Moviefone Editorial

Tag: keanu-reeves

  • Rejoice: ‘John Wick: Chapter 3’ Has an Official Release Date

    Keanu Reeves is still thinkin’ he’s back! “John Wick: Chapter Three” is officially in the works, with Lionsgate giving the third film in the “John Wick” franchise a release date of May 17, 2019.

    Yeah, that’s almost two years from now. But if that’s the amount of time they need to make a great film, please use it wisely.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first two films, will return to write “Chapter Three.” The first “John Wick” was directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, with “Chapter Two” directed by Stahelski.

    Back in June, director Chad Stahelski talked to the Independent about what elements he hopes to explore in “Chapter Three”:

    “We are going to put in something about the High Table, how that all works. We’re going to put in something about where John comes from, and where he wants to go. I don’t want to say too much more, but it will be a nice completion to Mr Wick’s journey.”

    Reeves also told Empire how he’d like “John Wick: Chapter Three” to open (SPOILER ALERT):

    “I think the opening of the film should be Wick just trying to escape from New York. Literally trying to get off the island. Maybe he asks [Lawrence Fisburne’s character] the Bowery King for help. Maybe John Leguizamo comes and helps me out. ‘John, I can’t do it, you’re excommunicado!’ Maybe the High Table shows up. And then the High Table starts firing guns. And then maybe this kind of thing starts to happen between the High Table and Continental? Maybe John is the activator of this confrontation, and perhaps there’s a war? Wouldn’t that be awesome?!”

    Fans can see how the film really opens in May 2019 … unless they decide to move the release date at some point in the next two years.

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  • Netflix’s ‘To the Bone’ Trailer Launches Fan Debate on ‘Glamorizing Anorexia’

    Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” when it comes to triggering vulnerable viewers.

    “To the Bone” was written and directed by Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “unREAL”) and stars Lily Collins as a young woman with anorexia nervosa. According to the synopsis, her character Ellen “spent the better part of her teenage years being shepherded through various recovery programs, only to find herself several pounds lighter every time. Determined to find a solution, her dysfunctional family agrees to send her to a group home for youths, which is led by a non-traditional doctor.”

    The film also stars Keanu Reeves as her doctor, Carrie Preston as her stepmother, and Lilly Taylor as her mother.

    On one side, fans think this is a great opportunity to address eating disorders and mental illness, taboo topics that don’t get a lot of play in well-watched forums, showing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On the other side, fans are worried that this will further glamorize being skinny, triggering people with eating disorders, and just end up used as “thinspo” — thin inspiration — when that’s not exactly the objective.

    Netflix picked up “To the Bone” after its debut at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It will be available for streaming on July 14.

    [via: Buzzfeed]

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  • Pop Picks Up Keanu Reeves Comedy in His First Recurring TV Role

    Keanu Reeves in a TV sitcom? Whoa.

    Pop TV just announced its new programming, including three new series, with one being the single-camera comedy “Swedish Dicks.” Peter Stormare and Johan Glans lead the series, with Reeves in a recurring role — his first “major” TV role, if you can believe it, apart from various single episodes and voicing Ted through “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures.”

    “Swedish Dicks” premiered in September 2016 on the Swedish streaming service Viaplay, but Pop TV picked it up for the U.S. In addition to three new series, Pop also listed seven scripted projects in development from Sarah Jessica Parker, Krysten Ritter, Rashida Jones, Kate Walsh, and more.

    Here are details on the new series, via The Hollywood Reporter:

    Hot Date

    “Premiering this fall, the half-hour scripted comedy stars Emily Axford and Brian K. Murphy and is based on the CollegeHumor duo’s sketch videos of the same name that have garnered over 100 million online views. The television series heads into production this summer and will premiere in Fall 2017. Executive produced by Will Arnett’s Electric Avenue Productions (Gong Show), Principato-Young Entertainment and Big Breakfast (Adam Ruins Everything).”

