Marvel Studios has revealed a running time of 182 minutes for Avengers: Endgame and released two new featurettes.
In the making of Avengers: Endgame, the Russo brothers discuss the advantages of using IMAX cameras for the climactic conclusion of the decade-spanning Infinity Saga.
Marvel Studios has also released a "We Lost" featurette with Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow). This evokes all the feels for Marvel fans (myself included).
Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at the Steve Jobs Theatre to announce the Cupertino-based company’s first foray into streaming services. Apple TV+.
Rob Wainfur, the founder of The Bearded Trio and fellow Steven Spielberg fan, reacts to the news the Oscar-winning director is reviving eighties anthology series Amazing Stories exclusively on Apple TV+.
Guest post by Rob Wainfur
There was no denying that today’s announcement by Apple of its new streaming service, Apple TV+, was a glitzy affair with a bunch of A-Listers making an appearance such as Star Wars director JJ Abrams, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Oprah, Jason Momoa, Ron Howard, Hailee Steinfeld and even Big Bird from Sesame Street!
Of course, my interest was piqued when Steven Spielberg also joined the Apple hype train on stage. Apple, it seems, has really pulled out all the stops on this announcement and, with a hefty billion dollar investment in the fledgeling streaming service, is desperate to become one of the leading subscription-based providers and sit alongside the likes of Amazon Prime and, of course, Netflix.
But, and this may be slightly controversial, especially from a huge Steven Spielberg fan such as myself, with Spielberg and Apple now the best of buddies, I can't help but wonder if the recent attack by the director on Netflix, and whether or not it should be eligible for Academy Awards, was nothing more than a strategic plan by them to just muddy the waters a little? It does seem unlikely, but when the budgets are in the billions of dollars, and Amblin have a vested interest with Amazing Stories being one of the launch titles, then asking Mr Spielberg to just rock the boat ever-so-slightly could easily be a possibility, however remote.
Apple TV+ will be available on first and third-party devices including Samsung, LG and Sony smart TVs. This is an inspired, and necessary, move if the company is serious about rivalling Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, which launches later this year bolstered by Fox’s extensive film and television catalogue.
One thing is for certain, with a new streaming service joining the party, and more on the horizon, we are most definitely going to need a bigger boat... And wallets [Apple has an app for that - Ed].
Apple TV+ is set to launch in over a hundred countries later this year. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Executive producer Jon Favreau (Iron Man) teased on Instagram director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) seemingly voicing IG-88 during post-production for The Mandalorian. Aside from the infamous assassin droid, Waititi is directing an episode of the Disney+ live-action Star Wars series.
IG-88 first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back as one of the bounty hunters tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the Millennium Falcon and quickly became a fan-favourite. I owned several Kenner incarnations including the awesome 12" action figure. R5-D4, another droid from the original trilogy, will appear too.
The Mandalorian, set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, will debut exclusively on Disney+ later this year.
Netflix has released the first full-length trailer for Stranger Things season 3. The kids from Indiana are seemingly pitted against a new big bad in a shopping mall.
The third season of Stranger Things sees the return of cast members Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Cara Buono, Dacre Montgomery, Sadie Sink and Priah Ferguson, while new additions include Francesca Reale, Maya Hawke, Cary Elwes and Jake Busey.
Looking forward to the return of Stranger Things? Let me know in the comments below.
Stranger Things season 3 will be available to stream from 4th July.
The Walt Disney Company has completed the acquisition of Twentieth Century Fox's film and television assets ahead of the launch of Disney+ later this year.
From Buffy to The Simpsons. The House of Mouse has further bolstered its existing portfolio (including Marvel and Lucasfilm) and brought Deadpool, Fantastic Four and the X-Men along for the ride.
“This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us—one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger.
“Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox’s wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era.”
What will this mean for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)? Let me know in the comments below.
Disney has released a new full-length trailer for Toy Story 4.
"Everyone’s favourite pull-string cowboy sheriff Woody, along with his best friends Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, are happy taking care of their kid, Bonnie, until a new toy called “Forky” arrives in her room. According to Forky, a spork-turned-craft-project, he’s not a toy at all—and he’d rather skip this big adventure completely, if only they’d let him."
Toy Story 4 features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, Kristen Schaal, John Ratzenberger, Blake Clark, Bonnie Hunt, Jeff Garlin, Timothy Dalton, Estelle Harris, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Keanu Reeves and Patricia Arquette.
Twentieth Century Fox, about to be acquired by Disney, is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of Alien, the first sci-fi movie to traumatise me as a child, with a selection of short films set in the Alien franchise universe founded by director Ridley Scott in 1979.
ALIEN: ALONE — Hope, an abandoned crewmember aboard the derelict chemical hauler Otranto, has spent a year trying to keep her ship and herself alive as both slowly fall apart. After discovering hidden cargo, she risks it all to power up the broken ship in search of human life. Written and directed by Noah Miller.
