Taron Egerton Hopes Rocketman Makes Even Half Of Bohemian Rhapsody’s Money

Taron Egerton Hopes Rocketman Makes Even Half Of Bohemian Rhapsody’s Money

Rocketman is not Bohemian Rhapsody. Taron Egerton is aware of it. There are easy comparisons, of course, in that Egerton is playing Elton John in a music biopic the same way Rami Malek played Freddie Mercury. They even have director Dexter Fletcher in common, since Fletcher stepped in to finish Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer was fired.

Since Bohemian Rhapsody made a mind-boggling $903,175,016 at the box office, off a projected production budget just over $50 million, it's a ridiculously high bar for the next music biopic to face.

Taron Egerton was candid about the comparisons, just hoping for the best:

I'm at peace with however much money it makes. But I hope it does really, really well. If it made half of [Bohemian Rhapsody], it would be terrific for my career.

True. As Taron Egerton suggested in his quote to THR, half of Bohemian Rhapsody's record-breaking money is still about half a billion dollars worldwide, a success by any metric for a film of this size. The 29-year-old actor is clearly keen to advance his career. He's known to many as Eggsy from the Kingsman movies, and also the titular Eddie the Eagle. He also has some singing experience from the movie Sing. And he was the lead of the notorious 2018 bomb Robin Hood.

All it takes is one movie to launch your career -- just ask Rami Malek, who was best known from Mr. Robot before being shot to fame, picking up a Best Actor Oscar for Freddie Mercury, and now playing a Bond villain.

Rocketman will inevitably be judged next to Best Picture-nominated Bohemian Rhapsody, but they aren't exactly apples to apples. For one thing, Rocketman is Rated R, vs. Bohemian Rhapsody at PG-13. They are also telling their stories in very different ways. Rocketman has a lot of sex and drugs -- and that sex is between men, with Taron Egerton's Elton having sex scenes with Richard Madden's John Reid.

Apparently that's one reason why Rocketman stalled at Universal. Producer Matthew Vaughn recalled a conversation with studio chairman Donna Langley:

I rang her up and she's like, 'You definitely want to make it an R-rated film and you're going to make it for over $35 million?' And I said, 'Yes.' And she said, 'Good luck.'

Despite reports that Paramount asked director Dexter Fletcher to tone down the film -- to make it more marketable in a huge box office like China, which usually bans any gay scenes -- the filmmakers say Rocketman still depicts Elton John coming to terms with his sexuality and also shows his issues with substance abuse.

Another difference between Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman is Elton John is still with us (unlike Freddie Mercury) and was able to be there for the film and give his blessing. He praised Taron Egerton's performance to THR, saying the film made him forget it was Taron up there, he thought he was watching himself. "That's the highest compliment I can tell you."

Rocketman is opening in theaters on May 31, which puts it squarely up against Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It's going to have to grab onto the rest of the audience and hope to leg out from there. Early tracking put Rocketman's opening weekend around $20 million.

If Rocketman gets good reviews -- from fans even more than critics -- it could theoretically enjoy success on a level next to Bohemian Rhapsody, which just kept quietly making money week after week until we all turned around and it was knocking on the door of $1 billion worldwide. Most of that money came from overseas, though -- especially Japan, which just went crazy for Queen -- and it's much less likely that Rocketman will be embraced by the foreign box office in the same way. But we'll see. Keep up with all of the 2019 movies ahead with our handy release schedule.

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Kevin Hart Riding A Camel For Jumanji 3 Is As Hilarious As You'd Expect

Kevin Hart Riding A Camel For Jumanji 3 Is As Hilarious As You'd Expect

As one might imagine, playing a video game character isn’t as easy as it looks, whether it be through challenging destinations, badass stunts, and long hours of gameplay -- you know, the usual! When Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle assembled comedic duo Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart in the roles of avatars, their over-a-foot height difference, differing experiences in the action movie sphere, and great chemistry certainly made for some hilarious moments. Just take a look at this behind-the-scenes bit from the set of the upcoming sequel:

Putting Kevin Hart on a camel for the next Jumanji movie is comedic gold, especially with The Rock in the background recording him on said camel for his Instagram, hoping he’ll catch him falling off. With this video from the set of his upcoming holiday release, Dwayne Johnson explained that he’s had plenty of camel training, especially during his time as The Scorpion King in the early ‘00s. It doesn’t look like the actor has been quick to pass on his knowledge to Kevin Hart out of the fun of seeing him interact with the camels.

