Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Josh Hartnett about his work on ‘Fight or Flight’, his first reaction to the screenplay, the tone and style of the film, and shooting the movie’s intense action sequences.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Katee Sackhoff, and director James Madigan.
Josh Hartnett as Lucas Reyes in ‘Fight or Flight’. Photo: Vertical.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and did the tone and style of the movie read on the page?
Josh Hartnett: We worked a lot on the tone and the style after I read it. It was amazing. I thought the conceit of it was fantastic. The production company that sent it to me wanted me to do all my own stunts. I thought that would be an amazing challenge and opportunity at the age of 45, because you don’t get that. People don’t ask you to do your own stunts at 45 very often. Then finding the right tone was a lot of work for Jim and I. We knew what our references were going to be, what films we really liked and wanted to emulate, but also what films we didn’t want to emulate. We knew that we wanted this to be unique within the marketplace. So, the comedy had to be front-and-center and the action sequences had to be on point and it needed to all blend together in a seamless way and not feel canned. So, we knew that we had to shoot long sequences. We had to see that I was doing it all and it had to be at the same time funny and surprising. So, we added the drug stuff and a lot of the injuries because Jim really wanted to feel my character getting injured repeatedly so that you had this sense of jeopardy with the character the whole time. You didn’t feel like there was an inevitable win at the end of this. Ultimately, he needs other people to help him to win the day. So, it’s just a pure fun piece, but it also is, I think unique. I think audiences hopefully will respond to it.
(Right) Josh Hartnett as Lucas Reyes in ‘Fight or Flight’. Photo: Vertical.
MF: Finally, what was it like shooting the film’s intense action sequences with director James Madigan?
JH: I mean, we had an amazing stunt team, and I had a great stunt double who helped work out all the scenes while I was off shooting other scenes. So, we basically had time at the beginning, a couple of weeks to rehearse all the sequences, but they weren’t all finished by the time we got to filming. We only had five weeks to shoot it. So, I had to go and shoot, and my stunt guy would work out the scenes with the with stunt choreographers. Then I would come after work and insert myself into it and try to learn them as we had no extra time. There was no room for error, and we got incredibly lucky. We had such amazing people working on it. Jim was able to get everything he needed to put it together like this and I think we achieved a unique tone. I don’t know if we could have done it any other way. If we’d had more time, we might have ruined it. You know what I mean? It was something that came together because necessity is the mother of invention. We had to do a lot of stuff that was very handheld and very old school. Like when the body is ripped up with the chainsaw, that was just a dummy from an old costume factory or something that they pulled apart physically as I was sawing through it and it’s just shooting it at the right angle. We had a great DP. So, it just required an incredible amount of ingenuity. I’m very proud the whole team that put this together. I was very lucky.
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What is the plot of ‘Fight or Flight’?
A mercenary (Josh Hartnett) is tasked with a job on an airplane flight.
Jake Gyllenhaal is reportedly to star in M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie.
It’s a romantic supernatural thriller.
Nicholas Sparks co-created the story and will write a book based on it.
The last time M. Night Shyamalan brought us a movie, he delivered last year’s ‘Trap,’ in which Josh Hartnett played a father escorting his daughter to a pop star’s concert, only to discover that the event is one giant snare designed to catch him –– as he’s also a serial killer whose latest victim is chained up in his basement.
Now the writer/director is back, and for his next trick, he’s got another big name actor looking to sign on. Jake Gyllenhaal, most recently seen in the ‘Road House’ remake, will take the lead role in the movie.
But perhaps more intriguing than the Gyllenhaal casting –– after all, Shyamalan has worked with the likes of Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson to name just a few in the past –– is word that the filmmaker concocted the story alongside Nicholas Sparks. Yes, the best-selling author.
Director M. Night Shyamalan talks ‘Trap,’ which opens in theaters on August 2nd.
That’s one element we don’t know yet, at least beyond the basic supernatural romance angle.
More fascinating is the detail that Shyamalan and Sparks both intend to use the story they came up with together. While Shyamalan works on his movie, Sparks will be writing a novel based on the basic plot.
Both projects will share the same concept and set of characters, but will be tailored to their respective mediums.
So will we see Gyllenhaal as a widower who discovers that… twist alert! His wife is not as deceased as he thought? Well, the twist here is that we really don’t know.
Shyamalan is, as usual, keeping this close on his latest effort.
Has Nicholas Sparks been connected with movies before?
(L to R) Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in ‘The Notebook.’ Photo: New Line Cinema.
Saying Sparks has movie links is like saying Apple TV+ has series starting with the letter “S.”
He has published twenty-three novels, all New York Times bestsellers, and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.
Films based on his novels have grossed more than $889 million worldwide, with more in development. He also worked as screenwriter on ‘The Last Song.’
Sparks’ latest book, ‘Counting Miracles,’ was released this past fall and debuted top of the New York Times bestsellers list. And you’ll be shocked to learn it’s in the process of being adapted into a film by Amazon.
This agreement with Shyamalan feels more unique –– and it’ll be interesting to see how the movie differs from the book. We’d guess the film might lean more closely into genre trappings.
What else does Jake Gyllenhaal have coming up?
Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Presumed Innocent,’ premiering June 12, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Despite some early controversy about its straight-to-streaming distribution, Amazon’s ‘Road House’ was a massive hit for the studio breaking streaming records, with a sequel already in development.
