Holt McCallany and Maria Bello are set to star in the Kevin Williamson / Netflix crime drama series The Waterfront

Kevin Williamson is keeping busy like it’s 1998! Best known for writing Scream, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Faculty, producing Halloween H20 (while doing uncredited work on the script), and creating Dawson’s Creek, Williamson is currently gearing up to direct his second feature film, Scream 7. (His first was the thriller Teaching Mrs. Tingle, released in 1999.) Back in February, we heard that he and his producer banner, Outerbanks Entertainment, were developing four major projects as part of an overall deal with Universal Television. One of those TV series projects, a crime drama called The Waterfront, was picked up by the Netflix streaming service back in May. Now The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Holt McCallany (The Iron Claw) and Maria Bello (A History of Violence) are set to star in that series!

Inspired by true events, The Waterfront dives into the flawed Buckley family as their attempts to retain control of their crumbling North Carolina fishing empire drive them to increasingly dangerous means to keep themselves afloat.

Bello is taking on the role of Mae Buckley, who has been running the family business with her son after her husband took a step back. She’s been employing questionable tactics to keep the fishery running in a desperate attempt to save the family. McCallany’s character is Mae’s husband, Harlan.

Universal Television is producing The Waterfront. Williamson is writing the series and executive producing with his Outerbanks Entertainment partner Ben Fast. The first season of the show is expected to consist of eight episodes… and filming is apparently going to take place in Wilmington, North Carolina, which is also where Dawson’s Creek was shot. I Know What You Did Last Summer was filmed in Southport, North Carolina, which is only about 30 miles from Wilmington, and Williamson is from a town that’s 95 miles from Wilmington, so this is an area he is quite familiar with.

It’s cool to see that Williamson is still working on so many projects, and I look forward to seeing how The Waterfront is going to turn out. The other shows currently in development at Outerbanks are a TV series reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, which was itself based on Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story It Had to Be Murder; The It Girl, based on the novel of the same name by Ruth Ware, which follows a woman on the search for answers a decade after the murder of her friend. Williamson is co-writing the script with Sarah L. Thompson; and The Game, an adaptation of the David Fincher movie. Original screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris are adapting the project.

Does The Waterfront sound interesting to you? What do you think of Holt McCallany and Maria Bello coming on board to star in the series? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Halle Berry says she is glad that Catwoman may be finding its audience 20 years after its release, although she has always liked it.

Last Updated on August 21, 2024

After winning an Oscar for Monster’s Ball, Halle Berry could have pick of the litter of any project she wanted. She chose a Bond picture and a franchise sequel right off the bat…which sounds good on paper, at least. But when it came time for her to get her own superhero movie, things went sour for her real fast. And after Catwoman, it took a long time for Halle Berry to get back those nine lives.

Appearing on The Tonight Show (via Entertainment Weekly), Halle Berry said that even though Catwoman was a disaster, she has been by its side in the 20 years since its release. “I loved it. It got panned. The critics said it sucked balls. And balls aren’t that bad.” Well, that’s one way to put it!

Halle Berry continued to say that younger audiences have found something special in Catwoman — which seems like a bit of a stretch, but it does have some lasting qualities like featuring a strong female lead.  “What I’m happy about is that the children have found it now on the internet, and they love it. So, it’s so vindicating. Because now they’re saying it’s cool and what the heck was everybody’s problem with it, so like, I’m like, ‘I’m so brat now.’ Younger generations don’t know what was said back then. They discover it on their own and enjoy its merits without being mind-led to think a certain way.”

As for what critics and various associations were saying in 2004 about Catwoman, it currently holds an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes (so much for a contemporary critical analysis saving the day!) and ended up being nominated for seven Razzies, winning four: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and yes, Worst Actress. For her part — and showing how much she has continued to support Catwoman, Halle Berry actually showed up to accept the award…with her Monster’s Ball Oscar in hand.

Twenty years on, what place — if any — do you think Catwoman holds in the realm of superhero movies? Do you think Halle Berry deserves more credit for Catwoman? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The Legend of Zelda director Wes Ball locks and loads his camera for an adaptation of Reikon’s Ruiner.

