Live-Action Naruto Film Adaptation Announced by Lionsgate
The insanely popular Naruto franchise continues to live on following its 15-year run as a manga. While video games and film sequels like Boruto: Naruto the Movie are set to come out (at the very least), but the franchise will be approaching new territories soon, as Lionsgate has announced a live-action film adaptation of everybody's favorite Hidden Leaf Ninja.
For those unfamiliar, Naruto is the story about an orphan growing up in a village full of ninjas. Overlooked and made fun of because of his lack of talents (and parents), Naruto trains and perseveres on his way to becoming the world's best ninja. In terms of popularity, it's typically been ranked towards the top of shounen ("for boys") anime alongside such series like Dragon Ball Z and One Piece.
Michael Gracey, who has done some VFX work on some upcoming films, will be making his directorial debut on the film. I'm guessing he was primarily chosen due to his visual effects work, as a film like Naruto would need a very dedicated and strong VFX team. However, despite Lionsgate's successes with adaptations like The Hunger Games and Divergent, it's hard for an American studio to successfully adapt anime into a live-action film. However, if the studio can pull off both Power Rangers and Naruto, Lionsgate could become the de facto studio for modern film adaptations.
As always, we'll have more on the Naruto film adaptation when developments arise.
[via /Film]
[The Weekly Swarm] 7/26 - 8/2
Have you all recovered from Lollapalooza yet? We'll have more coming from the weekend later this week, but first - time to revisit last week's content in this installment of The Weekly Swarm! Highlights for last week's Weekly Swarm include our editorial on revisiting heroes as villains via Bill Cosby and Atticus Finch, a series recap of the Mission: Impossible films, trailers for Seth Rogen's The Night Before, Michael Bay's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Spotlight, our recommendations for Lollapalooza, and more!
Check out our full list of content from last week below.
Vilifying Our Heroes: How We Understand Our Problematic Faves
Series Recap - Mission: Impossible (1996)
Trailer for Victoria Teases Entire Film Shot in One Take
Seth Rogen Trips on Drugs in Red Band Trailer for The Night Before
Series Recap - Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
Channing Tatum Might Leave Gambit Solo Film
Red Band Trailer for Michael Bay's Political Action/Drama, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
The Boston Globe's Massachusetts Catholic Church Sex Scandal Dramatized in Trailer for Spotlight
Series Recap - Mission: Impossible 3 (2006)
Feel the Plight of the Chilean Miners in First Trailer for The 33
Series Recap - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Brie Larson Destined for Breakout in Room Trailer
Ivan Reitman Shoots Down All-Male Ghostbusters Reboot Rumors
The Peanuts Movie Celebrates Franklin's Birthday
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Final July 2015 Update
Top Artists to See at Lollapalooza 2015
Watch the Lollapalooza 2015 Livestream Performances
Key & Peele to End After This Season
[Review] MTV's Scream: Exposed
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Final July 2015 Update
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Final July 2015 Update
The end of July is here, and with it comes an assortment of new Netflix Instant additions! As well all know, the highly-entertaining BoJack Horseman has returned for a second season (of which Bridjet reviewed recently). The other major addition to Netflix Instant is the Netflix-exclusive series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, which is a prequel to the 2001 cult classic. Another personal recommendation is The Skeleton Twins, starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig.
Find all of the latest additions to Netflix Instant below!
BoJack Horseman: Season 2
The Business of Being Born
Cantinflas
The Human Experiment Invizimals: The Alliance Files
Tig
The True Cost
Glee: Season 6
Java Heat
Peace After Marriage
Je suis Femen
Set Fire to the Stars
Jim Norton: Contextually Inadequate
Teacher of the Year
Zero Motivation
The Avenging Eagle
Come Drink with Me
Hercules
Martial Arts of Shaolin
Out of the Dark
The Road to Fallujah
Shaolin Martial Arts
24 Days
The Guest
Sword of Vengeance
Dial a Prayer
52 Tuesdays
Comet
Marvel's Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.: Season 2
Almost Mercy
Donde Esta Elisa
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Season 5
Of Girls and Horses
Relaciones Peligrosas
Staten Island Summer
Still
Victoria
The Wrecking Crew
The New Black
The Skeleton Twins
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
The Peanuts Movie Celebrates Franklin's Birthday
On July 31, 1968, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz broke down barriers by introducing the strip's first African American character, Franklin. Now, 47 years later, The Peanuts Movie is celebrating his first appearance with a social media campaign illustrating the character's background.
Following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a teacher by the name of Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Schulz expressing the importance of adding an African American character to Peanuts, the country's most popular comic strip at the time. As stated earlier, Franklin Armstrong made his debut on July 31st, 1968, and represented the importance of desegregation and equality.
