Brent Lang: Last News

Brent Lang Executive Editor CJ 4DPlex is off to the strongest start in its history with revenues for the first four months of the year tracking 70% higher than 2022. It’s a sign of how much movie fans seem to be enjoying immersive experiences as the pandemic starts to recede. The first four months of 2023’s box office for the company’s 4DX and ScreenX theaters is tracking 36% higher than pre-pandemic levels (2019), and generating over $150 million through May 1. The company’s combined network has more than 1,100 premium screens consisting of both its ScreenX venues, the world’s first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270-degree field of view, and its multi-sensory 4DX theaters, which add motion, vibration, water, wind, snow, lightning, scents and other special effects to movies that are unfolding on screen. The company is headquartered in Seoul with international offices in Los Angeles and Beijing.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Nicolas Cage will return to the shadowy world of illegal weapons sales, but this time, it’s become a family affair. The Oscar-winning star will reunite with writer and director Andrew Niccol on “Lords Of War,” the sequel to their 2005 crime thriller, “Lord Of War.” Cage will reprise his role as morally compromised arms dealer Yuri Orlov with “It’s” Bill Skarsgård co-starring as his son, who is a chip off the old block. Vendôme Group is backing the project, which is set to begin principal photography in the fall of 2023. FilmNation Entertainmentwill represent the international sales rights and introduce the film at the Cannes Film Festival, while CAA Media Finance will handle the domestic rights. Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi who produced the original are producing under their Vendôme Pictures banner, alongside Cage under his company, Saturn Films. Skarsgård is executive producing.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Sebastián Lelio, the Oscar-winning auteur behind “A Fantastic Woman,” will direct Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones in “Voyagers,” the story of the romantic relationship between astronomer and “Contact” author Carl Sagan and documentary producer and director Ann Druyan. The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, who guided “Contact” to the big screen, and Druyan herself. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at the upcoming Cannes Market “Voyagers” unfolds in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. A team led by Sagan sets out to create a message to accompany them, known as the Golden Record, which included music and images, for possible alien civilizations.  But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission blossoms into a love story between Sagan and Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan, who married Sagan in 1981, with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg. They then wrote the original screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and many others who worked on the Golden Record project.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Natasha Henstridge will star in “House of Abraham,” an upcoming thriller that marks the feature film directing debut of award-winning short filmmaker Lisa Belcher. She joins a cast that includes Lukas Hassel (“The Blacklist“) and Lin Shaye (“Insidious”). Hassel wrote the script. The film tells the story of Dee (Henstridge), a desperate woman who arrives at the “House of Abraham” to end her life with the help of Abraham (Hassel), who leads weekend retreats for those looking to bid a permanent farewell to the world. As the weekend progresses, it soon becomes clear Dee has a secret agenda that throws the weekend and its participants into unexpected and sinister chaos. Shaye plays Beatrice, Abraham’s trusted partner in hosting the retreats who is also hiding her own secrets.

Brent Lang Executive Editor When it came time to create the more than 200 mini-skirts, sequined dresses, elegant suits and other outfits that the cast of “Bob Fosse’s Dancin'” hoofs it in, costume designers Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung faced a big dilemma. They needed to pay tribute to the legendary choreographer’s legacy while still making something of the moment. That meant combing through archival material from Fosse’s many shows, ranging from films like “Kiss Me Kate” and “Cabaret” to his late-period masterpieces such as “Big Deal.” But there was very little to consult when it came to the 1978 original “Dancin'” other than a few grainy videos of a Japanese production and some photos of Willa Kim’s costumes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor To get the chance to make a movie of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” producer James L. Brooks and writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig made the pilgrimage to the beloved author’s home in Key West, Fla. “I spent most of our time with Judy warning her about Hollywood and all the things it will do to you — basically, I warned her about folks like me,” says Brooks, the Oscar-winning director of “Terms of Endearment” and the co-creator of “The Simpsons” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Blume chose not to heed the admonition. By the end of their sit-down, Brooks, Craig and Blume’s husband George were all hugging. The film rights were theirs. It turns out Brooks and Craig had an ace up their sleeve: Blume had loved their collaboration “The Edge of Seventeen,” a sensitively drawn look at a teenager navigating the minefield of high school while processing her dad’s death. It’s a coming-of-age tale that’s similar to “Are You There God?,” which depicts the challenges and mortifications of being on the cusp of puberty. On April 28, fans of the book will get to see how successfully Craig, Brooks and their collaborators pulled it off when the Lionsgate release opens in theaters.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Will Ferrell brought out an adorable fluffy friend named Sophie to hawk his very R-rated new comedy, “Strays,” at CinemaCon on Wednesday. The comic actor and the border terrier teamed up to portray Reggie, a dog who is abandoned by his deadbeat owner (Will Forte). But Ferrell made it clear who has top billing. “My career is going to go on for a long time, but this is the peak for you,” Ferrell said, as the camera operator at the cavernous Colosseum kept cutting back to Sophie’s soulful eyes. If there’s a “Strays 3,” Ferrell joked, the 8-year old Sophie would need to be recast. “That’s an eternity in dog years…and that’s not even Hollywood years,” he said.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Christopher Nolan took the stage at CinemaCon on Wednesday to unveil dramatic new footage from “Oppenheimer,” his sweeping look at the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped create the atomic bomb. Nolan, who has been a big advocate for the big screen and a critic of streaming, took the stage to huge applause from the crowd of movie theater owners. “I know of no more dramatic tale with higher stakes,” Nolan said of his latest opus. And boy did the film look nail-biting, as Oppenheimer creates a bomb with the potential to lead to unbelievable loss of life and destruction. There were scenes of the physicists team engaged in the top-secret work of bomb-making, but the movie also spins forward in time to a point where Russia has developed its atomic technology, triggering suspicions of espionage at Los Alamos. Nolan said that the film’s protagonist made decisions that still reverberate to this day.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Chris Pine has been cast in “Wish,” Walt Disney’s upcoming animated musical. He joins an ensemble that includes Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose and Alan Tudyk. News that the “Star Trek” star will add his dulcet tones to the family film came at CinemaCon. Pine most recently appeared in “Don’t Worry Darling” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” His credits include “Jack Ryan,” “Into the Woods,” “Hell or High Water” and “Wonder Woman.” “Wish” is written by Jennifer Lee and directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn. The film revolves around an intriguing, slightly meta question: How did the wishing star, which so many Disney characters wished upon, come into the cosmos. The film unfolds in the magical kingdom of Rosas and introduces Asha, an optimist with a sharp wit who deeply cares about her community. When Asha turns to the sky in a moment of need and makes a wish, her plea is answered by a little ball of energy called Star. Together, they team up to save Asha’s community.

