Movies
Gerard Butler is an American hero turned fugitive in the first Angel Has Fallen trailer. Wherever Mike Banning goes, cities fall. But this time it's his turn. Last month, EW debuted a first look at Angel Has Fallen, the sequel to hit action films Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen. And now, EW has the exclusive trailer for Gerard Butler's third go-around as the ever-faithful Secret Service agent. As seen in the trailer, Morgan Freeman's Allan Trumbull has succeeded President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and put Mike (Butler) in charge of the Secret Service. "We really hadn't had much screen time together," Butler tells EW of working with Freeman. "But we very quickly established these two like-minded souls and this strong bond and respect for each other and this father figure that had developed for [Mike]." But that bond is immediately challenged by a deadly drone attack that leaves Mike as the primary suspect. "That was one of our first scenes and made us really realized that we're taking this to another level," says Butler, who also serves as an executive producer on the film. "That brings out these questions of trust and friendship and loyalty throughout the movie, where Trumball's trust in me is put to the test." While Butler and Freeman are veterans of the franchise, the trailer offers a first glimpse at newcomers Jada Pinkett Smith and Nick Nolte. The Girls Trip star plays the FBI's Agent Thompson, who is tasked with bringing in Mike after he goes on the run. With Butler and director Ric Roman Waugh taking inspiration from films like The Fugitive, Pinkett Smith gets to play a familiar type. "You really get that sense of Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive the second she steps on screen," Butler says of the character. With Butler and company looking to go "deeper and darker" on Angel, Nolte joins the cast as Mike's absentee father, Clay, who has long been off the grid. And yet, with his back against the wall, Mike seeks him out because he "is one of the few people who understand the situation that Mike is in." Making a more personal film was important to Butler, who wasn't interested in repeating the same city-smashing formula. "It's a chance to be involved with some more serious drama, some more subtle performance, and take a more inward journey amidst all the craziness and the action," he says. "It was great to examine these characters and make it very moving and profound and touching and relatable. I think this movie is very relatable without having to blow up the White House and Big Ben." Angel Has Fallen crashes into theaters Aug. 23. (Entertainment Weekly)
Laura Dern was 'afraid' going into maximum-security prison to film. Laura Dern's in "Trial by Fire." It's a killer story about Cameron Todd Willingham, an alleged killer incarcerated on death row, legally executed and now believed to have been innocent. Laura: "It's a true story. I play divorced single parent everyday simple humane citizen Elizabeth Gilbert, who didn't know him but fought for his freedom. Due to a reach-out program, where with a mere gesture you just show kindness to one who might need it, she, assuming his guilt, wrote him. A correspondence developed. Visiting him in prison, she learned of the injustice. "Elizabeth and I have met. Generous with her time, she gave us his letters. She didn't save him but her original 10-minute gesture of writing a simple hopeful letter has since saved the life of others and subsequently impacted a massive number of innocent people." The New Yorker published David Grann's award-winning story about this. When it turned into a movie, Laura told the producers she wanted to play Elizabeth. And what was it like filming in prison? "On other films I've worked in jails, so I've experienced it. This one was maximum-security. The environment is invented to enforce that. Weapons were everywhere. You're pushed around. I went in afraid. I came out in heartbreak. Like this was a waste of human life." Heartbreak to television's a great leap, but what's next for Dern? "Doesn't seem believable but .?.?. next week I'm right back here again. It's p.r. for Season 2 of HBO's 'Big Little Lies.'" (PageSix)
Selena Gomez & Her 'Dead Don't Die' Castmates Talk Modern Horrors at Cannes Film Festival. The Jim Jarmusch zombie movie "The Dead Don't Die" includes masses of flesh-eating zombies and an Earth thrown off its axis by "polar fracking." But the teeming Cannes Film Festival, where "The Dead Don't Die" premiered Tuesday as the opening-night film, has hordes and horrors of its own. When asked what horror films he finds frightening, its lead star, Bill Murray, didn't hesitate. "I find Cannes frightening," said Murray on Wednesday. When it was suggested that, at least, there hadn't been any zombies on the Croisette, the festival's main drag, so far, Murray replied, "Says you." "The Dead Don't Die" did, in fact, bring zombies to Cannes. Staggering actors in full zombie makeup lined the entryway to the film's after-party late Tuesday night shortly after Jarmusch's latest -- his ninth film in competition at Cannes -- made its anticipated debut. The film, which Focus Features will release in U.S. theaters on June 14, is Jarmusch's George Romero-inspired take on the genre, both playfully postmodern (some characters are aware they're in a movie) and pointedly political. Murray plays the