Uh Oh, it’s the week of Friday the 13th! Or is it “Cool, it ‘s the week of Friday the 13th!”?
In this week’s “Shitbag of the Year Award” story, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is a monstrous creep and should be destroyed. Losing his job, company, wife and possibly his Academy status are the least that should happen to him.
The casting couch is alive and well in Hollywood. Hopefully this story will be a catalyst for change.
Believe it or not, there is actually more news than just that this week. Thankfully.
In this week’s “Corey and Corey” story, Lifetime is going to make a biopic of…Corey Feldman and Corey Haim.
Yes, it’s true, and the film is called a Tale of Two Coreys. They even got the blessing of Corey Feldman, who is actually one of the producers.
A Tale of Two Coreys will follow the dark and troubled lives of ’80s child stars and best friends Haim and Feldman, whose struggles with drug addiction and sexual abuse became one of Hollywood’s more ominous cautionary tales. Haim lost his life at age 38 after decades of drug abuse, which reportedly stemmed from being raped at 11.
Haim and Feldman were rising stars when they starred in The Lost Boys together. The teen vampire movie shot both of them to fame and started a lifelong partnership and friendship, with the duo following up with ’80s hits like License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream. However, their lives soon descended into infamy, plagued by many of the issues that child stars face: drugs, parties, rehab. The two of them separately went on to star in a string of direct-to-video and low-budget movies in the ’90s, before reuniting in 2004 for a short-lived reality series The Two Coreys. However, the series was put on hold due to Haim’s erratic on-set behavior. Shortly after the second season, Haim passed away.
After Haim’s death, Feldman spoke publicly about Hollywood’s “pedophilia problem” and fellow child star Elijah Wood further ignited the conversation. Feldman revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he and Haim were “passed around” a circle of Hollywood pedophiles, and that young actors were often groomed by powerful figures at Hollywood parties.
…is the industry TRYING to test my love of film? There’s a LOT of shit going on that i’m not ok with.
In this week’s “Stargate returns” story, MGM Digital Group and entertainment studio New Form are producing a new Stargate show, entitled Stargate: Origins.
The lead casting is complete, with Australian actress Ellie Gall playing the role of fan-favorite character Catherine Langford in the 10-episode revival.
The new series, which will feature 10-minute episodes, will follow a younger version of Catherine Langford (originally played by Elizabeth Hoffman) and explore a new chapter in her early history surrounding the portal. Catherine embarks on a new unexpected adventure to unlock the mystery of what lies beyond the Stargate in order to save the Earth from darkness.
Gall joins a cast that includes former Stargate Atlantis alum Connor Trinneer, who will play Catherine’s father Professor Langford. Salome Azizi, Philip Alexander, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, Daniel Rashid, Sarah Navratil, Shvan Aladdin, Tonatiuh Elizarraraz, Derek Chariton, Justin Michael Terry and Lincoln Werner Hoppe round out the cast. Additional details about their characters will be released later.
Well, the digital format is ramping up before our eyes, folks.
In this week’s “Scrapping Jack” story, Disney has been working on an updated version of Jack and the Beanstalk titled Gigantic. But not anymore.
Disney has scrapped the idea. The project was being developed as an updated take on the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale, in which Jack befriends a female giant.
Inside Out co-writer Meg LeFauve and Nathan Greno (Tangled) were directing the project, while Frozen songwriters Robert Lopez and Kirsten Anderson-Lopez were to have written songs for the film.
But according to the studio, creative walls were being hit.
“It’s impossible to know when we begin a project how the creative process will unfold, and sometimes, no matter how much we love an idea or how much heart goes into it, we find that it just isn’t working,” said Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios president Ed Catmull. “With Gigantic, we’ve come to that point, and although it’s a difficult decision, we are ending active development for now. We are focusing our energies on another project that has been in the works, which we’ll be sharing more about soon, now set for Thanksgiving 2020.”
Hey, when it’s not working, it’s not working. Best to move on and not waste energy on something you can’t solve.
Disney Animation next has Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, which is set to open Nov. 21, 2018, and Frozen 2, which is slated to bow Nov. 27, 2019.
In this week’s “Gambit of the Caribbean?” story, it looks like 20th Century Fox is putting their Gambit movie back on the schedule.
Thye have now got director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) to helm the film and Channing Tatum is still on board, and the release date is said to be February 14, 2019.
