In the spring of 2023, Universal Pictures announced that “Nope,” “Us,” and “Get Out” filmmaker Jordan Peele would be releasing an untitled movie with no details on Christmas Day in 2024. But cut to the end of 2023, and the film, still no details, was taken off the release calendar entirely and replaced with Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” film.

Continue reading Janelle Monáe Hints At Future Collaboration With Jordan Peele: “It Will Happen” at The Playlist.

Rian Johnson’s latest comedic puzzle, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is now in theaters (if only for a week, maybe) and has earned a ton of critical acclaim. So much so that it may snag the Best Picture nomination the first installment just missed. And among a cast filled with acclaimed actors such as Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom, Jr. there is a slightly (just slightly) less hyped thespian earning Oscar buzz, Janelle Monae.

Continue reading Janelle Monae On Her “F**k Yes” Reaction To Landing ‘Glass Onion’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Rian Johnson looked all ready and poised to join the “Star Wars” universe for a few years following the success of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” But on the way to making it, Johnson decided to do a relatively smaller, detective mystery comedy as a palette cleanser first. That film, “Knives Out” became a huge hit for Lionsgate, grossing $311.4 million off a $30 million budget.

Continue reading ‘Glass Onion: Knives Out 2’ Trailer: Rian Johnson Takes Detective Benoit Blanc To Greece In New Mystery Sequel at The Playlist.

As happened previously when the original “Knives Out” was gearing up for production, we’re beginning to see a slow trickle of casting information regarding who is going to show up in the highly-anticipated sequel. We’ve already learned that Edward Norton and Dave Bautista are likely joining the cast of Rian Johnson’s whodunnit film, but now it appears Janelle Monae is on board, as well.

Continue reading Janelle Monae Joins Rian Johnson’s All-Star Cast For ‘Knives Out 2’ at The Playlist.

John Legend, H.E.R., Janelle Monae, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell? Yes, the shortlist for the 2021 Original Song Academy Award is full of surprises. But, happily, few snubs this time around.

READ MORE: “Minari” and “The Crown” rule 2021 SAG Awards nominations

105 songs were submitted and members of the Academy’s Music Branch vote to determine both the shortlist and the eventual nominees.

Continue reading Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Dianne Warren & Sacha Baron Cohen Hit The 2021 Oscars Original Songs Shortlist at The Playlist.

How does the historical nightmare of slavery inhabit the present day? “Antebellum,” the feature-length debut of directing duo Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, tackles this question, once explored with originality and nuance by Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” with shallow simplicity. For all its ideas—the existential threat to white supremacy posed by Black success, the lingering effects of intergenerational trauma, and the insidious romanticization of the Confederacy— “Antebellum” contains symbols rather than people and intrigue without meaningful discovery.

Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Relies On Exploitation And Rehashed Ideas To Tackle Racial Dynamics [Review] at The Playlist.

The COVID-19 pandemic dominoes keep following. While Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. will take their “Tenet” chances in theaters—limited release in the U.S. at best, depending on the states—others like Disney, aren’t taking the risk and or transforming that risk into a premium VOD experience. While not as ambitious as Disney’s move with “Mulan,” which is an add-on feature to Disney+ and slightly more complicated, Lionsgate is following suit.

Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Final Trailer: Janelle Monáe Thriller Shifts To Premium VOD Premiere In September at The Playlist.

After acquiring 20th Century Fox, Disney gained control of the ‘X-Men’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ franchises. This opens up all sorts of new options for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the possibility of recasting certain characters. While no official announcements have been made, the multi-talented Janelle Monáe has already expressed interest in the iconic super-heroine Storm.

READ MORE: ‘Dark Phoenix’: Gaslighting, Bad Men & Ideas of Identity & Destiny Can’t Save This Clumsy ‘X-Men’ Movie 

Alexandra Shipp, who played Storm in Fox’s recent ‘X-Men’ movies, has repeatedly said that she hopes to continue as the mutant character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Continue reading Janelle Monáe Told ‘Black Panther’s’ Ryan Coogler She Wants To Play Storm In The MCU at The Playlist.

Janelle Monáe is making quite the transition to acting— after breakout performances in films like “Hidden Figures” and “Harriet,” she’s headed up another season of Amazon’s drama “Homecoming.” Now, the singer-turned-actress is facing her toughest role yet. “Antebellum” is one of the most anticipated films of the year, and Monáe’s given the task of leading a film on her own.

The marketing for “Antebellum” has been short on details, with much of its publicity leaving viewers to guess if a woman is dealing with multiple timelines, time travel, or even visions of the future.

Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Trailer: Janelle Monáe Is A Woman Out Of Time In This New Thriller at The Playlist.

