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(L to R) David Jonsson and Tom Blyth in ‘Wasteman’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with David Jonsson and Tom Blyth about their work on ‘Wasteman’, Jonsson’s first reaction to the screenplay, Blyth’s approach to his character, shooting the riot sequence and filming in a real former prison.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
Moviefone: To begin with, David, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and why you wanted to help tell this story and play this character?
David Jonsson: Well, I guess my first reaction to reading this screenplay was the feeling that this is real. I love films and making films is such a special process. But there’s very rare times when you’re working on something that has a root source material. So, I feel like that was in the script. The process of taking it from there to where it is now was very long. Making movies is heroic because nine times out of ten films fall apart, which is what happened with this film. Before either of us came aboard it, it fell apart and then years after it started to gain some momentum again. So, I’m grateful that we got to make this film not just because it feels like a special project, but because of what we were able to give to it, which I think was inherently quite deep.
Tom Blyth in ‘Wasteman’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Tom, can you talk about the research you did for this role and how it shaped your approach and informed your performance?
Tom Blyth: I started as I always do by reading and there’s a lot that goes into it, but I won’t bore the pants of you. I did some reading and listened to podcasts, and you listen, and you absorb as much as you can about the world that you’re living in. But then the main thing, honestly, was we had this charity on board called Switchback, who are a UK prison charity where they help recent prison parolees get back on their feet and get into work and accommodations and just have a place to go. They came on board as consultants, but very quickly became such an integral part of the film process that about 70% of the supporting cast are recent prison parolees who were involved in the charity. So, it gave the film this gritty realism, but at the same time it meant that we had this incredible living resource all around us. If at any minute we felt the “BS barometer” creeping up, you could turn to someone and go, “Is this feeling real to you? Would I be able to do this?” He’d turn around and say, “You know, maybe this way instead of that way. Or maybe you wouldn’t have that in your cell, so I’d get rid of that if I were you.” It just meant it was breathing the entire time and the whole thing felt rich and real.
Tom Blyth in ‘Wasteman’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Tom, can you talk about shooting the riot sequence? Did you rehearse that scene or just go for it?
TB: Most of the fight scenes were well planned and rehearsed, but that one was less so. That was one where they really did bring in six people with riot shields and riot gear and just threw them against us. Lorenzo (Levrini) our DP was amongst it with the camera, trying not to get hit. But there were gas canisters going off, like fake tear gas, and you couldn’t see a thing. You got all the guys playing in the background up above shouting and throwing water on us. It was chaos. It was absolute chaos and I ended up with a big gash in my hand and was bleeding all over the riot shields and you couldn’t quite tell what my blood was and what was the makeup blood. But the adrenaline was just so high, you just keep going and by the end, I was burned out. But it adds to the sense that you’re living it and it’s real.
David Jonsson in ‘Wasteman’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, David, I understand that you shot the movie in a real former prison. What were the vibes like in there and do you think it added to the tone and mood of the movie?
DJ: Oh, it was spooky. There were spooky vibes all around. You know, your environment informs a lot of what you do, which is why films try to go to the right place. But this film, filming in a natural prison just gave us everything that we needed. In my opinion, I think it adds to the pressure cooker of this film because I do think it is a pressure cooker. I think it’s based in that, as Tom said, gritty reality. So, shooting in an actual prison, I think it’s like, you couldn’t write it. It’s exactly what’s meant to be.
‘Wasteman’ opens in theaters on April 17th.
What is the plot of ‘Wasteman’?
Taylor’s (David Jonsson) hopes for a fresh start post-parole are jeopardized by cellmate Dee’s (Tom Blyth) arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.
Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
Director Fede Álvarez is stepping away from the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel.
But he will produce the movie with franchise overseer Ridley Scott.
The hunt is on for a new director.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is enjoying a real resurgence of late –– ‘Alien: Earth’ is getting good reviews and solid viewing figures on Hulu, while last year’s ‘Alien: Romulus’ did more than $350 million at the worldwide box office.
You might think, then, that ‘Romulus’ co-writer/director Fede Álvarez would be eager to jump back in for the sequel to that movie. Yet despite previously indicating so, and talking up kicking off pre-production, he’s now stepping away, moving to simply produce the next outing.
“We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for ‘Romulus’. But I’m gonna pass the torch on this one as director. I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in. I think that’s usually what has happened, except for Ridley, filmmakers come, you make one and you pass the baton to the next one. But we wrote the story because we really love what we started with ‘Romulus’ and we want to continue the story. We love the story and now we just want to find a director that really wants to go for the jugular.”