Brent Lang Executive Editor During the pandemic, studios experimented with shrinking the amount of time that their films screened exclusively in cinemas, while spending oceans of money to launch streaming services. But the debt they racked up has sent their share prices plummeting and, now, studios are making more movies for theaters and cutting back on their streaming budgets. CinemaCon, the annual exhibition industry showcase that is unfolding this week in Las Vegas, couldn’t be happier about the shift in strategy. John Fithian, the head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the trade group behind the show, touted the new state of play during his speech to the convention, while praising Apple and Amazon for embracing the big screen with movies like “Air” and the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Napoleon.” Both of these companies will reportedly spend more than $1 billion on theatrical films.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Napoleon,” Ridley Scott’s sweeping historical epic about the French leader, debuted footage for the first time at CinemaCon. The film is produced by Apple Original Films and is being distributed in theaters by Sony, which used its presentation to talk up the movie. “The film shouts big screen,” Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman teased. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Napoleon Bonaparte, the brilliant military strategist who conquered much of Europe. But the film isn’t all about the battles that determined the course of history. It will also offer a more personal look at the visionary commander by dissecting his volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine, who is played by Vanessa Kirby. 

Brent Lang Executive Editor Will Smith and Martin Lawrence kicked off CinemaCon by talking up their return to “Bad Boys” business. “We’re hype, we’re excited,” Smith told the crowd of movie theater owners. He apologized for not being able to be in Las Vegas for the annual convention of the exhibition industry…well, kinda. “We’re not sorry we couldn’t be there,” Lawrence admonished him, noting they were four weeks into film the fourth film in the franchise. “We glad we not there because we here and they’re paying us to be here,” Smith said.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Connecticut is set to declare Sunday, April 23, 2023 as “Little Richard Day” in honor of the late performer’s “incomparable contributions to the history of music in America.” And no, the rock n’ roll icon doesn’t hail from the Nutmeg state. He was born in Georgia and lived in California, Tennessee and other ports of call until his death in 2020. Rather, Gov. Ned Lamont is issuing the proclamation in recognition of the release this month of “Little Richard: I Am Everything” and Connecticut’s many ties to the production. The film, which Magnolia bought out of the Sundance Film Festival, will premiere at the Bedford Playhouse, which is hosted by the Greenwich International Film Festival on April 23. It was produced by Greenwich International Film Festival board member Robert Friedman and produced and directed by Lisa Cortés, a Connecticut native and an alumna of Yale University.

Brent Lang Executive Editor To paraphrase dear Hannah Horvath from “Girls,” Rachel Sennott may not be the voice of her generation, but she certainly is a voice of a generation. And oh, what a voice. Smart, vulnerable, slightly neurotic, frequently ironic, always compelling. It’s a delicious style of comedy honed on Twitter, Instagram and other platforms, where the 27-year-old Sennott first developed a following with her wry observations on dating and personal finance. Then crystalized in starring roles in “Shiva Baby” (a masterclass in awkward humor) and the horror film “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (surprisingly amusing despite the gore). But with the one-two punch of “Bottoms” and “I Used to Be Funny,” both of which premiered at this year’s SXSW, Sennott has further demonstrated how rich and malleable her comic persona can be.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Three years ago, T.J. Newman was handing out peanuts and pouring drinks for airplane passengers. Last month, she was hustling between Zoom calls with Nicole Kidman and Jerry Bruckheimer as they tried to outbid each other for the rights to “Drowning,” her upcoming novel about a jetliner that crashes into the ocean. It’s all part of an improbable Cinderella story that’s taken Newman, a flight attendant-turned-bestselling writer, from manning first-class cabins to becoming one of Hollywood’s most in-demand talents.  Newman admits she still hasn’t accepted her change in fortunes. “Any time I board a plane, I still want to get up and collect trash or help someone put their bag in an overhead bin,” she says. “I have to remind myself: You can sit and order a drink instead of serving it.” 

