The past seven days

Monday, March 30, 2015

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies gets a release date

It's actually happening, folks.

The long developed adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies finally has a release date. The film is set for release on February 19, 2016. The film, directed by Burr Steers, stars Lily James, Sam Riley, and Bella Heathcote.

This film has been in developmental hell for years. It's gone through several actresses, writers, and directors before finally settling on a cast. I honestly never thought it would see the light of day. The book was very enjoyable, so we'll see if it does the story any justice.

Tron 3 title and schedule revealed?

We received very credible rumors that a long awaited sequel to Tron: Legacy was filming in Canada this summer and there is now a rumor about the film's title as well as a start date.

Word is that Tron: Ascension will start filming in Vancouver this October. The shoot is scheduled to continue until February 2016. The biggest questions include whether Garrett Hedlund and/or Olivia Wilde would return. Also, the question of whether Daft Punk would return to compose the score is another question.
There are also some holes left from Tron: Legacy such as Cillian Murphy's cameo as Edward Dillinger, Jr. and the fact that Rinzler was actually TRON. They could continue on those key points or they could simply think of another way to continue the story. Only time will tell. 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Sam Taylor-Johnson exits Fifty Shades franchise

This isn't really a surprise, but Universal announced today that Sam Taylor-Johnson will not return to direct the Fifty Shades of Grey sequels. She quite famously clashed with Fifty Shades author, EL James, on set and after James demanded to pen the script for Fifty Shades Darker it's assumed that was the final straw for her.

Sam Taylor-Johnson had this to say about her departure:
"Directing Fifty Shades of Grey has been an intense and incredible journey for which I am hugely grateful. I have Universal to thank for that. I forged close and lasting relationships with the cast, producers, and crew and most especially, Dakota and Jamie. While I will not be returning to direct the sequels, I wish nothing but success to whosoever takes on the exciting challenges of films two and three."

The film has been a surprising success at the box office despite rather overwhelmingly negative critical reviews. It's another franchise, it seems, where the fans love it but the critics hate it. Like I said, this isn't really surprising but I think it's perhaps the biggest mistake Universal could have made regarding this franchise, aside from allowing James to pen the scripts.
The movie wasn't great but it wasn't horrible and I credited Sam Taylor-Johnson for a lot of that. The element she brought to the film was a pleasant surprise and she gave it a mood that was tolerable.  I think losing her puts the sequels at great risk of becoming gimmicky, corny, or feeling mismatched with the first film. We've seen this with film franchises too many times such as Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc.. Some films outshine the others while some are downright horrible and it's all the direction. Directors bring a lot of elements to a film and when they depart or enter, they have the power to change the whole dynamic of the story.

Mark my words, that will happen with this franchise. I would go far enough to say each film will have a different director. Given what Sam Taylor-Johnson put up with regarding EL James' involvement, I don't think any director in Hollywood will tolerate her shit for more than one film. It's come out that James feuded with Taylor-Johnson over the ending of the film, the dialogue, and how Christian Grey was portrayed. With that said, I would bet that Universal will seek out a director that has similar ideals to EL James or is willing to tolerate the ridiculous amount of control the studio gave her.


First glimpse at Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor

Many were skeptical about Jesse Eisenberg being cast as the legendary Superman villain, Lex Luthor, but a first glimpse at the actor as the character shows that he just might be able to pull it off.

Gone are Eisenberg's trademark curly locks and his usual pleasantly clueless facial expression.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Fifty Shades of Unrated hits Blu-Ray this May

Universal announced today that the long rumored "unrated" cut of Fifty Shades of Grey will indeed hit Blu-Ray this spring. The unrated version of the film contains an additional three minutes of footage and also has an alternate ending. It will be released on Blu-Ray on May 8th.

You also might want to notice that I just said Blu-Ray. This unrated cut of the film will only be released on the Blu-Ray format, so if you've managed to come this far without upgrading to Blu-Ray you're pretty out of luck with this one. However, the disc will also contain the theatrical version and over two hours of bonus features so it's not a total ripoff. The digital release and the DVD will both have the theatrical cut included.

