The Special Way Kevin Smith Is Responding To Captain Marvel's Mallrats Reference

The Special Way Kevin Smith Is Responding To Captain Marvel's Mallrats Reference

Given the recent passing of Stan Lee, many went to see Captain Marvel with a bit of extra anticipation for his cameo, and the film didn't disappoint. Taking advantage of both its 1995 and Los Angeles setting, the blockbuster depicted Lee at a very specific time in his life - specifically when he was preparing to play a small role in the Kevin Smith indie comedy Mallrats. It's a moment that hit Smith very hard emotionally - as seen on social media - and it seems that the impact has gone as far as to have an effect on the in-production Jay And Silent Bob Reboot:

Much like he did with 2001's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Kevin Smith is re-exploring his roots with his latest feature, and you can feel it in this image posted to the filmmaker's personal Twitter page. In the shot we see Jason Lee reprise his Mallrats role, superhero aficionado/former late night host Brodie Bruce, and while it's no surprise that he's in a comic book shop (he owns one in the 2001 feature), what is obviously significant is the fact that he is reaching for Captain Marvel Vol. 10 #1, which just hit shelves this past January.

Despite the fact that he knew about it ahead of time, Kevin Smith was left a blubbering mess by Stan Lee's cameo in Captain Marvel - which sees the comic book legend on a bus practicing lines from a Mallrats script ("Trust me, true believer"). Obviously right now we don't know exactly what Brodie will say when he picks up that issue, but one can probably assume fairly that it will be something positive... even if that isn't super on-brand for the cynical former-basement dweller. It's possible that he's evolved even further beyond who he was when we last saw him 18 years ago.

Written and directed by Kevin Smith, Jay And Silent Bob Reboot reunites audiences with the titular characters (Jason Mewes, Smith) as they go on another adventure to Hollywood in hopes of stopping the new Bluntman and Chronic reboot that is in development. In addition to the lead duo and Jason Lee, the film will feature many more familiar View Askewniverse faces, including Shannon Elizabeth, Diedrich Bader, and Brian O'Halloran, as well as some new ones - such as Joe Manganiello and Grant Gustin. Saban Films is on board producing and distributing, but it's not yet known exactly when fans can expect to see the finished film.

As he pretty much always is, Kevin Smith has been active on Twitter all throughout the production of Jay And Silent Bob Reboot, so you can be sure that this isn't the last update we'll get from the set. Stay tuned for more updates as the filming continues of what we hope winds up being a super weird, meta, funny ride.

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Why James Wan Loves The Trench Creatures Of Aquaman

Why James Wan Loves The Trench Creatures Of Aquaman

Aquaman was, for the most part, a pretty lighthearted superhero movie. The character of Arthur Curry is pretty laid back and he never lets much get to him. However, at one point, the movie's tone takes a serious shift when Aquaman and Mera end up going up against the creatures of the Trench.

From this point, for a few minutes, the film becomes something much more like a horror movie. Of course, when your director is James Wan, the brain behind the Conjuring franchise, you're in pretty good shape. Wan says he particularly loved the creatures of the trench because it let him go back to those horror roots. According to Wan...

I definitely love the trench creatures because it does allow me to hunt back to my horror roots and so I went all out and basically made those sequences just monster movies, like just sea creature monster movies.

James Wan maybe wasn't the most out of left field choice to direct Aquaman. He had done the seventh installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, and so doing a fairly traditional action movie wasn't an entirely new idea. However, Wan has always been more closely associated with the horror genre.

Back in 2004 he directed the first installment of the Saw franchise, where he has remained a producer ever since. After that, he developed The Conjuring, a franchise, which has spawned sequels and spin-offs of its own. Clearly, James Wan loves making horror movies, so it makes sense he would love the sequence in Aquaman that feels very much like something out of a horror movie.

The scene follows Arthur Curry and Mera as the take a boat out to open water, to the place where they believe the Trident of Atlan is being kept. However, that particular stretch of ocean belongs to one of the lost Kingdoms of Atlantis, one that has gone feral since the kingdoms fell apart.

