News Around the Net
Well, obviously the biggest new trailer to drop recently is this look at The Rise of Skywalker:
That trailer is crazy huge. There is a lot of extraordinary imagery in there. Will the movie be any good? Who knows! A great trailer for a Star Wars film doesn’t necessarily mean the film itself will be good. (See: the great trailers for all of the Prequel films.) But boy am I excited. (Best thing about this spectacular trailer? Hearing the late great Carrie Fisher deliver the final line: “Always.”)
Is that not enough Star Wars awesomeness for you? Here’s the latest trailer for The Mandalorian, which launches next week!!
I am really pumped for this show.
This is interesting: a documentary on Galaxy Quest called Never Surrender that will be released to theaters for one night later this month via Fathom Events:
I’m not sure I need to see this in a movie theatre, but I’m definitely interested in this documentary! I love Galaxy Quest! (I’m glad we get to hear from some Star Trek people in the doc, and I’m happy that the doc, and the above trailer, showcase Brent Spiner’s terrific Patrick Stewart impersonation…!)
I adore Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, and for years I’ve longed to see a high-quality adaptation. And so I am thrilled that a 10-episode adaptation for Apple+ is moving forward! I have hugely high hopes for this.
I was surprised to read that Game of Thrones show-runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are no longer working on their Star Wars trilogy project that was originally announced with such fanfare. I am sure there is more to this story…! (Meanwhile, I am eager to learn what Disney’s plans are for the next Star Wars film after The Rise of Skywalker. I know they’re marketing this film as the end of the Star Wars saga, but there’s no way we won’t be getting lots more new Star Wars films on a regular base for the near future…)
Speaking of Game of Thrones, I was also surprised to read that the in-development prequel project, for which they’d shot a pilot written by Jane Goldman and starring Naomi Watts, has also been cancelled. I’m surprised HBO isn’t moving forward full speed ahead on new Game of Thrones product! I wonder what went wrong? Will this pilot ever see the light of day? Doubtful, but I’m sure curious to see what they made… Meanwhile, another Game of Thrones prequel project, House of the Dragon, has been ordered straight to series! Why did this prequel get a series order without having to make a pilot, while the other project actually made a project before getting shut down…? I am very curious what the behind-the-scenes story is here…
I am super-excited for Denis Villeneuve’s two-film Dune adaptation… and also very eager to learn more about the Dune TV show planned for HBO Max, Dune: The Sisterhood!! I’m really hoping these projects deliver. I’m concerned, though, that the show-runner of the Dune show has been removed… that doesn’t bode well. The explanation in the article that Legendary wasn’t satisfied with his work on the show, and so instead they want him to focus on writing the Dune sequel film, doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m also concerned to learn that Mr. Villeneuve’s second Dune film hasn’t actually been green-lit. I hope these projects actually see the light of day… and that they wind up being good…!!!
I’m excited by this announcement that Ant Man 3 is officially in the works as part of Marvel’s next Phase of films…!
Why do I collect physical media (DVDs, blu-rays, etc.) in the age of streaming? Because of things like this: Disney is quietly pulling newly-acquired 20th Century Fox’s vast library of films from theatrical exhibition at the many small theaters that show these films. Take the time to read that important article. This action by Disney is threatening the financial viability of the approx. 600 independent first-run movie theaters that are left in the U.S. These theaters are important supporters of the smaller, independent filmmakers who aren’t going to get their films into the huge multi-plexes. Why Disney would make it harder for struggling movie theaters to stay in business, in an age in which the ease and comfort of folks staying at home to watch something on their ever-larger TVs continues to threaten the profitability of movie theaters, is boggling to me. And this type of strategy by a huge corporation to make their classic films harder for the general public to see is why I don’t trust streaming. Just because x movie is available on Netflix or Disney+ today doesn’t mean it’ll be there tomorrow. If I have the blu-ray of a film in my home, I can watch it any time I want. The business of physical media has been collapsing over the past few years, with many studios pulling their support from home video releases of their films and TV shows. This worries me tremendously, and it’s why I still collect this stuff, to have and enjoy whenever I want.
OK, bye for now!