(L to R) Delante Desouza as Michael Cooper, Quentin A. Shropshire as James Worthy, Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Joel Allen as Kurt Rambis in HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.’ Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO.
Given that the show A) was about one of the most famous sports dynasties in the history of basketball and B) that its first season –– on HBO, no less, a channel not given to the whims of advertisers and more likely to show faith in a series –– had been generally well received, it was not outrageous to believe that viewers would learn of a Season 3 for ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’ as the Season 2 finale was about to air.
Instead, what we got was news that it was cancelled.
To rub salt into the wounds, Season 2 ends as the Lakers suffer a historic defeat at the hands of huge rivals the Boston Celtics, leaving the show on a seriously down note.
(Center) Michael Chiklis as Red Auerbach in HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.’ Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO.
What was the story of ‘Winning Time’ Season 2?
(L to R) Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson and Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.’ Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO.
Season 1 kicked off with hard-living businessman Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) taking a financial gamble on the Lakers and clashing with coaches over drafting certain players. It covered the 1979-1980 NBA season and ended in triumph with the Lakers winning against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Though it was thought that the show might use the one-season/one NBA season model, Season 2 was different, partly tackling 1984, but also winding back the clock to cover 1980/82/83 across roughly half the episodes. It ends, as mentioned, with the 1984 defeat by the Celtics.
Sadly, it appears the show’s future was derailed by a combo of cost-cutting at the network and strike delays, since it was an expensive show to produce and hadn’t quite broken out the same way as, say, ‘Game of Thrones’.
What would have happened in Season 3?
(Center) Sean Patrick Small as Larry Bird in HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.’ Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO.
In an interview with The Wrap conducted before the series’ fate had been determined, executive producer Kevin Messick outlined his plans for a third season –– and beyond.
Here’s what he said:
“In real life, the Lakers come back and beat the Celtics the next year. So that would absolutely be at the heart of any Season. In terms of the longevity of the show, there’s a lot more Laker stories to tell, a lot more characters, larger than life, as big and bigger than Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that have yet to enter onto the stage.”
Adrien Brody as Pat Riley in HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.’ Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO.
And he also outlined plans to keep mining sportswriter Jeff Pearlman’s book ‘Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s’ for more material, along a host of other sources.
Here’s Messick on that:
“If the show is successful, we bought the rights to Jeff’s books that keep chronicling the adventures. We’ll keep creating great seasons, hopefully that allow us to come back and fight another day, but we’re gonna take it one season at a time.”
Pearlman himself was eager for the show to return, writing on twitter last month about his hopes…
As it is, viewers had to make do with a series of pictures with title cards showing what happened to the various players, coaching staff and other team members would get up to in the future, including the Lakers winning their next two Finals matchups with Boston, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holding the NBA career scoring record for nearly 40 years, temperamental Jerry West coming into his own as Lakers’ GM and eventually trading for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson being diagnosed with HIV, Magic and old flame Cookie still being married today after 32 years, and, the Jeanie Buss-run (Jerry’s daughter) Lakers winning another title in 2020.
It’s telling that the montage version was one of two delivered to channel executives, suggesting that the writing may have been on the wall, at least internally. A disappointing ending, then –– a little like the real-life events portrayed in the season, now series, finale.
(L to R) John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss and Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss in HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.’ Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO.
Other Movies Similar to ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’:
Christopher Nolan has crafted another masterpiece with an epic historical biopic that is as captivating as it is compelling. What begins as a character study eventually unfolds into an intriguing political mystery with unexpected twists and turns. Cillian Murphy gives the performance of his career as the conflicted and complicated J. Robert Oppenheimer, while Robert Downey Jr. also gives one of his finest performances to date as Lewis Strauss, Oppenheimer’s eventual adversary.
Story and Direction
Writer, director, and producer Christopher Nolan on the set of ‘Oppenheimer.’