sheriff of a small town named Centerville where Adam Driver and Chloe Sevigny also play police officers. When the planet stops rotating, night never comes and the dead begin roaming Centerville's streets while still clinging to their old habits (seeking Wi-Fi, chardonnay and coffee). Townspeople include Tilda Swinton as a funeral parlor director, Tom Waits as a local hermit and Steve Buscemi as a farmer with a MAGA-like hat reading "Keep America White Again" and a dog named Rumsfeld. Addressing reporters Wednesday, Jarmusch downplayed the movie's political overtones. Ecological disaster, he said, isn't a political issue. "Defining this as a political issue is very confusing and perplexing to me. It's not about politics. So, politics is essentially not of interest to me," said Jarmusch. "I don't understand how it can even be considered as such. Politics doesn't seem to save anything. Politics is a kind of distraction. And now the politics is controlled on the planet by its corporate politics so this for me is the problem." Critics responded to "The Dead Don't Die" with mixed reviews. Variety called it "a disappointing trifle." The Los Angeles Times said it's a "bleak, bone-dry shrug of a horror-comedy." But it did bring one of the starriest premieres set to hit Cannes this year, including co-star Selena Gomez, who plays a teenager visiting Centerville. Jarmusch was drawn to her by her performance in Harmony Korine's 2013 "Spring Breakers." Jarmusch spoke highly of the 26-year-old pop star on Wednesday, calling her "incredibly admirable" for "encouraging young people to have their own will." While the ills of social media play only a minor role in "The Dead Don't Die," Gomez went further on Wednesday, saying Instagram, where she has more than 150 million followers, is "pretty impossible" to make safe at this point. "I would say for my generation specifically social media has really been terrible," Gomez said. "It does scare me when you see how exposed these young boys and young girls are. They are not aware of the news. I think it's dangerous for sure. I don't think people are getting the right information sometimes." "The Dead Don't Die" is aimed squarely at satirizing crass materialism along with inaction and disinformation in the face of climate change. But Jarmusch said his film was already being interpreted beyond his intentions. "The zombies as metaphor is so laden," said Jarmusch. "Some of the things I read this morning about our film were things that honestly hadn't occurred to me. I think the metaphor is stronger than I was analyzing or aware of." (Billboard)
Cannes: eOne Boards 'Den of Thieves 2'. STX, which released the first entry in the Gerard Butler/O'Shea Jackson Jr. action franchise, won't be around for the second round, as Sierra/Affinity takes on international sales. Entertainment One has come on board to finance Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, the sequel to the action heist drama starring Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr. The 2018 original, released by STX in the U.S., grossed more than $80 million worldwide. STX was originally on board for the sequel but has backed out. Sierra/Affinity will now handle international sales and is shopping the project to buyers in Cannes. STX has had problems of late. UglyDolls, its first foray into feature animation, opened to a disappointing $8.6 million at the domestic box office and has grossed a paltry $15 million to date stateside. Poms, a best-ager cheerleader comedy starring Diane Keaton, Pam Grier and Jacki Weaver, also underperformed, opening to $5.1 million. The Den of Thieves sequel will re-team Butler and Jackson Jr. with director Christian Gudegast. Butler will reprise his role as Big Nick Flanagan, the head of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, on the hunt for a group of sophisticated bank robbers. The sequel picks up with Big Nick tracking down the bad guys on the streets of Europe and getting closer to capturing Donnie (Jackson). Donnie, meanwhile, has become caught up in the dangerous world of diamond thieves and the Panther mafia, as a heist on the world's largest diamond exchange is being planned. Meadow Williams will also reprise her role as Holly in the film. eOne and Tucker Tooley Entertainment will finance the movie, which is set to begin production later this year. Tucker Tooley, Mark Canton, Alan Siegel and Butler will produce the sequel, with Williams executive producing. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who co-stared in the first Den of Thieves, is expected to work on the sequel in a production capacity. "We are incredibly excited to join such a thrilling franchise that has clearly captured audiences all around the world," said Jonathan Kier, Sierra/Affinity's president of sales and distribution. "We look forward to partnering with this very talented team of actors, producers and filmmakers." (Hollywood Reporter)
