Moviefone Editorial

Tag: ruben-fleischer

  • ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ Digital Release Interview

    tU3d157y

    Available on premium digital from Lionsgate December 16th is the box office hit ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’, which is the third film in the popular franchise and was directed by Ruben Fleischer (‘Venom’).

    dFKlIcmxniLYHGSZpNnS15

    The movie stars returning cast members Jesse Eisenberg (‘Zombieland’), Woody Harrelson (‘Zombieland: Double Tap’), Dave Franco (‘Together’), Isla Fisher (‘Rango’), Lizzy Caplan (‘Cloverfield’), and Morgan Freeman (‘The Dark Knight’), as well as new cast members Justice Smith (‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’), Dominic Sessa (‘The Holdovers’), Ariana Greenblatt (‘Barbie’), and Rosamund Pike (‘Saltburn’).

    (L to R) Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, and Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, and Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo: Katalin Vermes.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Ruben Fleischer about his work on ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’, joining the franchise, reuniting with his ‘Zombieland’ actors Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson, Rosamund Pike’s hilarious performance, the new cast members, creating the illusions on screen, and if he would return to helm a fourth movie.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’

    'Now You See Me: Now You Don't' director Ruben Fleischer.
    ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ director Ruben Fleischer.

    Moviefone: To begin with, as a filmmaker, can you talk about the challenges of joining a successful series to direct the third installment of a franchise?

    Ruben Fleisher: I approach this movie as a fan of the franchise. I love the first two movies. So, for me, the pressure of trying to make it as good as the previous two was so much self-imposed because I didn’t want to disappoint my fellow fans of the franchise. So, I did everything in my power to carry on the spirit of the original and clean up some of the things that happened in the past. For example, Henley (Isla Fisher) was in the first movie and then was replaced by Lulu (Lizzy Caplan) without much explanation. So, it was important to me that both be in the film, just because as a fan, I wanted to see those two women together, because they’re both so great. So, just carrying forward all the magic, all the fun, the banter, the relationships and everything else. So, the big challenge was just feeling the pressure not to disappoint fans.

    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, and Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don't'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, and Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    MF: Did it help that you already had a good working relationship with Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson from making the ‘Zombieland’ movies?

    RF: I was lucky because I had a pre-existing relationship with Woody and Jesse, so I had a familiarity and a comfort level and that’s what drew me to the project in the first place. I was lucky to have the help of two longtime collaborators to make sure that we did our best work. This was my fourth movie with each of them. We all did the two ‘Zombieland’ movies together and then Jesse and I did ‘30 minutes or Less’ and Woody was in the tease at the end of ‘Venom’. But I love working with those two guys, and I also knew that they loved working with the rest of the cast. I was a huge fan of Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Lizzie Caplan. So, for me, it was just an opportunity to work with more actors that I really love, but I had also heard from Jesse and Woody about what a great dynamic everybody had on set and how they felt like a family among themselves. So, I was just happy to join the family.

    Rosamund Pike as Veronika in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    Rosamund Pike as Veronika in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    MF: Actress Rosmund Pike gives a fantastic performance in the movie. Can you talk about casting and working with her?

    RF: I have been a fan of hers for a long time. I mean, she’s so good going back to ‘Die Another Day’ or ‘Gone Girl’, but it was really seeing her recently in ‘Saltburn’, where I felt like she just stole every scene that she was in, and she was so funny. In addition to being a challenging character, I think movies to a degree are only as good as the villains. You need someone formidable, and especially when you have such a strong ensemble as we have, with such incredible actors, you need someone who feels equally weighted in terms of screen presence, threat, charisma and everything that makes a great movie character. So, Rosamund’s somebody who, beyond her dramatic ability, beyond her obvious beauty, she just tends to make her characters delicious and more than what’s expected. So, it was exciting for me to. She brought so much to it. She has an incredible, natural aptitude for accents, and the South African accent is very specific and challenging. I’m so proud of the fact that when South Africans have watched the movie, and I’ve talked to them about it, they have told me they’ve never heard a non-South African have such a perfect accent as that. So that was really gratifying to learn. But she’s just got this inherent intelligence. She seems like she’s from this lofted heiress status, and she seems smart and like she could be dangerous or somebody not to mess with. So, it was a great experience from beginning to end working with her.

    (L to R) Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Justice Smith as Charlie, and Ariana Greenblatt as June in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
    (L to R) Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Justice Smith as Charlie, and Ariana Greenblatt as June in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

    MF: Can you talk about bringing in new cast members like Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt and having them mix it up with the returning cast?

    RF: That was also a great challenge just because when you have such beloved, established actors, and you got to find, younger, less established actors who you expect to be as compelling and charismatic, so they just don’t get completely blown away by these movie stars. It’s challenging, but for all three of them, I had been fans of their work. With Dominic, ‘The Holdovers’ was his first movie, but he was so compelling in it. I think it was an incredible launch for his career. But I was proud to have cast him in his first ever studio movie, and I think he more than performed at a level we needed in terms of just being funny and he turned out to be good with both the magic and the action. He’s just got this cool kind of swag. Justice is somebody who we’ve all seen whether it’s ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ or the ‘Jurassic World’ movies, but also super cool indies as well. He’s always interesting and so I’ve been a fan, and it was exciting to get to cast him. Then Ariana was just a force of nature. She was 16 when she first came to Budapest and celebrated her 17th birthday while we were there. So, she was literally a child relative to these adults, and she’s just so wise beyond her years, so capable physically, obviously a great actress and just really brought so much cool to June that she just inherently has as a person. Casting’s one of my favorite parts of the process and I think if you look at the original ‘Zombieland’ or other movies I made, casting seems to be a signature of the films just discovering people who have gone on to great things. Not to say I discovered these people, but just giving them maybe perhaps a bigger platform. I think they all have exceeded beyond my wildest hopes and dreams, and I think they’re just so compelling as a triad.

