Kristen Stewart Is Developing A Gay Ghost-Hunting Show

Kristen Stewart in still from Happiest Season comedy

As Kristen Stewart continues her press tour for the Princess Diana anti-biopic Spencer – which will almost certainly nab the actress her first Academy Award nomination next year – more information continues to trickle out about Stewart’s upcoming projects.

Today, a new profile by The New Yorker reveals that “Stewart is developing a gay ghost-hunting reality show with a friend” which she describes as “‘a paranormal romp in a queer space,’ with elevated aesthetics.” The actress reportedly adds that “Gay people love pretty things, so we are aiming for a richness.”

Beyond that, the Underwater and Personal Shopper star has a host of upcoming projects, including a David Cronenberg remake of Crimes of the Future. 

Kristen Stewart in Happiest Season

We previously reported, via an Entertainment Weekly interview, that Stewart would also co-star with Steven Yeun in what she at the time described as “a love story between a satellite and a buoy; it’s hard to explain. I hope I don’t botch it, because it’s a really revolutionarily written script.” Within The New Yorker piece, she elaborates that “it has something to do with getting computers to love one another” and that the machines are “sort of morphing in and out of every gender and race, and, like, there’s no orientation, there’s just humanity.” The film has since been revealed to be titled Love Me. 

Stay tuned for more details on Kristen Stewart’s Queer ghost-hunting series and her upcoming sci-fi project.

 

 

GERRY ANDERSON’S UFO COMIC BOOK LAUNCHES

The comic strips for cult TV show UFO are finally going to be reprinted and should be on sale by the end of the year.

The sequential art adventures of Commander Ed Straker and Colonels Alec Freeman and Paul Foster of SHADO first appeared way back in the 1971 in the comic book Countdown, which focused on space exploration, Gerry Anderson related stories.

Jamie Anderson, Managing Director of Anderson Entertainment and son of Gerry Anderson is available for all media. “Our amazing team has put together a book that the company is incredibly proud of, and I can’t wait for fans to see it.”  This new publication is part of an agreement with rights-holder ITV Studios, allowing Anderson Entertainment to expand its ranges of product derived from its classic brands. This agreement will enable a wide range of new and innovative products inspired by the best-loved Gerry Anderson creations.

The book should be available to pre-order now, and on general sale 09/12/21.

If you can’t wait, we have a couple of sneaky peeks below.

 

 



PREDATOR Prequel Gets New Title

The Predator prequel titled Prey

On Disney+ Day, the streamer has announced that its Predator prequel will release in summer 2022, and has been renamed from Skulls to Prey. 

The project, which wrapped filming earlier this year in September, is directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Dan Trachtenberg. Prey will recount the Predator’s very first visit to Earth: set in the world of the Comanche Nation some three centuries ago, it follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled female warrior who fiercely protects her tribe against a highly evolved (highly ugly) alien predator.

Prey release date announced, renamed from Skulls

Producer John Davis previously explained that Prey “goes back to what made the original Predator movie work. It’s the ingenuity of a human being who won’t give up, who’s able to observe and interpret, basically being able to beat a stronger, more powerful, well-armed force.” He went on to describe the prequel’s tone as “more akin to The Revenant than… any film in the Predator canon.” For her sake, we hope this project doesn’t require Midthunder sleeping in an animal carcass or eating raw bison.

Prey will release on Hulu in the United States and on Star internationally, though we don’t yet know whether it’ll receive a complimentary theatrical release. This marks the fifth instalment in the main film franchise (not withstanding the Alien v Predator crossover films), following 2018’s The Predator. 

 

 

Ben Stiller, Cate Blanchett Cast In Forgotten British Gem THE CHAMPIONS

The Champions 1960s television series

Ben Stiller and Cate Blanchett are due to star in  and produce the film adaptation of the late 1960s British sci-fi espionage series, The Champions. Stiller is also attached to direct the project.

The original show ran for 30 episodes and followed three ‘Nemesis’ agents – Craig Stirling (Stuart Damon), Sharron Macready (Alexandra Bastedo), and Richard Barrett (William Gaunt) – who, after crashing in the Himalayas, are rescued by an advanced and secret civilisation who grant them enhanced abilities. These include telepathy, precognition, enhanced sensory abilities, and intellectual and physical prowess, all of which help the team defeat various villains throughout the world.

