What The Godfather inspired about The Batman, besides the whole “The” thing; Vanessa Kirby doesn’t love the name of her new movie; the director of Wayne’s World clears up some reckless gossip. Plus: a special invitation. All in Today’s Movie News Rundown.
But First: I just want to say how great it is to exclusively cover movies and cinematic TV and never have to ever write anything about Joe Rogan or Neil Young. Except of course about the time Young had a band with Rick James.
The Batman–Godfather Connection: Colin Farrell told me for our cover story on The Batman that the version of The Penguin he will play is inspired, in part, by a character in The Godfather. That’s all I’ll say to avoid spoilers, but you may click if you like. Hint: It’s not anyone from Godfather III.
Attention Film Festival Folks: The Film Festival Alliance has put together an anonymous survey to “compile data on current festival staffing, labor and wages,” from festivals from across North America. The goal is to show the need for institutional support, shed light on pay inequities, and encourage positive change. If this interests you, feel free to learn more and take the survey here.
J.J. Abrams and Stephen King: Back in May, J.J. Abrams broadly hinted to us that he and the Master of Horror™ Stephen King might be cooking up something cool, and now we finally know what it is.
How Italian Studies Got Its Name: Adam Leon, the director of the new film Italian Studies, starring the always-good Vanessa Kirby, explained to Margeaux Sippell how he arrived at the name Italian Studies, given that the film is not set in Italy and that no one in it speaks Italian. He also says Kirby “hates the title.” I have to admit that the name made me think Italian Studies was about an uptight British scholar who goes to a small Italian villa to investigate a manuscript and ends up making moozadell with some hunky Sicilian, but no: It’s about amnesia.
Is Moozadell Slang for Something Gross? No, it is slang for something beautiful.
Look, Again, Not to Give Anything Away About The Batman: But how crazy is it that John Cazale was in only five movies, and all five were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, and three of them won?
Hot 1992 Gossip: Penelope Spheeris, director of the still-awesome Wayne’s World, celebrated the film’s upcoming 30th anniversary by talking about it with The Hollywood Reporter, and clearing the air about the “myth” that she feuded with Mike Myers: “I am going to break the myth right now,” she explains. “When we were shooting Wayne’s World, there really were no clashes with the actors. The reason people think that is I wasn’t able to direct Wayne’sWorld 2 because I didn’t want to make any cuts to the first one that they asked me to do. And that was the only point of contention that we had, honestly.” I believe her.
Wayne’s World Couples, We Want Your Stories for an Upcoming Episode of the MovieMaker Podcast: I also learned from the article that Wayne’s World was released on Valentine’s Day Weekend of 1992, so it stands to reason that some cool couple saw it as their first date, got married, are still together, and named their kids Wayne and Garth. Does this sound like you or your parents? Please leave your information in the comments. We will respond to the first 60 couples.
Anyway: Good as Wayne’s World the movie is, I think the whole thing peaked with this sketch, specifically starting at 6:48:
Main image: Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) enjoys a little moozadell, if you know what I mean.
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