Janelle Monáe is poised to have a big 2020. She’s the star of Season 2 of Amazon’s acclaimed mystery series, “Homecoming,” which is expected to hit the Prime Video streaming service this month, and she’s also the star of the upcoming thriller, “Antebellum,” which could be a breakout hit film in a year that has been without features on the big screen for months.

Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Trailer: Lionsgate’s Delayed Thriller Gets A New Theatrical Date In August at The Playlist.

Janelle Monae is more than just an incredible singer, dancer, songwriter and actor. She’s an activist and a community leader. In fact, few people have remained as busy as Monae during this stay at home period. Still, it was somewhat surprising that she found the time in her seemingly always packed schedule to topline the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s “Homecoming.”

READ MORE: “Homecoming” Season 2 review

Created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg and directed by Sam Esmail, the first season of “Homecoming” tied multiple storylines to a fictional live-in facility for American soldiers readjusting to civilian life.

Continue reading Janelle Monae On The Challenge Of ‘Homecoming’ & How ‘Antebellum’ May ‘Trigger’ People [Interview] at The Playlist.

The first season of “Homecoming” is not without its hiccups, but it is a bold, aesthetically mature step-forward, nonetheless, for the ominous mystery series– a subgenre that has started to outweigh its welcome since “True Detective’s” freshman installment created a new standard. Much like the HBO program, “Homecoming’s” acting arsenal and its strong sense of atmosphere are two of the show’s biggest draws, and, just like “True Detective’s” second batch of episodes, the sophomore go-around for “Homecoming” attempts to expand the horizon of its original vision, replacing A-list actors with other big-name performers, while misunderstanding part of what made the first season work so well in the first place.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 Introduces Intriguing Ideas But Relies Too Much On Misdirection [Review] at The Playlist.

Exactly what is the Geist Group cooking up and administering to war veterans trying to reacclimate to civilian life? Apparently, it and other things compelled Walter (Stephan James) and his social worker Heidi (Julia Roberts) to fly the coop. When both were last seen, she had found him living an unassuming life in an unassuming town. Unfortunately, Walter’s quiet existence is about to be disturbed.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 Trailer: Janelle Monáe, Chris Cooper & More Join Amazon’s Acclaimed Thriller at The Playlist.

Though originally thought of as a limited series, Amazon’s “Homecoming” became a bit of a hit for the streaming platform, with acclaim being given to series star Julia Roberts and co-creator Sam Esmail. And as we know, Hollywood isn’t known for letting critically-acclaimed hit series just die after one season. So, here we are, with the first teaser for a very different Season 2 of the drama series.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 Teaser: Janelle Monáe Takes Over As The Lead In The Amazon Prime Series at The Playlist.

Lionsgate is banking hard on the fact that even after watching two trailers for the new thriller, “Antebellum,” you’re still going to have questions and need to watch the film for answers. It’s rare in today’s Hollywood marketing world that a trailer for a film is short, mysterious, and errs on the side of vague. And yet, that’s where we find ourselves with this film.

READ MORE: Jason Blum Blames Streaming Options For Forcing Studios To Spoil Plots In Trailers

The new “trailer” for “Antebellum” is a trailer in name only.

Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Trailer: Janelle Monáe Goes Back In Time In This Mysterious New Thriller at The Playlist.

It actually happened. The #BongHive hype paid off and “Parasite” became the first film not in the English language to win Best Picture at the Oscars, and also the first film to win both Best Picture and Best International Film (previously s Best Foreign Language Film). Beyond the historic win, lots of love, respect, and awards were shared between the nominated films, as all the Best Picture nominees (except “The Irishman”) got some awards recognition.

Continue reading Best and Worst Oscars 2020: ‘Parasite,’ Janelle Monáe, Eminem at The Playlist.

We’ve said it a million times when talking about teasers for films, but studios really just don’t understand what the word “tease” actually means. Masquerading as “teasers,” studios tend to release full trailers for films giving away far more than is actually necessary. Thankfully, Lionsgate didn’t go that route for the film “Antebellum.”

In the teaser for the upcoming horror film, the emphasis is very much on tease.

Continue reading ‘Antebellum’ Teaser: Janelle Monáe Finds Herself Trapped Between Realities In New Horror Film at The Playlist.

Just as live-action Disney remakes ran the risk of becoming extremely stale in the wake of “The Lion King,” the ‘”Lady and the Tramp” remake for Disney+ picked up steam. It became apparent that adorable rescue dogs, voiced by celebrities, would be the focus of the new Disney+ exclusive movie. With Monte the mutt playing the Tramp, this remake is, if nothing else, sure to be an adorable experience.

Continue reading ‘Lady And The Tramp’ Trailer: Monte, The Cute Rescue Dog, Stars As The Tramp For Disney+ [D23] at The Playlist.

