Dont Tell NetflixDont Tell Netflix

by Emily Nagle

See you, space cowboy! Less than a month after its debut, Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop” has been cancelled.

The live-action series starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda is based on the critically acclaimed 1998 anime that introduced anime to a Western market. In a world where fans debate whether anime is better to watch with subtitles or dubbed over, the English dub for “Cowboy Bebop” is regarded as being one of the best. So, why did the live-action adaptation get cancelled?

Unsurprisingly, the show’s cancellation after only 10 episodes is most likely due to the ratings. Following its November 19 premiere, “Cowboy Bebop” was met with mixed reviews. It holds a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68% rating on IMDb. While viewers praised the casting, they had issues with the writing and special effects.

“What’s missing from this gratuitous adaptation…is the atmosphere,” Judy Berman of TIME Magazine described of the series. “Though it does have a certain pulpy, shoddy-chic, Doctor Who visual style and benefits greatly from a jazzy, dynamic new score by original Bebop composer Yoko Kanno, it can’t match the collage of aesthetics, vibes and cultural references that made its predecessor feel more like a dispatch from the future than an attempt to simulate it in the present.”

She hits the nail right on the head. Personally, I watched the first episode and stopped there, because I really didn’t know how to feel about it. I remember a few years ago when it was announced that a live-action adaptation of “Cowboy Bebop” was in production, and initially, I was pretty psyched. I’d watched the anime several times, and loved that it would be coming to a whole new generation of viewers many years later. However, once I saw it onscreen, it felt…weird. The aesthetic and art style of the original worked so well, to the point where it seemed unnecessary to recreate it in live-action. With that being said, the live-action “Cowboy Bebop” didn’t add anything to the original, or accomplish something that it didn’t already do back in 1998.

“Cowboy Bebop” is available to stream on Netflix.

by Emily Nagle

Tails the Fox’s original voice actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey has joined the cast for the second “Sonic the Hedgehog” live-action film, as confirmed in a tweet posted Tuesday afternoon.

“Taking my old pal Tails for another adventure,” O’Shaughnessy wrote. “Thrilled to announce I’m the voice of Miles “Tails” Prower in #SonicMovie2! Can’t wait for y’all to see him on the big screen.”

Having voiced Sonic’s double-tailed sidekick in games and television since 2014, O’Shaughnessey joins Ben Schwartz (who voices Sonic) and Idris Elba (the voice of Knuckles). She voiced Tails in a post-credits scene for the 2020 film, where he is seen emerging from a mysterious portal in the sky before zooming over to Green Hills in search of Sonic, using his fluffy orange tails as a propeller.

Paramount seemed to be teasing the possibility of a sequel with that post-credits scene, and speculations were confirmed in February 2021 when the studio uploaded a teaser to their YouTube channel. Not much else is known about the film yet, but with the “2” bearing a resemblance to Sonic’s fuzzy orange sidekick, it’s highly likely Tails will have a prominent role in the upcoming film.

Although it may not be surprising at first to hear of O’Shaughnessey bringing Tails to the big screen, it’s actually rare for video game voice actors to reprise their roles in film adaptations. The recently announced Mario movie, for example, has casted Chris Pratt as the mustachioed plumber instead of Charles Martinet, who has portrayed the iconic Nintendo character for over 30 years (however, Martinet has been confirmed to still have a small role in the film).

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” is set to premiere in theaters on April 8, 2022.

Until then, if you’re itching for your Sonic fix, you can tune into Watch It KID! to watch The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog on demand, or en español on ZAZ, exclusively on Galxy TV.

by Emily Nagle

It’s not just a rumor anymore: Sony has acquired British production company Bad Wolf, having taken a majority stake.

With the acquisition comes the producer’s Cardiff sound stage, as well as HBO, Sky, and Access Entertainment’s minority stakes. Sony also receives 30% stake in Bad Wolf America. Variety estimates the deal to be worth $80 million.

“We are thrilled to add Bad Wolf to our already incredibly strong portfolio of drama producers in the UK,” Ravi Ahuja, Sony’s chairman of Global Television Studios and Entertainment Corporate Development announced in a press release. “The business is evolving as audiences everywhere become more attuned to content produced outside of their own cultures. This deal not only speaks to the high quality of talent we are proud to work with but also to our aim to create and deliver the most outstanding UK drama programs to the world.”

