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Nonprofit Report Slams Hollywood For “Normalizing” Self-Censorship Of Films For China By Hoai-Tran Bui/Aug. 5, 2020 2:00 pm EST A new report from the nonprofit PEN America slammed Hollywood studios and A-list directors for increasingly self-censoring its films “based on an effort to avoid antagonizing Chinese officials.” The report digs into the troubling signs that Hollywood self-censorship is become increasingly “normalized,” as the industry tiptoes around any subjects — like the erasure of Tibetan characters in Marvel movie Doctor Strange, or removal of scenes that paint China in a bad light in World War Z — that could potentially put them in trouble with China’s government and thus lose out on the highly lucrative Chinese box office....

Nova And Glenn Close Almost Appeared In ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ And ‘Endgame’ By Hoai-Tran Bui/Oct. 25, 2019 3:00 pm EST Even Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, two movies with approximately 10,000 characters between them, had to put the cap at some number. And that number ended up depriving us of seeing Glenn Close in all her bouffant-wearing glory. The actress was introduced as Nova-Prime Irani Rael in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol....

Pop Culture Imports: ‘Burning,’ ‘The Wandering Earth,’ ‘Border,’ And More By Hoai-Tran Bui/May 10, 2019 2:00 pm EST (Welcome to Pop Culture Imports, a column that compiles the best foreign movies and TV streaming right now.) On this week’s Pop Culture Imports, it’s all about a few overlooked gems. First up is Burning one of the best movies of the year — foreign-language or not — which, like the strange Swedish fantasy-horror Border, got passed over by the Oscars for a Best Foreign Language nomination....

Pop Culture Imports: Where To Stream Four-Time Oscar Winner Bong Joon-Ho’s Favorite Films By Hoai-Tran Bui/Feb. 14, 2020 8:00 am EST (Welcome to Pop Culture Imports, a column that compiles the best foreign movies and TV streaming right now.) We live in a world where Parasite is a Best Picture winner, and where every publication has been quick to recommend dozens of other South Korean films to watch now that audiences have suddenly accepted subtitles....

Super Nintendo World To Open At Universal Studios Japan In Spring 2021 By Hoai-Tran Bui/Oct. 7, 2020 12:30 pm EST It’s-a-me, your resident theme park news updater to tell you that Universal Studios Japan’s highly anticipated Super Nintendo World expansion has set an opening date window. After years of setbacks and delays, the Super Nintendo World opening has finally been set for spring 2021. After original plans to open earlier this summer were put on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Universal Studios Japan has set the official opening window for its Super Nintendo World expansion for this coming spring....

Superhero Bits: ‘Spider-Man: Remastered’ New Suits, Batman Deemed More Wealthy Than Iron Man & More By Ethan Anderton/Nov. 6, 2020 6:00 pm EST Want to see some new suits for Spider-Man: Remastered? Is Batman really more wealthy than Iron Man? What does the X-Men: The Animated Series showrunner think of bringing X-Men to the MCU? Did you know this weekend was supposed to be when Eternals was released in theaters? What are the reviews saying about Spider-Man: Miles Morales?...

Superhero Bits: Venus Williams Has A ‘Wonder Woman’ Clothing Line, Jamie Foxx Still Up For ‘Spawn’ & More By Ethan Anderton/Aug. 14, 2020 6:00 pm EST How did DC FanDome make a Batwoman poster without an image of the show’s new star? Will Marvel’s Avengers be in the same universe as the Spider-Man PlayStation 4 video game? Want to see Venus Williams’ new Wonder Woman clothing line? How could The Illuminati enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe?...

The Morning Watch: ‘Away’ VFX Breakdown, Adam Savage’s First Lightsaber Prop Replica & More By Ethan Anderton/Sept. 18, 2020 5:00 am EST The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows. In this edition, get a look at the visual effects used to create the space action of Netflix’s new drama series Away....

The Quarantine Stream: ‘Emma.’ Dares To Let Jane Austen’s Least Lovable Heroine Be A Brat By Hoai-Tran Bui/Nov. 24, 2020 7:00 am EST (Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)The Movie: Emma.Where You Can Stream It: HBO MaxThe Pitch: In Regency-era England, the “handsome, clever, and rich” Emma Woodhouse fills her long, lazy hours by matchmaking her friends and family, but finds herself wildly out of her depth and humbled by her own missteps and mistakes....

Theatrically Released Movies Are More Likely To Be Streamed At Home Than Streaming-Only Titles By Ethan Anderton/Feb. 7, 2020 11:30 am EST Even though Netflix and Disney+ are making a habit out of releasing movies exclusively to their streaming platforms without giving them a theatrical release, it might not get the movie in front of as many eyes as they’d hoped. According to a new survey conducted by Ernst & Young, about 62% of the 2,620 peoplesurveyed said they were more likely to watch a movie through a streaming service if it was given a theatrical release beforehand....

