Anne Hathaway is going to HBO Max again

(photograph credit: Warner Bros.)

Filmiere.com already reported you about Doug Liman’s new movie with Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The filming didn’t last too long and they wrapped it up in a short time.

The heist film “Lockdown” has been acquired by Warner Bros. and the hope is the film will premiere on HBO Max as a Max Original in early 2021, the information first reported by The Wrap. The movie’s supporting cast also includes big names like Ben Kingsley, Mindy Kaling, and Ben Stiller.

Even though Hathaway’s previous Steven Knight-scripted film (Serenity) and previous HBO Max premiered film (The Witches) were both disappointments, hopefully, this will be a great project for actresses to shine in a high-quality film.

It also shows that HBO Max is not here to play around but is actually keen on developing and getting bigger. Probably the coronavirus era also encouraged Warner Bros to take some risks and put some capital on HBO Max.

The story is about a bickering couple (Hathaway and Ejiofor) that agrees to set their differences aside and attempt a high-risk, high-stakes jewelry heist at the world’s most exclusive department store, Harrods. The film was shot on location earlier this fall.

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Margot Robbie to replace Emma Stone in Chazelle’s new movie

(Photograph credit: Deadline/Mega)

Filmiere.com shares the news first reported by Deadline about Emma Stone is no more part of Damien Chazelle’s new movie “Babylon”. Stone previously won an Oscar for her performance in a previous Chazelle movie called “La La Land”.

She was expected to star opposite Brad Pitt but the sources claim she had to leave the project for scheduling conflicts. She did the two years ago for “Little Women” and it was believed to be for the fact that she had to “Zombieland” sequel and the press tour for “The Favorite”.

When Paramount acquired the picture in late 2019, it set a Christmas Day 2021 awards-qualifying release, with a wide berth on January 7. This was before the pandemic and obviously subject to change because the expectation is it will shoot at least in part in Los Angeles.

Margot Robbie is rumored to be the one who’s gonna replace her but there had not been official confirmation yet.

The movie is an R-rated drama that sets in an era where Hollywood was shifting from silent movies to talky films. Robbie previously starred with Pitt in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, in the same year which she earned another Academy Award nomination for “Bombshell”.

 

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RIP Daria Nicolodi

(Photograph credit: 20th Century Fox)

“Rest in peace beloved mother. Now you can fly free with your great spirit and you won’t have to suffer anymore. I will try to go on for your beloved grandchildren and especially for you who would never want to see me so grieved.

Even if without you I miss the ground under my feet, and I feel I have lost my only true point of reference. I am close to all those who have known and loved you. I will always be your Aria, Daria”.

This is what Italian actress Asia Argento, daughter of Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi posted on her Instagram after her beloved mother’s death, Filmiere.com reports. Nicolodi was known for many things but most importantly she was a great collaborator to her husband Dario Argento.

She actually co-wrote a horror masterpiece “Suspiria” and also starred in “Inferno”, another great mark in Argento’s filmography and overall Italian horror cinema history.

Although her relationship with Argento ended in 1985, she went on to star with Asia in his “The Mother of Tears,” the final installment of his supernatural horror trilogy “The Three Mothers.” Many international filmmakers such as Edgar Wright and William Friedkin honored her work. May she rest in peace.

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Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is officially part of new “Fantastic Beasts”

(Photograph credit: NBC)

Talk about an upgrade; Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp in the new “Fantastic Beasts” movie. Depp’s involvement in the film had long been discussed. Critics were harsh on his performance in the previous film, which also didn’t do good business at the box office.

Allegations by his ex-wife Amber Heard also caused notable controversy. While Depp seemingly wanted to “clean his name” with his trial case against British paper “The Sun” for calling him a “wife-beater”, the British court found Heard’s allegations believable enough and Depp lost the case.

While Depp is still going to get paid because he filmed a scene, he claims he was asked to exit the franchise which is what he did. It’s rumored that Mikkelsen is going to replace him and it’s official now. He is set to play Gellert Grindelwald, the villain of the series in this Harry Potter spin-off.

Mikkelsen is a major star in Denmark, currently gaining a lot of buzz for his new film with Thomas Vinterberg. In the United States, he’s more of a character actor best known for his villainous portrayals like in “Casino Royale” and the famous “Hannibal” series.

“Fantastic Beasts 3” will now open in theaters on July 15, 2022, one week after “Captain Marvel 2.” Filmiere.com report is based on confirmation by Deadline.

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Renee Zellweger is a Grammy-nominee!

(Photograph credit: 20th Century Fox)

Filmiere.com informs you that Grammy award nominees are announced. Of course, not a movie award but many movie stars sometimes ended up getting Grammys because of their voice work, narration, singing, and other talents.

Several filmmakers also got Grammy awards or nominations for directing music videos or music documentaries; from David Fincher to Peter Bogdanovich. This year’s nominees include Renee Zellweger surprisingly.

Zellweger got an Oscar for her performance in “Judy’ and now is nominated for the traditional pop vocal album for her performance as Judy Garland in that 2019 biopic.

Meryl Streep got a nod in the spoken-word category for her recording of “Charlotte’s Web,” written by E.B. White. Meanwhile, other movie-related categories include:
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Various artists

Bill & Ted Face the Music – Various artists

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – Various artists

Frozen II – Various artists

Jojo Rabbit – Various artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media:

Ad Astra – Max Richter, composer

Becoming – Kamasi Washington, composer

Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer

1917 – Thomas Newman, composer

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – John Williams, composer

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New York Times has made a list of 25 greatest actors of the century

(Photograph credit: Buena Vista Pictures)

New York Times gathered a list of 25 of the greatest actors of the century. While the list is praised for its diversity and giving a place for people from different groups; the list features actors from different countries such as South Korea, Brazil, and France but English-language actors dominate the majority of the list.