The three-hour long movie tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer from his early years studying physics in Germany, to eventually being recruited by the U.S. government to work on the Manhattan Project and the aftermath of the creation of the Atomic bomb. The story is mostly told in flashbacks from both Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss’ points of views. Oppenheimer is defending his actions following WWII in a secret government meeting, while Strauss is addressing a Senate committee as he has been appointed to a cabinet position. We see the events as they unfold as memories for both characters, with Strauss’ in black and white, and Oppenheimer’s depicted in color, which also represents the characters personalities as Strauss sees the world in black and white while Oppenheimer sees bright colors.
Christopher Nolan is unarguably one of the most celebrated filmmakers of his generation and is known for making twisty movies like ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception,’ as well as historical documents like ‘Dunkirk,’ but ‘Oppenheimer’ excels because it does both at the same time and embraces everything Nolan does well. Nolan’s script is smart, cutting back and forth between both Oppenheimer and Strauss’ hearings and their individual flashbacks, and using that to frame the story of creating the Atom bomb. But the movie is also a political thriller, and has a ‘Usual Suspects’ level twist towards the end that you won’t see coming.
Nolan sets an epic tone for the film, which is grand in scope and design, and he gets the very best out of his ensemble cast. Nolan’s use of cutaways to visual effects of atoms, molecules, fire and stars representing thoughts running through Oppenheimer’s head were interesting but thankfully used sparingly. While the film is long at just about three-hours, it goes fast and Nolan uses the most of his time setting the stakes for the drama and allowing his cast room to breathe. The movie also looks gorgeous, thanks to Nolan and the work of cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema.
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer
Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Cillian Murphy is best known for playing the Scarecrow in Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ movies and hasn’t really had the chance to show off his talents until now. As the title character Murphy delivers a strong and layered performance with authority that gives the movie a feeling of importance and urgency. Oppenheimer is driven, egotistical, brilliant, self-absorbed and conflicted, and Murphy conveys all of this with very little effort, giving a seamless performance. This is definitely the actors best work, and I would be surprised if he doesn’t get a lot of attention come awards season.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Performance
Robert Downey Jr is Lewis Strauss in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most popular actors of his generation, but after a decade of playing Iron Man, it’s easy to forget just how good a dramatic actor he is and this movie helps remind us of that. Despite the title, ‘Oppenheimer’ is almost as much Downey’s movie as it is Murphy’s, and the actor completely holds his own narrative well. While the two actors share few scenes together and Downey’s role is supporting, his character is pivotal to the story and the true antagonist of the film. In a career as impressive as Downey’s, it’s hard to say this is his best performance, but it’s certainly on the short list, and I’m starting the campaign now for Downey to get nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Supporting Cast
Matt Damon is Leslie Groves in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Nolan has always assembled incredible casts of actors for his projects, but the abundance of riches here is a bit embarrassing. The movie stars a who’s who of talented actors, and I of course can’t mention all of them, but I will say Matt Damon stands out. Damon plays Leslie Groves, the General that recruited Oppenheimer. The actor plays the role with a bit of his signature charm, which fits the otherwise serious military figure well. Damon also has good chemistry with Murphy, and the two characters forge a nice friendship together.
Surprisingly, Josh Hartnett, who’s been away from the big screen for some time makes a fantastic comeback as Ernest Lawrence, one of Oppenheimer’s colleagues. Hartnett gives a really strong performance opposite Murphy and is a wonderful addition to the cast. Benny Safdie and David Krumholtz also play colleagues of Oppenheimer and both actors bring a lot to their characters as well.
Josh Hartnett is Ernest Lawrence in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Florence Pugh also stands out and gives a very daring performance as Jean Tatlock, Oppenheimer’s first love. Pugh’s character is sweet and vulnerable, and you understand why he falls in love with her in the first place. But their story is also tragic, and Pugh’s tender performance gives her character a real voice in the movie.
Unfortunately, Emily Blunt’s performance as Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, did not work for me. The character was not as well-defined in the script as Jean, and while Blunt is a great actress and did her best in the role, her performance falls flat with her limited screen time. The chemistry between Oppenheimer and Kitty never quite works, especially in comparison to his relationship with Jean, but perhaps that was the point.
