Movie News in 4 Questions and a Video

by Murtada

Today's movie news offered questions and head scratchers more than usual. So I’ll present you with the questions and maybe you can help me with the answers. Or just join in the bewilderment:

• Why would David Fincher want to direct the sequel to World War Z? Obviously Pitt is a favorite of his but a sequel, really? Is this related to the fact that HBO passed on the two series he was developing for the past couple of years?

• How will Margot Robbie play 4 foot 9 trapeze artist  Lillian Leitzel in Queen of the Air? Will they employ the inverse of whatever they did to make Meryl Streep taller in Julie and Julia (2009)?

• Do we care about the feud between The Rock and Vin Diesel? And doesn’t “candy ass” sound like a euphemism for something?

• What was the extent of Tony Kushner’s involvement in the script for Fences? It was always known that they were working from an August Wilson penned screenplay that both Kushner and Denzel Washington worked on polishing.

• And finally, if you've googled "Who is Awkwafina?" after the news broke out about the cast for Ocean's 8, here's a clue:

 Take it away, dear readers!

A Real Life Gaston

Presented without commentary because what is there really to say other than "Do the whole musical!"

A video posted by Walt Disney Animation Studios (@disneyanimation) on Aug 7, 2016 at 9:07am PDT

Box Office: Post Nomination Bump and Faulty Marketing Hooks

Ride Along 2, the umpteenth consecutive hit for the inarguably bankable Kevin Hart (and to a lesser extent Michael Bay's latest explosion filled thriller) serves as our monthly reminder --as if we needed one -- that the bulk of moviegoers would rather watch shoot-em-ups than Oscar nominated films. But congrats to Kevin Hart. He's on his fifth year of consistently big opening weekends now. If he's not one of the highest paid stars out there he needs to find new representation.

Meanwhile in alternate universe Oscar land: The Revenant showed amazing legs in its second wide release weekend, suggesting that Leonardo DiCaprio has yet another gargantuan hit on his hands. Leading the Oscar nominations surely didn't hurt. [More after the jump...] 

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On Trend

What's with the dick jokes on movie posters this month? Maybe it's a 2016 thing.

Celebrity and Chill

Groggy this morning. MORE COFFEE. Please to enjoy these celebrities doing their casual things as we get our act together for the week. An exciting new week. One in which your host is not sick. What could it possibly hold? Any requests.

Let's begin with Jessica Chastain reading about Diane Keaton (as one does should)... "bookworm" 

A photo posted by Jessica Chastain (@chastainiac) on Oct 11, 2015 at 11:34am PDT

 Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Jackman, Jared Leto and more after the jump...

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