Denzel Washington came at number one, with French icon Isabelle Huppert at the second place and Daniel Day-Lewis at the third place.

There are some surprising choices that raised some online debates – for example, Michael B. Jordan made it into the list and he’s ahead of one of the most acclaimed actors alive Willem Dafoe as well as double Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali.

Meanwhile, major stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, and Jake Gyllenhaal were all snubbed while they gave a place to one of Gosling/Gyllenhaal-generation actor Oscar Isaac.

The biggest controversy came up with Keanu Reeves’ placement; who ended up at number four, between Day-Lewis and Nicole Kidman. Reeves is undoubtedly beloved among movie fans but his acting skills and range had long been criticized and sometimes mocked for some of his performances.

However, his action movie person in “John Wick” got much praise, though probably not enough to justify him as one of the five best actors of the century. Filmiere.com recommends you check the whole list on the site of the New York Times and see if you agree with the placements.

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‘Notturo’ is chosen to represent Italy at Oscars 2021

(Photograph credit: 01 Distribution)

The news from Italy comes a bit of a twist, Filmiere.com can claim because while of course, those two categories are not necessarily related but Italy was expected to send “Life Ahead” to the Oscars because of the buzz surrounding legendary actress Sophia Loren’s final performance.

Instead, they went with a Venice-premiered documentary. Shot over the course of three years between Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan, and Lebanon, “Notturno” follows different people from near war zones in the Middle East, trying to start again with their everyday lives and features a lot of cruel scenes.

Director was previously representing Italy at the Oscars in 2017 with “Fire at Sea” which didn’t get nominated. We’ll see if this one will have a different result.

Italy has a strong history in the international feature category, winning honourary prizes for its first three entries before it became a competitive section, including for Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief in 1950.

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“Gremlins” might be back!

(Photograph credit: Warner Bros.)


First “Gremlins” was a huge hit, reports Filmiere.com, one of the Christmas horror classics that could easily be watched by the general family as well. The movie did wonders for everyone involved.

Joe Dante was already a successful filmmaker but “Gremlins” was his biggest hit; the way he handled the material made him a bigger name and Chris Columbus, writer of the film got himself a place on the Hollywood map and later made his own successful films since ever Spielberg took on the project.

The second film was successful as well, even though less popular than the first one, it got decent reception and has a cult following with Dante doubling down on satire aspects.

Now Columbus recently gave an interview to Collider and he confirmed that a third film can happen: “I would love to do it.

I wrote a script, so there is an existing script. We’re working out some rights issues right now, so we’re just trying to figure out when the best time to make that film would be. I would still do it the same way – I would do it as tangible puppets, not CGI.

Maybe having — you know we had one stop-motion scene in the first Gremlins, but I don’t think I’d use much CGI in Gremlins 3.” Sounds pretty great for the fans. We’re hoping it’ll happen.

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Angelina Jolie to direct a new movie

(Photograph credit: 20th Century Fox)

Even though she’s less prolific than ever, Angelina Jolie is still one of the most recognizable and beloved movie stars in the world.

She’s spent most of her recent years in charity and directing movies to mixed success; her first effort received a lukewarm response, second one “Unbroken” still didn’t do well with the critics but gained large respect among casual audiences.

Her last film is pretty much the opposite; critics gave her the highest scores but it didn’t become popular among audiences.

Jolie, who’s now divorced from her longtime partner Brad Pitt is back to acting, she has a Marvel movie (as Filmiere.com already reported) and a Taylor Sheridan movie upcoming but that’s not it. She also plans to direct more.

It’s obvious that Jolie is attracted to real-life stories, especially the tragedies of war-torn places and her next film will be another true story in Unreasonable Behaviour, the story of British war photographer Don McCullin.

His career, which began in 1959, has specialized in examining the underside of society, and his photographs have depicted the unemployed, downtrodden, and the impoverished.

From the fall of the Berlin Wall up through the Syrian Civil War, McCullin risked his own life to capture incredible images of every major conflict that has unfolded during his adult life. Jolie has stated to Collider: “I am humbled to have a chance to bring Don McCullin’s life to film.

I was drawn to his unique combination of fearlessness and humanity — his absolute commitment to witnessing the truth of war, and his empathy and respect for those who suffer its consequences.

We hope to make a film that is as uncompromising as Don’s photography, about the extraordinary people and events he witnessed, and the rise and fall of a unique era in journalism.”

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Alan Rickman’s diaries getting a book treatment

(photograph credit: Evan Agostini via AP)


British actor Alan Rickman was very beloved among cinema fans, Filmiere.com reports.

Rickman has starred in countless films, and he first gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of the villain character in “Die Hard”, which some still believe that he should have been nominated for an Oscar.

His filmography is full of high-quality films and classics like “Love Actually” and “Sense and Sensibility” but he’s best known for playing Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” movies. His Harry Potter performance introduced him to a new generation of fans and his sudden death came as shock to all of them.

Now Alan Rickman’s 27 volumes of diaries are to be published as one book. The Guardian first reported the news. Publisher Canongate has acquired the rights of the actor’s diaries, which will be published as The Diaries of Alan Rickman in autumn 2022.

Rickman began writing the diaries by hand in the early 1990s, with the intention that they would one day be published.

“I’m delighted that Canongate will be publishing Alan’s diaries and couldn’t have wished for a finer appointment of an editor than Alan Taylor,” Rickman’s widow Rima Horton told The Guardian.

“The diaries reveal not just Alan Rickman the actor but the real Alan – his sense of humor, his sharp observation, his craftsmanship and his devotion to the arts.”

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