A ’90s romantic comedy classic that launched the career of one of, arguably, the greatest filmmakers of the past 30 years is getting a remake. Today, Bleecker Street announced they had secured the rights to a new version of Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet,” a 1993 worldwide art-house hit and Foreign Language Oscar nominee in 1994. The new adaptation will reunite director and screenwriter Andrew Ahn and Bowen Yang who previously collaborated on the acclaimed 2022 gay romantic comedy “Fire Island.”

READ MORE: “‘Fire Island” Review: Joel Kim Booster and Andrew Ahn deliver an instant rom-com classic

Beyond the “SNL” mainstay, the film’s cast includes Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn, and Joan Chen.

Continue reading Bowen Yang & Lily Gladstone Set For Remake Of ‘The Wedding Banquet’ at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s big, big new release roundup includes two high-profile winners at this year’s Oscars, the big winner at 1965’s Oscars, a handful of cult faves making their 4K debuts, a must-have box set for fans of low-budget genre fare, and catalog Blu-ray releases featuring such icons as Jackie Chan, Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, and Snoopy.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Raya And The Last Dragon,’ ‘Minari,’ ‘The Father’ & More at The Playlist.

When Kelly Marie Tran was cast as Rose Tico in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” you have to imagine the actress was incredibly happy about what it might mean for her career and her future. Then the film was released and Tran became the subject of a ton of toxic fan hate, with racist and misogynist comments being throw at her non-stop. And now, after playing the character in ‘The Last Jedi’ and that film’s sequel, ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ Tran isn’t so sure she’d want to come back as Rose in a future “Star Wars” project.

Continue reading Kelly Marie Tran “Misses” Her ‘Star Wars’ Character But Isn’t Sure She Would Return To The Franchise at The Playlist.

The last couple of years has seen a rise in toxic behavior and online harassment from so-called “fans” of big franchises like “Star Wars” or DC movies, but one of the ugliest examples of this was the intense racism and sexism against “The Last Jedi” actress Kelly Marie Tran. After incessant harassment online, Tran, who was the first woman of color to have a major role in a “Star Wars” film, “closed up shop” and left all social media.

Continue reading Kelly Marie Tran Describes Harassment From ‘Star Wars’ Fans As “An Embarrassingly Horrible Breakup” at The Playlist.

Disney on autopilot is still pretty good. And that’s the case with the studio’s latest film, “Raya and the Last Dragon.” 500 years ago, a purple plasmatic plague known as the druun swept over the dragon-shaped nation of Kumandra. Magical dragons defending humans sacrificed themselves. And Sisu (Awkwafina), the last of them, annihilated the druun, and laid to rest for eternity. The nation divided, however, becoming five factions — heart, talon, tail, spine, and fang.

Continue reading ‘Raya And The Last Dragon:’ A Sweet Southeast-Asian Disney Epic Exploring Trust & Grief [Review] at The Playlist.

Restore peace. Find the last dragon. There’s a pretty simple concept to Disney’s “Raya And The Last Dragon.” An animated action-adventure fantasy, ‘Raya’ is directed by the interesting team of indie filmmaker Carlos López Estrada, known for “Blindspotting” and Don Hall for co-directing “Winnie the Pooh” (2011) and a very lengthy animated feature career.

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MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

The film stars the voice cast of Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina— 500 years later, and old evil has returned, and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya (Tran), to track down the legendary last dragon (Awkwafina to restore the fractured land and its divided people.

Continue reading ‘Raya And The Last Dragon’: Disney Offers A New Super Bowl Look At Their Animated Adventure at The Playlist.

Walt Disney Animation Studios is gearing up for their 59th animated feature, the upcoming action-adventure fantasy “Raya and the Last Dragon.” Directed by Don Hall (“Big Hero 6”) and Carlos López Estrada (“Blindspotting”), with veteran Disney artists Paul Briggs and John Ripa credited as co-directors, “Raya and the Last Dragon” takes place in the fantasy world of Kumandra, where long ago humans and dragons lived together in harmony.

Continue reading ‘Raya & The Last Dragon’: Don Hall & Carlos López Estrada & The Film’s Producers Talk Creating Disney’s New Animated Adventure Fantasy at The Playlist.

