Moviefone Editorial

Tag: jason-bateman

  • Channing Tatum Boards ‘Project Artemis’

    Channing Tatum in 'Dog.'
    Channing Tatum in ‘Dog,’ A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Photo credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/SMPSP. © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    ‘Project Artemis’ is one of those movies that, despite initially attracting big-name stars and filmmaking talent, has had a few struggles on its voyage to screens.

    Yet the space movie’s fortunes appear to be shifting for the better as Channing Tatum is making a deal to co-star alongside Scarlett Johansson, and Greg Berlanti has locked in to direct.

    Let’s explore the history a little, shall we? This movie was developed by Johansson alongside her These Pictures company partners Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn. Rose Gilroy wrote the script, and the concept clearly excited Apple, which splashed out more than $100 million to pick it up.

    Chris Evans quickly boarded the film to co-star alongside Johansson, and Jason Bateman – who has so far made a couple of smaller, character-based movies since kicking off his directorial career – agreed to call the shots.

    All seemed to be flying smoothly until creative differences reared their head between Bateman and the studio, and he left the director’s chair.

    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson. Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

    That, in turn, created a domino effect as Evans had to vacate his lead role, since the delayed production schedule created a clash with his future plans – the actor also has Netflix’s ‘Pain Hustlers’ opposite Emily Blunt and Amazon’s ‘Red One’ with Dwayne Johnson on his to-do list.

    With Tatum aboard (assuming his deal closes), that should help boost the movie into the next stage and kick off pre-production.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Greg Berlanti and Channing Tatum to ‘Project Artemis,’” says Lia. “Greg’s passion for character and storytelling has driven his decades-long career in film & TV. We couldn’t be more excited for him to lead our team on this journey. We have been huge fans of Channing’s for a long time and are so honored to finally have the opportunity to work with him.”

    Still a mystery at this point is the actual plot for the movie, which is rumored to revolve around the Space Race and the moon landings in the 1960s (the current title, which might change, certainly points to that, since Artemis is a lunar goddess). NASA’s current efforts to return humans to the lunar surface is, not-so-coincidentally, named the Artemis Program.

    As for Berlanti, he might be better known as a busy producer of TV series – his company oversees a variety of shows at the CW, HBO and elsewhere – but he has movies such as ‘The Broken Hearts Club’, ‘Life as We Know It’ and ‘Love, Simon’ on his directing resume.

    And though that, like Bateman, points to more experience with smaller character dramas and comedies, his roster of superhero TV means he’s had plenty of experience with effects work, and that will come in handy for a movie about the space race.

    (L to R) Lulu the Belgian Malinois and Channing Tatum 'Dog.' A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Photo credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/SMPSP. © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    (L to R) Lulu the Belgian Malinois and Channing Tatum ‘Dog.’ A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Photo credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/SMPSP. © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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  • ‘Avengers’ Veterans Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson to Reunite

    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson. Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

    Those who were disappointed when the promised Chris Evans–Scarlett Johansson onscreen reunion in Apple’s ‘Ghosted’ didn’t happen (scheduling conflicts saw the latter drop out) can now be happy to learn that they are once more looking to team up for a new movie.

    And it’s once again (partly) down to Apple that we can look forward to more from the pair, since the company has stumped up a sizeable $100 million price tag (also known as roughly a tenth of what it earns each day) to buy the rights to new space race movie ‘Project Artemis’.

    Story details for this one are currently hovering past the range of normal vision, which is to say that all involved are keeping them quiet. All Deadline was able to learn was that it’ll feature an effort to travel beyond the grip of Earth’s gravity.

    What we do know so far is that Jason Bateman will direct the movie. Johansson’s production company These Pictures, which she runs with Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn, commissioned and developed the screenplay, written by Rose Gilroy, who is the daughter of writer-director Dan Gilroy and actress René Russo.

    And it’s the latest space-themed movie to bear the title – already in the development rocket science lab are ‘Artemis’, which Phil Lord and Chris Miller are looking to make based on another book by ‘The Martian’s Andy Weir, telling the story of a wiseacre young woman working on the Moon who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy.