Other bonus features exclusive to the Blu-Ray are:
  • The World of Fifty Shades of Grey featurette - Focuses on the artistry in creating the Fifty Shades world along with profiles of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.
  • Christian Grey featurette - Explore the world of Christian Grey
  • Christian Grey profile - Discover who Christian Grey is
  • Jamie Dornan profile - Meet the actor behind Christian
  • Christian's Apartment featurette - Take a tour of Christian's infamous Escala apartment
  • Christian's Wardrobe featurette
  • A Rich Man's Toys - Revisit Christian's cars, helicopter, private jet, and even more toys any fan from the book recognizes
  • Ana featurette - Explore Anastasia Steele and what makes her so relatable
  • All About Ana featurette
  • Dakota Johnson profile - Meet the actress behind Anastasia
  • Ana's World featurette - Explore Ana's life prior to meeting Christian and see how it changes when she enters Christian's lifestyle
  • Ana's Wardrobe featurette
  • EL James & Fifty Shades - Come face to face with the woman who created the Fifty Shades phenomenon
  • The Pleasure of Pain featurette - Meet with the film's BDSM consultant and explore the props included within the "red room"
  • Interactive on-set tours
  • Music videos from Skylar Grey, Ellie Goulding, and The Weeknd 
  • "Earned It" behind the scenes featurette - Explore the making of the video for The Weeknd's, "Earned It"

Bonus features the DVD release will share with the Blu-Ray are few, but they are:
  • The World of Fifty Shades of Grey - Friends & Family featurette - Meet the actors behind the main character's friends and family
  • Behind the Shades featurette - Director Sam Taylor-Johnson joins producers EL James, Dana Brunetti, and Mike De Luca along with the cast to discuss the most challenging aspects of making the film.





I guess instead of moving forward on production of the sequels they decided to go all out for the Blu-Ray release. For those upset about not having a Blu-Ray player or whatever, a majority of these featurettes have been up on YouTube since the theatrical release of the film. You're welcome.

Fox orders new episodes of The X-Files

Guys... this is really happening.

Fox has ordered a 6-episode "special event" from creators of The X-Files. There isn't an official air date yet, but Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are both set to return as Agents Mulder and Scully. Show creator Chris Carter is on board, as well.
The X-Files aired from 1993 to 2002 and spawned two films and spin-offs. Most supernatural related things in film and television find themselves either compared to the show or flat out connect themselves to it.

Most people online so far are cynical, but I'm excited. I mean, who didn't love this show?


Chloe Sevigny joins AHS: Hotel

Chloe Sevigny hasn't been seen in a season of American Horror Story since she appeared in Asylum, but the fifth season (aka, Hotel) will mark Sevigny's return to FX's anthology series.



Sevigny's appearance on Asylum was shortlived but memorable. She portrayed Shelley who was committed into the Briarcliff asylum as a nymphomaniac. She was pretty fantastic in Asylum so she should be a decent addition to the cast of Hotel which, so far, is a fairly even mixture of new and old faces. She joins the existing cast of Wes Bentley, Matt Bomer, Cheyenne Jackson, and Lady Gaga. We know for sure that Jessica Lange won't be returning, but it is possible we might still get to see Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, or Kathy Bates once more.

American Horror Story: Hotel is set to hit in October of this year on FX.

Monday, March 23, 2015

The Russo's to direct Avengers: The Infinity War

Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, have officially been hired to direct Avengers: The Infinity War - Part 1 and Part 2. This isn't much of a surprise as they also were selected to direct Captain America: Civil War. Also in talks for The Infinity War are screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The pair has written scripts for all three Captain America films along with Thor: The Dark World and ABC's Agent Carter.
The Infinity War is going to be the biggest production yet as both parts will shoot back to back in 2016 and 2017. Part 1 is set for a 2018 release while Part 2 is set for 2019. 

A random sidenote, but this also confirms that Joss Whedon is indeed finished with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He previously stated that Avengers: Age of Ultron would most likely be his last Marvel film and that seems to be true. He wants to move on and start doing some more original projects. Sad day.



Jennifer Lawrence to exit X-Men franchise

I hope you all enjoy X-Men: Apocalypse because after that installment the X-Men universe will lose Jennifer Lawrence. The actress confirmed that Apocalypse will be her last appearance as Mystique in Fox's longstanding X-Men franchise. Lawrence first appeared as the blue mutant in X-Men: First Class back in 2011. She returned for X-Men: Days of Future Past last year. Personally, I have really enjoyed what she's brought to the character so it's sad to see her go.

