Why Harry Potter Fans Are Now Mocking J.K. Rowling With X-Rated Tweets

Why Harry Potter Fans Are Now Mocking J.K. Rowling With X-Rated Tweets

The Harry Potter fandom has turned on Fantastic Beasts writer J.K. Rowling, however temporarily, after her latest comments on the sexual relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. It doesn't seem to be a torches-and-pitchforks kind of backlash, more of an eyeroll "here she goes again" kind of frustration from fans tired of the author adding extra details on characters outside of the books and movies. Show don't tell, Jo!

Some of the fan tweets tried to make serious points on sexuality and inclusion, and actually practicing what you preach. Like this one:

But most of the tweets tried to make the same points about oversharing and pseudo-representation through jokes, often using the same format -- no one asking anything, followed by J.K. Rowling revealing something pornographic about a Harry Potter character. Like this:

J.K. Rowling was trending over the weekend as fans tried to outdo each other with sex-related jokes, mocking Rowling's habit of revealing new information about characters outside of the books and movies. Her latest comments mentioned a "sexual dimension" to the relationship between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald when they were younger.

Some fans weren't happy because they want to keep sexuality out of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts stories. But many more fans weren't happy on the opposite side -- because they see it as cheap for J.K. Rowling to keep adding details like this in interviews while never actually putting any real representation in the books or movies. If Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a sexual relationship, why keep talking about it now instead of adding it to the books or making it more clear in the current movie series?

So we get tweets like this:

And this:

It keeps going:

Some fans took the sexuality out of it and just mocked J.K. Rowling's continued changes to canon after finishing the Harry Potter book series:

Some fans did have J.K. Rowling's back, appreciating her latest comments on the sexual relationship between Grindelwald and Dumbledore:

It's too late for J.K. Rowling to write Dumbledore's sexuality into the Harry Potter books, but we are not even halfway through the Fantastic Beasts film series. There are meant to be five films in total, leading up to the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Johnny Depp and Jude Law didn't actually share any scenes together in the second movie, but Dumbledore saw Grindelwald's reflection in the Mirror of Erised, showing his greatest desire. Their relationship is still at the heart of the series, and we know they'll have to face off by the end of the franchise.

Fantastic Beasts 3 just delayed production because it's said to be bigger than the previous two films combined. Here's what we know about the movie so far. Keep track of everything headed to theaters this year with our 2019 movie schedule.

Read More

Ron Howard Calls Out 'Trolling' As One Reason For Solo's Disappointing Box Office

Ron Howard Calls Out 'Trolling' As One Reason For Solo's Disappointing Box Office

Now that a full year has passed since Solo: A Star Wars Story hit theaters, fill-in director Ron Howard is sharing his nuanced take of what went right and what went wrong.

He jumped into the mix late in the game, after the departure of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The box office for the May 2018 movie was huge for Ron Howard, but disappointing by Star Wars' standards, and he knows that. However, he came in eager to help the team, and had a blast in his short experience in the galaxy. A year later, there's even a big push for Solo to get a sequel.

Here's part of Ron Howard answer on whether a Christmas release for Solo would've given it $100 million more than its spring release.

I feel very good about the way it turned out. I love the way it played to audiences, which I witnessed and was a part of. So all of that I'm able to feel good about. Sure, I wish it would've done [better] and lived up to the box office and so forth, so that's disappointing. Why? Maybe it's the release. Maybe it's the idea that it's sort of too nostalgic, going back and revisiting an origin story for a beloved character may not be what the fans were looking for. It kind of seemed to me, looking at it, the opening -- which was big, not as big as the others, it was probably my biggest opening, personally, it was still disappointing to them -- I think those are the hardcore fans. It sort of tells you how many people are tagalongs who need to wait to see what people think and whether it's essential, if it's a zeitgeist movie or not, and whether it's just 'I love Star Wars and I want to see what's next.'

