Joaquin Phoenix Won't Play Doctor Strange After All
Talks have ended and the hope is now dead: Joaquin Phoenix won't be joining the Marvel stable of actors to portray Doctor Strange. Despite word that Phoenix and Marvel were close to settling on a deal in late August, it appears Marvel and Phoenix are going their separate ways. Rumor has it that Phoenix wasn't comfortable with the contractual obligations Marvel has for their actors and the very nature of effects-heavy blockbuster films. This is bad news for those, like myself, who would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the talented actor join a list that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and more.
However, could this news simply be a smoke screen thrown up by Marvel and Phoenix? With New York Comic Con taking place next week, the news could be a way to keep the dream alive and truly surprise fans during one of Marvel's panels in New York. With that said, if the news is legitimate, who would be a good fit for the enigmatic doctor?
[via IGN]
[Weekly Netflix Fix] New October Update
As you should know by now, with the beginning of a new month comes a large number of new titles to Netflix Instant. Some of my highlights for this new batch of updates include Can't Hardly Wait, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, L'Auberge Espagnole, Romeo + Juliet, Sleeper, Team America: World Police, Comic Book Men: Season 3, The Walking Dead: Season 4, Parks and Recreation: Season 6, and The Double. You can find the full list of new titles below.
An Affair to Remember
Affliction
Alice
Annie
Annie: A Royal Adventure
Baby's Day Out
Bananas
Body Count
Can't Hardly Wait
Caught Up
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Chicken Run
The Contender
Cool World
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Domestic Disturbance
Don't Be a Menace to South Central
Ernest Saves Christmas
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
Fat Man & Little Boy
Finding Forrester
The Fly
From the Hip
Galaxy Quest
The Gambler
Gilmore Girls
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Hanoi Hilton
House
House Arrest
Interiors
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Kramer vs. Kramer
L'Auberge Espagnole
The Last Godfather
Love and Death
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
Mike Birbiglia: What I Should Have Said...
My Father the Hero
Nell
Nick of Time
The Parallax View
Paths of Glory
The Phantom of the Opera
The Producers
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Radio Days
The Rage: Carrie 2
Rescue Dawn
Romeo + Juliet
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Gilmore Girls
September
Shadow of the Vampire
Shadows and Fog
Shane
Shivers
Sleeper
Sleepless in Seattle
A Slipping Down Life
Stardust Memories
The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All
Swimming with Sharks
Tamara
Team America: World Police
Three Fugitives
Tombstone
Top Dog
Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby
The Wedding Planner
The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Zelig
Another Gay Movie
Bear City
Boy Culture
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero
Chelsea Handler: Uganda Be Kidding Me...
Guardian of the Highlands
The Heart of Bruno Wizard
Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty
The Hunted
Julius Jr.: Season 1
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Killing Them Softly
Longhorns
Melanie Comarcho: Hello!
The Monkey's Paw
Never Say Never: Director's Fan Cut
A Night in Old Mexico
Peaky Blinders: Season 1
Simon and the Oaks
This Property Is Condemned
The Wild Geese
Wolf
The Conspirator
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!
Five Dances
Lullaby
Bad Grandpa: Unrated Version
Dragonwolf
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
On My Way
Print the Legend
Comic Book Men: Season 3
The Walking Dead: Season 4
China Revealed
Crazy Land
Hillbilly Blood
Indy 500: The Inside Line
Lethal Force
Oceana Air Show
Parks and Recreation: Season 6
Crazy Land: Season 1
Hillbilly Blood: Season 1
Crazy Land: Season 2
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
The Double
China Blocks Instagram in Reaction to Protest Photos
Instagram has joined the growing list of banned sites in China following an in flux of pro-democracy protest photos that were uploaded to the popular service. China is known for its strict online censorship, with a plethora of Google sites and YouTube blocked across mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The protests, dubbed "Occupy Central," "Umbrella Movement," and "Umbrella Revolution," have stemmed from Chinese citizens' disagreement with the government not allowing them to vote for their new leader. With growing resentment of China's communist government, will the country every move towards enacting democracy?
Outside of the politics of the ban, withholding access to one of the most popular online social networks surely won't be met with happiness. Then again, with the pre-existing ban on other popular sites, it surely was only a matter of time before the government blocked Instagram. Nevertheless, change can't be silenced. Follow along with the #OccupyCentral (and other, similar hashtags) on Twitter and Instagram to help spread awareness of what our friends and family are facing in China. You can also see a small sampling of some Instagram photos from the protests below.
[via PetaPixel]
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend Releasing on IMAX and Netflix on Same Day
Several years ago, the thought of a same-day home/theatrical release was seen as a bad business move by film studios because of the lower box office returns. After all, who wouldn't rather watch a film at home in their pajamas instead of going to an over-priced theater with a bunch of strangers? Actually... that doesn't sound that bad... Nevertheless, over the years, smaller studios have embraced the idea, simultaneously releasing films on VOD and limited theatrical rollouts. However, bigger studios haven't yet embraced the business model... until now.