Film studios are running away from the COVID spring to the hills of “safety” in the summer and fall; any major movies set for release in the next four months are being delayed and rescheduled. But Disney is staying put with their animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which instead is going the way of “Mulan,” skipping theaters (at least in North America) and going the Disney Premier Access route (another $29.99 on top of Disney+ which angered some users last summer when “Mulan” finally came out).

Continue reading ‘Raya & The Last Dragon’ Trailer: Disney Animation Film Is Heading To Disney+’s Premier Access In The Spring at The Playlist.

DreamWorks‘ “The Croods,” inspired by Roald Dahl’s “The Twits,” wasn’t just a hit. It was a box office mega-hit, a ubiquitous phenomenon thanks to its “Ice Age” meets “The Flintstones” premise. Seven years later, the premise has yet to grow old. So when it comes to a sequel, the only mandate is: don’t mess it up.

The good news is they haven’t.

Continue reading ‘The Croods: A New Age’: More Of The Same Primitive, Family-Friendly Fun And Not Much Else [Review] at The Playlist.

It feels like we’ve seen glances, images, and maybe even concept art of Disney‘s “Raya & The Last Dragon,” for years, but the animated movie is almost here. “Raya and the Last Dragon,” features Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and ‘Rise Of Skywalker‘) as the voice of Raya, a lone warrior whose mission is to track down the legendary last dragon in a bid to save Kumandra and unite its lands.

Continue reading ‘Raya & The Last Dragon’ Trailer: Kelly Marie Tran & Awkwafina Goes On A Quest To Restore Peace at The Playlist.

Kicking off a month of streaming horror offerings that includes “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” “Welcome to the Blumhouse,” and “Books of Blood,” Hulu’s “Monsterland” enters the horror anthology world via an acclaimed collection of short stories, “North America Lake Monsters,” by author Nathan Ballingrud. Created by Mary Laws, who also wrote all of the best episodes, “Monsterland” is deeply melancholic, philosophical horror, the kind that imagines a world of creatures in closets and under beds, but posits that humans may be the greatest monsters of all.

Continue reading ‘Monsterland’: The Scares Are Inconsistent In Hulu’s Horror Anthology [Review] at The Playlist.

Every streaming channel needs their flagship horror anthology series. Netflix has, at least, the ‘Haunting Of’ franchise which becomes “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” this fall and Amazon is going a slightly different route with a film anthology series that’s a partnership with Blumhouse Productions. Fear not, Hulu subscribers, the Disney-owned streamer has its own anthology series from Mary Laws (“Succession,” “The Neon Demon“) called, “Monsterland.”

READ MORE: 2020 Fall TV Preview: 45 Shows To Watch

As per most anthology series, the cast is pretty huge given each episode is its own story.

Continue reading ‘Monsterland’ Trailer: Hulu’s Monster Anthology Series Features Kelly Marie Tran, Kaitlyn Dever, Nicole Beharie & More at The Playlist.

After the release of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” back in December of last year, you could almost feel this collective relief felt by the cast members involved, including Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, and John Boyega. There was this idea that those three actors were happy to be involved but the toxic fandom that developed over the course of the new trilogy led to some serious frustrations from all involved.

Continue reading John Boyega Takes ‘Star Wars’ To Task: Disney Knew “F*ck All” About What To Do With Finn & Rose at The Playlist.

The second-straight “host-less” Oscars is counting on presenter star power to boost ratings and the first participants who are not nominees were announced today. The lineup includes Zazie Beetz, Timothée Chalamet, Will Ferrell, Gal Gadot, Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Ramos, Mark Ruffalo, Kelly Marie Tran and Kristen Wiig.

READ MORE: Elton John, Idina Menzel and Cynthia Erivo will sing for the 2020 Oscars Supper

In a statement from The Academy, show producers Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain noted, “We’re excited to welcome these talented artists to help celebrate this year’s movies.

Continue reading Timothée Chalamet, Gal Gadot & Kelly Marie Tran Among 92nd Oscars Presenters at The Playlist.