Emily Blunt is Kitty Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
(L to R) Emily Blunt is Kitty Oppenheimer and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
I would imagine that this film will be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars next year. I’d be surprised if Nolan doesn’t get nominated as well for both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Depending on how the rest of the year shapes up, he’ll probably walk away with at least one of those awards. Nolan’s been nominated five times before and never won, and right now, this seems like the movie and the year where he might actually win.
I think Cillian Murphy has a great chance of being nominated for Best Actor, and certainly deserves it, but I’m really hoping that Robert Downey Jr. is rewarded for his incredible performance here, as well as his overall body of work. Florence Pugh also has a chance at a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but that will really rely on who the rest of the competition will be. I would also imagine the film will receive several technical nominations as well as cinematography for Hoyte van Hoytema.
Final Thoughts
In the end, ‘Oppenheimer’ is another Christopher Nolan masterpiece. A movie that works both as a compelling historical biopic, and an intriguing political thriller with brilliant performances from Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.
‘Oppenheimer’ received 9.5 out of 10 stars
(L to R) Cillian Murphy (as J. Robert Oppenheimer) and writer, director, and producer Christopher Nolan on the set of ‘Oppenheimer.’
Having famously switched his filmmaking operations to Universal from longtime home Warner Bros. after dissatisfaction with the straight-to-HBO handling of some movies and its treatment of ‘Tenet’, Christopher Nolan has been working away on his next movie, ‘Oppenheimer’.
Universal, naturally, is going all out to promote this one, including with this first, unusual teaser, which features fragments of footage from the film, some voice-over dialogue referring to its subject matter and an ominous countdown clock.
Some have speculated that it’s to the release date – but not in America, as those figures don’t sync up. But with the movie opening in Singapore the day before its Stateside release, it makes more sense.
Nolan here is adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. It chronicles how he was part of the infamous Manhattan Project and played a key role in the creation of atomic weapons, yet later came to have complicated feelings about their deadly power. He lobbied for international control of nuclear power and opposed the creation of the even more destructive hydrogen bomb.
Cillian Murphy, a Nolan regular, plays Oppenheimer, who is glimpsed briefly in this first footage.
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer’ written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Emily Blunt is playing his wife, biologist, and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, with Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project and Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Florence Pugh will portray psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, who turns out to have a hidden agenda, while Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller. Michael Angarano is physicist Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.
Look, at this point it’s probably easier just to list the people who aren’t in Nolan’s latest. It might be the first end credits crawl in years where the cast runs for a longer time than the effects teams.
‘Oppenheimer’ sees Nolan tackling a historical subject again, and one that surely offers the opportunity for plenty of his terse dialogue and large-canvas visions. It won’t surprise you to learn that it has been shot and be and released on 65mm IMAX and large-format film. Providing the beautiful footage is another repeat Nolan colleague, director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema, while composer Ludwig Göransson returns after scoring ‘Tenet’. A pulse-pounding biopic thriller with high stakes certainly feels like it could work well for Nolan.
‘Oppenheimer’ will be in theaters here from July 21st.
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer’ written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
1tOJVQRXmFcGn2lZ7Th6l7
Get ready to bow before “Catherine the Great” this October.
HBO has set a premiere date for the four-part limited series starring Helen Mirren as the Russian empress: Monday, October 21 at 10 p.m.
The drama follows the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of Catherine the Great (Mirren), who wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century.
Set during the end of her reign, she engages in a passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (Clarke). Amid scandal, intrigue and immense conflict, they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries and together serving as the architects of modern-day Russia through a series of liberalizing reforms.
The limited series was made by HBO in partnership with Sky. It was directed by Philip Martin and written by Nigel Williams.
As Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) observes, “sometimes dead is better,” but in “Pet Sematary,” Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer’s adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, better isn’t as good as the evil that ensues when a desperate father learns that there’s land on his newly acquired property that can mysteriously bring back living creatures from the grave. Both building upon and paying tribute to both that novel and the 1989 Mary Lambert film adapted from it, Kolsch and Widmeyer have created an all-new thriller that revitalizes the source material’s themes of grief and horror for all new audiences.
