The ‘Lego Star Wars Holiday Special’ is coming to Disney Plus this month
‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Wraps Unprecedented Shoot After 18 Months, 40,000 COVID Tests & Millions On Protocols; Colin Trevorrow & Donna Langley On The “Emotional” Journey
The $165M Universal blockbuster wrapped this morning at the UK’s Pinewood Studios after an unprecedented shoot, which required 40,000 COVID tests, millions of dollars spent on protocols, and for cast and key crew to isolate in a bubble for months. “There are a lot of emotions,” director Colin Trevorrow told me last night on his way to shoot the movie’s finale, which will include “Jurassic legacy actors Sam Neil, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard and newcomers to the movie such as Mamoudou Athie and DeWanda Wise [who we’ve separately heard could have a big role in future instalments]…and some dinosaurs, of course.” “I’m not sure I can put it into words,” continues Trevorrow. “It has been remarkable. Our crew and our cast has been so resilient. All producers have worked around the clock to make it the best it can be. It has been inspiring.”
Stephen King on how to properly adapt his books and which project went ‘entirely off the rails’
In its own ironic way, Halloween has always offered a brief respite from real-world horrors. That might be even truer in 2020. And because we can expect fewer trick-or-treaters this year, we’ve got even more time to hunker down with scary movies — which, of course, probably means spending time in the world of Stephen King. From “Carrie” to “It” — works so nice they made them twice — many of our favorites originated in the pages of his novels. But not all filmed versions of his prose were created equal, particularly in the author’s eyes. King famously hates Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of his novel “The Shining,” calling it “a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it.” So what makes a good King adaptation? Since “Mr. Mercedes,” based on a King trilogy, started streaming on Peacock this month, we spoke to the prolific author about how to make a good version of his books, whether he has any say in the content and which show just got it completely wrong.
Colin Firth To Lead “Zombie Brother” Film
Oscar-winner Colin Firth has signed on to star in “New York Will Eat You Alive,” an action-comedy film adaptation of the digital comic “Zombie Brother” at STXfilms and Tencent Pictures. The top title on Tencent’s digital comics platform, the story follows a young man who lives in H City which has a populous slowly turning into zombies via contaminated water. As they devour one another and evolve in different ways, the young man seeks escape. Created by Jia Haibo, the comic is said to have over 28 billion views while its animated series has amassed more than 3.7 billion views across its first two seasons. The franchise has also already been adapted into a stage play. Alex Rubens wrote the screenplay with current revisions by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. Todd Strauss-Schulson (“Isn’t It Romantic”) is attached to direct the adaptation while Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Peter Kiernan, and Ged Doherty will produce.
DC’s Stargirl casts Jim Gaffigan as Thunderbolt for season 2
The mystery of the pink pen will finally be revealed on DC’s Stargirl. EW has exclusively learned that comedian Jim Gaffigan has been cast for season 2 of the CW’s latest superhero series. He will voice the CGI character of Thunderbolt, a magical, electrical, fun-loving, wish-granting pink imp from the mysterious land of Bahdnesia. Thunderbolt is extremely powerful, but according to the official character description, “the wishes he grants often cause more trouble than the wish-asker would ever expect. But despite his somewhat constant supernatural disasters, the Thunderbolt’s heart is always in the right place, even if it is wounded by the friends he has lost throughout his long existence.” In the Stargirl comics upon which the series is based, Thunderbolt was trapped inside a pen for 10 years, and Stargirl viewers saw Courtney (Brec Bassinger) steal a pink pen from the Justice Society of America’s costume stash early in season 1. Pat (Luke Wilson) has repeatedly warned Courtney that the pen is a powerful, dangerous weapon not to be unleashed, but Gaffigan’s casting means someone is going to click that pink pen in season 2. Will the new JSA recruit someone to wield that pen intentionally, or will someone — cough, Mike (Trae Romano), cough — click it by accident, freeing Thunderbolt into the world?