Gyllenhaal next showed up in the critically acclaimed limited series ‘Presumed Innocent’ for Apple TV+, and that earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
This year he will share the stage starting next month with Denzel Washington in an adaptation of ‘Othello’ on Broadway.
The film doesn’t yet have a studio home, though ‘Trap’ distributors Warner Bros. are already in talks to handle it, so we doubt it’ll take long for that to lock in.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ has a successful second weekend at the box office.
It dropped just 53% to earn $97 million domestically.
New arrivals, such as ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ had a tougher time of it.
Deadpool just keeps on taking aim at box office records and achievements.
While box office pundits were eager to see how ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ might fare on its second weekend of release (traditionally Marvel and other big movies can be front-loaded, and attendance drops in further weekends), the successful superhero outing has proved it’s in the charts for the long haul, earning an impressive $97 million this weekend.
That’s a low 53% drop in income and indicates that fans and general audiences are still happily turning out for the movie.
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What new records has ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ taken down?
With its domestic total now standing at $395.6 million, the latest outing for the Merc with a Mouth has deposed ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (which made $371 million domestically in its run, not accounting for inflation), which should please “Marvel Jesus” no end.
That $97 million now stands as eighth-biggest second weekend in domestic box office history, sneaking past ‘Barbie’, which had that slot after last year’s success.
Globally, the new Marvel effort is up to $824 million globally, with $1 billion and more clearly in sight and likely to be crossed within a few days (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ has been doing great business during the week as well as the weekend). That is more than either of the previous two ‘Deadpool’ movies achieved in their theatrical runs.
And the movie is currently the third-biggest R-rated movie of all time, behind just ‘Joker’ ($1.07 billion) and ‘Oppenheimer’, which earned $975 million.
Elsewhere, it was a solid week for ‘Deadpool’s veteran chart-mates as ‘Twisters’ took $22.7 million, staying second place in its third weekend of release for $195.6 million domestically. It has served as good counter-programming for adults in search of non-comic book fare who still want a little excitement in their movies.
Third place went to M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’, which is seen as a mildly decent start, though we’re sure Warner Bros. (which didn’t screen the movie for critics) was likely hoping for something bigger. The movie earned $15.6 million this first weekend on release.
Fourth was ‘Despicable Me 4’, proof positive once again that Gru and the Minions mean big business for Illumination and Universal, with $11.3 million for fourth place as it crossed $300 million in its fifth week of release and now stands at $313.9 million domestically.
‘Inside Out 2’ continues to also bring in the family crowd, with $6.7 million in fifth (don’t forget it has been in cinemas for eight weeks now) and $626.9 million in total domestically, which makes it (for now) the highest-grossing movie of 2024 domestically so far.
Struggling in sixth place was Sony’s ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ which starred Zachary Levi, which was panned by critics, earned solid scores from moviegoers, but couldn’t even crack the top 5 on release, taking in a dismal $6 million domestically and $9 million globally, which is not great for a $30 million-budgeted movie.
There was other good news for Disney which, thanks to the likes of ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’, ‘Inside Out 2’, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ and ‘The First Omen’, is the first studio this year to cross $3 billion at the box office, with a running total so far of $3.109 billion.
(L to R) Director Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Other Movies and TV Shows Similar to ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’:
After four seasons of serving as director and showrunner on the Apple TV+ series ‘Servant,’ Shyamalan returns to the big screen with his latest thriller ‘Trap,’ which stars Josh Hartnett and opens in theaters on August 2nd.
In honor of its release, Moviefone has ranked every movie filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has ever directed, including his latest.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘After Earth’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (Jaden Smith).
When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The story follows the adventures of Aang (Noah Ringer), a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Happening’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliott Moore (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon — or something even more sinister?
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Praying with Anger’. Photo: Cinevistaas.
An alienated, Americanized teenager (Shyamalan) of East Indian heritage is sent back to India where he discovers not only his roots but a lot about himself.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Visit’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
A brother (Ed Oxenbould) and sister (Olivia DeJonge) are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a week, where they discover that the elderly couple (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie) is involved in something deeply disturbing.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Lady in the Water’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) rescues what he thinks is a young woman (Bryce Dallas Howard) from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Wide Awake’. Photo: Miramax Films.
The tale of a ten-year-old boy (Joseph Cross) in a Catholic school who, following the death of his beloved grandfather (Robert Loggia), embarks on a quest to discover the meaning of life.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Old’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Split’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him — as well as everyone around him — as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Villiage’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
When a willful young man (Joaquin Phoenix) tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Glass’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
In a series of escalating encounters, former security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. Meanwhile, the shadowy presence of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.
A father (Josh Hartnett) and teen daughter (Ariel Donoghue) attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Knock at the Cabin’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl (Kristen Cui) and her parents (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) are taken hostage by four armed strangers (Dave Bautista, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint) who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Signs’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
A family (Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin) living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Sixth Sense’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
Following an unexpected tragedy, a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), who is hiding a dark secret.
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Unbreakable’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
An ordinary man (Bruce Willis) makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass
Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan stages an intriguing and entertaining thriller that unfortunately unravels as the film moves towards its conclusion. The movie gives away too much too early and has no big surprises or twists to offer in the third act. However, the compelling story and Shyamalan’s unique direction, particularly with the concert sequences, will keep your attention throughout. While Josh Hartnett’s performance is telegraphed and doesn’t completely work, Saleka Shyamalan is excellent in her feature film debut.
