Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni explains why Lars Mikkelsen had to play Grand Admiral Thrawn in the live-action Star Wars series.

Grand Admiral Thrawn has captured the imagination of Star Wars fans since his introduction in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy over thirty years ago. Even when Disney declared that much of the Star Wars Extended Universe was non-canon, Thrawn survived and went on to be featured in Star Wars: Rebels where he was voiced by Lars Mikkelsen. As we know, Thrawn now set to make the leap to live-action in Ahsoka.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight in a newly released interview from Star Wars Celebration in April, Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni said that Lars Mikkelsen was really the only choice to play Thrawn.

“It was a very considered decision… It was a very big challenge to cast the voice,” Filoni said. “You know, how do you find a voice for a character that everybody who has read it, pictured it probably in a different, unique way? Eventually, that led me to Lars, and we were all very happy with his performance in Rebels. [Jon Favreau said] ‘It’s going to be very hard to beat Lars.’ Because Lars is in my head. The sound of his voice is kind of what I write to.“

When it came time to cast the live-action Thrawn, Filoni entertained other options but just kept coming back to Lars Mikkelsen. Jon Favreau agreed, and the decision was made. “I couldn’t be happier,” Filoni said. “He looks wonderful in blue. Not everybody does, so that’s a factor and we worked on the eyes so…it’s a unique thing to bring this character to life.“

What works in voice acting doesn’t always translate to live-action, so Lars Mikkelsen has previously said that he did have to make a few changes to his iconic Thrawn voice. “I’m not losing the voice, but I am tweaking it into live-action,” Mikkelsen explained. “When you do an animated character, there’s a whole melodious approach. When you’re there as a real person, that would be just slightly too much.“

Given how the last episode of Ahsoka ended, there’s a good chance we may finally get to see Thrawn make his live-action debut next week. The first five episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+, so be sure to check out a review from our own Alex Maidy right here.

Memory, starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard is one of the most empathetic and moving love stories to come along in many years.

PLOT: After attending a high school reunion, a woman (Jessica Chastain) is followed home by a man (Peter Sarsgaard) with whom she has a history. Initially upset and thinking he’s a stalker, she learns that he has dementia and that if they have a history together, he can’t remember it.

REVIEW: Michel Franco is a director whose work has grown steadily in stature over the last few years. I became aware of him after watching his class warfare drama New Order in 2020, and then his dark 2021 Tim Roth drama, Sundown. Both of those films were grim, and one might assume Memory, which deals with early onset dementia, sexual assault and alcoholism, might be the same. While heavy, Franco’s made a profoundly empathetic and unlikely love story brilliantly acted by stars Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard.

Chastain’s Sylvia is a victim of repeated sexual assault who is sober and lives a tightly controlled life in New York City. While coming from a wealthy family, she has no ties to her rich mother (Jessica Harper) and works in an adult day care. Still, she remains close with her sister (Merrit Wever), whose family helps care for Sylvia’s teenage daughter, Lucy (Alexis Rae Forlenza).

While she initially believes that Sarsgaard’s Saul was one of the men who raped her in high school, once she learns he’s innocent, she gets herself talked into being one of his caregivers. She begins to fall for the warm-hearted, intelligent Saul, even though his dementia makes him unable to remember much in the short-term, and his long-term prospects are grim.

Chastain is terrific as the initially guarded but eventually passionate Sylvia, but Sarsgaard is a revelation as Saul. He subverts audience expectations at every turn, maintaining a dry sense of humour, even as his condition worsens. The film really makes you empathize with him. Saul is still a handsome, virile, intelligent man, even if his well-meaning family, including his brother (Josh Charles) and niece (Elsie Fisher), treat him as a patient rather than a man with his own agency.

Despite his prognosis, Chastain and Sarsgaard’s chemistry is on point, with you rooting for them to find a way to be together. The entire cast is excellent, with Forlenza perfect as Chastain’s supportive daughter, who, while she loves her mom, also wants to be part of her well-to-do extended family. Merrit Wever and Jessica Harper (from Phantom of the Paradise) are incredible as her sibling and mother, both of whom deny her stories of sexual assault, with the latter becoming especially monstrous as the film goes on.

Yet, as grim as it sounds, Franco, who also wrote the film, keeps the movie well-paced and isn’t afraid to work in a little bittersweet comedy, such as Saul’s continued obsession with the Procol Harem song, “A White Shade of Pale,” which becomes a recurring motif. Parts of the movie are shattering, but it emerges as a surprisingly upbeat, hopeful look at two people who refuse to give into despair and make the most of the cards they were dealt. Along with The Holdovers, it’s one of the best things I’ve seen at TIFF this year.

