What to know
Movie theaters across America announce $3-ticket day Sept. 3… They might as well be saying, “Please for the love of God, come to the movies!” Cynicism aside, this is a fun idea and it’s nice to see the big chains buying in together. The question is, what movies will even be playing that weekend interesting enough to bring people out? Even if tickets are only $3. Despite a big early summer, things are dire at the cineplex right now. For example, The Invitation topped the box office this weekend with a grand total of $7 million domestic. And that was on 3,141 screens! It’s a good thing the movie only cost Sony $10 million to make. 🎟
The CW expanding into multi-cam sitcoms and procedurals… Under its new owners, The CW wants to go broader and cheaper. Interestingly, Nexstar says the network will continue to produce genre fare and teens soaps (though not as many) but wants to expand into sitcoms and procedurals both for the cost savings and for attracting an older audience. Personally, I’m encouraged by the network exploring multi-cam sitcoms and hope that a really good one comes along for them to make. 📺
Natalie Portman Apple series halts Baltimore production over threats of violence… What is going on on sets these days? Locals threatened to open fire on this production if it didn’t stop shooting in downtown Baltimore. Between this and the incidents on the new Justified, a scary trend is emerging. 😮
Tessa Thompson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt join sci-fi flick Ash… Thompson awakens on a distant planet to find her fellow crew mates viciously killed, JGL is called in to investigate, but can she trust him? This sounds like a less icky Passengers and I’m down to see how it turns out. 👩🏽🚀
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige join Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop legacy sequel at Netflix… It’s a JGL twofer kind of day! I think the kid’s got a future in this Hollywood business. Also, like all ‘80s legacy sequels, blame Tom Cruise for this new Beverly Hills Cop. 🚔
Netflix with ads could be as low as $7 a month… At first! I’m sure Netflix will incrementally increase the price over a number of years until it’s $15+. 🍿
Lance Bass, Danielle Fishel making movie based on their real teenage romance in the ‘90s… Indeed, it does not get more ‘90s than this. ❤️
John Boyega is working with Joe Cornish on the story for an Attack the Block sequel… Go watch Attack the Block if you’ve never seen it! 🏢
Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase join zombie teen mystery romance… They’re probably not playing the teens in this scenario. 🤔
Legendary director William Friedkin to make a new movie for the first time in over a decade… No Friedkin way! 🎥
Taylor Swift announces new album for October… If it’s sweater season, it means new T Swift. 🎶
Clue is becoming an animated series on Fox… in the living room with the remote. 🔪
What’s new
The Patient — Aug 30 | Hulu drama series | 🍅 79%
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — Sept 2 | Amazon fantasy series | 🍅
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. — Sept 2 | Comedy film in theaters | 🍅 84%
What to watch
Disney+ continues to be the go-to destination for pop culture documentaries. If you like learning how the entertainment sausage gets made—and if you’re reading this newsletter, you probably do—the Mouse’s streaming platform is rife with deep dives and interesting content. Besides feature docs like Howard and serial deep dives like The Imagineering Story and Prop Culture, Disney+ is putting out full-length behind-the-scenes specials after every Marvel and Star Wars series. Even though these sometimes border on marketing material, no other streamer is doing this.
Disney’s latest is Light and Magic, a 6-part chronological series about the formation, innovation, growth, and changes at George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic special effects company. ILM was the first-ever special effects house, borne out of necessity on Star Wars, but its story serves as a keystone for film history at the end of the twentieth century and into today. Over the decades, ILM changed the face of cinema AND introduced a number of important technological advancements that influenced society writ large. Lawrence Kasdan directs the doc series, giving equal share to the scrappy beginnings and interpersonal eccentricities of ILM, as well as the important and influential work that was done there.
Special effects have become ubiquitous in our entertainment. Even if you think what you’re watching doesn’t have many special effects, I can assure you, it does. At a time when the SFX industry is being crunched and fanboy memes rip apart high-budget Marvel products for alleged subpar CGI, understanding where it all comes from is crucial. In the same way understanding a recipe will enhance your appreciation for a composed meal at a restaurant, Light and Magic will show you how filmmaking evolved and give you new insight and appreciation for the technical magicians who bring spectacle to life.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!