Rotten Tomatoes Roundup: February 27, 2015

By Dominick Ferrara V

We are getting back into the swing of things with our two weekly series, which we have not been posting lately, but welcome to the Rotten Tomatoes Roundup, where we give the Rotten Tomatoes scores for each new release this weekend, helping you decide what to spend money on this weekend.

FOCUS: 56% (rotten)

THE LAZARUS EFFECT: 16% (rotten)

’71: 98% (certified fresh)

MAPS TO THE STARS: 65% (fresh)

SALVATION: 58% (rotten)

The smaller indie film ’71 and David Cronenberg’s latest film, MAPS TO THE STARS take the top prizes this week. However, if you’re looking to check out the new wide releases, Will Smith and Margot Robbie’s latest, FOCUS, is getting mixed reviews, and the majority of them are positive. \

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Rosamund Pike Joins THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY

By Dominick Ferrara V

Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike is in talks to join THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY based on John D. MacDonald’s novel of the same name.

When you get a talent of her caliber, she clearly will be playing the film’s female lead opposite Academy Award winner Christian Bale. THE WOLVERINE director James Mangold is helming the project, with Chernin Entertainment, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson-Killoran producing for Appian Way along with Amy Robinson.

The original book was written in 1964, and is the first in a series of 21 books following Travis McGee (Bale), a self-described “savage consultant” who recovers other people’s property for a fee, and along the way, fights bad guys and woos women.

Dennis LeHane wrote the screenplay, with Scott Frank working on the latest draft. The project is set up at Fox, which distributed Gone Girl, which earned Pike her first Academy Award nomination, and grossed over $350 million worldwide.

Pike is repped by CAA and Magnolia Entertainment.

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Denis Villaneuve To Helm BLADE RUNNER 2

By Dominick Ferrara V

In 1982, Ridley Scott released the divisive sci-fi classic BLADE RUNNER to mixed reviews, but the film gained fans with the two director’s cuts that Scott released over time. One of the film’s major keys to success was the film’s star, the legendary Harrison Ford. Now that Ford has returned to another sci-fi franchise in a galaxy far, far away, Alcon Entertainment has been trying to greenlight a sequel to the classic flick, but would have to do it without the steady hand of Ridley Scott leading the project.

Now, in a press release yesterday, Alcon Entertainment has confirmed that Ford will return for the sequel, and that PRISONERS and ENEMY director Denis Villeneuve is in negotiations to direct the project. Ford states that the film will take place decades after the original, and that the screenplay for the upcoming film is “the best thing he’s ever read.” Ridley Scott will be returning to produce the film, along with Alcon’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

In a joint statement, Kosove and Johnson said, “We are honored that Harrison is joining us on this journey with Denis Villeneuve, who is a singular talent, as we experienced personally on Prisoners. Hampton and Michael (the writers of the film), with Ridley Scott, have crafted a uniquely potent and faithful sequel to one of the most universally celebrated films of all time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this amazing, creative team.”

Villeneuve has been nominated for an Academy Award for INCENDIES, and frequently collaborates with Jake Gyllenhaal and legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins.

You can see Ford next in THE AGE OF ADALINE on April 24th, and Villeneuve’s next film, SICARIO, which stars Emily Blunt, Benecio del Toro, and Josh Brolin, hits theaters on September 18th.

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UPDATE: 2015 Oscar Predictions AND WINNERS

By Dominick Ferrara V

UPDATE: This article has been updated to include the winners for each award.

This Sunday is the biggest night in Hollywood, the Academy Awards. I will be live tweeting the event (@filmwithferrara), and will be updating the site with the winners throughout the night. Some of you will be attempting to win your family or office Oscar pools, and I will try to help you guys win some cash Sunday night. Let’s do it! All predicted winners are in bold.

Best Picture:

This is one of the toughest races we have ever seen in this category, the big kahuna of awards. It has become a two horse race between the critical darling (Boyhood) and the Hollywood darling (Birdman). While Boyhood did capture the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and BAFTA for Best Picture, Birdman managed to capture the top prizes at the SAG, PGA, and DGA awards. In a close vote, BIRDMAN will capture Best Picture on Sunday night, thanks to the script, direction, acting, and technical achievements that this film gave us.

WINNER: BIRDMAN

Best Director:

While Birdman’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu captured the DGA, Golden Globe winner Richard Linklater (Boyhood) should come out on top for consistently getting the best out of his actors for a 12 year period.

WINNER: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Best Actor:

Despite the early heat from the legendary Michael Keaton (Birdman), I expect Eddie Redmayne’s powerful performance as Dr. Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything to capture the gold Sunday night, following his SAG, Golden Globe, and BAFTA wins.

WINNER: Eddie Redmayne

Best Actress:

This award is Julianne Moore’s to lose for her powerful performance as a linguistics professor with Alzheimer’s in Still Alice.