    And then there’s er, ‘Artemis’, which has ‘Deadpool’s Tim Miller aboard to direct a “contained” thriller set in outer space. Neither of those two has exactly soared to screens yet, so this new movie could well overtake them both, especially with cast attached and a director firmly on board.

    Laura Linney and Jason Bateman
    (L to R) Laura Linney and Jason Bateman on Netflix’s ‘Ozarks.’

    It’ll mark a significant shift for Bateman too, who when he’s not acting in and overseeing Netflix’s ‘Ozark’, or a variety of movies, is best known for directing smaller projects such as ‘Bad Words’ and ‘The Family Fang’. This, by contrast, promises to be a big-budget space adventure starring two former Avengers.

    Apple, fresh from seeing Apple TV+ become the first streaming service to score an Oscar thanks to ‘CODA’s win this weekend, has been making some big moves, offering pricey deals to land well-known talent; Evans and Johansson are just two of the actors who have other projects set up there.

    There’s also ‘Argylle’, Matthew Vaughn’s new spy caper starring Henry Cavill and Apple pipping rivals to the post for a Formula 1 racing drama that has Brad Pitt in the leading man’s driver’s seat and Joseph Kosinski directing.

    And you just know that Apple won’t want to have this one sit around on the launch pad if there’s the chance of more box office or awards success in the future.

    Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
    (L to R) Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in Marvel’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’
  • Jason Bateman, Ben Mendelsohn Team for Stephen King’s ‘The Outsider’ HBO Series

    Jason Bateman, Ben Mendelsohn Team for Stephen King’s ‘The Outsider’ HBO Series

    Lucasfilm

    Yet another Stephen King novel is set for a starry adaptation, this time in the form of an HBO series.

    Variety reports that “The Outsider,” King’s most recent novel (it hit shelves back in May), will become a series on the premium cable outlet, starring Emmy winner Ben Mendelsohn (“Bloodline,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the upcoming “Captain Marvel“). Jason Bateman will direct the first two episodes, as well as executive produce, just as he’s done on Netflix series “Ozark.”

    Here’s a breakdown of the plot of “The Outsider,” per Variety:

    In the series, a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a local boy leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe to be real, as an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case.

    This is just the latest high-profile book adaptation currently in the works at HBO. The cable outlet is also working on a limited series, “The Undoing,” starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, and Donald Sutherland.

    No word yet on who will be starring opposite Mendelsohn, though we expect this intriguing project to attract some top talent. Stay tuned.

    [via: Variety]

  • ‘Ozark’ Season 3 Is Official: Jason Bateman ‘Concerned’

    ‘Ozark’ Season 3 Is Official: Jason Bateman ‘Concerned’

    Ozark Season 2
    Netflix

    Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) will be back for more desperate scrambling and shrewd strategy in Netflix’s “Ozark” Season 3.

    Jason Bateman — lead actor, executive producer, *and* regular episode director — broke the news after teasing it out yesterday on Twitter:

    https://twitter.com/batemanjason/status/1049675896817242112

    https://twitter.com/batemanjason/status/1050036891687370754

    Yeah, Marty is pretty much overwhelmed at this point. He wouldn’t be rooting for more. (Wendy, on the other hand…)

    Netflix just released “Ozark” Season 2 on August 31. The first two seasons had 10 episodes each, and that’s expected to be the same for Season 3.

    You know who’s going to love this news? LeBron James. He’s been plugging the show, and waiting for Netflix to announce Season 3:

    https://twitter.com/batemanjason/status/1043530096445800448

    It’s true. Ruth (Julia Garner) is the best.

    https://twitter.com/beans4reezy/status/1049027397633396736

    Julia Garner is serving some A+ acting right now, from “Ozark” and “The Americans” to “Maniac,” playing drastically different characters in each series. Maybe she’ll be next on the Emmys list. Jason Bateman was nominated for Season 1 in two categories at the 2018 Emmys: Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Directing for a Drama Series.

    There’s no Season 3 release date at this point, but Season 1 came out in July 2017, and Netflix released Season 2 in August 2018, so … let’s go ahead and pencil in Season 3 for next summer.