Ron Howard had more to say on that topic on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, but I like his take on core Star Wars fans vs. "tagalongs" -- or casuals -- who wait to see if a movie becomes a major watercooler topic before jumping in with their own time or money. Casual fans sometimes wait for strong reviews from critics (Solo's reviews were middle-of-the-road) but even more often they wait to see fan reactions. They want to hear the buzz, see the audience ratings, scores, and word-of-mouth. (Think Venom.)

When the audience scores for Solo looked lower than usual, and words like "underperformed" and "disappointing" started coming out about the ticket sales, casual/tagalong fans might've come away thinking it was a movie they could safely skip. (The problems behind-the-scenes probably left more than a few fans expecting disaster, making them more wary to spend time and money on the movie.)

Here's more from Ron Howard on that angle, and how "trolling" from fans who hadn't even seen Solo yet may have led the tagalong types to pass on seeing Solo in the theater. Howard knows the pushback against Solo came from several different directions, but also included some Star Wars fans who were upset with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

So whatever millions [Solo] made worldwide, those were the core fans, but it didn't hit that zeitgeist point, for whatever reason. Timing, young Han Solo, pushback from the previous movie, which I kept hearing was maybe something. And some trolling, definitely some trolling. Some actual aggressive... It was pretty interesting. Not so much, a little bit the Twitter feed, yes, but it was especially noticeable prior to the release of the movie. Several of the algorithms, whether it was Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes, there was an inordinate push down on the 'want to see' and on the fan voting. And when you look at it, it's like 3, 4, 5 -- or whatever the rating is, I forget what the rating is on Rotten Tomatoes, whether it's a scale of 1-5 or 1-10 -- but pretty high, and then a series of 0s or .5s or 1s.

Yeah, Rotten Tomatoes has actually changed the audience score function now, wanting more proof that fans have actually seen the movies before they rate them. Non-fans could rate a movie "0" before it even came out, but that is changing now.

Ron Howard isn't too familiar with that online world, but he said some friends from Silicon Valley explained the algorithms to him and basically let him know Solo was being trolled by fans who were boycotting its existence, in addition to those who did actually watch the movie and just didn't like it. Howard praised young Han Solo star Alden Ehrenreich, who was put in the center of the fray, and noticed the backlash has turned more in favor of the movie a year later:

Under that circumstance, I didn't take it personally at all, but I felt badly. And I thought Alden didn't a really great job, an incredibly talented guy, and dedicated guy, and I had a blast with everybody. And look, a year later, it's kind of interesting, you wouldn't think you'd participate in a Star Wars project and have it be a cult movie, but I can already tell those who have affection for it are pretty adamant in their feelings, and that's nice.

Ron Howard already responded, briefly, to the Solo sequel campaign on Twitter. Is it likely to happen? Maybe. Probably not. The point seems more to show support for the movie, which was clobbered from all sides last year for disappointing the franchise. Now the quieter core fans are speaking up to say they liked Solo, thank you very much, and they would be happy to see the story continue.

Now Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in the hot seat, as the final movie in the Skywalker Saga, but also the next trilogy movie after Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which divided a fandom that has been debating the merits of every new Star Wars addition since the arrival of Ewoks. The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20.

Read More

How Candyman's Jordan Peele And Director Nia DaCosta Bonded Through Horror Fandom

How Candyman's Jordan Peele And Director Nia DaCosta Bonded Through Horror Fandom

This past weekend saw the phenomenal release of Jordan Peele’s Us, and the good news for those already hungry for more horror stories from the filmmaker is that he has many irons in the fire. For example, there is the new version of The Twilight Zone that he is producing and hosting for CBS All Access – but on the feature side of things there is the tremendously exciting new take on Candyman that he is making with writer/director Nia DaCosta.