The comedian took to Instagram to comment on The Rock’s Jumanji 3 set video. Here’s what he said:

That camel had a attitude...shit scared the hell out of me.

Kevin Hart added five laughing emojis to make it clear he had a sense of humor about it all. He then followed Johnson’s lead and posted his own camel post on Instagram, which featured the duo looking a lot more friendly with each other and their desert animal co-workers. Check it out:

Gotta love how Dwayne Johnson posts a video hoping Kevin Hart will fall and Hart posts a cute photo with them -- including a loving message to Johnson, calling him his brother! The pair have been filming in the Navajo Desert in New Mexico following starting out the year shooting in Atlanta. After they wrapped in Atlanta a few weeks ago, Dwayne Johnson teased that the cast would be moving the project to the desert, snow-capped mountains and jungles. Looks like there is still a lot more to do for the cast before the film is released in December!

Along with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart returning, Jumanji 3 will also star Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, and the same teenagers in the 2017 action flick. Hart has teased that the new film will see the teens finding themselves back in the game but in a new level on a more risky adventure with raised stakes. Gillan’s Ruby Roundhouse will also reportedly evolve and have more to do this time around.

Jumanji 3 also has enlisted an impressive handful of new actors to the cast including Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, Danny Glover, and Dania Ramirez in undisclosed roles. The untitled Jumanji film will hit theaters on December 13.

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Transformers 6 Producer Confirms Michael Bay Is Done Directing Franchise: 'I Don't Blame Him'

Transformers 6 Producer Confirms Michael Bay Is Done Directing Franchise: 'I Don't Blame Him'

Michael Bay directed the first five movies in the Transformers franchise, but don't even pencil him in for Transformers 6. Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura just made it clear that Bay has moved on, and the next film won't even pick up from the events of Bay's 2017 movie Transformers: The Last Knight.

When Lorenzo Di Bonaventura was asked if the studio was looking for new directors for Transformers 6 or hoping they could still make Michael Bay an offer to return. Here's the producer's response:

I think Bay has made it really clear that he loved what he did and he’s not doing anymore. So I think the answer is we’re writing a script. At that point, once we get script we have a strong belief in, then we’ll begin to debate that. Michael’s made it really clear that he didn’t want to do it. I don’t blame him. He spent a hell of a lot, a decade of his life, shooting them.

It was a decade of Michael Bay's life from his first Transformers movie coming out in July 2007 to The Last Knight premiering in 2017 -- and that's not counting all of the development and pre-production time. So it was actually a lot more than 10 years of Bay's time, and it would make sense if he's ready to move on, per what he told /FILM.

Just to drive the point home, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura was asked if the next Transformers script they are developing picks up where The Last Knight left off. Here's his one-word reply:

No.

No. The Transformers franchise is changing in the wake of the disappointment of Transformers: The Last Knight and the positive response to the Bumblebee spinoff. Lorenzo Di Bonaventura recently said they're aiming for the next Transformers movie to be like a tonal fusion of Bumblebee and the Michael Bay movies. He said they want to have "a little more Bayhem" but also mix it with the strong character dynamics of Bumblebee.

But apparently they want the Bayhem action without Michael Bay -- or, rather, Michael Bay doesn't want to come back to provide the Bayhem. (I wouldn't be shocked if he did return several years from now for a big Transformers comeback. That's my prediction, locking it in for 2027.)

During New York Toy Fair 2019 a couple of months ago, the Bumblebee movie was officially declared "a new storytelling universe" for the Transformers franchise.

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura isn't a fan of the word "reboot" but he did previously say they would do another big Transformers movie and it would be "different than the ones that we've done before."

Transformers: The Last Knight made $605.4 million worldwide -- with $475M of that coming from the foreign box office -- off a reported production budget of $217 million, per Box Office Mojo. Bumblebee made $465.8 million worldwide from a $135 million production budget. Both films made roughly the same amount at the domestic box office, interestingly enough.

Bumblebee, which is reportedly getting a sequel, was embraced by critics and fans, with a 93% fresh rating and a 76% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an A- CinemaScore. The Last Knight got a B+ CinemaScore but only a 15% RT rating from critics and also a "rotten" an audience score of 44%.

