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      ‘Coming 2 America’ Review: Comedic Royalty

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Coming 2 America’ Review: Comedic RoyaltyMore than 30 years later, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall reunite for a return trip from Zamunda to New York.The director Craig Brewer narrates a sequence from the film, which has Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall reprising their roles from the 1988 comedy.CreditCredit…Quantrell D. Colbert/Paramount Pictures/Amazon StudiosMarch 4, 2021Coming 2 AmericaDirected by Craig BrewerComedyPG-131h 50mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.Breaking away from a lavish palace party meant to celebrate his engagement, Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler), the newly minted crown prince of Zamunda, complains about the state of Hollywood filmmaking. He never says what kinds of movies he does like, but he’s vocal in his disdain for superhero spectacles and “sequels that nobody asked for.” Mirembe (Nomzamo Mbatha), his royal groomer and love interest, disagrees. Zamundan cinema isn’t so great, she says, and some of those sequels aren’t so bad.Their conversation is one of several meta-jokes scattered through “Coming 2 America,” a genial, mostly inoffensive, sometimes quite funny sequel to a beloved comedy from way back in the 1980s. “Coming to America” — the original, directed by John Landis — starred Eddie Murphy as Crown Prince Akeem, who traveled to the royally named borough of Queens to sow his wild oats, accompanied by Arsenio Hall as his aide-de-camp and comic foil, Semmi.Eddie Murphy returns as Akeem in the genial sequel “Coming 2 America.”Credit…Quantrell D. Colbert/Paramount Pictures/Amazon StudiosIf you remember that movie — it holds up pretty well in spite of a few bits that may chafe against present-day sensitivities — you will recall that the prince fell in love with a New Yorker named Lisa (Shari Headley), whose father (John Amos) owned a fast-food restaurant called McDowell’s. If you haven’t seen or can’t quite recall “Coming to America,” the relevant background is helpfully supplied here, along with some new information. Back then, it seems, there was an oat that got away — a not-even-one-night stand with Mary Junson (Leslie Jones) that resulted in Lavelle.Akeem, who has three daughters with Lisa, learns of his son’s existence during an eventful first act, as he and his queen celebrate their 30th anniversary and bid farewell to King Jaffe (James Earl Jones). Complicating factors include threats from General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), the bellicose ruler of the neighboring country of Nexdoria, and the patriarchal laws of Zamunda, which stipulate that the occupant of the throne must be male. Lavelle, a college dropout and part-time ticket scalper with some of his father’s good-hearted charm, looks like the solution to the kingdom’s problems.But of course the laws of comedy require that further problems ensue, and the many-authored script supplies plenty. Akeem and Semmi return to New York for what feels like a too-brief visit. The fish-out-of-water delights of “Coming to America” could hardly be repeated, but that film’s comic view of America from the perspective of a naïve African aristocrat could have used a more energetic updating. It’s nice to catch up with some of the secondary comic characters — the barbershop guys played by Hall and Murphy in old-age prosthetics, most especially — but any time a ripe satirical opportunity comes into view, “Coming 2,” directed by Craig Brewer, runs in the other direction.But maybe satire isn’t really the point. It isn’t hard, at the moment, to find comedy with a sharper edge, or a tougher view of American dysfunction. “Coming 2” — not unlike Brewer and Murphy’s previous collaboration, “Dolemite Is My Name” — is a sweet and silly celebration of Black popular culture, with a sincere respect for history and a welcoming regard for the new generation. (Speaking of “Dolemite,” this movie provides further testimony to the absolute comic genius of Wesley Snipes.)Murphy, left, with Jermaine Fowler in the film, directed by Craig Brewer.Credit…Quantrell D. Colbert/Paramount Pictures/Amazon StudiosGladys Knight, En Vogue and Salt N Pepa show up (as themselves, in fine vocal form), and so does KiKi Layne, a rising star (see “If Beale Street Could Talk”) who plays Meeka, Akeem’s oldest daughter. Generational conflict may drive the story, but the vibe is of an all-ages party, a blended family reunion with Tracy Morgan as the wacky uncle.Still, like Lavelle and Mirembe at the big bash, you might be tempted to wander off in the long, soft middle, when the music and jokes are put on hold in the interests of a creaky, corny, self-helpy plot. It takes “Coming 2” three-quarters of its running time to arrive at the place where “Coming to” started — the rejection of an arranged marriage in favor of the search for a soul mate. The feminist gestures at the end have an obligatory, let’s-all-nod-our-heads-in-unison feeling that a more daring movie, or one with a stronger idea of what it wanted to be, would not have needed. Lavelle’s cynicism about sequels isn’t challenged very effectively, I’m afraid.I do have one more thing to say, though, which may in itself be a sufficient recommendation, and that is: Ruth E. Carter. One of the all-time great costume designers, she won an Oscar for “Black Panther” and could win another one just for General Izzi’s warlord couture. (Don’t skip the credits or you’ll miss him in a kilt.) The art of “Coming 2 America” resides most fully in the costumes, which are at once travesties of globalist modern style and inspired tributes to it, as well as fully realized examples of a cultural collision that the movie itself can’t quite imagine.Coming 2 AmericaRated PG-13. Mild cross-cultural naughtiness. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. Watch on Amazon.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Kelly Marie Tran: ‘I’m Not Afraid Anymore’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyKelly Marie Tran: ‘I’m Not Afraid Anymore’The actress has left the “Star Wars” bullies behind to star as Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” She says, “I’m finally asking for the things I want.”Kelly Marie Tran in Los Angeles. Three years after enduring vicious online trolls, “I’m a much stronger person now,” she said. “And I have the tools to react to those situations.”Credit…Tracy Nguyen for The New York TimesMarch 5, 2021, 11:24 a.m. ETThere are two Kelly Marie Trans in this story.One is self-assured, confident and eager to show young Asian-American girls that, yes, women who do not have long blond hair, big doe eyes and porcelain skin can get major roles in films.The other is a distant, if prominent, memory.When Tran wrote a scathing essay in The New York Times in August 2018 excoriating a culture that had marginalized her for the color of her skin, she’d just deleted her Instagram posts amid online harassment from “Star Wars” fans. Her performance as Rose Tico, the first lead character in a “Star Wars” film to be played by a woman of color, had been a proud moment for her. But then, she wrote, she started to believe the racist and sexist comments from online trolls. “Their words reinforced a narrative I had heard my whole life,” the Vietnamese-American actress wrote. “That I was ‘other,’ that I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t good enough, simply because I wasn’t like them.”But recent box office successes like “Crazy Rich Asians” and critical hits like “Minari” that have focused on Asian characters have brightened her view of the film industry — and contributed to her own empowerment. “I’m finally asking for the things I want and learning to trust my own opinion,” she said in a video interview from Los Angeles last month. “And I wish so badly that I grew up in a world that taught me how to do that at a younger age.”Tran voices the starring role of the warrior princess Raya (which rhymes with Maya) in the animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” out March 5 on Disney+. That makes her the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to play a lead role in an animated Disney movie, a milestone she doesn’t take lightly. “I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility,” she said. “To be honest, I haven’t slept in, like, two weeks.”Tran’s title character in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” She said she felt “an overwhelming sense of responsibility” as the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to get a lead role in a Disney animated movie.Credit…DisneyIn a conversation, Tran discussed how the “Star Wars” films prepared her for the pressure that comes with being a Disney princess, the boom in Asian and Asian-American screen stories, and the pros and cons of life without social media. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.Do you intentionally target barrier-breaking roles?I wish! I never thought in a million years that I would be doing what I’m doing now. I was the first woman of color to have a leading role in a “Star Wars” movie; I’m the first Southeast Asian Disney princess — these are things that no one that had looked like me had done before.In your New York Times essay, you spoke out about the harassment you experienced after your role in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Given the recent slate of successful Asian and Asian-American films, does it feel like things have shifted in Hollywood?I’m so [expletive] excited that more of these movies like “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Parasite” and “Minari” are being made. I’m really proud to be part of that change in terms of making movies that honor people from those parts of the world. But there have also been a lot of anti-Asian hate crimes recently, so there’s still a lot of work to be done.Would you still have done “Star Wars” knowing the harassment you’d face?[Long pause] I think I would’ve done it anyway. Doing that first movie was so fun — it was like being admitted to Hogwarts. It was like, “This is impossible,” and then I was doing it. I don’t really look back with that much regret anymore. “Star Wars” feels like I fell in love for the first time, and then we had a really bad breakup, and then I learned how to love again, and now I’m in a better relationship with “Raya.” I’ve moved on, and it feels great.Tran with John Boyega in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” After enduring online harassment over her role in the franchise, the actress said, “I don’t really look back with that much regret anymore.”Credit…David James/DisneyHow are you a different person than you were three years ago?I was so afraid and put so much pressure on myself starting out. You feel like you have to do it the right way or else no one else is going to get a chance. But I’m a much stronger person now, and I have the tools to react to those situations when they happen. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m finally making room for myself and asking for the things that I want. God, I wish I knew how to do that 10 years ago!What are some of the things you feel comfortable asking for now?I’ve been very, very loud about the projects I do and don’t want to be involved in. I never want to further a stereotype or take a job that makes me feel like I’m perpetuating some sort of idea about what it is to be Asian. And I’ve been really, really adamant about my boundaries. Leaving social media was so mentally healthy for me, even though I’ve been told over and over again, “Kelly, you’re not going to get brand sponsorships.” I just don’t care, because I know what’s best for myself, and I know that I’m happier than I ever was being on it.What is most encouraging to you about the entertainment industry right now?I’m most inspired by the people who continue to fight in order for their voices to be heard, and not just in the Asian community, but in the Black, trans, L.G.B.T.Q. and other underrepresented communities. On my dark days, when I feel sad and insecure about myself, those are the shows that I watch and the stories that I turn to. It brings me so much hope that people are speaking their truths and actually having people listen.Asked if she sets her sights on barrier-breaking roles, she said, “I wish! I never thought in a million years that I would be doing what I’m doing now.”Credit…Tracy Nguyen for The New York TimesAre microaggressions something you still encounter?I haven’t recently experienced outward racism in the way I experienced it when I was a young child, but now I experience subtle racism in terms of people who are publicly allies but privately complicit. In Hollywood, there are people who outwardly are like, “We believe in this,” and then when you’re actually in the trenches with them, they do things that show you they are actually complicit with white supremacy, and with institutions of power that have allowed specific types of people to get away with injustice over and over and over again.Your Vietnamese name is Loan. When did you start using the name Kelly?The name on my birth certificate is actually Kelly. My parents, who are war refugees from Vietnam, adopted American names when they started working — my dad worked at Burger King for almost 40 years, and my mom worked at a funeral home. And they gave their children American names. I didn’t realize it until I was older, but it was them protecting us so that people wouldn’t mispronounce our names. But I didn’t realize until later on that it was also an erasure of culture. It makes my heart hurt a lot to think about it.What advice do you have for young Asian-American actors?Do not blame yourself if someone is not educated enough to understand that there are different types of people in the world who exist and who deserve to be heard. Do not internalize racism, do not internalize misogyny, make space for yourself and ask for what you want, because no one else is going to make space for you.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Watch Eddie Murphy’s Return to Queens in ‘Coming 2 America’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAnatomy of a SceneWatch Eddie Murphy’s Return to Queens in ‘Coming 2 America’The director Craig Brewer narrates a sequence featuring the star alongside Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and Jermaine Fowler.The director Craig Brewer narrates a sequence from the film, which has Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall reprising their roles from the 1988 comedy.CreditCredit…Quantrell D. Colbert/Paramount Pictures/Amazon StudiosMarch 5, 2021, 11:01 a.m. ETIn “Anatomy of a Scene,” we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays. You can also watch our collection of more than 150 videos on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel.The best approach for directing a roomful of comedy giants? Let them laugh with each other long before saying “Action.”That’s the route the filmmaker Craig Brewer took for “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to the beloved 1988 hit starring Eddie Murphy.Murphy reprises his role as Akeem, then a prince, now the king of Zamunda, who realizes he fathered a child from a one-night stand on his previous visit to the States.This scene, narrated by Brewer, includes comedic work in various styles from Arsenio Hall as Akeem’s friend and right-hand man, Semmi; Jermaine Fowler as his newfound son, Lavelle; Leslie Jones as Lavelle’s mother; and Tracy Morgan as Lavelle’s uncle. It’s a lot of humor to wrangle.“When I was younger, I used to think that being a director meant that you constantly have to go in and assert yourself,” Brewer said. “But I’ve found, especially with comedic artists, is what they really want is a safe room. They want to feel like they’re free to try things.”Brewer said one of the best things he could do as a director, when he has Murphy, Hall, Jones and Morgan on set, is to not roll the camera immediately, but give them time and space to connect.“You’ve got to let these four people tell old jokes about people they knew on the comedy circuit,” he said. Or riffs that would sometimes include Murphy and Morgan re-enacting full scenes and dialogue from movies they love.“I would allow a good 10 to 15 minutes of just these guys coming into the room and laughing and joking and saying all this stuff. But then it was like, OK, now it’s time to get to work. And Eddie would nail it in two takes.”Read the “Coming 2 America” review.Sign up for the Movies Update newsletter and get a roundup of reviews, news, Critics’ Picks and more.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Eddie Huang: Filmmaker Was on His List of Things to Do Even Before Chef

