Clooney eyes 'Ocean's' reunion

And remembering Andre Braugher

Dec 15, 2023

George Clooney could get the Ocean’s gang back together… But he might want to get on it before Ryan Reynolds crashes the party. The Oceans franchise is far from dead. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are currently working on a prequel to Ocean’s Eleven with Bombshell director Jay Roach. And Clooney just revealed to Uproxx that he might be making another Ocean’s movie with the trilogy’s original cast. “We have a really good script for another Ocean’s,” he told the site. “So we may end up doing another one.” But he was careful to say that he doesn’t want to call it Oceans 14, explaining “the idea is kind of like Going in Style,” a 1979 comedy about three older men who pull off a heist. Style was remade in 2017 by Zach Braff, starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Alan Arkin. Clooney and company aren’t that old but I’m assuming the idea is like “one last job.”Clooney might want to get on with making it because Ryan Reynolds is planning a huge movie at Netflix in the same exact genre. Deadline reports that the streamer just beat out 7 major streaming competitors in a bidding war for a Ryan Reynolds global heist comedy film. The streamer reportedly paid 7 figures for the movie that’s reportedly “in the spirit of an Ocean’s Eleven.” Heist movies are nothing new but if these movies come out around the same time, I could see a world where Reynolds steals Clooney’s thunder. 🎰
Emmy winner Andre Braugher has died at 61… This is a huge loss. I just want to talk briefly about the archetype he embodied so perfectly on Brooklyn Nine-Nine because it’s a microcosm for all of his vast talents. Braugher played Captain Raymond Holt on the show, a stoic, hard ass leader with a secret soft side. Braugher understood that the more straight faced and serious he played the part, the funnier it would be. His deadpan, often cold and exacting interactions were perfectly juxtaposed against some of the other, broader characters — like Andy Samberg’s puppy-dog detective Jake Peralta and Melissa Fumero’s striving Amy Santiago. Braugher brought to the role all of his dramatic chops honed for years at Juliard, on dramas like Homicide, and doing Shakespeare at the Public. But he could truly do it all. Because often Brooklyn Nine-Nine would call on Captain Holt to play against type. The moments where Holt let loose, like his famous “Hot damn!” or showed his soft side were among the best in the series. When Holt got silly or enraged or emotional you really felt it and that’s because Braugher was bringing all that he was to the part. 💔
Dwayne Johnson to star in A24 drama directed by Benny Safdie… It’s called The Smashing Machine and is based on the story of legendary MMA fighter Mark Kerr as he ascended the ranks of the sport to become a two-time UFC Heavyweight champion, in late 90s and early 2000s, all while navigating personal relationships and struggling with addiction. While this will be far and away Johnson’s most serious and dramatic role to date, he definitely has the stature and look to play Kerr. But does the Rock have the acting chops to pull it off? Also there’s a question of age. At 51, Johnson is only a few years younger than Kerr who is 54. So will the movie de-age him to play Kerr at 30? Or are they fudging Kerr’s age? Also of note, this is the first time Benny Safdie is directing a film solo minus his brother Josh, but I’m not too worried about that. 🤼‍♀️
Netflix drops massive data trove from first half of 2023… Netflix heard the calls for transparency and replied, “You want data? Here’s ALL the data.” Be careful what you wish for. What’s clear to me is that Netflix has become the CBS and CW of 10-15 years ago. Its top shows are straightforward and made to be as broad-appeal as possible. For lack of a better term, TV at its most basic. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s clearly working financially for the streamer — but if you’re looking for the best of TV or more challenging material, it’s most likely not going to be found among Netflix’s most popular series. 🍿
A24 making video game movie Death Stranding… It was reported back in October that A24 would be expanding into more commercial films — and here’s the proof. Alex Garland’s action-sci fi satire Civil War (trailer reaction below) reportedly has a $75M budget, making it A24’s most expensive movie ever. The studio known for indie darlings and awards bait has gone Hollywood. 🎮
Curb Your Enthusiasm is ending for real this time with season 12… If this is true, Larry David has definitely earned it. For 20+ years, Curb has consistently been one of the funniest show son TV. That said, David is kind of like the Miyazaki of comedy, and one should never discount him coming out of retirement for more. 👏

And everything else

Anthony Anderson to host the Emmys, Trevor Noah returning to host the Grammys… Meanwhile, the Golden Globes remain ominously hostless — and that show is just a few weeks away. 🏆
Wakanda-centric animated series in the works for Disney+… Marvel might be on shaky ground right now, but it’s animation slate is promising. 💥
A Paddington stage musical is in the works… It’s best to just give into Paddington mania at this point. 🐻
Saw XI coming next September… Props to the Saw franchise for sticking with numbered sequel titles. 🪚
Blue Eye Samurai renewed at Netflix for 2nd season… Heard very good things about this animated series. ⚔️
The Amy Winehouse biopic is coming in May… And Industry star Marisa Abela looks so much like her. 🎵
Live-action American Girl doll movie in the works from Mattel… Toy movies are our inevitable future. 🇺🇸
Nat Geo greenlights new Stanley Tucci Italy docuseries… Love something as much as Tucci loves Italy. 🇮🇹

What’s new

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget — Dec 15 | Netflix animated film | Ⓜ️ 62
Such Brave Girls — Dec 15 | Hulu comedy series | Ⓜ️
Wonka — Dec 15 | Musical comedy film in theaters | Ⓜ️ 66
American Fiction — Dec 15 | Satirical comedy film in limited theaters | Ⓜ️ 80
The Zone of Interest — Dec 15 | Historical drama film in limited theaters | Ⓜ️ 93
Returning: The Crown s6 part 2, Reacher s2