George Carlin is rolling in his grave
George Carlin is rolling in his grave
And the word on new Scorsese, PTA, and Wes A movies
What to know
AI puts out “new” “George Carlin” special… The people behind Dudesy, an AI comedy podcast, have released a new George Carlin comedy special 100% generated by artificial intelligence. The AI calls it “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead” and it claims the special is a Carlin “impression,” intended to capture his style and the topics he might be talking about today. In it the AI generated Carlin discusses gun violence, the 2024 election, transphobia, streaming services, billionaires, and even artificial intelligence itself. It’s not hard to imagine Carlin talking about these issues and the technology admittedly has captured the sound of his voice to an eery degree, Bbut there is absolutely nothing special or unique about the writing. It feels like the jokes and points the AI makes almost anyone could have come up with. They seem more like the revelations of a college freshmen who just read Catcher in the Rye rather than a master thinker and performer like Carlin. Carlin’s daughter Kelly got right to the point on X, “No machine will ever replace his genius … Humans are so afraid of the void that we can’t let what has fallen into it stay there … Here’s an idea, how about we give some actual living human comedians a listen to?” 🤖
Lucasfilm is making a Mandaolrian and Grogu movie… Which might be a riskier decision than you think, just ask Kevin Feige. Sure, on paper a Mandalorian movie seems like a slam dunk. The characters are immensely popular, especially Grogu — and The Mandalorian has been one of the highest rated shows on TV in recent years. But is enthusiasm for the show as high as it once was? Season 3 saw lower viewership numbers than season 2, and lower IMDB ratings from fans across the board. Plus a fourth season of The Mandalorian is still in the works alongside this newly announced movie. So how much is too much? And then there’s the problem of migrating characters from TV to the big screen, which hasn’t been exactly successful for Marvel thus far. Pushing Kang, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau to the big screen didn’t exactly light up the box office for Ant-Man 3 and The Marvels. Will casual moviegoers who haven’t watched any of The Mandalorian go see the movie in theaters? I personally am still on board with The Mandalorian and am excited by the potential of a big screen treatment. Hopefully it’s one that doesn’t rely as much on virtual sets as the TV show does .I’d love to see director Jon Favreau explore a larger and more tactile world for the film, one far far way from the confines of the Volume. ✨
Warner Bros giveth and taketh away… Warner Bros has unfortunately pulled Bong Joon Ho’s next movie Mickey 17 from its release calendar. The highly anticipated sci-fi film starring Robert Pattinson was supposed to come out on March 29, but sources told Variety that the Parasite director needs more time to finish the film
due to strike delays. Hopefully Director Bong finishes it this year and we get to see it sooner rather than later. And who knows maybe a later-in-the-year release date would boost its award chances? Meanwhile, Paul Thomas Anderson is going to shoot a new movie this year! It will star Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Regina Hall, along with a large ensemble cast that has yet to be announced. Deadline has the scoop on this one and says that the movie’s story is being kept under wraps, but that it has a contemporary setting and a corresponding budget to match. The currently untitled film, which was also written by PTA, is his first since Licorice Pizza. 🎬
Martin Scorsese and Wes Anderson are both planning to shoot new movies this year... Scorsese just told The Los Angeles Times that he and Kent Jones have finished writing A Life of Jesus, based on the book by Shusaku Endo, who wrote Silence, and he’s planning to shoot it later this year. It will be set in the present day and is expected to be just 80 minutes long, which is quite the departure from his recent 3-hour plus films. Like all of his movies, I’m sure this film will grapple with morality and redemption. If it doesn’t have a planned production start date yet, my guess is we won’t see it until 2025 the earliest. Meanwhile, Scorsese’s next historical epic The Wager, about a 1741 British navy shipwreck and mutiny, has been put on the back burner. And then you’ve got Wes Anderson. We’ve known for a while that he’s planning to make an “espionage” film with a small cast for his next feature. And now World of Reel, who has been correct on Wes Anderson scoops in the past, says it will shoot this spring. It was previously reported that the movie will star Benicia del Toro and Michael Cera, with del Toro reportedly being in every shot. And now World of Reel is saying that Bill Murray has also joined the cast as well, which isn’t surprising at all. Anderson told LeMonde last year the movie will be linear, is about espionage, a father-daughter relationship, and has a rather dark tone. If it’s shooting in the spring, it’s possible we could see it before the end of this year. 🎥