‘Romulus’ was the story of a group of young space colonists who are looking for a way off the mining colony moon they call home.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, they come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
As for the sequel’s story, those details are being kept inside a Facehugger’s egg for now. But talking to The Hollywood Reporter in October last year, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell had this to say:
“We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them [Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who have crafted the story for the next movie] and I want to see what their story is.”
What else is Fede Álvarez working on?
(Right) Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Álvarez is one of those filmmakers who always has something in development. Right now, he has the likes of video game adaptation ‘Dante’s Inferno’ bubbling away alongside ‘Incognito’, about a super-villain in the witness protection programme.
He admitted to TooFab that he had something in mind to make next, but is keeping specifics close to his chest:
“I want to work on a personal project that me and my co-writer, we’ve been keeping on the back burner for a while and we feel it’s the right time to go and work on an original. But I can’t tell you anything about it.”
Spoilsport!
When will the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel be on screens?
Since it’s now in a holding pattern awaiting a new director, don’t expect to learn a release date for the currently untitled sequel until a team is in place.
‘Prey’ director Dan Trachtenberg has shot both follow-up ‘Badlands’ and a new secret movie.
The other movie is likely to arrive via streaming.
20th Century boss Steve Asbell offered other updates in a new interview.
Ever since ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ director Dan Trachtenberg brought the ‘Predator’ franchise roaring back to life with 2022’s ‘Prey’ (a prequel to the franchise entries that landed on Hulu to huge viewing figures), we’ve been waiting for more news about his follow-up.
Then, back in June this year, word arrived that Elle Fanning was in talks for the next movie to come from Trachtenberg, ‘Predator: Badlands.’ It’s a stand-alone that features no connective tissue to ‘Prey’ other than the appearance of at least one of the movies’ trademark toothy hunters.
According to Asbell, there will indeed be two ‘Predator’ movies headed our way next year.
One is ‘Badlands,’ which wrapped recently in New Zealand and, yes, features Fanning. The other? That’s more of a mystery for now.
This is what Asbell said:
“After ‘Prey’ became a success, Dan came back and said he didn’t want to do ‘Prey 2.’ And we’re like, ‘What do you want to do?’ And he rattled off a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool. We’ve actually done two of them.”
He had no other real details on the second film, other than to say Trachtenberg directed it before heading out to make ‘Badlands’ and that it probably won’t be released theatrically, which is the destination for ‘Badlands.’
Little has been released about the plot for ‘Badlands,’ and indeed Asbell offers not much by way of detail, other than to say:
“It is an absolutely bonkers idea. It is a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is. And I mean, it’s awesome. It is so nuts. But in Dan, we trust.”
One of the other big 20th Century sci-fi franchises, ‘Alien,’ also saw love this year.
‘Alien: Romulus,’ directed by Fede Alvarez, was a success at the box office, and a sequel is in the works.
This is what Asbell had to say about the future of the franchise:
“We’re working on a sequel idea now. We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede, but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, ‘Wow, where do people want to see them go next?’ We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is.”
That would also make people think about the times that the ‘Alien’ and ‘Predator’ franchises have crossed over –– but according to Asbell, while he and his team are thinking about it, don’t expect them to rush into the idea:
“It wouldn’t be in the way you think. That’s the thing. Not in the way that it will just be called ‘Alien vs. Predator’ or anything like the original movies. If we do this, they’ll be organically created out of these two franchises that we’ve continued with characters that we fall in love with, and those characters will combine… perhaps. But we haven’t gotten to that point.”
Sydney Sweeney will play Kim Novak in ‘Scandalous.’
David Jonsson is on board to co-star as Sammy Davis Jr.
Colman Domingo is directing the drama.
Colman Domingo’s career has been developing in leaps and bounds in the last few years, driven by work on the likes of ‘Euphoria’ and his Oscar-nominated film performances such as ‘Rustin.’
The actor has also turned his hand to directing, shooting three episodes of ‘Fear the Walking Dead.’ And he’s spinning that experience behind the camera into feature work, with one movie in development (more on that below) and now, via Deadline, an exciting new project with ‘Euphoria’ co-star Sydney Sweeney.
‘Scandalous,’ which focuses on the love affair between Kim Novak and Sammy Davis Jr., began life with producer Jon Glickman (who is currently CEO of Miramax), has now become a movie that Sweeney is pushing forward alongside producers Tani Cohen and Bobby Roth.