    (L to R) Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Justice Smith as Charlie in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Justice Smith as Charlie in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    MF: Can you talk about designing the illusions for the film and how you wanted them to look on screen?

    RF: The first two movies are terrific, and I love them, but there were moments as a fan where I felt like they relied perhaps a little too heavily on VFX or CGI. So, it was very important to me for our movie that we do everything as practical as possible and do everything as much in cameras as possible. One of the things I’m most proud of is that all those illusion rooms that take place in the château are all physical sets that we built. So, whether it was the upside-down room where we literally spun a room upside down, which is a Hollywood convention going back to Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling. Or it’s the Ames room, which we probably all seen versions of in various museums of Illusion throughout the world, where one person’s very big and one person’s very small on the other side of frame. We built that, and that was all in camera and practical, and that was just so cool to experience when you walk to that room. It really did look like a normal room and then as soon as you walk in, the proportions shift. So, that was just neat and to be able to create something like that with that level of detail. The infinity staircase, which is what we call the room that Woody was in with all the mirrors going in a million different directions. I talked to the production designer about trying to figure out how we could do a practical version of M.C. Escher’s painting, where the stairs are going in all different directions and you’re not quite sure what’s up and down or anything else. So, through a trial and error, we arrived at the design for that room, which kind of does provide that feeling of you don’t know which way is up or down and you don’t know which reflections are real and which is Woody. Then there was a hall of mirrors, which we’ve seen in movies before, but that was all in camera. Truthfully, the only VFX effects in any of these environments was just when there were mirrors. We had to paint out the camera because he inherently shot his own reflection, but we put him in a skintight form fitting blue screen suit. So, it was easy to find him in all the reflections, and then we could just erase him. But I’m proud of how we committed to this concept of it having to be as practical as we could make it, and then holding true to it, and not ultimately bailing or relying on VFX, which is always a possibility.

    (L to R) Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Justice Smith as Charlie, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Ariana Greenblatt as June in 'Now You See Me, Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Justice Smith as Charlie, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Ariana Greenblatt as June in ‘Now You See Me, Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    MF: Finally, the ending of the film hints at more adventures for the main characters, is returning for a ‘’Now You See Me 4’ something you would be interested in doing?

    RF: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s why we left it off on that ellipsis of more potential adventures to go on. I’m thrilled with the reaction that the audience has had to the film, and I’d be absolutely thrilled to go back into this world with these actors and devise a new magical adventure for them to go on. So, fingers crossed.

    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Ariana Greenblatt as June, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Dave Franco as Jack Wilder in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Ariana Greenblatt as June, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Dave Franco as Jack Wilder in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    What is the plot of ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’?

    The original Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) reunite with a new generation of illusionists to take on powerful diamond heiress Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), who leads a criminal empire built on money laundering and trafficking. The new and old magicians must overcome their differences to work together on their most ambitious heist yet.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’?

    • Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas
    • Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney
    • Dave Franco as Jack Wilder
    • Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves
    • Justice Smith as Charlie Vanderberg
    • Dominic Sessa as Bosco LeRoy
    • Ariana Greenblatt as June Rouclere
    • Lizzy Caplan as Lula May
    • Rosamund Pike as Veronika Vanderberg
    • Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley
    • Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Shrike
    'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t' opens in theaters on November 14th.
    ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ opens in theaters on November 14th.

    List of Movies in the ‘Now You See Me’ Franchise:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t‘ Movie Showtimes

    Buy ‘Now You See Me’ Movies On Amazon

  • Movie Review: ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’

    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Ariana Greenblatt as June, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Dave Franco as Jack Wilder in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Ariana Greenblatt as June, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Dave Franco as Jack Wilder in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    Opening in theaters November 14, ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t‘ is directed by Ruben Fleischer and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Ariana Greenblatt, and Dominic Sessa.

    dFKlIcmxniLYHGSZpNnS15

    Related Article: Rosamund Pike Joins The Cast Of ‘Now You See Me 3’

    Initial Thoughts

    (L to R) Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Justice Smith as Charlie in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Justice Smith as Charlie in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    It has been nearly ten years since ‘Now You See Me 2‘, which means that the third film needed to prove itself as having a reason to return. Bringing back most of the original cast, while adding in a group of young actors to play up and coming magicians who look to the Four Horseman as inspirations is the perfect way to do it.

    This not only keeps the franchise alive, it keeps it young and adds in a bit of generational humor in the process. Fans of these movies enjoy elaborate illusions and want to see justice done to someone who deserves it. ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ delivers exactly that.

    Story and Direction

    Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
    Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

    The weakest part of this movie is easily the writing. That said, no one really goes to these movies for the writing anyways. As mentioned above, fans want to see grandeous magic tricks done by charasmatic, and slightly cocky, magicians. ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ knows its audience and plays into their hands perfectly.

    The pressure was on for ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. While Isla Fisher’s return was a welcome one, she was already explained away in the second film. Bringing her back could have easily gone horribly wrong, but this is the part of the movie where the writing really shined. Every missing cast member was given a believable reason to not be there, something that is important, especially for beloved actors like Lizzy Caplan and Mark Ruffalo.

    As with the previous films, there is a big twist towards the end. Even though viewers will be expecting it, chances are they will not figure it out. This is because of the direction – or should I say misdirection – which is handled brilliantly. The fun of these films is not knowing what to expect and being shocked at the end.

    Cast and Performances

    (L to R) Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Justice Smith as Charlie, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Ariana Greenblatt as June in 'Now You See Me, Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Justice Smith as Charlie, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Ariana Greenblatt as June in ‘Now You See Me, Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    Just take one look at the cast list and it is clear that this movie is filled with star power. Of course the returning cast is fantastic at what they do – Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco all deliver incredible performances – but the new cast fits right in without blinking an eye.