Despite a trio of Golden Globe nominations earlier this year, for Best Drama Series, Best Actress, and Best Actor, Amazon’s “Homecoming” came away from the awards show with no trophies. And when the Emmy nominations were announced, the series came up empty again. However, that shouldn’t be an indictment of the series that stars Julia Roberts, as it received pretty great reviews and was regularly part of people’s top 10 lists.

Continue reading Janelle Monáe Set To Replace Julia Roberts As Lead In Amazon’s ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

There was a good hour where you wondered “What were the producers thinking?” but for the most part, the 2019 Grammy Awards were incredibly entertaining.  Especially considering the lack of awards handed out on the telecast and its 3-hour and 40-minute or so runtime.

You can find out all of the major category winners here, but here’s a look at some of the best and worst moments of the telecast.

Best: Production Design of “Havana”
Camila Cabello’s “Havanna” feels like it’s been out forever (August 2017 qualifies thanks to Grammy rules) but Ricky Martin doing a cameo and some sick dancers helped freshen it up a bit.

Continue reading Best And Worst Of 2019 Grammy Awards: Lady Gaga, Janelle Monae, Diana Ross at The Playlist.

Children’s toy lines make are the latest craze in Hollywood filmmaking. Thanks to the runaway success of “The LEGO Movie” animated franchise, we’ve seen an influx of every toy imaginable getting a cutesy, fun-filled animated adaptation. The latest to join the craze is “UglyDolls.”

READ MORE: ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’: Entertaining, Silly & A Little Exhausting [Review]

As seen in the new trailer for the film, as you might expect based on the title, “UglyDolls” tells the story off, uhhhh, ugly dolls that find out that real beauty comes from their flaws or some such moral lesson.

Continue reading ‘UglyDolls’ Trailer: Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, & Nick Jonas Headline This Animated Musical at The Playlist.

Based on the story of a man beaten so mercilessly he had to construct a fantasy world in order to survive his great pain and suffering, Robert Zemeckis’ insipid “Welcome To Marwen” is a painfully schmaltzy misjudged disaster, and superficial retelling that dishonors a layered and agonizing story about trauma. Inspired by the true story told in Jeff Malmberg‘s “Marewencol,” Zemeckis’ movie takes its cues from that doc, almost note for note in many instances, but comes out the other end with a sentimental, shallow, and fatuous reading of the doc’s inspiring story of recovery and resilience.

Continue reading ‘Welcome To Marwen’: Robert Zemeckis Crafts A Laughable After School Fairy Tale Special About Trauma [Review] at The Playlist.

About once a year, we take stock of all the exciting movies we’ve seen, and all the tantalizing announcements we’ve covered, and picked out the names that we’re most excited about in a variety of fields for a series we call On The Rise.

Covering actors, filmmakers, composers, cinematographers, screenwriters and more, we’ve been ahead of the curve on names including David Oyelowo, Joel Edgerton, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Daniel Kaluuya (back in 2012!), Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Colin Trevorrow, Benh Zeitlin, Dee Rees, Graham Moore, Bradford Young, Rachel Morrison, Steven Price, Jack Thorne, Pilou Asbaek, Emory Cohen, Will Poulter, Ruth Negga, Maika Monroe, Ryan Coogler, Sean Baker, Ava DuVernay, Natasha Braier, Mica Levi, Johan Johansson, Andre Holland, Jack O’Connell, Lisa Joy, Tessa Thompson, Katherine Waterston, LaKeith Stanfield, Damien Chazelle, Yann Demange, Taylor Sheridan, Bel Powley, Sterling K.

Continue reading On The Rise: The 50 Most Exciting Emerging Actors & Filmmakers In 2017 at The Playlist.

As this weekend’s “Baywatch” proves, studios are more eager to turn whatever intellectual property they have on hand into a movie, rather than try bring something original to the big screen. The working theory is that it’s easier and cheaper to sell audiences on something they already kinda know, rather than getting them interested in something new. The practice is hardly groundbreaking, and way back in 2000, Sony/Columbia Pictures had some success turning the kitschy ’70s TV series “Charlie’s Angels,” into a kitschy movie. 

Continue reading ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Getting Another Big Screen Reboot at The Playlist.

“This movie was a gift,” Pharrell Williams says. “It continues to be a gift. It’s like the rarest thing you ever heard.”

The Grammy winning singer, songwriter and producer is sitting in a chic music studio in Hollywood. He’s taken time out of his busy schedule (he won’t answer if and when a new album is coming) to chat about “Hidden Figures,” his production company’s and his own first official movie producing credit.

Continue reading Pharell Williams On ‘The Gift’ Of ‘Hidden Figures’ And How It Resonates In A Post-Trump World at The Playlist.