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.
by Emily Nagle
On Wednesday morning, Tom Holland revealed the official title for the upcoming third Spider-Man film.
After teasing multiple fake titles on Instagram with co-stars Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, including “Spider-Man: Phone Home” and “Spider-Man: Home Slice,” the star posted a short clip on Instagram making public the official title of the film slated for release on December 17, 2021: the real title is Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Prior to this, Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon all posted unreleased stills from the upcoming film, but accompanied them with images featuring the fake titles. Fans figured out these titles were fake based on the generic captions they were accompanied with, such as Batalon writing, “We’re so excited to share the TITLE of our new movie!! Swipe right for the big reveal!!🤩😝😱also enjoy this exclusive still from the movie, just an extra gift from us😘”
The film will be a co-production between Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures, and Jon Watts will be returning as the director. Also set to appear in the movie are Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and Jamie Foxx as Electro.
Warner Bros’ DC Films has hired Angel Manuel Soto to direct their upcoming film ‘Blue Beetle’. First reported by The Wrap, Soto’s hiring brings the studio’s superhero one step closer to the big screen.
The Blue Beetle is one of the oldest superheroes to be introduced in comic books, first appearing in Mystery Men Comics issue #1 in 1939. The rights to the character were passed off to multiple comics publishers until it ultimately landed at DC Comics in the 1980s.
The upcoming movie will focus on the 2006 version of Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teen who’s powers come from a mysterious scarab that latches onto Reyes’ spine and provides him with a powerful suit of blue alien armor that can also equip him with bespoke weapons and wings. This a historic announcement as this will be DC Comics’ first Latinx super hero to have its own movie.
Angel Manuel Soto is best known for his 2020 movie “Charm City Kings” about an extreme dirt bike gang in Philadelphia. This film won a special jury prize at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival for its ensemble. We are excited to see what’s in store for DC Comics and the talented Angel Manuel Soto.
by Emily Nagle
On March 18 at 4 p.m., Nickelodeon will be hosting its first upfront event since 2018, which will put a fun, fresh twist on the traditional media presentation by appealing to their target audience in addition to media executives.
The half-hour showcase, titled Nickelodeon Virtual Upfront Show: Bring Your Kids!, will feature live-action and animated segments. Contrasting greatly from your average Zoom conference, viewers will hear from some of the channel’s most beloved characters and stars about the network’s plan to flourish, and what the brand states will be their widest content slate in their more than 40 years in children’s television.
President of Nickelodeon Brian Robbins explained in an interview with Variety that this new format was inspired by people spending more time at home and online this past year due to the pandemic. “We thought, ‘Why not do an upfront through the eyes of the audience, as opposed to the eyes of the partners?’” he elaborates. “Since families are home together, and a lot of our partners have children, let’s make something that can be a co-viewing event.”
News of this event has broken less than a week after WarnerMedia announced their plans to expand their children’s programming sector, making Cartoon Network the main focus of the media conglomerate’s Children and Family division. Disney, too, is broadening their appeal by adding more to their streaming lineups on Disney+ and Hulu, the former of which recently achieved 86.8 million subscribers after only a year on the market. As for Nickelodeon, its content is set to be available on ViacomCBS’s upcoming streaming service Paramount Plus (launching March 4), including hits like iCarly and a Spongebob Squarepants spin-off series titled Kamp Koral.
Streaming services have revolutionized the media viewing experience, causing the amount of people who watch live programs to plummet, especially for children’s networks. Viewership for Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon over the past year has decreased by more than 30%. As a result, the March 18 showcase will focus on more than just live programming, explaining the significance of children’s content on streaming platforms and revealing more about what is in store for Paramount Plus.
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