Domingo is looking to kick off directing in Los Angeles next year, and while Sweeney would play Novak, ‘Alien Romulus’ David Jonsson is aboard to play Davis Jr.
(L to R) Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford in ‘Salt and Pepper’. Photo: United Artists.
Featuring a script by Matthew Fantaci, ‘Scandalous’ will chart what happened when movie Novak (known for the likes of ‘Vertigo’ and ‘Pal Joey’) met Rat Pack member Davis Jr. while guests on ‘The Steve Allen Show.’
They fell in love, but as rumors spread, the rampant racism in America threatened to derail their careers. Novak saw the ire of Harry Cohn, the Columbia Pictures chief who had the actress under contract. Their covert affair became big news when a Chicago gossip columnist in early 1958 wrote a detailed account of their relationship, including their plans to marry.
Their publicists and the stars themselves denied the news and nine days later, Davis Jr. married a Black chorus girl named Loray White.
What else is Colman Domingo developing?
Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo to portray Jackson Family Patriarch Joe Jackson in Lionsgate and Universal Pictures International’s Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael.’
Domingo is overseeing the move of stage production ‘Lights Out: Nat King Cole,’ which he wrote with director Patricia McGregor, to New York. And talking of the legendary singer, Domingo also has a film about him in the works, with plans to star and direct.
On the acting front, he’s working on Tina Fey’s TV version of ‘The Four Seasons’ for Netflix. Next up, he’ll be seen in the streamer’s new mystery thriller limited series ‘The Madness,’ (landing November 28th) and is appearing as Michael Jackson’s father Joe in ‘Michael’, the biopic of the pop icon, which is in theaters on April 18th next year.
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When will ‘Scandalous’ be on screens?
Given that Domingo and Sweeney are waiting until they finish work on the next season of ‘Euphoria’ (which isn’t scheduled to shoot until January 2025 at the earliest), we’ll likely be in for wait for this one.
Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin in ‘Rustin.’ Photo: David Lee/Netflix.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ opened huge at the US box office.
It made $ $145.4 million globally.
Elsewhere, the box office was quiet.
Audiences flocking to theaters to see Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s return to the weird ‘Beetlejuice’ world they created in 1988 clearly invoked the ghost with the most, as the sequel ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ has wound up doing huge business at the box office.
The new movie launched in 4,575 theaters and rustled up a massive $110 million in its opening weekend.
And overseas, it debuted with $35.4 million, for a worldwide total of $145.4 million.
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How does ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ shape up in release terms?
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ has become the second-highest September opening –– and studio Warner Bros. will be happy, as it is slipping in between the two ‘It’ movies. The original, 2017’s ‘It’, earned $123 million, while sequel ‘It: Chapter 2’ took in $92 million.
It was the latest success story for a summer season that has seen some big hits but had been lagging some in the last couple of weeks as it closed out.
This sequel picks up the story of the Deetz family –– Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara as step-mom Delia, with Jenna Ortega joining as Lydia’s daughter Astrid –– suffers more trouble from “bio-exorcist” Beetlejuice (Keaton), who still has designs on Lydia.
Though it was more of a small-scale release, the original “Beetlejuice” built across several weeks became one of the highest-grossing movies of 1988 with $74.7 million and later inspired a Tony-nominated Broadway musical, which is still touring the country.
The cult appeal of that first film clearly helped drive interest in the new one, despite it arriving 36 years later.
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
While Burton’s sequel was grabbing plenty of business, only one other movie was a new release, and nothing else in the charts did particularly well.
A24 put horror thriller ‘The Front Room’ into 2,095 theaters, but it launched at 10th place with $1,663,954.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ slipped back to second and earned $7.2 million. The superhero buddy comedy doesn’t have to worry too much, though, as that was from its seventh weekend in release, a miracle in itself given how short release windows tend to be these days.
Not forgetting the fact that it has now made $614 million domestically and $1.287 billion globally. It’s the second-biggest movie of the year and 23rd largest of all time.
Dennis Quaid-starring biopic ‘Reagan’ clung to third place, making $5.2 million, ahead of fellow holdovers ‘Alien: Romulus’ ($3.9 million) and ‘It Ends With Us,’ which took in $3.7 million.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is the biggest R-rated movie worldwide.
It has overtaken ‘Joker’ at the box office.
‘Alien: Romulus’ also had a great start globally.