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyEddie Huang: Filmmaker Was on His List of Things to Do Even Before ChefHe discusses his debut drama, “Boogie”; what moving to Taiwan showed him about America; and what it was like to work with Pop Smoke, a star of his movie.Eddie Huang said that his movie, which follows a Chinese-American basketball player, is really about the difficult questions facing the children of Asian immigrants in America.Credit…Brad Ogbonna for The New York TimesMarch 5, 2021, 11:00 a.m. ETThere was a time before Eddie Huang became Eddie Huang, the outspoken restaurateur, travel show host and author who once seemed ready to burn down “Fresh Off the Boat,” the network sitcom inspired by his own childhood. In that earlier moment, the aftermath of the recession, he was simply hustling in New York, begrudgingly working at a law firm while selling weed and streetwear on the side. The day he was laid off, he had a moment of clarity and wrote out a list of six things he wanted to do with his life.The final entry on the list — own a restaurant — was what eventually made his name. But two spots up — write screenplays — revealed his true desire to become a filmmaker. “This is all that I’ve ever wanted to do,” Huang recently said days before the premiere of “Boogie,” the new drama he wrote and directed.As with much of Huang’s career, the debut, which follows a Chinese-American high school basketball star (Taylor Takahashi, a first-time actor and Huang’s former assistant), often reads as a sharp-toothed consideration of what it means to grow up Asian in America. In his telling, the experience can be dubious, although Huang may have lately softened on his views.The 39-year-old recently returned from Taiwan, where he was living throughout most of the pandemic, a time when he re-evaluated his life back home. After the thrill of the first six months abroad, he eventually found himself depressed, facing the pressures of conformity in a culture that, heightened and distorted by his celebrity image, could feel suffocating. Coming back, he appreciates the complexity of America’s diversity anew: “It’s the best experiment running,” he said.By video chat from his home in Los Angeles, Huang spoke about his new film, being accepted and rejected by his community, and his parents. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.“Boogie” stars Taylor Takahashi as the title character and Pop Smoke as a rival. Credit…David Giesbrecht/Focus FeaturesYou’ve done many things in your career — how and why did you come to filmmaking?I always wanted to be a director, but I had professors that told me, no one’s going to make a film with an Asian lead, an Asian story. I was told that by my former agency even after “Fresh Off the Boat” came out. The reason I sold sandwiches (at his restaurant Baohaus), the reason I went to books and hosted shows is because the door to film was not open to me. I had to basically create a cult of personality and create leverage within Hollywood so that people believed in me to make this film.Your first major foray into the industry was through “Fresh Off the Boat.” Do you now look differently on how you handled that experience?I really do think about it a lot. But I was right about “Fresh Off the Boat.” I was right not to settle, and I was right to argue. Because they really were telling white narratives through yellow faces. That show didn’t challenge anybody. It was historic because it broke a wall and we got representation, but representation is nothing. It’s almost just like acknowledging that we’re in this country.“Boogie” ostensibly centers on basketball, but what is the movie about to you?This film is really about this conundrum: We immigrate from East Asia to America, and the way we run our families, the way we run our societies is almost completely opposite to America. So as a kid coming of age in America, you have to ask yourself some very difficult questions. I know my parents do things this way, my culture does things this way, but what choices would I make?The protagonist, Boogie, lives in a violent household, but you’re careful about not demonizing his parents. Is that a reflection of your own life?I grew up in a house with a lot of violence, and you see quite a bit of domestic violence in this film. It’s actually been toned down for American audiences. It was 10 times worse in my house. But I wanted to use that as the primary thing we were unpacking and examining — the presence of violence in an Asian home. I remember growing up feeling it was [messed] up, but the older I’ve gotten, I started to realize, in an Asian family, love is assumed. In the very end, you forgive all of these things and you put up with it because we love each other and we sacrifice so much.Our culture and our families sacrificed so much for us, and they would rather we hate them and be great people than love us and not live up to our potential. That is the defining feature of our parents. But I would change the narrative one bit — if there’s one thing America taught me, it [should be]: I don’t care if I’m the bad guy, I just want you to be happy. They’ve equated success and social standing with happiness, and they’re completely disconnected things.Huang made a list of things he wanted to do in his life. Make a film came before owning  a restaurant.Credit…Brad Ogbonna for The New York TimesIn your mind, were you writing the film for your own community?When I write this, I do feel the power of 5,000 years of culture running through me. [Laughs] I really do feel, like, “by us, for us.” But I have that mentality because my entire life, older Chinese-Taiwanese people, they understood me. Younger ones were always like, he’s more into Black culture, he’s not Boba Asian. I really relate to old values and I’m not the most accepted by my own community. I think that my community [is interested in] me because of my success, not because of who I am. I definitely don’t think they like how I wade into other cultures.Why do you think you’re not entirely accepted by your own community?I think every community makes race for immigrants so binary. If you adopt some American traits, and you open yourself up to different cultures, you’re not Chinese, you’re not Persian, you’re not Black. It’s very prefixed. No substitutions. “Boogie” is a film about a kid who’s clearly raised in a very Chinese-Taiwanese home with insane values, but he’s decided to choose basketball as his craft. His girlfriend is Black, his best friend is Dominican, he plays in downtown New York — he made choices. He’s like, I’m going to order à la carte and fill my Lazy Susan with the things I want.That questioning about identity comes up a lot in the film. The director Justin Chon recently took part in a round table I held and talked about seeing a lot of projects in development that overly emphasize the idea of being Asian. Do you worry your questioning in this film might read as exoticization in that way?I know and understand Justin’s frustration. I hang with Justin, but I learned a few years ago, just do you. I love Justin because he’s genuinely curious, and we always have been when there wasn’t money in this.I won’t name names, but there’s a person in your [round table], where the first time I met that guy was the year “Fresh Off the Boat” got picked up, and he said to me, “I had no idea you could make money telling Asian stories — that’s crazy, thanks man! I’m going to get into it, too.” It was just so flippant, and I was like, I don’t think he even realizes how insulting that is, not just to me, not to our culture, but to himself. That he never thought his stories were good enough.This was the late rapper Pop Smoke’s acting debut, and you cast him at a time when he was on the rise. Did he have a sense of his impending superstardom?[His hit] “Dior” came out around the time we started shooting with him. It was really bananas to watch him just become the king of New York during production. I was telling him, you need to buy a house, move to New Jersey, do some rich people [stuff]. In between scenes, he was just in his trailer making up dances, like the “Woo” dance. He’s just a kid and it was all happening around him, and he was adjusting to it. And he had no fear of it — he had no fear of anything. He was never overwhelmed. It was, like, humorous to him.You cast your own mom in a small role as a fortune teller. What did your parents think of the movie?I played them the director’s cut in my house. They were sitting on the couch, and after the movie was over, it was very somber. It was quiet for a solid 20 to 30 seconds. And then I just saw my mom nod. My mom felt really good. My dad’s like, “I understand. You did really good. I’m just very proud of you because I also feel like you understand me.” It was so emotional for the three of us. We didn’t hug. When they see that final scene, they’re like, Eddie knew we loved him. And I think that mattered the most to them.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘Boss Level’ Review: Game Never Over