News of DaCosta’s hiring came just a couple months after the announcement about the project’s development late last year, and also just a few months after the world premiere of her feature debut, Little Woods (which played at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival). In the time since, not much has been revealed about the direction of the new Candyman, but while sitting down with DaCosta this past weekend, I learned about a key ingredient in her collaboration with Jordan Peele:

I think something that we connect on a lot was the way we view horror, and our love of horror. I love Candyman, but also just like breaking down what horror is, how it's represented, what it means, and why it's important. I think we really connected on that, and so that's a lot of what our conversations have been about… that I can tell you (laughs). It's been great. He's a wonderful creator, collaborator, human, artist.

With the film set to be released in a few weeks, Little Woods held its Los Angeles press day on Sunday, and it was at the end of my interview with Nia DaCosta and star/executive producer Tessa Thompson that I inquired about the development of her upcoming horror remake. Specifically I asked about the conversations that she had been having with Jordan Peele, and she explained how a shared vision of what horror can do and why it’s effective is really driving their work together on Candyman.

Naturally I felt compelled to follow-up by asking about her philosophy in the genre, and what she stressed was both engaging with the audience, and also telling stories that bring home important messages in subversive ways. It’s a key staple of horror that has existed from the beginning, and a tradition that Nia DaCosta plans to uphold in her venture. Said the filmmaker,

What I like about genres like thrillers, and why I think tensions are important for all movies, including dramas, it's physicalizing what the characters are feeling for the audience. That's really important, and gets the audience to engage and to lean in. And then with horror you can sneak in messages. You know sneak in what you think about the world around you, and how actually horrifying the world is. You get to hide it in these layers. 'This is about a ghost, but really it's about paranoia and a woman's place in the world.' Or, you know, 'This is about a guy meeting his girlfriend's parents, but really it's about... Actually a guy meeting his girlfriend's parents.' (laughs)

Based on a short story by Clive Barker that was first adapted in 1992, Candyman centers on an urban legend that is being investigated by a college student – specifically one about a violent entity who appears and attacks anyone who dares to say his name five times into a mirror. Yahya Abdul-Matten II, who has earned notoriety in recent months thanks to his performance in James Wan’s Aquaman and Jordan Peele’s Us, is currently the only member of the cast, set to play the titular villain.

With Nia DaCosta directing and Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld writing the script, Candyman is currently on track to be released on June 12, 2020 – produced by Monkeypaw Productions and MGM. For those of you who want to get a taste of what DaCosta is bringing to the table as a filmmaker, however, (and I highly recommend that you do), Little Woods is set up with distribution from Neon, and will be getting a limited release starting on April 19th.

For more about the film, and more from my interview with Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson, be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend!

Read More

Original Child’s Play Director Co-Signs Mark Hamill’s Casting As Chucky

Original Child’s Play Director Co-Signs Mark Hamill’s Casting As Chucky

The next big horror franchise to get the reboot treatment is Child's Play. Over the weekend at WonderCon it was revealed that the new voice of the killer doll will be none other than Mark Hamill. The remake is currently a somewhat controversial project, but the announcement of Hamill's involvement has received a major endorsement from the co-writer and director of the original film, Tom Holland, who took to Twitter to call the casting a "smart movie."

While Chucky might not be quite in the same league as horror icons like Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger, the homicidal little doll certainly has a devoted fan base, which has been enjoying new Chucky films right up until recently. It's only been two years since the last film in the franchise was released, making the reboot a somewhat surprising decision for many.

Don Mancini, who originally created the character, and co-wrote the screenplay for the first film with Holland, has made it clear that he's less than thrilled with the remake. He's currently working on his own Child's Play TV series, but since he doesn't own the rights to the original movie, the remake is moving forward without him.

Tom Holland, not the Spider-Man guy, who also directed the original Fright Night and wrote Psycho II, has largely remained quiet regarding his feelings about the Child's Play remake. His endorsement of Mark Hamill isn't necessarily an endorsement of the project as a whole. One can certainly agree with a casting choice, even in a movie that you don't care for overall.