    Clique

    “Ordered to series by BBC Three, Pop boards the soapy drama as a co-producer for season two. From the creative team behind Skins, the show centers on childhood soul mates Georgia (Aisling Franciosi, The Fall) and Holly (newcomer Synnove Karlsen) as they head to university. A few weeks into the so-called best years of their lives, Georgia gets drawn into an elite clique of alpha girls, led by mysterious professor Jude Monroe (Louise Brealey, Sherlock). Clique is created and executive produced by Jess Britain alongside executive producer Bryan Elsley.”

    Swedish Dicks, Private Investigators

    “First announced in September 2016, the comedy stars Peter Stormare (Fargo, The Big Lebowski), and features Keanu Reeves in his first TV role. The single-camera comedy follows an aging ex-stuntman stuck in the past and an overly optimistic Swedish DJ stuck in the digital world. Together they get unstuck by forming the private detective firm Swedish Dicks – solving some of the strangest and wildest cases LA has ever seen. From Lionsgate and Viaplay, the 10-episode first season is set for a fall premiere. The series has already earned a season two order, with production set to begin this summer.”

    Read the full list of projects in development.

    [via: TVLine, THR]

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  • 6 Reasons Why ‘LEGO Batman’s’ Disappointing Box Office Is a Bad Sign for the Dark Knight

    Bruce Wayne is a billionaire, so a missing $20 million here or there isn’t going to put a big crimp in his Bat-budget.

    Still, box office experts must be scratching their heads wondering why “The LEGO Batman Movie” opened about $15 million below the $70 million they projected, taking the No.1 spot with $55.6 million.

    Analysts widely expected the new animated feature to top the $69 million opening that “The LEGO Movie” enjoyed three years ago, released around the same time as “LEGO Batman.” The success of the first movie, the eight-decade popularity of Batman, and the 4,088-screen release (the biggest ever for a February film) all made for much loftier prediction than what the film brought it for its opening weekend.

    Fellow sequels “Fifty Shades Darker” and “John Wick: Chapter Two” both outperformed expectations. Pundits predicted “Darker” would premiere in the low $40s, but its estimated sales as of Sunday came to $46.8 million. For “Wick,” predictions hovered around $20 million, but the Keanu Reeves action film over-performed with an estimated $30.0 million.

    Why did “LEGO Batman” fall short of expectations, while “Darker” and “Wick” outdid them? Here are six likely reasons why:

    1. Fanbases
    Batman’s been a popular character for nearly 80 years, but last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” may have squandered a lot of the franchise’s good will.

    Not that it’s at all clear that fans of those grim, grown-up movies would have come to see the family-oriented “LEGO” film’s funnier take on the Caped Crusader, unless they wanted to see a spoof of the bleak bummers the live-action “Batman” movies have become. But it’s also not clear that fans of the first movie, with its universe of characters, wanted to see a “LEGO” movie confined to Gotham City.

    Meanwhile, fans of the first “Fifty Shades” were widely expected to come back for a movie that pretty much offered more of the same “Mommy Porn” elements. And “John Wick” may have had the most ardent fanbase of all, those who made the 2014 hitman movie a modest hit in theaters — and even bigger on home video. The “John Wick” fanbase may have been cultish, but they’re also vocal and enthusiastic.

    2. “LEGO Batman” < “LEGO Movie”
    It’s no wonder that “LEGO Batman” can’t match the startling originality of the first movie. Sure, it was a feature-length toy commercial, but it also had a message (about world-building and childlike imagination) that fit the product. It also had a bright and dazzling visual style, one that seems both familiar and slightly muted in the new movie.

    Familiarity, not novelty, is the selling point of “Darker.” Indeed, the point of casting Kim Basinger in a supporting role seems to be to remind older viewers that this sort of kinky-yet-glossy romance is nothing new, since Basinger herself practically invented it 31 years ago with “9 1/2 Weeks.”

    As for “John Wick,” the franchise’s balletic action choreography and complex backstory will be novelties to most viewers, while the “Wick” cult from the first movie should appreciate the sequel’s deeper dives into both style and mythology.

