Lynyrd Skynyrd Biopic Begins Production
Lynyrd Skynyrd biopic Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash has begun production in Los Angeles. As suggested by the title, the film is centered around the tragic plane crash that killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steven Gaines, and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines, along with two pilots and a road manager, in 1977. Taylor Clift (A Young Man’s Future) stars as Van Zant, while Samuel Kay Forrest (Key) steps in as Gaines. Joining the cast are Neill Byrnes, lead singer of an Aerosmith cover band, and Anthony Rocco Bovo as Steven Tyler and Joe Perry who famously declined to lease the plane that eventually crashed and killed the Lynyrd Skynyrd band members, citing safety concerns. Street Survivors is said to focus on Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle’s recollection of the events. Pyle will be played by Ian Shultis.
(Variety)
‘X-Men’ Universe Gets Three Releases in 2018
The next three entries into Fox’s X-Men cinematic universe, including Deadpool 2, have been slated for release in 2018. New Mutants, from director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) is slated to hit theaters first on April 13, followed by the Deadpool sequel on June 1. Rounding out the big year for X-Men fans is Dark Phoenix, the sequel to last year’s Apocalypse, which is currently scheduled for November 2. That’s a whole lot of X-Men as the series figures out how it’s going to evolve in a world without Hugh Jackman in the franchise. Jackman retired as Wolverine in this year’s Logan, leaving many to wonder what’s in store for the series as it moves on. We may get our answer with New Mutants, which focuses on a new team of mutant heroes. After 17 years and 10 movies, the time is ripe for some new blood—too many of the previous movies focus on the same characters, out of the literal thousands they have to pick from—so New Mutants could be an excellent way to expand the franchise and take it in new directions. We’ll know for sure in about a year.
(THR)
Release Dates for Four ‘Avatar’ Sequels Revealed…for Real This Time. Probably.
Eight years after the release of Avatar, and following a series of bumps in release dates, we’ve finally, probably, maybe have a release date for the first of a planned four sequels to the $2.7 billion blockbuster (which everyone has seen and no one remembers). Director James Cameron is currently shooting the four films currently, with the first being planned for release in December 18, 2020. Avatar 3-5 have also been given release dates in 2021, 2024, and 2025 respectively. The long gestating sequels have been teased for damn near a decade at this point, and it will have been 11 years since the world was first awed by Cameron’s vision, which is an eternity in terms of films. Indeed, the iron on Avatar has long cooled, with the visual effects that made it so popular now common place at the cinema. Coupled with the fact that the original wasn’t very memorable, it seems odd to be getting four new Avatar movies, but no one ever accused Cameron of being anything besides grandiose.
(Deadline)
‘The Fate of the Furious’ Continues to Dominate
The Fate of the Furious continued its race to box office glory over the weekend, pulling in $38.6 million in its second week of release. The Boss Baby, meanwhile, remained in second place with $12.7 million while Beauty and the Beast stayed in third with a respectable $9.9 million in its sixth week of release. Born in China debuted in fourth place with $5.1 million while the Morgan Freeman led remake of the George Burns classic, Going in Style, stayed in fifth place with $5.0 million. For the full top ten, see below.
- The Fate of the Furious-$38.6 million
- The Boss Baby-$12.7 million
- Beauty and the Beast-$9.9 million
- Born in China-$5.1 million
- Going in Style-$5.0 million
- Smurfs: The Lost Village-$4.85 million
- Unforgettable-$4.80 million
- Gifted-$4.5 million
- The Promise-$4.0 million
- The Lost City of Z-$2.1 million