    Dominic Sessa, Justice Smith, and Ariana Greenblatt are perfect additions to the cast. They bring that young, fresh meat, attitude that is important in making ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ not feel repetative. They are integral to the story being told, and work well with the veteran cast. Their inclusion also allows for laugh-out-loud jokes about social media and how different generations handle different situation.

    Final Thoughts

    Rosamund Pike as Veronika in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    Rosamund Pike as Veronika in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ gives fans of this franchise exactly what they are looking for. The writing might be on the weaker side but the cast delivers on both humor and heart. There and multiple twists and turns, and a whole lot of fun to be had.

    Filled to the brim with delightful illusions, ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ is bigger than ever, and more than worth the ticket price.

    ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ receives a score of 78 out of 100.

    'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t' opens in theaters on November 14th.
    ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ opens in theaters on November 14th.

    What is the plot of ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’?

    The Four Horsemen return along with a new generation of illusionists performing mind-melding twists, turns, surprises, and magic unlike anything ever captured on film.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’?

    • Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas
    • Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney
    • Dave Franco as Jack Wilder
    • Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves
    • Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley
    • Justice Smith as Charlie
    • Ariana Greenblatt as June
    • Dominic Sessa as Bosco
    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, and Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney in 'Now You See Me: Now You Don't'. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.
    (L to R) Justice Smith as Charlie, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, and Woody Harrelson as Merrit McKinney in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes.

    Other Movies in the ‘Now You See Me’ Franchise:

    Buy ‘Now You See Me’ Movies On Amazon

    li4KaXQF

  • Rosamund Pike Joins the Cast of ‘Now You See Me 3’

    Rosamund Pike as Lady Elsbeth Catton in 'Saltburn.'
    Rosamund Pike as Lady Elsbeth Catton in ‘Saltburn.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon MGM Studios.

    Preview:

    • Rosamund Pike is joining the third ‘Now You See Me’ movie.
    • She’ll appear alongside franchise veterans Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher
    • ‘Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer is in the director’s chair.

    We learned last month that Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa are all aboard for the third outing of illusion-based thriller movie series ‘Now You See Me’.

    Another new recruit –– albeit someone who has enjoyed a longer career than anyone –– is also joining the cast. Rosamund Pike, most recently seen in ‘Saltburn’, has landed a mysterious role in the new movie, according to Lionsgate.

    10063292

    What’s the story of the ‘Now You See Me’ movies?

    Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’ Photo: Lionsgate.

    The original ‘Now You See Me’ in 2013 introduced us to magician team The Four Horsemen –– played by Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher, who specialize in dazzling big acts of trickery either in theaters or on the street, with an added extra –– they tend to steal from the rich to help the poor.

    In that film, they’re being hunted by the authorities, including Mark Ruffalo’s FBI agent Dylan Rhodes, but he –– spoiler if you’ve never seen the movie –– turns out to be a magician himself, and introduces them to a secret society.

    Three of the four (with Lizzy Caplan as a new recruit) returned for 2016’s ‘Now You See Me 2’ which sees the team recruited –– with threats –– by Daniel Radcliffe’s tech guru to pull off a heist.

    As for the third movie? That is being kept in a special locked chest for now, with a script that has been through the hands of Eric Warren Singer, Seth Graham Smith and Mike Lesslie.

    This is Lionsgate’s brief logline:

    “The new film returns audiences to the thieving illusionists known as the Four Horseman while introducing audiences to a new generation of magicians.”

    Ruben Fleischer –– who, of course directed Eisenberg and Harrelson in the ‘Zombieland’ movies –– will be calling the shots for this one.

    Who else will be in ‘Now You See Me 3’?

    Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’

    Eisenberg, Harrelson, Fisher, Franco and fellow franchise stalwart Morgan Freeman (who played a magician hired to debunk the Horsemen will be back in their There has also been chatter about Mark Ruffalo, though his name doesn’t appear in the studio’s press release. Perhaps it’s all part of a complex bluff of a sort that the Horsemen would enjoy making work.

    Related Article: ‘Now You See Me 3’ Adds Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa

    When will ‘Now You See Me 3’ be in theaters?

    Lionsgate has yet to announce a release date for the new movie.

    Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’ Photo: Lionsgate.

    Other Movies in the ‘Now You See Me’ Franchise:

    Buy ‘Now You See Me’ Movies On Amazon

    V1XcXs40

  • Ariana Greenblatt and Justice Smith Join ‘Now You See Me 3’

    (Left) Ariana Greenblatt in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Barbie,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Center) Justice Smith talks 'The American Society of Magical Negroes.' (Right) Dominic Sessa stars as Angus Tully in director Alexander Payne’s 'The Holdovers,'a Focus Features release. Credit: Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.
    (Left) Ariana Greenblatt in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Barbie,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Center) Justice Smith talks ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes.’ (Right) Dominic Sessa stars as Angus Tully in director Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers,’a Focus Features release. Credit: Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.

    Preview:

    • ‘Now You See Me 3’ is moving forward.
    • Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa are the new additions.
    • Ruben Fleischer is directing.

    At its CinemaCon presentation this year, Lionsgate dropped word that, after years in development limbo, a third ‘Now You See Me’ movie is finally, actually moving forward, with ‘Zombieland’s Ruben Fleisher in the director’s chair (Louis Leterrier and Jon M. Chu handled the previous entries).

    And now we know who will be starring in the movie, as ‘Barbie’s Ariana Greenblatt, ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Justice Smith and ‘The Holdovers’ breakout Dominic Sessa have all been announced as new recruits.

    10063292

    What’s the story of the ‘Now You See Me’ movies?

    Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’ Photo: Lionsgate.