Paramount Pictures premiered the film Thursday night in Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theatre, where the directors and their collaborators, including writer Jeff Buhler, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and stars Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz, were in attendance. Following a rousing screening of “Pet Sematary” that left audiences shivering and unsettled in their seats, the cast and crew shared some details about the making of the film that showcased their love for King’s original novel, their own creative instincts, and more than a few little pieces of production ephemera that challenged but ultimately helped elevate what might be dismissed as “yet another remake” to something truly special and emotionally powerful.
Paramount Pictures
Buhler, Kolsch and Widmeyer are lifelong Stephen King fans who actively wrestled with the challenge of making his iconic material their own. “It’s a balancing act,” said Widmeyer. “There’s been a movie already, so you have to, on the one hand, honor the essence of the novel and people who have read the book have to see the movie and say ‘that’s Pet Sematary.’ But Ellie (Jete Lawrence) is the one who’s asking those questions about death, so if we were going to change something, it made sense to have her then be the one to come back because she has the presence of mind to be aware that she’s dead, and then ask those questions again when she comes back. So you have that sort of dark, full circle theme. So you have to honor the fans and honor Steven King and they have to feel like they’re getting the essence of the source material, but then you have to do something for today’s sensibility and breathe new life into it.”
Producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura had been trying to develop a remake for almost nine years, and thrilled at the chance to make a version that he thought was truly dark and transgressive. “It’s sort of a testament to the power the book and just the ideas of it that kept us going for roughly nine years since we started,” Di Bonaventura said. “But not only did [Paramount] want to make it, but they had the guts to make a pretty dark version of it. In a time period where a lot of movies are really vanilla, this is anything but, and I give them a lot of credit for backing all of us here who participated in this making this crazy movie. I think it’s one of those interesting things where it doesn’t matter what generation you are, it’s going to apply to you. It’ll keep applying. We’ll probably make another movie 25 or 30 years from now.”
Clarke and Seimetz, seasoned professionals who have worked with many of the best actors in the business, were constantly impressed by young Jete Lawrence, who played not one but two versions of their young daughter Ellie. “She’s more professional than we are,” Seimetz said. “I mean, she’s a little scary actually, to watch her sort of click in from being a little girl to being evil Ellie, just because she does it so naturally. You didn’t have to sit and watch her slowly kill you, but she’s got that the sinister thing down. She’s gonna do really well in middle school.”
Clarke especially thought the choice to change the child’s gender from a boy to a girl gave the choices all the characters made additional weight, and indicated that Lawrence was not just there to deliver line readings but be a true collaborator. “I thought it was one of the best choices in the movie, for starters,” he said. “You get so much more mileage out of it being a young girl rather than a boy with a toy at some point. But the biggest thing was when I understood that she didn’t just want to get it right, she wanted to be an actor. Often with kids, they just want to get it right and then move on. But Jete really wanted to enjoy the performance and go further in the performance, and I think you can see it on screen, particularly in a number of scenes where she wanted to take it as far as she could go with it. And that’s when I really connected with her – I do have a good relationship with and she’s wonderful.”
Paramount Pictures
As good as Lawrence was in the role, however, no one, not even the directors or even the young actress’ parents, wanted to take credit for the transformation she undergoes. “Somebody on set came up to me and said, I was asking her parents, what did you do to prep her for this role? and the parents went, we didn’t really do anything. The directors must be telling her that,” Kolsch remembered from set. “I sat there looking at this person going, Oh really? Because I thought her parents were prepping her. Because we’re not really telling her anything. So I don’t know where it was coming from. But it was funny when we would do certain scenes she’d say, hey guys, can I have a minute? And she’d go off in a corner and she’d stand there and look down and [grit her teeth] and then go, ‘I’m ready!’”