Bad Wolf’s credits include award-winning BBC and HBO series “His Dark Materials”, “I Hate Suzie”, and “The Night Of”. Founded in 2015 by former BBC executives Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, the company has become one of the UK’s most successful producers in only six years.

Sony’s acquisition of Bad Wolf expands their slate of UK content that has only been increasing over the last couple of years. Other recent additions to Sony’s UK producer portfolio include the sports- and factual-focused Whisper Group, “Sex Education” producer Eleven, and the children’s media company Silvergate Media (best known for Annie-winning series like “Hilda” and “Octonauts”).

by Emily Nagle

The long Thanksgiving weekend was a profitable one for theaters across the United States, raking in $141,832,377 from Wednesday to Sunday.

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for November 24-28, 2021:
5. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
4. Eternals
3. House of Gucci
2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
1. Encanto

Going with the family theme of Thanksgiving, Disney’s “Encanto” became the number-one highest-grossing film over the long weekend. Released on Thanksgiving, the movie follows Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), a girl living in Colombia with her family who has been gifted with mystical powers…except for her. Mirabel feels disappointed at this, until suddenly the magic surrounding her family’s powers is endangered. Now, it’s up to her to protect the legacy. “Encanto” grossed $27.2 million, nearly a quarter of which came on Wednesday, its opening day. This achievement can be attributed to more than half of schools across the U.S. cancelled.

The long-awaited biographical drama starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, “House of Gucci”, was the third highest-grossing film for the weekend, grossing $14.4 million in its first weekend of release. Driver stars as Maurizio Gucci and Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani, and the duo portrays a romance that evolves into a fight for control of the luxury Italian fashion brand.

by Emily Nagle

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for November 19-21, 2021
5. Dune
4. King Richard
3. Clifford the Big Red Dog
2. Eternals
1. Ghostbusters: Afterlife

This weekend, two new releases were among the top 5 highest grossing films. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” takes place over 30 years after Ghostbusters II, following single mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two kids (Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace) when they move to a small town in Oklahoma, and discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters, as well as the legacy their grandfather left behind. Director Jason Reitman began developing a sequel to the second Ghostbusters film after the 2016 reboot flopped so hard that people were downvoting it back when the first trailer was uploaded to YouTube. While “Afterlife” has been met with mixed to average reviews so far, it already seems to be doing better financially. The film grossed $44 million in its first weekend in theaters.

Another new release that made it into the top 5 highest grossing films for this past weekend was biographical drama “King Richard”, which follows the lives of Venus and Serena Williams. The film premiered on HBO Max in addition to its theatrical release, and has grossed $5.4 million across over 3,000 theaters so far.

by Emily Nagle

It’s been 20 years since Harry, Ron, and Hermione began their magical journey at Hogwarts in the film adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.

To celebrate, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson (in addition to director Chris Columbus and other actors from the series, including Tom Felton, Robbie Coltrane, and Gary Oldman) are reuniting for the first time in ten years for an HBO Max special titled “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts”. Slated to premiere on New Year’s Day 2022, the behind-the scenes special will take a look back at the beloved film franchise, and “tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new, in-depth interviews and cast conversations,” according to an official press release from WarnerMedia. A first look at the film will air on Cartoon Network and TBS on November 28 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) during the premiere of bracket-style quiz show “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses”.

Tom Ascheim, president of the Kids, Young Adults, and Classics division at Warner Bros., issued a statement following the announcement of “Return to Hogwarts”, acknowledging the worldwide impact of the “Harry Potter” franchise.

“It has been an incredible journey since the debut of the ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ film, and witnessing how it has evolved into this remarkable interconnected universe has been magical to say the least,” he described in the statement. “This retrospective is a tribute to everyone whose lives were touched by this cultural phenomenon — from the talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into this extraordinary film franchise to the passionate fans who continue to keep the Wizarding World spirit alive 20 years later.”

Despite much of the original cast returning for the special, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has been confirmed by NPR to not be coming back (except in archival footage).