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      Is Livestreamed Stand-Up Here to Stay?

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      Two online business models see a future post-pandemic, but success might depend on cooperating with actual clubs.The cultural legacy of the pandemic may not only be shows canceled, careers derailed and theaters and clubs closed. There has also been innovation, like the emergence of the virtual comedy club.What began out of desperation has matured into a new digital genre that has drawn sizable audiences in the habit of buying tickets to livestreaming stand-up from the comfort of their own homes. As clubs now start to reopen, and comics and patrons return to their old haunts, the next few months will be a key test of this business. Was it a pandemic-era fad or will it be an enduring part of the landscape?On a video call from her San Francisco home, Jill Paiz-Bourque, the chief executive of RushTix, perhaps the biggest digital comedy club, made the case that the lockdown only accelerated an already inevitable revolution. “Why did Netflix eclipse television?” she rhetorically asked. “It’s streaming, unlimited, global. Why did Spotify eclipse terrestrial radio? It’s streaming. It’s global. It’s unlimited. And that’s why livestreaming with RushTix eclipses Live Nation eventually because it’s streaming, it’s global, it’s unlimited.”Many are skeptical, including fans who badly miss being surrounded by echoing laughter and stand-ups who are exhausted by performing for screens and who widely prefer telling jokes in the same room as crowds. While conceding that nothing replaces the traditional comedy format, Paiz-Bourque said the doubts will look as shortsighted as early mockery of Twitter, podcasting and so many other now common internet forms. She has good reason for such swagger. Paiz-Bourque’s business, which she calls “a Silicon Valley start-up,” regularly sells over 1,000 tickets to see comics like Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt and Maria Bamford. In February, she sold 15,000 tickets to eight shows, bringing in close to $280,000 in revenue.“Once we got our first taste of 5,000 ticket shows, that was intoxicating,” Paiz-Bourque said (Colleen Ballinger, the popular YouTuber best known for “Miranda Sings,” was the breakthrough artist).As touring resumes, Paiz-Bourque is tweaking her vision, moving away from a tight focus on those headlining and radically increasing volume. By the summer, her goal is to produce five shows a day, every day. In other words, to live up to the slogan that appeared on her site before a recent show: “The biggest comedy club on the planet.” She said she wasn’t worried about clubs reopening because “I have way more supply than they have access to.”Laura Silverman and Jonathan Katz from “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.”RushTixIn the next month and half, she’s rolling out nine original, interactive series, including competitions (“Very Punny With Kate Lambert”), a cooking show (“Baking It Better with Tom Papa”) and a dating one (“Find Your Boo With Reggie Bo”). She’s also adding closed captioning, a subscription package and new technology that allows patrons to move around the “club” and hear different levels of laughter.The overall vision is to produce new work with emerging artists during the week while doubling down on headliners on Friday and Saturday nights. How will she compete when stars are eager to tour and return to live stages? Simple, she says: Make comics offers “worth their while.” After previously offering 80 percent of tickets sales, she’s recently started guaranteeing up to five figures. She says six figures will become common among an elite few. “I’ve gotten pushback on this from Day 1,” she said about enlisting comics. “Then you start wiring thousands and tens of thousands of dollars and they were like: I get it.”RushTix is hardly the only player in this market. Nowhere Comedy Club, a smaller, scrappier operation that was started by the comedians Ben Gleib and Steve Hofstetter, has booked a stellar lineup of comics, including Mike Birbiglia, Gilbert Gottfried and Nikki Glaser. In something of a coup, Bill Burr recently performed in a benefit production from a studio that Gleib built in his home, a booking that Paiz-Bourque said she was “devastated” she didn’t get a chance on. (She just announced that Burr will be appearing at RushTix on May 16 in a live version of the animated TV show “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.”)Gleib, who began Nowhere after ending a presidential campaign in 2019 that left him nearly broke, also performs his own show online every week. And while he is optimistic about the future of livestreaming, he sounded more anxious than Paiz-Bourque about losing comics to touring. “I think we can peaceably coexist,” he said. But as he approaches Nowhere’s anniversary next week, his strategy is not to rebrand or recast so much as make Nowhere fit more seamlessly into the existing ecosystem.He recently started geotargeting, a technology that restricts consumers from certain areas from buying tickets, a tactic he called potentially “game-changing.” This enables a comic heading out on a tour to block the places he’s visiting so as not to depress sales there.Emilio Savone, the co-owner of the New York Comedy Club, which begins indoor shows on Friday, when the city will begin allowing indoor shows at 33 percent capacity with a limit of 100 people, said such digital theaters have a future. “Do I think it can sustain as a seven-night-a-week type of thing? Maybe not?” he wrote in an email. “But I do think it’s a good tool for comedians to work on material, and it offers another way for the comic to engage and reach their audience.”Ben Gleib in soundcheck on Sunday.Nowhere Comedy ClubFelicia Madison, who runs the West Side Comedy Club in Manhattan — which will begin outdoor shows on April 14 but not indoor shows until the city allows for 50 percent capacity — also sees a future involving a hybrid of traditional and digital clubs. “If they’re smart, they’ll work with clubs” to livestream from there, she said.RushTix is already doing that, with the stand-up comedian Godfrey performing from the Gotham Comedy Club on April 7. But neither Paiz-Bourque nor Gleib sound enthusiastic about the economics of such arrangements. Gleib argued that strength of Nowhere was in the relationships it has developed with new comedy audiences. “We’ve reached huge demographics that have never been serviced by comedy clubs,” Gleib said, pointing to patrons who live in remote areas or those with disabilities or social anxiety. “Then there’s the lazy,” he added. “We’re great for lazy people who don’t want to go out.”Nowhere puts fans’ faces onscreen and allows everyone to talk, laugh or even heckle (though they can muted for that, too). This creates a freewheeling show that emphasizes the community of audience and performer. By contrast, RushTix keeps the audience to a chat room and limits laughter to 20 people. Gleib called this “elitist,” saying the RushTix approach didn’t resemble live stand-up.Paiz-Bourque doesn’t argue, saying that since no online show can duplicate a live one, her goal is to produce the best experience. “We gave up on trying to emulate the live experience and the more we gave up on that, the more we started opening up barrels of creativity,” she said.Maria Bamford on her livestream show, “Vindicated.”RushTixIf anything, she wants to move away from a dependence on conventional stand-up, while still booking big names. It’s why one of the first comics she recruited was Bamford, a natural experimentalist who is putting on an unusual show on April 17: after doing a set, she will film herself sleeping for the next eight hours. You can watch and join her for breakfast the next day.Bamford already has a dedicated audience that will follow her wherever she goes. The real test for these clubs will be whether they can develop enough loyalty to get audiences to try less established talents. These platforms tend to benefit those who already have large and engaged online fan bases. When clubs and theaters return, they are going to be booking acts that they know can sell tickets, which may make them more wary of adventurous or emerging comics.There is a real danger right now that we are entering a very cautious moment in comedy as institutions struggle to rebuild, and Paiz-Bourque, a former comic gifted in the art of selling a premise, argues now is the moment for her to fill another niche.Pointing to a logjam of early- and midcareer stand-ups whose careers have been slowed by the pandemic, she said, “Not only is this going to be a business that works. It needs to creatively for all these comedians.” More