If you watched the trailer for ‘Trap’, which did an excellent job of explaining the story and building suspense, then you probably already know the plot of the film. But in case you haven’t seen it, the film follows Cooper (Josh Hartnett), a dad taking his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert featuring her favorite popstar Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). However, Cooper soon realizes that the concert is really a trap for a notorious serial killer called “The Butcher,” and the trailer leads us to believe that Cooper is none other than the Butcher himself.
While I won’t confirm if that is true or not, I can say that the identity of the Butcher is revealed rather early in the film, and that is part of the problem. Because the mystery is solved in the first act, it leads you to believe that there will be another twist coming in the third act and there really isn’t. It also doesn’t help that any movie with Shyamalan’s name attached comes with certain audience expectations, but more on that later.
With that said, the movie’s premise and Shyamalan’s excellent direction continues to keep your attention throughout, even if it rings a bit hollow by the end. Shyamalan’s direction is most impressive in the concert sequences, which are sprawling and very realistic. He also orchestrates scenes in and around the arena well, building suspense at every turn.
Here’s the issue, Shyamalan has spent his career making mind-blowing films with surprise endings like ‘The Sixth Sense’ or ‘The Village’ and because of that, audiences have a certain expectation when they go to see a M. Night Shyamalan film. It seems that in recent years the director is trying to subvert those expectations by making movies that seem like they will have a twist, and then the twist is: that there isn’t a twist.
‘Knock at the Cabin’ is a great example of that. The premise was that four strangers claiming to be the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse offer a family a chance to avoid the impending doom. Most of the film is spent asking the central question: Are they telling the truth? While many audience members were expecting some big Shyamalan twist, the real twist was that there was no twist. They were exactly who they said they were.
I only bring this up to illustrate the point that it seems like Shyamalan’s signature twists have been replaced by fake out twists. Meaning that because audience members are expecting a Shyamalan twist, having no twist at all is the new twist, which might be exactly what the director wants. Without spoiling anything, that is also the case with ‘Trap’. I spent most of the movie waiting for the next big surprise, which unfortunately never came. Much like ‘Knock at the Cabin’, ‘Trap’ is exactly what it seems to be on the surface, which in the end left me disappointed.
Another big problem I had with the film comes from Josh Hartnett’s performance, which did not work for me. He seems to be trying too hard to make Cooper the “fun dad,” while also playing with the idea of “Is he the Butcher, or not?” Hartnett’s performance betrays the suspense Shyamalan is trying to build, and his relationship with his daughter and wife are never really fleshed out.
On the other hand, Saleka Shyamalan gives an excellent debut performance as Lady Raven. She is completely believable as a Lady Gaga/Taylor Swift type performer, as she is a legitimate pop-star in her own right. But Lady Raven’s role is not limited just to the stage as the character has much more to do in the third act, and Saleka is completely believable in those scenes.
Ariel Donoghue is adequate as Cooper’s daughter Riley, but other than playing a concert viewer, does not have a lot to do. Alison Pill plays Cooper’s wife, and her role is also underdeveloped, which causes a problem heading into the finale. Veteran actress Hayley Mills makes an appearance as an FBI profiler hunting the Butcher, and while her role is small, she brings a lot of gravitas to the character and is a welcomed addition to the cast.
In the end, ‘Trap’ is an entertaining thriller that will keep your attention throughout but may leave you disappointed with its conclusion. Josh Hartnett’s performance seems confused and muted at times, but Saleka Shyamalan’s Lady Raven vividly comes alive on screen. M. Night Shyamalan crafts a suspenseful and intriguing premise but can’t quite get it over the finish line.
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‘Trap’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
What is the plot of ‘Trap’?
Cooper, a serial killer dubbed “The Butcher”, joins his daughter at a concert for pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), an event he realizes is a trap set by police to catch him.
Director M. Night Shyamalan talks ‘Trap,’ which opens in theaters on August 2nd.
Moviefone recently had the honor of speaking with M. Night Shyamalan about his work on ‘Trap’, developing the screenplay, the audience’s expectations, working with Josh Hartnett, directing his daughter, and filming the concert sequences.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about developing the screenplay and the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?
M. Night Shyamalan: It was an unusual birthing process for the movie because it was more of a kind of a challenge, a conceit of Saleka, my daughter, and I talking about how to aim an album towards a narrative and making it more of a theatrical experience, because the concert experience and theatrical experience are similar and it’s an audience thing, and could we put those together? I was encouraged by seeing movies like ‘A Star is Born’ or other movies where I was engulfed in the music at moments, and say, could we do a whole movie like that and make it a thriller? So Saleka and I talked a lot about that and then I was like, “Let me think if there’s a plot I can think of.” Then we said, “Well, maybe let’s do it in one location, an arena where you hear an album that way, but the characters are listening to it as something else is going on.” So, it kind of started that way.
MF: There are certain expectations that come with an M. Night Shyamalan movie. At this point in your career, are you trying to subvert those expectations, or do you embrace them?
