Welcome to The Extras! A daily dose of all the smaller movie related news, clips and just plain cool stuff that you might have missed!
- Yay, Martin Scorsese has directed Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio again! Boo, it’s only for a TV ad about a casino in Asia! But hey, De Niro is in so few good things these days, that I’ll take anything I can get. Which right now, are merely these two short clips teasing the full-length $70 million ad for Lawrence Ho and James Packer’s casinos in Macau and Manila. The full ad, which will debut later in the year when the new casinos open, has De Niro and DiCaprio competing for a part in a new Scorsese movie. Check out the previews below.
- If you’re a Scarlett Johannson fan, then I have good news and bad news. Good news: Live-action anime adaptation Ghost In the Shell, which ScarJo has recently been confirmed to be starring in, has been dated for release on April 14, 2017. Much earlier than most people expected. Bad news: Johannson’s other big budget non-Marvel-ous movie for 2015, Jon Favreau’s live-action/CG hybrid The Jungle Book in which the actress voices the snake Kaa, has been pushed back from October this year to April 15, 2016. No reason has been given for the delay.
- MyBroadBand has done a good comparison of all the various movie and TV streaming options available in South Africa, including Netflix, and as you can see, it’s no big surprise why people jump through some additional VPN hoops to get Netflix locally.
- Poster of the day: Jurassic World DNA poster (check the closeup for the DNA code).
- Orphan Black‘s admittedly messy second season ended on a doozy of a finale though, with the revelation of Project Castor, a military program comprised of male clones all played by Ari Millen, whom we had previously just known as Mark Rollins (who didn’t know he was a clone). Now we’ve got our first look at one of these male clones, named Rudy (although sometimes referred to as Scarface by the cast and crew), who will be a big player in the upcoming third season, as the producers explain.
“I think the one thing you can say about Rudy, is he likes to get under people’s skin and then he’ll dig, he’ll pick at you, pick at you, and then he’s won.”
“Rudy is a threat to the sisters, to the girls. [He is a] dangerous character who is very, very smart and very ruthless.”
- The Coen Bros’ The Big Lebowski is one of the effortlessly rewatcheable classics, but even though you can quote the whole movie backwards, you still may not know these 7 really cool facts about it.
- Usually when it comes to resurrecting dead TV shows, a social media campaign is about as effective as farting in a hurricane. But hey, fans will always try, right? Which is when X-Files actress recently revealed on a Nerdist podcast that she misses the show dearly and would be “f@#$ing overjoyed” if Fox and co-star David Duchovny were back on board for a new series, fans immediately jumped on the campaign bandwagon, getting the hashtag #XFiles2015 growing on Twitter. Thus far, nothing is trending enough to make waves yet, but just like Fox Mulder, you have to believe!
- When the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was first unveiled, it was almost universally loved, but the one sticking point for many was apparent Dark Sider Kylo Ren’s crossguard lightsaber. But trust me, it could have been a lot worse than just two extra stubby energy blades.
- One of the main reasons that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is being as well received as it is, is the complete lack of George Lucas’ involvement. I will forever be grateful for this incredible universe that he’s allowed me to visit so frequently over the years, but he royally screwed the wampa with the prequels. Which is why fans were much happier that after he sold Lucasfilm to Disney, he handed over the reins to somebody else. But that wasn’t Lucas’ original plan.
According to a new interview, Lucas revealed that his plan was to actually first direct Episode VII himself, and only then sell Lucasfilm and hand over to somebody else to helm. But he then realized that once he had done the first film in the new trilogy, there was no way he was going to be able to walk away just like that, and that would have meant another decade of commitment that he would not have been able to fully spend with his family.
“It’s better for me to get out at the beginning of a new thing and I can just remove myself. The time is more important to me than the money.”
There’s also another major perk with him handing it all over: He can finally be a fan again!
“The only thing I really regret about Star Wars is the fact I never got to see it — I never got to be blown out of my seat when the ship came over the screen. The next one, I’ll be able to enjoy it like anybody else.”
- Looks like DJ Caruso may be getting enlisted. The Disturbia and I Am Number Four director is apparently in early talks with Paramount to direct the still untitled third G.I. Joe flick. With the previous two films grossing a combined $678 million worldwide, Caruso will have some big shoes to fill.
- Yesterday we mentioned Gone Girl and the chances of it getting a sequel – which is honestly rather slim. And speaking of honesty (yes, that first is there only so that I could segue to that line), the folks over at Honest Trailers have made David Fincher’s twisted thriller the subject of their latest video, and all it’s “general f@#$ed-up-edness!”
If you have anything you would like to contribute to Extras, whether it be interesting stories, funny videos, or artistic photos of yourself in morally questionable poses, feel free to drop a mail to kervyn@themovies.co.za.
Last Updated: January 14, 2015
