ThaOGDreamWeaver

JK's only 70, which is a spring chicken by some Hollywood standards. (In fact, by some Hollywood standards, they'd be pairing him off with Sydney.) Also enviably ripped, so I don't think he'd be forced off it on health grounds anytime soon. And dammit, I'd miss that voice. That said, one of the Brand New Day arc's subplots is JJJ getting forced out of the Bugle, so this could be a handover/character retirement movie for him too. And if we can't have any more after this one, at least give the guy a fitting exit. Pentangle if you count Miles. (Which would be fun relationship-wise if he hooked up with MJ). Not 100% confirmed. But... The casting call was for a leading Asian male, 30-50. (Thankfully ruling out BTS). Mr. Negative is the most interesting and relatable villain in that arc. The others are a paperthin goth girl, a jokey XZibit pastiche, and a Lizard spin-off (fun, but a lot of CGI and a lot of plot setup to do). Oh and... Spider-Mugger. You can see why a writer would settle on Martin. As mentioned above, Mr. Negative's plan to take over the NYC underworld plays well with bringing in Cox and D'Onofrio... ...but if Pete discovers Martin's Mr. Positive side and his genuine commitment to FEAST, that gives him plenty to chew over morally. So from a writing point of view, very much yes, this is the guy you want. And it's a bit of a lateral, but why not get in Stephen Oyoung - who's already played the role for the Playstation games? (Not to mention being one hell of a stuntman - could give Holland a proper workout.) He's got quite a lot of mid-level credits on TV and is stepping up to movies - it'd be a major step up, but if they took the chance on Holland...

Yup. My inner editor decided not to add this tidbit from Reuters, though it’s interesting. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/marvels-thunderbolts-test-chinese-appetite-hollywood-trade-war-rages-2025-04-30/

Small updates from the rumour mills: Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) is being strongly attached to the movie as either Gwen Stacy or maybe Jean Grey. Zendaya will also return as MJ... ...joined by Felicia Hardy/Black Cat (rumoured: Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney. That's gonna make things complicated.) Casting calls have been made for an Asian male principal who could - from the description - be Martin Li / Mr. Negative. Plot hints have been dropped around FEAST so that would make sense. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio will also make an appearance, with the events of Daredevil: Born Again impacting on Spidey's ability to operate. That would match up with the Brand New Day comic's Registration Act theme, except more local to NYC. Also, Mr. Negative's play in the comics is taking over NYC's underworld - so if Fisk is still the MCU's Kingpin at that point, it makes sense to go after him. Harry Osborn will be in this as a neutral: Timothée Chalamet is rumoured, but that would be a step down from being a lead, so let's see if that pans out. Involvement of the Daily Bugle is key so JK Simmons is back. And the big surprise: this flick may introduce Miles Morales, so it might wind up being a handover movie.

Yup. Speaking of which, bit of writing advice - or maybe all kinds of creativity... ...don't necessarily worry about having everything planned out. Let it flow, then edit later if you need to.

It's not the worst-performing Disney flick this year: the Snow White remake did only Y9m total (or about $1.25m), and they're smacking down Minecraft, which has been on release for just over a month and has only clocked $26m. Besides, Chinese moviegoers have had a much better selection to choose from of homegrown movies of late. Ne Zha 2 - one of those movies you're gonna need to know a lot about Chinese legends to get set up on - is wiping the floor with every imported movie you can think of. (One exception being the Kung Fu Panda series, which... well.) I think Whollyodd studios generally - and genre movie producers specifically - are gonna have to get used to not having China as a guaranteed moneyspinner any more. If we're looking for some good news, the reviews are unexpectedly good, especially Flo Pugh holding it together. Let's see how things pan out over the May Day release weekend. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thunderbolts

I'm not sure we need every 80s movie remade, sequelled or equalled, but I've never refused a side order of Bacon. Val returns to Perfection 35 years later, and the worms are back, probably called by some damn kids who watched too much Dune or something. Get your popcorn, throw some jelly worms in halfway down to freak your partner out, switch your brain off and enjoy. Hopefully. Side note: this is the second time a series has been spawned, the first being... ...well, probably not something you want to spend too much time hunting down.

Spirit Of Canada - Home For A Rest🇨🇦

Rush - Freewill (Snakes & Arrows - Live) 🇨🇦

If a potato grows this many eyes, you shouldn't eat it.

