Wait, Did Vin Diesel Join The Avatar Sequels?

Wait, Did Vin Diesel Join The Avatar Sequels?

Right now, under the strictest measures of security, writer/director James Cameron is making the sequels to his record breaking opus Avatar, in anticipation of the releasing the first follow up at the end of next year. And while taking a break from the rigors of that gargantuan task, Cameron decided to record a short video on set with a new friend, Fast and Furious lead and celebrity uber-nerd Vin Diesel. But, wait a second, could this mean that Diesel has joined the ranks of the cast for this big ticket event franchise?

This prospect seems to be pretty likely from where we’re standing, as this feels like one of the only reasons that the stereotypically cryptic James Cameron would even let Vin Diesel glimpse at what he considers top secret materials of a sensitive nature. Sure, there’s a possibility that Diesel and Cameron are mutual fans of each others’ work and just wanted to hang out, but this doesn’t seem like the kind of place to do that unless some sort of Avatar business was involved.

In addition to that speculation, and between the lighthearted joking and friendly patter shown on display between the two titans, there were some choice remarks made by Vin Diesel that have us questioning if some sort of big announcement is coming our way in the future.

Specifically, Diesel said the following, which set off alarm bells in our heads:

It’s long overdue. There is one person in Hollywood I’ve always wanted to work with, and learn from. … All things come, I guess, to those who wait.

Cue some shenanigans with funny voices and references to Kung Fu, and you’ve got a perfect recipe for a cute viral video that could lead to a lot more if the implications are correct. But there’s another interesting point to make, as this Instagram post’s contents snuck in one more potential bit of news.

Right at the beginning of the video, James Cameron announced that he and Vin Diesel were on the set of “Avatars 2, 3, 4, & 5,” which is interesting considering those last two sequels don't have an official green light just yet. While this doesn’t particularly mean anything, seeing as how Cameron is probably more than optimistic he’ll get those last two films off the ground, it wouldn’t be surprising if that was another featured bit of news coming down the pike in the near future.

With the Disney/Fox merger now complete, and the Aliens filmmaker more than entrenched with both halves of that corporate cookie, this new alliance could be the moment everyone was waiting for before pulling the trigger on Jake Sully’s continuing adventures. And with new sequels come new cast members to help flesh out the 5 film story James Cameron has planned.

You can parse out the action for yourself, as we’re providing the entire video for your viewing pleasure below:

Now we must remind you dear Avatar fans that this isn’t an official announcement of any sort of partnership or deal for Vin Diesel to join on for Avatar 2-5, or that the entries 4 and 5 are confirmed to be officially in the works. Hell, we can’t even tell you if the titles that supposedly leaked are legit or not. All we can say is that Diesel has been spotted on the set with James Cameron, and it really sounds like the two are thick as thieves, plotting an otherworldly adventure that could change the movie world again.

What we can tell also you, among other things, is that Avatar 2 is scheduled for release on December 18, 2020; and that you can visit the attraction Pandora – The World of Avatar at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Which will probably be super easy to access once that other big Disney Parks attraction opens at various periods this year.

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Wait, MoviePass Stock Is Up 40%?

Wait, MoviePass Stock Is Up 40%?

Around this time last year, MoviePass was still flying high, disrupting the industry and helping millions of subscribers to see more movies than ever before. Then came the Mission: Impossible – Fallout incident, which sparked a series of public and costly stumbles that dragged down the service and saw its parent company’s stock plummet along with it. Now MoviePass is rising like a phoenix from the ashes…okay, well maybe not exactly, but MoviePass stock is up 40%.

Shares of Helios & Matheson Analytics were up over 40% yesterday in over-the-counter trading, rising above a penny and reaching 1.23 cents per share before the close of the day according to Deadline. The day also saw triple the normal volume of the company’s shares changing hands. This comes after Helios & Matheson shares were delisted from the NASDAQ last month due to the foibles of its MoviePass unit, which saw the company’s shares trade under $1 since last July.

So what changed? Well, it all comes down to the new business strategy MoviePass will be employing going forward. Helios & Matheson still plans on spinning off its MoviePass business into its own public traded company, to help distinguish the beleaguered movie service from the data analytics firm and the other parts of its business.

That new company, MoviePass Entertainment Holdings will be made up of three separate pillars, each addressing a different part of the business. MoviePass Films will be the company’s production arm, producing new movies under the MoviePass banner; the MoviePass subscription service and app for which the company gained its name; and the Moviefone brand that Helios & Matheson and MoviePass acquired from Verizon last year.

MoviePass said that this new three-pillar model would generate its own revenue, without reliance on studios and exhibitors. This is in stark contrast to the MoviePass of a year or so ago that entered the room with all the subtlety of the Kool-Aid man and wanted to strike deals with studios to promote movies and get a share of tickets and concessions from theater chains.

The idea is that the three parts of the business will work in concert, sharing each others resources in an ecosystem where each part benefits the others. The MoviePass Films arm will make movies with an eye towards transcending theaters, and get deals for home video releases and international distribution. That should then help the MoviePass theatergoing subscription service to grow. The Moviefone digital platform will then be used as a promotional tool for the other two pillars.

