David Ayer feels he has “nothing to show” for writing The Fast and the Furious, the first installment of the billion dollar franchise.

If you’re like me, you may have forgotten that David Ayer had a hand in writing The Fast and the Furious. However, Ayer definitely hasn’t forgotten as he has “nothing to show” for writing the first installment of what became a multi-billion dollar blockbuster franchise.

David Ayer spoke on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast to discuss his part in The Fast and the Furious. “Biggest franchise in Hollywood, and I don’t have any of it,” Ayer said. “I got nothing to show for it, nothing, because of the way the business works.” The film was based on Racer X, a Vibe magazine article by Ken Li. Gary Scott Thompson and Erik Bergquist wrote the initial drafts, but David Ayer was brought in to rewrite it.

“When I got that script, that s— was set in New York, it was all Italian kids, right?” Ayer said. “I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m not gonna take it unless I can set it in L.A. and make it look like the people I know in L.A., right?’ So then I started, like, writing in people of color, and writing in the street stuff, and writing in the culture, and no one knew s— about street racing at the time.” Ayer continued: “I went to a shop in the Valley and met with like the first guys that were doing the hacking of the fuel curves for the injectors and stuff like that, and they had just figured it out and they were showing it, and I’m like, ‘Oh f— yeah, I’m gonna put that in the movie.’“

David Ayer feels that most people believe that he “didn’t do s**t” on the franchise. “It’s like people hijack narratives, control narratives, create narratives to empower themselves, right?” Ayer said. “And because I was always an outsider and because, like, I don’t go to the f—ing parties. I don’t go to the meals, I don’t do any of that stuff. The people that did were able to control and manage narratives because they’re socialized in that part of the problem. I was never socialized in that part of the problem so I was always like the dark, creative dude, beware.“

Following the release of Fast X earlier this year, we’ve got several more Fast & Furious movies to look forward to, including Fast X – Part Two and anther spinoff focusing on Dwayne Johnson’s character.

Michael Oher, whose story was told in The Blind Side, alleges that the Tuohy family never actually adopted him & exploited him for millions.

Update: Sean Tuohy has responded to the allegations made by Michael Oher that he and his family tricked Oher into a conservatorship and made millions off of the success of The Blind Side.

Sean Tuohy told the Daily Memphian that the conservatorship came about because they were told they couldn’t legally adopt anyone over the age of 18. “We contacted lawyers who had told us that we couldn’t adopt over the age of 18; the only thing we could do was to have a conservatorship,” Tuohy said. “We were so concerned it was on the up-and-up that we made sure the biological mother came to court.” He added that he’d “of course” end the conservatorship if that’s what Michael Oher wanted.

When it comes to the alleged millions made from The Blind Side, Sean Tuohy said that they didn’t make any money off the movie aside from what book author Michael Lewis shared with them. “We didn’t make any money off the movie,” Tuohy said. “Well, Michael Lewis [‘The Blind Side’ book author] gave us half of his share. Everybody in the family got an equal share, including Michael. It was about $14,000, each.” I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this story.

Original article follows:

The Blind Side told the story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized Black teenager who becomes an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of his caring adoptive parents played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. The feel-good movie was a huge success in 2009, with Bullock even winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, but the truth seems to be much darker.

ESPN reports that Michael Oher has filed a 14-page petition in a Tennessee probate court that alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never legally adopted him. Not only that but they also tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators. The pair allegedly used this power to make a deal which earned them and their two biological children millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side while Michael Oher got nothing. For the record, The Blind Side grossed $309 million worldwide on a reported $29 million budget.

“The lie of Michael’s adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher,” the legal filing says. “Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys.“

The petition is seeking to end the Tuohys’ conservatorship over Michael Oher and stop them from using his name and likeness. It also wants a full accounting of money earned and for Oher to be paid his fair share. “Since at least August of 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, specifically, and the public, generally, to believe that Conservators adopted Michael and have used that untruth to gain financial advantages for themselves and the foundations which they own or which they exercise control,” the petition says. “All monies made in said manner should in all conscience and equity be disgorged and paid over to the said ward, Michael Oher.” In a 2007 contract, Oher seemingly signed away the life rights to his story “without any payment whatsoever,” but the filing states that he “has no recollection of signing that contract, and even if he did, no one explained its implications to him.“

The Tuohy family hasn’t yet responded to the allegations, but their attorney, Steve Farese, said that they would be filing a legal response in the coming weeks.