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Boss Level’ Review: Game Never OverFrank Grillo gets to die another day — again and again and again — in the time-loop action comedy.Frank Grillo and Naomi Watts in “Boss Level.”Credit…HuluMarch 5, 2021, 7:00 a.m. ETBoss LevelDirected by Joe CarnahanAction, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller1h 40mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.Frank Grillo’s character in “Boss Level” is named Roy Pulver, which must be short for Pulverize because that’s what he does to the assassins out to destroy him. No matter what they try — machete, grenade, Chinese sword, the tight-end Rob Gronkowski machine-gunning from a helicopter — Roy has a parade. Up until he doesn’t and gets killed, only to wake up back in his bed, ready to repeat the exact same ordeal and die another day.Directed by the B-movie expert Joe Carnahan (“The Grey), the lighthearted “Boss Level” is the latest iteration of the popular time-loop scenario, spelling out the video-game concept — repeat an action until you get good enough to move on — that has always fed this subgenre.[embedded content]Roy has an unlimited number of lives, which allows him to accumulate the experience necessary to overcome each obstacle. He’s a fast learner, too, becoming a sword master in just a few lessons; it probably helps that his instructor is no less than Michelle Yeoh. Roy eventually discovers that the plot against him involves a supersecret device overseen by his ex, Jemma (Naomi Watts, keeping an impeccable straight face amid the ambient silliness), and that her boss, Mel Gibson’s Col. Ventor, is up to no good — a big clue is that he’s named Col. Ventor.Roy grows as a killer over the course of the movie, which involves an increasingly tedious amount of repetitive violence played for laughs — he’s like Wile E. Coyote, brushing himself off after falling off a cliff or being blown up.As in most other time-loop iterations, Roy also grows as a person. But still a fun one with great hair! When he takes a break from battling his pursuers, he enjoys demolishing arcade-game baddies with his son, Joe (Grillo’s own son Rio). The lessons take longer to sink in when emotions are involved, but Roy eventually gets it. We knew he would, because we too have been there before.Boss LevelNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. Watch on Hulu.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Report: Ryan Reynolds Furious Over Disney's Censorship on 'Deadpool 3'