TV Bits: Olivia Munn Returning To New G4, ‘The Witcher’ Season 2, ‘Batwoman’, ‘The Daily Show’ & More By Ethan Anderton/Aug. 15, 2020 11:00 am EST In this edition of TV Bits: Olivia Munn is returning to be part of the new G4 The Witcher season 2 begins production Ruby Rose talks more about why she left Batwoman The Daily Show expands to five days a week for convention coverage And more!...

Venice Film Festival Still Plans To Proceed As Usual This September By Hoai-Tran Bui/April 20, 2020 4:30 pm EST When in Venice, do as you normally do: plan to still hold your international film festival this year despite the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Venice Film Festival is still planning to hold its 2020 edition as planned this September, despite fears around the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has cancelled or postponed festivals around the world, including the prestigious Cannes Film Festival....

‘Almost Family’ Canceled At FOX Following Rape Allegations Against Series Star Timothy Hutton By Ethan Anderton/March 3, 2020 9:00 am EST After one season on FOX, the drama series Almost Family has been canceled. News of the show’s cancellation follows the shocking revelation of rape allegations against one of the show’s stars, Oscar winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, Iceman). Though the reason for cancellation has not been confirmed to have ties to these accusations, the timing would seem to indicate that one brought about the other in quick fashion....

‘Borderlands’ Movie Coming From Eli Roth By Chris Evangelista/Feb. 20, 2020 1:30 pm EST Borderlands, the video game series that kicked-off in 2009, is headed to the big screen. Eli Roth is set to helm the Borderlands movie for Lionsgate, with a script by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. The original game followed a group of “Vault Hunters” looking for an alien vault on the planet of Pandora (no, not the one from Avatar)....

‘Clifford The Big Red Dog’ Teaser: That Certainly Is A Big, Red Dog By Hoai-Tran Bui/Nov. 25, 2020 12:00 pm EST You can’t fault Clifford The Big Red Dog for being exactly what it says on the tin. At least, according to the first teaser for the upcoming family film, which features…a big, red dog. The live-action Paramount movie based on the beloved Scholastic book character, Clifford The Big Red Dog brings Clifford to the real world, where — surprise!...

/Film’s 25 Most Anticipated Movies Of 2020 By /Film Staff/Jan. 20, 2020 9:00 am EST With 2019 officially in the record books, it’s time to look ahead. And from the cold wastelands of January, the rest of 2020 certainly looks promising. Well, at least it looks promising for the movies. After hunkering down and deciding on a list of 25 movies we most wanted to see in the next year (a process that was recorded as a podcast), the team voted on the final ranking....

‘Lovecraft Country’ Teaser: J.J. Abrams And Jordan Peele’s HBO Series Puts A Supernatural Spin On All-Too-Familiar Imagery By Ben Pearson/June 3, 2020 11:00 am EST Mega-producers Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams have teamed up to executive produce Lovecraft Country, an HBO adaptation of a novel about a black family in 1950s America that takes a road trip across the nation to find the protagonist’s missing father. And as the title implies, there’s a big horror twist....

‘NOS4A2’ Season 2 Trailer: The Battle Between Charlie Manx And Vic Continues By Chris Evangelista/May 26, 2020 4:30 pm EST NOS4A2 is returning for a brand-new season of Christmasland horrors, with the Joe Hill adaptation jumping forward in time 8 years. Once again, Vic McQueen is up against the immortal villain Charlie Manx, and this time, Vic’s old enemy is going after someone very close to her. After several teasers, a full NOS4A2 season 2 trailer has arrived ahead of next month’s premiere....

‘Ode To Nothing’ Review: A Morbid And Funny Arthouse Riff On ‘Weekend At Bernie’s’ [Fantasia Film Festival 2019] By Sarah Foulkes/Aug. 6, 2019 2:00 pm EST What would it take to creep out an undertaker? Dwein Ruedas Baltazar’s third feature is a slow-burning, deeply unsettling art-horror hybrid. Sonya (Filipino superstar Marietta Subong), the protagonist of Ode to Nothing, is a mortician at a struggling funeral home in a small town in the Philippines....

‘Star Wars Resistance’ Series Finale “The Escape” Feels Both Finished And Unfinished By Caroline Cao/Jan. 26, 2020 3:00 pm EST The ending of Star Wars Resistance feels like a paradox, finished and unfinished. So many opportunities have been untouched in the previous season, yet so much has unraveled in the finale that provides a closure that feels decisive and open-ended without being a cliffhanger. All the little humanities in the past bubble up into emotional highs in the finale “The Escape....