Tom Hanks was concerned for the mental health of Austin Butler after Elvis and offered him the leading role in Masters of the Air to help.

We all know the degree in which Austin Butler immersed himself in the role of Elvis Presley, and the actor told The Times of London that his co-star Tom Hanks actually grew concerned about his mental health.

Austin Butler said that Tom Hanks told him: “You have immersed yourself so deeply in ‘Elvis’ that, for your mental health, it would be wise to go straight into something else. If you just jump off the train, you might have emotional whiplash… and, you know, I’ve got this thing I’m producing.’” That project happened to Masters of the Air, the upcoming World War II miniseries for Apple TV+ that follows in the footsteps of Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Butlers stars in the series as Major Gale Cleven alongside Barry Keogan and Callum Turner.

Austin Butler added that Elvis forced him “to go to the very edge of what is possible, and not every experience will be like that. I don’t think I’ll ever have an experience like that again, but if I have to really dig, it makes me feel alive.“

After completing production on Masters of the Air, Austin Butler moved on to pair of movies set to be released at the end of the year, including Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders and Denis Villeneueve’s Dune: Part Two. “I was stretching myself and living within the shoes of somebody else for a bit that’s very, very different from Elvis,” Butler told Vanity Fair. “I never want to say I shed Elvis or washed it off because it makes it sound like something that I want to leave me. It was such a gift and it was such an amazing time. But as far as the thing where you’re all consumed with something, my mind couldn’t think about anything that wasn’t Elvis-related—and I didn’t want to for over two years.” Butler plays Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in the Dune sequel and sports a look far removed from Elvis.

Masters of the Air doesn’t have an official release date yet, but Dune: Part Two is slated to be released on November 3rd followed by The Bikeriders on December 1st.

Peter Jackson has joined Steven Spielberg and Jordan Peele in praising Australian horror movie Talk to Me.

Talk to Me has garnered nearly unanimous praise since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, even going on to win big at the Fantasia International Film Festival just this week. Now, Talk to Me has earned some major backing from yet another Oscar winner, with New Zealand native praising the Australian horror film.

Speaking with Ahi Films (via Newshub) – a distributor of the film – Peter Jackson said that Talk to Me is “relentlessly scary and disturbing – in the best possible way”, adding that it “isn’t just good – it’s very very good. The best, most intense, horror movie I’ve enjoyed in years.” That’s some high praise for a guy that started off his career with two of the most relentless horror movies of their era, Bad Taste and Braindead (aka Dead Alive). While Talk to Me leans more supernatural than, say, lawnmower bloodbath, that Jackson has shown support for the movie can only help the cause of first-time directors Danny and Michael Philippou. This adds to the reported championing that has come from the likes of Steven Spielberg and Jordan Peele.

On the JoBlo front, our own Chris Bumbray gave Talk to Me an 8/10 out of Sundance, saying horror fans will love it, some of its images are downright disturbing and it could mark the beginning of a noteworthy career for the directors.

Talk to Me is poised to be another hit for A24, pulling in $36.5 million so far on a $4.5 million budget. And yes, there will be more movies, as the directors are clearly beyond ready to expand, claiming they already shot a prequel and have plans to helm a sequel as well, all of which gives off vibes of Ti West’s X trilogy.

Talk to Me’s plot: “When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.”

Are you a fan of Talk to Me? Where do you think it ranks among other A24 horror movies? Give us your thoughts below!

The actress, who had gotten her first Academy Award nomination for the historical drama, wants to revisit the role and explore a continuation.

In 2011, the summer box office had concluded with a mid-budgeted historical drama starring primarily women dominating the box office for about a month from August to September. The Help was a film adaptation of an international bestseller by Kathryn Stockett from director Tate Taylor, whose credits include the James Brown biopic, Get On Up, and the horror film, Ma. The movie featured an all-star cast, including Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain.