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      20th Century Fox

      Though the Mouse House has previously committed to make an R-rated ‘Deadpool 2’ sequel, the studio is reportedly still trying to push a PG-13 threequel on Reynolds.

      Mar 5, 2021
      AceShowbiz – Ryan Reynolds and Disney have a fallout, if a new report to be trusted. The Canadian actor is allegedly not happy with the Mouse House for putting censorship on his planned upcoming project “Deadpool 3”.
      According to GeekTyrant, a source who works on the Fox Studios lot says Reynolds has “had it with Disney and doesn’t want to have anything to do with them.” As for what has angered the Merc with the Mouth depicter, it is said that the husband of Blake Lively is tired of the Disney “censorship bulls**t.”
      Though Disney previously announced that it has committed to make an R-rated “Deadpool 3”, the studio is reportedly still trying to push a PG-13 “Deadpool” movie and now Reynolds is reportedly saying “enough is enough.”

        See also…

      While neither Disney nor Reynolds has commented on the report of their supposed fallout, the site cites Popcorned Planet as another movie news platform which corroborates its story. It additionally reports that Reynolds’s Deadpool is supposed to “fill in the Stan Lee cameos in the Marvel movies from now on.”
      Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed in January that “Deadpool 3” would be an R-rated movie. “It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan’s overseeing a script right now,” he said in an interview with Collider.
      Reynolds later joked that he duped Disney into giving the greenlight by showing the bosses other Marvel movies. “I showed them Spiderman 1 & 2 and told them it was Deadpool 1 & 2,” he tweeted at the time.
      Later in the same month, he claimed that the threequel was supposed to be a road trip movie with Logan a.k.a. Wolverine. “Before Disney bought Fox, Deadpool 3 was gonna be a road trip between Deadpool and Logan. Rashomon style. For real,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to “Rashomon”, a 1950 Japanese psychological thriller/crime film directed by Akira Kurosawa.