So it sounds like the Transformers franchise wants to mix the success of Michael Bay's big budget blockbusters with the acclaimed quality and character relationships of Bumblebee. Makes sense. Can they pull it off? We'll see.

Meanwhile, if you're curious what Michael Bay is up to, he directed and produced the upcoming action film Six Underground, starring Ryan Reynolds and written by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Stay tuned for more on that film, too. Keep up with everything we know is headed to the big screen this year with our handy 2019 movie guide.

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Chris Pratt Is ‘Really Proud’ Of Disney For Rehiring James Gunn

Chris Pratt Is ‘Really Proud’ Of Disney For Rehiring James Gunn

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a serious roll in Phase Three, as every single blockbuster has been a critical and box office hit. The last decade of filmmaking will come to a head when Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters, and the reviews and early reception are overwhelmingly positive. As the current phase of movies comes to a close we must look to the future, including James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The Guardians threequel was originally set to be one of the first installments in Marvel's Phase Four. But James Gunn was fired this past July, after controversial tweets from a decade ago resurfaced and Disney attempted to distance itself from the writer/director. The House of Mouse recently did an about-face, signing Gunn back on to complete Guardians 3 following his DC debut, The Suicide Squad. Chris Pratt recently responded to Gunn's reinstatement, saying:

I was so thrilled, so excited. I think it’s the right move, I really stand behind it. I’m really proud of Disney for hiring James back and ultimately thrilled for not only us, but also for the fans. I think it’s going to wrap up the trilogy in the best way.

Despite originally not wanting to audition for Star-Lord, it looks like Chris Pratt couldn't imagine Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 without the full crew. This obviously includes James Gunn, who puts everything from his music taste, to his dance moves, to his sense of humor into the beloved Marvel franchise.

Chris Pratt's comments to People echoes the the sentiments of most Marvel fans. The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is arguably the MCU's most director-driven property, and the threequel seemed all but impossible without James Gunn's perspective. What's more, he had completed a draft of Guardians 3's script shortly before being fired, and that script was necessary in order to keep the story and maintain the cast.

Of course, Star-Lord's support of James Gunn shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Shortly after his departure, the Guardians of the Galaxy cast penned a letter in support of the director, signed by the all the starring actors. This includes Chris Pratt, who kept the secret of Gunn's pending reinstatement as he took questions about the Marvel drama.

Related: Sean Gunn Explains Why Brother James Wasn’t At The Avengers: Endgame Premiere

There were a number of months between James Gunn's firing and reinstatement, with production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 put on indefinite hold following his departure. This opened Gunn open to take on projects like The Suicide Squad, so it's unclear exactly when the Guardians threequel will arrive in theaters. But hopefully those answers will come once Marvel revealed its post-Endgame plans.

Despite fading to dust in Avengers: Infinity War's horrifying twist ending, Chris Pratt's Star-Lord is expected to (somehow) appear in Avengers: Endgame when it hits theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, fill out CinemaBlend's Endgame death pool, and check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Why It Was Terrifying Pitching Toy Story 4 To Tom Hanks, According To The Director

Why It Was Terrifying Pitching Toy Story 4 To Tom Hanks, According To The Director

With the way things ended in 2010’s Toy Story 3, it’s no wonder a lot of folks thought that movie marked the end of the adventures of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the gang on the big screen. However, nine years later, they’re back for Toy Story 4, which was directed by Josh Cooley, who’s been part of Pixar since he worked as a storyboard artist on The Incredibles.

Tom Hanks, on the other hand, has been playing Woody for over two decades, so when it came time to pitch what Toy Story 4 would be about, Josh Cooley was terrified because he was worried about whether or not Hanks would approve of the story. Cooley recalled while speaking with CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell:

I know that I was nervous to give them a pitch of the story for the first time, a pitch of what was ultimately the story we were going to make. In fact, when Tom came up to Pixar and he was like, ‘Okay, what's going on? What's happening here?’ Because we had already been working on it for a couple of years already. And so I said, ‘Well here, I'm going to give you a picture of everything we're doing.’ And you know, it's Tom Hanks. He's been doing Woody for 25 years. And so I was just kind of naturally thinking, ‘Geez, I hope he likes this idea because that would be nice.’ … I got through the pitch to [scene where] Bonnie's in a classroom and she's sitting there alone and Tom said, ‘All right, you got me. Okay.’ He goes, ‘I don't know how you guys are doing this. You got me already!’ That was a huge kind of a relief. I felt like he was totally engaged.