Once upon a time that would have been a terrible release date, but with studios scheduling big films earlier in the year for the past couple years to relative success, a Valentine’s Day release sounds like a fine idea.
Deadpool was a February release, and this year both Logan and Kong: Skull Island were well received in March, so it looks like a trend we’ll be seeing more of.
In this week’s “You rang?” story, Conrad Vernon, director of Sausage Party, is on board to direct an animated version of The Addams Family for MGM.
Pamela Pettler wrote the screenplay based on the cartoons with a polish by Matt Lieberman.
Andrew Mittman and Kevin Miserocchi are exec producing. MGM’s executive director Tabitha Shick is overseeing the project.
If you are somehow not aware of The Addams Family, they began their macabre life as single-panel gag illustrations by cartoonist Charles Addams that appeared primarily in the New Yorker. Their popularity led to the Addams Family becoming a television show in the 1960s that starred John Astin and Carolyn Jones as well as an animated series in the early 1970s. The family enjoyed a revival in the early 1990s with a pair of movies that starred Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, and Christina Ricci.
I’m team Addams Family. The Munsters were ok, too, but if I’m having to choose, it’s Lurch and the gang for me.
In this week’s “Still too soon” story, Jay Roach will direct 67 Shots, a drama about the Kent State shootings in 1970.
The indie will be financed by Indian-American film investor Shivani Rawat and her ShivHans Pictures shingle. The project also continues a collaboration between Roach and Rawat following ShivHans financing Trumbo, the Bryan Cranston-starring biopic about blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo.
67 Shots will revisit the protest and shootings on May 4, 1970 at Kent State, where the Ohio National Guard fired at students and left four dead. Stephen Belber is adapting the Howard Means book 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence for the indie project.
The producing credits are shared by Rawat, Roach, Monica Levinson, Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond and Eric Gurian. Roach is repped by WME, Mosaic and attorney Howard Abramson.
in this week’s “As if San Diego Comicon wasn’t enough” story, Kevin Feige over at Marvel wants a convention dedicated JUST to Marvel – you know, like the Star Wars or Star Trek conventions? MCU head honcho Kevin Feige recently said he’s keen to see a Marvel-specific convention, similar to Disney’s Star Wars Celebration event. Good news for Marvel fans, not such good news for regular Comic-Con attendees.
Marvel President Kevin Feige is out making the rounds to help promote promote Thor: Ragnarok right now, and dropping hints left and right of things to come. In a new interview with Fandango, Feige talks about how there have been many discussions regarding a Marvel-only con, and how much he’d like to make it happen:
“Over the years there have been discussions about that […] I think what we try to do occasionally in San Diego we’re very proud of and think is a fun tradition. That being said, I think [Star Wars] Celebration is pretty amazing. I’ve been to a few Celebrations and the idea of doing something like that … I think we have enough content, and enough fans, and enough ideas that we could easily do something like that, I’m just not sure where or when.”
That would be interesting to see if the disappearance of Marvel and Star Wars at SDCC would vastly change the Con. Odds are pretty good we could see a Marvel Convention happen, so I think we’ll find out what happens soon enough.
In this week’s “Jackie wants more” story, action legend Jackie Chan has been a household name in China – and the U.S. – for many years now. He is known for his remarkable comedic and action films.
But Chan says he wants to broaden his range. At 63 years old, he says he’s able to tackle more drama, or even singing and dancing roles.
“Doing comedy for so many years, I just want to do something different,” he told People Chica, noting that The Foreigner is a big departure from past work. “When I look at other American movies like Taken, it’s like ‘Wow, those kinds of movies are suitable for me,’ as well as some others like La La Land. I can dance, I can sing. If Pierce could do it, I think I could do Mamma Mia! too.”
You go, Jackie!
The Foreigner is his new film, starring with Pierce Brosnan. in the action thriller The Foreigner, directed by Casino Royale‘s Martin Campbell. In the film, Chan’s character is seeking to avenge the murder of his daughter, who died in a London IRA bombing. The single father ruthlessly pursues the bombers and battles ex-member of the IRA and Irish Deputy Minister Liam Hennessy, played by 007’s Pierce Brosnan, whom he believes can identify the terrorists.
The film releases today!
And in this week’s “Update” story, Harvey Weinstein is STILL a horrifying shitbag and gets worse by the minute.
~ Thanks for stopping by CFN and we’ll be back next week with more newsy stuff and maybe some spoopyness!