Universal Pictures is setting its crosshairs on Reikon’s Ruiner video game for a silver-screen adaptation, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Maze Runner franchise director Wes Ball getting behind the camera. Developed by Reikon Games and published by Devolver Digital (Cult of the Lamb, Death’s Door, Hotline Miami, Enter the Gungeon), Ruiner is a brutal top-down action shooter set in 2091 in the cyber metropolis Rengkok. In Ruiner, a wired psychopath lashes out against a corrupt system to uncover the truth and retrieve his kidnapped brother under the guidance of a secretive hacker friend.

Universal’s Ruiner film project has some serious firepower behind it, with Kelly McCormick and David Leitch producing through 87North. Other producers include Story Kitchen’s Dmitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg, with Timothy I. Stevenson and Dan Jevons acting as executive producers. Ball and Joe Hartwick Jr. will produce through Oddball. Marek Roefler, Magdalena Tomkowicz, and Jakub Stylinski will executive produce through Reikon.

Ruiner sits well on Steam with Very Positive reviews and upward of 4 million players. Steam reviews can be fickle, so the thought of the game holding onto its glowing status since its 2017 release is nothing to gloss over. Ruiner features fast-paced, stylish action in a technology-driven city, with non-stop bullets flying through the air as waves of enemies crowd the battlefield. Rated M for Violence, Blood, and Strong Language, Ruiner does not shy away from its Dredd-like aesthetic and propensity for gettin’ up in that ass with a B.F.G.

In addition to adapting Ruiner, Wes Ball is directing Nintendo’s live-action The Legend of Zelda movie, which is in development. Written by Derek Connolly (Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Dominion), Ball faces the impossible task of adapting one of the most beloved video game properties ever, and in live-action no less. The odds are already stacked against Ball, with rabid fans foaming at the mouth for any excuse to trash what he and his team come up with. I do not envy their position and wish them the best. The key to producing a worthy Zelda movie is atmosphere and character representation. My advice is to get weird with it. Please take a good, long look at the freaks of Hyrule and embrace their quirky behavior. It’s the only way you’ll leave this project with any heart containers.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

A full trailer has been released for Steven Kostanski’s tiny terrors horror film Frankie Freako, which has an October release date

Almost exactly one year has passed since we heard that production had wrapped on Manborg, Father’s Day, The Void, Leprechaun Returns, and Psycho Goreman director Steven Kostanski’s horror comedy Frankie Freako, which is said to be a “commemoration of various practical FX-led projects including Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Ghoulies Go to College” – and now we know when the movie is going to be making its way out into the world! Shout! Studios has announced that Frankie Freako will be reaching select theatres on October 4th. Along with that announcement comes the unveiling of a trailer, which can be seen in the embed above.

The story follows Conor Sweeney (The Editor) as a workaholic yuppie with a dilemma: no one in his life respects him! Not his boss, not his coworkers, not even his wife Kristina, who thinks he’s an uptight “square”! Conor sees no way out of this existential rut until one night channel-surfing he catches a bizarre ad for a party hotline hosted by a strange dancing goblin: Frankie Freako. Conor is entranced by Frankie’s promises of wild and freaky adventures, just a phone call away – could this be the recipe to spice up his flavorless life? Home alone for the weekend, Conor works up the courage to dial the number for the Frankie Freako hotline. As soon as the call connects, it unleashes chaos into his white-collar world, releasing Frankie and his troublemaker friends from their dimensional prison. It’s a race against time as Conor must defeat the rambunctious ruffians and clean up their trail of destruction before Kristina returns from her trip, all while going on an unexpected journey of self-discovery.

Sweeney is joined in the cast by Adam Brooks (The Return) and Kristy Wordsworth (The Spy Who Never Dies).

Kostanski provided the following statement to Bloody Disgusting: “The little monster movie is a subgenre beloved by horror fans. Franchises like Critters, Ghoulies and Puppet Master are still immensely popular despite there being no recent entries in the franchises. Frankie Freako is my vision for the next tiny monster franchise, brought to life through a combination of modern visual effects as well as old-school practical puppeteering techniques. Additionally, I envision the film as my personal take on the Evil Dead 2 format: it is a contained story centered around one flawed man fighting an onslaught of tiny terrors, with each set-piece escalating in absurdity and inventiveness. Frankie Freako is meant to be the complete antithesis of the current trend of overly self-serious A24- style horror films, with a tone more akin to early Tim Burton films like Beetlejuice or Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.“

Frankie Freako seems like a good time to me, so I look forward to checking it out.