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      Film Forum Is Reopening With a Classic: Fellini’s ‘La Strada’

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      The newly restored masterpiece, about an itinerant clown, is part of the Manhattan movie theater’s in-person lineup.“La Strada,” the 1954 movie that made Federico Fellini’s international reputation and won the first competitive Oscar for best foreign film, is exemplary pop modernism — an existential parable with affinities to “Waiting for Godot,” featuring an appealingly sad clown, haunted by a forlorn musical phrase and set in the timeless landscape of windswept beaches, tattered carnivals and deserted piazzas that Fellini made his own.It’s also a crowd pleaser, appropriately chosen as one of the movies that, newly restored, will reopen the Film Forum on Friday.Fellini is out to break your heart from the get-go, as the wide-eyed waif Gelsomina (the director’s wife, Giulietta Masina) is sold by her impoverished mother to the itinerant carnival strongman Zampano (Anthony Quinn) as his stooge, servant and concubine.Gelsomina’s childlike innocence is amplified by her master’s brutish behavior. While he is largely stuck with repeating a single, unimaginative stunt — ironically, it’s bursting a chain that encircles his chest — simple-minded Gelsomina delights in fantasy and spontaneous performance. In one scene, she entertains the guests and children at an outdoor wedding with an impromptu dance; in another she enchants the sisters in a convent that gives her shelter (and Zampano considers robbing).Masina’s performance is nearly silent; unmistakably Chaplinesque with her derby, oversized coat and makeshift cane, she also evokes Stan Laurel, Harpo Marx and, as a little woodenhead, Pinocchio too. Fellini is said to have received scores of offers to make further vehicles for the character, including one from Walt Disney. E.T. may be considered among her descendants.The New York Times hailed “La Strada” (The Road) as “a tribute to the Italian neo-realistic school of filmmaking,” even though, for all its desolate locations, it is far more allegorical than naturalistic. Indeed, Fellini’s metaphoric intentions are made apparent with the introduction of the itinerant tightrope walker called the Fool (Richard Basehart) who performs wearing a pair of cardboard angel wings.Despite his annoyingly dubbed giggle, the Fool fascinates Gelsomina. When all three characters are engaged by a threadbare circus, the Fool mocks Zampano and encourages Gelsomina to join his act. That she cannot do, bound to Zampano by a mystical force that can only be termed “love.” Instead, the Fool leaves her with the poignant Nino Rota melody that becomes her theme.Like that refrain, “La Strada” belongs to Masina. Still, before the movie ends it becomes apparent that Quinn (who took over Marlon Brando’s role in the Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a precursor of roughneck masculinity) has given a career performance. Indeed, the last five minutes, a coda set five years after the two part ways, are his.“La Strada” is often sentimental and not always convincing but the ending packs a wallop. I was told the story, as a small child, by my mother who had just seen and perhaps been devastated by the movie. Although I did not fully understand it, the final scene — Zampano wading into the sea — has stayed with me all my life.La StradaApril 2-8 at Film Forum, Manhattan. 212-727-8110; filmforum.org. Also streaming on the Criterion Channel, Kanopy and other platforms. More

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      How ‘Sound of Metal’ Star Paul Raci Went From Day Jobs to Oscar Nominee

