In today’s Movie News: Ben Mendelsohn says the film pictured above is his coolest; Spike Lee explains how he gracefully de-aged his Da 5 Bloods actors; AMC Theatres does a thing you definitely saw coming; and someone finally took the romance out of movie buying. Plus: Beware of “outdated attitudes.”
That Didn’t Take Long: AMC Theatres will now require customers to wear masks, CNN notes, after lots of people got mad at its plan to not require customers to wear masks.
Da 5 Bloods De-Age Gracefully: Spike Lee explains how costs, respect for the audience and the heat in Vietnam kept him from de-aging his Da 5 Bloods leads for flashback scenes that took place about a half-century ago.
Ben Mendelsohn’s Coolest Film: Ben Mendelsohn tells the San Francisco Chronicle that his new tragicomedy Babyteeth is “my favorite film of mine that I’ve seen” and “the coolest film I’ve ever been in.” I saw Babyteeth and Ben Mendelsohn wrecked me. In the new MovieMaker Interviews podcast, Babyteeth director Shannon Murphy talks all about her debut film, including how she cast Mendelsohn after seeing him dance to a Sia song. You can listen on on Apple or Spotify or below. No spoilers.
(In)Visible Portraits: The dedication for (In)Visible Portraits, the new documentary from Oge Egbuonu, calls it a “love letter to Black women and a reeducation for everyone else.” Read her interview with Loree Seitz here.
Nobody v. Ferrari: If you watched Ford v. Ferrari thinking Enzo Ferrari was the most interesting character, great news: Michael Mann is starting production on his long-awaited film Ferrari with Hugh Jackman in talks to star.
Also Read: Da 5 Bloods and Cross-Generational Trauma (Low Key Podcast)
Kandahar: Gerard Butler and Ric Roman Waugh, the star and director, respectively, of Greenland and Angel Has Fallen, will reteam on the new action thriller Kandahar. Waugh co-wrote the screenplay with former military intelligence officer Mitchell LaFortune. The film is being produced by Thunder Road Films’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, G-BASE’s Alan Siegel and Butler, and Capstone Group’s Christian Mercuri. Rob Moran will executive produce with Brendon Boyea and Jonathan Fuhrman. Thunder Road also brought us the amazing John Wick movies.
Sorry, Romantics: Both Ferrari and Kandahar are among the movies for sale at the Cannes Virtual Market. Deadline quotes one buyer who notes that buying films online is “in a bizarre way… as effective as it can get in terms of deal-making.” The person notes that with online film sales, “the schmoozing, the dinners and the ‘romantic’ aspects of a market are removed,” meaning its all lean-and-mean business. Here’s The Hollywood Reporter‘s list of films for sale.
Outdated Attitudes: Variety says UK pay-TV company Sky will add disclaimers to 16 films warning of their “outdated attitudes.” The films include Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Last Samurai, and both the old and new Jungle Book. Also on the list: Trading Places, the old (but not new) Dumbo, and The Goonies. Sky seems to be using the word “attitudes” as a catchall for a lot of things. The anti-elitist attitude of Trading Places has aged very well. But a certain scene on a train would definitely not be included in a remake.
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