Cannes: Cara Delevingne, Machine Gun Kelly Team for Heist Thriller 'Punk'. Fortitude is shopping the high-octane film, which Sylvester Stallone and his daughter Sistine Stallone are exec producing. Colson Baker (The Dirt), better known by his rap stage name Machine Gun Kelly, is teaming up with Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Valerian) for the high-octane heist thriller Punk, which Sylvester Stallone is set to exec produce. The feature debut of Australian filmmaker and award-winning commercials director Richard Hughes, Punk follows Peter (Vince Staples), who, after receiving a disheartening rejection letter, takes off on a road trip with a crew of free-spirited runaways. Headed by Skip (Baker) and his sister Lucy (Delevingne), they collectively push the boundaries of freedom, risking life and limb to train-surf along the breathtaking fault lines of North America. After falling for Lucy, Peter soon discovers that the crew that once took him in are a band of bank robbers, hell-bent on becoming modern-day Robin Hoods Written by Hughes, the project is being produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Honey Boy, Midnight Special), Braden Aftergood (Hell or High Water, Wind River), Corey Smyth (Dave Chappelle's Block Party), Chris Ferguson (Little Fish) and Fred Berger (La La Land, Destroyer), with Stallone and Sistine Stallone executive producing. Punk is slated to start shooting this year, with Fortitude introducing the film to buyers in Cannes. Hughes is repped by WME. Baker is represented by Ashleigh VeVerka or EST19XX, Paradigm Talent Agency, Felker, Toczek, Suddleson, Abramson; Delevingne by WME, Jacobson Brand Management & Consulting, Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Staples by WME. (Hollywood Reporter)
Laura Dern was 'afraid' going into maximum-security prison to film. Laura Dern's in "Trial by Fire." It's a killer story about Cameron Todd Willingham, an alleged killer incarcerated on death row, legally executed and now believed to have been innocent. Laura: "It's a true story. I play divorced single parent everyday simple humane citizen Elizabeth Gilbert, who didn't know him but fought for his freedom. Due to a reach-out program, where with a mere gesture you just show kindness to one who might need it, she, assuming his guilt, wrote him. A correspondence developed. Visiting him in prison, she learned of the injustice. "Elizabeth and I have met. Generous with her time, she gave us his letters. She didn't save him but her original 10-minute gesture of writing a simple hopeful letter has since saved the life of others and subsequently impacted a massive number of innocent people." The New Yorker published David Grann's award-winning story about this. When it turned into a movie, Laura told the producers she wanted to play Elizabeth. And what was it like filming in prison? "On other films I've worked in jails, so I've experienced it. This one was maximum-security. The environment is invented to enforce that. Weapons were everywhere. You're pushed around. I went in afraid. I came out in heartbreak. Like this was a waste of human life." Heartbreak to television's a great leap, but what's next for Dern? "Doesn't seem believable but .?.?. next week I'm right back here again. It's p.r. for Season 2 of HBO's 'Big Little Lies.'" (PageSix)
Selena Gomez & Her 'Dead Don't Die' Castmates Talk Modern Horrors at Cannes Film Festival. The Jim Jarmusch zombie movie "The Dead Don't Die" includes masses of flesh-eating zombies and an Earth thrown off its axis by "polar fracking." But the teeming Cannes Film Festival, where "The Dead Don't Die" premiered Tuesday as the opening-night film, has hordes and horrors of its own. When asked what horror films he finds frightening, its lead star, Bill Murray, didn't hesitate. "I find Cannes frightening," said Murray on Wednesday. When it was suggested that, at least, there hadn't been any zombies on the Croisette, the festival's main drag, so far, Murray replied, "Says you." "The Dead Don't Die" did, in fact, bring zombies to Cannes. Staggering actors in full zombie makeup lined the entryway to the film's after-party late Tuesday night shortly after Jarmusch's latest -- his ninth film in competition at Cannes -- made its anticipated debut. The film, which Focus Features will release in U.S. theaters on June 14, is Jarmusch's George Romero-inspired take on the genre, both playfully postmodern (some characters are aware they're in a movie) and pointedly political. Murray plays the sheriff of a small town named Centerville where Adam Driver and Chloe Sevigny also play police officers. When the planet stops rotating, night never comes and the dead begin roaming Centerville's streets while still clinging to their old habits (seeking Wi-Fi, chardonnay and coffee). Townspeople include Tilda Swinton as a funeral parlor director, Tom Waits as a local hermit and Steve Buscemi as a farmer with a MAGA-like hat reading "Keep America White Again" and a dog named Rumsfeld. Addressing reporters Wednesday, Jarmusch downplayed the movie's political overtones. Ecological disaster, he said, isn't a political issue. "Defining this as a political issue is very confusing and perplexing to me. It's not about politics. So, politics is essentially not of interest to me," said Jarmusch. "I don't understand how it can even be considered as such. Politics doesn't seem to save anything. Politics is a kind of distraction. And now the politics is controlled on the planet by its corporate politics so this for me is the problem." Critics responded to "The Dead Don't Die" with mixed reviews. Variety called it "a disappointing trifle." The Los Angeles Times said it's a "bleak, bone-dry shrug of a horror-comedy." But it did bring one of the starriest premieres set to hit Cannes this year, including co-star Selena Gomez, who plays a teenager visiting