X-Men: Apocalypse is proving to be fairly interesting so far. Knowing now that it will be the last we see of Lawrence, it is also going to be just the second X-Men film not to feature Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellen. Bryan Singer is returning to direct and we will see new additions Oscar Isaac, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, and Alexandra Shipp. It's set to open in theaters May 27, 2016.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Deadpool officially begins production

It's been years in the making and the production of a solo film for the X-Men character, Deadpool, is finally underway. The Deadpool project was announced after Ryan Reynolds' portrayal of the character in the 2009 film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it sat in development hell until now. At last year's San Diego Comic-Con some test footage leaked from a couple years back. Since then Fox played catch-up and finally announced the project was actually happening in late 2014 after a massive fan uprising demanding the film finally happen. This also came after Fox confirmed a solo film for Gambit, another X-Men character who appeared in X-Men Origins. Channing Tatum will replace Taylor Kitsch as Gambit in the announced solo film.

Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds and Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, and Gina Carano. It is being directed by Tim Miller.


Monday, March 16, 2015

Matt Bomer joins American Horror Story; Jessica Lange officially out

We still don't really understand what's in store for American Horror Story: Hotel, but we did get a couple more casting tidbits. In addition to the announcement of Lady Gaga, we learned that Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Cheyenne Jackson (30 Rock) have joined the cast. Bomer previously had a small cameo on AHS: Freak Show. We still don't know what exact time period or location this season will take place in.

We also got some very sad news regarding Jessica Lange's involvement with this series. Lange confirmed that her involvement with AHS is indeed over and she will explore other projects with Ryan Murphy. Sad day.


Beauty and the Beast receives 2017 release date

Disney has finally set a release date for the upcoming live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. The film will hit theaters on March 17, 2017. This release date comes after Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella absolutely crushed it at the box office this weekend.

The studio made a press release emphasizing that the live-action film will accompany "CG Magic," so I would assume that a majority of the characters in the castle will be computer animated to some extent. The studio also announced that Emma Thompson will portray Mrs. Potts and Kevin Kline will play Belle's father, Maurice. They join previously announced cast members Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, and Josh Gad.


Alexandre Desplat to score Star Wars: Rogue One

Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat has landed the job of scoring the first Star Wars spin-off film. Desplat will score Gareth Edwards' Star Wars: Rogue One and will be the first composer aside from John Williams to score a Star Wars film.

Desplat had a very busy 2014 and created scores for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Unbroken, Godzilla, The Imitation Game, and Monuments Men. The Grand Budapest Hotel won him an Oscar this year and he was nominated for The Imitation Game. He's also been nominated for Best Original Score for Philomena, Argo, The King's Speech, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Queen. I think he's a great addition to the Star Wars universe, but I am nervous that it won't have the same feel that John Williams brings to these films.

Jessica Brown Findlay joins The Crow

British actress Jessica Brown Findlay has joined the reboot of The Crow. She will star opposite Jack Huston as Eric Draven's slain fiance, Shelly Webster. Huston was confirmed to be replacing Luke Evans earlier in the weekend.

Findlay is fairly new to Hollywood as her top credits are Downton Abbey and Winter's Tale. She also had a small role in Black Mirror. She was considered for the role of Alice in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, but the role ultimately was given to Mia Wasikowska. I personally don't know this actress at all, so I can't really comment on how I feel about her joining the cast. Unless they have some severe changes from the original, Shelly doesn't last very long so I wouldn't even consider this a lead role. Sarah was more of a lead support so I'm curious to see who they'll cast in that role.

 

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Jack Huston to star in The Crow

The Crow reboot has found the replacement for Eric Draven after Luke Evans left the project a few weeks back. Boardwalk Empire star Jack Huston will star in the reboot in Evans' place. The studio expressed interest in Huston a couple weeks ago so it seems like they got their wish.
Huston is a bit of Hollywood royalty despite not being a household name. He is the nephew of Anjelica Huston and Danny Huston. In addition to Boardwalk Empire he's been seen in American Hustle and Kill Your Darlings where he played Jack Kerouac. He's currently filming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and will star in the new adaptation of Ben-Hur

This reboot has run into trouble since it was announced, so the fact that it's finally happening is just scary. It shouldn't even be happening.