The atmosphere is perfect for a horror movie. There's a storm going on. It's nearly pitch black, making it hard to see where the creatures are. First our heroes try to find shelter in the cabin of the boat, when that fails, they find themselves surrounded by monsters.

It's certainly an effective scene and while it's drastically different from anything else in Aquaman, it certainly works. Get a quick look at it, as well as hear James Wan's comments, in the exclusive clip from the Blu-ray extras of Aquaman, below.

Of course, James Wan clearly isn't the only person who loved the creatures of The Trench. The word is that a spin-off film is being developed that will focus on them, so there were apparently a lot of people at DC and Warner Bros. who loved that part of the movie.

Exactly what this new movie will actually be about is far from clear. Maybe it will be an origin story that explains how these Atlanteans became monsters, but it could just as easily be an actual horror movie, where the Trench creatures become the monsters that other characters are trying to escape from. Certainly, the stage has been set by one great horror director. maybe another could come in and make a superhero horror movie.

Aquaman is available in Digital HD and arrives on Blu-ray today.

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How Interstellar Turned Christopher Nolan Into An Actual Corn Farmer

How Interstellar Turned Christopher Nolan Into An Actual Corn Farmer

Christopher Nolan is one of the premier filmmakers of the 21st century. Nolan, along with his brother and collaborator, Jonathan, is complex and unique writer of modern masterpieces. As a director, Nolan’s films are visually stunning. Did you know that he also learned how to grow corn too?

It was something you may not have paid much conscious attention to in his 2014 hit Interstellar, but it was a crucial bit of filmmaking with a fascinating story behind it. Read on to learn how this happened.

Christopher Nolan Has Always Taken On Big Challenges As A Filmmaker

Christopher Nolan’s breakout film, 2000’s Memento, was a surprise hit that bent time and followed a nonlinear narrative to tell the story of a man with short-term memory loss searching for his wife’s killer. For a budget of just $9 million, Nolan did amazing things. It established his style as a filmmaker that takes risks to make sure he gets the best possible shots, something that he would take to extremes in Interstellar. It also established his penitent for time-bending stories, like Inception.

In his Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan created a completely original world that totally turned the often-told story of Batman on its head. He changed the way the world sees Batman, something that had not been done since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, which was also praised for its unique style. It’s not easy to take such a well-known story and create something completely original, but he did that beautifully.

His most recent film, 2017's Dunkirk, was an enormous undertaking in his quest to find a unique approach to the classic World War II film genre. From the thousands of extras on the beaches of France to the incredible dogfighting scenes in the planes above them to the enormous flotilla of every kind of boat imaginable coming to save the day, Dunkirk is a visual masterpiece. It is also a film with very minimal use of computer-generated imagery, the lack of which is something that has become a calling card of sort for Nolan in his films.

But how is he as a farmer? Specifically, a corn farmer? And WHY is he – or why WAS he – a corn farmer? Taking a peak behind the scenes of his 2014 hit Interstellar explains why he grew a huge field of corn, in a place that doesn’t usually support corn, and then sold the corn for an actual profit!

Christopher Nolan's Real Corn Is Better Than CGI Corn In Interstellar

In a film world where CGI is king, Christopher Nolan has become something of a traditionalist. Dunkirk is praised for its old-fashioned approach to filmmaking, using models and miniatures to create the special effects instead of relying on a computer to draw them in. Dunkirk was not the first time Nolan has dismissed the modern approach, nor was it the riskiest. Back in 2014, he and the other producers chose to grow a corn field to serve as the farm for Matthew McConaughey’s character, Joseph Cooper, in Interstellar.

Corn Is Crucial To The Plot Of Interstellar

If you don’t remember why the protagonist of Interstellar, Joseph Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey was hurdling through a wormhole near Saturn in hopes of finding a new planet for humankind to colonize due to “The Blight.” The Blight was never fully explained, except that it started sometime before McConaughey’s character joined NASA. The blight had wiped out most of the plants on Earth, with corn and okra being the last two viable crops, and okra was on its last legs, according to Christopher Nolan’s script.