    The original ‘Now You See Me’ in 2013 introduced us to magician team The Four Horsemen –– played by Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher, who specialize in dazzling big acts of trickery either in theaters or on the street, with an added extra –– they tend to steal from the rich to help the poor.

    In that film, they’re being hunted by the authorities, including Mark Ruffalo’s FBI agent Dylan Rhodes, but he –– spoiler if you’ve never seen the movie –– turns out to be a magician himself, and introduces them to a secret society.

    Three of the four (with Lizzy Caplan as a new recruit) returned for 2016’s ‘Now You See Me 2’ which sees the team recruited –– with threats –– by Daniel Radcliffe’s tech guru to pull off a heist.

    As for the third movie? That is being kept in a special locked chest for now, with a script that has been through the hands of Eric Warren Singer, Seth Graham Smith and Mike Lesslie.

    This is Lionsgate’s brief logline:

    “The new film returns audiences to the thieving illusionists known as the Four Horseman while introducing audiences to a new generation of magicians.”

    Who else will be in ‘Now You See Me 3’?

    Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’ Photo: Lionsgate.

    Deadline was first out of the gate with news on this one, reporting that Greenblatt (who will be seen this year in ‘Borderlands’ had joined the movie.

    The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, brought word of Smith and Sessa.

    Both trade sites (and the studio itself) mention that Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco will be back in their roles, while Deadline adds Mark Ruffalo, though his name doesn’t appear elsewhere. Perhaps it’s all part of a complex bluff of a sort that the Horsemen would enjoy making work.

    Related Article: ‘The Crow’, ‘Borderlands’ Showcased at Lionsgate’s CinemaCon Presentation

    When will ‘Now You See Me 3’ be in theaters?

    Lionsgate has yet to announce a release date for the new movie.

    Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’

    Other Movies in the ‘Now You See Me’ Franchise:

    Buy ‘Now You See Me’ Movies On Amazon

    V1XcXs40

  • Kelly Marcel Directing ‘Venom 3’

    Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom in 2021's 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage.'
    Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom in 2021’s ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage.’

    The director’s chair for the ‘Venom’ movies, far from being the usual folding option, must be on some sort of violent swivel. How else to explain the constant change in filmmaker behind the first two, and now third movie in the franchise?

    This latest change does at least represent some stability behind the camera though, as Deadline reports that Kelly Marcel, who has been a writer and producer on both previous films, is now on board to direct the third for Sony’s expanding Marvel-based movie universe.

    Launching in 2018 with the first movie, ‘Venom’ sees Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a down-on-his luck investigative journalist struggling to keep his career afloat and hang on to his crumbling social life.

    His world is already falling apart before he’s accidentally infected with an alien symbiote which takes over his body and causes him to become a violent creature that is only too happy to eat people.

    Eddie eventually forges an unlikely partnership with the creature that shares his body, and they end up fighting evil (and occasionally, yes, still eating people) together.

    Though the original ‘Venom’, directed by ‘Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, scored some awful reviews, it was a big box office hit, earning more than $850 million dollars.

    So of course, Sony commissioned a sequel, which saw Marcel and Hardy working together to write the script (they’d taken over from previous writers Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg on the first movie, sharing credit that time).

    Director Andy Serkis and Tom Hardy on the set of 2021's 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage.'
    (L to R) Director Andy Serkis and Tom Hardy on the set of 2021’s ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage.’

    2021’s ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ saw actor-turned-director Andy Serkis taking over the director’s chair, with Eddie and Venom facing off against violent, psychopathic serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), who merges with another symbiote and becomes the terrifying monster known as Carnage.

    It was another blend of less-than-enthusiastic reviews but still healthy box office, ending up with a little over $500 million.

    And the post-credits scene of ‘Let There Be Carnage’ sees Eddie and Venom being drawn in the MCU, where he identifies Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, though the end of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ sees the pair sent back to their own dimension, leaving behind a tiny fragment of the symbiote to cause chaos for the main Marvel heroes (at least, we figure that’s the plan).

    Despite her experience with the ‘Venom’ movies, and her long working partnership with Hardy, with whom she started out in a theatre group, Marcel would seem to be an unlikely choice to direct the next one.

    She hasn’t directed a movie before, and the effects-heavy workload of a superhero film can be daunting. Still, Marcel has plenty of experience on films, including writing the likes of ‘Saving Mr. Banks’, the first ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ and snagging a Story By credit on Disney’s ‘Cruella’.

    More recently, she has been busy as showrunner on Apple TV+ series ‘The Changeling’, which should be on screens this year.

    Hardy teased that the third ‘Venom’ script was in progress via Instagram back in June, and we knew that Sony wanted to push ahead with the franchise. So now Marcel will be carrying even more responsibility.

    Sony has yet to confirm a release date for the new movie, but we can’t see it being ready before 2024.

    Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom in 2018's 'Venom.'
    Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom in 2018’s ‘Venom.’
    PzH8XW0jqEDgxM6gY1Cqx2

  • Jonathan Majors to Play Dennis Rodman

    Jonathan Majors and Dennis Rodman
    (L) Jonathan Majors as Nat Love in ‘The Hard They Fall.’ Photo courtesy of Netflix @ 2021. (R) Legendary NBA player Dennis Rodman. Photo courtesy of the NBA’s YouTube channel.

    Jonathan Majors has enjoyed quite the successful last couple of years in his career. He’s established one of the most complicated, watchable characters for the MCU in ‘Loki’, made an impact in Western ‘The Harder They Fall’ and is flying back to cinema screens for new Korean War drama ‘Devotion’. Oh, and in 2023, he’ll not only have his big-screen MCU debut in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ but will also prove a formidable opponent to Michael B. Jordan in ‘Creed III’.

    You can understand, then, that he’s a man in demand. And now he’s considering taking on a plum role as Dennis Rodman in based-on-truth basketball movie ’48 Hours in Vegas’.

