the US actors’ union and Hollywood’s collective bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, broke down on Wednesday after a turbulent 12-day period of extended negotiations.

At midnight (US Pacific Time), both sides concluded talks without reaching an agreement, thus triggering a strike vote by the SAG-AFTRA National Board for Thursday morning.

A strike is expected to be called, and the union will direct its 160,000 members to immediately stop all scripted film and TV work around the world.

Major international shoots set to pause production due to the actors strike include the Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal-starring ‘Gladiator 2’ movie, which was filming in Morocco, and martial arts sequel ‘Mortal Kombat 2’, which was filming in Australia, ‘Variety’ notes.

‘Gladiator 2’ is not the only Ridley Scott venture in trouble. FX’s ‘Alien’, a series adaptation of the ‘Alien’ franchise written by Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott, is currently in pre-production in Thailand. Sources indicated to ‘Variety’ that the show will be a large-scale undertaking that reportedly booked out multiple Bangkok studios and hired vast quantities of lighting equipment.

The Sky and Peacock series ‘The Day of the Jackal’, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, has been shooting around Central and Eastern Europe and is also likely to take a break.

Season 3 of HBO’s ‘White Lotus’ series is also slated to shoot in Thailand — another major shoot that would almost certainly employ SAG-AFTRA members. While the show is already paused due to the writers strike, the impact of an actors strike — which could muddle talent schedules in the future — means it could be delayed even further, ‘Variety’ adds.

In recent weeks, according to ‘Variety’, international productions led by SAG-AFTRA talent have worked furiously to wrap filming ahead of a potential strike.

Sky drama ‘Mary & George’, featuring Julianne Moore, completed its U.K. shoot earlier this summer, while Season 2 of Prime Video’s big-budget — and meticulously scheduled — ‘Rings of Power’ also wrapped a few weeks back, ‘Variety’ can confirm.

In France, Jacques Audiard’s musical thriller ‘Emilia Perez’, starring Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana, wrapped filming just last week in Paris.

Sources told ‘Variety’ that Roland Emmerich’s high-profile gladiator series ‘Those About to Die’, starring Anthony Hopkins, completed filming its scenes with the Welsh actor in Italy weeks ago in anticipation of strike action.

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‘Oppenheimer is ‘full of paradoxes’

At various points, we try to burrow into Oppenheimer’s psyche and take the audience on his emotional journey…reports Asian Lite News

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who is known for films such as ‘Memento’, ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Inception’, ‘Tenet’ and others, is now gearing up for his forthcoming release, ‘Oppenheimer’. Ahead of the release, the filmmaker shared that the story of ‘Oppenheimer’, which is based on nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenhimer, is full of paradoxes and ethical dilemmas.

Speaking about what ignited the fire within him to tell J. Robert Oppenhimer’s story, Nolan said: “Oppenheimer’s story is one of the great stories that there is. It’s full of paradoxes and ethical dilemmas, and that’s the kind of material I’m always interested in. While the movie tries to help the audience understand why people have done the things they’ve done, it’s at the same time asking ‘should they have done the things they’ve done?’.”

He further mentioned: “Films, as a narrative medium, are uniquely suited to pulling an audience into a subjective experience, letting them judge things the way the characters judge them, while at the same time looking at these characters a little more objectively. At various points, we try to burrow into Oppenheimer’s psyche and take the audience on his emotional journey. That was the challenge of the film: To tell the story of a person who was involved in what was ultimately an extraordinarily destructive sequence of events, but done for the right reasons, and tell it from his point of view.”

Produced by Universal Pictures (distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery), ‘Oppenheimer’ will release on July 21 across theatres in India with advance booking across IMAX theatres in India already open.

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