Disney will keep the champagne corks popping this weekend, as a one-two punch of successful movies has given it more reason to celebrate what is turning into a very good year for the company.
To start, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ has entered the record books as the most successful R-rated movie ever, dashing past ‘Joker’ on Friday to take the crown with $1.086 billion at the worldwide box office.
And though it was finally dethroned by ‘Alien: Romulus’ from the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend, Disney will still be happy, as the latest xenomorph outing is also one of theirs since it arrives via 20th Century Studios. In some ways, it’s a victory for properties the company gained by buying Fox, since the new ‘Deadpool’ is an homage to –– and features plenty of –– characters from the Fox/Marvel years.
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What are the latest milestones that ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and Disney has passed?
Following this weekend’s earnings, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is now at $1.142 billion worldwide.
Among its achievements, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ had the highest-grossing global opening for an R-rated film ever, surpassing 2016’s ‘Deadpool’. It is the 31st film from The Walt Disney Studios (including three Fox films pre-acquisition) and the 11th title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (including two for Sony) to have surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.
With ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ Disney has the top two movies of the year and back-to-back $1 billion earners, becoming the only studio ever to release back-to-back $1 billion films in a given year.
‘Alien: Romulus’, directed by ‘Don’t Breathe’s Fede Álvarez, scored a healthy $41.5 million at the domestic box office this weekend, which saw it nab the top spot.
Globally, the new ‘Alien’ franchise entry has scored $108.2 million and represents the second-best start for the xenomorph-centric horror stories (not accounting for inflation).
It’s all the more encouraging given that ‘Romulus’ was originally destined to go straight to Hulu, much as with ‘Predator’ prequel ‘Prey’ but was shifted to theatrical as filming began. The decision has clearly paid off.
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What about the rest of this weekend’s box office?
Blake Lively attends the “It Ends With Us” UK Gala Screening at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on August 08, 2024 in London, England. Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Sony Pictures.
‘It Ends With Us’ –– adapted from the Coleen Hoover novel –– continued to do well, landing third in its second weekend. It made $24 million, declining just 52% from its huge $50 million debut.
The movie, which stars Blake Lively, has overcome potentially controversial talk of behind-the-scenes drama and remains a strong performer, earning $180 million worldwide on a $25 million budget.
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‘Twisters’ dropped to fourth place, but the disaster movie is also holding well, taking $9.8 million domestically in its fifth weekend.
And even more impressive was ‘Coraline’, with the 15th-anniversary re-release of Laika’s beloved stop-motion animation fantasy film rounding out the top five with $8.9 million domestically. It has grossed roughly $11.3 million in the U.S. since returning to theaters on Thursday.
That result is impressive given that, on its original release, it took in $16.8 million for the first weekend.
Director Ridley Scott‘s 1979 film ‘Alien,’ which featured Sigourney Weaver‘s first appearance as series hero Ripley, spawned one of the most successful and durable science-fiction franchises in cinema history.
Scott would return to the franchise to direct two prequels, ‘Prometheus‘ and ‘Alien: Covenant,’ and now is a producer on the latest installment, ‘Alien: Romulus,’ which was directed by Fede Álvarez and opens in theaters on August 16th.
In honor of the new release, Moviefone is counting down every ‘Alien’ movie ever made, including the ‘AVP’ movies and ‘Romulus’.
2007’s ‘Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
After a horrifying PredAlien crash-lands near a small Colorado town, killing everyone it encounters and producing countless Alien offspring, a lone Predator arrives to “clean up” the infestation.
(L to R) Katherine Waterston and Michael Fassbender in ‘Alien: Covenant’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.
Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien³’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
After escaping with Newt (Carrie Henn) and Hicks (Michael Biehn) from the alien planet, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.
2004’s ‘AVP: Alien vs. Predator’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.
Michael Fassbender in ‘Prometheus’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
(L to R) Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder in ‘Alien Resurrection’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a band of smugglers to keep the creatures from reaching Earth.
(L to R) Ian Holm, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt in ‘Alien’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host (John Hurt) is birthed.
(L to R) Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in ‘Aliens’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor of the Nostromo’s deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
The ‘Alien’ franchise has gotten especially convoluted in the 21st century, with spinoffs (‘Alien vs. Predator’), origin stories (‘Prometheus’) and sequels to prequels (‘Alien: Covenant’) clogging up the trajectory of what started out as something simple and elegant: a haunted house movie set in space. ‘Alien: Romulus,’ directed by Fede Álvarez, works hard to bring the brand back to the basics. And in many ways, Álvarez succeeds: working off a script he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues, Álvarez has created a mostly tense, atmospheric, and to-the-point monster movie that – much like the first ‘Alien’ – has a terrific central character at its core.