    Jordan VanDina wrote a spec script based on the crazy story of how basketball star Rodman went on a madcap adventure with his skittish assistant General Manager in the middle of the 1998 NBA Finals. According to Deadline, “the film will detail a budding friendship that neither one of them ever thought was possible but will end up solving both of their problems.”

    Though the story was covered comprehensively in Michael Jordan-Chicago Bulls documentary ‘The Last Dance’, VanDina wrote his script before the movie came out, and sounds like it could be a fun romp.

    Lionsgate won the rights to the script, which also boasts the producing power of Phil Lord, Chris Miller and their business partner Aditya Sood via their Lord Miller company.

    No director is aboard yet, but with Majors close to a deal, we figure this one will be hitting the production court next year.

    1AhlyymRcCMwm55JVrK851

    Elsewhere in the Lionsgate empire, moves are being made to conjure up a third movie in the ‘Now You See Me’ franchise. Ruben Fleischer, who directed ‘Venom’ and ‘Uncharted,’ is now locked in to oversee the new pic.

    2013’s ‘Now You See Me’, directed by Louis Leterrier, introduced us to the Four Horsemen (in that film, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher), a group of magicians who pull off elaborate heists while being hunted by the authorities.

    In 2016, Jon M. Chu directed the sequel, ‘Now You See Me’ (which really should have been called ‘Now You Don’t, but nobody asked us), and saw the return of the three men, joined this time by Lizzy Caplan for more illusions and further run-ins with the law.

    Little is known about the plot for the third (beyond that it’ll include magic tricks and probably elaborate schemes) but given that Fleischer also worked with Eisenberg and Harrelson on the two ‘Zombieland’ movies, we’d expect them to be back.

    “There are three things in this world I absolutely love… Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and magic,” says Fleischer. “To have the chance to work with these two talented actors, as well as rest of the incredible cast of the ‘Now You See Me’ movies is a dream come true. I am a lifelong fan of heist movies – I love getting drawn in by the twists and the mystery where nothing is what it seems. And that’s even more true when the thieves are magicians – the opportunities are endless. Eric was able to unlock a fresh and exciting way into a new movie and fun new characters, so I’m excited to dig in even further.”

    “Eric” is Eric Warren Singer, who wrote the original drafts of the movie, but Seth Grahame-Smith is now working on a new re-write.

    Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in 2013's 'Now You See Me.'
    (L to R) Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in 2013’s ‘Now You See Me.’

    Finally – and stepping outside of Lionsgate – there is news of ‘The Northman’ director Robert Eggers’ next movie.

    He’s been developing his own take on classic vampire tale ‘Nosferatu’ for Focus Features and has now locked down his leading duo.

    Bill Skarsgård, probably still best known for playing Pennywise in the ‘It’ movies, is back in a horror mood for the new film, alongside Lily-Rose Depp.

    Per Deadline’s report, in the new reimagining, ‘Nosferatu’ is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman (Depp) in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire (Skarsgard) who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.

    This is one that Eggers has been trying to make for a while – its development pre-dates ‘The Northman’ and at one point he had Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy and Harry Styles attached to star.

    With Eggers writing and directing as usual, the movie should be shooting next year if the schedules line up. Time for Eggers to finally do some vamping…

    Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, director Robert Eggers, Willem Dafoe, and Anya Taylor-Joy at the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Northman.'
    (L to R) Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, director Robert Eggers, Willem Dafoe, and Anya Taylor-Joy at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Northman.’

  • Tom Holland Talks ‘Uncharted’

    Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures' 'Uncharted.' Photo by: Clay Enos.
    Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Uncharted.’ Photo by: Clay Enos.

    Opening in theaters on February 18th is the new movie ‘Uncharted,’ which is based on the popular video game of the same name. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (‘Venom’), the film stars Tom Holland (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’) and Mark Wahlberg (‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’) as treasure hunters Nathan Drake and Victor “Sully” Sullivan, respectively.

    In the movie, Drake and Sullivan must race against the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) in order to find the treasure of the Magellan expedition. In addition to Holland, Wahlberg, and Banderas, the movie also stars Sophia Ali (‘Truth or Dare’), Tati Gabrielle (’The Emoji Movie’), and Rudy Pankow (‘The Politician’).

    Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with actors Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg about their work on ‘Uncharted.’

    AyUtiotC

    Below you can read our full interview with Tom Holland, or you can watch the both interviews in the video player above.

    Moviefone: To begin with, is it true that you were a huge fan of the game ‘Uncharted’ before you were cast in the movie?

    Tom Holland: Yeah, absolutely. I was playing the fourth Uncharted game while shooting ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ It was a lunch between (Chairman of Sony Pictures) Tom Rothman and I, where the idea of me playing Nathan Drake kind of came about. I think it was probably five years later that we finally went into production. So, it’s kind of crazy to be here today and that something as simple as two mates playing a video game could result in a massive movie that I’m incredibly proud of.

    MF: Did your preparation for this movie include going back and playing the video game again?

    TH: Yeah. It’s quite a nice thing to be able to say that spending a lazy day on the couch playing video games is technically work. So, I really enjoy that aspect of the prep. (When I was a kid) my mom would be like, “Go outside. You’re never going to make any money playing video games.” And now I’m like, “I’m actually being paid to do this mom.”

    Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures' 'Uncharted.' Photo by: Clay Enos.
    Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Uncharted.’ Photo by: Clay Enos.

    MF: Can you talk about how the stunts in ‘Uncharted’ compare to the stunts in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home?’

    TH: That’s a great question. I mean, there were obviously a lot of similarities. The ways in which we did certain stunts were very similar, but naturally with these two characters, they’re very different. Spider-Man is a fantastical character who can do things that a human could never dream of doing. Whereas Nathan Drake is a character that is obviously very grounded in reality.