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      After decades of struggle, the 72-year-old actor finally found his breakthrough playing a deaf Vietnam vet with addiction issues — a role with parallels to his own life.It’s been a long time coming for Paul Raci, who just earned his first Oscar nomination at age 72.“To be an actor for all these years — 40 years of just knocking around — and then to have this kind of acclaim, it’s insane, man,” Raci said recently in the backyard of his Burbank home.For most of his career, Raci has had to make do with one- or two-line roles in TV shows like “Parks and Recreation” and “Baskets.” Then the “Sound of Metal” director Darius Marder plucked Raci from obscurity and handed him the part of a lifetime: Joe, the stoic but sensitive leader of a sober-living community for deaf people who takes in a troubled punk-metal drummer, Ruben (Riz Ahmed).It’s a role with real-life resonance for Raci, who grew up in Chicago as a CODA — a child of deaf adults — and, like Joe, dealt with addiction issues after serving in Vietnam. “I always say I went into Vietnam like John Wayne, and I came out Lenny Bruce,” Raci said.A lifetime spent as his parents’ hearing interpreter had instilled in Raci a love for performance, but when he moved to Los Angeles decades ago to pursue an acting career, roles were scarce. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve always known what I was capable of, but nothing was happening for me out here,” he said.Still, Raci kept plugging away, working by day as a sign-language interpreter in the Los Angeles County Superior Court system and, at night, continuing to hone his craft in stage productions at the Deaf West Theater. “I would always think to myself, ‘I must be so specific that there’s nothing around here for me,” said Raci, who is small and wiry with tattoos and rocker-length hair. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to wait for that specific role.’” And then it finally came.These are edited excerpts from our conversation.Raci as a sober-community leader in “Sound of Metal,” starring Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke.Amazon StudiosWhat was the morning of the Oscar nominations like for you?Well, I don’t have an alarm clock — I have a head clock, and for some reason it was unplugged that morning. I was supposed to get up at 5 a.m., and at 5:25 a.m., my wife and I got up: “Oh, we missed it!” We run in the living room, turn on the TV and just as it came up, they were on the second guy from the supporting-actor category. And then [presenter Priyanka Chopra Jonas] goes, “And Paul Rah-ci.” I said, “No, it’s Ray-ci … and I accept!”So now it’s 5:30 in the morning, my phone starts ringing. People are showing up with wine, they’re showing up with edibles — not the kind you’re thinking about, but fruit covered with chocolate, and cupcakes. My friend Hillary, she brings over a bottle of champagne — I said, “It’s six o’clock, Hillary!” My wife is crying, my daughter is crying. It stayed like that all day long, so it was quite exciting.And what was it like after the dust settled?Six days later, I looked at my wife and I said, “Did this really happen?” But if I had to wait this long for this moment, it’s worth it, man. A very good friend emailed me two days ago and said, “Paul, this is not just a supporting-actor nomination, this is a lifetime achievement award.” I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I got a lot of work left to do here. I think this thing has added 20 years to my life.For decades, you had been doing day-player work in movies and television. How did you make those kinds of roles feel worthwhile?To be honest, it’s more of a detriment than anything, because it just shows you what an abysmal failure you are in your own head. I mean, I wasn’t able to get a series-regular audition or to even get in the room because, “They need a name.” Thank God for Deaf West Theater — if it wasn’t for them, where the hell else was I going to exercise my acting chops? I had nothing. But you go from gig to gig and hope that something’s going to happen.So how did it finally happen? When you auditioned to play Joe in “Sound of Metal,” did you have an inkling that this time might be different?I put it on tape, sent it in and then forgot about it — because listen, this never happens for me. When I leave an audition with the sides [script pages] in my hand, I rip them up, throw it in the garbage. I’m not going to dwell on stuff that’s going to break my heart. But my wife, who’s my agent, called the casting directing office and said, “Have you seen Paul’s tape?”At that point, they said: “We’re inundated with tapes. We’ve got too many that we can’t even find Paul’s tape, and we’re probably going to go with a name.” Robert Duvall, Forest Whitaker, that’s what they were looking for, name-wise. My audition tape was fairly strong, and my wife said, “Please, look for it.” Ten minutes later, the phone rings. The casting office