Centerville. Jarmusch was drawn to her by her performance in Harmony Korine's 2013 "Spring Breakers." Jarmusch spoke highly of the 26-year-old pop star on Wednesday, calling her "incredibly admirable" for "encouraging young people to have their own will." While the ills of social media play only a minor role in "The Dead Don't Die," Gomez went further on Wednesday, saying Instagram, where she has more than 150 million followers, is "pretty impossible" to make safe at this point. "I would say for my generation specifically social media has really been terrible," Gomez said. "It does scare me when you see how exposed these young boys and young girls are. They are not aware of the news. I think it's dangerous for sure. I don't think people are getting the right information sometimes." "The Dead Don't Die" is aimed squarely at satirizing crass materialism along with inaction and disinformation in the face of climate change. But Jarmusch said his film was already being interpreted beyond his intentions. "The zombies as metaphor is so laden," said Jarmusch. "Some of the things I read this morning about our film were things that honestly hadn't occurred to me. I think the metaphor is stronger than I was analyzing or aware of." (Billboard)
Cannes: eOne Boards 'Den of Thieves 2'. STX, which released the first entry in the Gerard Butler/O'Shea Jackson Jr. action franchise, won't be around for the second round, as Sierra/Affinity takes on international sales. Entertainment One has come on board to finance Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, the sequel to the action heist drama starring Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr. The 2018 original, released by STX in the U.S., grossed more than $80 million worldwide. STX was originally on board for the sequel but has backed out. Sierra/Affinity will now handle international sales and is shopping the project to buyers in Cannes. STX has had problems of late. UglyDolls, its first foray into feature animation, opened to a disappointing $8.6 million at the domestic box office and has grossed a paltry $15 million to date stateside. Poms, a best-ager cheerleader comedy starring Diane Keaton, Pam Grier and Jacki Weaver, also underperformed, opening to $5.1 million. The Den of Thieves sequel will re-team Butler and Jackson Jr. with director Christian Gudegast. Butler will reprise his role as Big Nick Flanagan, the head of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, on the hunt for a group of sophisticated bank robbers. The sequel picks up with Big Nick tracking down the bad guys on the streets of Europe and getting closer to capturing Donnie (Jackson). Donnie, meanwhile, has become caught up in the dangerous world of diamond thieves and the Panther mafia, as a heist on the world's largest diamond exchange is being planned. Meadow Williams will also reprise her role as Holly in the film. eOne and Tucker Tooley Entertainment will finance the movie, which is set to begin production later this year. Tucker Tooley, Mark Canton, Alan Siegel and Butler will produce the sequel, with Williams executive producing. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who co-stared in the first Den of Thieves, is expected to work on the sequel in a production capacity. "We are incredibly excited to join such a thrilling franchise that has clearly captured audiences all around the world," said Jonathan Kier, Sierra/Affinity's president of sales and distribution. "We look forward to partnering with this very talented team of actors, producers and filmmakers." (Hollywood Reporter)
Cannes: Cara Delevingne, Machine Gun Kelly Team for Heist Thriller 'Punk'. Fortitude is shopping the high-octane film, which Sylvester Stallone and his daughter Sistine Stallone are exec producing. Colson Baker (The Dirt), better known by his rap stage name Machine Gun Kelly, is teaming up with Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Valerian) for the high-octane heist thriller Punk, which Sylvester Stallone is set to exec produce. The feature debut of Australian filmmaker and award-winning commercials director Richard Hughes, Punk follows Peter (Vince Staples), who, after receiving a disheartening rejection letter, takes off on a road trip with a crew of free-spirited runaways. Headed by Skip (Baker) and his sister Lucy (Delevingne), they collectively push the boundaries of freedom, risking life and limb to train-surf along the breathtaking fault lines of North America. After falling for Lucy, Peter soon discovers that the crew that once took him in are a band of bank robbers, hell-bent on becoming modern-day Robin Hoods Written by Hughes, the project is being produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Honey Boy, Midnight Special), Braden Aftergood (Hell or High Water, Wind River), Corey Smyth (Dave Chappelle's Block Party), Chris Ferguson (Little Fish) and Fred Berger (La La Land, Destroyer), with Stallone and Sistine Stallone executive producing. Punk is slated to start shooting this year, with Fortitude introducing the film to buyers in Cannes. Hughes is repped by WME. Baker is represented by Ashleigh VeVerka or EST19XX, Paradigm Talent Agency, Felker, Toczek, Suddleson, Abramson; Delevingne by WME, Jacobson Brand Management & Consulting, Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Staples by WME. (Hollywood Reporter)
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