    So, rather than thinking about a stunt that will eventually be taken over into a CG world, we need to think about the beginning of the stunt, the middle of the stunt and the end of the stunt. Unfortunately for myself and my two stunt doubles, the end of the stunt usually results in us on our back, on our head, or on our front in some sort of uncomfortable position. So, this film was brutal to make from a physicality point of view. But if you see the film, it really pays off.

    In the Spider-Man suit when you’re doing these stunts, you can pull the most grotesque faces because you are going through huge amounts of stress to achieve some of these stunts. With ‘Uncharted,’ obviously I don’t have the luxury of hiding my face. So, I had to sort of retrain myself to look cool and heroic while doing things where I felt incredibly scared. So, it was tough and my stunt doubles would come up to me and be like, “That was great. Just less face. You’re doing too much with your face.” I was like, okay, brilliant. I’ll try my best.

    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures' 'Uncharted.' Photo by: Clay Enos.
    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Uncharted.’ Photo by: Clay Enos.

    MF: What was your experience like working with Mark Wahlberg?

    TH: I mean, it was kind of a dream come true. I’ve been a huge fan of his for a long time and his body of work is so impressive. So, for a young actor to get the opportunity to work with him, it has been a real honor. He’s a good guy and we had a lot of fun working together. The relationship between Nate and Sully was very, very important to get right. I’m really glad it was Mark because the chemistry was something that came very naturally to us.

    MF: Finally, Sully is Nate Drake’s mentor in the movie. Did Mark Wahlberg mentor you at all on set?

    TH: Yeah, absolutely. He’s a real entrepreneur and he has his fingers in so many different pies. He’s always working and I admire his work ethic. His fitness is something as well. When we were shooting this movie, we came to set for the first day of shooting and I realized how much smaller I was than him because he is massive. Then we shut down because of COVID for five months. So, I went home and did nothing but eat and train, and eat and train, and eat and train. When I came back, he did make a comment about how much size I’d put on, which I was very chuffed about. So, he has inspired me and given me loads of great advice.

    fqUdMYTuLEdhAR097yZ5B3

  • Movie Review: ‘Uncharted’

    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures' 'Uncharted.' Photo by: Clay Enos.
    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Uncharted.’ Photo by: Clay Enos.

    Opening in theaters on February 18th is the new action-adventure movie ‘Uncharted,’ which is based on the popular video game of the same name. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (‘Venom’), the film stars Tom Holland (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’) and Mark Wahlberg (‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’) as treasure hunters Nathan Drake and Victor “Sully” Sullivan, respectively.

    In addition to Holland and Wahlberg, the movie also stars Antonio Banderas (‘The Expendables 3‘),  Sophia Ali (‘Truth or Dare’), Tati Gabrielle (’The Emoji Movie’), and Rudy Pankow (‘The Politician’). The result is another mediocre movie adaption of a video game with little to offer except one great action sequence and a charming performance from Tom Holland, but is an otherwise forgettable film.

    ‘Uncharted’ begins with an origin story for Nathan Drake (Holland) and his brother Sam (Pankow) before jumping forward to present day. Sam has gone missing and Nathan is working as a bar tender and pick-pocket when he is recruited by his brother’s former partner, Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg) to look for the hidden treasure of the Magellan Expedition. Hoping to discover what happened to his brother, Drake agrees to help Sullivan, but he doesn’t trust him.

    Their rival for the treasure is a wealthy businessman named Santiago Moncada (Banderas), who believes the treasure is his birthright, and mercenary Jo Braddock (Gabrielle). But in order to get to the treasure first, Drake and Sullivan will have to work with fellow fortune hunter Chloe Frazer (Ali), who possesses an important key to finding the hidden gold. Now, trusting no one, they must travel the world looking for clues to the treasure, while Nathan searches for answers to his brother’s disappearance.

    I love video games, but let’s be honest, there has never been a great movie adapted from a video game. The list of mediocre movies adapted from video games is long and includes ‘Warcraft,’ ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ ‘Doom,’ ‘Hitman: Agent 47,’ ‘Need for Speed,’ ‘Rampage,’ ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,’ and ‘Max Payne‘ (which also starred Mark Wahlberg). Unfortunately, you can add ‘Uncharted’ to that list.

    But let’s start with what is good about the movie. The film begins with an incredible action sequence featuring Holland falling out of a plane, which is actually just a preview of the full sequence that actually takes place in the third act. The filmmakers were wise to start the movie with part of that action scene, since it is the most stunning sequence in the entire film.

    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures' 'Uncharted.' Photo by: Clay Enos.
    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Uncharted.’ Photo by: Clay Enos.

    I have to wonder if the screenplay was designed that way, or if the filmmakers realized in post-production that they didn’t have an action sequence in the first 45 minutes of the movie and needed to pull some excitement from the third act. Either way it works but unfortunately, it is the only exciting action sequence in the movie, including the final fight scene.

    Tom Holland is fantastic! The young actor known best for playing Spider-Man gives an absolutely charming performance as Nathan Drake. The character is tougher, and rougher around the edges than Peter Parker, but still has Holland’s signature sweetness and charm. The actor also buffed-up for the role and is completely believable in all of his action sequences. Like “Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a plane” believable! He completely out classes and out shines his co-star Mark Wahlberg and gives a very strong leading-man performance. It’s almost heartbreaking that Holland wasted his talent on such an ordinary film.

    With a movie as unspectacular as ‘Uncharted,’ you have to look at the person behind the camera, in this case, director Ruben Fleischer. The filmmaker made a fantastic debut with 2009’s ‘Zombieland,’ but followed it up with disappointments like ’30 Minutes or Less’ and ‘Gangster Squad.’ Fleischer had a huge box office success with ‘Venom,’ but we can argue whether that was actually a good movie or not. And you have to wonder why the director was not asked back for ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage.’ That being said, Ruben Fleischer is a serviceable director at best. So, it should be no surprise that the direction of the movie lacks any real feeling of urgency or cinematic style.