WINNER: Julianne Moore

Best Supporting Actor:

JK Simmons (Whiplash) is going to win. If he doesn’t there will be riots. He has won every award this year, including the SAG, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Critics Choice.

WINNER: JK Simmons

Best Supporting Actress:

Even though the film is called Boyhood, it’s Patricia Arquette who provides the real heart of the film. She has cleaned up every major award including SAG, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Critics Choice.

WINNER: Patricia Arquette

Best Original Screenplay:

While the screenplay for Birdman has cleaned up thus far, a year where the Academy will spread the wealth will give the award to Wes Anderson’s screenplay for The Grand Budapest Hotel.

WINNER: Birdman

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Graham Moore’s screenplay for The Imitation Game has cleaned up thus far, and will continue to do so, but don’t be surprised if Damien Chazelle wins for his screenplay for Whiplash.

WINNER: The Imitation Game

Best Foreign Language Film:

Poland’s Ida has cleaned up the majority of these awards this year, and should continue to do so, despite not capturing the Golden Globe. It’s cinematography nomination should give it a leg up on the competition.

WINNER: Ida

Best Animated Feature Film:

With the presumed winner not even nominated (The LEGO Movie), expect this award to go to Dreamworks’ heartbreaking How To Train Your Dragon 2, but don’t be surprised if the Academy elects not to reward a sequel, and instead awards it to the crowd-pleasing Big Hero 6.

WINNER: Big Hero 6

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Although the work on Foxcatcher and Guardians of the Galaxy was outstanding, the old-age makeup that made Tilda Swinton not look like herself in The Grand Budapest Hotel should capture this one. Don’t be surprised if the Academy looks to award the crowd-pleasing work on Guardians of the Galaxy.

WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Cinematography:

You can put money on Emmanuel Lubezki winning his second in a row for his work on Birdman.

WINNER: Birdman

Best Costume Design:

The superb costume work on Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel was grand, colorful, and beautiful.

WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Film Editing:

Editing together 12 years worth of footage and putting into one film with the same look is difficult, and the Academy will award the work on Boyhood in this category.

WINNER: Whiplash

Best Original Score:

While I would love to see Alexandre Desplat’s work on The Grand Budapest Hotel or Hans Zimmer’s incredible work on Interstellar be recognized, this award will be headed to Johann Johannsson’s beautiful, moving work on The Theory of Everything.

WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Song:

Expect this award to be headed to the song that has cleaned up thus far and has two big names on the track: Glory from Selma. John Legend and Common are too big for the Academy to deny, and the Academy will look to honor the film in some way. The major dark horse is I’m Not Gonna Miss You from Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me.

WINNER: Glory, Selma

Best Production Design:

From the miniatures to the sets set up for symmetrical cinematography, the beautiful work on Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel speaks to Anderson’s style, and should go home victorious Sunday night.

WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Sound Mixing:

Without good sound, a ten minute drum solo can not have the same effect as did. This award rightfully belongs to Whiplash.

WINNER: Whiplash

Best Sound Editing:

With Whiplash not nominated, look for the Academy to reward American Sniper in this category. The sounds surround you throughout the film, and deserve to be recognized here.

WINNER: American Sniper

Best Visual Effects:

Despite the prestige work done on Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, no film told their story or showcased their characters through the use of visual effects better than Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

WINNER: Interstellar

Best Documentary- Feature:

Another lock, as Laura Poitras’ Edward Snowden doc, CitizenFour, will continue its sweep of documentary awards.

WINNER: CitizenFour

Best Documentary Short Subject:

The favorite here is Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, and with the potential lack of American Sniper victories, the Academy could use this as a way to recognize PTSD.

WINNER: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Best Animated Short Film:

While Feast is the favorite to win due to the exposure it received before Big Hero 6, look for The Dam Keeper and The Bigger Picture to spoil Disney’s party.

WINNER: Feast

Best Live Action Short Film:

With Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins and Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent as its stars, The Phone Call likely got the most views from the Academy, and will likely take that advantage all the way to the bank.

WINNER: The Phone Call

Who do you guys think deserves the gold? Leave your predictions in the comment section below!

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Morena Baccarin Lands DEADPOOL Female Lead

By Dominick Ferrara V

A few weeks ago, a shortlist of names came out for the female lead in Fox’s upcoming DEADPOOL film that included ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK star Taylor Schilling. However, the biggest name on the list failed to get the role.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, GOTHAM and HOMELAND star Morena Baccarin has landed the female lead in the upcoming Tim Miller-directed film, which stars Ryan Reynolds, TJ Miller, and Gina Carano. The identity of Baccarin’s character is being kept under wraps, but she will be the “merc with a mouth’s” conflicted love interest. The film will hit theaters in early 2016.

Baccarin is repped by UTA, Seven Summits and Jackoway Tyerman.