    3. Reviews
    Actually, reviews for “LEGO Batman” have been very strong (91 percent “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), as has word-of-mouth (as measured by an A- grade at CinemaScore). Not that kids read reviews, of course.

    The new “John Wick” has enjoyed nearly identical praise from both critics (90 percent on RT) and fans (A- at CinemaScore). In fact, the sequel’s $30 million is more than twice the $14.4 million premiere of “John Wick” in October 2014, which shows just how strong the word-of-mouth is among “Wick” fans.

    The new “Fifty Shades,” on the other hand, has earned terrible reviews (9 percent “Rotten” on RT), not that they matter so much to fans of the novel. Even they, however, seem to agree a bit with critics, having given “Darker” a good-but-not-great B+ grade at CinemaScore.

    To the extent that “Darker” viewers are older adults who still read reviews, the drubbing critics gave the movie may have kept some of them away. Indeed, that’s why the sequel was expected to premiere with only about half the $85.2 million that “Fifty Shades of Grey” opened with two years ago.

    4. Star Power
    The names on the marquee don’t much matter for animated movies, not that “Batman” voice star Arrested Development” fans, but it’s true.)

    Neither are Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan; certainly, neither has proved to be any kind of box office draw outside the “Fifty Shades” franchise. Keanu Reeves doesn’t have the greatest track record either, but he is a household name, and as long as he stays in his wheelhouse (brooding men of action who remain mysterious as long as they don’t speak much), he’s capable of delivering, as the “John Wick” movies have shown. Still, even the 52-year-old Reeves has to be pleasantly surprised by the robust premiere of “Chapter Two,” which marks his best opening weekend since “The Day the Earth Stood Still” eight years ago.

    5. Not Great Timing
    February can be a good month for surprise blockbusters. This time last year, we saw “Deadpool” open with $132 million, about as much as this week’s three new releases earned combined.

    Still, having three big movies open at the same time, even in February, means at least one will suffer. Yeah, you wouldn’t think the audiences for the family-friendly “LEGO Batman,” the female-friendly “Darker,” and the testosterone-heavy “Wick” would overlap, and yet nearly $15 million of that extra $20 million projected for “LEGO Batman” seems to have gone instead to its new rivals. The rest may have gone to the other still-strong family films already established at the multiplex, including “A Dog’s Purpose,” “Sing,” and even “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

    “Darker” may also have suffered from a quirk of timing. It opened on the same weekend as the first movie did two years ago, but in 2014, that Friday fell on February 13, so the weekend included both Valentine’s Day and President’s Day. That meant both a date-movie crowd and a Monday holiday helped boost sales. With Friday falling on the 10th this year, “Darker” enjoys neither of those advantages.

    6. Bad Weather on the East Coast
    The downside of a February opening? iAudiences may get snowed in, as much of the country did this weekend.

    Even so, moviegoers braved blizzard conditions to make this the biggest overall weekend at the box office since “Rogue One” opened two months ago. Plus, all of these movies have already earned sizable amounts overseas (a massive $100.1 million, in the case of “Darker”), so profitability is assured, as are the prospects of third installments for each franchise.

    Still, even though he’s sitting on a $92.6 million worldwide jackpot, which will surely double by the time his movie leaves theaters, LEGO Batman’s still going to brood over that $20 million left on the table.

    He’s the Dark Knight, after all, and he’s just built that way.

  • How Keanu Reeves Perfects ‘Gun Fu’ Action in John Wick 2

    Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 2
    Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 2

    Keanu Reeves Shows Off Gun Fu in John Wick: Chapter 2

    Keanu Reeves takes his movie guns very seriously.

    “I’m bit of a perfectionist,” the star of “John Wick: Chapter 2” tells Made in Hollywood reporter Kylie Erica Mar. “I want to be super perfect. And it’s fun. For me the action is the drama is the character is the story. I just put some time in for the gun manipulations. I’m interested in what kinds of reloads and techniques John is doing.”

    Returning as an avenging hit man dragged out of retirement, Reeves’s John Wick not only shoots guns — he does everything he can think of with guns, even throwing them at the bad guys if he has to. “He’s doing it one handed, he’s doing guns with flips: Gun fu, baby!” says Reeves.