But Álvarez also makes the mistake of leaning too heavily on nostalgia, with ‘Alien: Romulus’ – particularly in its second half – playing like the franchise equivalent of a greatest hits package and showing a decided lack of imagination in its callbacks to not just the first ‘Alien,’ but ‘Aliens,’ ‘Alien: Resurrection,’ and even the controversial ‘Prometheus.’ And one creative choice in particular is not only incredibly distracting and jarring, but bordering on unethical – and also a spoiler.
Story and Direction
Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
‘Alien: Romulus,’ we find out fairly early on, is set around 20 years after the events of the first ‘Alien.’ It opens on a mining colony on a brutal, storm-tossed world where it’s hard enough for humans to survive, let alone work. Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) works for, of course, the ever-present Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and gets the bad news that her contract – more like indentured servitude – has been extended another six years without her knowledge.
Devastated by the news that she cannot get herself and her child-like (because he’s been damaged in the past) android “brother” Andy (David Jonsson) off the planet, Rain joins a group of four other young co-workers who have detected an abandoned space station drifting above the planet. Their plan: fly their own ship up to the derelict, break in and load its cryosleep pods into their vessel, and fly off to the distant planet Yvaga, where life is presumably more pleasant and one can actually see a sunrise instead of round-the-clock darkness.
We’ve already glimpsed that space station in a brief prologue, and it’s no spoiler to tell you that our young friends find out the hard way that while there is no crew in sight, the spacecraft is definitely inhabited. The initial buildup of the story is brief, with the six colonists getting up to the station in relatively short order. The exploration of its darkened, abandoned corridors is one of the highlights of the film and most reminiscent in spirit of both the original ‘Alien’ and the space Marines’ foray into the deserted colony on LV-426 in ‘Aliens’ (although why no one else seems to know this rather large space station is floating above the colony is a mystery that the film never answers).
The pace continues to pick up as our friends make their first contact with Xenomorphs (come on, it’s right in the trailer) in their facehugger form, ending in a bad way for one of their number. There are other revelations to come as well, including how a Xenomorph first got on the station, what the station’s purpose was, and how the seemingly innocent Andy undergoes an upgrade that suddenly has Rain wondering if her adopted mechanical sibling can be trusted even to save her life.
A lot of exposition comes courtesy of a plot device we won’t discuss in detail here, but is the one that audiences – ‘Alien’ fans in particular, but also people with a conscience in general – may find difficult to reckon with. Yes, that’s the one we mention above that’s distracting and frankly ghoulish; we can only hope the right people got paid well for it, but even then it may set a terrible precedent. That in turn opens the floodgates for a series of callbacks to various other ‘Alien’ movies as Rain, Andy, and their dwindling band try to escape the growing infestation of Xenomorphs and the station itself, which in time-honored ‘Alien’ tradition is on a path to destruction in less than the two hours it takes to watch ‘Alien: Romulus.’
Some of the homages are subtle and kind of neat, like a reference to the events of ‘Prometheus’ that works in context. Others, however, approach ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ levels of inanity and over-slavish fan service, while another climactic reveal channels the last plot turn you’d expect from one of the less popular entries in the series.
In fairness, Álvarez – who has covered this kind of territory before with his underrated 2013 ‘Evil Dead’ remake – keeps the action moving, the shocks visceral, and the atmosphere grimy and bleak, aided by Galo Olivares’ excellent cinematography and Benjamin Wallfisch’s score. Both effortlessly channel the vibe and tone of the early ‘Alien’ movies. In many respects, this is the most intense and effective film in the series since the first two, which makes the decision to lean hard into blatant nostalgia bait down the stretch all the more irritating.
Following her recent sterling work in ‘Priscilla’ and ‘Civil War,’ Cailee Spaeny is a bit flat here as Rain. Like the rest of the cast, she seems a bit too young to have been laboring for years already under Weyland-Yutani, although the future’s child labor laws may have started her in the field at a young age. She’s clearly meant to continue the time-honored ‘Alien’ tradition started by Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, but her character isn’t given enough development early on and her line readings tend to veer toward monotone. Spaeny does handle her eventual (and expected) transformation into action-oriented warrior well, and she’s still an engaging screen presence.