ALIEN: CONTAINMENT — Four survivors find themselves stranded aboard a small escape pod in deep space. Trying to piece together the details around the outbreak that led to their ship’s destruction, they find themselves unsure to trust whether or not one of them might be infected. Written and directed by Chris Reading.
ALIEN: HARVEST — The surviving crew of a damaged deep-space harvester have minutes to reach the emergency evacuation shuttle. A motion sensor is their only navigation tool leading them to safety while a creature in the shadows terrorizes the crew. However, the greatest threat might have been hiding in plain sight all along. Directed by Benjamin Howdeshell.
ALIEN: NIGHT SHIFT — When a missing space trucker is discovered hungover and disoriented, his co-worker suggests a nightcap as a remedy. Near closing time, they are reluctantly allowed inside the colony supply depot where the trucker’s condition worsens, leaving a young supply worker alone to take matters into her own hands. Written and directed by Aidan Breznick.
ALIEN: ORE — As a hard-working miner of a planet mining colony, Lorraine longs to make a better life for her daughter and grandchildren. When her shift uncovers the death of a fellow miner under mysterious circumstances, Lorraine is forced to choose between escape or defying management orders and facing her fears to fight for the safety of her family. Written and directed by the Spear Sisters.
ALIEN: SPECIMEN — It’s the night shift in a colony greenhouse, and Julie, a botanist, does her best to contain suspicious soil samples that have triggered her sensitive lab dog. Despite her best efforts, the lab unexpectedly goes into full shutdown and she is trapped inside. Little does she know, an Alien specimen has escaped the mysterious cargo, and a game of cat and mouse ensues as the creature searches for a host. Written and directed by Kelsey Taylor.
The Alien short films will be available on IGN. Twentieth Century Fox most recently partnered with the site for a digital series based on the Alien: Isolation survival horror video game. Ironically, IGN was a review outlier and gave it a mediocre score, whereas film critics raved. I'm with the latter.
What are your memories of watching the original Alien? Let me know in the comments below.
As Captain Marvel dominates the box office, Marvel Studios has released a new trailer for Avengers: Endgame. It's a character study that gives nothing away in the Russo brothers' follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War.
An emotive look back at the legacy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as a decade-long saga draws to a close. Is that the voice of Peggy Carter? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Lucasfilm has confirmed there'll be a Star Wars: Episode IX panel, with director JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, on 12th April during Star Wars Celebration Chicago. It's expected the title will be announced alongside the first trailer.
Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) confirmed Episode IX marks the end of the Skywalker saga.
"It was the most fun it's been," he said. "There was just an energy and a looseness and excitement to the whole production.
"And knowing that this was the conclusion of not only our time there but the nine stories, these nine episodes of the Skywalker Saga, it's incredible."
The Star Wars actor added: "I think people are gonna be just blown away."
Star Wars Celebration Chicago runs from 11th to 15th April. Star Wars: Episode IX will be in cinemas December 2019.
Captain Marvel is the funniest and most poignant Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) instalment since Guardians of the Galaxy! It deftly acts as an awesome cosmic origin story for the titular hero, played with wit by Oscar-winner Brie Larson, and as a prequel to Avengers: Endgame.
The nostalgic nineties setting allows for a thrilling Gen-X tour de force from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Sugar) and an opportunity to see beloved characters before the Avengers were a thing. Unlike Ready Player One, it manages to avoid fatigue from nostalgia overload. The internet cafe and CD-ROM load time gags had me in stitches: I was reminded of going online for the first time, using Netscape for Mac, in a university library.
From AOL to Blockbuster and there's a digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), who took me back to my undergraduate years and Pulp Fiction, as Starforce, lead by Captain Marvel's mentor Jude Law (Yon-Rogg), attempts to end the Kree-Skrull war once and for all.
Captain Marvel succeeds or fails on the core relationship between Fury and Danvers. Suffice to say it excels and further embellishes the end credits scene from Avengers: Infinity War, where Fury pages Danvers before turning to dust in the wake of Thanos' snap.
Goose may be the greatest space feline since Jones survived a xenomorph in the original Alien. The galactic ginger made me misty-eyed in memory of my cat, Leo, who passed away 12 years ago. Leo was one of the most loyal pets it's been my privilege to befriend.
An area where the MCU continues to fall foul is the soundtrack. Whilst there's nothing inherently wrong with Pinar Toprak's score; it's buried deep in the mix and there are no standout leitmotivs other than a reprise of the Avengers theme composed by Alan Silvestri. After a decade, Marvel Studios could still learn something from Harry Potter and Disney stablemate Star Wars.
There are nods to Star Wars, Lethal Weapon, The Right Stuff and Independence Day. Watching Captain Marvel, I was reminded of Supergirl and Superman: The Movie. Heroic heights indeed and a touching tribute to the late Stan Lee.