    Keanu Reeves Gets Pulled Back into Mayhem Again in John Wick: Chapter 2

    In this follow-up to the 2014 hit, John Wick wants to return to the quiet civilian life, only to get back into the action when a gangster shows up with a marker calling in past favors. Wick reluctantly accepts the assignment and finds himself taking on an Italian crime syndicate.

    It’s a lot more setup than the original film, which had Wick going on a rampage after somebody killed his puppy.

    “It wasn’t just a puppy,” corrects Reeves. “It was from his wife, who has passed away. So there’s an emotion there. I think John Wick carries that. And we root for him fighting for his life. He just wants to be left alone and heal.”

    And as much as the mayhem weighs on John Wick, Reeves says he’s ready to dive back into the gunplay with a third movie.

    “I hope I get the chance,” he says. “Right now, we made a meal with love and hopefully people enjoy it, and if they do, we’ll et a chance to tell another chapter.”

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  • Netflix Picked Up Some Great Titles at Sundance 2017, Including ‘To the Bone’

    Keanu Reeves and Lily Collins appear in To the Bone by Marti Noxon, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Gilles Mingasson.If you want a sneak peek of what you’ll be binging in the next year, check out the lengthy list of titles Netflix just picked up at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

    The festival is not over, so more will probably be added to the lineup, but the streaming service has been wearing its wallet on the outside, buying eight titles so far, Variety reports — five documentaries and three features.

    The most recent feature, as of Jan. 24, is “To the Bone,” starring Lily Collins as a 20-year-old anorexic woman who tries to get the medical help she needs, with Keanu Reeves as her doctor; the supporting cast includes Carrie Preston, Lili Taylor, and Alex Sharp. The deal was estimated at $8 million, allowing the streaming site to show the movie around the world.

    Netflix also picked up the opening night comedy-thriller “I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore,” starring Melanie Lynskey as a disillusioned nursing assistant, and co-starring Elijah Wood. Netflix also landed “The Incredible Jessica James,” with “The Daily Show” star Jessica Williams playing an aspiring playwright in New York City who struggles to get over a breakup. According to Deadline, the movie will be branded as a Netflix original film and launch globally this year to Netflix viewers in 190 countries.

    In terms of documentaries, the streaming site won an intense bidding war for “Icarus,” Variety reports, a documentary examining the Russian doping scandal. The $5 million deal was said to be the biggest ever for a nonfiction film. Netflix plans to give “Icarus” an awards push and release it simultaneously on its streaming service. Netflix also won a bidding war for “Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press.” The title tells you what that one is about, and it will surely be a big talking point when bingers get their hands on it. Netflix also picked up the environmental doc “Chasing Coral,” among others.

    Sundance continues until January 29, so you never know what might be next. But you can probably count on Netflix and chilling with a few of those titles in the coming months.

    [via Variety, Deadline]

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  • ‘John Wick 2’: Ruby Rose Is Mute in ‘Kooky’ Sequel, Chapter 3 Already in Works

    The man. The myth. The legend. John Wick is back — because, as Laurence Fishburne tells Keanu Reeves in the “John Wick: Chapter 2” trailer, he’s not very good at retiring. Reeves’s assassin has a lot of work ahead of him, not only in the 2017 sequel but in “John Wick: Chapter 3,” which is already in the works.

    Director Chad Stahelski talked to Collider at New York Comic Con, revealing some details about what’s ahead in this movie and the third. “Orange Is the New Black” star Ruby Rose is part of the new cast, and you can see her battling Wick in the trailer. Apparently she will be more seen than heard in Chapter 2.

    “I don’t know if she was expecting ‘Wick’ to be as kooky as it really is, but she’s mute in the movie, she does the whole thing in sign language. She was nervous for the first couple days, and then she just went for it.”

