Disney has cast Jessica Alexander in its upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. She will join Halle Bailey, who will portray the main character in the movie Ariel, a mermaid princess who dreams of being a human.
Alexander also joins Melissa McCarthy is playing her villainous aunt Ursula as well as Javier Bardem, who is on board to play King Triton. There’s no information given on who Alexaxander will play in the movie.
Rob Marshall is directing the film from a script written by David Magee. The new movie will include original songs from the 1989 animated classic, as well as some new songs from original composer Alan Menken with lyrics by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
I’m not really that familiar with Alexander’s work, but she leads Ruth Paxton’s A Banquet, which IFC has picked up. She also has a role in Kelsey Egan’s Glasshouse, which is now in post-production. She got her big break in the Netflix teen drama Get Even.
Director Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean) is set to helm a feature film adaptation of George R.R. Martin‘s 1979 novelette Sandkings which is currently in the works at Netflix. Utopia creator Dennis Kelly is also on board to help develop it as the writer.
Verbinski revealed the news himself after being asked what he was currently working on during an interview with Collider saying, “one of the screenplays is based on a George R.R. Martin short story called Sandkings, which is this brilliant little twisted short story that I love. And I’m working with a great writer, Dennis Kelly, who wrote the original [Utopia]… The British original series is brilliant. And Dennis is doing the adaptation, so I’m kind of excited about that.”
Verbinski didn’t offer any other details on the project, but here are some details on the story, which follows a wealthy playboy named Simon Kress who collects dangerous, exotic animals.
One day, he stumbles across a mysterious establishment called Wo & Shade, where he purchases a terrarium filled with four colonies of creatures called sandkings, which grow to fill whatever environment they are kept in. Each colony consists of a large female called the maw, and numerous insect-like mobiles that she controls via telepathy. In addition to finding food for the maw, the mobiles also construct a sandcastle around her to protect the maw from invading colonies.
Indeed, the four colonies — white, black, red and orange — often engage in coordinated wars with one another, especially once their new owner makes them fight over food by starving them. Simon begins taking bets on the outcomes of these wars, which leave some of his friends impressed, and others disgusted. Eventually, the sandkings escape Simon’s terrarium and begin to take over his house as their hunger — and Simon’s desperation — intensifies.
Sandkings won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and it was previously adapted in 1995 as a TV movie that starred Beau Bridges. It ultimately ended up being the first episode of The Outer Limits revival. The story was also adapted into a graphic novel in 1987 by DC Comics, writer Doug Moench and artists Pat Broderick and Neal McPheeters.
This is sure to be a great film project for Verbinski to direct. It sounds like it has the potential to be an awesome movie. For the most part, I’ve enjoyed the films that Verbinski has made over the course of his career and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what he does with Sandkings.
Trying to distinguish oneself in a very crowded genre can be very difficult. Especially in the genre of dystopian sci-fi. We’ve seen so many movies and TV shows that all feel like the Hunger Games, Maze Runner or The 100, and see a number of ongoing tropes and similar ideas through sci-fi for decades. Tribes Of Europa may feel extremely familiar in a number of ways, but it does stand out with its good cinematography, dynamic characters, and visceral violence.
A basic synopsis: Europe’s countries have broken down into a variety of tribes after a big, bad event and now a humble family is dealing with mysterious new technology and raging factions. I was actually surprised at how engaging the story was by the end of the first episode. A lot of the elements are borrowed and we’ve seen things like this in other places. But the combination and way events play out keep the audience entertained more than expected. The four main characters, three siblings and the father do well in their respective roles, I just wish that there was a little bit more time spent on character building initially as a family even if it cost some time with the plot. There is a lot of plot here, not in overly complicated political systems or drama thought. The large amounts of the plot come from each episode’s intense amount of events. I also was surprised that I never felt rushed either, whoever edited and wrote this knew how to keep the audience’s attention almost the entire season.
Along with a good sci-fi story, there’s got to be cool technologies, visuals, and usually good action too. This is where I think Tribes of Europa actually does a really great job. All their visual effects were really good. Only a few times that things look really fake, which is surprising for the first season of a TV show. A lot of their fights and action seem to be done with practical effects and good editing to imply heavy violence and action. The fights may not have the most graceful and fantastic choreography, but they felt real and brutal. It’s also refreshing to see how punishing and intense violence can be through this show. People in real life don’t just keep running and fighting after being shot multiple times or stabbed a bunch. Here every cut, bullet wound, and punch is felt by the characters and the audience.
Overall I was surprised by the show, but there is still a lot about it that could be done to improve it. There are some story elements that could have progressed a little faster and the world designs could’ve been far more original and rich. But the constant movement of the story and intense violence made this miniseries more than just your average dystopian TV show.
Director Ridley Scott is looking to cast Killing Eve star Jodie Comer in his upcoming Napoleon Bonaparte film project Kitbag. She would star alongside Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon’s beloved Josephine. Comer recently worked with Scott on The Last Duel, and apparently, he was blown away by her performance and wants her in this next film of his.
She is currently in talks to join the film, but the report says that it’s a possibility that a deal may not go through. But, she’s at the top of Scott’s list. The filmmaker “always felt she was in front-runner and was quick to declare her as his choice for the part.”
The film’s title, Kitbag, is derived from the saying “There is a general’s staff hidden in every soldier’s kitbag.” The movie is said to be “an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. While the intention of the film is to capture Napoleon’s famous battles, ambition and strategic mind, the love story he had with Josephine is just as important to the origins and way the great military leader was.”
Scott planning to direct Kitbag after he finishes the MGM crime thriller House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga. On top of The Last Duel, Comer is expected to shoot the fourth season of Killing Eve later this year. She also stars in Ryan Reynolds’ upcoming action-comedy Free Guy.
I love Comer in Killing Eve. She’s a talented actress and I hope that she ends up taking the role in Scott’s Kitbag.
Guys, are puppets making a comeback? I swear I’ve been seeing a fair amount of puppet content being announced and released compared to past years. The latest entry comes from Nickelodeon and is called The Barbarian and the Troll (previously Brendar the Barbarian). Co-created by Mike Mitchell and Drew Massey, viewers will follow the adventures of the bridge troll Evan and the fierce female barbarian Brendar. This looks like a weird show that I swear is going to become a cult classic.
In the premiere of The Barbarian and the Troll, Evan the troll decides to burn his bridge and venture out into the world of Gothmoria for the first time to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a singer. He soon meets Brendar, who had been expelled from the Royal Order of Warrior Princesses and is now known as a “feared and revered” barbarian. After Evan convinces Brendar to bring him on her quest to vanquish the evil demon, they cross treacherous terrain to confront bizarre and magical creatures and encounter an eclectic puppet cast of wacky characters.
Massey stars as Evan alongside Spencer Grammer (Rick & Morty) as Brendar. They’re joined by talented puppeteers and voice talent including Colleen Smith, Allan Trautman, Sarah Sarang Oh, Nicolette Santino, Peggy Etra, James Murray, Jeny Cassady, and Gina Yashere. In addition, Mitchell will serve as the primary director for the show. You can watch the premiere of The Barbarian and the Troll on April 2 at 7:30 PM (ET/PT).
