Watch Matt Damon Get Stranded on Mars in Trailer for The Martian
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Ridley Scott is returning to the stars (doesn't he always) with his next film, The Martian. The film has similarities to other major space-bound box office hits Gravity and Interstellar. Matt Damon stars as an astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars after a dust storm separates him from the rest of his crew. Initially considered dead, he relies on his ingenuity to scrounge up enough resources to survive until he can develop a way to contact help. Elsewhere, NASA and his crewmates must find a way to rescue him.
Damon leads an ensemble cast that also includes Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Kate Mara (Fantastic Four), Michael Pena (Cesar Chavez), Donald Glover, Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Z for Zachariah), Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber To), and more.
The Martian will be dropping in theaters on November 25th. You can read the film's full synopsis below.
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.
Daredevil Season 2's Showrunner Writing Akira Remake Script
We all know the sad tale of the live-action Akira remake by now - it's gone through numerous rumors, delays, budgetary problems, and more since Warner Bros. acquired the rights back in 2002. The last we heard, Non-Stop director Jaume Collet-Serra was on board to direct the film and bring the project's budget down to the $60m - $70m range. Since then, production was cancelled (yet again), leaving the film in limbo once again.
Fast forward to this week when it was announced that Marvel's Daredevil's Season 2 showrunner, Marco J. Ramirez, has been hired by Warner Bros. to write a new script treatment for Akira. Ramirez served as a writer and producer for the first season of Marvel's Daredevil, and has also written for Sons of Anarchy, Da Vinci's Demons, and Orange is the New Black (for which he was nominated for three awards). There's no word on which volumes of Akira Ramirez will be adapting, or if Collet-Serra is still slated to direct.
At this point, it's hard to get excited for Akira remake news, given how many false starts fans have experienced over the past decade. Once again, the best course of action is to play the waiting game to see if Warner Bros. is confident enough in the script to finally move forward.
[via IGN]
Trailer for Jake Gyllenhaal and Antoine Fuqua's Boxing Film, Southpaw
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Coming off of his award-winning performance in Nightcrawler (which included a plethora of Best Actor nominations from various film critics and the Golden Globes) comes Jake Gyllenhaal's next film with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, Southpaw. Gyllenhaal stars as Billy Hope, a boxer at the height of his career whose world suddenly falls apart following an incident at his retirement announcement party.
Gyllenhaal's been on a run of amazing performances from End of Watch to Prisoners to Nightcrawler, so it's easy to assume he'll knock this one out - pun intended. While the plot is a pretty run of the mill redemption story (at first glance), Gyllenhaal has proven himself to not only deliver outstanding performances time and time again, but also doing so with a pickiness towards the films he signs on to do. The combination of Gyllenhaal with a director like Fuqua almost guarantees a film worth watching.
We'll all get our chance when Southpaw hits theaters on July 24th.
Official Trailer for Post-Apocalyptic Love Triangle Film, Z For Zachariah
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Z for Zachariah might be one of my favorite "underrated" films of the year. I cautiously use the term underrated because I still reviewed it fairly well, the cast got their praise from various outlets, and the film hasn't even been screened for general audiences yet. Still, it's the type of film you see that, months later, you'll hear wind about and instantly remember everything you liked about it.
Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad), Chris Pine (Into the Woods), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) star in the minimal film about survivors of some nuclear war. Robbie finds herself at the center of a love triangle between Ejiofor's non-religious scientist and Pine's religious, adventuresome type. As seen in the trailer, the tension is very high as you can begin to see the rivalry between the two men slowly grow.
Z for Zachariah will be in theaters on August 21st. You can read the film's full synopsis below.
In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman (Margot Robbie) survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor), he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger (Chris Pine) enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel.
Showtime's Streaming Service Sidesteps HBO Now's Subscription Prices
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In a move that will surprise no one, Showtime has just announced their plans to launch their own streaming service. The service, which will simply be referred to as Showtime, undercuts HBO Now's price of $14.99 by offering a monthly plan of $10.99. While Showtime does offer some amazing series like Shameless, Homeland, Dexter, the upcoming third season of Twin Peaks, and more, they don't carry the same gravitas as HBO's offerings like Game of Thrones, True Detective, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and much, much more. However, what Showtime is offering that HBO doesn't is live broadcast streams from both East and West Coasts.
