Kevin Costner defends physical media, saying DVD is not dead and “that’s just what they’d have you believe.”

We’re big champions of physical media here at JoBlo, and despite ongoing claims that it will soon be going the way of the Dodo, we’ve yet to see its demise. Kevin Costner is also a big fan of physical media, and when asked by Deadline about the supposed “death of the DVD,” he was quick to jump to its defence.

“Death of the what? DVD is not dead, at all,” Kevin Costner said. “That’s what they’d have you believe. Maybe it’s not making the same amount of money, but just try to go ask for that from the studio. They won’t give that up. A lot of people that like my movies, they can’t get to a theater, and they’re waiting for that moment. You can’t make your film for the opening weekend. You have to make it for its life.“

While it’s true that studios haven’t been putting the same importance on physical media as they once did, it’s been great to see boutique labels pick up the slack over the years. Lesser-known movies from around the globe have been given the prestige treatment, and I’ve certainly discovered many new favourites thanks to Criterion, Arrow Video, Kino Lorber, Vinegar Syndrome, Shout/Scream Factory, and more. Additionally, fans are growing tired of content purges on streaming services, which could be leading to a physical media comeback.

Kevin Costner’s next project is Horizon: An American Saga, which will span two parts (and perhaps more). In addition to directing and starring in the two-film saga, Costner also produced the project and co-wrote the script alongside Jon Baird. “In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat, and tears of many,” reads the official synopsis. “Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Kevin Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends, and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.” Despite the project playing a role in his departure from Yellowstone, I think a lot of fans are very excited about this one.

Horizon also boasts quite the epic ensemble cast, which includes (take a deep breath here) Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Michael Rooker, Will Patton, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Ella Hunt, Tim Guinee, Colin Cunningham, Scott Haze, Tom Payne, Abbey Lee, Georgia MacPhail, Douglas Smith, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jamie Campbell Bower, Alejandro Edda, Wasé Winyan Chief, Michael Anganaro, Angus Macfadyen, Jon Beavers, Alex Nibley, Kathleen Quinlan, Etienne Kellici, Amos Jason Charging Cloud, Bodhi Okuma Linton, Gregory Cruz, James Russo, Jeff Fahey, David O’Hara, Chris Conner, Leroy M. Silva, Bernardo Velasco, Tom Everett, Glynn Turman, and more. Phew.

The first part of Horizon: An America Saga will be released in theaters on June 28th, followed by the second part on August 16th. Maybe we’ll even get one of Costner’s famous director’s commentaries for the Blu-ray release.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes producers have a nine movie plan for the modern franchise, but will it actually happen?

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now playing in theaters with an impressive box-office opening which all but guarantees we haven’t seen the last of those damn dirty apes. It remains to be seen how many more sequels we’ll get, but Planet of the Apes franchise producers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who also wrote Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, told THR that they originally envisioned a nine movie arc for the modern franchise.

“When you first came up with this idea, the Apes franchise way back, you saw nine movies,” Silver said. “We thought, ‘This is crazy ambitious.’ But here we are. We’re at four.“

“I saw nine. I don’t know if we’ll make it to nine. I would love it,” Jaffa replied. “We’ve spoken to not just [director Wes Ball, writer Josh Friedman] and [producer] Joe Hartwick Jr., but to Steve Asbell and Scott Aversano at [20th Century Studios] about what these next movies can be.”

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes grew into one of the best trilogies out there, and I’ve got high hopes that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will serve as the beginning of its own excellent trilogy. As for what lies beyond? Who’s to say? Maybe we’ll finally reach the point of the original 1968 movie and witness astronaut George Taylor plummet through the atmosphere and crash land on the Planet of the Apes.

Although our own Chris Bumbray felt let down by the second half of the latest Apes movie, he did find plenty to enjoy. “[Wes] Ball ended up making a good Planet of the Apes movie; even if it’s not quite the masterpiece some of those breathless early reactions teased,” Bumbray wrote. “In my opinion, there’s never actually been a bad Planet of the Apes movie, as the premise is just so interesting. Kingdom tries to act as a bit of a bridge between the Caesar trilogy and the original Apes series from the sixties and seventies. They use some of the same iconic shots and locations, and the score by John Paesano nods at Jerry Goldsmith’s classic score for the original in a pretty pleasing way.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes “breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.” Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now playing in theaters, so be sure to check out our ranking of the entire franchise and vote for your favourite Apes movie!