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  • ‘Ozark’ Season 2 Gets Teaser, Photos, and Premiere Date

    Yes! Summer is going out in style this year, with the return of “Ozark.”

    Netflix shared a date announcement teaser for “Ozark” Season 2, revealing the return date is August 31.

    The video features quote snipppets from Marty Bryde (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Bryde (Laura Linney), teasing the fallout from Season 1.

    Wendy: “We’ve done a lot of things. Things that we said we would never do.”

    Marty: “People make choices, Wendy. Choices have consequences.”

    Wendy: “What is the end game?”

    Marty: “We knew this was gonna happen.”

    Wendy: “So that’s it? We got back in that house, we go to bed, we wake up in the morning, we kiss the kids?”

    Marty: “That’s exactly what we do.”

    Yeah, guessing it won’t be that simple.And here are the first photos from Season 2, in addition to the one at top:

    Stream the first 10 episodes on Netflix now, before Season 2 arrives Friday, August 31.

    [Via: TheWrap]

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  • Jason Bateman ‘Embarrassed and Deeply Sorry’ for ‘Arrested Development’ Interview

    Arrested Development.”

    Tony Hale (Buster Bluth) also said he reached out personally to Jessica Walter to apologize for minimizing her pain in the cast’s recent New York Times interview.

    Tambor, 73, and Walter, 77, play the Bluth parents on the Netflix series; Tambor previously admitted to — and apologized for — verbally abusing Walter in a particularly unpleasant “blowout.”

    The New York Times brought it up again in a new interview with the cast promoting Season 5, in relation to the other allegations against Jeffrey Tambor that led to his “Transparent” firing.

    It’s clear that the male cast members in attendance were very much interested in defending Jeffrey Tambor and minimizing what happened in the past. Jessica Walter said she was trying to get over her anger at Jeffrey Tambor so they could be friends again. However, it was obvious that what happened — at least to her — was not nothing.

    The NY Times interviewer mentioned at one point that Jessica Walter was speaking through tears, recalling the worst someone had yelled at her in her 60-year career.

    You could tell it frustrated her when the guys joked away and rationalized Tambor’s behavior, dominating the conversation and making it about themselves and their support for Tambor. Alia Shawkat (Maeby) is the only one who spoke up against verbal abuse, which was noted by readers. She, too, seemed to be ignored.

    Walter made it clear that Tambor never sexually harassed her, but Tambor has admitted he can be “difficult,” and he acknowledged he went too far in his on-set anger with Walter.

    Here’s New York Times writer Sopan Deb with the story, and reaction from readers, followed by Bateman’s apology:


    Since Jason Bateman was the one doing the most to elevate Tambor at Walter’s expense, he was the first to apologize:


    Tony Hale tweeted that he apologized directly to Jessica Walter:

    “Arrested Development” Season 5 drops its first batch of episodes this coming Tuesday, May 29 on Netflix.

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  • Here’s Why ‘Black Panther’ Can’t Be Stopped at the Box Office

    Thanks to “Black Panther,” Disney accountants are facing a new challenge — not that they’re complaining.

    Not only to they have to count the rapidly rising stacks of cash from the box office, but they also have to count the ways the new superhero smash is approaching several box office records.

    For instance, with the Wakanda saga’s estimated $108 million take this weekend, it’s become the second fastest movie ever to reach $400 million in domestic sales (it took just 10 days, tied with “Jurassic World,” and second only to the eight days it took “Star Wars: The Force Awakens“). It’s also the second most lucrative second weekend of any movie ever (again, “Force Awakens,” which earned $149 million its second weekend, is first). And it’s one of just four films to ever to earn $100 million or more on its second weekend. (The other two are “Jurassic World” and “The Avengers.”)

    Already, “Black Panther” is the fifth-highest grossing movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and within a day or so, it’ll overtake “Captain America: Civil War” and “Iron Man 3” to claim third place. It’s the fastest Marvel film to reach $400 million, doing so four days quicker than “The Avengers.” Oh, and the film has already earned $300 million overseas, and it’s not even playing in such major markets as China and Japan yet.