Even though Spaeny is top-billed, the movie belongs to David Jonsson as Andy. It’s also been a feature of the ‘Alien’ films that its synthetic characters are among its best, and Andy follows in the tradition laid down by Ash, Bishop, and David. But he’s also his own unique creation: found “in the trash” by Rain’s late father and adopted as a sort of little brother with intellectual disabilities that she must take care of, Andy undergoes the best, most fully realized (and arguably only) character arc in the film, an arc that creates its own narrative tension and makes for the most compelling parts of the story. Jonsson is spectacular throughout, handling Andy’s transformation with nuance, mystery, and a mix of empathy and unease. It’s also interesting to see more of the ‘Alien’ universe here, in terms of how synthetics are perceived and treated, which opens up all kinds of possibilities should the series continue.
As for the rest of the small cast, they also unfortunately follow a time-honored ‘Alien’ tradition of simply being Xenomorph fodder. But while previous installments were often peppered with seasoned character actors who could make something out of nothing (Harry Dean Stanton, Jenette Goldstein, and many others say hello), this crew is largely forgettable, as hard as they try and as fully as they commit.
On the other hand, special props should go to the actors and operators behind the practical and animatronic Xenomorph manifestations – it’s refreshing to see Álvarez return to physical creations on set, which also keeps ‘Romulus’ in line with the franchise’s initial, classic entries.
As we said earlier, as so many legacy sequels and franchises are prone to do, Álvarez’s film feels the need to rely on obvious and even silly callbacks in the name of fan service. Like so many filmmakers nowadays, he seems to worry that the fan base may not be perceptive enough to handle new ideas without reassuring them that he’s not straying too far. This, along with that one unsettling element we mentioned earlier, hurts ‘Alien: Romulus,’ but not fatally.
Yet there is a lot to like in the movie too; in a series that’s yielded far more disappointments and squandered opportunities than not, it’s nice to see an entry fashioned by a filmmaker who’s clearly passionate about this mythology and legacy. ‘Alien: Romulus’ is an often exciting, suspenseful, and gruesome crowd-pleaser that fits well into the existing canon and works hard – almost too hard – to recreate the experience of watching the saga’s best films.
‘Alien: Romulus’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Alien: Romulus’?
A group of young space colonists hatch a plan to salvage technology from an abandoned space station and inadvertently come face to face with an incredibly dangerous life form that threatens all their lives.
(L to R) Spike Fearn, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced, Cailee Spaeny, director Fede Álvarez and Archie Renaux at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
‘Alien: Romulus’ brought terror to the San Diego Comic-Con.
Director Fede Alvarez and his cast were in attendance.
The movie’s team brought Facehuggers to the presentation.
It’s always a challenge to stand out at a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con; but when you have the compelling terror of an ‘Alien’ movie and the resources of 20th Century Studios, you can afford to put on a show.
With journalists previously teased by a VHS tape begging up the idea of the panel weeks before, the Con event itself proved to be memorable, launched with flashing red lights and red smoke piercing the pre-show gloom and closing with a planted audience member stumbling on stage, attacked by a Facehugger (AKA the larval stage of the xenomorph aliens we love to hate), others of the creature scuttling across the stage and another person having an alien burst from his chest with a spray of fake blood.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
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Who is in ‘Alien: Romulus’?
(L to R) David Jonsson, Cailee Spaeny, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Cailee Spaeny, and Spike Fearn at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
The actors talked about their roles and the experience shooting the movie, which blended practical and physical effects –– Fearn talked about not having to shoot “with tennis balls”, while Spaeny enthused about being enveloped by the huge practical sets.
What did we learn at the ‘Alien: Romulus’ Comic-Con panel?
(L to R) Director Fede Álvarez, Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux and Spike Fearn at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Director Fede Alvarez, who wrote the script with regular collaborator Rodo Sayagues, answered the lion’s share of the questions, including those submitted by the likes of Ridley Scott (director of the original 1979 ‘Alien’ and a couple of more recent spin-offs, who is a producer on ‘Romulus’), Dan Trachtenberg (director of Predator movie ‘Prey’) and Guillermo del Toro (a filmmaker who surely needs little introduction).
Asked by del Toro about his approach to leading the design for the latest take on the xenomorph creature, he admitted it included lots of reading and looking through old films to make sure they honored what came before. “If you love it, it’s hard to f*** it up,” he said.