Something weird is happening with Anyone But You… And it’s a good sign for rom coms. Romantic comedies aren’t exactly the box office draw they once were but Anyone But You, starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, is slowly proving otherwise. Take a look at these numbers: The movie opened to just $6 million on Dec. 22 against a $25 million budget. Which usually means game over. Box office bomb. But then something really unusual happened. It grew in its second weekend, making $8.7 million, which is a 46% increase. Then it grew again in its 3rd weekend, taking in $9.75 million. While this type of growth happens with films in limited release as they expand, it’s practically unheard of for films in wide release. In total the movie has made $58.7M worldwide so far. That’s more than double its budget! But due to marketing costs and the fact that theaters take a big chunk of the box office gross it probably isn’t profitable yet. My guess is that with VOD sales and licensing distribution it probably could be eventually. I don’t think the theatrical rom com is suddenly back from the dead, but this does prove that movie fans want variety and that if the budgets are modest, there’s success to be had outside of the major franchises. 💰
Paramount developing new Star Trek movie… With Andor director Toby Haynes and writer Seth Grahame-Smith. It’s said to be an “origin story that takes place decades before the 2009 Star Trek film.” Meaning it likely takes place after Star Trek: Enterprise but before Kirk and Spock. Perhaps dealing with Kirk’s father? Who has played by Chris Hemsworth in the ‘09 film? It doesn’t seem yet that Hemsworth is attached though. If Paramount wants this to be successful at the box office, they either need recognizable characters or actors. Meanwhile, Star Trek has a very complicated and detailed canon—one split in 2 by J.J. Abrams—so hopefully Haynes and Grahame-Smith know what they’re doing. Meanwhile, a 4th movie in main series (the one that J.J. Abrams started in ‘09) is still in development as well. 🚀
Award season updates
Barbie, Oppenheimer, Succession lead SAG Award nominations… Not too many surprises here. All of the top Oscar contedners are nominated (Gladstone, Stone, Murphy, Giamatti, Randolph, Downey). Though it’s interesting to see Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction) and Penelope Cruz (Ferrari) make the cut, and May December get left out in the cold. 🏆
DGA nominates Gerwig, Lanthimos, Payne, Nolan, and Scorsese… If those end up being the Oscar Best Director nominees, I think I’d be OK with that. Nolan seems to be the odds-on favorite, but I’m just glad Gerwig has a good shot at a nomination. It wouldn’t be a great look if no women were nominated this year. 🎞️
Scott Feinberg updates his predictions, giving Oppenheimer and Giamatti the edge… It does seem that Oppenheimer is looking more and more likely. Meanwhile, Giamatti is having a run over Cillian Murphy echoing last year’s race between Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett. 🏆
Golden Globes land largest audience in 4 years… That’s a lot of people watching Jo Koy bomb. I guess the Globes are really back for good. Some things cannot be defeated. 🌐
And everything else
Tina Fey co-creating and starring in new Netflix comedy series based on The Four Seasons… The 1981 Alan Alda-Carol Burnett movie about 3 couples who vacation together every season. I’d say the last thing we need right now is another show about rich people on vacation, but with Fey at the helm and in the lead role, I’m quite optimistic. 🏖️
Netflix has dropped a teaser for Benioff and Weiss’s mysterious new show 3 Body Problem… The discourse around this show is going to be insufferable.
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are making a 28 Years Later… Well, it’s about damn time. Though actually it’s only been 24 years since 28 Days Later. 🧟♀️
Our Flag Means death canceled by Max after 2 seasons… Bummer! I never finished this series, but know that it has its very devoted fans. 🏴☠️
Tom Cruise signs new deal with Warner Bros… I guess he wasn’t thrilled with Paramount after the most recent Mission: Impossible rollout? 🤝
Ahsoka renewed for a second season… That’s good. Would have been unfortunate for it went to go out the way it did at the end of season one. ✨
Kaitlyn Dever and Young Mazino join The Last of Us season 2… It’s always nice to see good shows get good new cast members. 🍄
Society of the Snow outperforming Maestro and May December on Netflix… Who’d have thought?! But people love their thrillers. 🏔️
Carrie Coon joins The White Lotus season 3… But this is the best casting announcement of the year so far. 👏
Trailer for Amy Winehouse biopic is here… Go back to black. 🎤
Selena Gomez to play Linda Ronstadt in biopic… I can see it. 🎵
What’s new
Echo — Jan 9 | Marvel series on Disney+ | Ⓜ️ 61
Ted — Jan 11 | Comedy series on Peacock | Ⓜ️
Lift — Jan 12 | Action comedy film on Netflix | Ⓜ️
Self Reliance — Jan 12 | Comedy thriller on Hulu | Ⓜ️ 65
The Book of Clarence — Jan 12 | Historical satire in theaters | Ⓜ️ 63
Mean Girls — Jan 12 | Musical remake in theaters | Ⓜ️ 61
The Beekeeper — Jan 12 | Action thriller in theaters | Ⓜ️ 52
Returning: True Detective s4