Before he was an action star, Steven Seagal trained Sean Connery for a James Bond movie, and broke his wrist.

Many people may not know this, but before Steven Seagal’s action movie heyday, he worked as a martial arts instructor and choreographer. Most famously, he was super agent Michael Ovitz’s martial arts teacher. Ovitz, notoriously, thought he could make anyone a movie star, and proved it by securing Steven Seagal a movie deal at Warner Bros, where he made Above the Law… and the rest was history.

Another guy Steven Seagal trained was Sean Connery, who was one of Ovitz’s first major clients. The agent paired Connery up with Seagal to get him into shape for the unofficial James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again. Connery was fifty-two at the time and had a couple of fight sequences in the film, so Seagal was brought in to whip him into shape. One day, while sparring, Seagal broke Connery’s wrist. The urban legend is that Connery did something that made him angry, and the assault was deliberate, but that seems hard to believe. Connery himself was fond of telling the story, always portraying it as an accident, such as in this interview he did with Jay Leno back in the nineties.

“We had this training in the building where I had an apartment, and he was really very good,” Connery says, mentioning that the training was in Aikido. Connery admits he got a little cocky because “I thought I knew what I was doing. The principle is that it’s defence so its a pyramid, and I got a bit flash and I did that (holding arm outside the pyramid) and (miming a chopping motion) he broke my wrist! It was so well put together here that I still have it…broken.” Indeed, Connery tells Leno that twelve years after the incident a doctor told him the wrist was still broken, and maintains it still gave him trouble in certain motions.

It should be said that Connery doesn’t seem all that fazed or even angry in the telling of the story, and at the time Seagal’s ego was in check enough that it (probably) was just that – an accident. Of course, his egomania did get the better of him as time went on, such as an infamous story we’ve written about here that involved him yelling at Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau of all people, and the fact that he only has forty-one minutes of screentime in Under Siege. Whatever the case may be, I maintain that the first five movies Steven Seagal made (Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, Out for Justice and Under Siege) are all pretty awesome, although you can absolutely stop there and – with the possible exception of Executive Decision – pretty much discard everything else he ever did.

Do you think it was an accident that Seagal broke Connery’s wrist, or do you believe the urban legend that Seagal was angry? Let us know in the comments.

Chris Hemsworth on hearing Marvel criticism from Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola: “It bothers me, especially from heroes.”

We’ve seen several high-profile directors take shots at Marvel movies over the years, including Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, but Chris Hemsworth isn’t standing for it.

While speaking with The Times, the Thor actor opened up about how it feels to hear such harsh criticism from filmmakers he looks up to. “It felt harsh, and it bothers me, especially from heroes. It was an eye-roll for me, people bashing the superhero space,” Hemsworth said. “Those guys had films that didn’t work too — we all have. When they talked about what was wrong with superheroes, I thought, cool, tell that to the billions who watch them. Were they all wrong?“

Hemsworth added, “Cinema-going did not change because of superheroes, but because of smartphones and social media. Superhero films actually kept people in the cinemas during that transition, and now people are coming back. So they deserve a little more appreciation.“

Chris Hemsworth will next be seen in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as Dementus. Joining the Mad Max franchise has been a long-time goal for the actor. In fact, he told Entertainment Weekly that he wanted to audition to play Max Rockatansky himself in Mad Max: Fury Road but couldn’t get his foot in the door. “[I] couldn’t even get a call or a meeting or anything,” Hemsworth said. “I just hadn’t done enough to warrant that.” When Fury Road was finally released, Hemsworth got his agent on the phone immediately. “I was completely absorbed and taken for the adventure and the ride. I said, ‘I’ve got to work with this guy, he’s a genius,’” Hemsworth said. “And then, the rest is history.“

The official synopsis for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: “As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by the Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.“ Furiosa will hit theaters on May 24th.