In a press release sent out today, it was announced that The Weinstein Company is teaming up with Netflix to have a day-and-date release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend on Netflix Instant and in IMAX theaters on August 28th, 2015. The sequel, directed by fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix), will see Michelle Yeoh returning and Donnie Yen joining the cast. The film will be based on Wang Dulu's novel Iron Knight, Silver Vase, the fifth in his Cane-Iron Pentalogy series.
Could this be the first step towards major film studios embracing the practice? Probably not, but it'll certainly set the precedence for other studios to follow. Netflix has four other similar deals in the works for the future, so we'll definitely see whether the experiment works out. One thing is clear: Having the free (for Netflix subscribers) option to watch brand new films at home on its release will be an amazing option for those lazy weekends.
[via /Film]
GoPro Announces Three New Cameras: HERO4 Black, HERO4 Silver, HERO
GoPros have become one of the most reliable cameras to turn to for action and first-person videos. The diminutive, durable cameras have been used for everything from bike rides across the world, roller coaster rides, skydiving, concert videos, and more, helping GoPro cameras be some of the best and most popular cameras to use for video. Not wanting to rest on their laurels, GoPro announced a new suite of cameras to their line.
The "premium" camera is the GoPro HERO4 Black. With an MSRP of $500, the camera features twice the performance of its predecessor, with 4K quality video shot at 30fps, and 8.3 megapixels for video stills. Photos come in at 12 megapixels with a burst option that offers 30 photos per second. The HERO4 Black also offers a 50% faster Wi-Fi connection speed, which should allow faster upload speeds right on the spot.
The tier below the HERO4 Black is the HERO4 Silver. While it doesn't feature 4K quality videos, it does offer a built-in touch screen display to help get through those admittedly annoying GoPro menus. Like the HERO4 Black, the HERO4 Silver also features a 50% increase in Wi-Fi speeds. The HERO4 Silver retails for $399.
Finally, there's an entry-level GoPro HERO camera being offered. It comes in a permanent waterproof case that shoots videos at 1080p at 30fps or 720p at 60fps. It also shoots photos at 5 megapixels, which is a dramatically lower quality than the HERO4 Silver and Black, but at $129, it's the perfect price for those ready to test the GoPro waters.
The new line of GoPro cameras will be available on the GoPro website on October 5th. You can watch GoPro's official announcement video below.
[youtube id="wTcNtgA6gHs"]
[Weekend Box Office] Denzel's Back On Top with The Equalizer
Denzel's back! Of course, was there ever really any doubt? His latest film, The Equalizer, debuted this past weekend with $35m, doubling the weekend's runner-up film, The Maze Runner. The weekend's other major release, Laika's The Boxtrolls, came in a close third with $17.25m. The rest of the top 10 didn't fare so much, but considering the majority of them are already at least a month into their campaigns, show how powerful their staying power is. Guardians of the Galaxy is still carving up the box office, bringing in $3.8m to bring its cumulative domestic revenue to $319m while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles inches closet to $200m with this weekend's $1.4m.
You can read the rest of the weekend's box office numbers below.
1. The Equalizer - $35,000,000
2. The Maze Runner - $17,500,000
3. The Boxtrolls - $17,250,000
4. This is Where I Leave You - $7,010,000
5. Dolphin Tale 2 - $4,835,000
6. No Good Deed - $4,600,000
7. A Walk Among the Tombstones - $4,233,840
8. Guardians of the Galaxy - $3,789,000
9. Let's Be Cops - $1,515,000
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - $1,450,000
[via Rentrak]
Sandro Miller's Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters
John Malkovich is known for his transformative roles that call for him to play essentially any role. Teaming up with photography Sandro Miller, Malkovich channeled pop culture icons of yesteryear for a photo Miller's latest photo series, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters. In the series, Malkovich re-enacts some famous (and not-so famous) photos of various icons from Hollywood, across art, and even politics, including Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Joker in Batman, Andy Warhol's pop-art painting of Marilyn Monroe, revolutionary Che Guevara, and more.
Check out some of the photos below, and be sure to check out the full exhibition on the Catherine Edelman Gallery website. The exhibition will be on display from November 7th to January 31st. Chicagoans, I highly suggest checking this one out in person!
[via Catherine Edelman Gallery]
Texas Improper Photography Law Deemed Unconstitutional
Vague, unclear wording in a Texan photography law caused it to be deemed unconstitutional recently. Texas' "anti-upskirting" law is meant for photographers to not be able to take photos of another person without their consent to "arouse or gratify the sexual desire of another person." Sounds pretty clear, right? However, the Appeals Court shut down the law because, objectively, any photograph (or anything, for that matter) can cause arousal for somebody. For example, if I were to take a photo of somebody walking their dog and somebody who has a dog walking fetish saw my photos and began distributing that in their dog walking fetish forums, I could legally go to jail because of the innocent photo.
Judge Sharon Keller explains the court's reasoning behind shutting down the law:
Protecting someone who appears in public from being the object of sexual thoughts seems to be the sort of ‘paternalistic interest in regulating the defendant’s mind’ that the First Amendment was designed to guard against.
We all agree that taking photos of people in a sexual nature without their consent is morally (and legally) wrong. However, as the bill currently stands, it's too unclear to ratify. All that's necessary is to rewrite the wording of the bill to pinpoint the exact problem.
[via PetaPixel]