Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
Ryan Gosling to Reunite With ‘La La Land’ Director for Neil Armstrong Biopic
After taking some time off to make his directorial debut and tend to his growing family, Ryan Gosling is back and busier than ever with recent roles in The Nice Guys and awards season favorite La La Land. While that film is currently in theaters (and picking up a few awards nominations), Gosling is already plotting a reunion with director Damien Chazelle for his next project, a Neil Armstrong biopic that will take the actor from the “City of Stars” to the actual stars — in outer space.
Scarlett Johansson Is the Highest-Grossing Actor of 2016
Near the end of every year, Forbes releases their rankings of the top actors in Hollywood based on their box-office value and earnings (along with a list of the most overpaid actors, which is always interesting). This year, Scarlett Johansson tops the list of the highest-grossing actors in Hollywood, followed closely by Marvel co-stars Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., who tied for second place. What makes Johansson’s ranking even more notable, however, is her earnings — while RDJr. placed ninth on this year’s list of the highest-paid actors with $33 million, Johansson ranked third on the actress list with $25 million.
Denis Villeneuve in Talks to Direct ‘Dune’ Because Dreams Really Do Come True
If you’re a fan of Denis Villeneuve (raises hand) or just excited for Blade Runner 2049 (raises other hand — wait, how am I still typing), then you might recall a particularly interesting interview from September. In that interview, the director of Arrival revealed that it’s been a “longstanding dream” of his to direct a new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune — a pipe dream, really, since acquiring the rights presented a significant challenge. As it turns out, Villeneuve is living proof that impossible dreams can come true (with the right ideas and the right amount of cash).
Sony Gets in the Lin-Manuel Miranda Business With Animated Musical ‘Vivo’
Sorry, Disney — you can’t have Lin-Manuel Miranda all to yourself anymore. The Hamilton creator has been diversifying his studio interests, recently getting behind an upcoming television adaptation of The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. Now, he’s adding another project to his increasingly busy — and impressive — schedule, providing a whopping 11 original songs for Sony’s new animated film, Vivo.
Chris Evans’ ‘Jekyll’ Movie Lands ‘Zombieland‘ Director Ruben Fleischer
Back in July, Chris Evans signed on to headline Jekyll, a new dramatic thriller that offers a contemporary take on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, with the Marvel star set to play the dual roles of the good doctor and his sinister alter ego. With a script by Nice Guys scribes Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, Jekyll just needed the right director — and it appears that Lionsgate has found one in Ruben Fleischer.
Ben Affleck Is Taking His Time on the Batman Movie, Possibly Throwing Shade at WB
One of the biggest problems (and one that we’ve covered quite a bit) with Warner Bros’ DCEU is the way the studio is reverse-engineering its Justice League franchise. Instead of establishing their characters in individual films and slowly building toward a big crossover, they’ve done the reverse. And by building their productions around meeting a release date deadline, they wind up with films that are kind of a mess. If Ben Affleck’s approach to his Batman standalone film (and the recent decision to delay Justice League 2) is any indication, then maybe — just maybe — WB is learning from their mistakes.
Batman Breaks Joker’s Heart in ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Extended TV Spot
If you really think about it, Batman and Joker’s relationship is co-dependent and unhealthy (clearly). Joker is obsessed with the Dark Knight, and while those feelings aren’t quite mutual, they thrive on each other in a way that’s totally melodramatic — we all have that couple in our friends’ circle; the ones that fight constantly and make each other so miserable that even you want to break up with them. That’s the humorous gist of Batman and the Joker’s relationship in The LEGO Batman Movie, which delivers a big dose of the latter in this new and extended TV spot.
Baby Groot Is in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ For a Reason, and It’s Not to Sell Toys
After experiencing the utter joy that is Dancing Baby Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy post-credits scene, his inclusion in Vol. 2 seems like a real no-brainer — especially for Marvel and Disney, which stand to make serious bank off of that adorable, wide-eyed little twig in merchandising alone. But according to director James Gunn, Baby Groot’s involvement in the sequel has nothing to do with merchandising at all (though I’m sure it doesn’t hurt the bottom line in that department).
Ryan Reynolds Says ‘Deadpool 2’ Is Nearing Production, Domino and Cable Still Not Cast
Not long after director Tim Miller exited the Deadpool sequel over creative differences with Ryan Reynolds, reports revealed the reason behind the split: Miller, a VFX pro, wanted to make a more polished (and more expensive) sequel, while Reynolds (and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) wanted to stick to the scrappy (and less expensive) style that made the first film such a hit. Now, with John Wick co-director David Leitch at the helm, Reynolds and producer Simon Kinberg have offered a quick update on Deadpool 2, including words of praise for Leitch and a promise to make sure the sequel is in keeping with its predecessor.
‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot Justifies Its Existence, Casts Walton Goggins as the Villain
If you had any doubt about the necessity, validity, integrity or any other –ity of the new Tomb Raider movie, this bit of casting news should immediately mitigate any and all of your concerns. Walton Friggin’ Goggins has joined the cast of the upcoming reboot, in which he’ll play — oh come on, like we need to even tell you — the film’s villain. And with that piece of casting, Tomb Raider was just elevated from “Yeah, sure, I guess I’ll see this movie at some point” to “Can I pre-order my tickets now or nah?”
Pixar’s ‘Coco’ Casts Gael Garcia Bernal and Benjamin Bratt, New Plot Details and Concept Art Revealed
The development and production process for most animated films is often long, leaving us waiting for years between the initial announcement and the finished product. Pixar’s next original film (and the only one on their schedule that isn’t a sequel) is no exception. We first learned about Coco back in 2012, and now, four years later, with a fall 2017 release on the horizon, Pixar’s new film is officially on a roll — Gael Garcia Bernal and Benjamin Bratt have joined the voice cast, and the studio has revealed some intriguing plot details, along with a new piece of concept art.
Amy Schumer to Play ‘Barbie’ in Live-Action Movie, So Now We Know What to Expect
Sony’s live-action Barbie movie project has had a bit of a bumpy development process, initially hiring Diablo Cody to pen the screenplay (yay!) before tossing it out (boo!) and hiring three more (!) writers to deliver competing screenplays (huh?) — leaving us with little idea of what to expect from this wacky film. That drastically changed today, as Amy Schumer has officially been cast in the title role in the Barbie movie, which has an official screenplay and everything.