MNS: Well, I always find it fascinating because it’s not necessarily accurate. For example, if they go, “Oh, he makes scary movies,” and I go, “I do? ‘Unbreakable‘?” And they go, “Well, not ‘Unbreakable’.” Then you go, “Well, he does that,” so you have to keep on, and I can keep going like that. “Oh, he does this. He does that.” For me, being original and having certain aspects, let’s say like highest quality audience movies is what I want to make, and being proud and honored to make audience movies. Maybe other people might think of genre as a lesser art form. I don’t think of it that way. But we still want to go, we want to give you the best performances, the best cinematography, the best music, everything, all in service of the characters in the story, and I feel the audience feels all of that. So, for me, that’s what you should expect when you come to see my movie. Certainly not tone or movement or structure or anything like that. It’s going to be surprising in some way.
MF: Can you talk about working with Josh Hartnett and why he was the right actor for this role?
MNS: It was an amazing experience with Josh. We’re very similar and we’re very close. I think partly, it might be in some ways that we both had early success in our twenties and then chose to live outside of Hollywood and raise our families. We also coincidentally have three daughters. There’s a lot of interesting things that bond us, and the thing is the way I choose to make movies really excites him. I make them smaller with high risk and complicated characters and new tones, and you’re not going to be safe. There’s not a lot of frills when you make a movie with me. You’re coming and we’re all just going for it. I am going to be eating a sandwich on the set and that’s lunch, and let’s just keep thinking about how to do this. And make it as fun, almost like film school again, and he loves that. He’s only drawn when there’s high risk, and I’m the same way. For me, when I met him, I was looking for someone who could play a dad, who was incredibly charming. A handsome guy who no one would ever think could do anything wrong and would embrace the complexity of this other side of him, and struggle with it in the right way in front of the camera, and he was just perfect for it.
MNS: Well, I wrote Lady Raven, the character, as a version of Saleka, but as she would tell you, a more outgoing, extroverted version of herself. She would tell you I’m writing what I wish she was, that she would be more extroverted and be more relaxed and that kind of thing, but that’s not true. It’s a fictional character. I love Saleka the way she is. She’s such a pure artist, and so for me, directing human beings that are connected to their truth with no artifice, that’s the most important thing. That can be a world-class actor like Josh who’s learned to de-filter himself and be connected to his purity. It can be a child. It can be a human being like Saleka that has studied her art form of music to the point that she’s also unfiltered like Josh. So, I can just talk through the characters to these people, whether it’s a child or Saleka or Josh, and we just get rid of all those affectations. We can never reproduce it. That’s always the goal, I tell the actors. Let’s do something right now that we cannot reproduce, we couldn’t do it again. That’s because you’re so present and the audience feels that magic, so that’s always our goal. You and I couldn’t do this movie again. It just wouldn’t come out the same way.
MF: Finally, can you talk about shooting the concert sequences?
MNS: The concert stuff was incredible because I learned a different type of storytelling in that. Giving so much love to the element that’s behind the story is really rewarding and it really enriches everything and has ramifications that you foresee. Like say for example, the way we spent so much time on making this a real concert, the lighting, the movement and the way the audience is reacting and cheering around Josh. Or the light on his face, all that stuff, or his reaction or all the extras and the way they’re dazzled by what they’re watching because it’s a real concert, those all come to play out and is very similar to what you’re watching.
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What is the plot of ‘Trap’?
Cooper, a serial killer dubbed “The Butcher”, joins his daughter at a concert for pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), an event he realizes is a trap set by police to catch him.
Summer 2024 is almost here and with it comes the sun, the beach and summer movies!
The summer movie season will officially begin on May 3rd when the big screen adaption of the popular 80’s TV series ‘The Fall Guy,’ which stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, opens in theaters.
Johnny Depp in ‘Jeanne Du Barry.’ Photo: Vertical.
The life of Jeanne Bécu (Maïwenn), who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV (Johnny Depp) to become his last official mistress.
He’s a stuntman (Ryan Gosling), and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?
Harriet Slater in ‘Tarot’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death.
(Left) Justice Smith in ‘I Saw the TV Glow’. Photo: A24.
Teenager Owen (Justice Smith) is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Lee (Ashley Judd) protects her orphaned nieces Imogen (Katie Douglas) and Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) from a self-destructing world, raising them in isolation until an outsider threatens their peaceful existence.
Richard Brake as Beau in the western/crime/thriller, ‘The Last Stop In Yuma County,’ a Well Go USA release. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-begotten fortune.
Sasha Pieterse, Parker Young, Nestor Carbonell, and Academy Award® winner Mira Sorvino star in this twisted tale of deception and desire based on the bestselling thriller by Adele Parks. Identical twins Anna and Zoe find their bond tested over Anna’s new love, Nick. While the trusting Anna is head over heels, her skeptical sister Zoe senses a web of deceit. But as Zoe digs for the truth, they’re all pulled into a dangerous game where honesty could prove fatal.
(L to R) Cailey Fleming and Blue star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘IF.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The story of a girl (Cailey Fleming) who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.
Marisa Abela stars as Amy Winehouse in director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s ‘Back To Black,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features.
The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s (Marisa Abela) eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.
(L to R) Froy Gutierrez as “Ryan” and Madelaine Petsch as “Maya” in ‘The Strangers’ Trilogy, a Lionsgate release. Photo Credit: John Armour for Lionsgate.
After their car breaks down, a couple driving cross-country to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest is forced to spend the night in a secluded rental, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
Jean-Claude Van Damme in ‘Darkness of Man’. Photo: Saban Films.
