Movie News

Jamie Foxx says "Just Mercy" -- the movie he stars in with Michael B. Jordan -- is more than just a movie ... because it's inspiring some real-world change for the better. We got the actor -- who plays wrongly condemned death row inmate Walter McMillian in the film -- outside Mr. Chow Monday night in Bev Hills. He tells us since the movie -- which is based on a true story -- came out, 100 lawyers have gone to Alabama to work pro bono to save people from death row. Jamie says it's no coincidence, they're following in the footsteps of the film's hero, Bryan Stevenson -- a lawyer and social justice activist, played by MBJ in "Just Mercy." Foxx says the role speaks volumes about Jordan's commitment to elevating black culture. As Jamie puts it ... Michael B. Jordan can do any movie he wants, but he chooses ones that speak to his people and shine a light on important issues. Foxx says there's still a lot of work to be done and, despite criticism, it's still important to do "the slave movie." Watch and let him explain. (TMZ)

Nothing can stop Ethan Hunt ... except the coronavirus. That's right ... Tom Cruise and co. are gonna be sent packing from Italy after Paramount announced Monday they were putting a pause on production for their latest installment in the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise -- and it's all because of the worldwide outbreak. The studio says, "Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for 'Mission: Impossible 7." As you might've noticed in the many 'MI' sequels -- including this last one -- they shoot all over the world ... especially Europe. Coronavirus has already reportedly affected a couple hundred or so people in Italy alone, so Paramount clearly isn't taking any chances. They continued, "During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves." In other words ... Paramount's gonna be shipping everyone out there back home, including possibly to the States -- which probably won't make our President all that happy. On Saturday, the NYT reported Trump was "furious" over 14 Americans who tested positive for coronavirus recently being sent back here from an infected cruise ship without his sign-off. Of course, he downplayed the story on Twitter, saying coronavirus was under control. Not to say anyone on the production is contaminated, but considering DT's a huge reported germophobe ... those staffers might wanna consider coming home with masks on. (TMZ)

Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star as Ma Anand Sheela in the Wild Wild Country film. The documentary's villain is getting her own biopic. Remember a time before Cheer, The Pharmacist and Next in Fashion, when the Netflix documentary everybody was bingeing focused on a certain cult in the Oregon desert? Yes, we're talking about the hugely popular 2018 documentary Wild, Wild Country which told the unbelievable story of Rajneeshpuram  a utopian commune established in rural Oregon in the 1980s by 'religious guru' Baghwan Shree Rajneesh. But it was his assistant, Ma Anand Sheela, who stuck in viewers' minds long after finishing the series. When conflict begins to build with the Oregonian locals  to whom Rajneeshpuram is a dangerous sex cult  we see it unfold into a battle of arms races, drugs, a massive case of illegal wiretapping and the first bioterror attack in the United States. The latter was organized by Sheela when she infected local salad bars with salmonella, deliberately poisoning 751 people. Unsurprising, then, that Amazon have decided to give the documentary's villain her own biopic. Sheela was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, and though we don't yet know a release date, Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star as Steela and also help produce the film alongside director Barry Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam; Rain Man). In an interview with The Guardian in 2018, Sheela confessed that she didn't watch much of Wild Wild Country, fast forwarding through much of it. She also admits that she doesn't think she was responsible for poisoning anyone, that Rajneeshpuram was not a 'cult', and that she holds no remorse for her actions. Though some Wild Wild Country viewers saw her as more of an anti-hero than a terrorist or villain, with many labelling her as 'badass'. Now known as Sheela Birnstiel, Ma Anand Sheela later married Urs Birnstiel, a fellow Rajneesh follower, and moved to Switzerland where she bought and managed two nursing homes. (British Glamour)

Berlin: Bruce Willis Sci-Fi Actioner 'Anti-Life' Sells Wide. Film Mode Entertainment locked up deals across Europe and Asia for the effect-heavy feature from 'Pandemic' director John Suits. Bruce Willis still packs them in. Anti-Life, the latest action feature from the Die Hardstar, racked up sales worldwide at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin, with Film Mode Entertainment closing deals across Europe and Asia. Film Mode confirmed deals with the likes of Metropolitan (France), Scanbox (Scandinavia), Signature Entertainment (U.K.) and Twelve Oaks Pictures (Spain) in Europe and across Asia including with Presidio for Japan, Storm Pictures Korea in South Korea and Eagle Entertainment for Australia/New Zealand. In Anti-Life, Willis plays a hardened mechanic picked to stay awake and maintain an interstellar arc on a spaceship fleeing a dying planet Earth with a few thousand survivors on board, the last remnants of humanity. But the ship has a stowaway: a shape-shifting alien whose goal is slaughter everyone on board. Pandemic director John Suits helmed the feature, which also stars Rachel Nicols, Thomas Jane and Cody Kearsley. "Anti-Life delivers on VFX, action and most importantly Bruce Willis," said Film Mode's Clay Epstein in a statement. "Audiences are in for a fun ride and we're overwhelmed with the positive response from the market." While art-house titles are traditionally in focus at the EFM, this year's market has been action heavy. STXfilms picked up the action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake in North America, Latin America and China from Studiocanal and UTA for a reported eight-figures; AGC International closed most of the world on Little America, a dystopian sci-fi thriller starring Sylvester Stallone; and STXinternational sold German-language rights to Gerard Butler actioner Remote Control to new market upstart Leonine in a mid-seven-figure deal. (Hollywood Reporter)

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