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Dueling J.R.R. Tolkien Biopics Are In Development This winter brings us the final installment ofPeter Jackson’sThe Hobbittrilogy, which means we’re done with trips to Middle-earth for the time being. (Well, at least until Warner Bros. figures out how to adaptThe Silmarillionor deems it time to remake theLord of the Ringsseries.) It does not, however, mean we’re done withJ.R.R. Tolkien. Two separate Tolkien biopics are in the works at the moment: the faith-basedTolkien & Lewis, which explores the fantasy author’s relationship withNarniacreatorC....

HBO Wants A Second Season Of ‘The Night Of’ HBO’sThe Night Offelt like a one-and-done. From the very beginning, it was billed as a miniseries, not an ongoing drama, and the storyline came to a definitive conclusion in the series finale. (Yes,some unanswered questions remain, but they felt less like cliffhangers and more like a purposeful effort to close out on an ambiguous note.) ButThe Night Ofwas also a big, buzzy hit — the kind of show that’d seem like a shoo-in for a renewal in other circumstances....

Hobbit Casting Rumor: Tennant, McAvoy And Radcliffe In Running For Bilbo Baggins? WhenPeter JacksonandGuillermo del TorogetThe Hobbitgoing before cameras soon, Ian Holm, who playedHobbithero Bilbo Baggins in theLord of the Ringstrilogy, won’t be back in big rubber feet. Casting Bilbo is a big deal; any actor chosen will have to hold his own against a horde of effects while still putting across a lot of character. Now three names are increasingly being rumored as options for Jackson and del Toro:Dr....

Hulkbuster Armor And Ultron Revealed In ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ Trailer Sneak The trailer forAvengers: Age of Ultronwill premiere next week, but two key images from it have shown up online. There’s an image of Ultron, played in the film by James Spader, and a second of Tony Stark’s Hulkbuster armor, which we’ve only previously seen in concept art. Check them out below. Here are the images.ScreenCrushgave us the heads up, but they originated on4Chan....

Independent Movie Theaters Call WB’s Deal With HBO Max A “Questionable Decision” When news broke that Warner Bros. Pictures was choosing to give their entire roster of 2021 movies a hybrid releasein theaters and on HBO Max, we knew it was going to be one of the biggest Hollywood stories in years. Not only is it rubbingmajor filmmakersandmajor movie theater chainsthe wrong way, but independent cinema owners aren’t happy either. However, they’re being a little more diplomatic about how they choose to condemn the studio’s “questionable decision....

Joaquin Phoenix And Robert De Niro Had A Rocky Start Working On Joker Even before"Joker"was released, it had worked audiences up into a frenzy. Influenced by the likes of"Taxi Driver"and"The King of Comedy,“this comic book movie wasn’t aspirational. It was instead a gripping, terrifying character study into the fall and plummet of its mentally unstable protagonist, as well as a glimpse at how the legendary Batman villain came to be. And it all hinged onJoaquin Phoenix’sperformance....

Julia Roberts To Star And Produce Narrative Version Of ‘Batkid Begins Batkid Beginspremieres Saturday at the Slamdance Film Festival but, before that even happened, the movie’s story has a happy ending.Julia Roberts– yes, the world famous actress – has purchased the rights to the documentary to make it into a narrative version. Roberts will produce as well as star in the film. There’s no word on who Roberts would play, but the smart money is on Patricia Wilson, the director of the San Francisco Make-A-Wish chapter that put the whole event together....

Martin Scorsese Says Cinema Is Being Systematically Devalued, Sidelined, And Demeaned As “Content” Over the last few years,contenthas become a buzzword to sum up pretty much everything and anything in the entertainment world. Movies? Content. TV shows? Content. Stuff on YouTube? That’s content too, baby. It’s a form of shorthand that may make things easier for some people, but in many respects, it’s hurting certain mediums. When everything is reduced to simply being content, it starts to lose all meaning and becomes more akin to a brand than an art form....

Movies Like West Side Story You Really Need To Check Out Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” is one of the best films of 2021. The iconic musical premiered on Broadway in 1957 and was adapted for the screen in 1961. The original classic is considered one of the greatest movie musicals ever made andwon ten Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for the duo of Jerome Roberts and Robert Wise, best supporting actress for Rita Moreno, and best supporting actor for George Chakiris....

Netflix Buys Dan Gilroy’s Untitled ‘Nightcrawler’ Reunion After a bidding war, Netflix won a “heated auction” for the next film fromNightcrawlerwriter-director,Dan Gilroy. Not only is it going to be the third feature from Gilroy, which makes it exciting enough already, but it’s also aNightcrawlerreunion:Jake GyllenhaalandRenee Russoare starring in the film. Below, learn more about the Dan Gilroy Netflix project. Deadlinereports the untitled project is set in the art world. There’s no plot details or info on Gyllenhaal and Russo’s characters, but Gilroy’s script is apparently quite different compared toNightcrawlerand his next feature,Roman Israel, Esq....

New ‘Lion King’ Soundtrack Will Feature 30 Minutes Of Unreleased Music We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. 2014 is a big year for Disney anniversaries. Strictly looking at the movies it’s the 55th anniversary ofSleeping Beauty, the 50th anniversary ofMary Poppins, the 25th anniversary of The Little Mermaid,and the 20th anniversary ofThe Lion King. That last one has been chosen to kick off a new musical event calledThe Legacy Collection....

New Photos: Richard Kelly’s The Box Earlier this month you got a look at thefirst photofromRichard Kelly’sThe Box. We followed that up last week witha behind the scenes video segmentcourtesy of NASA television. And nowUSA Todaygives us our first look at the cast. The new production photo features starsJames MarsdenandCameron Diazas Arthur and Norma Lewis, sitting around the mysterious box. Update:We have added a bunch of new photos below. Kelly calls The Box his “first grown-up film” and the article also reveals that the film’s “embellishments include ’70s kitsch, teleporting and the 1976 Viking mission to Mars....

Now Scream This: 10 Great Superhero-Tinged Horror Movies Streaming Now (Welcome toNow Scream This, a column where horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato tell you what scary, spooky, and spine-tingling movies are streaming and where you can watch them.)Matt:With the upcoming release of supervillain horror originBrightburn, Chris and I offer some alternative streaming tales of terror that we deem as displaying superhero qualities. Maybe not all come with spandex and capes, or a Marvel company stinger, but superpowers appear in all forms....