Christopher Nolan Was Not The First Filmmaker To Grow Corn

Zack Snyder did it for Man Of Steel, and in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher Nolan revealed that he spoke with Snyder about it:

Luckily, [director] Zack [Snyder] had grown a bunch of corn, so I said, 'How much can you really grow practically?'

Sometimes two directors sharing notes with one another can lead to great things.

Interstellar’s Corn Wasn’t Easy To Grow

In the script for Interstellar, the setting for the farm was written as being surrounded by corn fields with mountains in the distance. There are not a lot of places in the world, apparently, that can have both. So the filmmakers were taking a $100K gamble to grow corn in Western Canada, outside Calgary, where the film was shot. To be honest, it doesn’t seem like THAT big of a risk. Interstellar was a film with a $165 million budget. The craft services were probably more than $100K.

The Corn Wasn’t Supposed To Last

But a risk it was, as they were told the corn would fail by most experts. Christopher Nolan probably didn’t care if it failed in the long run. Obviously for him, the only important thing was how it looked on the screen. It’s always interesting to find out about the seemingly inconsequential details that filmmakers deal with. The producers had to do a lot of research and bring in consultants just to grow one of the most abundant crops on Earth. Would it really have made a difference if the corn was CGI? Or if the mountains in the background were? Well, yeah, it would have.

CGI Would Not Have Looked As Good

This is what separates directors like Christopher Nolan from others. He is willing to go every extra mile to make his vision come true on the screen and when it works, just like Dunkirk, it is glorious. The corn fields in Interstellar are something most movie-goers may not pay that much attention to, consciously, but subconsciously, given the importance of the crop to the plot, this attention to detail and fully immersive process makes for a stunning achievement and adds considerable depth to the film.

To compare, compare the look of the corn in Interstellar with the clearly CGI corn field in another Zack Snyder film, Justice League. That comparison clearly illustrates the difference, and frankly, it is stark. It’s not really a fair comparison, as Christopher Nolan’s looks cleaner, brighter, more authentic, and much better.

The Corn Did Last And It Made Money

According to Nolan in the Hollywood Reporter interview, the corn turned a profit. In his words:

In the end, we got a pretty good crop, and we actually made money on this.

Still, I can’t help but wonder how much money was lost when Cooper tore through the field chasing a drone, crushing thousands of stalks.

So what do you think? Was the huge undertaking worth it or would a CGI corn field had the same visual effect? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the poll and comments below.

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Aladdin’s Naomi Scott Is Now Starting To Realize The Impact Of Being A Disney Princess

Aladdin’s Naomi Scott Is Now Starting To Realize The Impact Of Being A Disney Princess

Being a Disney Princess is a very big deal. There are, of course, many iconic characters that have been created by the filmmakers at Walt Disney Animation, but the Disney Princesses have an important legacy of their own, and they’ve now been making a significant pop culture impact for decades. It’s a particular history of which now actress Naomi Scott has become a part – starring as Princess Jasmine in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin – and it’s something that only recently she has started to fully wrap her head around.

I had the opportunity to sit down with the actress at the Los Angeles press day for Aladdin this past weekend, and one topic of conversation that came up during the interview was the simple significance of being the newest live-action Disney Princess. You can check out this part of our chat by clicking play on the video below:

Naomi Scott is now the fourth actress to bring one of the Disney Princesses into the live-action realm – following Lily James (who starred as the titular character in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella), Emma Watson (who played Belle in Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast), and Elle Falling (who brought Aurora to life in Robert Stromberg’s Maleficent). Sadly she has not yet had the opportunity to meet her colleagues in this field – something she is very excited to eventually do – but while she waits for that to happen she is doing just fine with all the love she’s been getting from fans since Aladdin started screening.

The Disney Princesses have long been making an impact because of the strength of their personality and character, which has been inspirational for young girls and boys for years. Obviously playing a live-action version of one of these icons is a big responsibility as a result, but it’s something that Naomi Scott is ready to embrace. Discussing her realization of the roles importance and significance, the actress explained,

I'm realizing more and more and more 'Wow' - just the impact that these characters had on my generation growing up. The opportunity to potentially inspire the next generation is just mind-blowing. I think I felt it when we were in Iman. We went to a screening and literally just the joy... there was a bunch of kids, and they'd just seen the movie and all these little girls just attacked me. And I was just like, 'Yes, give me the love! Gimme the love!' But that was the moment that I was like, 'Wow.' I now feel like, you know, 'Her.' So that was pretty incredible.