MoviePass admits it has made mistakes and it appear to be trying to remedy them with the hard-learned lessons of 2018. The MoviePass subscription service recently relaunched with 3 new pricing plans and now this new business model is another attempt by the service to regain its footing.

If this strategy works as intended, MoviePass can generate its own revenue and won’t be burning cash with the hopes of striking lucrative deals with entrenched parts of the industry. It’s obviously too early to say if that will be the case and one day’s stock increase is no guarantee that MoviePass has turned a corner, but it’s still a positive sign that shows that there is some optimism in the financial sector that this is a step in the right direction for the service.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news and check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of the biggest movies headed your way this year.

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Wait, Is Avengers: Endgame Getting An Intermission Internationally?

Wait, Is Avengers: Endgame Getting An Intermission Internationally?

One of the most talked about aspects of Avengers: Endgame has been the film's length. It clocks in at over three hours long, which has many people wondering how they're going to withstand it, sitting in a theater for that long, not really wanting to take a break for fear of missing anything. It turns out this might only be a problem domestically, as Avengers: Endgame may be getting an intermission in other countries.

The above image purportedly comes from a screening of Avengers: Endgame which recently took place in Italy, the film opened there on April 24. It appears that if you see the film in cinemas there, there is a five minute intermission inserted into the film.

This is something that a lot of people in North America would probably like to see. A five minute break to run to the bathroom or go get more snacks or just to stretch your legs would not be out of line. There are certainly going to be people who need to use the bathroom but aren't going to want to leave the theater for fear of missing something important in a movie that has built up over the last 11 years.

Intermissions aren't entirely unheard of in film, but they haven't been common in recent years. Films like Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia had intermissions built into them. Many films around three hours long did decades ago.

The most recent film with an intermission that I can recall was Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, though that was only included as part of the longer "Road Show" version of the film. I found it a nice break, and it was structured in such a way that it helped add to the tension of the story. You had a few extra minutes to wonder what was going to happen next before you saw the result. Certainly, such a thing could certainly happen with Avengers: Endgame. And if we're all here for over three hours, what's an extra five or ten minutes?

It's unclear how widespread this phenomenon is. It could be just Italy, or even just this one theater, that has added the intermission, but it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see other places do something similar.

While movies, especially of the epic blockbuster variety, are routinely breaking the two hour mark these days, a movie hitting three hours is still a fairly rare occurrence. It's just a long time and it's a potentially difficult thing to juggle. On the one hand, you don't want to go to the bathroom in the middle, so maybe you forego food and drink before the film. But then again, you don't want to be distracted by your own hunger during the movie, so maybe food is needed.

Some places may get an extra break, but it won't be happening here, so if you're prepping for Avengers: Endgame tonight, be ready for three straight hours of sitting. Hopefully the chair is comfortable.

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Wait, Is Doctor Strange Director Scott Derrickson Doing A Hellraiser Reboot?

Wait, Is Doctor Strange Director Scott Derrickson Doing A Hellraiser Reboot?

It's normal nowadays for a studio to resurrect old, familiar franchises in order to give them a second life up on the big screen. We saw an example of that last year with the new Halloween film, which sparked new life into the horror franchise. It looks like another horror icon may be getting a new film soon. Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson tweeted an image teasing that he might be directing a new Hellraiser movie.

Fitting right in with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and other movie monsters, Hellraiser is a series of horror films that centers around a creature named Pinhead. The storylines of the films follow a puzzle box that is a gate to the hell-like dimension of the Cenobites, an order of formerly human monsters who harvest souls to torture in sadomasochistic experiments. Pinhead is the leader of the Cenobites and the face of the franchise.

The first film was released in 1987 and spawned nine sequels, the most recent of which was released last year. However, despite the longevity of the franchise, the films vary in quality and, after the fourth film, every sequel was released straight-to-home video. Scott Derrickson himself directed the first film to be released direct-to-video -- Hellraiser: Inferno, which came out in 2000.

However, it sounds like the franchise could be making a comeback. Earlier this year, it was reported that Blumhouse -- the extremely successful horror film studio -- was interested in making a new Hellraiser film. Now we've got this tweet from Scott Derrickson seemingly teasing his involvement in said film.

Scott Derrickson didn't make any sort of announcement to go with the social media post, but it's doubtful he would just randomly share the picture if he didn't have something in the works. While Derrickson is maybe best known as the director of Doctor Strange, he's directed plenty of horror films like Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Scott Derrickson knows how to get scary and he seems like a good fit to continue with the Hellraiser franchise. Plus, I'm sure that fans of the series are eager to see a real high-quality theatrical release.

Assuming that Scott Derrickson is directing a new Hellraiser, one would assume that this would come after Doctor Strange 2. While not officially confirmed, it's long been rumored that Doctor Strange 2 is in the works with Derrickson back in the director's chair. Without either film actually being confirmed, it's tough to guess what Derrickson's schedule would look like.

Either way, a new Helllraiser might be in-bound. Get a blast from the past with the trailer for the very first film in the series.

Make sure to stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated on all the latest movie news as soon as it becomes available to us. For everything that is definitely coming to theaters this year, be sure to check out our handy 2019 movie release guide.

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