Not a dream! Not a hoax! And not cancelled on account of Sony hackers! The 21 Jump Street/Men in Black crossover is indeed being discussed with writer-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller! Plus, news on the release of James Cameron’s Avatar trilogy, Studio Ghibli’s latest effort, a kick-ass Kingsman clip, and more chances for students to watch Selma for free — all in today’s Movie Morsels!
Avatar 2
Like Orson Welles, James Cameron will sell no wine before its time. (Thanks to all two of you who laughed at that chestnut.) The King of the World and purveyor of Pandora has decided to push back the release dates for all three of his Avatar sequels by one year, with Avatar 2 now scheduled to arrive in theaters for Christmas 2017. “We’re not just going to do one and then make up another one and another one after that,” says Cameron. “And parallel with that, we’re doing all the design. So we’ve designed all the creatures and the environments.” Whatever my feelings are towards the first Avatar, I’ve nothing but respect for filmmakers committed to delivering the best work they can, regardless of studio or audience pressure, so hats off to Jimmy C.
[Variety]
When Marnie Was There
Studio Ghibli fans rejoice! Hayao Miyazaki’s animation studio’s When Marnie Was There has just scored itself a North America distributor in the form of indie outfit GKIDS. Based on the Joan G. Robinson children’s novel and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Marnie was released in Japan last summer. GKIDS also handled last year’s stateside release of the studio’s much praised The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya.
[Deadline]
23 Jump Street/Men in Black 4
Sony’s idea to merge its 21 Jump Street and Men in Black franchises — one of many bits of info leaked in the studio’s recent hack — is apparently still being discussed. Jump Street co-director Phil Lord has told MTV, “It’s still a crazy idea, and we only do things that seem like they’re going to be terrible… We’re really focusing on what’s a great story for Schmidt and Jenko and how to tell the next chapter in their lives. And perhaps use creatures from another world at the same time.” Also leaked in the hack, Jump Street star Jonah Hill’s reaction to the idea: “Clean and rad and powerful.” No word yet on whether Men in Black stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would be up for the merger, but Lord says their involvement is also being discussed.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
To further whet our appetites for this Friday’s release of director Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, 20th Century Fox has released a new clip featuring one of the film’s key fight scenes, featuring star Colin Firth dispensing snazzy Brit justice.
Selma
Five more cities have agreed to take part in the nation campaign organized by African-America business leaders to provide free screenings of Selma — the critically praised drama about the immortal Martin Luther King, Jr. — to students, bringing the campaign’s total to thirteen cities: Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington D.C. The original group of participating cities is comprised of Boston, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sarasota, FL and Westchester. (Initially 27,000 grade school students in New York City were allowed to see the film for free, with an additional 75,000 tickets given away.) For a full list of participating theaters, visit www.SelmaMovie.com/studenttickets
[Paramount]
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What do you think of today’s top stories? Let us know below!
So they’re screening ‘Selma’ for free to students in a bunch of cities, now. Ok, cool. I noticed that there is one GLARING omission to that list of cities: SELMA, ALABAMA! Weird how that works out, huh?
Sony sure has their finger on the pulse of what people want. From the revamped Spider-Man series to their idea to combine 21 Jump Street and Men and Black.
“The A-Team” and “21 Jump” street crossover would make more sense. “The A-Team” still has many story possiblities left to make.
According to the still of the Kingsman video, you’re four weeks off on its premiere date.