Jasmine is one of 12 characters who are considered part of the official Disney Princess group – with the others being the aforementioned Cinderella, Belle and Aurora, as well as Snow White (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Ariel (from The Little Mermaid), Pocahontas (from Pocahantas), Mulan (from Mulan), Tiana (from The Princess And The Frog), Rapunzel (from Tangled), Merida (from Brave), and Moana (from Moana). As of right now the live-action realm has only seen a third of the ensemble brought to life, but that number is growing quickly. Yifei Liu will be playing Mulan in the Niki Caro-directed remake that is scheduled to be released next year, and while casting has not yet been completed, a new version of The Little Mermaid is currently in the works.

One can imagine that Disney will eventually make some kind of effort to bring all of the live-action princesses together – either on the big screen, or just for an event – so we’ll just have to be patient and wait for it to happen.

For now, fans will be able to see Naomi Scott’s turn as Princess Jasmine in Aladdin this weekend, as the film will be launching into theaters nationwide. Go check it out, and be on the lookout for more of my interviews with the new movie’s cast and filmmakers here on CinemaBlend.

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Netflix Has Finally Agreed To Remove Bird Box's Disaster Footage

Netflix Has Finally Agreed To Remove Bird Box's Disaster Footage

Three months ago, Netflix’s viral release Bird Box rocked the boat when Canadians recognized the movie included footage of Lac-Megantic Rail disaster, and demanded the streaming service remove the tragedy killed 47 people in 2013 from the film. After Netflix previously disagreed to do so, the company is no longer taking a blind eye to the controversy.

The streaming giant has now told The Canadian Press that they will now remove the images of the train disaster from Bird Box in the next two weeks, and will be replacing the footage with a new clip for the scene illustrating the chaos all around Europe to Sandra Bullock and Sarah Paulson’s characters before the sci-fi phenomenon that forces a group of survivors to don blindfolds hits home.

Netflix paired this announcement with an apology to the Lac-Megantic community, who have been outspoken about the potential harm the film has to family and friends to victims of the rail disaster. The town’s mayor, Julie Morin, who joined in on demanding Netflix remove the footage offered her satisfying reaction to Netflix’s new decision. In her words:

Yes, there was a delay, but I think in the end, what’s most important for me, is that we have a solution to this situation we felt was important to settle.

When requests were initially made to the streaming service about taking out the footage in Bird Box, the company responded with an apology and promise to do better in the future, but a refusal to delete the footage. Netflix cited the inability to make alterations to finished content to justify the decision.

Canada was so displeased with the rail disaster footage that the country’s parliament passed a motion asking Netflix to pay the Lac-Megantic community for their grief following the film’s release. The streaming site never seemed to address this motion, but are pulling back on their initial decision to keep the insensitive footage in Bird Box.

The same footage was also previously featured in an episode of Netflix’s Travelers television show, though the show producers agreed to remove it back in January. It’s unclear as to why Netflix took so long to comply to the Bird Box situation that angered many ­– perhaps the studio needed time to find a replacement clip or was waiting for the Bird Box pop culture high to wind down.

Bird Box faced multiple controversies after it was released in December 2018, including a trending Bird Box Challenge, which proved dangerous when people placing blindfolds and attempting tasks such as driving caused concern. Netflix had to issue a warning for fans to refrain from ending up “in the hospital due to memes”. Otherwise, the film was one of the streaming sites most-watched original films ever.