Trachtenberg asked who would win between a Predator and a Xenomorph, with Alvarez and his cast clear that the Xenomorphs would triumph.
Cailee Spaeny at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Scott got two questions –– one about the themes of the new movie (“It’s called ‘Romulus’ because it’s really a story about siblinghood,” Alvarez said, explaining that he wants to explore more human connections in a way the original movies didn’t.
The other Scott query could almost have come from the fan Q&A section, grilling Alvarez on his favorite ‘Alien’ movie, with the proviso that he directed the original –– which Alvarez confirmed he loved the most (well, it wouldn’t do to be fired at this point).
Dotted through the panel was footage from the movie, including a chestburster scene that the director explained upfront had been edited differently to the final film version so as to preclude some spoilers. All the scenes shown from the movie had the audience screaming and cheering in equal measure.
When will ‘Alien: Romulus’ be in theaters?
The movie itself is due to unleash horror in cinemas on August 16th.
(Right) Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Summer 2024 is almost here and with it comes the sun, the beach and summer movies!
The summer movie season will officially begin on May 3rd when the big screen adaption of the popular 80’s TV series ‘The Fall Guy,’ which stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, opens in theaters.
Johnny Depp in ‘Jeanne Du Barry.’ Photo: Vertical.
The life of Jeanne Bécu (Maïwenn), who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV (Johnny Depp) to become his last official mistress.
He’s a stuntman (Ryan Gosling), and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?
Harriet Slater in ‘Tarot’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death.
(Left) Justice Smith in ‘I Saw the TV Glow’. Photo: A24.
Teenager Owen (Justice Smith) is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Lee (Ashley Judd) protects her orphaned nieces Imogen (Katie Douglas) and Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) from a self-destructing world, raising them in isolation until an outsider threatens their peaceful existence.
Richard Brake as Beau in the western/crime/thriller, ‘The Last Stop In Yuma County,’ a Well Go USA release. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-begotten fortune.
Sasha Pieterse, Parker Young, Nestor Carbonell, and Academy Award® winner Mira Sorvino star in this twisted tale of deception and desire based on the bestselling thriller by Adele Parks. Identical twins Anna and Zoe find their bond tested over Anna’s new love, Nick. While the trusting Anna is head over heels, her skeptical sister Zoe senses a web of deceit. But as Zoe digs for the truth, they’re all pulled into a dangerous game where honesty could prove fatal.
(L to R) Cailey Fleming and Blue star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘IF.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The story of a girl (Cailey Fleming) who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
Marisa Abela stars as Amy Winehouse in director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s ‘Back To Black,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features.
The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s (Marisa Abela) eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.
(L to R) Froy Gutierrez as “Ryan” and Madelaine Petsch as “Maya” in ‘The Strangers’ Trilogy, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
After their car breaks down, a couple driving cross-country to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest is forced to spend the night in a secluded rental, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
Jean-Claude Van Damme in ‘Darkness of Man’. Photo: Saban Films.
Russell Hatch (Jean-Claude Van Damme), an Interpol operative who takes on the role of father figure to Jayden (Emerson Min), the son of an informant killed in a routine raid gone wrong. Years later, Hatch finds himself protecting Jayden and his uncle from a group of merciless gangs in an all-out turf war, stopping at nothing to protect Jayden and fight anyone getting in his way. Including supposed allies with hidden agendas and nefarious intents.
Garfield (Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie (Harvey Guillén) are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist.
(Right) Greg Kinnear in ‘Sight’. Photo: Angel Studios.
Dr. Ming Wang (Terry Chen) is not simply an eye surgeon: he is a beacon of empathy for humankind. Based on his incredible true story, ‘Sight’ offers glimpses of hope at times when it feels the hardest to find.
Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement – a 21-mile trek from France to England.
(L to R) Leon Bridges as “River” and Kiersey Clemons as “Celestina” in the drama ‘The Young Wife’, a Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label) release. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
A young woman (Kiersey Clemons) grapples with the meaning of love and commitment over the course of her “non-wedding” day.
(L to R) Oliver Finnegan as Daniel, Olwen Fouere as Madeline, Dakota Fanning as Mina and Georgina Campbell as Ciara in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy thriller ‘The Watchers,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
When 28-year-old artist Mina (Dakota Fanning) finds shelter after getting stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers that are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
(L to R) Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die.’ Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
After their late former Captain is framed, Lowrey (Will Smith) and Burnett (Martin Lawrence) try to clear his name, only to end up on the run themselves.