Russell Hatch (Jean-Claude Van Damme), an Interpol operative who takes on the role of father figure to Jayden (Emerson Min), the son of an informant killed in a routine raid gone wrong. Years later, Hatch finds himself protecting Jayden and his uncle from a group of merciless gangs in an all-out turf war, stopping at nothing to protect Jayden and fight anyone getting in his way. Including supposed allies with hidden agendas and nefarious intents.
Garfield (Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie (Harvey Guillén) are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist.
(Right) Greg Kinnear in ‘Sight’. Photo: Angel Studios.
Dr. Ming Wang (Terry Chen) is not simply an eye surgeon: he is a beacon of empathy for humankind. Based on his incredible true story, ‘Sight’ offers glimpses of hope at times when it feels the hardest to find.
Daisy Ridley stars as the accomplished swimmer who was born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the staggering achievement – a 21-mile trek from France to England.
(L to R) Leon Bridges as “River” and Kiersey Clemons as “Celestina” in the drama ‘The Young Wife’, a Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label) release. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
A young woman (Kiersey Clemons) grapples with the meaning of love and commitment over the course of her “non-wedding” day.
(L to R) Oliver Finnegan as Daniel, Olwen Fouere as Madeline, Dakota Fanning as Mina and Georgina Campbell as Ciara in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy thriller ‘The Watchers,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
When 28-year-old artist Mina (Dakota Fanning) finds shelter after getting stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers that are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
(L to R) Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die.’ Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
After their late former Captain is framed, Lowrey (Will Smith) and Burnett (Martin Lawrence) try to clear his name, only to end up on the run themselves.
A mild-mannered professor (Glen Powell) moonlighting as a fake contract killer sparks a chain reaction of trouble when he falls for a client (Adria Arjona).
Teenager Riley’s mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira), who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.
(L to R) David Duchovny, Stephanie Beatriz and Logan Marshall-Green in ‘Bucky F*cking Dent’. Photo: Vertical.
Follows Ted (Logan Marshall-Green), an aimless thirty-something who moves in with his father Marty (David Duchovny) when he develops a fatal illness. Marty’s health suffers every time the Boston Red Sox lose, so to keep him happy and alive, Ted enlists Marty’s grief counselor Mariana (Stephanie Beatriz) and friends to fake a Red Sox winning streak.
(L to R) Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham in ‘Treasure’. Photo: Bleecker Street.
Poland, 1990 – American music journalist Ruth (Lena Dunham) takes her father Edek (Stephen Fry), a Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his childhood haunts, hoping to make sense of her family’s troubled past. When Edek, reluctant to face his trauma, undermines their trip with his unpredictable and more eccentric than usual demeanor, Ruth is forced to challenge him and the values with which he raised her.
(L to R) Jodie Comer and Austin Butler in ‘The Bikeriders.’ Photo: Focus Features.
Kathy (Jodie Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Austin Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Tom Hardy). As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
Chuck Norris as Alastair in the action, sci-fi film, ‘Agent Recon’, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
A covert military task force tracks a mysterious energy disturbance at a secret base in New Mexico that is suspected of experimenting on alien technology. Once there, the team encounters an unknown being of extraordinary strength and speed, and the ability to control an army of mindless warriors. The trio must fight through the unstoppable hordes to prevent humanity’s demise.
‘Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 1.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Explore the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, embark on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.
(Center) Emma Roberts in ‘Space Cadet’. Photo: Prime Video.
It follows the Florida party girl Rex (Emma Roberts), who turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program, after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumes, but don’t have her smarts, heart and moxie.
Elizabeth Mitchell in ‘Possum Trot.’ Photo: Angel Studios.
Twenty-two families from a rural black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt seventy-seven of the most difficult to place kids in the foster system.
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), brought in to fix NASA’s public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis’ (Channing Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.
Johnny Depp as “Johnny Puff” in the family, comedy, animation film, ‘Johnny Puff: Secret Mission’, an International Media Network release. Photo courtesy of International Media Network.
Johnny Puff (Johnny Depp) and his friends go on a secret mission to save Taigasville from the evil plans of the villainous engineer Otto von Walrus.
(from left) Lily (Sasha Lane) and Tyler (Glen Powell), in ‘Twisters’ directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
As storm season intensifies, the paths of former storm chaser Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), lured back to the open plains after a devastating encounter years prior, and reckless social-media superstar Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) collide when terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed. The pair and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.
Tami Stronach in ‘Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps’. Photo: Fathom Events.
Three Mysterious Curses, two lost souls… and one incredibly difficult dance. A lowly goatherd seeks out a reclusive witch (Tami Stronach) to break the evil enchantment that has long kept him from taking a wife. When he completes the three impossible trials the witch prescribes, the man (Greg Steinbruner) earns the hand of the legendary Princess, only heir of the Old King of the Cursed Kingdom. But when he arrives at the altar with a perfect fairytale ending hanging in the balance, both the goatherd and mysterious witch who helped transform him into the perfect eligible bachelor find that there is one enchantment they can’t figure out how to break… true love.
Cate Blanchett as Lilith in ‘Borderlands.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
After returning to her home-planet Pandora, infamous outlaw, Lilith (Cate Blanchett), is given a dangerous mission and forms an alliance (and potential friendship) with other criminals; including former mercenary Roland (Kevin Hart), demolitionst Tiny Tina and her protector Krieg, insane scientist Tannis, and the wisecracking robot Claptrap (Jack Black). The mission: find and protect the missing (and important) daughter of a very powerful man named Atlas. Although, things may not be as they seem, as the girl holds the key to great power, one that can change the fate of the entire universe.
