This is one of those weeks when everything is about one movie, a movie I watched yesterday and predict will be controversial. This is Film & TV Friday.
The News
What We Do In The Shadows coming to FX
Before he became a directing juggernaut with Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi made the hilarious mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows about a bunch of vampires in News Zealand. The film, co-written and directed with Jemaine Clement (who you may know from Legion or as a singing evil crab in Moana), was never a commercial hit, but it has become beloved, and justly so. Now it looks like it's coming to TV. FX has ordered 10 episodes of a series based on the film, with both Waititi and Clement on board.
In "too little, too late" news
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to expel Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski. I want to focus on the Polanski part of it. Roman Polanski's academy award came in 2003. That's 26 after his arrest for rape. 25 years after he fled from justice to Europe. Excuse me if I am unimpressed by this extremely late reaction.
Netflix admits to making mistakes with Cannes
In a followup to a recent item here about Netflix and the Cannes film festival, Netflix CEO Richard Hastings admitted that the company made mistakes, and vowed to change tack moving forward, and not try to compete in the festival knowing it is against the rules.
Wide Release Films Opening This Weekend:
| Film | # of Theaters |
|---|---|
| Bad Samaritan | 2,007 |
| Overboard | 1,623 |
| Tully | 1,353 |
| Source: BoxOfficeMojo | |
| A minor horror film, a minor comedy, and a minor drama are all here to compete for Infinity War's scraps and to provide counter programming. |
TV Show Premieres This Week
| Show | Season | Country | Network or Service | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetbitter | 1 | US | Starz | Sunday | 8PM EST |
| Vida | 1 | US | Starz | Sunday | 8:30PM EST |
| I'm Dying Up Here | 2 | US | Showtime | Sunday | 10:00PM EST |
| Safe | 1 | Worldwide | Netflix | Thursday | 3:01AM EST |
| The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | 1 | Amazon | Some countries | Friday | 3:01AM EST |
| All Night | 1 | Some countries | Hulu | Friday | 3:01AM EST |
| Bill Nye Saves The World | 2 | Worldwide | Netflix | Friday | 3:01AM EST |
| The Who Was? Show | 1 | Worldwide | Netflix | Friday | 3:01AM EST |
| Source: The Futon Critic | |||||
| This is certainly a mix of things, innit? Surprised to see I'm Dying Up Here survived to a second season. Safe is mostly interesting because Michael C. Hall makes interesting choices. And a new Rocky and Bullwinkle show in 2018 seems either very timely or very misguided. |
Trailers
Ant-Man and the Wasp
I have a strong phobia of bugs, and the Ant-Man franchise is all about giant looking bugs. Which makes it the only MCU series I don't watch. Which is a shame. People like these films!Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
What's this? A fun looking DC movie? How odd and bewildering! At least their animated kids film isn't a total bummer.Book Club
The very definition of counter programming. This film basically exists for people who want to see a movie in two weeks and don't want the violence and action of Deadpool 2.A Simple Favor
I am a simple man, really. Give me an intriguing looking thriller with Anna Kendrick and I will probably watch it at some point.Robin Hood
A dash of Kingsmen (including series star Taron Egerton), a dash of John Wick (yo, people, a bow and arrow aren't a close range weapon), and a sprinkling of Robin Hood. This will probably not be very good, but it may be quite fun.The Yellow Birds
This looks like the kind of utterly depressing war drama that wins awards, and it's based on a popular and well reviewed novel by a veteran. And I can guarantee you that I will never, ever watch it.Related Posts
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