A mild-mannered professor (Glen Powell) moonlighting as a fake contract killer sparks a chain reaction of trouble when he falls for a client (Adria Arjona).
Teenager Riley’s mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira), who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.
(L to R) David Duchovny, Stephanie Beatriz and Logan Marshall-Green in ‘Bucky F*cking Dent’. Photo: Vertical.
Follows Ted (Logan Marshall-Green), an aimless thirty-something who moves in with his father Marty (David Duchovny) when he develops a fatal illness. Marty’s health suffers every time the Boston Red Sox lose, so to keep him happy and alive, Ted enlists Marty’s grief counselor Mariana (Stephanie Beatriz) and friends to fake a Red Sox winning streak.
(L to R) Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham in ‘Treasure’. Photo: Bleecker Street.
Poland, 1990 – American music journalist Ruth (Lena Dunham) takes her father Edek (Stephen Fry), a Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his childhood haunts, hoping to make sense of her family’s troubled past. When Edek, reluctant to face his trauma, undermines their trip with his unpredictable and more eccentric than usual demeanor, Ruth is forced to challenge him and the values with which he raised her.
(L to R) Jodie Comer and Austin Butler in ‘The Bikeriders.’ Photo: Focus Features.
Kathy (Jodie Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Austin Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Tom Hardy). As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
Chuck Norris as Alastair in the action, sci-fi film, ‘Agent Recon’, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
A covert military task force tracks a mysterious energy disturbance at a secret base in New Mexico that is suspected of experimenting on alien technology. Once there, the team encounters an unknown being of extraordinary strength and speed, and the ability to control an army of mindless warriors. The trio must fight through the unstoppable hordes to prevent humanity’s demise.
‘Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 1.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Explore the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, embark on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.
(Center) Emma Roberts in ‘Space Cadet’. Photo: Prime Video.
It follows the Florida party girl Rex (Emma Roberts), who turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program, after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumes, but don’t have her smarts, heart and moxie.
Elizabeth Mitchell in ‘Possum Trot.’ Photo: Angel Studios.
Twenty-two families from a rural black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt seventy-seven of the most difficult to place kids in the foster system.
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), brought in to fix NASA’s public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis’ (Channing Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.
Johnny Depp as “Johnny Puff” in the family, comedy, animation film, ‘Johnny Puff: Secret Mission’, an International Media Network release. Photo courtesy of International Media Network.
Johnny Puff (Johnny Depp) and his friends go on a secret mission to save Taigasville from the evil plans of the villainous engineer Otto von Walrus.
(from left) Lily (Sasha Lane) and Tyler (Glen Powell), in ‘Twisters’ directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
As storm season intensifies, the paths of former storm chaser Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), lured back to the open plains after a devastating encounter years prior, and reckless social-media superstar Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) collide when terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed. The pair and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.
Tami Stronach in ‘Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps’. Photo: Fathom Events.
Three Mysterious Curses, two lost souls… and one incredibly difficult dance. A lowly goatherd seeks out a reclusive witch (Tami Stronach) to break the evil enchantment that has long kept him from taking a wife. When he completes the three impossible trials the witch prescribes, the man (Greg Steinbruner) earns the hand of the legendary Princess, only heir of the Old King of the Cursed Kingdom. But when he arrives at the altar with a perfect fairytale ending hanging in the balance, both the goatherd and mysterious witch who helped transform him into the perfect eligible bachelor find that there is one enchantment they can’t figure out how to break… true love.
Cate Blanchett as Lilith in ‘Borderlands.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
After returning to her home-planet Pandora, infamous outlaw, Lilith (Cate Blanchett), is given a dangerous mission and forms an alliance (and potential friendship) with other criminals; including former mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart), demolitionst Tiny Tina and her protector Krieg, insane scientist Tannis, and the wisecracking robot Claptrap (Jack Black). The mission: find and protect the missing (and important) daughter of a very powerful man named Atlas. Although, things may not be as they seem, as the girl holds the key to great power, one that can change the fate of the entire universe.
(L to R) John Cena and Awkwafina in ‘Jackpot!’ Photo: Prime Video.
Set in a very near future where a Grand Lottery has been founded in economically struggling California. The only caveat? If you want to legitimately claim the award, you must murder the winner before sunset.
‘Chapter 2’ continues to explore the lure of the old West and takes audiences on a treacherous journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
Bill Skarsgård in ‘The Crow.’ Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate.
Soulmates Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