(L to R) John Cena and Awkwafina in ‘Jackpot!’ Photo: Prime Video.
Set in a very near future where a Grand Lottery has been founded in economically struggling California. The only caveat? If you want to legitimately claim the award, you must murder the winner before sunset.
‘Chapter 2’ continues to explore the lure of the old West and takes audiences on a treacherous journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
Bill Skarsgård in ‘The Crow.’ Photo Credit: Larry Horricks for Lionsgate.
Soulmates Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
‘The Watchers’ director Ishana Night Shyamalan at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Scheduled to open in theaters on June 14th is the new supernatural thriller ‘The Watchers,’ which is based on the novel of the same name by author A.M. Shine and was produced by acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (‘Unbreakable’) and directed by his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamala (‘Servant’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending an event called “Summer of Shyamalan,” which included the screening of the new trailer from M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap,’ as well as 10 minutes of footage from first time feature film director Ishana Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Watchers.’
(L to R) Oliver Finnegan as Daniel, Olwen Fouere as Madeline, Dakota Fanning as Mina and Georgina Campbell as Ciara in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy thriller ‘The Watchers,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
The screening began with a sequence from the film that features Dakota Fanning’s Mina traveling in a car with her pet bird, Darwin. When Mina comes across a “Point of No Return” sign, her car breaks down and she begins walking in through looking for help. Mina soon begins lost and cannot find her way back to the car. After she is attacked by a group of bats, Mina sees someone running through the woods and she follows.
Mina discovers an older woman standing in front of a mysterious door in the woods. The woman says, “If you want to live, you’ll have to run.” Mina runs into the doorway and is lead to a strange room where she is locked in with the woman and two other strangers. It is explained to Mina that she will be safe if she stays in the room because the Watchers can’t come in.
Mina notices a large window in the room and suddenly is told to get in a line with the other strangers to meet the Watchers. The sequence ends with a character saying, “Welcome to the show.” The scene was followed by a screening of the new trailer, which was released today and you can watch below.
(L to R) Georgina Campbell as Ciara and Dakota Fanning as Mina in New Line Cinema’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy thriller ‘The Watchers,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
What did Ishana Night Shyamalan say about ‘The Watchers’?
‘The Watchers’ director Ishana Night Shyamalan at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
After the screening, we had a chance to speak exclusively with writer and director Ishana Night Shyamalan about her work on ‘The Watchers’.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about adapting the novel and the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?
Ishana Night Shyamalan: I think so many things. That was something I was very considerate about when entering. Now I know it’s an incredible amount of work and takes a lot of endurance and you lose yourself in so many ways. My dad gave me this advice, he’s like, “Look for the piece that has an unending well for you. That sort of feels like you can never stop thinking about it, and you go deeper and deeper.” This book came to me and felt like it had that. It had the fantasy bend that I’m interested in and a very beautiful horror structure to it, and characters that I felt like could be painted and played with. So, it just had those elements and it felt also very representative of me and what I was dealing with now.
MF: Obviously, with your last name, audiences will be expecting a certain type of movie from you. Did you embrace that or deliberately try to invert expectations?
INS: Absolutely. I think I’ve always been very acutely aware of at least in my mind, what the perception will be and what the expectations are. I was really interested in playing with those expectations. So, starting with something that felt expected and then expanding into something that’s very me and kind of like an indication of what I want to do. So, my hope is that it does that where it satisfies the feeling that you come in wanting, but then kind of takes you somewhere else a bit.
MF: Finally, did you seek advice from your dad while making the movie, or did you want to do it on your own?
INS: He’s been just the most incredible mentor throughout this process. He cares so much, which can be very overwhelming for me at moments. I think there’s constantly an ego thing in it for me where I’m like, “I want to do this on my own. I don’t want to be tethered to your way of thinking.” That’s just me being an egotistical young person. So, I constantly am trying to honor the opportunity I’ve been given. I was born in this life where I have access to an incredible artist here. So, it’s just a wonderful, wonderful thing. I hope I’ve made him proud in the process.
When Will ‘The Watchers’ Be in Theaters?
‘The Watchers’ is scheduled for release on June 14th.
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What is the plot of ‘The Watchers’?
28-year-old artist Mina (Dakota Fanning) gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. Upon finding shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
(L to R) Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan of ‘Trap’ and writer/director Ishana Shyamalan of ‘The Watchers’ attend the “Summer of Shyamalan” event at Soho House on April 16, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending an event called “Summer of Shyamalan,” which included a screening of the new trailer from ‘Trap’ that dropped today and you can watch above. As well as screening 10 minutes of footage from the new movie by M. Night Shyamalan’s other daughter, filmmaker Ishana Night Shyamalan, entitled ‘The Watchers.’
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M. Night Shyamalan Introduces the ‘Trap’ Trailer
Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan of ‘Trap’ attends the “Summer of Shyamalan” event at Soho House on April 16, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.
Before we screened the new trailer, the director explained the genesis of the project and developing it with his daughter, Saleka Shyamalan.
