Film Bits: Disney Casts ‘The Lion King’; ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ Retains Top Spot

Legendary Film Critic Richard Schickel Dead at 84

Noted film critic for Time Magazine, Richard Schickel, died Saturday following a series of strokes. He was 84. Schickel was considered by many to be one of the last major voices of film criticism, setting a standard which is adhered to to this day. His career began during the 1960s and included writing stints with Life and the Los Angeles Times book review. In addition to film criticism, Schickel was the author of many books including The Stars, Movies: The History of an art And an Institution, and The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney, and, most recently, his memoir, Keepers: The Greatest Films – and Personal Favorites – of a Moviegoing Lifetime.

Disney Finds its ‘Lion King’

Jon Favreau announced the cast for his live action adaptation of The Lion King over the weekend. Donald Glover (Community) has been tapped to play Simba while James Earl Jones has been brought in to reprise his role as Mufasa, the character he voiced in the original Disney classic. Disney has had remarkable success with their live action remakes of animated classics over the last few years, last year with the Favreau directed The Jungle Book and this year with Beauty and the Beast already earning significant buzz. Still, The Lion King seems like a risk even with the previous successes. Movies like Cinderella and even Maleficent are a bit easier to swallow. The Lion King will probably end up being largely CGI, with a mix of live action animals, which asks the question “what’s the point?” That being said, it’s never safe to discount Disney, so this will probably end up being another success.

(Variety)

‘The Batman’ Loses Second Director in As Many Weeks

After setting the fanbase abuzz last week, it seems that director Matt Reeves is out as director of The Batman after negotiations with Warner Brothers broke down. As of yet, there’s no indication as to why the deal fell through, but it does force us to wonder what the hell is going on over at WB. The Flash has already lost two directors, and now The Batman, which was set to be the lone bright spot in their DCEU movies, has lost two directors as well. Coupled with the recent spate of rumors that Ben Affleck is looking for an out as the Caped Crusader, it seems as though this house of cards is just about ready to fall. (I discussed this a little bit on the CineSnob podcast this weekend, which you can listen to here.)

(Variety)

‘The Lego Batman Movie’ Retains Top Spot for Second Week

The Lego Batman Movie refuses to fall apart in its second weekend, earning the top box office spot for the second weekend in a row with $33 million. Fifty Shades Darker, meanwhile, held onto its second place spot with $20 million. Matt Damon stumbled into third place with The Great Wall, earning just $18.4 million (on a budget of $150 million). John Wick Chapter 2 dropped to fourth place with $16.1 million while Fist Fight rounded out the top five with $12 million. For the full list, see below.