    Sounds like everyone went for it enough for Lionsgate to start planning a third film. As Stahelski told Collider:

    “The studio has asked us to put our heads together and see if we can come up with something. Winston [played by Ian McShane] is a big part of the next one, so is Lance Reddick [who plays Charon]. We’ve got some ideas.”

    Winston is the owner of the Continental Hotel, showcased in the original film, with Charon as the concierge. We’d never say no to more screen time for McShane and Reddick, who are both billed as returning in Chapter 2. The sequel’s plot forces Wick out of retirement (and over to Rome) to help a former associate seize control of a shadowy international assassins’s guild.

    Check out the new trailer:

    “John Wick: Chapter 2” is scheduled for release February 10, 2017.

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  • Keanu Reeves & His Dog Are Back in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ Photos

    Keanu Reeves‘s John Wick went from Beagle puppy to Pitbull in his first film, which probably hints to his state of mind in “John Wick: Chapter 2.”

    Two photos were just released to promote the crime thriller, coming February 2017, showing a dirty John walking his dog (above) and then a slick John hitting the club (below). (Is that The Red Circle or another nightclub, perhaps in Rome where “Chapter 2” is meant to take John?)


    Here’s the official synopsis (via Collider):

    “Keanu Reeves returns in the sequel to the 2014 hit as legendary hitman John Wick who is forced to back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers.”

    The expanded cast includes Ruby Rose and Common — Common plays “head of security for a female crime lord” — with Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Lance Reddick returning from what we should probably start calling “Chapter 1.”


    “John Wick: Chapter 2” opens in theaters on February 10, 2017.

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  • Keanu Reeves Digs for ‘The Whole Truth’ in New Trailer

    The Whole TruthCan Keanu Reeves handle the truth?

    It looks like he can, in the first trailer for legal drama “The Whole Truth.” He plays a defense attorney who takes on the case of a teenage son accused of murdering his father. The evidence clearly implicates the teen, so Reeves builds a defense around the father’s alleged domestic abuse against his wife (Renee Zellweger). But did the kid do it? Or did the mom?
    Even though he doesn’t have all the facts, Reeves is intent: “We stick to the strategy,” he tells a stricken Zellweger. Meanwhile, his colleague (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) isn’t buying any of it and disapproves of how he’s handling the case.

    Reeves has been doing good work in an interesting variety of films, including 2014’s action hit “John Wick” and this year’s “Neon Demon” from Nicholas Winding Refn. This looks like the kind of solid role (a la “Lincoln Lawyer”) that helped pave the way for Matthew McConaughey’s McConaissance. Maybe a Reevaisance is on the way?

    “The Whole Truth” opens in theaters Oct. 21.

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  • Keanu Reeves Will Voice the Titular Kitten in ‘Keanu’

    In a lovely bit of moviemaking synergy, actor Keanu Reeves will voice the titular kitten in the upcoming action comedy “Keanu,” starring “Key and Peele” alums Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.

    The flick’s director, Peter Atencio, spoke with The Los Angeles Times about how filmmakers were able to secure a Reeves appearance in the movie, despite an initial roadblock. Kitten Keanu was indeed named in honor of the actor, and according to Atencio, Key and Peele were eager to get their real-life inspiration involved in some way. Unfortunately, when they reached out to Reeves’s reps, they were turned down.

    But then the hilarious first trailer dropped earlier this year, and everything changed.

    ” … [A]pparently, his sister showed him the trailer and said, ‘Hey, you gotta see this. You’re gonna love this!,’” the director told the Times. “He flipped out and got in touch with us directly to say ‘If there’s anything I can do, let’s make this work.’”

    “Keanu” was close to completion at that point, but Atencio said that the creative team wanted to flesh out a scene where Peele’s character is on a drug trip, and hallucinating his kitten talking to him. Enter the perfect scene for Reeves to make his mark.

    We can’t think of a more perfect way for the actor to get involved with his namesake, and can’t wait to hear him in action as the adorable kitten. Check out the rest of Atencio’s interview here for some more behind-the-scenes intel about Reeves’s involvement, and see “Keanu” when it hits theaters on April 29.

    [via: Los Angeles Times]

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