10

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].

Bowser by Matt Frank

The Dark Knight Trilogy by Cesar Medina

The Green Knight by Joel Herrera

The Lighthouse by Gregory Cohen

The Mitchells vs The Machines by John Dunn

The Mummy by Christopher Owen

The Nun by Doug Saquic

One Piece by Julien Rico Jr

The Place Beyond The Pines by Designing Cinema

The X-Files by Sorin Ilie

We review the Sundance 2023 selection Fair Play, starring Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor and Solo actor Alden Ehrenreich.

PLOT: Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are a New York power couple in the making. They both work as analysts for one of the top investment firms on Wall Street, and both seem to be within a stone’s throw of a huge promotion that will make their careers. Newly engaged, the two are faced with an unexpected challenge when the power dynamic between them shifts suddenly, with Emily promoted over Luke.

REVIEW: If ever there was an industry with the potential to wreak havoc on relationships, it’s the world of finance. Many films have depicted this industry as cutthroat and toxic. The reality is that small mistakes or miscalculations can ruin careers, and every day brings the potential for ruin, no matter how brilliant you might have seemed yesterday. It attracts a certain type of person, and the business is punishing. Fair Play coveys this expertly, with Emily and Luke’s daily grind being presented in great detail. The two are up at 430am every day but, by necessity, are also out drinking until dawn every night (after-hours clubs are where many careers are made). There’s very little room for a personal life, and their firm explicitly forbids relationships within the office.

Initially, the two seem ideally matched. They’re both young and gorgeous and have the edge and confidence needed to succeed. But, it eventually becomes clear that Emily is brilliant, while Luke is merely proficient, with their boss (Eddie Marsan) giving her an opportunity that sets her career. The film charts their shifting dynamic, with Luke’s jealousy growing more toxic by the moment while Emily makes many misguided attempts to build him up, all of which backfire tremendously.

Fair Play is very much in the style of the adult-oriented dramas and thrillers we used to get in the eighties and nineties, albeit through a different lens. If this were to be made in that era, one could easily imagine Michael Douglas as a more sympathetic Luke. Here he’s shown to be such a slave to his own ambition that it threatens to turn him into the kind of monster typically played by women like Demi Moore and Glenn Close in those vintage flicks.

That said, I’d hesitate to say Fair Play is a PC version of those movies. Writer-director Chloe Domont wants to make a movie that entertains and belongs on the shelf next to something like Wall Street or Disclosure without being watered-down. She’s directed a few episodes of Billions and seems to have an affinity for the world. She depicts the hyper-macho, misogynist aspect of the world but also has Emily participate, with her fine being “one of the boys” if it helps her get ahead.

The leads here are excellent, with Phoebe Dynevor of Bridgerton a terrific choice for the lead. She reminded me of a young Naomi Watts or Nicole Kidman and fitted perfectly into the milieu being created by Domont. You believe her as someone who could rise to the top and be just as calculating as the boys if need be, and Domont never softens her too much. She has enough rough edges to make her interesting.

However, many folks will no doubt be buzzing about Alden Ehrenreich, with this a strong comeback vehicle for the actor. He plays Luke’s mounting insecurity and toxicity in a way that allows him to command the screen. His de-evolution feels legitimate thanks to the shading present in his performance from the first drama. Again, it’s a lot like the kind of role Michael Douglas might have played a few decades ago, but without the need to make him likable. Luke is a bastard, and Ehrenreich embraces this aspect of him.

Eddie Marsan is also terrific as the lead’s boss, a hard-bitten titan of the industry who’s not above calling Emily a “stupid f**ckin b**ch” when she makes a pricy mistake but also recognizes her potential and isn’t presented as predatory – at least not in a sexual way. It’s a slick, taut drama with some thriller elements baked in. It’s probably the most entertaining film I saw at Sundance last year, and following its TIFF showing it’s set to be released on Netflix soon. Keep an eye out for it.

9

The third (and possibly final) entry in Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot franchise looks to open with around $14 million in receipts.

Just a quick update for you today as numbers have begun rolling in for this third weekend of September (this is one of those rare five weekend months). Everything seems to be falling perfectly in line with our predictions from Thursday with the most recent Hercule Poirot mystery, A Haunting In Venice looking at a first place finish with a projected 3-day take of $14 million. That number is based off Venice’s $1.2 million in Thursday previews and a $5.3 million Friday (as of this writing). 