And it's unlikely many will take issue with this casting choice. While Mark Hamill will forever be known first as Luke Skywalker, the second thing that he's known for is his career as a voice actor. His most famous role in that regard is as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, which he has gone on to continue in numerous other Batman video games, animated movies, and other series.

Hamill is a great voice actor and there's little doubt he'll create a unique and interesting character with the new Chucky. The trailers haven't given us that good a look at the crazed doll, and his voice was obviously being kept back for a major reveal. Now that we have it, perhaps we'll get a new trailer soon that lets us hear Chucky's new voice.

Fans, especially those that strongly support Child's Play creator Tom Mancini, are likely still withholding judgement. Many like Jennifer Tilly who co-starred in several of the Child's Play sequels, have come out very publicly against the remake. Will the new Chucky be able to sway any of them to give the new movie a chance? We'll have to wait and see.

Read More

Ralph Fiennes Almost Turned Down Playing Voldemort In Harry Potter

Ralph Fiennes Almost Turned Down Playing Voldemort In Harry Potter

There are certain film villains who are on the upper echelon in terms of being iconic and beloved by moviegoers. Darth Vader is the big bad of space, while Lord Voldemort is a wizard in the Harry Potter franchise who characters fear to even speak of. So when it came to adapting the Dark Lord for the silver screen, Warner Bros. had the difficult task of finding an actor to play the snake-like scourge on the Wizarding World.

Ultimately the great Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort, playing the character for a whopping five Harry Potter movies. Fiennes' performance was layered and super creepy, but it turns out that the Schindler's List actor originally didn't want to take the role of he who must not be named. He recently explained this, and how his family helped him change his mind. As he tells it,

The truth is I was actually ignorant about the films and the books. I was approached by the production. Mike Newell was directing the film that they wanted me to be in… the first time Voldemort was going to appear physically. Out of ignorance I just sort of thought, this isn’t for me… Quite stupidly I resisted, I was hesitant. I think the clincher was that my sister Martha – who has three children who were then probably about 12, 10 and 8 – she said, 'What do you mean? You’ve got to do it!' So then I rewound my thinking.

It looks like we all owe Ralph Fiennes nieces and nephews a big thank you. While he was originally hesitant to join the massive Harry Potter franchise, the younger members of his family were able to convince him otherwise. Because if you can play the villain of the beloved novels and movies, why would you turn it down?

Ralph Fiennes' comments from The Jonathan Ross Show (via Digital Spy) are sure to baffle Harry Potter fans, who have grown to love his performance as Voldemort. Fiennes was completely transformed into the dark wizard, with prosthesis forming his snakelike appearance, while the actor adjusted his voice and posture to fully inhabit Voldemort. As such, it's impossible to think of anyone else playing the adult form of Tom Riddle.

Ralph Fiennes had previously spoke to his trepidation about playing Voldemort. The actor reportedly wasn't a fan of the first two Harry Potter movies, which were directed by Chris Columbus. The franchise took a more adult turn when Fiennes eventually popped up in The Goblet of Fire, which may have been what the actor was hoping for-- especially when playing the most evil Wizard ever.

It should be interesting to see if Voldemort becomes part of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. There are still three more movies on the way, as the timeline gets closer to the one explored in the Harry Potter franchise. Voldemort visited Grindelwald in prison in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1, so they've clearly got some type of a relationship. Could Ralph Fiennes end up popping up again as you know who? Fingers crossed.

Ralph Fiennes is currently filming Kingsman: The Great Game, and is expected to reprise his role as M in Bond 25. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Read More

Daniel Craig Thinks James Bond Could Change Gender Or Race

Daniel Craig Thinks James Bond Could Change Gender Or Race

Daniel Craig is coming back to play James Bond one more time, but the actor admits that this is almost certainly his last go-round as the super spy. That means the part will need to be recast for the film that comes after Bond 25, and when that happens, some have suggested that the part should go to a woman or a person of color. Craig himself seems quite open to that possibility, saying that nobody should be eliminated from consideration for the part automatically. According to Craig...

