Movie News

The late Stan Lee -- who co-created 'Spider-Man' -- would've been happy over the news that Sony pumped the brakes on giving Disney control of his character ... so says his daughter. Sony's move to limit control over 'Spider-Man' -- and potentially remove the superhero entirely from Disney's Marvel Comic Universe -- is one that was necessary and something Stan would have appreciated ... so says his daughter, Joan Celia (JC) Lee. ICYMI ... reports surfaced Tuesday that Sony and Disney reached a standstill in negotiating Spidey's future under Disney's umbrella, including any 'Avengers' spin-offs/sequels. Insiders told Deadline it was all about money ... Disney wanted a 50/50 stake in 'Spider-Man'-related revenue, and also wanted Marvel honcho Kevin Feige to be the guiding hand. Welp, Sony was reportedly not too down with that -- they own the rights to 'Spider-Man,' and until now had partnered with Disney to crank out these last few films. That's all over now. As for how the Lees feel about it, JC tells us ... "Marvel and Disney seeking total control of my father's creations must be checked and balanced by others who, while still seeking to profit, have genuine respect for Stan Lee and his legacy." AKA ... cameos don't cut it. She goes on ... "Whether it's Sony or someone else's, the continued evolution of Stan's characters and his legacy deserves multiple points of view." "When my father died, no one from Marvel or Disney reached out to me. From day one, they have commoditized my father's work and never shown him or his legacy any respect or decency." JC's parting words ... "In the end, no one could have treated my father worse than Marvel and Disney's executives." Ouch!!! (TMZ)

Netflix have dropped the trailer for Marriage Story and it looks so gripping. *cancels plans immediately* You've been out every night drinking rose for the last three months, you've exhausted every rooftop bar in London and your bank statement is looking, well, depleted. It will soon be time to rein in the summer festivities and indulge in lazy autumnal afternoons on the sofa - and luckily, there's never been a better time to unleash your inner couch potato with the imminent release of Noah Baumbach's new drama, Marriage Story. Starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Driver chronicles the lives of a once-happy couple going through a divorce. With a young child to protect, Charlie and Nicole face the difficult challenge of keeping their family unit intact while battling through agonizing divorce proceedings. Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta and Julie Hagerty will also join the all-star cast. The Netflix film has been likened to divorce drama "Kramer vs. Kramer," but Baumbach assured viewers Marriage Story has a unique storyline. "What helped with this family is that because they're show people, the theatricality of it all feels organic to them. This gave me a real opportunity in what would otherwise be considered a naturalistic movie," he said in an interview with IndieWire. In an act of sheer generosity, Netflix have dropped not one, but two his-and-hers trailers and we are hooked already. One shows Adam Driver's perspective, and the other features Scarlett Johansson's. "With these companion trailers I wanted to show the relationship through the eyes of both characters. There are many sides to every story, and the movie embraces these different viewpoints in order to find the shared truth," revealed Noah, who is widely recognized for his trademark dark comedies. This is not the first time Noah has tackled divorce. His breakout film, The Squid and the Whale, gained critical acclaim for its exquisite portrayal of a pair of divorcing Brooklyn intellectuals in the 1980s. While a release date is yet to be announced, Marriage Story is rumored to land on Netflix this autumn, just in time to hunker down on the sofa and get cozy. Yaas! (British Glamour)

San Sebastian Festival Adds Six Films to Competition. New titles from Alice Winocour, Sarah Gavron and Malgorzata Szumowska, among others, round out the festival's official selection. Six more films have been added to the official competition of this year's 67th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Among the newly announced films vying for the top Golden Shell award is Mustang director Alice Winocour's new story about a female astronaut living alone with her 7-year-old daughter, Proxima, starring Matt Dillon and Eva Green. UK director Sarah Gavron will premiere Rocks, from a story by Ikoko, about two teens abandoned by their mother and hiding the fact that they're living alone from the authorities. Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Brazilian director Paxton Winters is screening Pacified, a story about the friendship between a teenager and a drug trafficker set against the police crackdown on Rio's favelas during the Olympic Games. Tibetan director Sonthar Gyal will premiere his latest feature, Lhamo and Skalbe, about a couple whose past prevents them from marrying. Portgual's Goncalo Waddington debuts his first feature, Patrick, about a young man who turns up in a Parisian prison 12 years after being kidnapped as a child. Malgorzata Szumowska's U.S.-Ireland-Belgium-Poland co-production The Other Lamb turns on a teenage girl who starts to doubt the religious convictions of the cult she's been raised in. The films add to the list of titles previously announced for the official selection, including opening-night film Blackbird, starring Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet, and closing night out-of-competition title The Song of Names, starring Tim Roth and Clive Owen. The festival runs Sept. 20-Sept. 28. (Hollywood Reporter)

MoviePass Confirms Data Breach That May Have Exposed Credit Card Numbers. The company confirmed a TechCrunch report from Tuesday that one of its databases was exposed. Movie ticket subscription service MoviePass confirmed that a data breach may have exposed tens of thousands of customer card numbers and personal credit cards. The company confirmed a TechCrunch report from Tuesday that one of its databases was exposed. Mossab Hussein, a security researcher at Dubai-based cybersecurity firm SpiderSilk, told TechCrunch he had found an exposed database on one of the company's many subdomains. The database contained up to 161 million records. In a statement to CNN, Moviepass said a security lapse was recently discovered and its system was immediately secured. The data breach is the latest in the long line of problems for MoviePass since it launched in 2017. In March, MoviePass parent Helios and Matheson Analytics said that the money-losing subscription service has fewer subscribers than previously disclosed. Despite its troubles, MoviePass has looked to relaunch itself by bringing back its $9.95 Movie-Per-Day plan in March. The eye-catching plan had restrictions for the new MoviePass Uncapped offering, including subscribers having to pay for 12 months in advance, and only being eligible to view 2D films offered within the MoviePass network. The latest pricing change followed a cash crunch for owners Helios and Matheson and a plunge in its share price, and a big leg down for MoviePass after it launched in 2017 by offering as many as 30 tickets a month to the local cinema for the price of one. MoviePass has also abandoned a three-tier pricing structure introduced in December 2018 where customers -- depending upon where they live -- would pay anywhere from $9.95 to $24.95 a month to see three movies a month for a total 36 movies a year. Now MoviePass is no longer offering the Select, All Access and Red Carpet plans for purchase, retaining them only for users who subscribed to them. (Hollywood Reporter)

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