Can you smell the piping-hot fresh Movie Morsels we’ve been cooking for you in the Nerdist ovens? You can? Well let’s dig in! We’ve got lots of delectable Rogue One appetizers, the latest from Gods of Egypt, the trailer for the much praised science-fiction film The Lobster, and much more…
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Lots of tasty Rogue One tidbits have arrived online, starting with the film’s latest cast member, Scottish supermodel Eunice Olumide…
Olumide has revealed that she’s joined the production in a couple of new interviews which reinforce what we’ve been told about Rogue One being a true war movie. At the Zero Waste Scotland campaign, Olumide remarked to the Edinburgh Evening News, “I did a small feature in Star Wars Rogue One. That was a really awesome experience. I don’t have lines but it was an incredible experience to be part of such an iconic film.”
She adds, “I was originally supposed to play a nomad, but since I’m athletic I ended up playing a rebellion leader…There’s a small scene where I run and there’s a tank that comes after me with 20 stormtroopers. There’s loads of explosions… I kept getting a fright whenever the explosions went off.”
Lines or no, Olumide clearly made her mark on the Star Wars canon:Â “If my scene gets cut or not cut I was entered into the George Lucas Archives. I got into a 3D scanner and they did a scan… They scan all the characters so they can reproduce individual toys or computer games. I will be a toy. It was an amazing experience.”
In Scotland’s Herald, the model-turned-actress commented, “I did not get any lines, but I got to wear this really outlandish costume and run through a bar while a tank comes after us. The about 20 stormtroopers pile out and there’s lots of explosions. I have this sort of mushroom on my head.”
Mushroom, eh? Hmmm… Hey, speaking of headwear, Making Star Wars has an explanation of the helmets in that photo that Rogue One star Donnie Yen posted a while back on social media, which was quickly taken down…
Regarding the helmet on the right, the site claims, “It is a combination of a Scout Trooper (Biker Scout) with Stormtrooper parts… On set they were called ‘Sandtroopers’… It has a lot of soft parts like a Scout Trooper including similar chest armor, but more narrow around the hips… It has the same kneepad as the classic Sandtrooper… It has some accent of color like dark red on a panel.”
As for the helmet on the left, it belongs to the film’s “Death Troopers,” who wear all-black armor accented by green lights. “The green lights look really cool against the black armor,” claims the site. “When casting the Death Troopers they were looking for actors around 6’3? so they’re pretty big (TFA Stormtroopers are 5’10†for comparison).”
Making Star Wars further claims that these Death Troopers will be the face of Rogue One‘s merchandise and marketing campaigns. The site has a decent track record when it comes to intel. So for the time being at least, I’m inclined to believe them.
Gods of Egypt
This is Sparta!!! Er, I mean… This is Egypt!!!! Ahem. Following Sunday’s Super Bowl spot, there are two more TV spots out there for Gods of Egypt, starring Scottish man-meat Gerard Butler, along with Game of Thrones‘ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Elodie Yung, Courtney Eaton, Rufus Sewell, and Geoffrey Rush. The Alex Proyas-directed tentpole has been accused of whitewashing its characters, though, for all the CG effects in this thing, it’s hard to spot any human beings in these clips at all. In any case, you can visit Egypt on February 26.
The Lobster
There’s been several high-profile science-fiction films released in the last couple of years that showcase the genre’s breadth. Films like Her, Ex Machina, and The Martian offer proof to today’s screen audiences that sci-fi is more than just CGI and shoot-em-ups. The Lobster looks to further this trend. Winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, The Lobster, directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, stars Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, and Lea Seydoux in a tale of a dystopic future in which single people are given 45 days to find a mate or they are turned into an animal. Oh yeah! Eat your heart out, Charlie Kaufman. Here’s the trailer for the film, due out on March 11…
[Alchemy]
Fifty Shades Freed
Yesterday we learned that Bella Heathcote had joined the cast of the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel Fifty Shades Darker. Now we hear that the third film in the trilogy based on the E.L. James book series has already begun casting. Arielle Kebbel, pictured above in TV’s Ballers, will appear in Fifty Shades Freed as “Gia Matteo, a beautiful architect who Christian [Grey] hires to build his home. Ana gives her the nickname ‘Miss-Provocative-And-Unfortunately-Good-At-Her-Job.'” Directed by James Foley, the threequel bows on February 10, 2017.
Across the River and into the Trees
Pierce Brosnan and Martin Campbell made for a successful team in Brosnan’s first and arguably best James Bond film, Goldeneye. Now the star and director are reuniting for Across the River and into the Trees, based on Ernest Hemingway’s 1950 novel. The author’s last published book before his death, it concerns an American officer in post-World War II Italy who goes on a road trip after learning he has terminal cancer, and strikes up a relationship with a young countess.
Hardcore Henry
Last but not least today… We have the poster for Hardcore Henry, the much talked about first-person POV action film about an amnesiac on a mission to rescue his wife from the clutches of a warlord. The film, starring Sharlto Copley and Haley Bennett, was so well received at last year’s Toronto Film Festival that it led to a bidding war between Universal, Lionsgate and STX, with STX the winner. It also won won the festival’s Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award. Hardcore Henry lands on April 8.
Images: Sony, STX, HBO
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