Emma Stefansky
New Netflix Instant Releases: August 2017
It’s almost the end of the month, and you know what that means: new stuff is coming to a streaming service near you. Here is everything arriving to Netflix in August to keep you busy on one of those rainy late-summer nights.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’ Is Being Held Hostage by Actual Online Pirates
Since online pirates tend to view “don’t steal stuff” as more of a guideline than an actual rule, it’s no surprise that eventually they’d start taking aim at Hollywood. And, hey, why not start big, with, say, Disney, the biggest studio in the business? And instead of pilfering something like Coco, how about going after, I dunno, maybe Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth installment in one of the most recognizable brands worldwide? Well, that’s exactly what a group of hackers apparently did.
Amazon Prime Video App Finally Coming to Apple TV This Summer
Amazon’s feud with Apple might have suddenly ended. The streaming service has been loath to give Apple TV access to its Prime video app, or even sell Apple products, for the past two years, but it looks like Amazon Prime is coming to an Apple TV near you, and it could be very soon.
‘Coming to America’ Sequel in the Works at Paramount, With the Original Writers
Fans of romantic comedies, vintage Eddie Murphy and the wave of ’80s/’90s nostalgia we’re all riding, listen up: Coming to America is officially getting a sequel at Paramount. Today, the studio announced that the original writers — Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield — are coming back to pen part two, but there’s no word yet on whether Murphy will be back to reprise his role as the African prince.
Comedy Duo David Gordon Green and Danny McBride Plan to Do ‘Straight-Up Horror’ for the New ‘Halloween’
John Carpenter shocked us all when he revealed last week that not only is the new Halloween movie happening, it already has a director, a screenwriter, and a release date. The duo in charge of the project are comedy powerhouses David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, who are responsible for Vice Principals and Eastbound & Down, so at first it seems a little odd for them to take on a classic slasher franchise. But McBride revealed that they’ve established the movie’s place in the series and are definitely planning on some old-school horror.
‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Director Needed an ‘Army of Lawyers’ for that Bonkers Third Act
There’s one thought that many of us probably have while watching pop culture mashup extravaganzas The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie: How much did they have to SPEND on all of this? Not only is it packed with classic Batman references, The LEGO Batman Movie features an even more impressive array of properties than the first in its insane latter half, which involved a lot of secrecy and a lot of lawyers. [Be warned: this post contains major SPOILERS for The LEGO Batman Movie.]
‘Star Wars’ Han Solo Spinoff May Feature the Franchise’s First Major Female Droid
The Star Wars universe has always been a pretty great place for women (unless you’re a director, that is), so why is it that we haven’t yet seen a female droid in as significant a capacity as C-3P0 or R2-D2, or scene-stealer BB-8? There have been female droids in the canon, but usually that’s not revealed until after the fact, and no woman has ever voiced a major speaking role for a robot. With the new Han Solo prequel/spinoff, that’s about to change.
Kevin Smith Will Return to the View Askewniverse With ‘Jay and Silent Bob Reboot’
Jay and Silent Bob are striking back once again. The View Askewniverse hasn’t been updated in quite a while (no, Kevin Smith’s episodes for Supergirl don’t count, although he probably wishes they did), but after ten years, Smith is ready to return to the series with a film currently titled Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Has the Highest Test Screening Score of Any Marvel Movie
Test screening metrics don’t always accurately predict the quality of a movie — Batman v. Superman reportedly got a standing ovation during its test screening, which wasn’t exactly indicative of audiences’ reactions once the movie premiered. But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has accomplished an even bigger feat: a coveted perfect 100 score after testing audiences, the highest of any Marvel movie to date.
‘Scarface’ Reboot Gains Coen Brothers as Script Doctors, Peter Berg and David Mackenzie on Director Shortlist
There is a whole lot going on with Universal’s Scarface reboot. Today brought a few big announcements: first off, Joel and Ethan Coen, who are script doctors in their own right, have been tapped to rework the screenplay. The two have previously polished the scripts of Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken and Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. But we’re not done yet. While Antoine Fuqua exited the project to focus on the Equalizer sequel, the film is close to landing a new director, and Peter Berg and Hell or High Water’s David Mackenzie are frontrunners.