First up for our weekly news round up, we’d like to wish a happy birthday to the late, great Robin Williams, who would have turned 64 on July 21st this week. You are missed!
In movie news, this week saw the bashing of Adam Sandler film Pixels by MovieBob that has been doing the rounds on social media.
Also, some rumours are in circulation that LeBron James has signed on to do Space Jam 2, which we are quietly excited about.
What’s new in film?
Trailers
Brand new Disney/Pixar film, The Good Dinosaur, has a new trailer.
The film has voices from Steve Zahn (Thunderclap), Anna Paquin (Ramsey), and lead Raymond Ochoa (Arlo), who plays an Apatosaurus in the world of the dinosaurs.
A trailer dropped for The Revenant starring a delightfully bearded Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is set in the 1820s and stars Leo as frontiersman Hugh Glass who is betrayed by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) in the American wilderness.
Spectre, the new James Bond film trailer, is very mysterious indeed. Low and behold, James Bond has a secret! The 24th film in the franchise will be unveiled worldwide in November 2015.
Film releases
Coming out this week in Australian cinemas, The Gallows (check out my review here), Self/Less (review here), and Mr Holmes.
What’s new in television?
Stateless
In Aussie television news, it was announced this week that Cate Blanchett will be directed a new television series about Cornelia Rau. After escaping a cult, Rau was held at the Baxter Immigration Detention Centre. The events attracted attention during this time in 2004-2005. Screen Australia, which will assist in the funding of the production, claim that “Stateless will be Cate Blanchett’s first venture into high-end TV”. Is there anything she can’t do?
Fargo, Season 2
Last week we had a teaser trailer for the new season of Fargo, and now we have a full-length version to keep us in anticipation. The main cast featuring Ted Danson and Kirsten Dunst now reveals Kieran Culkin and Nick Offerman.
https://youtu.be/dFVNi8gUEy4
We’re pumped!
The Bastard Executioner, Season 1
From Sons of Anarchy creator, Kurt Sutter, comes a new series to FX. It is set in the early 14th Century and includes True Blood’s Stephen Moyer in the cast. The teaser is here:
Festivals and Events
CinéfestOZ
Australia’s southwest film festival kicks off on August 26th (www.cinefestoz.com). The festival runs for five days across the stunning Western Australian centres of Busselton, Bunbury, Dunsborough, and Margaret River. This week the finalists were announced to be in the running for a $100,000 prize (see finalists here: http://iris.theaureview.com/cinefestoz-film-prize-finalists-announced/). Early bird tickets are available on their website now.
New York Film Festival
The deadline has now lapsed for the upcoming NYFF, in its 53rd year, which starts in September. News this week is that Miles Ahead will close the festival on October 11th, while The Walk will open the festival on September 25th. Miles Ahead is a Don Cheadle biopic, which he directs and stars in as superstar jazz musician, Miles Davis. Interestingly, The Walk is also a biopic, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit, the French high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
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