By Kurt Balingit
Due to the pandemic, fans of the “Fast & Furious” franchise will have to wait longer to see the next installment in the series. Originally scheduled to hit theaters May 22nd 2020, Universal pushed the release of “Fast & Furious 9” date to May 28th, 2021 in light of the pandemic. Today, March 4th 2021, Universal announced again that it is postponing the release again. This time postponing it 28 more days to June 25th, 2021.
The delay comes after President Joe Biden announced that the US is on track to have enough vaccine doses to vaccinate “every adult American” by the end of May. The delay will allow for more potential movie-goers as there is strong chance that vaccine distribution will surge by June.
The more people getting vaccinated, the likelihood of theaters opening up and boosting their capacities increases. The most recent state to open it’s theaters, New York theaters can only run at 25% capacity. With a $200 million dollar production budget, it was a good move for Universal to hold out in hopes of a more packed theatre, as “the more seats sold = the more money made”.
The movie industry has hit an all time lows as the biggest debuts have been “Wonder Woman 1984” ($16.7 million) and “Tom and Jerry” ($14.1 million). in 2020, box office revenues in the U.S and Canada hit an all time low at $2.3 billion dollars, compared to the $11.4 billion made in 2019. Having “F9” only being delayed by 28 days (and of course Biden’s vaccine announcement), it is a great sign that the end of the pandemic may be nearing.
by Emily Nagle
Matt Groening’s multiple-award-winning animated series The Simpsons has been renewed for seasons 33 and 34 on Fox.
Season 34 is set to air in 2023 – once it has been released, the series will have a grand total of 757 episodes aired. The Simpsons has been the longest-running primetime scripted in television history since 2017, when season 29 was released. This is when the series took the title from Gunsmoke, which released 635 episodes in its 23-year run.
“Everyone at ‘The Simpsons’ is thrilled to be renewed once more, and we are planning lots of big surprises,” Matt Groening expressed in a statement. “Homer will lose a hair, Milhouse will get contact lenses, and Bart will celebrate his tenth birthday for the thirty-third time.”
More than three decades after its debut in December 1989, the show has an average of 7 million viewers across its many platforms. To date, it has won 34 Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, 9 Environmental Media Awards, 7 People’s Choice Awards, 13 Writers Guild of America Awards, and a Peabody Award. Its worldwide cultural impact is evident through its billions of dollars worth of merchandise – the iconic series has spawned a wide variety of products including comic books, a 2007 film (with a sequel in the works since 2018), video and board games, toys, and clothing, and even has its own areas at the Universal Studios theme parks.
The show’s renewal on Fox is part of the network’s effort to expand their adult animation lineup, titled “Animation Domination”. While The Simpsons is their longest-running animated program, Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy have also been airing on there for more than ten years; recent additions to the block include Bless the Harts, Duncanville, and The Great North.
The 700th episode of The Simpsons, titled “Manger Things,” will air on Sunday, March 21 on Fox.
By Kurt Balingit
Showtime has casted Dakota Fanning as Susan Ford in the upcoming anthology series “The First Lady”. The show will follow the lives of some of the most famous first ladies and their time in the White House.
Susan Ford is the only child of Betty Ford, played by Michelle Pfeiffer and President Gerald Ford, played by Aaron Eckhart. During the time Gerald Ford was in office, Susan was just a teenager. It is said that Susan was responsible for introducing progressive ideas to her family. Dakota Fanning will be a regular to the series and will appear in six episodes. This role reunites Dakota Fanning with Michelle Pfeiffer, who both starred in the 2001 film “I Am Sam,” which saw Fanning become the youngest person to be nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Fanning joins a cast that also stars Viola Davis a Michelle Obama, O-T Fagbenle as President Barack Obama and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt. The series is will relive some of America’s most famous (and infamous) events through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.
The series was written and will be executively produced by Aaron Cooley. On February 25th, 2021, it was announced that filming had begun and will premiere later this year.
By Kurt Balingit
Austin Butler and Callum Turner will star in Apple TV’s World War II drama “Masters of the Air”. The drama is a part of the HBO franchise “Band of Brothers” & ”The Pacific”. The series will be produced by “Band of Brothers” Director and “Saving Private Ryan” Star Tom Hanks, alongside legendary director and screenwriter Steven Spielberg.
Back in 2019, it was reported that Apple made a deal to stream the series exclusively on Apple TV+ instead of HBO, where the previous series were available. HBO also confirmed that it won’t to move forward with the series. The two producers are no strangers to working with Apple TV. In 2020, Tom Hanks released the naval war film “Greyhound,” which Hanks wrote, starred in, and produced. Spielberg currently executive produces the Apple series “Amazing Stories”.
“Masters of the Air”, based on the book by Donald L. Miller, follows the true story of the American bomber pilots in World War II who helped bring the war to Hitler’s doorstep. Austin Butler will play Major Gale Cleven and Callum Turner will play Major John Egan.
Butler and Hanks also worked together on the upcoming 2021 Elvis Presley biopic title “Elvis”. Turner is best known for his role in the 2018 fantasy film “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” with him also set to appear in the upcoming third film in the franchise “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” in 2022. With the stars in their roles and a producers in place, fans of the Band of Brothers franchise will soon be flocking to Apple TV later this year.
by Emily Nagle
Deadline has confirmed that George Clooney and Julia Roberts are set to star in the Universal Pictures-distributed Ticket to Paradise.
The film will be directed by Ol Parker, who also directed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!. Two decades after appearing in Ocean’s Eleven as Danny and Tess Ocean, Clooney and Roberts will reunite, playing a divorced couple who travel to Bali to stop their daughter from getting married, as this is the same mistake they made 25 years prior.
The script was written by the Oscar-nominated Ted Melfi, best known for Hidden Figures, and the concept for the film was created by Parker and Daniel Pipski. Ticket to Paradise will begin production in late 2021.
By Kurt Balingit
Hulu has ordered an 8 episode series about Mike Tyson that will explore the former heavyweight champion’s wild, tragic and controversial life and career. The series will be called “Iron Mike” and will be produced from the team behind “I, Tonya”, which earned a 2018 Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture. ‘Iron Mike’ will be executively produced by Margot Robbie, Steven Rogers, Craig Gillespie, Karin Gist and Claire Brown.
The hall of fame boxer has already been the subject to various documentaries, including James Toback’s 2009 film Tyson, but with the global popularity of Netflix & ESPN Film’s “The Last Dance”, fans have been calling for another big production sports series, and this seems to be it.
Tyson is obviously a household name and one of the most memorable figures in all of sports.While Tyson is considered one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he also has his share of controversy and crime. He was convicted of rape in 1992 and sentenced to six years in prison, although he was released on parole after in 1995. In 1997, his rematch fight with Evander Holyfield would forever be a blemish to boxing career, as it ended with Tyson biting Holyfields ear. In 2003 he declared for bankruptcy despite earning more than $300 million over the course of his career.
With the highs & lows in his life, there is no question Tyson would be a fascinating subject for a limited series. Hulu has yet to offer a timetable for production on the ‘Iron Mike’ series, but it would be interesting to see who they choose to play the heavyweight champ.
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