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      Wendy Williams Introduces Rumored New BF, Jokes Birdman and More Try to Ruin Their Date Night

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      Alex Pettyfer to Bring Late John Bindon Back to Life in 'The Chelsea Cowboy'

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      WENN

      The new biopic, which will be helmed by ‘Waiting for Anya’ director Ben Cookson, will chronicle the British actor’s rise from his rough childhood to his life as an actor and lothario.

      Mar 5, 2021
      AceShowbiz – Actor Alex Pettyfer is stepping into the shoes of British actor and tough guy John Bindon for a new biopic.
      The “Magic Mike” star has been tapped to lead “The Chelsea Cowboy”, which will chronicle Bindon’s rise from his rough childhood to his life as an actor and lothario, who enjoyed romances with former Playboy model Serena Williams and actress/model Vicki Hodge, as well as an alleged dalliance with Princess Margaret at her Caribbean retreat.
      The “Get Carter” hardman was also famously hired to provide security for rockers Led Zeppelin on their U.S. tour in 1977, but he was fired for fighting backstage, and just a year later, his ties to the criminal underground led to his 1978 trial for the murder of London gangster Johnny Darke.
      He was acquitted after claiming self-defense, but the legal drama damaged his reputation as an actor and he became a recluse, before dying from cancer in 1993, aged 50.

        See also…

      “Waiting for Anya” director Ben Cookson will shoot the project, which has been written by Leon Butler.
      In a statement to Deadline, Cookson said, “I am delighted to have Alex onboard and more than excited to see what he brings to the role of John Bindon – a complex, artistic yet brutal, loveable-rogue who charmed paupers and princesses alike in London’s vibrant sixties and seventies.”
      Pettyfer himself has shared his excitement over his casting through an Instagram post. Sharing a screenshot of Deadline’s report on his involvement, the 30-year-old wrote in the caption, “Very Excited to be filming this one later this year back in [Great Britain] I can promise you all this one is gonna be a wild ride!!! Check out my stories to read the full article.”

      Production is set to begin in September 2021.

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      Eddie Murphy Says 'Terminator' Inspired Him to Make 'Coming 2 America'

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      Amazon Studios/Paramount Pictures

      ‘The Nutty Professor’ star recalls how he got an idea for the sequel to his 1988 comedy after watching Arnold Schwarzenegger de-age in a scene in the ‘Terminator’ movie.

      Mar 5, 2021
      AceShowbiz – As unlikely as it sounds, “Coming 2 America” was partly inspired by a “Terminator” movie. Ahead of the release of the comedy sequel, Eddie Murphy has revealed how he got an idea for the follow-up to 1988’s “Coming to America” after watching Arnold Schwarzenegger de-age in a scene in one of the movies from the sci-fi action film franchise around six years ago.
      “You know what happened, I was watching, one of those ‘Terminator’ movies with Schwarzenegger and they used the special effect where they made him really young,” Murphy tells Yahoo Entertainment. “I was like, ‘If they did that, we could do a scene where we’re young’ … and that was the piece that made it all sort of fall into place.” The comedian was likely referring to 2016’s “Terminator: Genisys”.
      Prior to that, Murphy never thought about making a sequel to “Coming to America” despite fans’ wish for one. “When we finished the original ‘Coming to America’, it ended on ‘they live happily ever after,’ so we never thought about doing a sequel,” he admits. “You know, usually sequels come a year or after the original movie, so we never thought about it.”

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      “But then ‘Coming to America’ became part of the culture, and little lines from the movie, and catchphrases like ‘Sexual Chocolate’ [took off], and people dress up as the characters [for Halloween]. It just stayed around,” he explains how the movie stays relevant after more than 30 years.
      “Coming 2 America” did use CGI for a scene that features de-aged Murphy and Arsenio Hall. The said scene is a flashback to the time Akeem and Semmi visited a club in search of a bride-to-be for the former. There, they met the overzealous Mary Junson (Leslie Jones), who introduced Akeem to weed shortly before their one-night stand.
      The CGI apart, Murphy and Hall still had to spend hours in the makeup chairs to reprise their other characters, including the barbershop’s Morris, Saul and Clarence, the Rev. Brown and fan-favorite Randy Watson. “It’s the same exact long, drawn-out, five hours in the makeup process,” Murphy says of the transformation process. “That didn’t get any easier.”
      “Coming 2 America” is now available for stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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