So it turned out that Josh Cooley didn’t need to worry about if it’d be difficult impressing Tom Hanks with Toy Story 4, as he was captivated relatively early into the storytelling process. And things would only get more engaging for Hanks from there, because before he went in to record his lines, Woody’s voice actor got some texts from Buzz Lightyear’s voice actor, Tim Allen, warning him about the emotional ending.

Speaking of Tim Allen, Josh Cooley noted that he had a similar reaction as Tom Hanks’ hearing the pitch for Toy Story 4. In the director’s words:

The same thing happened with Tim. Our first session, I walked him through the story and he's laughing and really having a great time listening to it. I respect those guys so much that it was just such a relief to hear them and see them kind of light up and be thrilled to be part of it.

While Toy Story movies have always been filled with colorful characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear have been the main players since the beginning. Judging from the Toy Story 4 trailers and marketing, it doesn’t look like Buzz will be lacking for things to do, but it’s been teased that the movie will change Woody in a major way. If Tom Hanks had a difficult time reading his final lines as the character, then I can only imagine how many tears will be shed when people see Toy Story 4 on the big screen.

It should be noted that while the possibility of a Toy Story 5 hasn’t 100% been ruled out, it seems like Toy Story 4 stands a better chance of being the definitive end to this franchise, at least movie-wise. There’s also the fact that in the coming years, Pixar will be releasing only original movies rather than sequels, so even if the Toy Story saga could continue, it would be a long time before it would be picked back up. So be prepared for the chance that you’ll be saying goodbye to these characters for good come next month.

Toy Story 4 opens in theaters on June 21, and for those of you curious about what movies will be coming out afterwards, you can find that information in our 2019 release schedule.

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Chris Hemsworth Is Open To Returning To Thor After Avengers: Endgame

Chris Hemsworth Is Open To Returning To Thor After Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame has been teased as a finale. The film will close the book on 11 years of storytelling, and that finality extends to the characters. The original six Avengers (plus some surviving friends) are on a collision course and not everyone is going to make it out alive. While we can only speculate as to who may be leaving the MCU, Chris Hemsworth has decided to leave the door open for himself.

I’d play this character for as long as anyone would let me. I’ve loved it so much. But the combination of this many characters in this Phase Three, as Marvel calls it, you’ll never have this interaction with this many people again. Who knows what the future holds and whether they do prequels and sequels or whatever, I’d be open to anything. But right now, this is where we finish up.

It's no secret that Chris Hemsworth wasn't entirely pleased with playing Thor before Thor: Ragnarok came around. The actor has admitted in the past that he was feeling frustrated in the role and that the films have never quite found the right tone, with Thor: The Dark World as a perfect example.

But then Taika Waititi came along to direct Ragnarok, creating one of Marvel's funniest and most entertaining films. It was just the revitalization that Chris Hemsworth needed, and now with Endgame fast approaching, the actor is happy to return should he get the call.

In an interview with Yahoo Movies UK, Chris Hemsworth spoke on his feelings playing Thor changing after Ragnarok, and what an experience it has been to play the character for a decade. It sounds like Hemsworth is not entirely ready to put the hammer down for good, and he would love to play the character again if it was ever needed. (Darryl needs you, man.)

While it's rumored that Chris Hemsworth's contract is complete after Endgame, the future of Marvel is fairly unclear. While we do know of plenty of projects in development -- like Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and The Eternals -- none have technically been officially confirmed. There's plenty of room in Marvel's slate for a Thor 4 if it wants it.

It's good to hear that Chris Hemsworth is down for more Thor. The character just found his stride, so why call it quits now?

As for where Thor could show up again, it's not hard to see him popping up as a side character in other cosmic franchises like The Eternals or Captain Marvel. Also, it would be really fun if Thor had a cameo in the Loki series over on Disney+.

We'll be able to better judge what fate has in store for Thor after seeing Avengers: Endgame, which is out in theaters in less than one week on April 26. To learn more about the film, here's what we know so far.