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Jumanji's Karen Gillan Says She's Been In 'Actual Pain' From Laughing On Set

Jumanji's Karen Gillan Says She's Been In 'Actual Pain' From Laughing On Set

Anecdotally, I don’t think expectations were that high for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a reboot-quel of the nostalgic 1995 Robin Williams film. The 2017 movie went on to become a major critical and commercial success, surprising everyone and ensuring that no one will be sleeping on Jumanji 3. Expectations will be high this time around. Fortunately, if Karen Gillan’s experience on set is any indication, we’re in for another hilarious adventure. Check it out:

If laughter-induced pain isn’t the perfect endorsement for the comedic adventure of Jumanji 3 (or is it Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2?), I don’t know what is. We’ve all been there, where you laugh to the point you can barely breathe, your stomach hurts and you have tears in your eyes, and it’s completely worth it. I have no doubt that working with The Rock, Kevin Hart and Jack Black on a daily basis could have that effect.

The actress clearly had a great time filming this movie, which involved shooting in lots of different environments and watching the performances of her very funny co-stars. Just hearing about her experience makes us want to be in on the joke and know what had the actress who plays the Killer of Men, Ruby Roundhouse, and the stoic Nebula in Avengers: Endgame, in such hysterics.

In the past, we’ve seen behind-the-scenes looks at the ridiculous back and forth between Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart on the set of the Jumanji movies and I’m sure there was more of that here. The blooper reel on the eventual home video release is bound to be a must-see.

But beyond the pranks, Karen Gillan is talking about the performances and that is part of the novelty of the Jumanji conceit. Because the actors are playing video game avatars, they can both play to their strengths and against type in delightful fashion.

As she commemorated wrapping filming on Jumanji 3, Karen Gillan also proved what a savvy saleswoman she is, perhaps taking some social media mastery classes from co-star Dwayne Johnson. She makes sure to let everyone know that the next Jumanji movie is out this Christmas and delivers a quote in her Instagram post that should be blurbed on every poster and in every trailer for the movie “A pain you’ll want to pay for.”

That is simply brilliant, and if this movie is even half as funny as her set experience made it out to be, we’re in for a great, gut-busting theatrical experience this December.

Jumanji 3, for which we’re still waiting for the official title and first trailer, opens in theaters on December 13. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see everything coming to the big screen this year and for all the latest movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

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Ford V Ferrari Trailer: Watch Christian Bale And Matt Damon Race Behind The Wheel

Ford V Ferrari Trailer: Watch Christian Bale And Matt Damon Race Behind The Wheel

We're only just now getting into the summer movie movie season, but that means it's now time to take a look forward to the end of the calendar year and the films on the way. The awards season films are beginning to make themselves known and one has to assume that Ford V Ferrari is looking to be an early front runner.

The first trailer for the Matt Damon/Christian Bale vehicle (see what I did there), is here and from first glances this one looks like it could be pretty good, with a pair of performances from strong actors and exactly the sort of underdog story that audiences tend to enjoy. Check out the trailer below.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans race is a test of endurance for both automobile and driver that, in the 1960s, was basically owned by Ferrari. Ford V Ferrari will follow the attempt by the American Ford Motor Company to build a car, and find a driver, capable of overthrowing the champion. Matt Damon plays car designer Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale is Ken Miles, the slightly hot-headed driver brought on board to handle the new car.

The movie looks to be hitting the Oscar bait Yahtzee, as it has a pair of Academy Award winning lead actors and an Academy Award nominated director (though not actually for directing) in James Mangold. It's also a movie based on a true story about overcoming the odds. We're sure to get at least one of those every awards season. It's also got a prime, mid-November release date.

While Ford V Ferrari may seem factory made to win awards, that doesn't mean the movie won't work on its own and overall the trailer does make the film look interesting. It's not overly dramatic and serious, as so many awards season movies can get. That can also help the movie find an audience, something that doesn't always happen with these end of the year films, no matter how many awards they rack up.

It's been a few years since we've gotten ourselves a good racing movie, unless you want to count Cars 3. While racing isn't necessarily something every audience member is going to be a huge fan of, it's an easy thing for them to understand, and it has built in drama that will make for an exciting climax.

Also, the trailer takes the easy way out by using The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" as background music, but there's a reason this is millionth film to do that, the song works.

If Ford V Ferrari does become a major Best Picture contender, it could make history. As the movie is a Fox production, that means it's now technically a Disney movie, which means the Mouse may have just bought itself a win in an Oscar category it has never taken home.

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