The Champions original cast

The film adaptation of The Champions was originally due to be written and produced by Guillermo del Toro, with Christopher McQuarrie signing on to co-write and co-produce shortly after.

Though unconfirmed at this time, it’s probably fair to assume that Stiller will be playing Agent Stirling, and Blanchett Agent Macready. This leaves casting wide open for the role of Richard Barrett, the team’s codebreaker.

Will this be a present-day adaptation à la Mission Impossible, or will it be hailing back to more Cold War paranoia like Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E.? With Stiller attached to helm, we can at the very least hope for the project to lean into its campier, B-movie influences rather than a too-glossy blockbuster remake.

 

 

Fantasy Epic THE LEGEND OF OCHI Assembles All-Star Lineup

Willem Dafoe to star in another A24 film, The Legend of Ochi

A24 has brought together an all-star cast for Isaiah Saxon’s debut feature and fantasy epic, The Legend of Ochi. Based on Saxon’s original characters, world, and screenplay, the upcoming animated film brings together A24 favourite Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson (Chernobyl), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and Helena Zengel, recently seen opposite Tom Hanks in Netflix’s period adventure News of the World. 

News of the World breakthrough actress Helena Zengel to star in The Legend of Ochi

The Legend of Ochi follows a young girl (Zengel) who runs away from home and learns to communicate with an elusive species known as Ochi. Though little more is yet known about the project, insider sources told Deadline the film is “a throwback to old-school pre-Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson pics” and that “execs were so blown away by the world Saxon created that A24 jumped at the chance” to produce.

The Legend of Ochi marks A24’s first venture into animated feature films, an exciting development for the indie darling studio that gifted us such gems as The Lighthouse, Hereditary, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Climax. As always, more news as we get it.

 

Tentpoles TRANSFORMERS And STAR TREK Suffer Delays

Chris Pine in Star Trek Beyond

The Transformers franchise is still going, but it’ll be a while longer before we’re treated to more Autobot action; Paramount has just announced that two of its upcoming tentpole releases have been pushed back.

A follow-up to the excellent Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will centre on Optimus Prime in 1994 Brooklyn, and stars Anthony Ramos (In The Heights), Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah, Project Power), Luna Lauren Valez (Dexter), Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime and Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal. Initially set for a June 24th 2022, Rise of the Beasts falls prey to a severe delay, opening instead on June 9th, 2023.

Optimus Prime heads up Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Also delayed as the long-awaited and as-yet untitled fourth Star Trek movie, initially for June 9th 2023. With its spot now taken up by Transformers, Paramount has pushed Star Trek to the Christmas season with a release date of December 22nd, 2023. Directed by WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman (not Quentin Tarantino), this will be the first time fans will see Chris Pine’s Kirk and Zachary Quinto’s Spock reunited on the big screen since 2016.

Long story short, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will release June 9th 2023, and Star Trek 4 will bow December 22nd 2023. So yes, a while still to wait… though by now we should be used to delays.

 

HITMAN’S BODYGUARD Director Sets Sights On Sci-Fi Genre

Hitman's Bodyguard director Patrick Hughes next project will be War Machine

Patrick Hughes, director of the Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson-starrers The Hitman’s Bodyguard and The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, is setting up his next feature project at Lionsgate: an action and science fiction film called War Machine. 

According to Variety, who broke the news, the story centres on the final recruits of a gruelling special ops boot camp who encounter a deadly force from beyond this world. Hughes will write and direct.

The project was announced by Lionsgate president of production Erin Westerman, who described Hughes as “one of the best action directors today.” She went on to state that “what sets his movies apart is his focus on characters that cut through the mayhem. He came to us with a tremendous original idea and we’re thrilled to be shepherding it with Patrick in the driver’s seat.”

It’s still very early days for War Machine, and though we know nothing of the cast, release date, or storyline beyond that very short synopsis, we can say with near-certainty this won’t be a Rhodey MCU spinoff.

Up next for the director though is The Man From Toronto, starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, and which is due for release in August 2022.