Brent Lang Executive Editor “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” continues to be a box office high-scorer. The video game adaptation has crossed the $500 million mark at the global box office, shattering records with the gusto that its title character usually amasses power-ups. To date, the animated adventure has earned $260.3 million domestically and $248.4 million internationally. That lifts its worldwide haul to  $508.7 million. It is now the highest-grossing film of 2023 at both the global and domestic box office, surpassing “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (unlike that movie, people seem to have enjoyed this one). More important, it also makes “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” the biggest video game adaptation in history, topping the grosses of “Warcraft” and “Detective Pikachu.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Snowfall” star Damson Idris will appear opposite Brad Pitt in a new Formula One racing film from “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski. The untitled movie is being made by Apple Original Films and will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. Kosinski will produce the feature alongside seven-time Formula One champion Sir Lewis Hamilton under his Dawn Apollo Films banner, and Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Ehren Kruger, who did similar honors on “Top Gun: Maverick,” is writing the screenplay.  The racing feature stars Pitt as a former driver who returns to the sport. Idris will play his teammate. Aside from that, engines will be revved, finish lines will be crossed, cars will collide… OK, we really have no idea what happens on or off the track. But since the movie is being made in cooperation with Formula One, the action sequences will likely be a standout.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It’s-a blockbuster! “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” continued to rack up high scores at the box office as it heads into Easter weekend. The animated movie, a collaboration between Illumination, Nintendo and Universal, shows no signs of slowing down, earning a massive $26.5 million on Thursday. That brings its domestic haul to $58.2 million. At this rate, the mustachioed plumber should end his first five days on the big screen with more than $150 million in stateside winnings. Internationally, the movie has earned $62.5 million, pushing global ticket sales to $120.7 million. The week’s other major new release, Amazon Studios’s “Air,” a footwear tale detailing how Nike convinced Michael Jordan to become its most successful brand ambassador, earned $2.4 million on Thursday. That brings the sneaker story’s domestic total to just under $6 million. The film, which stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis, is expected to earn $16 million in its first five days in theaters. That’s a mere blip compared to Mario, but a solid result considering the struggles that movies aimed at adults have faced. Affleck directs the film in addition to starring opposite his “Good Will Hunting” buddy Damon. “Air” cost $90 million to make, meaning that Amazon better sell a lot of paper towels to justify that spending.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” a documentary that shines a harsh spotlight on the U.S. government’s treatment of wild horses. The non-fiction film was written, directed, and edited by Ashley Avis, who is best known for making 2020’s “Black Beauty” for Disney+. Gravitas Ventures will release the documentary in select theaters and on demand on May 12, 2023. The film looks at the reasons why wild horses in the Western part of the U.S. are fast disappearing and could be eradicated. At its core, the film argues, is a divisive battle over land and special interests, one in which horses are collateral damage. They are rounded up by helicopters, and facing encroachment on their natural habitat. Often, officials separate them from their families, a wrenching experience for the animals.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Method acting” long ago lost its meaning. Instead, it’s become a catchall to describe an intense commitment to getting it right on stage or screen. It’s an all-out approach that sees performers pack and shed pounds, feast on live cockroaches or raw bison, extract teeth or eschew showers, and remain in character between takes. Those are just a few examples of the extremes to which Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Shia LaBeouf, Charlize Theron, Daniel Day-Lewis and their ilk push themselves in the service of their art. For their suffering, they receive Oscars and Emmys, along with a ton of media coverage — just look at the scores of pieces documenting the gonzo things Jared Leto has done each time one of his movies get released.

Brent Lang Executive Editor The alacrity with which the entire audience leapt to its collective feet the second that Ivo van Hove’s production of the trauma-filled “A Little Life” ended tells us two things. Firstly, that there is plenty to admire in the committed, heartfelt performances of the company of eight actors led by an emotionally unsparing James Norton. Secondly, that despite what should be deeply distressing content about life-wrecking child abuse and extreme self-harm with a less than joyous ending, no one was so upset that they were unable to move. Which is a problem. “I kept putting the pages down,” says Harold in the play’s closing speech. Played with touching authority by Zubin Varla, he’s speaking of the pain-filled, eight-page, explanatory letter he has read, written by his adoptive son Jude, the play’s central character. That’s not a luxury afforded to the audience. They have endured Jude’s extreme pain being acted out unflinchingly across three hours and 40 minutes, the only break for air being the single intermission.