    While the movie is loosely based on “Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End,” it incorporates elements of the mythos from the entire franchise. However, the screenplay unfolds like an actual video game, with no real plot other than “We have to go to A to get B to go to C.” With so much mythology to choose from, I wish they had incorporated more of that in the film and allowed it to drive the story, rather than having the story driven simply by “We have to achieve this goal to achieve the next.”

    Actresses Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle are both fine in their roles, but not given enough to be truly memorable. Antonio Banderas’ villain is completely over-the-top and one dimensional, and isn’t given enough screen time to be truly threatening. Mark Wahlberg, who has been attached to this project for over a decade and at one point was going to play Nathan Drake, basically phones in his performance and is over shadowed by Holland in every scene. You never really get a sense of who the character of Victor Sullivan really is, and instead it feels more like Mark Wahlberg is just playing Mark Wahlberg.

    In the end, ‘Uncharted’ is a just disappointing movie. The source material offers an extremely rich and intriguing mythology that basically goes to waste with no real character development explored at all. A commanding leading performance from Tom Holland and an exhilarating action sequence is just not enough to make ‘Uncharted’ a movie worth seeing.

    ‘Uncharted’ receives 2 out of 5 stars.

    fqUdMYTuLEdhAR097yZ5B3

  • New ‘Uncharted’ Trailer

    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures' 'Uncharted.' Photo by: Clay Enos.
    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Uncharted.’ Photo by: Clay Enos.

    After several delays, the movie adaptation of much-loved treasure-hunting video game ‘Uncharted’ is finally on its way to cinemas next month. And Sony has released the latest trailer, featuring Tom Holland as adventure-happy hero Nathan Drake.

    The movie, directed by ‘Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, follows street-smart thief Drake, who is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune lost by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago.

    What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs.

    If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world’s oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate’s long-lost brother… but only if they can learn to work together.

    ‘Uncharted’ also stars Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle and promises a lot of adventure. Fleischer and his team have said that several of the big set-pieces are taken directly from different entries of the game series – that cargo plane stunt, for example, is lifted almost directly from ‘Uncharted 3’.

    mMOIY1o7

    Even before its multiple release date changes, the film has been in development for years – actors such as Nathan Fillion and even Wahlberg himself have been mooted as potentials to play Nathan Drake, while directors such as David O. Russell (‘The Fighter’), Shawn Levy (‘Free Guy’), Neil Burger (‘Divergent’) and Dan Trachtenberg (‘10 Cloverfield Lane’) were all attached at different times.

    Holland’s casting has been controversial, as Drake has usually been depicted as older in the games, but this story is meant to serve as more of an origin tale for the character.

    Video game adaptations have traditionally seen mixed fortunes in the cinema, with few seeming to capture either fans of the original titles or those who might be interested. A few recent efforts, including last year’s ‘Mortal Kombat’ (which has just been greenlit for a sequel) and 2020s’ ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ (a sequel to that one arrives in April) have found more success. ‘Free Guy’, meanwhile, which is not derived from any one title, but riffs on and references plenty of them, was also a big hit last year.

    As for the video game series itself, it took inspiration from the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies and was originally created by Amy Hennig. Launching with ‘Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune’ in 2007 on the Sony PlayStation, the game became a huge success, generating many sequels and helping both the console and software developers Naughty Dog.

    ‘Uncharted’ will be in theaters on February 18th.

    fqUdMYTuLEdhAR097yZ5B3
  • ‘Venom’ Director Ruben Fleischer Reveals Why Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Isn’t In the Movie

    ‘Venom’ Director Ruben Fleischer Reveals Why Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Isn’t In the Movie

     

    Sony

    “Venom” has landed.

    The famous Marvel villain, first introduced in “The Amazing Spider-Man” issue 300 (way back in May 1988), has made it on screen before, more than ten years ago in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3.” But in that film, he was little more than a cameo in an already overstuffed piñata of a Spider-Man movie; fans wanted a movie exclusively devoted to the alien symbiote and his human host Eddie Brock. And now, finally, they have it.

    In the film (opening nationwide on Friday), Brock (played by Tom Hardy) is an intrepid reporter who is looking into the shading dealings of a technology company run by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), as a more-openly-evil Elon Musk. This gets him fired, of course, but his quest for answers also exposes him to the alien symbiote known as Venom (also Hardy). While he’s not exactly a hero, the two personalities work to stop Drake from unleashing unimaginable horror on the world.

    And as difficult as preventing the apocalypse must be, it was probably equally painful to bring the character to the big screen, a job that fell directly on director Ruben Fleischer. We got to sit down with Fleischer and talk to him about what it was like bringing Venom to the big screen, especially without mentioning everybody’s favorite neighborhood wall crawler.

    Moviefone: You’re somebody whose name is always brought up for these big franchise movies, but — until now — you’d still never done one. What made you finally commit to “Venom?”

    Fleisher: What got me really excited about this movie was that we were doing something new. I felt with “Venom,” we had the opportunity to launch a whole new world, a whole new character. Beyond the fact that I had loved the character from the comics for a long time, and think he’s one of the most cool, bad ass characters from the comics, it was the idea for me of doing something new.

    Marvel so knows what they’re doing, and DC has such a defined aesthetic, it was fun to get to create something new. That was the driving principle of this film, was to just do something that felt a little different from everything else. And that’s something that’s obvious in the tagline, which is, “The world has enough superheroes. Embracing the antihero nature of the character, to the aesthetic of the film, which I’m really proud of. I think the tone is really distinctive in terms of that horror/comedy/thriller/action vibe that it lives in.