Showtime will launch on Apple devices next month, with many other devices and platforms to be announced at a later date. You can read the full press release below.
For the first time ever, SHOWTIME will be offered over the internet as a stand-alone streaming service launching in early July, with Apple as its first partner. The stand-alone service will be called SHOWTIME, a brand already embraced by consumers as the home for cutting-edge original programming, sports and movies. The launch of SHOWTIME will coincide with the new seasons of the critically-acclaimed, hit series RAY DONOVAN and MASTERS OF SEX, premiering on Sunday, July 12th. iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch® and Apple TV® users will be able to subscribe to SHOWTIME as a stand-alone service on the SHOWTIME app anywhere in the U.S., for one monthly price ($10.99) to view on all Apple devices. Additional platforms and providers will be announced soon. To learn more about SHOWTIME, visit http://www.showtime.com.
Subscribers will have unlimited on demand access to every season of award-winning SHOWTIME original series, and hundreds of hours of movies, documentary and sports programming, as well as the live broadcast of the east and west coast feeds of SHOWTIME. Showtime will offer a 30-day free trial to new customers who sign up through Apple in July. Apple users simply need to go to the SHOWTIME app on their device to sign up and create a SHOWTIME account. Subscribers can use their SHOWTIME account to watch the service across all supported devices, as well as online at http://www.showtime.com.
Showtime and its acclaimed original programming continues to make its mark on the cultural landscape. The network is home to one of the most successful programming line-ups in all of television, with hits that include HOMELAND, RAY DONOVAN, THE AFFAIR, MASTERS OF SEX, PENNY DREADFUL, SHAMELESS, HOUSE OF LIES, NURSE JACKIE, HAPPYish, EPISODES, and the anticipated new series BILLIONS and the limited series TWIN PEAKS. Original series play a key part in the network’s programming mix, along with box office hits, comedy and music specials, provocative documentaries, and hard-hitting sports programming, including the flagship franchise SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® and the news magazine programs 60 MINUTES SPORTS and JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME. The network’s diverse slate of films includes Boyhood, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Philomena, St. Vincent, The Imitation Game and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Hot Girls Wanted, The Aviator
A plethora of new films and TV shows were added over the past week, coinciding with Netflix's penchant to bring a large in flux of additions at the beginning of the month. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's The Aviator, Audrey Hepburn's Roman Candle, and Alfonso Cuaron's Y tu mama tambien are the biggest titles added in this initial June wave.
However, it's the Rashida Jones-produced documentary Hot Girls Wanted that has many talking. The doc, which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, exposes the harsh reality that many amateur porn stars face. While it serves as a cautionary tale, it doesn't exactly share any new information to those that are already aware of the plight facing young women that turn to the industry. Nevertheless, it's a well-made documentary (albeit with an uneven tone) that should be seen.
You can find the full list of new Netflix Instant additions below.
Would You Rather
Bandslam
Between
Boy Meets Girl
Fishtronaut
Hot Girls Wanted
Kids from Shaolin
Middle of Nowhere
Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn
Fishtronaut: Season 1
Fishtronaut: Season 2
Mako Mermaids: An H2O Adventure: Season 3
Shaolin Temple
The Pope of Greenwich Village
Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie...
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Beginnings
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Eternal
The Queens of Comedy
The Quiet American
R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly
R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour
Redemption: Kickboxer 5
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Revolución
Roman Holiday
The Rugrats Movie
Elias: Rescue Team Adventures: Season 1
La Suegra: Season 1
Los tiempos de Pablo Escobar: Season 1
Familia P. Luche: Season 1
SheZow: Season 1
Bleach: Season 2
TEDTalks: Life Lessons & Confessions: Season 2
Familia P. Luche: Season 2 2007
Bleach: Season 3
Familia P. Luche: Season 3
Chuggington: Season 4
Sex Ed
Shaq: All Star Comedy Jam: Atlanta
Shaq: All Star Comedy Jam: Orlando
Shaquille O'Neal Presents: All Star...