Feature image by Austin Hargrave

 

 

Live-Action ONE PIECE Adaptation Casts Its Straw Hat Pirates

Netflix’s upcoming live-action series adaptation of the anime show One Piece has finally casts its leads, including Iñaki Godoy (Who Killed Sara?) as Monkey D. Luffy.

Also joining the Going Merry/Thousand Sunny’s beloved pirate crew are Mackenyu (Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter, Pacific Rim: Uprising) as Rornoa Zoro, Emily Rudd (Fear Street, Hunters) as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson (All Rise) as Usopp, and Taz Skylar (Boiling Point) as Sanji.

Lost and The X-Files’ Steven Maeda will serve as showrunner, taking on the additional roles of writer and executive producer alongside Matt Owens (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage).

One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body gained the properties of rubber after accidentally eating a magical Devil Fruit. Alongside his crew, named the Straw Hat Pirates, he explores a fantastical world of endless oceans and exotic islands in search of the world’s ultimate treasure known as “One Piece” to become the next King of the Pirates.

Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy

In addition to the original manga from Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been spun into animated movies, video games, and a marathon (still ongoing) 20-season anime series which, at the time of writing, boasts an incredible 998 episodes.

Given One Piece stands as one of the best-selling manga series in history and one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, it’s little surprise that Netflix would adapt it to live-action. And, with the trailers to the upcoming Cowboy Bebop series – similarly adapted from anime – looking promising, let’s hope One Piece is less 2017’s Fullmetal Alchemist and more 2006’s Death Note. 

Leonardo DiCaprio To Star As Mass-Murderer And Cult Leader Jim Jones

MGM has bought the script for a feature project currently titled Jim Jones, from Venom writer Scott Rosenberg and, according to Deadline, Leonardo DiCaprio is in final talks to star as the 1970s cult leader.

Jones was behind the infamous Jonestown mass murder-suicide on November 18th, 1978, which claimed the lives of more than 900 of his followers. Founder of the Peoples Temple in 1955, Jones promoted this new religious organisation as a fully integrated congregation promoting Christian Socialism; by the ’70s however, he had rejected Christianity and instead proclaimed that he was God. This led to the construction of Jonestown, a remote jungle commune in Guyana which he hailed as a socialist paradise free from American governmental oppression.

Cult leader Jim Jones

Jim Jones (Credit: Getty)

Responding to media reports of human rights abuses at Jonestown however, the U.S. sent a delegation led by Representative Leo Ryan on a fact-finding mission – Ryan and four others would be gunned down by Jones’ followers just as they were boarding a return flight with fifteen former Temple members who wished to leave. Soon after, Jones orchestrated the mass murder-suicide of over 900 (reports vary between 909 and 918) members of his commune, including 304 children, by means of cyanide-laced Flavor Aid. Jones subsequently killed himself by gunshot. The Jonestown massacre was, before 9/11, the largest single incident of intentional civilian death in American history.

DiCaprio will also produce Jim Jones for his Appian Way company. A director is yet to be confirmed.

 

 

First Look At Jeremy Irons In Darren Lynn Bousman Horror THE CELLO

The Cello film poster 2021

Filming wrapped last week in Saudi Arabia on The Cello, a new horror film from Saw II-IV and Spiral director Darren Lynn Bousman which stars Oscar-, Tony-, and Emmy-winner Jeremy Irons (seen recently in Watchmen and Zack Snyder’s Justice League), Saw’s Tobin Bell, Samer Ismail (The Day I Lost My Shadow), and Elham Ali (Ashman, Netflix’s Whispers).

As expected then, we now have our first look images of Irons and Bell in the English and Arabic language feature, written by and based on the novel by Turki Al Alshikh.

Jeremy Irons and Tobin Bell in Darren Lynn Bousman's The Cello first look

The film tracks the story of an aspiring cellist who learns the cost of his brand-new cello is a lot more insidious than he first thought.

The Cello assembles as stellar a team behind the camera as it does in front of it: Maxime Alexandre (Shazam!, The Haunting of Bly Manor) as director of photography, Harvey Rosenstock (Scent of a Woman) as editor and Joseph Bishara (Insidious, The Conjuring) as composer.

With filming wrapped and a poster released, it’s fair to expect a release date any day now – so stay tuned.