What did you think of the Frankie Freako trailer? Are you looking forward to this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

If you think the idea of making Joker: Folie à Deux a musical is a bizarre choice, wait until you hear what Todd Phillips has in mind for the film’s opening. In addition to featuring musical elements, Phillips plans to open the highly-anticipated sequel with a Looney Tunes-inspired animated sequence.

Before you freak out, know that Phillips recruited top-tier talent for this bold choice. The legendary French artist and animator Sylvain Chomet helped Phillips create the animated sequence. If Chomet’s name sounds familiar, he’s the director of 2003’s The Triplets of Belleville and 2010’s The Illusionist, two positively brilliant and award-winning animated features.

In addition to Chomet’s animated sequence, Joker: Folie à Deux includes a “variety show sequence” with Joker and Harley presenting a Sonny and Cher-like dynamic. These elements are part of Todd Phillips’ radical approach to Joker: Folie à Deux, a sequel to 2019’s box office-breaking Joker. The “jukebox musical” is far from anything fans of the original anticipated for a follow-up to the chaos-embracing drama, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a struggling comedian driven mad by society’s failures.

Joker: Folie à Deux will be “mostly a jukebox musical, including at least 15 reinterpretations of very well-known songs.” In hindsight, it would have been hard to imagine Joaquin Phoenix returning for more of the same, no matter how many dump trucks full of money they drove to his house.

In addition to Phoenix and Gaga, the film also stars Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey. Zazie Beetz returns to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond from the first movie, a love interest for Arthur. Official plot details remain a mystery, but the trailer paints a pretty picture, and it’s been said that much of the sequel will occur within Arkham Asylum, where we left Arthur in the last film. It’s inside Arkham where Arthur meets Harleen Frances Quinzel. After escaping, Arthur and Harley resow the seeds of chaos in Gotham City, a corrupted metropolis continuously on the verge of collapse.

What do you think about Joker: Folie à Deux opening with a Sylvain Chomet-animated Looney Tunes-style sequence? Can this movie get any more questionable? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

A batch of first look images have arrived to promote the latest adaptation of Salem’s Lot, coming to Max in October

Warner Bros. has been keeping director Gary Dauberman‘s adaptation of the Stephen King novel Salem’s Lot (buy a copy of the novel HERE) on the shelf for a long time – but they won’t be for much longer. The movie, which was supposed to be given a theatrical release back in September of 2022, is now set to be released through the Max streaming service this October (we’ll have to wait a while longer to hear the specific date), and to mark the occasion, Vanity Fair has unveiled a batch of first look images! One can be seen above, and you can check the others out at the bottom of this article.

This is the third adaptation of Salem’s Lot. The previous two were both mini-series, which aired in 1979 and 2004. This new take on the concept is said to be set in 1975, the same year King’s novel was first published. Here’s the synopsis: Haunted by an incident from his childhood, author Ben Mears returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover the town is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire and his loyal servant.

The film stars Lewis Pullman as author Ben Mears; Makenzie Leigh as Ben’s love interest Susan Norton; Spencer Treat Clark as Mike Ryerson, “one of the town’s simple folk”; Bill Camp as Matthew Burke, “a former high school English teacher who knows about the Marsten House’s evil past and helps out Ben”; Alfre Woodard as Dr. Cody; Pilou Asbæk as the vampire’s familiar Richard Straker, whose style this time around includes a purple cloak, feathered Homburg hat, and push broom mustache; Nicholas Crovetti and Cade Woodward as Danny and Ralphie Glick; Jordan Preston Carter as horror fanatic Mark Petrie; William Sadler as Constable Parkins Gillespie; and John Benjamin Hickey as Father Callahan. Alexander Ward (American Horror Story) might be playing the vampire Kurt Barlow.

Speaking with Vanity Fair, Dauberman reveals that his take on Salem’s Lot was inspired by “the lurid humor and macabre extremism of late-night grindhouse thrillers.” He said, “You could do a very dry version of this movie, but that’s just not my personality. It’s trying to ride that wave’s ups and downs. You’re having fun with it, and then you can have a scare, and then you’re having fun again. Hopefully it feels like a complete ride at the end.” There are even some grindhouse / drive-in era tributes, like a poster for the 1974 blaxploitation classic Sugar Hill hanging on Mark Petrie’s wall and a sequence where the vampire hunting heroes take on vampires that are rising from the trunks of cars parked at a drive-in. Dauberman explained, “It’s this crazy sugar-high of a scene. I thought, ‘Yeah, this is what this is. This is a drive-in movie.’” To read more quotes from Dauberman, click over to the Vanity Fair article.