    While last week’s column explored why “Black Panther” was so big so fast out of the gate, its second-weekend success comes from some additional factors. Such as:

    1. Repeat Viewings
    The desire to see “Black Panther” over and over has been strong, helping to keep the movie a top seller on Fandango (yes, people are still buying tickets way in advance, even during the week). This helped sales stay strong even on weekdays. Most distributors are thrilled if a movie earns $20 million or more during its first three-day weekend; “Black Panther” earned that much on a Tuesday.

    2. Mass Audience Appeal
    Before “Black Panther” debuted, some pundits wondered if moviegoers beyond African-Americans would go see it. They need not have worried.

    According to tracking service PostTrak, the audience make-up this weekend was 37 percent white, 33 percent black, 18 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent Asian. Love for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, well, universal, and “Black Panther” is no exception.

    3. Social Media
    People can’t stop talking about “Black Panther,” especially to their online friends, giving Disney the type of promotion you can’t buy. Although Twitter activity has cooled since the movie’s premiere last weekend, according to social media tracking firm RelishMix, tweets with “Black Panther” hashtags are still averaging about 352,000 a day. Most movies would love to see daily Twitter activity in the 100,000 range, so the “Black Panther” online buzz continues to be exceptionally strong.

    4. The Kids Love It
    Last week, Disney Executive Vice President for Theatrical Distribution Dave Hollis acknowledged to Moviefone that the one demographic area where the PG-13-rated “Black Panther” could have done better was among younger viewers. But he also predicted that those viewers would come in time. This weekend, his prediction started to come true.

    According to PostTrak, 47 percent of this weekend’s audience was under 25, with guys under 25 making up the largest quadrant at 29 percent.

    5. No Competition
    There were three new wide releases this weekend, two of them well-reviewed, but none offered any real threat to Wakandan supremacy.

    Going into the weekend, new Jason Bateman dark comedy “Game Night” had several strikes against it. R-rated comedies haven’t done that well over the last year or so, Bateman was the only reliable comedy box office draw in the cast, and the film’s marketing campaign was weird (the poster showed no faces, just board-game tokens, one with a burglar’s ski mask and one toppled over in a pool of blood). Still, it did pretty well for a grown-up comedy, premiering in second place with an estimated $16.6 million for the weekend — or a little more than “Black Panther” earned on a modest Wednesday.

    “Annihilation” also had several strikes against it. It’s a cerebral, philosophical sci-fi drama, and while critics adored it (with an 87 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes), moviegoers seemed to find it slow and confusing (they gave it a poor C grade at CinemaScore). Its cast, led by Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, was light on box office drawing power.

    The biggest strike, though, may have been distributor Paramount, in the midst of a cold streak that’s lasted more than a year. The studio tried to hedge its bets, by marketing the film as more of a female-driven action thriller than it is, and by selling off the foreign rights to Netflix — meaning that the movie will stream overseas just weeks after playing in theaters here. Nonetheless, “Annihilation” opened in fourth place, with an estimated $11.0 million. It actually earned more per screen than “Game Night” ($5,467 to $4,759), but “Game Night” was playing on nearly 1,500 more screens.

    “Annihilation” could have done better, then, if Paramount had booked it into more theaters, but with “Black Panther,” “Game Night,” “Peter Rabbit,” and “Fifty Shades Freed” all playing on more than 3,000 screens each, there wasn’t that much available.

    The final new wide release was young-adult fantasy-romance “Every Day.” It had weak reviews (50 percent fresh at RT), no recognizable stars, and a modest release pattern (1,667 screens) from the long-dormant independent distributor Orion. Also, the low-budget ($5 million) film spent only an additional $8 to $10 million on marketing. Still, the movie debuted in ninth place with an estimated $3.1 million, which may be enough, over the next few weeks, to put “Every Day” in the black.

    All told, then, “Black Panther” has been a phenomenon, one that profited from the movie’s own strengths, as well as good luck and timing. We’ll not see its like again anytime soon — or at least not until Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” opens in May.