She Doesn't Want to Sleep Alone
SheZow
Something Wild
Stash House
Sucker Punch
Tear This Heart Out
Tetro
Transit
Troll
Troll 2
Una Familia de Diez
Used Parts
Virgingate
We Are the Giant
A Wonderful World
The Inbetweeners 2
Oh No! It's an Alien Invasion: Season 1
Oh No! It's an Alien Invasion: Season 2
Four Brothers
Further
Girl on a Bicycle
The Good Guy
Hammett
Heterosexual Jill
Hidden Kingdoms
The High and the Mighty
Higher
Hits
Iesodo: Believe
Innocent Voices
The Island of Dr. Moreau: Director's Cut
Kickboxer
Kickboxer 2
Kickboxer 3: The Art of War
Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor
Kidnapped
Kiss the Girls
La Suegra
La Vida Despues
Las magicas canciones de Plim Plim
Le voyage dans la lune
Le voyage dans la lune (Color)
Los tiempos de Pablo Escobar
México Pelágico
Maria de todos los Angeles
Metastasis
Mooz-Lum
Never on a Sunday
A Night at the Roxbury
Night Falls on Manhattan
Nine Months
On the Way to School
One from the Heart
The Others
Oveja Negra
Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal: Season 1
The Paper Chase
People Will Talk
The Perfect Dictatorship
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary 2
Philly Kid
Plan B: True
Best of Me
Hector and the Search for Happiness
The City
El Chapulin Colorado
Elias: Rescue Team Adventures
The Great Escape
La Rosa de Guadalupe
LI’L QUINQUIN
Nature's Weirdest Events
Out of the Dark
Purgatorio
Pretty Little Liars: Season 5
Y Tu Mamá También
009-1: The End of the Beginning
18 cigarrillos y medio
All Over the Guy
Amar
Amor Xtremo
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now Redux
The Aviator
Bad Habits
Big Muddy
The Black Power Mixtape
Bleach
Brian's Song
The Burbs
Celia's Lives
Cephalopod
Cochochi
Dead Snow
Deeper
Delivery
Dragon Eyes
Edge of the Earth
El Gringo
El informe Toledo
Employee of the Month
The Escape Artist
Expelled from Paradise
Familia P. Luche
Far From Home: Adventures of Yellow Dog
A Feast at Midnight
Fishtail
Furious 7 Director Tackling Both Aquaman and Robotech
Despite the troubles that faced Furious 7's pre-production, the film is currently 2015's highest-grossing film with a $1.5b worldwide gross and is poised to become Hollywood's third highest-grossing film of all time. A part of the film's success is due in part to director James Wan, who previously found success in the horror genre with the Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring franchises. Buoyed by the success of Furious 7, Wan was being courted for some high-profile projects, and finally word has come out that they've become official.
Yesterday, it was announced that Wan will be a huge part of re-shaping DC's film future by helming the Jason Momoa-led Aquaman, which is scheduled for a 2018 release. Before Wan tackles Aquaman, however, he'll be returning to the world of The Conjuring with production on The Conjuring 2 set to begin this fall for a 2016 release.
In addition, Wan is also on board with Sony's live-action adaptation of the '80s anime, Robotech. There's no further information on this project, but production won't start until after Aquaman is completed.
With so many scheduled projects, Wan is setting himself for back-to-back blockbusters over the next five years.
[via Collider]
Netflix Testing Teasers Before and After TV Shows
Of all of the benefits Netflix offers over other services is their refusal to implement third-party ads. While the price of subscription has changed a bit over the years (and is perhaps facing another upcharge imminently), their dedication to bringing amazing content to their subscribers, both original programming and licensed shows/films, is well worth weathering an extra buck or two, especially when we can binge-watch Scrubs (like what my roommates and I currently do) or Orange is the New Black (like what my roommates and I will do soon) uninterrupted.
However, Netflix has recently begun testing pre-roll and post-roll teasers for their Netflix original shows for certain users/markets. While the next logical conclusion would be the introduction of third-party ads a la Hulu, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings took a very clear stance yesterday following speculation that the aforementioned teasers were paving the way for ads in the future, sharing on Facebook: "No advertising coming onto Netflix. Period. Just adding relevant cool trailers for other Netflix content you are likely to love."
Indeed, the teasers have been for other Netflix original series, such as Marvel's Daredevil or the upcoming third season of Orange is the New Black. The teasers serve as the next wave of recommendations, and while they may be a bit intrusive, who isn't on the constant prowl for a new show to binge-watch once their current show's run comes to an end?
[via Tech Crunch]