Are you looking forward to Salem’s Lot, and are you glad to hear it will be on Max in October? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and while you’re scrolling down, take a look at these images:

Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg’s action comedy The Union is a hit with audiences as the film jumps to the top of Netflix’s English Film List.

One thing’s for sure: People show up when Halle Berry hosts a watch party! The beloved Gothika and Monster’s Ball actress threw an online soiree to launch her new action comedy, The Union. The shindig helped the Julian Farino-directed feature climb to 33.1 million views, making it the most-watched English film of the week on Netflix. The Union stars Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg as high school sweethearts reuniting to take on an international crime syndicate. Mike Colter, J.K. Simmons, Alice Lee Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jessica De Gouw also star.

Elsewhere, the first part of Emily in Paris Season 4 debuted at the top of Netflix’s English TV list with 19.9 million views. As a byproduct of the Season 4 launch, Netflix subscribers re-watched previous seasons of the international romantic comedy series, with Season 1 taking ninth place with 1.8 million views and Season 3 in the ten slot with 1.7 million. Emily in Paris Season 4 features Lily Collins, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo, and Lucien Laviscount in the throes of Haute Girl Summer (I know, I hate myself for using this term, too), with Part 2 of Season 4 launching on September 12. Viewers can use Google Lens to scan and research fashions from the hotly anticipated season, then visit sites where they can purchase looks from the show. Okay, that’s pretty cool. At least it’s innovative.

Other titles included on Netflix’s TV list are Love Is Blind UK, which is fifth with 4 million views, and Emily’s Louboutins Under Paris, which claimed seventh (1.4M views) in its 11th week.

While millions of Netflix subscribers are tuning in for The Union, the action comedy did not fare well with JoBlo’s Alex Maidy, who feels the movie is “ultimately a waste of talent for a promising concept.” Alex says Berry and Wahlberg need more chemistry, and Wahlberg feels miscast. “The Union feels forced and never turns into the thrill ride it should have been. While the final half-hour is pretty fun, it cannot salvage the weak movie that preceded it,” Alex wrote. However, it’s not all bad. Alex praises Halle Berry, saying she’s an “entrancing screen presense,” and the film should have been a franchise starter for her alone. Why not check out The Union on Netflix and judge for yourself?

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Production has wrapped on director Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, and work on the Nia DaCosta-directed sequel has now begun

28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland have finally reunited to make a sequel to their zombie (or, if you prefer, infected people) movie classic. As we reporter earlier this year, this sequel is set up at Sony, is going to be called 28 Years Later – and it’s meant to launch a whole trilogy of 28 Days Later sequels. At least two of those three potential movies are happening for sure, as producer Andrew Macdonald revealed during an appearance at an Edinburgh International Film Festival event this past Sunday that filming has wrapped on 28 Years Later and that, as of yesterday, work has officially begun on the second movie!

The cast of 28 Years Later includes Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (The Fall Guy), Erin Kellyman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave). It has also been said that 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy returns “in a surprising way.”

In the original film, Murphy played bicycle courier Jim, who wakes up from a coma to find himself in an apocalyptic England that’s overrun by people who have been infected by a rage virus. Boyle and Garland went through several endings for 28 Days Later before landing on the one movie-goers saw in theatres – and that ending was the only one where Jim survived. So he’s still out there, ready to live through another rage virus nightmare 28 years later. As The Hollywood Reporter previously noted, “The 2002 film grossed $82.7 million globally and spawned a sequel, 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, though Boyle and Garland were only nominally involved as executive producers.”

Garland is already writing the screenplay for the sequel that will come after 28 Years Later. Of the two 28 Years Later projects currently in the works, Boyle is only planning to direct the first one. For the second film, he’s passing the helm over to Candyman and The Marvels director Nia DaCosta. Thanks to their deal with Sony, each of these new films will be receiving a theatrical release and will have budgets in the $60 million range. Apparently 28 Years Later has a budget of $75 million.