The right person for the job, I think that's what it should be. I think that everybody should be considered.

Since the character's inception, James Bond has always been a white dude. While the actors who have played him have come from all parts of the UK, and even once from Australia, the rest hasn't changed much. However, James Bond, being part of one of the longest running film franchises ever, has now become more icon than man, and there are those that believe that the character can move forward as a different race or even a different gender and still be James Bond.

James Bond certainly isn't the same character today that he was when Sean Connery originated him for the screen. The character has evolved with the times and there's no reason the character couldn't continue to evolve in this way.

At the same time, while Daniel Craig says that everybody should be considered for the role of James Bond, he also tells ET that the larger issue is that the number of great roles for women and African Americans is more limited than it should be. He seems to feel that this is part of the reason there is interest in roles like James Bond.

For women and for African Americans, there should be great parts anyway, across the board. It shouldn't have to be Bond that takes... it doesn't need to be Bond. It just needs to be written -- some good parts.

At the end of the day, the fact that James Bond as a character has survived and thrived for so long, and that there is no equivalent character played by a woman or a person of color, is certainly part of the issue. All actors want to play great roles, but some of them, surely, want to play popular ones too, and there are few bigger than James Bond. At the end of the day, whether a person can play James Bond should come down to a talent and not the happenstances of birth.

Hopefully, as Craig says, everybody will be considered and when the time comes to find a new James Bond, the right person will get the job. Until then, we have one more adventure with the current Bond, that will hit screens next year.

Read More

John Wick Director Says He Could Make More Sequels For The Rest Of His Career

John Wick Director Says He Could Make More Sequels For The Rest Of His Career

The John Wick film franchise has only been growing in popularity as it has progressed, and while many might have thought that John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was looking to wrap up a solid trilogy, the truth is that sequels are still very much a possibility. Franchise director Chad Stahelski says that he could potentially end up just making these movies for the rest of his carrer, and if that, happened, that'd be ok. According to Stahelski...

I enjoy making these movies because there’s no limit. We create our own mythology, and we have a studio (Lionsgate) that both stays out of our way and supports us on the wacky decisions. If people go see the movie, and it makes money, and they came back to us, Keanu and I have ideas for days. It’s a fun world. I could live here for the rest of my career. If people like it and want to watch more, I could think of way worse ways to spend your career. We’ll let the audience figure that out.

While we don't need to dive too deep into spoiler territory, it seems quite likely that John Wick: Chapter 4 is a strong possibility, and the new movie looks to have even set the stage for a spinoff film. The franchise is only growing from here, but Chad Stahelski tells EW that he's cool with that.

The director says he was far from this confident when the series began. He felt the first John Wick would bomb and end his directing career before it ever got started. Instead, the film was a solid success that has since spawned two sequels, each a bigger box office hit than the last. While we're only at the first weekend for the newest film, it had a bigger opening than either of the two previous movies.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum made more money at the domestic box office this past weekend than the original; movie did in its entire domestic run. The same was true globally. John Wick: Chapter 4 hasn't been officially confirmed, but it seems to be an almost foregone conclusion. Pencil it in for May 2021.

Based on the franchise's success, the biggest hurdle to getting lots more John Wick movies is probably not going to be the studio. Lionsgate will almost certainly want to keep this train rolling. If the creatives behind the series were getting tired of it, that would be an issue, but by all accounts, they're not.

In addition to Chad Stahelski saying he's willing to keep making the movies, Keanu Reeves as also said he'll keep making them as long as the audience is interested. With both the lead actor and the director willing to keep making these movies it seems quite likely we'll keep getting them, which, if the quality level remains as high as it has been, will make a lot of fans very happy.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is in theaters now.

Read More