That said, Di Bonaventura admitted they had some minor problems with the young twins that played Ellie’s younger brother. Seimetz defended them, saying that watching a fake version of themselves get dropped out of a window would traumatize anyone. “We had a dummy and the twins would come out and watch this dummy that’s dressed exactly like them drop out of the window,” Seimetz recalled. “And then they would be like, ‘okay, now it’s your turn!’ and all they had to do was be in Jason’s arms, but they were watching the dummy and it was kicking, and I was dropping it out of the window over and over, and then when [the directors] were like, ‘okay, time for the boys,’ they looked down at their costume and were like, ‘no no no!’”
After the cat in Lambert’s 1989 film became an icon, Kolsch and Widmeyer struggled first to find the right kind of cat to stand out in their film, and then to actually locate ones that could performa the tasks needed for its role in the film. “The cat in Mary Lambert’s movie is a British short hair and it’s a damn good looking cat,” said Widmyer. “Kevin and I were like, we shouldn’t try to compete with that cat. That cat is amazing and we have to do our own thing. And in the book, it’s a black and white tomcat, a very basic cat. So based on the art on the hardcover, we decided on a Maine coon, and that means four exotic colors and long hair – little did we know how hard it was going to be to find eight cats that all looked exactly like that. So it was really about finding the trainers, and then tasking the trainers with not finding a lot of cats that could do that. And to their credit, they did. Every cat had a different specialty – a cat that could hiss, a cat that could jump, a cat that could stare.”
Paramount Pictures
Although the filmmakers’ internal collaboration produced a remarkably effective film, Buhler credits King’s techniques as a writer for the fluidity of combining new and established ideas. “For me, the process with this film was always to identify the monster as grief and loss and there what’s cool about what Stephen King does, which not a lot of other authors and filmmakers can get away with is that he puts many different mythologies together. There’s dead people. There’s ghosts, there’s Indian mythology, there’s all kinds of things. And for some reason when you read his novels, all that all seems natural, but it can be very dangerous in a screenplay to start packing a film with so much different mythology that, and so that idea that the monster, that the force driving the film was the grief and loss that this family was experiencing allowed me to have a rudder through all of that crazy Stephen King world. So I think in retaining the spirit of the novel, it really works, but then all the changes also worked because that environment is true to the book.”
At the same time, even the filmmakers don’t fully agree on what the movie is about, or what it’s exploring – and that’s a good thing. “I think for every one of us it’s about different things,” said Di Bonaventura. “Yeah, it’s about grief. But that’s not really for me. For me it’s about our relationship with death. I think as a society we really brush it under the rug and we’ve increasingly tried to distance ourselves from it. And so this forces you to look at it in the most uncomfortable ways, you know? And having read the book when I was younger and then having read the book again after being a father, you get a whole other layer going on here. So those are the two things that drove me is that, how far would you go to see your kid again? Really far, apparently. Jason made a really bad decision, but you know, I understood it.”
Regardless, Clarke insists that no matter what theme or idea emerges as you watch it, he’s really enjoyed seeing the finished film and found it to be a lot of fun. “It brings a smile to my face down to hear everybody releasing emotion, laughter and shock. For me, it was a very dark, disturbing, upsetting piece, especially if you have children. And then to shoot it was very hard – we spent a good month and a half of the shoot in the full horror. So to actually watch it now, it’s a lot. It’s enjoyable.”
Don’t mess with the dead or, as the first trailer for “Pet Sematary” proves, you will absolutely regret it.
Stephen King’s classic novel gets a new adaptation, having previously made it to the big screen in 1989. The story is the same: A doctor (Jason Clarke) and his family move to a house in rural Maine, where they discover a burial ground nearby in the woods.
When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
The movie, from directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, seems to treat King’s novel mostly faithfully, except for one big change that is revealed in the trailer. It may prove controversial for King fans, but everything else about the chilling trailer points to an “It”-sized hit.
Helen Mirren won the Best Actress Oscar as Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen.” And she’ll surely be an Emmys frontrunner as Russian empress Catherine the Great in HBO’s limited series.
“Catherine the Great” is now filming in palaces and other sets across Russia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The four-part HBO/Sky miniseries doesn’t have an air date yet, but it does have a phenomenal supporting cast and a first look photo of Catherine herself. That’s the pic above. The miniseries will cover the later years of Catherine’s impressive 34-year reign as she worked to build Russians reputation as one of the great powers of Europe.