Boyle and Garland are producing 28 Years Later with Bernie Bellew, original producer Andrew Macdonald, and Peter Rice, who was the head of Fox Searchlight Pictures when that company backed 28 Days Later. Murphy is executive producing. The film is scheduled to reach theatres on June 20th, 2025.

At the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Sunday, Macdonald said (with thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for the transcription), “We’re making, hopefully, three more 28 films with the first one called 28 Years Later that Alex has written, and Danny has directed, and has finished shooting. Then we’re just about to start, tomorrow morning, actually, part two. And then we hope there’s going to be a third part and it’s a trilogy.”

Are you glad to hear that filming has wrapped on Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later and work on Nia DaCosta’s sequel has now begun? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Fans are already anticipating Joker 3, but director Todd Phillips says it won’t happen as “we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.”

I doubt many expected Joker to be quite the success that it was, but after grossing over $1 billion worldwide (the first R-rated film to do so), it was only natural that there would be talk of a sequel. With a musical flair, Joker: Folie À Deux isn’t the follow-up fans were expecting, but it looks to be another engrossing deep dive into the madness of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), complete with an animated opening sequence. We’re still a month and change away from the release of Joker: Folie À Deux, but some are already wondering if Joker 3 is in the cards.

Anything could happen, but I’d keep those expectations in check. Joker director Todd Phillips told Variety, “It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.” So, even if the sequel grosses another billion dollars, the chances of Joker 3 happening are slim. Plus, it was something of a minor miracle that Joaquin Phoenix returned for more, as he has never done a sequel before.

Although Arthur and Lee (Lady Gaga) frequently break into songs such as Get Happy, For Once in My Life, and That’s Life, Phillips isn’t totally sold on labelling the sequel as a full-blown musical. “Most of the music in the movie is really just dialogue,” Phillips said. “It’s just Arthur not having the words to say what he wants to say, so he sings them instead.” Phillips added, “I just don’t want people to think that it’s like ‘In the Heights,’ where the lady in the bodega starts to sing and they take it out onto the street, and the police are dancing. No disrespect, because I loved ‘In the Heights.’“

In addition to Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie À Deux also stars Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey. Zazie Beetz also returns to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond from the first movie, a love interest for Arthur. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but it’s been said that much of the sequel will take place within Arkham Asylum, which is where we left Arthur in the last film. Joker: Folie à Deux will hit theaters on October 4th.

Ian McKellen says fat suit he wore for Player Kings saved him from more serious injuries during his fall, but he’s still in agonizing pain.

In June, Sir Ian McKellen was hospitalized after a fall off the stage during a performance of Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre in London. In an interview with Saga Magazine (via The Standard), McKellen said that while the fat suit he wore saved him from more serious injury, he’s still in “agonizing” pain from a chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist.

“My chipped vertebrae and fractured wrist are not yet healed. I avoid going out because I’m nervous someone might bump into me, and I’ve been dealing with agonizing pain in my shoulders due to the jolt my body took,” McKellen said. “But the fat suit I wore for Falstaff saved my ribs and other joints, so I consider myself lucky.“

McKellen continued, “I’ve relived that fall countless times. It was horrible. I thought it was the end of something. It was very upsetting. The end didn’t mean my death, but it felt like the end of my participation in the play.” While it was initially anticipated that the actor would be able to return to Player Kings, the production did move on without him. The 85-year-old actor added that he has to keep “telling myself I’m not too old to act. It was just a bloody accident. I didn’t lose consciousness, I hadn’t been dizzy, but I’ve not been able to return to the stage, and they’ve continued without me.“

Shortly after his accident, McKellen released a statement to thank fans for their support. “I want to thank everyone for their kind messages and support,” McKellen said. “Since the accident, during a performance of Player Kings last night, my injuries have been diagnosed and treated by a series of experts, specialists and nurses working for the National Health Service. To them, of course, I am hugely indebted. They have assured me that my recovery will be complete and speedy and I am looking forward to returning to work.“

McKellen has previously said that he has no intention of retiring so long as he remains healthy. One possible gig could see him reprise the role of Gandalf for the upcoming Gollum movie. The actor recently said that he has heard of the project but added, “There is no script, there is no offer, there is no plan.” Assuming everything falls into place, would he be willing to return to Middle-earth? “If I’m alive,” he said.