Movies

Jennifer Lopez, Chris Evans and More to Present at the 2019 Oscars. The 2019 Oscars are just around the corner, and new details are starting to be revealed. The Academy announced the first round of presenters for the big award show on Monday, and fans will certainly recognize the famous faces. Jennifer Lopez, Chris Evans, Tessa Thompson, Amandla Stenberg and Daniel Craig are just a few of the A-listers set to open the envelopes. Other presenters include Oscars winners, like Whoopi Goldberg, Brie Larson and Charlize Theron. Saturday Night Live alumni Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph are also sure to bring the laughs once they take the stage. In addition, Constance Wu and Awkwafina are set to present, even though many feel like their film Crazy Rich Asians was completely snubbed. In addition, The Academy revealed Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic will perform during the "In Memoriam" segment. However, they're not the only ones set to perform. Jennifer Hudson will also take the stage and Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will sing "Shallow" from A Star Is Born. What's more, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will sing "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and "The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns will be performed by a "surprise special guest." Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani announced the nominees for the 91st Academy Awards in January. Not only will this year's award show honor the work of these contenders, but it also seeks to "embrace the diversity of the global movie-going audience." "The Oscar nominees have generated tremendous worldwide attention through their captivating stories, achievements and performances," Oscar producer Donna Gigliotti and co-producer and director Glenn Weiss said via a press release. "We want to give the public an opportunity to once again experience the moments that have moved us all. It is a celebration of our universal love of movies." The Academy still has not confirmed whether it will find a replacement for Kevin Hart as host. Although, many suspect it the award show simply won't have a host this year. While fans will have to wait until the big night to see which films take home the trophies, Roma and The Favourite are currently leading the nominees with 10 nods each. The Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre at in Hollywood Feb. 24. Fans can catch all of the action by tuning in to ABC that night at 8:00 p.m. ET. (Eonline)

'Avengers: Endgame' Invades the Super Bowl. Marvel Studios' mightiest heroes have a long history of showing up for the big game. Forget the big game. It's time for a new look at Avengers: Endgame. Per Avengers tradition, the upcoming Marvel Studios superhero movie showed off footage during Super Bowl Sunday. The first trailer for Avengers: Endgame hit in December, showing off a rather bleak world in the aftermath of Thanos' (Josh Brolin) victory in Infinity War. The new look seemingly confirms that Endgame will pick up an appreciable amount of time after Infinity War, which saw half of life in the Universe disappear. "Where do we go, now that they're gone?" reads what looks like a public service announcement flyer. There are glimpses of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) working on some tech with Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) attending what appears to be a support group of some kind ... perhaps for superheroes unsure what to do in the wake of their greatest loss ever? "Some people move on, but not us," Rogers says in voiceover. Endgame stars also stars Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larson and Paul Rudd. Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo return for the next Avengers installment. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who penned all three Captain America movies as well as Infinity War, are behind the script. Endgame completed principal photography in October, and in November, Joe Russo said the film had a current runtime of three hours, though that could change throughout the editing process. Before Endgame, Next up Marvel has Captain Marvel due out March 8. The previous three Avengers films have also had Super Bowl presences. One of Marvel Studios' most memorable images -- a 360-degree shot showing off the Avengers during the Battle of New York -- was first seen during the 2012 Super Bowl, while 2015's Age of Ultron and last year's Infinity War also had spots the year's they debuted. Avengers: Endgame will be released April 26. (Hollywood Reporter)

'Game of Thrones' Hits Super Bowl 2019 With Fiery Bud Light Crossover. Dragon fire arrives in boozy fashion, with months to go before the final season launches in April. The big game has made some room for a little Game of Thrones. The Emmy-winning HBO drama, launching its final season in April, made landfall Sunday at Super Bowl LIII in unexpected fashion -- through a crossover with Bud Light. Directed by David Nutter ("The Rains of Castamere," the infamous Red Wedding episode), the Bud Light commercial sees the Mountain jousting against the Bud Light knight. It's not a fair fight. Much as the Mountain crushed the Red Viper back in season four, he once again annihilates his opponent, much to the horror of onlookers at the tournament, and to the excitement of Super Bowl viewers at home. The spot ends with a burst of fire courtesy of Drogon, Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke) favorite dragon -- not exactly known to be friends with the Mountain, but who knows what the final season's future holds. (Spoiler alert: probably not an alliance between the Mountain and any of the dragons.) The final episodes of Game of Thrones begin airing April 14, with the series finale set for May 19. As the series based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels draws to a close, several questions remain: What fates will befall Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the King in the North and Dragon Queen respectively? Will Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) defy the odds and crush both heroes' armies, somehow maintaining control over the Iron Throne? Will anyone still be standing once the Night King's Army of the Dead march upon Winterfell and the rest of the realm? Expect those answers and more when Game of Thrones concludes its final six episodes, including one that's said to contain an extended action scene that puts season six's "Battle of the Bastards" to shame. Follow THR.com/GameOfThrones for more coverage of the final season. (Hollywood Reporter)