Nearly 50 years later, America still struggles with racism and racial inequality, especially in light of the rampant reports of police brutality and hate crimes recently, something fun like #FranklinDay is a way to celebrate and promote something positive. And hey, it works as a very smart and creative marketing tool for The Peanuts Movie.
Re-live Franklin's first appearance in Peanuts below, and Happy #FranklinDay!
Watch the Lollapalooza 2015 Livestream Performances
Did you want to make it out to Grant Park this weekend to catch your favorite artists performing at Lollapalooza, but for whatever reason, you can't? Well, you're in luck! You can livestream some of Lollapalooza's best performances throughout the weekend thanks to Red Bull TV! Now, you can see artists like Metallica, Paul McCartney, Florence + the Machine, Twin Peaks, Mick Jenkins, Dillon Francis, and more from the comfort of your own house!
This year, Lollapalooza and Red Bull TV are offering three different channels for your music viewing needs! Channel 1 will be hosted by Sal Masekela, Ted Stryker, and Julie Garcia featuring headliner performances, behind-the-scenes access, artist interviews, festival highlights, and more. Channels 2 and 3 will be strictly about the music, offering viewers front-row access to their favorite artists. You can find the full Lollapalooza 2015 Livestream schedule here.
Ivan Reitman Shoots Down All-Male Ghostbusters Reboot Rumors
Around the same time the Paul Feig Ghostbusters reboot was announced, there were rumors that another Ghostbusters film would be produced, directed by Captain America: The Winter Soldier's Joe and Anthony Russo with Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt rumored to star. The rumors were further perpetrated by claims that original Ghostbusters director made in regards to the "other" Ghostbusters film:
The second film has a wonderful idea that builds on that. Drew will start writing and the hope is to be ready for the Russo Brothers’ next window next summer to shoot, with the movie coming out the following year. It’s just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies.
However, Reitman has recently come out to shoot down any and all rumors of the project with a statement:
There has been a lot of excitement recently about what is happening with the Ghostbusters franchise. As the producer of the new Ghostbusters film, I feel the need to clarify. There is only one new Ghostbusters movie and that is the Paul Feig directed version coming next July, presently filming and going fantastically. The rest is just noise.
It's unfortunate that Reitman mentioned any talk of a second Ghostbusters reboot film, especially after the mixed reception of the all-female Ghostbusters reboot. At the same time, this is a good vote of confidence for Feig's project and everybody involved with it. Does this mean we won't ever see a Tatum and Pratt Ghostbusters film? Of course not, but it would most likely depend on how Feig's film performs.
We'll see how the quest for more Ghostbusters plays out over time.
[via /Film]
Brie Larson Destined for Breakout in Room Trailer
[youtube id="6C6fZ-fwDws"]
Brie Larson has been close to breaking out in practically every one of her films over the past few years. She stunned audiences with her beauty and comedic wit/timing in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, played a small but pivotal role in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut, Don Jon, was a highlight in Miles Teller's The Spectacular Now, was a scene stealer in Judd Apatow's Trainwreck, and cemented herself as one of Hollywood's most talented actresses in the sorely overlooked Short Term 12.
With Room, however, Larson may just be on the path towards the breakout she was destined to experience back in 2013. Directed by Frank's Lenny Abrahamson, Room is a gripping emotional/psychological drama/thriller about a young woman, Ma (Larson), and her five-year-old son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), escaping from a 10x10 shack they were held captive in. Room is very reminiscent of the Saoirse Ronan-led Stockholm, Pennsylvania, but with notable and important differences. Room is adapted from the novel of the same name by Emma Donoghue.
This could be the performance to put Larson over the top, and I can't wait to see it happen when Room is released into LA and NY theaters on October 16th with a wide release on November 6th.
The Boston Globe's Massachusetts Catholic Church Sex Scandal Dramatized in Trailer for Spotlight
[iframe id="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/embed/spotlight/trailer/index.html"]
Spotlight is a true story about the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation team from The Boston Globe that broke the door wide open on the Massachusetts Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal in 2002. Directed by Thomas McCarthy (Win Win, The Cobbler), the film looks like it'll be a suspenseful thriller strengthened by an amazingly talented ensemble cast.
The Boston Globe "Spotlight" team, which is the oldest running newspaper investigation unit in the country, spent an entire year unraveling the various attempts at hiding the sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and the institution's lawyers that ensured no legal ramifications would be levied against them. The cast features Michael Keaton (Birdman), Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers: Age of Ultron), Billy Crudup (The Stanford Prison Experiment), John Slattery (Mad Men), Rachel McAdams (Southpaw), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2), and Liev Schreiber (Fading Gigolo).
Spotlight will be in theaters on November 6th.