goes, “Darius wants to talk to Paul.” A week later, he drove down to meet me and we talked and talked.A friend told Raci to consider his nomination a lifetime achievement award: “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I got a lot of work left to do here.”Michelle Groskopf for The New York TimesIt must be great to have a wife who fights for you in that regard.Listen, she’s been a small-time agent here for over 20 years, trying to compete with CAA and ICM. She has a boutique agency and she said, “I’m not going to close it until you’re a star, Paul.” She was always fighting to get me in a room, and it never happened. My mind-set was so stuck in rejection that even at the end of my conversation with Darius, I said, “Hold on a second, are you actually offering me the role?” He said, “Yes, I am.” But at first, I told them I wasn’t going to do the movie.Why not?Look, I got a house to pay for here. This is not the big movie I thought it was — it was a very small budget, and I could make more money staying here in L.A. and working in the court system than what they were offering me. I’m going to go all the way over there [around Boston] for something that’s going to put me in the hole? I can’t afford that — I don’t even have health insurance for my family. So I said to my wife, “Tell Darius I’m not interested.”Really? That takes guts.Well, it looked like a pretty good movie, but I’m a blue-collar guy like my dad and I’ve got to pay my bills. Then Darius calls me: “You can’t do this! You don’t understand what this means.” So they kind of bumped up my per diem. He was so flexible with me, and I knew his heart was in the right place — he was so respectful to my point of view, to my CODA experience, that I felt like I could trust him.After subsisting for so long on these minor roles, how did it feel to play out such long scenes opposite Riz Ahmed?Wonderful. Fulfilling. I’ve had many of those moments in a 99-seat theater, but to be able to have this captured on film is incredible to me. And to be a scene partner with somebody with Riz’s brilliance is a dream come true. In our very first scene, when he’s sitting across from me and I say, “So, how are you doing,” he’s in so much pain and he just sits there, taking a very long moment. And that was real! He just breaks my heart.I’m forever grateful to Riz Ahmed — I don’t know if I could have done it with another actor, because it was so intense. In our last scene together, I looked over in the periphery of my eye when they called “Cut,” and Darius Marder was standing there just weeping.“You go from gig to gig and hope that something’s going to happen,” Raci said.Michelle Groskopf for The New York TimesThough you’re a child of deaf adults, you’re also a hearing person. Is there a case to be made that Joe should have been played by someone who is deaf or hard of hearing?That’s an argument that some would make in the deaf community, yes. However, I would argue back, because I’m a CODA and you cannot take me out of this culture that I was brought up in. I would never take a deaf role from a deaf actor who is culturally deaf, but Joe is a guy who was late-deafened.I’m sensitive to it, and I vetted it before we went ahead. I asked Darius in the beginning, “I don’t feel comfortable having this guy be deaf. Can’t you make the guy a CODA?” He said, “That’s interesting. Let me get back to you.” He had three deaf advisers on the set, and all three told Darius, “No, it’s more compelling to have him be deafened,” to have that parallel line between Ruben and Joe, which you feel so strongly.The beautiful thing about it is I’m hooked into [“Sound of Metal” distributor] Amazon right now, and they’re coming to me and asking for content. I have other things I’ve written, I have other deaf writers I know of, and because of this connection, I think some doors are going to be kicked down, because people are interested in what I have to say right now.Have you figured out what your next project will be?Listen, I have “Team Paul” now. I’ve got a management team, I’ve got an entertainment lawyer, and Team Paul is now advising me that I have to be very careful with the next role I take. I’ve been offered — honest to God — about eight, nine, 10 things. And I’ve never been offered anything ever! I can’t wait to get started working again, but I’m going to have to be a little selective and there’s nothing wrong with that.Are any career goals now in sight?I love Bill Murray, he’s the same age as me. I don’t want to take any roles away from Bill, but I certainly would like to act with that guy. I used to fantasize and meditate on things like that, things I thought were too good to be true, because for many years my prayer has always been, “Nothing is too good to believe in. It can happen.” Even though there was a part of me didn’t even believe that, the prayer believed in me and lifted me up. You’ve got to just persevere, even when the believing isn’t in you. If it’s true for me, it’s true for everybody. More