Box Office Surprise: 'Deadpool 2' Overtakes First Pic With $784M Globally. The unexpected feat comes after the PG-13 cut of the film was allowed to play in China. In another happy ending for the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool 2 -- including its family-friendly version -- has crossed $784 million at the worldwide box office to become the highest-grossing title in 20th Century Fox's stable of X-Men movies. The previous champ in the X-Men universe was the first Deadpool (2016), which collected $783 million in global ticket sales to become the top-grossing R-rated pic of all time, not adjusted for inflation. Deadpool 2, produced by and starring Ryan Reynolds in the titular role, first hit theaters in May 2018. In early December, Reynolds and 20th Century Fox unleashed a family-friendly version of the sequel, Once Upon a Deadpool, which is rated PG-13 instead of R. The move, although it was unorthodox, paid off. Grosses for Once Upon a Deadpool have been added to Deadpool 2's running total, in keeping with the traditional practice for rereleases. Before the rerelease, Deadpool 2's global earnings stood at roughly $738 million. The rerelease has generated north of $45 million in ticket sales. The vast majority of that has come from China, where Deadpool 2 took in north of $40 million in its first 10 days. The first Deadpool was never allowed to play in China; the sequel was allowed in because of the family-friendly version. Last month, Reynolds traveled to China to promote the film's Jan. 25 debut. (Hollywood Reporter)

Chinese Comedy Hitmaker Xu Zheng Taking Blockbuster 'Lost In' Franchise to Russia. The first two films in the Chinese road movie series -- both co-written, directed and starring Xu -- earned a combined $463 million. The third installment of China's blockbuster Lost in franchise is heading to Russia, with series creator Xu Zheng returning to co-write, direct and star. Shooting at Russian locations began on Jan. 24 and the filmmakers are targeting a release date during Chinese New Year in 2020, the film's producer, Huanxi Media, told THR in a statement. Lost in Russia will follow in the footsteps of comedy mega hits Lost in Thailand (2012) and Lost in Hong Kong (2015), which became the number one and two highest-grossing films of all time in China at the time of their respective release, with a combined take of $463 million. The Lost in formula combines the classic road movie with a fish-out-of-water slapstick comedy. The first film co-starred Xu, Wang Baoqiang, and Huang Bo as two scientists searching for their boss in the Land of Smiles, accompanied by a goofball hanger-on who just wants to experience the seedy cliches of traveling in Thailand. The film and its Thai setting proved so popular that it triggered a Chinese outbound tourism boom to Thailand. The sequel, Lost in Hong Kong, again starred Xu, this time with Bao Bei'er, Zhao Wei, and Du Juan. This time the story centered on a forgotten past romance, and the visual style and various set pieces were packed with references to beloved classic Hong Kong films from the 1980s and 90s. Part of Lost in Russia's Chinese title roughly translates to "Awkward Mom," an apparent reference to a dominant female character who will star opposite Xu Zheng, the casting for which has yet to be revealed. Apart from the Russian setting and a travelogue storytelling style similar to the earlier installments, little has been revealed about the third film. So far, Huanxi Media has only offered that the story will center on "family relationships." A rising powerhouse in the Chinese industry, Huanxi Media was founded in 2015 by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon co-producer Dong Ping, Xu Zheng, Crazy Stone director Ning Hao, and former attorney Steven Xiang. Heavyweight filmmakers including Wong Kar Wai, Zhang Yimou, and Peter Chan also have stakes in the company, which has contractual relationships with a range of other influential Chinese filmmakers, such as Jia Zhangke (Ash is the Purest White), Manfred Wong (The Storm Riders), Wang Xiaoshuai (Beijing Bicycle), and Li Yang (Blind Shaft). The company was behind Xu's most recent smash-hit star vehicle, the social dramedy Dying to Survive, which raked in $453 million last summer to become the third highest-grossing film of 2018 at China's box office. (Hollywood Reporter)

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