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Detective Pikachu Had One Job To Do And It Nailed It

Detective Pikachu Had One Job To Do And It Nailed It

Going into Pokemon: Detective Pikachu this past weekend, there was a lot of anticipation as to how the first live-action entry in the Pokemon canon was going to pull off what seemed impossible. Indeed, there was one job that this film had to do, and it needed to get it done properly. That task was to create a world where people and Pokemon could live together in a way that was believable on film.

After seeing the film twice this past weekend, I was struck with the same feeling in each viewing of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu: the world of Pokemon was absolutely nailed in the film. What’s better is, this monumental achievement was accomplished thanks to several components the film incorporated into its whole.

While it was one job that needed to be done, to make the world of Pokemon believable on screen, several components needed to be in place in order for total success. And here’s our list of what those components were and how they benefitted the film’s overall goal of bringing these Pocket Monsters to life in a believable manner.

Pokemon Have Been Translated Perfectly To Live Action

With creatures as unique-looking as Pokemon are, there was obviously a need to get their appearance correct in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. And if there was any component that this world would need to build the rest of its strategy upon, it’d be the fact that if you don’t have Pokemon that look comparatively believable in a world full of flesh and blood humans, your movie’s not going to make it very far.

Lucky for director Rob Letterman and the rest of the folks involved in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, the actual creatures that populate this film's universe are absolutely stunning. In particular, the look of Detective Pikachu himself, with very wavy and texture fur covering every inch of his person, is a firm example of how getting the design of a Pokemon is so crucial to correctly conveying the entire enterprise this film represents.

Detective Pikachu Showed That A Parent/Child Friendly Tone Can Be Struck

Ryan Reynolds has basically admitted that if Warner Bros and The Pokemon Company really wanted to, they could release a separate, more mature cut of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. While that isn’t a surprise, it’s also equally unsurprising that the finished product released into theaters this past weekend played exceedingly well for children and parents, with two levels of humor present in one package.

For the children, the physical antics involving all of the characters present throughout Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, as well as some good natured humor, are easy to enjoy while watching the Pokemon of this universe do their thing. Meanwhile, there was some subtle, line-toeing innuendos that slid into the script for parents to get some sly chuckles out of, such as Detective Pikachu’s off-handed comment about people putting their fingers in him. All in all, everyone could have a laugh, and no one had to be any wiser about the fun stuff that snuck in for older viewers.

The Movie Created A Fantastic Story Out Of An Open Ended Game Universe

When you’re trying to craft a universe as spectacular as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu in a live-action film, another key component is using the source material to your advantage. And as it turns out, Pokemon has a storied history of telling a narrative in the open-ended universe of the original games. But even with that history, this film’s story exceeded expectations.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu not only plays around with the usual story of Pokemon and their place in a world of humans that's also been explored in animated TV shows and movies, it also dug into a story of a son dealing with his feelings towards his father. With Justice Smith’s Tim trying to sort out his feelings of his presumed dead father, while solving a case with his Pikachu partner, married a very emotional story with the usual message of co-existence between the species that Pokemon has always tried to advance.

It Proved That People Still Want To See A Pokemon Movie

You can make a movie look, sound and feel as fantastic as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu all you want, but if people aren’t interested in the content, any potential cinematic universe will fall flat on its face. Getting the world of Pokemon itself was a big step, but the greatest thing this movie did was prove the fact that people are still very much invested in the property’s fate.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu managed to not only make itself a movie that was worth seeing, but it also attracted fans of the franchise and newbies to flock to theaters and see what it had. If anyone was wondering if what Pokemon would look like in a live-action adventure, all they have to do now is go see this film and they’ll find out. The ultimate sign that Warner Bros nailed Pokemon on the big screen is the fact that so many people have already gone to see it in its first weekend, with more weekends ahead to show just how well the idea holds up.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’s one important job was to convince the world that Pokemon could believably exist alongside humans, be it in the fictional confines of Ryme City or the world of our modern blockbuster box office. Through the factors described above, that job was absolutely nailed, and a promising new cinematic universe was born.

We’ll have to wait and see what the future for Pokemon looks like, as Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is still in its first week of release. But if the results are as promising as the film itself, we might not have seen the last of these lovable creatures, or the stories they can tell. Here’s hoping we get a chance to catch them all.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is in theaters now. If you haven’t seen it yet, whether you’re a Pokemon fan or not, you owe it to yourself to experience the wonder first hand.

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