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      Sharon Stone Pays Leonardo DiCaprio's Salary for 'The Quick and the Dead' After Studio Rejects Him

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      WENN/Avalon

      In her new memoir called ‘The Beauty of Living Twice’, the Golden Globe Award-winning actress also opens up about her challenges in the realm of producing.

      Mar 31, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Sharon Stone played a significant role in Leonardo DiCaprio’s early big screen career. Revealing that TriStar Pictures did not want to hire the actor for “The Quick and the Dead”, the Ellen depicter claimed that she paid his salary to star in the 1995 Western film.

      The 63-year-old actress shared her story in her new memoir, “The Beauty of Living Twice”. She first recalled, “This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition, in my opinion: he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene.”

      ” ‘Why an unknown, Sharon, why are you always shooting yourself in the foot?’ ” the Golden Globe Award-winning actress said of TriStar Pictures’ reply. “The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary. So I did.”

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      Aside from Leonardo, Sharon noted that she fought for Sam Raimi to be hired to direct the movie. However, the studio was against her idea because they labeled Sam as a “D-movie director” for his low-budget films. Luckily, he was hired after the “Ratched” star told the studio that the director “would work nearly for free as an enticement.”

      In her book, the Diane Francken of “The Burma Conspiracy” additionally opened up about her challenges in the realm of producing. “Getting a producer credit as an actress is often thought of in my business as a ‘vanity deal,’ meaning they pay you for the job but shut the f**k up and stay out of the way,” she divulged.

      “I won’t accept a vanity deal and let them know that upfront,” the ex-wife of Phil Bronstein further stressed. “This is illegal, I say, and I like to work within the law. That gets a lot of silence and not a lot of joy on the other end.”