  • Jason Bateman Teases ‘Arrested Development’ Season 5 With New Photo

    2016 Tribeca Film Festival After Party For The Family Fang Sponsored By Hendrick's Gin At White Street - 4/16/16The Bluths are back in town — well, almost.

    With “Arrested Development” Season 5 soon to begin filming, star Jason Bateman gave fans the first look at the set. On Sunday, he tweeted a photo of the Bluth apartment, teasing, “Here comes trouble.” He also indicated that his fictional family will “move back in” on Aug. 8.

    Bateman previously revealed in a Deadline interview from early July that “Arrested Development” Season 5 would begin shooting in the first week August, so the information isn’t new, yet seeing the photo makes it more real; it offers proof that he and his longtime cast mates are ready to resume their characters’ hilariously dysfunctional lives in a second season for Netflix. You know what that means: more insane antics to entertain us.

    Although the wait between Season 4, which premiered in 2013, and the upcoming one is better than the seven-year absence fans had to deal with after the show was canceled by Fox in 2006, we’re more than ready to reunite with the Bluths.

    “Arrested Development” Season 5 is set to premiere on Netflix in 2018.

    [via: Jason Bateman/Twitter]

  • ‘Arrested Development’ Season 5 Will Be a Murder Mystery

    What a cast of suspects! Arrested Development” will be about the death of Liza Minnelli‘s character Lucille — and who might be responsible.

    “The central spine of that story of is the death of Liza Minnelli’s character, and a bit of whodunit, who may have done it, who had something to do with it,” the actor told EW Radio on Wednesday. “That’s sort of a central thread around which [creator Mitch Hurwitz] is going to braid in all the colorful plot complications that he knows how to do.”

    And if you were disappointed that Season 4 rarely had the cast all in the same place, Bateman promises that the cast will be together in Season 5. After explaining the schedule conflicts that led to the fractured Season 4, Bateman said, “Ultimately, editorially, it didn’t really come together as well as [Hurwitz] wanted it to, and then he had to dictate an order of watching, and it ended up being a little bit more complicated than I think one intended. But we’re still very proud of those episodes obviously — and really excited that we get to be together in these.”

    Bateman also said to expect more “Arrested Development,” since the upcoming season on Netflix is merely “the second act” of a planned “three-act story” for the series after its initial run on Fox. Schedules allowing, of course. “The third act presumably will be done if we can all get it together at a later date, maybe in another few years,” shared Bateman.

    And as for those fans who’ve spotted similarities between the Bluths and the Trumps, is going to embrace it. “None of that is lost on [creator] Mitch Hurwitz. He’s aware of all of that stuff,” Bateman told The Daily Beast. “And he and his writing staff have been in a cave for the last two or three months crafting these episodes, and they’re going to lean into a lot of that [Trump] stuff for sure. They can’t wait.”

    Season 5 of “Arrested Development” will begin shooting in two weeks and will debut on Netflix in 2018.

    Bateman’s other Netflix series, “Ozark” with Laura Linney, debuted today.

    [Via EW, Daily Beast]

  • New ‘Office Christmas Party’ Trailer: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman Partake in Insanity

    Bad behavior sometimes emerges at company holiday gatherings, but rarely does it reach the level seen in “Office Christmas Party.”

    Paramount Pictures dropped a hilarious new trailer for the comedy today, and it’s full of absolute mayhem. In the preview, we see company CEO Carol (Jennifer Aniston) try to close down the branch where her brother Clay (T.J. Miller) and Chief Technical Officer Josh (Jason Bateman) work, only for her employees to try and save it with a raucous holiday party. They invite a potential client (Courtney B. Vance) in hopes of winning him over with the festivities.

    The party has all the ingredients of either epic success or terrible failure: There’s sledding down the stairs, water coolers turned into an open bar, and even swinging from Christmas lights.

    The star-studded cast of “Office Christmas Party” also includes Vanessa Bayer, Jillian Bell, Jamie Chung, Rob Corddry, Abbey Lee, Kate McKinnon, Olivia Munn, Karan Soni, and Matt Walsh.

    Watch the madness unfold when the film opens on Dec. 9.