Deadline reveals that one of the film’s stars, Jessica Chastain, has proposed her idea for a sequel to the film. While appearing on Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist Podcast, Chastain spoke about the film and responded to the notion of a sequel, “You know who I think about all the time, and I just wish I could play her [again]? Celia Foote. I just want to do something, Celia and Minny, and see what happened. You know they ended up living together and raising the baby together, they were best friends. How amazing would that film be? I loved her, and I got to be a bit silly.”

The Help‘s box office success ended with a domestic gross of $169 million and a worldwide take of $216 million on a budget that totaled just over $20 million. The film earned Octavia Spencer an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Minny Jackson, although Chastain herself was also up for the award. Chastain adds, “A lot of my characters I feel like I got to experience a lot. Celia, it was such a deep dive for me. I really threw on that character, and I didn’t really get to mine that much material because I was a supporting part of that story. That’s a character I wish I could revisit.”

The plot for The Help reads,
An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids’ point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

Chastain’s Oscar nomination for the film was her first. She would be nominated again the following year for her role in Zero Dark Thirty, then she would secure a win for the award of Best Actress for her titular part in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo is one of the better video game movies precisely because it doesn’t rely on the game at all to tell its story.

PLOT: The true story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a gifted Gran Turismo player who parlayed his skills into a professional race car driving career.

REVIEW: While some might roll their eyes at the notion of Hollywood making a movie out of Gran Turismo, the famed racing simulator, this is a surprisingly rock-solid effort that’s not much of a video game adaptation at all. Similar to the recent Tetris, this is less of a video game adaptation than a dramatization of a fascinating true story that involved the game. Nissan actually did have a competition where Gran Turismo players were given a chance to train as professional racers. Mardenborough was gifted enough on the track that he went onto a legit career in F1.

It adds up to a pretty interesting underdog story that offers director Neill Blomkamp a change of pace, with this essentially a straightforward sports movie. You don’t have to be a Gran Turismo player to enjoy this, although fans of the game will note that Blomkamp does use aspects of the gameplay to dramatize the racing scenes in a way that compliments the story rather than dominates it.

Indeed, Mardenborough’s story is tailor-made for movies, with him a friendly kid from England who’s being hassled by his dad (Djimon Hounsou) to stop messing around with Gran Turismo and find a decent trade. Lucky for him, a Nissan exec (Orlando Bloom) has a wild idea. He wants to start GT Academy to train Gran Turismo players as race car drivers. What’s crazy is that the concept worked better than anyone could have thought, with the shy, humble Mardenborough having had a promising career behind the wheel (he also doubles for Madekwe during the racing scenes).

While it hits all the requisite underdog movie beats (rivals on the track, grumpy mentors, disapproving parents), it can’t be denied the movie works well, thanks mainly to Blomkamp’s style and the game cast. Madekwe is a real find, giving Mardenborough a lot of vulnerability and making him someone to root for. David Harbour also has a strong role as Jann’s trainer, who thinks the GT Academy idea is nonsense and just wants to ensure no one gets killed, only to become a believer later on. Harbour’s got enough of an edge to him to keep the part from getting too sentimental. In fact, Blomkamp has assembled an interestingly eccentric cast that includes the often under-used Orlando Bloom in a solid character role and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who acquits herself nicely as Jann’s mom.

Blomkamp also does a good job walking a fine line between depicting the racing action in a realistic, immersive way while staying true to the style of the gameplay. While this lacks the hardcore tone of Blomkamp’s sci-fi films, it’s a good stab at mainstream studio filming from the director, and he’s done an excellent job making a family crowd-pleaser.

One thing’s sure; Gran Turismo is a movie made for the big screen. In this streaming era, it’s hard to get people out to theatres for a non-franchise film, and basing this one on a video game is a sneaky way of doing a classic sports movie while still having the advantage of known IP. If you’ve never played Gran Turismo, you’ll still likely enjoy this. It’s an excellent way to end the summer, and hopefully, it finds its audience.

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