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      Chris Rock Hunts Down Jigsaw Copycat Killer in First Ominous Trailer for 'Spiral'

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      [embedded content]

      Believing that the serial killer has a personal motive, Rock’s detective character contacts his father only to get the police veteran falling into a trap and finding himself in danger.

      Mar 31, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Lionsgate has released the first ominous trailer for “Spiral (2021): From the Book of Saw”. Serving as the ninth installment in the “Saw” film series, it sees Chris Rock leading the cast as Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks, who takes the lead in an investigation into murders that may or may not be connected to the infamous serial killer/elaborate trap builder Jigsaw.

      Zeke grows frustrated as the killer continues to claim victims, while he suspects anyone, even one of his colleagues, could be the killer. Believing that the serial killer has a personal motive, he pays his father Marcus Banks (Samuel L. Jackson), a former detective who is somehow also connected to Jigsaw, a visit.

      Apparently feeling compelled to join the investigation, Marcus is later seen trying to chase the killer himself, only to be falling into his trap. Now, the stake gets higher for Zeke as his father could be the next victim in a snap of a finger.

      According to the official synopsis, “a criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in ‘Spiral’, the terrifying new chapter from the book of ‘Saw’. Working in the shadow of his father, an esteemed police veteran (Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks (Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.”

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      The idea of the upcoming movie came from Rock, with the script being written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger. Darren Lynn Bousman serves as director for the upcoming pic, which seems to be taking the “Saw” franchise from gore-obsessed horror roots into serial killer territory.

      “When Chris Rock came to us and described in chilling detail his fantastic vision that reimagines and spins-off the world of the notorious Jigsaw Killer, we were all-in,” Joe Drake, Chairman of Lionsgate, said when the project was first announced. ” ‘Saw’ is one of the highest-grossing horror franchises of all-time and it’s one of Lionsgate’s most successful film series. This upcoming film will still be as mind-bending and intense as all the previous ‘Saw’ films.”

      He continued gushing over Rock’s idea, “Chris conceived this idea and it will be completely reverential to the legacy of the material while reinvigorating the brand with his wit, creative vision, and passion for this classic horror franchise.”

      “Spiral” was originally scheduled to be released on May 15, 2020, but has been pushed back by almost a year to May 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will have a theatrical release as opposed to streaming debut, which some studios have opted for amid the slow cinema business these days.

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      DJ Akademiks Weighs In on Quavo and Saweetie’s Elevator Fight: It’s ‘Abusive ASF’

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      Steve Martin and Chevy Chase Unveiled to Be in Contention for 1989's 'Batman'

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      WENN/Brian To

      Actor Robert Wuhl, who played reporter Alexander Knox in the Tim Burton-directed film, makes the revelation about producers Jon Peters and Peter Gruber’s original plan during a podcast interview.

      Mar 31, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Steve Martin and Chevy Chase came close to playing Batman in the 1989 comic book blockbuster before producers agreed to give Tim Burton the chance to direct.

      Actor Robert Wuhl, who was an early cast member, reveals Burton took the movie in another direction and brought Michael Keaton on board, but when he signed on, producers Jon Peters and Peter Gruber were looking at funnymen to play the Caped Crusader.

      “When I asked who they were thinking of, they said, ‘Either Steve Martin or Chevy Chase,’ ” Wuhl, who was cast as reporter Alexander Knox in the film, told “The Production Meeting” podcast.

      “You’ve got to remember that the greatest decision in the history of Warner Bros. is giving Tim Burton the Batman franchise. You know when Joel Schumacher took over and they went in that crazy direction? That’s where they were thinking to begin with.”

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      “They were not thinking Tim Burton – they were thinking Adam West, that was their Batman. Bill Murray might’ve also been on that list.”

      Meanwhile, Wuhl reveals he came close to returning as Knox in Burton and Keaton’s second “Batman” movie.

      “In the original script…, which was terrific, Knox died [in Batman],” the actor explained. “Then, when I got there [London set], they told me, ‘We’re keeping him alive.’ I thought, ‘Great, Batman 2!’ Then my agent got a call one day and they said, ‘Knox is not in the second picture.’ And that’s it; it was that simple.”

      Since its release in June 1989, Tim Burton’s “Batman” has earned more than $411 millions worldwide. Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger and Pat Hingle are among its cast ensemble.

