Category: News

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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.

Credit: Mensur Zeinal

(Photograph credit: 20^th 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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(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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(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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(Photograph credit: 20^th 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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(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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(Photograph credit: Sony Pictures)

Filmiere.com shares the recent updates on the surprisingly famous cast of “Bullet Train”, a new action-thriller by David Leitch who co-directed “John Wick” and later made “Deadpool 2”, which featured Brad Pitt in a cameo role. Now Pitt is the leading man in his new film.

Based on a book by Japanese author Kōtarō Isaka, the film follows five assassins who find themselves on a Japanese bullet train, realizing that their individual assignments are not unrelated to the others. Sounds like a fun idea for a movie but what’s more surprising is that it keeps getting big-profile names.

Just last week Zazie Beetz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Masi Oka, and Brian Tyree Henry have joined the cast but this week surprising new names have become part of the cast as well; Michael Shannon have not been in a high-profile movie in a while and he’s now part of the movie.

Another big star is Lady GaGa. Production for Bullet Train began in October 2020 in Los Angeles. Filming commenced on November 16, 2020, and now the latest member of the cast is Logan Lerman who played opposite Pitt before in much-beloved “Fury”.

The cast and the crew and seemingly the material are strong enough for this to be a hit. We’ll share if there will be more surprise cast additions.

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(Photograph credit: Warner Bros.)

“Wonder Woman 1984” was widely expected to be one of the biggest films of the year, with a good shot at making $1 billion globally but a big blow for Patty Jenkins came up. Due to the pandemic, plans have changed.

Most people were thinking that probably they’ll rather postpone it but they have different plans, Filmiere.com reports. The film will be released simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming service in the United States on December 25.

It will debut in international markets on December 16. The film will be available for a month on HBO Max in the United States at no additional cost to subscribers. Once “Wonder Woman 1984” leaves the service, it will continue to play in theaters.

After that, the film will become available via video on demand, digital rental, and for purchase. This is a big risk and interesting attempt by Warner Bros, but also understandable considering they lost a certain amount of money for “Tenet”.

How this strategy will be played is yet to be seen. Patty Jenkins, director of the film, called the fans to see it in theaters if they can do so safely, and otherwise to watch on HBO Max (however, unfortunately, lacks the ability to present the movie in 4K or HDR on any of its apps).

According to a press release, the movie will be available on HBO Max for a month after its debut. One thing for sure, it’ll at least be a bigger player at the Oscars given how there is not much competition for technical categories this year.

credit-Mensur Zeinel