Ooh, Rare drops

Feels like a half-series order. Which isn't generally speaking good news. The House of Mouse has been cutting back a bit on spending, Andor aside - which was already committed budget and should have a lot of longterm value. A lot of the cuts are going to be around the ESPN restructure and ABC, Freeform and FX. But if the Dr Who deal isn't yielding results - and the streaming algos have a merciless ream of data these days - they're not going to commit. TBH, if they'd known there was a risk of that kind of thing, The Well should have been episode two. Lux got a little bit too meta for me, even though I love Alan Cumming and Fleischer movies. (And some of it did feel like a bit of a lift from Joe Dante's Twilight Zone segment, which still scares the hell out of me to this day).

Happy April 25th from a happy resident of Paragon City, Rhode Island.

On to Episode 2: Thoughts: Tonally, the jarring light-heartedness of Ep1 - fun with bureaucracy and Rock/Scissors/Paper/Lizard/Spock bit aside - is gradually dimmed in favour of Impending Dread. We have at least three nasty problems ready to pay off next episode, probably more. More gorgeous shots, music and outfits. $30m per episode well spent, in my opinion.

I think the Carol Kane version is the one I remember the best ("...oh, just a curse. Have a nice day.") This version of Hester is... somewhat different.

Not quite, but good call: Grandmama (Joanna Lumley) is Hester Frump, Tish’s mum. Also, Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) joins the full cast at Nevermore this season, but struggles to fit in - “an outcast even among outcasts”…

Well, tranche 1 of the new season has arrived. Let's roll Episode 1: Thoughts: Very solid opening episode. Lots of new plot threads. And absolutely nobody is going to be complaining about lack of action. Gorgeous, gorgeous shots and pacing. Cassian's flexing between confidence and chaos is great. Dedra being given a lot more to do. And yay, more Luthen. If I had a slight problem, the light-hearted moments jar a bit in the context of what's gone before in the show.

Ah, of course, yes, that was why the piranha. Probably need a rewatch.

Not yet. S1 was centred squarely around the characters of Nevermore Academy, and Gomez and Tish were only in it for two eps. (Don't even remember if Pugsley was in it at all). S2 promotes them to series regulars, and will include some new Addams - notably Joanna Lumley as a fabulous take on Grandmama, and Christopher Lloyd making a return alongside Ricci in an as-yet undisclosed role. Steve Buscemi takes over as Nevermore's headmaster, and even a Gaga appearance as well. (Given the whole Bloody Mary meme thing, it's only fair...)

Season 2 is here to sadden* this old goth's black and twisted heart... *gladden. Ortega was already on the up before this, but Season 1 was an absolute breakthrough role. And add a fine supporting cast - particularly the indefatigable Emma Myers as Enid, CZJ nailing Morticia, Luis Guzman as the most screen-accurate Gomez to date, plus Gwen Christie, Christina Ricci and more... Curious, though. The Addams have always struck me as a family in which everything is open, perhaps a little too unfiltered. What secret could be too dark for even Tish to share? Something that threatened her children? Some way she'd betrayed the family? A secret stash of Billy Ray Cyrus albums? Yeah, not sure that trope fits their brief 100%. But looks like an awful lot of fun still...

Talking Heads - Girlfriend Is Better (Live)

Dearly beloved… we are gathered here today to get through this thing called… life. 💜🎸 Prince & The Revolution - Let’s Go Crazy

The Doctor Exx Band - Superman

Mark started his career off with Reece and Steve on The League Of Gentlemen, a sorta-sitcom set in the thankfully fictional town of Royston Vasey, filled with extremely strange and unsettling characters and instantly memorable catchphrases (“THIS IS A LOCAL SHOP FOR LOCAL PEOPLE! We want none of you outsiders here!”). He also guest stars/writes on their followup, Twilight Zone-ish Inside Number 9, which will alternately make you laugh, mess with your head and scare the hell out of you. (They have a stage show in London at the moment. If it happens to head your way, go see but don’t say I didn’t warn you.) There’s a LOT of sci-fi and horror to his credit, particularly for BBC Radio: on TV, he worked with Moffat on a modern Dracula adaptation, and went solo on The Ghosts (not the comedy series). On top of all that and all the film, stage and radio work, he has documentaries and books about horror, plus several original Dr. Who books. If you can find it, there’s an authoritative 3-part History Of Horror, and one on British horror legend M.R. James, to whom he owes a lot…

Good to see. Given he's the co-creator of Sherlock, it's about time the Benadryl Clumberspaniel connection paid off with an MCU turn. Come to think of it, I'm wondering what Gatiss/Shearsmith/Pemberton's brand of comedy/scifi/horror might bring to the table, if ever they were unleashed with a bigger budget...