Friday, March 13, 2015

Josh Gad joins Beauty and the Beast

We've heard Josh Gad already portray a ridiculously annoying snowman in Disney's Frozen and it seems like the studio isn't finished with him yet. In addition to being confirmed to return for Frozen 2, he just joined the cast of the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. He will play Gaston's devious sidekick, Le Fou.

He joins existing cast members Emma Watson (Belle), Dan Stevens (Prince Adam/The Beast), and Luke Evans (Gaston). Gad rose to popularity after landing a lead role in the original Broadway run of The Book of Mormon and has since been seen in The Wedding Ringer, Frozen, and is currently co-starring with Billy Crystal on FX's The Comedians.


Fantastic Four 2 delayed one week in 2017

After confirmation that Star Wars: Episode VIII will be hitting on May 26, 2017, 20th Century Fox has decided to shift the sequel to this year's Fantastic Four reboot by one week. Fantastic Four 2 was originally set to hit theaters on June 2, 2017 but the studio wants more of a break between the two films and it will now be released on June 9th.

As it currently stands, Fantastic Four 2 has June 9th to itself but I highly doubt that will hold. Not to mention we haven't seen Fantastic Four yet and there is no telling how it's going to be received. If it sucks and people hate it, Fox might scrap the sequel altogether. Only time will tell.

Fantastic Four stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Michael B. Jordan, and Toby Kebbell. It hits theaters on August 7th, 2015.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Star Wars spin-off receives an official title

Gareth Edwards' Star Wars spin-off now has a confirmed leading lady and an official title. Star Wars: Rogue One is currently set for a December 16, 2016 release and will star Oscar-nominee, Felicity Jones.

Many are speculating, including myself, that the Rogue One title isn't necessarily referring to a single character but to a ship. Originally the rumor was that the film would focus on a young Han Solo, but with Felicity Jones being cast in the lead role I don't think it will have much to do with Solo. The title also could be referencing the "Rogue Squadron" within the Rebel Alliance. Let's not forget Luke was the "Rogue Leader" for a while.

In addition to this news, Disney also announced today that Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released on May 26, 2017 with Rian Johnson directing. It appears the studio wants to get back to the May tradition Star Wars has always carried.

Disney confirms Frozen 2 is happening

Disney has been quiet about the continuation of Frozen and has even gone far enough to deny that a sequel was in development, but today the studio broke their silence and officially confirmed that a Frozen sequel is indeed happening.

The only information they gave aside from the fact that it is in development is that Josh Gad is returning as Olaf the talking (and annoying) snowman and that Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are returning to direct. Apparently Disney decided to greenlight a sequel after having such a great time making the Frozen Fever short that is screening before the live-action adaptation of Cinderella.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. I personally hated Frozen and I was hoping the whole thing was going to die out, but I guess that's too much to ask for.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Fifty Shades stars demand higher salaries for sequels

Fifty Shades of Grey has managed to bring in over $500 million internationally since the Valentine's Day release and apparently the actors want to bring in some of the profits. The film's lead actors, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, are reportedly demanding higher paychecks for the still unannounced sequels.

Dornan and Johnson were each paid $250,000 for Fifty Shades of Grey and were given a 3-film contract along with it. They are entitled to box office bonuses that they are no doubt rolling those right now, but the bottom line is Universal negotiated such low salaries to keep the film's budget low. Why? No one knew if this film was going to be successful. The international box office shows that viewers were curious enough to see it, but the 73% drop in the second week shows that people weren't into seeing it more than once.
It seems that the actors are trying to negotiate for deals similar to what actors in the Twilight and Hunger Games franchises have gotten. An example being how Jennifer Lawrence's salary from The Hunger Games to Catching Fire went from $500,000 to $10 million. Kristen Stewart had a similar jump as she went from making just $2 million for Twilight to over $12 million for the final Breaking Dawn film. She also became the highest paid star in Hollywood back in 2012 and currently has a net worth of $70 million. As it currently stands, Dornan's net worth is sitting around $3 million while Johnson is at $1 million.