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Neill Blomkamp To Direct Next ALIEN Film

By Dominick Ferrara V

Ever since PROMETHEUS hit theaters in 2012, audiences have wanted to return to the rich world of Ridley Scott’s ALIEN universe, while 20th Century Fox has wanted to return to the universe and get in on the universe world. Last week, DISTRICT 9 director Neill Blomkamp hinted that he had an ALIEN film in development over at Fox, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to delve into franchise filmmaking. However, it seems he has had a change of heart.

On his Instagram, Blomkamp announced that the ALIEN film will be his next major project. This film is separate from the upcoming PROMETHEUS 2, which Ridley Scott will be returning to direct. The project was thought to be scrapped, but clearly Blomkamp and Fox wanted to get a deal done. The project was previously set to star Sigourney Weaver, whose role of Ripley in the original ALIEN shot her to superstardom. It is unknown if Weaver or Scott are attached to the project now that it is back on.

You can find many pieces of concept/production art for this film on Blomkamp’s Instagram page, at @neillblomkamp.

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Cast Announced For INFERNO

By Dominick Ferrara V

Six years after the last film in the DA VINCI CODE franchise was released, director Ron Howard has set out to make another film in the successful franchise. Yesterday, he took the first step towards that goal by announcing the official cast of the third film in the franchise, INFERNO.

Tom Hanks will return to the franchise as Dr. Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist. Joining him will be Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones as Dr. Sienna Brooks, a doctor tending to Langdon at the beginning of the story after he is grazed by a bullet, then joins Langdon on his next adventure. Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, and Sidse Babbet Knudsen have also joined the cast of the film, which is due out next year. Khan will play Harry Sims, Sy will play Christoph Bruder, and Knudsen will play Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey,  the head of the World Health Organization. The film will begin production in the next few weeks to prepare for an October 14, 2016 release, and so Jones can claim her role as the star in the first STAR WARS spin-off film.

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X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Finds Young Nightcrawler

By Dominick Ferrara V

In an effort to continue to give us the origin of the X-Men and reboot the franchise, Fox is continuing to give us younger versions of our favorite characters. Having already cast GAME OF THRONES star Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, MUD star Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, and Alexandra Shipp as Storm, director Bryan Singer held another casting for as long as he could.

Singer announced last night, on his Instagram, that Kodi Smit-McPhee has joined the cast of the blockbuster as young Nightcrawler, a fan favorite character who was last seen in X2: X-MEN UNITED and portrayed by Tony winner Alan Cumming. Smit-McPhee, who was last seen as Alexander in DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, will be reteaming with X-Men star Michael Fassbender, as they will be seen in the Sundance darling SLOW WEST.

Singer also revealed the first piece of production art, which seems to show Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine standing next to a large jet. The film was also revealed to take place in the year 1983.

The film will be directed by Singer, and will star Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, and Smit-McPhee. It will hit theaters on May 27, 2016.

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Spider Man To Join The Marvel Universe

By Dominick Ferrara V

Following the disappointment of THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN 2, and the resignation of Amy Pascal as President of Sony Pictures, rumors began to swirl that Marvel was trying to bring Spider Man into its cinematic universe. Talks then stalled, and fanboys continued to wait impatiently. Now, the day that fanboys have been waiting for has finally arrived.

In a joint press release, Marvel and Sony have announced that Spider Man will be introduced into the MCU in an upcoming film, which will likely be CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, with a role that will be tuned down from the comics, as Black Panther plays Spidey’s role in the film. Then, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will serve as a producer on an upcoming Sony-distributed Spider Man film that will be released on July 28, 2017, a date currently held by Marvel’s THOR: RAGNAROK, effectively putting four MCU films out in that year. According to the press release, Sony will continue to finance, distribute, own, and have final creative control over the character, but Feige will have a large say in what happens to the character as it relates to the universe. The release also states that the studios are actively searching for opportunities to place other MCU characters in a Spider Man film. There is no word on if the partnership will last beyond those two films, but it is likely that Spider Man will be one of the cornerstones of the MCU once the current cast of characters ends their run after AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.

Clearly, this is huge news that shakes up the movie world and sends Warner Bros and DC racing to find an answer. As stated, fans have wanted to see Marvel have their hands on Spider Man since the MCU started in 2008 with IRON MAN. Now, Marvel will have a chance to reinvigorate the character, which is likely to be recast and rebooted. Logan Lerman is reportedly Marvel’s choice to be the webslinger in the MCU.

THOR: RAGNAROK has been pushed to November 3, 2017, while the film that previously held that date, BLACK PANTHER, moves to July 6, 2018. The film with that date, CAPTAIN MARVEL, will now hit theaters on November 2, 2018, while the film that previously held that date, INHUMANS, will hit theaters on July 12, 2019, ending Phase 3 of the MCU.

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