So, ‘Trap’ was this kind of very interesting genesis of each time out, I’m trying to do something, I think that fusion of genres a little bit. So just for me, it’s exciting. For 30 years I’ve been making movies now and the idea of that. You’ve got the comic that’s distinct and unique. I know sometimes the system doesn’t like that, that it’s completely original, completely different. But I think more and more that’s becoming a signature beacon that kind of pops out to the audience, and they’re so savvy, they can feel that. In this case, my oldest daughter, Saleka is an amazing musician that’s classically trained, a pianist and was going to go do that for her life and go to conservatory. Then she started to write and sing. Then she started touring and she signed to Columbia Records. We would follow her around the country and be backstage at Radio City Music Hall or wherever it was and got to see that life a bit. We started talking about the idea of the experience of seeing a concert and the experience of seeing a movie as these kinds of beautiful last experiences that we do together. We started talking and I said, “What if we did one together?” This is going to sound crazy after you see the trailer but, we’re huge fans of ‘Purple Rain.’ So, I was like, it’s a narrative structure, a diegetic where the song is part of the story and fusing these two worlds together. It doesn’t happen very often, if ever, as opposed to the U2 song playing over a montage or something like that. But the characters are experiencing that thing. So, me and her started talking about, “Hey, we should think of something because this is one house where you could write the album and we can make the movie.” So, one day I got this idea and I said, “Oh my gosh, I got this idea to do this, it takes place at a concert.” Then I thought for a bit, I didn’t know exactly the point of view of how to do it. Then one day I was like, “What if I did it from that angle?” I told her and she was like, “Oh my God, let’s do this.” So, this is two years later and here is that experiment.
What does the trailer reveal about the plot of ‘Trap?’
Josh Hartnett in ‘Trap’. Photo: Warner Bros.
The trailer reveals that ‘Trap’ is about a father, played by Josh Hartnett, who takes his daughter to a famous pop singer’s stadium concert. The musician is portrayed by Saleka Shyamalan and is clearly a Taylor Swift level performer.
Hartnett’s character soon discovers that the entire concert is really a trap set by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to capture a notorious serial killer. Shyamalan is best known for the surprising twists in his movies, and ‘Trap’ is no exception as the end of the trailer leads one to believe that Hartnett is really playing the killer who has been trapped.
But we’ll have to wait and see what other twists and turns Shyamalan has in store for us when ‘Trap’ hits theaters on August 9th.
M. Night Shyamalan Explains ‘Trap’
‘Trap’ director M. Night Shyamalan at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Moviefone had a chance to speak with M. Night Shyamalan after the screening to talk about his work on ‘Trap.’
Moviefone: Can you talk about coming up with the concept for ‘Trap’ and what were the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?
M. Night Shyamalan: The idea was, how can we do diegetic music in a thriller that’s not fluff, that it’s really conveying the circumstances and the tone of the piece and is tied to characters very deeply. So, that thought pattern, because of the arenas and these concert venues that I’ve seen Saleka in and playing. I was like, “Wow, we should set it in there. It could be a larger version of one of my movies, like a house.” A lot of times, I have characters just trapped in a house. So, this is a larger version of that. So, having that conversation and talking with Saleka about that character and, as a real character, why do they sing what they sing? What did these songs mean to her fans?
MF: At this point in your career, audiences expect a certain kind of movie from you as a director, something in the horror genre. But ‘Trap’ seems more like a suspenseful thriller. Can you talk about the genre and subverting expectations with this film?
MNS: I love ‘Shadow of a Doubt.’ I have that poster up in the house and it has a wicked tone about it. The uncle that’s so sweet and it turns out he’s not so sweet. The young woman who’s his niece and all that stuff, that’s named after him/ and all of that. The humor of that movie. So, Hitchcock will forever be the teacher. Somewhere deep in my childhood the DNA is built in there about these archetypes of the bad guy you love.
(L to R) Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan of ‘Trap’ and writer/director Ishana Shyamalan of ‘The Watchers’ attend the “Summer of Shyamalan” event at Soho House on April 16, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.
(L to R) Willem Dafoe, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Michael Keaton, Monica Bellucci, and director Tim Burton for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Preview:
Warner Bros. showed off its upcoming slate at CinemaCon Tuesday.
Movies such as ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ and ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ were promoted.
Talent including George Miller and Todd Phillips took to the stage to show off footage.
Warner Bros. was the first of the major studios to make a big presentation to theater owners at CinemaCon, so naturally it had to kick off by celebrating the box office success enjoyed by ‘Dune: Part Two’, ‘Wonka’, ‘Godzilla x Kong’ and, oh yes… a little movie called ‘Barbie’.
And it was also about looking forward to this year’s offerings, with the executive team dressing in Beetlejuice costumes. Got to love a slightly awkward business type outside of their comfort zone.
Director Bong Joon-ho for ‘Mickey 17’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Of note in the opening montage? Footage from Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi thriller ‘Mickey 17’, which stars Robert Pattinson and is scheduled for January next year. Its presence hints at more today…
The presentation, once the initial sizzle was over and done with, kicked off properly with…
(L to R) Director George Miller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth for ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. was always going to launch with one of its bigger guns, and there are few bigger than this prequel to ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’.
Director George Miller took the stage alongside his stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Miller admitted that the movie had only just been finished the week before the presentation –– just in time for its launch at the Cannes Film Festival next month.
Miller explained why ‘Furiosa’ came about: “To tell the story of Mad Max, we had to know where every vehicle, every character, every prop, every gesture came from. We wrote backstories of Furiosa overall these years and Mad Max the year before. When ‘Fury Road’ had enough traction we figured we had to do ‘Furiosa.’”