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      Kobe Bryant’s Daughter Natalia Gets Into USC After Pushing Through ‘Most Excruciating Pain’

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      'ThunderCats' Hybrid CGI Movie in the Works With Director Adam Wingard

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      Cartoon Network

      The ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ filmmaker teases what to expect from the upcoming big screen adaptation after he is officially announced to sit behind the lens for the project.

      Mar 31, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Adam Wingard has signed up to direct a “ThunderCats” movie.

      The “Godzilla vs. Kong” filmmaker will write the script with his “You’re Next” collaborator Simon Barrett, and he’ll be at the helm of the Warner Bros. adaptation of the classic 1980s animated series.

      Speaking to Deadline, Wingard said, “I saw this as an opportunity to do a new type of fantasy sci-fi spectacle film that people have never seen before.”

      “It’s got a rich mythology; the characters are fantastic. The colours. I want to do a ThunderCats film that takes you back to that ’80s aesthetic. I don’t want to reinvent the way they look; I want them to look like ThunderCats.”

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      “I don’t want to do it live action, either. I don’t want it to look like Cats, I don’t want those kinds of issues – no disrespect to that director, whom I don’t mean to throw under the bus any more than everyone else has.”

      “I want to do a movie you’ve never seen before. A hybrid CGI film that has a hyper real look and somehow bridges the gap between cartoon and CGI.”

      Wingard noted his plans for this movie go back to his high school days when he spent spent a lot of time working on a screenplay.

      “My real obsession with ThunderCats came in high school, the pinnacle of me deciding I wanted to be a filmmaker, and pushing in that direction…,” he added. “I actually spent most of my 10th grade year, I completely blew it. I didn’t pay attention in school, made terrible grades.”

      “And the reason? I was writing my ThunderCats screenplay through my entire 10th grade year. And I was handwriting it. The screenplay itself ended up being 272 pages long. I still have it.”

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      Jennifer Love Hewitt Grateful to Ray Liotta for Putting Her at Ease During Risky Movie Scene

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      WENN

      The ‘Ghost Whisperer’ alum credits her ‘Heartbreakers’ co-star for being ‘the kindest, sweetest man’ on the set, helping ease her nerves over the filming of a risky scene.

      Mar 31, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Jennifer Love Hewitt will forever be grateful to Ray Liotta for putting her at ease on the set of “Heartbreakers” after having to spend hours filming a risque scene by his “nether regions.”

      The actress landed her breakout movie role as Page Conners in the 2001 romantic comedy after starting her career as a Disney star, and she recalls being petrified of messing up one particular sequence with Liotta, in which her character’s hair gets caught up in the zip of his trousers.

      “I remember, one of my very first days of work, being attached to Ray’s nether regions for eight hours, so it was a very risque part for me at the time,” she remembered.

      “It was very, very daunting for me – not because of what I was doing in the scene but because I was aware of who he was. I was such a big fan. I was so nervous to mess it up.”

      However, Jennifer was immediately calmed by her co-star’s kindness.

      “I just remember meeting Ray, and instantly I felt so much better,” she shared. “He was the kindest, sweetest man who made me feel so comfortable.”

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      Liotta wasn’t the only industry veteran helping to look out for the actress on the funny film, in which she had to don a series of revealing outfits.

      Jennifer said, “When I walked in for my first fitting, I thought all the dresses were tops and didn’t know where the bottoms were. I remember watching them (stylists) unpack some of my things, and they were in Ziploc bags, and I was like, ‘My clothes… are in there?’ ”

      “And we all had a really big laugh about the fact that I just wore tiny clothes the whole movie. I felt like a Barbie doll. It was great.”

      Despite showing some skin, crewmembers were conscious not to let Jennifer feel too exposed during the shoot.

      She told Vulture, “It’s such a physical movie. I mean, she (her character) was constantly tripping and falling down.”

      “One thing that really stood out to me when we did the movie is how much people were looking out for me and really making sure that I never felt weird or on display.”

      “I remember there were more than a couple of people that were like, ‘OK, let’s make sure boobs are in place and we’re not seeing underwear.’ ”

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