That number puts it slightly ahead of 2020’s pandemic ridden debut of Death on the Nile that netted a $12.8 million opening. Yet it is a ways away from the original 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express’s opening of $28.6 million. It seems these sequels are as cursed as some of the characters in them as they seem to always be released with some baggage that affects its performance. For Death on the Nile it was a public that was still unsure about going to the movies unless it was for masked vigilantes as well as having a lead star in Armie Hammer who was more famous for his exploits off screen than on. 

For Haunting in Venice, the film comes at a time when its stars are gagged by an ongoing strike. When it comes to something like Venice, I could absolutely see Tina Fey as a guest on the late night talk shows promoting her film in a comedic way that gets a few more butts in seats. Add to that promotion from recent Oscar winners like Kenneth Branagh and Michelle Yeoh and fans of Yellowstone would love to see Kelly Reilly in a different type of role. Even all those life long Jamie Dornan fans after his roles in the Fifty Shades films would have bought a ticket had Dornan been able to simply tell them about it. I often wondered what type of impact a simple tweet (or X, I still have no idea what to call that format anymore) or a 10 minute segment on a talk show does for a film, but I genuinely believe this is the type of movie that could have benefitted from some type of promotion featuring its star studded cast.

As far as the movie goes, I have been a fan of the series and found this new one to be right up there with the other ones. Granted, I will admit I think the first film, Murder on the Orient Express is by far the best of the trilogy, but you can tell that Kenneth Branagh absolutely loves bringing this character of Hercule Poirot to the big screen. Critics seem to have liked this latest adventure better as it seems to have garnered slightly stronger reviews than the previous two films with our own JimmyO giving the film his seal of approval in his 7/10 review.

Moving down a spot is another tale of the supernatural with The Nun II dropping the horror movie standard of over 60% for a second weekend just shy of $13 million. The good news for this one is that we are just ramping up into the spooky season, so it has a decent shot at holding steady over the next month and a half which can lead the film into a decent domestic finish. With a budget reported to be just shy of $40 million and a solid international turn out, The Nun II seems to be another successful entry in The Conjuring Universe.

Coming in third place is the Denzel Washington led Equalizer 3 which seems to be leveling out with a sub 40% drop and an estimated 3-day take of $7.3 million as it inches closer to that $100 million mark while fourth place goes to the Nia Vardalos directed My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 with an additional $4 million, losing about 60% of its debut audience. Rounding out the top five is, say it with me, Barbie, with an estimated $3.6 million added to her staggering $625.8 million domestic haul. 

Have you made it out to theaters yet or is it still on your list of things to do? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check back tomorrow when we have a full rundown on this weekend’s box office numbers.

Aubrey Plaza had a shot at appearing in Deadpool 2 but was in “work zone” and so not in a proper frame of mind.

Aubrey Plaza may not seem like the most natural fit for a major superhero movie, but having her join the Deadpool series may have been perfect. And it could have happened…if she hadn’t botched her audition.

Aubrey Plaza recently recalled how the wrong mindset led her to lose out on a role in the Deadpool sequel. “There are a lot of roles that I really wanted that I didn’t get, but everything happens for a reason. I don’t know, the one that sticks out to me for some reason, I think it was Deadpool 2. I had just come off a plane and I think I was shooting Legion at the time, and I really wasn’t in a good zone because you have to be in an auditioning zone and I was in a ‘work zone.’ That one hurt. Me and Ryan Reynolds, what could go wrong? We would be great together.”

While both Aubrey Plaza and Deadpool have distinct senses of humor, one does wonder if Plaza’s deadpan style would have meshed with the Merc with a Mouth. Could Plaza and Ryan Reynolds bounce off each other in that setting or would it be a clash?

Although Aubrey Plaza didn’t get the chance to work with Ryan Reynolds in the Deadpool series, it was announced earlier this year that they would share the screen (alongside Jason Momoa and Vince Vaughn) in the R-rated Animal Friends. As far as her comic book contributions, Plaza will enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe with WandaVision spinoff series Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, playing a witch in the coven of Kathryn Han’s titular character.

Aubrey Plaza has certainly kept busy, with two movies out last year, spy comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre out earlier this year and a pretty incredible turn in season two of White Lotus. Later this fall, she will reprise her Scott Pilgrim vs. the World character, Julie Powers, in the animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

How do you think Aubrey Plaza would have fit in Deadpool 2? Would she have been a welcome addition, or is she more fit for Agatha: Darkhold Diaries? Let us know in the comments section below!