Helen Mirren — really *Dame* Helen Mirren — is one of the executive producers of this miniseries as well as the main star.
Here’s the logline:
“Set against the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of Russian empress Catherine the Great, who wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century, the limited series follows Catherine towards the end of her reign during her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin. Amid scandal, intrigue and immense conflict, they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries and together serving as the architects of modern-day Russia.”
Here’s HBO’s breakdown of the impressive cast:
• Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great, the Russian Empress who was strong-minded, independent, brilliantly intelligent and sexually liberated – the definition of the modern woman.
• Jason Clarke as Grigory Potemkin, a Russian military commander who became Catherine the Great’s lover, favored statesman and life-long friend.
• Joseph Quinn as Paul, Catherine’s son and heir.
• Gina McKee as Countess Bruce, Catherine’s lifelong friend and confidante.
• Rory Kinnear as Minister Panin, a skillful politician, advisor and governor to Catherine’s son.
• Richard Roxburgh as Grigory Orlov, one of Catherine’s former lovers, who helped orchestrate the coup that brought Catherine to power.
• Kevin R. McNally as Alexei Orlov, who, with his brother Grigory, helped orchestrate the coup that brought Catherine to power.
• Sam Palladio as Alexander Vasilichikov, Catherine’s young lover.
Yes, add a new film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “Pet Sematary” to your ongoing list of remakes and reboots.
Last October, it was revealed that Paramount hired Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer to direct a 2019 version of the horror story, following the 1989 classic movie.
Filming just began this week in Montreal, starring Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz as a couple who move their young family to rural Maine and discover a burial ground for beloved pets — which turns out to be the gateway to something else.
Entertainment Weekly revealed that Jeté Laurence, 10, will play Ellie, “a sweet and sensitive young girl who adores her cat Winston Churchill, or ‘Church’ for short.” She “wins over the heart of the old-timer who lives next door,” played by John Lithgow. EW added that 3-year-old twins Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie will play Gage, Ellie’s toddler little brother, “who is prone to wandering into trouble.”
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
“Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.”
Co-director Dennis Widmyer marked the first day of filming on June 18:
“It” director Andy Muschietti previously said he wanted to direct this adaptation, but he’s pretty busy now with “It: Chapter 2.”
“My affection for ‘Pet Sematary’ will go on until I die,” Muschietti told Entertainment Weekly last year. “I will always dream about the possibility of making a movie.”
Well, wait your turn. This “Pet Sematary” is scheduled to open in theaters on April 5, 2019.
Judgment day has come for “Terminator Genisys,” and the verdict is that the action flick is a hit in China.
The fifth film in the franchise had the fourth-biggest opening day for a U.S. film in the country after it earned $27.4 million across 25,000 theater locations over the weekend, Variety reports. The Arnold Schwarzenegger-lead actioner opened in the U.S. on July 1 and has earned around $100 million domestically, but its appeal internationally has not stalled, nabbing a worldwide gross of more than $350 million so far.
“Terminator: Genisys” features Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, Dayo Okeniyi, as well as Schwarzenegger reprising his role.
Scaling Mount Everest is an amazing feat. But it’s sort of meaningless if you don’t survive the trip back down the mountain.
The first trailer for “Everest” features some breathtaking vistas as two teams of climbers — including Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hawkes, and Sam Worthington — ascend to the peak of Everest. It’s a tough, grueling trek, with plenty of dangerous moments, but they seem to triumph and bond on the way up. Then, the real battle begins, as a terrible storm threatens their lives on the harrowing journey back.
The movie is based on the true story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight people died. The footage looks incredible, and the cast list is very impressive (the movie also features Keira Knightley, Robin Wright, and Emily Watson). Director Baltasar Kormákur shot the film in real conditions and in IMAX 3D so we can expect some jaw-dropping scenery.
Yes, add a new film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “
Scaling Mount Everest is an amazing feat. But it’s sort of meaningless if you don’t survive the trip back down the mountain.