You can't blame the actors for wanting a bigger slice of the pie, especially considering the amount of money this movie raked in. However, there are a lot of people out there that think Universal might seek a less expensive option for the sequel which would be replacing the actors. Personally, I don't think they'd replace the actors given the familiarity they have with this story and the fact that Dakota Johnson was fantastic but you never know. Weirder things have happened in Hollywood.
There currently is no start date for the Fifty Shades sequels and Universal has yet to officially announce them, but insiders are claiming that Universal is aiming for releases in 2016 and 2017.


Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Rumor: Tron 3 shooting this year in Vancouver

VanCity Buzz is reporting that Disney has set plans to finally move forward with the third installment of the Tron franchise. According to the article, production is set to begin in Vancouver this fall with Garrett Hedlund returning as Sam Flynn and Joseph Kosinski returning to direct.

We received the sequel, Tron: Legacy, back in 2010 and pretty much haven't heard anything regarding the third movie since the lackluster reception with both reviews and the box office numbers. Disney is no stranger to dragging their feet on future projects, but if this is true it's assumed that the reason is due to the success with Marvel and the assumed future success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens later this year.
Personally, I wasn't the biggest fan of Tron: Legacy but it wasn't by any means horrible. I enjoyed it for what it was but that was about it. The best part of the movie was the score by Daft Punk, so hopefully Disney could work their magic and get them to return for one more film. It just wouldn't be the same without that music. Also note that a release of a third film would accompany the opening of the new Shanghai Disneyland in China which, coincidentally (?), has a Tron-themed ride being built.

I'm not opposed to a third Tron. I'll go see it if it ever sees the light of day.


Tim Burton to direct Dumbo reboot

Disney still has faith in Tim Burton as it appears he will direct the upcoming live-action reboot of Dumbo. There is no timetable on when this project will be moving forward and if Burton is truly directing, it will have to wait a while. He is currently wrapping Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the rumor is his next film will be Beetlejuice 2.
If you've somehow never seen Dumbo, it follows a baby circus elephant who is tormented by others for having large ears. His mother is locked up after trying to protect her baby and he is forced to perform dangerous stunts in the circus. After much humiliation, Dumbo discovers his large ears actually allow him to fly and he amazes the crowds with his newly discovered talent.

Personally, I always thought Dumbo was ridiculously sad so I never liked watching it. Even as a kid it would always upset me. But from what I can remember, I think Tim Burton is an interesting choice. It would be interesting to see a version similar to what he did with Frankenweenie, but if it's truly live-action I would expect something similar to Alice in Wonderland. In other words, an overly colorful CGI dump.


Friday, March 6, 2015

Wolverine 3 to start filming in 2016

The Wolverine director James Mangold went to Twitter to confirm that the sequel, still starring Hugh Jackman, will begin filming sometime in 2016. The only thing we really know about this project so far is that it's been in development at Fox pretty much since The Wolverine hit theaters in 2013 and it's set for a 2017 release.

Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine seven times since making his debut as the character in 2000. He previously stated that he wanted to wrap up his tenure as the character after this new Wolverine film, but he now says that he wants to play the character as long as X-Men movies are being made.
I'm pretty sure Jackman is on board to play Wolverine in X-Men: Apocalypse but I'm not positive. We're getting Apocalypse on May 23, 2016 while the release for the third Wolverine movie is set for March 3, 2017. 




Toy Story 4 not a continuation of the Toy Story trilogy

Pixar Studio president Jim Morris dropped a bomb on everyone regarding the announced fourth installment of the Toy Story franchise. Morris stated that rather than making it a continuation of the existing trilogy, Toy Story 4 is being pitched as a romantic comedy.
"The third movie ended in a beautiful way and completed a trilogy. I think this movie is not part of this trilogy. It is a separate story, which in turn I do not know if will be continued. Never begin a project with that in mind. It is not a continuation of the end of the story of Toy Story 3. Temporarily it is, but it will be a love story. It will be a romantic comedy. It will not put much focus on the interaction between the characters and children. I think it will be a very good movie."

So far all we really know about this Toy Story 4 project is it's aimed for release in 2017. In a way, I understand them not wanting to continue the story because Toy Story 3 was truly a beautiful ending. It wrapped up Andy very nicely and it showed how these toys really were a family no matter what happens. But with that said, I don't understand why they have to make another full movie. They've been successful with the short films and TV specials so I would continue on with that. But that's why I don't work at Pixar.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Can you complete the ultimate Marvel marathon?

AMC Theaters and Regal Entertainment are giving moviegoers in select cities the ultimate Marvel Cinematic Universe experience with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Select theaters will be screening an 11-movie Marvel marathon starting on April 29th. Yes, this marathon begins with Iron Man and ends with Age of Ultron. There is no word on if those who complete the marathon will get special perks or prizes, but those who choose to complete it better expect to bring blankets and some coffee... and prepare to fork out a hefty price to see all 11 films.

The schedule looks like this:

6:00pm - Iron Man
8:25pm - The Incredible Hulk
10:35pm - Iron Man 2
1:00am - Thor
3:10am - Captain America: The First Avenger
5:30am - The Avengers
8:48am - Iron Man 3
11:15am - Thor: The Dark World
1:45pm - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4:20pm - Guardians of the Galaxy
7:00pm - Avengers: Age of Ultron


So far it looks like Regal is only showing the marathon in Houston, Ontario (CA), Atlanta, and King of Prussia (PA). AMC doesn't give the locations, but I'm sure they will surface before too long.
Personally, I wouldn't do this but I can see why people would. The idea of staying awake that long in a movie theater just isn't happening.


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Poltergeist shifts release date

Not much to talk about here, but the reboot of Poltergeist has moved dates for release and will now hit two months earlier than originally expected. We will now get it on May 22nd instead of July 24th.

Also moved with Poltergeist was the upcoming Fox comedy, Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy. That will now hit theaters on June 5th instead of May 22nd.

Taking the old Poltergeist release of July 24th is Paper Towns which was originally supposed to be released on June 5th.

Dan Stevens joins Beauty and the Beast

Downton Abbey star, Dan Stevens, is reportedly joining the cast of Disney's upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. Stevens has been cast as The Beast (aka, Prince Adam) while Dracula Untold star Luke Evans has been cast as Gaston. Stevens and Evans join the previously solo cast member, Emma Watson.

So far this cast is all British so I would expect that trend to follow with future characters that will be cast. Twilight director Bill Condon is on board to direct with the film being produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman.
Beauty and the Beast is joining a list of animated classics being adapted into live-action movies. Kenneth Branagh's version of Cinderella hits this month while we've already gotten an adaptation for Maleficent along with the loosely based Disney musical, Into the Woods



Monday, March 2, 2015

Rumor: Lily Allen in talks for Fifty Shades sequels

More rumors surrounding the yet to be officially announced Fifty Shades sequels. The newest rumor to join the pack is that British musician, Lily Allen, is in talks to join the sequel(s) because she was seen with Fifty Shades of Grey director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood for over an hour.

Now... there is no telling if this is even true, but if it is my guess would be that Allen will be a part of the soundtrack and not the film. Allen has only four film credits to her name and two of them are short films. Seeing how successful the soundtrack to the first film has become and how Universal has stated that creating a strong soundtrack relevant to the film was a priority I don't think they will let another installment be released without another great soundtrack.
However, on the odd chance that Allen is being sought after to act in the film it might be possible that she's on the radar to portray Christian's ex-submissive, Leila Williams. If that isn't it I would guess she will be part of the office staff at SIP where, no doubt, Anastasia will be hired at in the sequel.


Netflix sets premieres for OITNB and more

Netflix has ended the wait for many eager viewers regarding series premieres and returning seasons. Among the list included Orange is the New Black, Sense8, and Wet Hot American Summer.

OITNB will kick off its third season on Friday, June 12th. The show is coming off a couple award season wins and this season will be the first, so far, to not feature Jason Biggs.

Canadian sci-fi drama, Between, will premiere at some point in May. The show follows a pregnant teenager living in the wake of a disease that has killed everyone over the age of 21. It will run for 6 episodes that are each an hour long.

Sense8 is the newest offering from the Wachowski's and it will premiere on Friday, June 5th.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp premieres Friday, July 17th.

Also getting premiere dates on the streaming service are Chris D'Elia: Incorrigible (April 17th), What Happened, Miss Simone? (June 26th), and Jen Kirkman: I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) will hit on May 22nd.