(L to R) Anya Taylor-Joy director George Miller and Chris Hemsworth for ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Taylor-Joy admitted that as a ‘Mad Max’ mega-fan, she was pinching herself every day on set, hardly able to believe she was on set. She called the movie “the story of one woman’s commitment to unrelenting hope,” and we can all use some of that.
Miller, for his part, explained that he cast Taylor-Joy because she’s the type of person he would want to hang out with during the apocalypse. Oh, and that the movie spans roughly 16-18 years of the narrative.
Hemsworth, meanwhile, described his character –– Dr. Dementus –– as “twisted” and “cruel”, but ultimately charming, since he has a following. And let’s be honest: even with a big fake nose, he still mostly looks like Chris Hemsworth!
And this being CinemaCon, there was an extended look at the film, which is suitably dystopian and crazed in the best Miller style.
‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ will be in theaters on May 24th.
Director Ishana Night Shyamalan for ‘The Watchers’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
A sneak peak of the new trailer for the Ishana Night Shyamalan thriller, which stars Dakota Fanning as a young woman who gets lost in a forest and ends up trapped inside a weird glass-walled structure where she and several others are observed by mysterious creatures/people.
(Center) James Gunn and the cast of ‘Superman.’ Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram Account.
In between presentations there was a video message from DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who thanked theater manages for helping with the success of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ and teased his July 2025 release ‘Superman’ –– with a logo shown on screen. Sounds like he’ll be stopping by Las Vegas next year…
Christopher Reeve in ‘Superman.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Following Gunn, it was the turn of his DC Studios colleague Peter Safran, who introduced a look at the moving documentary about the career and legacy of Christopher Reeve, who famously played Supes on screen in the Richard Donner movies and beyond.
‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ also tracks his time after a riding accident left his paralyzed. The documentary will be in theaters this September. Even the trailer when it arrives may make you tear up.
Costner explains that he prefers “Journey Movies” over “Plot Movies,” preferring audiences take a ride with the characters. The first two chapters of ‘Horizon’ covers 12 years of time, starting before the Civil War and through it.
And because two chapters surely isn’t enough, he intends to make two more. He’s hoping audiences will binge the movies in theaters.
Warner Bros. will be releasing the first two chapters of the film series this year. ‘Chapter 1’ moseys in on June 28th, with ‘Chapter 2’ following on August 16th.
Robert Pattinson for ‘Mickey 17’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
As the sizzle reel predicted, Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson took the stage to show the trailer for their sci-fi movie, which sees the latter playing a cloned worker in space who takes on dangerous jobs.
Bong explained the movie’s title shift (the source novel is called ‘Mickey 7) –– he’s killed the character an addition 10 times (no word on whether we’ll see them all). And Pattinson plays two versions at once –– including Mickey 18, who decides he should kill his fellow clone.
And the tone of the movie certainly looks to learn towards the dark comedy vibes of ‘Snowpiercer’.
Why did Bong cast Pattinson? “He has a crazy thing in his eyes.”
‘Mickey 17’ appears to be worth waiting for… and we will have to wait until January 31 next year.
Director M. Night Shyamalan for ‘Trap’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
While his daughter’s film (‘The Watchers’) had just a trailer, M. Night Shyamalan himself was on stage to preview his next movie, ‘Trap’, his first with Warners.
Using the words “provocative” and “unusual” to describe his latest, Shyamalan explained that cinemagoers will feel like part of the audience attending a concert to see a performance by a singer called Lady Raven. Things take… a dark turn. Twist!
The story involves a father and a daughter attending the concert, only to learn that it’s all been organized as a trap for a local serial killer.
Saleka Shyamalan for ‘Trap’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
And in keeping with the performance feel, he had his daughter Saleka perform a song. 2024 is a family affair for the director.
The trailer played, but that one is best left to see for yourself.
Of course, the angle here is heavily on the legacy of Tim Burton, and his commitment to making the new movie as practically as possible.
To big that up, a behind-the-scenes video was shown of filming on both the original and the sequel.
Burton took the stage with some of his cast, including Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, and, of course, Michael Keaton. The director admitted that his original focus was on Lydia Deetz (Ryder), but shifted to the family as a whole, and the different generation of Deetz women. He says the movie feels like a big family reunion.
(L to R) Director Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Keaton kept things low key with his praise for the movie: “It’s really f*****g good. It’s really, really good. Actually, it’s great.”
Justin Theroux, meanwhile, shared that he found the experience “fun” (everyone crossed that out on their bingo card). There was praise for Ortega, who is apparently a natural fit for the story.
And they couldn’t stay too long, as Burton said he’s expected back in London to continue editing the movie itself.
Director Todd Phillips for ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.
Co-writer/director Todd Phillips was on stage, thanking cinema chains for supporting the first ‘Joker’ and mentioning “bizarre rumors” about it leading to violence that swirled ahead of its release.
He went on to add that while he called ‘Joker’ a one-off while promoting it, he and Joaquin Phoenix had talked about sequel ideas on set.
(L to R) Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux.’ Photo: Todd Phillips’ Instagram.
As for Lady Gaga, he described her as “magic” and knew from producing ‘A Star is Born’ that she was the right person to star alongside Phoenix.
And though he stopped short of describing the movie as a musical, he did say that it plays an important part. “Arthur has music to him. He has a dance to him.”
The first teaser trailer was shown, and you can find it below:
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‘Joker: Folie à Deux.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
