What to know
Stephen King calls out WB for withholding Salem’s Lot remake… The horror film was directed by Gary Dauberman and stars Lewis Pullman and Alfre Woodard. It was supposed to come out in September of 2022, but was then pushed back to Spring 2023 due to pandemic post production delays. As of October of last year, it was reportedly headed for a streaming release on Max. And yet here we are in February of 2024 and the movie has yet to see the light of day. King took to X to say that he’s seen the movie and “it’s quite good.” He calls it “old-school horror filmmaking” with “a slow build” and “big payoff,” so he’s “Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it's embarrassing, or anything.” As far as we know right now, Salem’s Lot has not been outright canceled — yet. It could still be released, but based on Warner Brothers’ recent track record of canceling finished movies, and the fact that Salem’s Lot doesn’t even have a release date, I think it’s fair to wonder what’s going here. 🤔
Sam Mendes making 4 interwoven Beatles biopics… One on each member of the bend — and what’s more Paul McCartney Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison have granted Mendes full life story and music rights.
There was apparently a lot of interest in this 4-movie deal around Hollywood
but Sony won out and will be the studio backing it. After Madame Web, Sony could definitely use this good press, but this sounds a like a very ambitious and maybe even risky project that will rely heavily on good writing, good casting, and then an audience that’s actually interested in seeing 4 Beatles movies in theaters. 🎸
BAFTAS bounced YouTube prankster who got on stage for Oppenheimer win… A YouTuber named Lizwani joined Chirstopher Nolan and company on stage when Oppenheimer won Best Film at the BAFTAs, and seemingly got away with it. He was later escorted out by security and the BAFTAs said they’re taking the breach seriously. It’s alarming to think that someone could just walk up there and easy to imagine what could happen if someone with more nefarious intentions used such a moment for violence. Hopefully the Oscars are reacting accordingly. 👀
Amazon reportedly shutting down Freevee… I guess the company realized they could brings ads to more people by just adding them to Prime Video — and that it doesn’t make sense to operate two streaming services like this. It’s wild how fast the industry went from FAST services are the future, to this happening. But we’ll always have Jury Duty. 📦
Joker: Folie a Deux reportedly costs $200 million… The original cost just $60 million. Joaquin Phoenix is reportedly making $20 million, while Lady Gaga is getting $12 million. But I bet this makes a billion dollars in theaters, so it’s all good. 🃏
Paramount+ and Peacock could merge into a single service… It would make sense for two of the smaller streamers to get together, but how it would affect creativity and the future of TV is yet to be determined. This is just rumor for now. 🏔️🦚
Michael Keaton praises Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s use of handmade effects… While I’m sure there will still be plenty of CGI and computer effects in the film, it’s nice to hear that they at least tried somewhat to keep it inline with the original. 👻
First trailer for video game movie Borderlands drops… Finally answering the question, what if Guardians of the Galaxy but steampunk and Cate Blanchett has a. cool ass red wig? 🎮
The Zone of Interest is finally available to watch at home… Meaning every Best Picture nominee is now available for all audiences, so get on it before March 10. 🎞️
Gareth Edwards steps up to direct new Jurassic World… OK not as exciting as David Leitch, in my opinion, but that works. 🦖
Syfy’s Resident Alien is tearing up the Netflix charts… Is it the next Suits? Nice to see Alan Tudyk have a big hit show. 👽
Jay Pharoah to host Fox game show The Quiz With Balls… We live in a dystopia. 🟡
You can now watch Oscar-nominee Nimona for free on YouTube… Nice of Netflix to do this! ▶️
Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 delayed to January 2025… Bummer. The wait continues. 🕰️
Marvel “retooling” amid super hero fatigue… I would hope so. 🥱
What’s new
Avatar: The Last Airbender — Feb 22 | Netflix fantasy series | Ⓜ️
Spaceman — Feb 23 | Netflix Adam Sandler drama film | Ⓜ️
Drive-Away Dolls — Feb 23 | Action comedy in theaters | Ⓜ️
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live — Feb 25 | AMC zombie series | Ⓜ️