Parmount+ is thrilled to share its new Lawmen: Bass Reeves teaser trailer, featuring David Oyelowo as the rough-and-tumble office of the law.

Load your six-shooter and prepare for rough times ahead because Paramount+ is ready to share a new Lawmen: Bass Reeves teaser trailer ahead of the show’s November 5 premiere. The western series comes from Paramount+’s Golden Goose creator Taylor Sheridan as he executive produces alongside David Oyelowo, who stars in the show as the titular lawman, Bass Reeves. Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Donald Sutherland, and Emmy Award nominee Dennis Quaid also star. Taylor Sheridan created the show with the showrunner Chad Feehan.

In today’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves teaser trailer, Oyelowo’s Bass Reeves pledges his allegiance to uphold the law in a dangerous time and place. With criminals eager to overtake territory, keeping citizens fearful and subservient, Reeves dusts off his skills to help take out the trash. Can he handle the weight of the badge? Is he a force for good, or is power slowly turning him into the thing he’s sworn to extinguish?

The official synopsis from Paramount+ reads:

Lawmen: Bass Reeves will bring the legendary lawman and outlaws of the Wild West to life. Reeves (Oyelowo), known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded. LAWMEN: BASS REEVES is an anthology series with future iterations that will follow other iconic lawmen and outlaws who have impacted history.

The cast also includes Shea Whigham and Garrett Hedlund as guest stars, and, in recurring roles, Joaquina Kalukango, Lonnie Chavis, Grantham Coleman, Tosin Morohunfola, Dale Dickey, Rob Morgan, Ryan O’Nan, Margot Bingham, Mo Brings Plenty, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley and Bill Dawes.

In addition to Sheridan, Feehan, and Oyelowo, the series is also executive produced by David C. Glasser, Jessica Oyelowo, David Permut, Christina Alexandra Voros, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, and David Hutkin.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1923, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, and Special Ops: Lioness, as well as the upcoming series Land Man.

What do you think about today’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves teaser trailer? Are you excited to experience another addition to the Sheridan-Verse on Paramount+? Let us know in the comments below.

The first image from the Sam Raimi-produced horror film Don’t Move features Kelsey Asbille, best known for her role on Yellowstone

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone is the most-watched show across all of television, so it makes sense that the first image from the horror film Don’t Move promotes the fact that Yellowstone cast member Kelsey Asbille is in the movie. Actually, that’s pretty much all it promotes, because the image (which was first seen on Variety) just shows a close-up of Asbille’s face. You can take a look at it at the bottom of this article.

Don’t Move is being produced by genre legend Sam Raimi. Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, who directed episodes of the Raimi-produced anthology series 50 States of Fright, directed the film from a screenplay written by T.J. Cimfel and David White, who previously wrote the 2015 home invasion movie Intruders and the recent creepy kid movie There’s Something Wrong with the Children. This film follows a seasoned killer who injects a grieving woman with a paralytic agent. She must run, fight and hide before her body completely shuts down.

Coming to us from Raimi Productions, Hammerstone Studios, and Capstone Studios, Don’t Move is also produced by Zainab Azizi and Hammerstone’s Alex Lebovici. Schindler and Netto serve as executive producers with David Haring, Marc Manus, Petr Jákl, Ruzanna Kegeyan, Sarah Sarandos, Ara Keshishian, and Capstone’s Christian Mercuri. Hammerstone and Capstone are providing the funding, and Capstone Global handles the worldwide rights. Capstone are the ones who sent the image of Asbille over to Variety.

Asbille is joined in the cast by Finn Wittrock of American Horror Story.

Schindler and Netto have said that their goal with Don’t Move was to make an “absolute white-knuckle ride of a film”. Lebovici, who produced last year’s horror hit Barbarian, said to expect it to tell a “visceral, pulse-racing story”. And Raimi described it as a “compelling and twisted tale”, adding, “I am delighted to collaborate again with our co-directors Adam and Brian on this incredibly frightening and tense story full of so many twists and turns – it will deliver a fantastic horror punch to the audience!“ I love the way Raimi hypes things up; saying Don’t Move will “deliver a fantastic horror punch”, describing his film Drag Me to Hell as a “spook-a-blast”, etc.

I haven’t watched any of Yellowstone and no more than the first episode or two of American Horror Story, but I am guaranteed to watch Don’t Move because Raimi has put his name on it.

Are you interested in Don’t Move? Let us know by leaving a comment below – but first, take a look at this image: