Month: July 2024

Netflix has announced the cast of their new dark comedy, Sirens. Per Deadline, Julianne Moore, Milly Alcock, and Meghann Fahy will star in the upcoming limited series created by Emmy-nominated writer and showrunner Molly Smith Metzler (Maid) which is based on her play Elemeno Pea; and executive produced by LuckyChap.

The show takes place “over the course of one explosive weekend at a lavish beach estate,” with an official description reading: “Devon (Fahy) thinks her sister Simone (Alcock) has a really creepy relationship with her new boss, the enigmatic socialite Michaela Kell (Moore). Michaela’s cult-ish life of luxury is like a drug to Simone, and Devon has decided it’s time for an intervention. When Devon tracks her sister down to say WTF, she has no idea what a formidable opponent Michaela will be.”

Sirens is executive produced by Dani Gorin, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie, with Nicole Kassell serving as director and executive producer.

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Amazon MGM Studios has released the trailer for action-comedy “Jackpot!,” starring Awkwafina, John Cena and Simu Liu.  The action comedy, directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, A Simple Favor), also features appearances from Machine Gun Kelly and Seann William Scott.

Per Variety, the film is set in 2030 and centers on a “Grand Lottery” in California. L.A. transplant and aspiring actor Katie (Awkwafina) gets a winning ticket, but the lottery has a catch: other people can kill her before sundown to legally claim the multi-billion dollar jackpot. An official synopsis reads: “When Katie Kim (Awkwafina) moves to Los Angeles, she mistakenly finds herself with the winning ticket. Desperate to survive the hordes of jackpot hunters, she reluctantly joins forces with amateur lottery protection agent Noel Cassidy (Cena) who will do everything in his power to get her to sundown in exchange for a piece of her prize.”

The trailer shows Katie and Noel team up against hordes of jackpot hunters and Noel’s rival Louis Lewis (Simu Liu), who owns the largest lottery protection agency in L.A. and also wants to collect Katie’s commission.

Jackpot! premieres Aug. 15 on Prime Video; take a look at the trailer – here.

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The latest collaboration between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck is heading to Netflix, with the streaming service confirming it acquired the rights to the upcoming thriller, RIP.  

Deadline was first outlet to report the news that Netflix acquired the rights to RIP, with Joe Carnahan directing. Carnahan previously collaborated with Affleck on Smokin’ Aces. Damon and Affleck’s production company, Artists Equity (founded with the goal of offering profit participation to more members of the cast and crew), is behind the project, with Damon and Affleck set to co-star in the movie and also serve as producers. Plot details have not yet been shared.

Damon and Affleck most recently co-starred together in Amazon’s Air Jordan-themed film, Air, which Affleck also directed. Of course, the duo famously earned Oscars for their work on the screenplay for Good Will Hunting back in 1998.

Damon next stars opposite Affleck’s brother Casey Affleck in the Doug Liman-directed Apple TV+ film The Instigators, which also hails from Artists Equity. The action comedy opens in select theaters Aug. 2 and premieres Aug. 9 on Apple TV+.

Other projects from Artists Equity include Affleck’s forthcoming sequel to The Accountant, and the film Unstoppable, starring Affleck’s wife, Jennifer Lopez, both of which landed at Amazon MGM Studios.  Artists Equity is also behind the Cillian Murphy drama Small Things Like These from Lionsgate.

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Taylor Swift hit a new career-best milestone with her 11th studio album album, The Tortured Poets Department, which marked its 12th consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Per Billboard, TTPD also set a new precedent as it surpassed a record set by Whitney Houston’s 1987 self-titled LP, which spent its first 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 from its initial release date — making TTPD is the only album from a woman to spend its first 12 weeks at the No. 1 spot. Swift, 34, previously beat Houston’s Billboard 200 record for the most weeks ever spent at No. 1 on the chart with her 2020 album Folklore, which brought her career total to 47 (topping Houston’s previous record of 46). In addition, Swift also surpassed Houston’s record of having the fourth-most No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 following the success of “Fortnight,” her 12th single atop the chart (per Forbes.)

Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has dominated the albums chart this year, with numerous additional versions of the album having been released across digital, vinyl, CDs and more. Swift is also still currently on the road with her record-breaking The Eras Tour.  Swift’s upcoming stops include Hamburg with shows on July 23 and 24, followed by two stops in Munich on July 27 and 28.  The global tour will finally come to an end in December after a rum of shows in the United States and Canada.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar has joined the cast of Showtime’s ‘Dexter’ prequel series, Dexter: Original Sin. Deadline reported that Gellar, 47, will guest star as Tanya Martin, the CSI Chief at the Miami Metro Police Department and Dexter Morgan’s new boss, in the Paramount+ with Showtime series.

Dexter: Original Sin is a prequel to the Showtime series Dexter, which had an eight-season run from 2006 to 2013. Patrick Gibson will play a young Dexter Morgan, the vigilante serial killer portrayed by Michael C. Hall in the original show. Gellar joins Gibson and previously announced stars Christian Slater (Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry) and Molly Brown (Dexter’s sister Debra). Other cast members include Patrick Dempsey, James Martinez, Christina Milian, Alex Shimizu and Reno Wilson.

The official description of Dexter: Original Sin reads: “Set in 1991 Miami, Dexter: Original Sin follows Dexter as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness. With the guidance of his father, Harry (Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcement’s radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.”

Nina L. Diaz, president of content and CCO, Showtime, said: “Sarah Michelle Gellar is a pop culture icon who perfectly rounds out our best-in-class cast featuring Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey among others. We’re thrilled to have her return to the Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios family and join the origin story of the Dexter franchise.”

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Twisters is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $80 million in its opening weekend.  Twisters had the third biggest opening weekend of 2024, surpassing “Godzilla vs. Kong” ($80 million), but behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million).

BoxOfficeMojo revealed that the Top 5 included Despicable Me 4 coming in at No. 2 with $23.8 million, followed by Inside Out 2 at No. 3 with $12.8 million, Longlegs at No. 4 with $11.7 million and A Quiet Place: Day One at No. 5 with $6.1 million. Fly Me to the Moon landed at No. 6 with $3.3 million, Bad Boys: Ride or Die at No. 7 with $2.7 million, Bad Newz at No. 8 with $1.1 million, MaXXXine at No. 9 with $819,000 and The Bikeriders rounding out the top 10 with $701,000.

Universal Domestic Distribution Boss Jim Orr said in a statement: “Lee Isaac Chung crafted an incredibly engaging summer tentpole in Twisters that is, and it has to be said, taking the domestic box office by storm this weekend. Our magnetic and hard-working cast, led by Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Anthony Ramos, bring this tense tale to life, a story that must be seen on a big movie screen in a darkened theater where the immersive sound and visuals transport audiences directly into the fury and destructive power of these storms.” (per Deadline).

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