    The tone is definitely distinct. Did you do any experimenting to find that balance?

    From the original script, there was always a lot of personality to Venom. And even from the comics, you have this huge, hulking, scary figure — with giant teeth and whatnot — but he always had great lines. He would always say, “Mmm snacks!” He was always really funny. So I wanted to do justice to the comics and have a mix of tones. I think that’s ultimately why people love him; you can have this scary, menacing character, but it’s undercut by that goofy tongue or the great lines he has or his relationship with Eddie. And for me, that [tonal mixture] was always inherent to the film from its inception.

    Sony

    Was there anything that you looked to for inspiration? There definitely seems to be an “American Werewolf in London”-vibe to some of it.

    You hit the nail on the head, both in terms of its mixture of horror and comedy. But it’s also the story of somebody who is possessed by something and he doesn’t really know what it is and it becomes a mental breakdown. The werewolf was a great metaphor for Venom, in the way that a human is possessed by something else and physically transforms. The big difference is in the werewolf model, usually the human goes to sleep and the werewolf comes out. When the human is awake, the werewolf isn’t talking to him. But true to the Venom comics, it’s always about the relationship between the two. They’re always talking to each other, whether Venom is in Eddie or Eddie is in Venom. Even those scenes from the comics where Venom comes out and talks to Eddie directly, it’s all about their relationship.

    Obviously, Venom is heavily indebted to Spider-Man. Was there ever any talk of integrating that universe into this? We saw those set photos of Tom Holland.

    Those aren’t real.

    Really?

    Yeah.

    So there was never Spider-Man as a part of “Venom?”

    From its inception, at least as long as I’ve been a part of it, there was always a defined rule — no Spider-Man. The challenge, obviously, is that in the comics he’s so defined by Spider-Man. But because of “Spider-Man 3,” we kind of saw the true-to-the-comics version and — because of corporate stuff I don’t understand and probably shouldn’t talk about — we couldn’t use Spider-Man in this movie. So that put the onus upon us to create something original.

    So I approached the film as the kind of “Ultimate” version of Venom. That’s what my guiding principle was, reimagining a different origin, reimagining whether it was the Life Foundation — pulling things from the canon of the Spider-Man universe, but making him ours, and allowing Eddie and Venom’s story to stand on their own two feet.

    Were there incredibly strict guidelines? It’s interesting to see Venom and not see the white spider on his chest.

    We couldn’t use Spider-Man, so that was the ultimate. But maybe we could have used the spider on his chest, but it doesn’t make sense. If he didn’t originate from Spider-Man, it wouldn’t have made any sense. It would have been weird if you have an alien from outer space, occupying a rogue journalist, and — all of a sudden — there’s a spider on his chest. That’s not to say in the future, if ever Venom and Spider-Man were to meet and Venom would return to Spider-Man and come back to Eddie, then he could have the spider on his chest. But up until that point, I think he’s spider-less.

    Can you talk about the rating of this movie? People assumed it would be R from the get-go. Was that ever the case?

    We only ever intended this movie as a PG-13 movie. I’ve said in many interviews that we’re going to push the violence to the hilt and that this would be the most violent Marvel movie, because the character is one of the most violent. But it’s all within the PG-13. The Marvel movies are all PG-13. “The Dark Knight” is PG-13, and that was a huge reference point for me. Because “The Dark Knight” didn’t pull any punches and delivered a really gritty, violent film that was incredibly satisfying and it was PG-13. Some fans may have this blood thirst, I feel like we delivered a really aggressive version of “Venom” that didn’t compromise and is a really satisfying PG-13.

    Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, but also does the voice of Venom. What was that like?

    Early on in the process, as soon as he got involved, he’d record lines from the movie in Garage Band and started applying filters to it and would send them to me. He was just excited to create this character with audio. It’s amazing how much personality he’s able to imbue Venom with just his voice. Obviously, there’s the visual component, which I find really satisfying, but Tom was able to create so much interplay between Eddie and Venom and the dynamic of their relationship, all by himself.

    Sony

    You worked with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who is amazing, but how did you come up with how this world would look?

    That’s one of my favorite things about the film. Matty is a true genius and a master at his art, having made everything from “Requiem for a Dream” to “Black Swan” to “Iron Man.” He’s just one of the best cinematographers working today. What was really important to me was that we distinguish our movie from Marvel and DC.

    I wanted it to feel singular in its aesthetic, and grounded and gritty and real in our modern world. I felt San Fransisco, as a backdrop, was cool and distinctive and we really embraced the anamorphic ’80s quality, whether it’s Spielberg or Carpenter — pick your favorite 80s anamorphic movie. We shot it in digital, but we used a lot of old 1970s lenses that give it a softness. It doesn’t feel super crisp and cartoony. It has a richness that gives it a nostalgic quality. Sometimes, digital can be overtly sharp and clean and we really wanted to dirty the image.

    We can’t talk about anything you see during the credits, but we can talk about what you can hear, specifically the fact that there’s a new Run the Jewels song during the credits.

    I’ve got to say that when I was prepping the movie, I made a playlist of “Venom” songs and it heavily featured Run the Jewels. There’s something about the darkness of their music and the content of their lyrics that I fully embraced and love. It was a dream when we got on the phone with El-P and Killer Mike to talk about what that song must be like. I just love the track that they delivered. It’s a banger. There’s a line, “Hardy har, you’re a laugh, I’m a Riot.” It’s so cool that they managed to get Riot in there. It was just a dream.

    I know you’re about to start in on “Zombieland 2,” but is a “Venom” sequel something you’d look forward to returning to?

    I don’t know. I’m just focused on “Zombieland 2” right now.

    “Venom” hits theaters Thursday night, opening wide on Friday, Oct. 5.