Details of Colin Trevorrow’s “Star Wars: Episode IX” have leaked online—the intended version of the ‘Star Wars’ film that was scrapped before J.J Abrams’ “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” took over. Yes, this comprehensive script breakdown comes from a Reddit leak— the devoted group of r/StarWarsLeaks Subreddit— and nine out of ten times, Reddit is something you should avoid, and not print. But here’s the thing, this script leak, which actually comes from the filmmaker, DVD producer, and YouTuber Robert Meyer Burnett, and is broken down on Reddit, is real.

Continue reading Colin Trevorrow’s ‘Star Wars’ Episode IX’ Was Called ‘Duel Of The Fates’ & It’s True, All Of It at The Playlist.

Is there a character in the entire history of “Star Wars” that is as polarizing as Rose Tico? Played by Kelly Marie Tran, Rose was one of the most debated additions to Rian Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi,’ and due to her lack of screentime (and what that might be attributed to), she’s been one of the most discussed parts of the recently released ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ But overall, the character of Rose seems to be one of the aspects of the Sequel Trilogy that fans can’t seem to agree on, specifically when it comes to what many consider the weakest element of the new films — the infamous Canto Bight story.

Continue reading Kelly Marie Tran Talks Important Subtext In ‘Last Jedi’s’ Canto Bight Scene & Says Rian Johnson Is “A Genius” at The Playlist.

With “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in theaters for two full weekends, co-writer Chris Terrio has opened up about some of the more controversial choices that his film makes, especially in regards to Rian Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi.’ And for those that think Terrio and director JJ Abrams’ mission was to retcon the previous Episode, then you’re mistaken.

Speaking to THR, Terrio goes deep into dispelling the myth that ‘Rise of Skywalker’ retcons ‘The Last Jedi’ and is somehow a commentary on Rian Johnson’s film.

Continue reading ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ Co-Writer Chris Terrio Says People That Think The Film Is An Argument Against ‘The Last Jedi’ Are “Missing The Point” at The Playlist.

“Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker” is out in the world and while it was likely a no-win scenario with fans, the backlash in some corners of fandom is very real (to be fair, like ‘Last Jedi,’ audiences appear to be split, critics hate it, fans seem to dig it, and the opposite was true on Rian Johnson’s film). Plenty of complaints about the film center on the erasure of elements from ‘The Last Jedi,’ and the way director J.J.

Continue reading ‘Rise Of Skywalker’: Screenwriter Chris Terrio Says No One Was “Deliberately Trying To Sideline” Rose at The Playlist.

One of the biggest and saddest problems with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is the way it noticeably sidelines the character of Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran). A character that was a vital addition to the cast in “The Last Jedi,” as a personification of what the Resistance stands for, she is being made to refuse the call to action in the new film, and has less screen time than even the droids.

Continue reading John M. Chu Says Rose, Severely Underused In ‘Skywalker,’ Should Get Her Own Disney+ Series at The Playlist.

Among the many, many things that definitely should have been in “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” one of the biggest omissions is the character of Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran. After her character became the point of contention for some toxic fans, Tran was driven off social media, and in the new movie, her character was mostly removed from the latest film in the saga.

READ MORE: ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ Companion Book Confirms Fan Theory About Lando Calrissian

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in November before the first cast screening of the film, Kelly Marie Tran expresses her excitement over her character’s story in the film and suggests she had scenes with Daisy Ridley’s Rey: “I think it’s really cool at all that they are even in scenes together because in ‘Jedi’ we weren’t in any scenes together,” Tran said.

Continue reading Rose Tico Was Mostly Removed From ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ But Kelly Marie Tran Suggests Rose And Rey Had Scenes Together at The Playlist.

With “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” mere days away, we had hoped the discourse surrounding the film would be about, y’know, the actual film. Unfortunately, even though we’re two years removed from Rian Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi,’ and the horrible toxicity that follows that film’s debate, the past has come back to haunt “Star Wars.” And specifically, it appears that recent comments made by actor John Boyega about ‘The Last Jedi’ and how people associated with the film have reacted to the trolls have caused a bit of controversy.

Continue reading John Boyega Apologizes For “Weak” Comments About Kelly Marie Tran & ‘Last Jedi’ Harassment at The Playlist.

While the new series from Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios seem to be getting all the headlines, Disney’s upcoming streaming service will have plenty of other choices for those that aren’t superhero or “Star Wars” fans. Case in point – Pixar is bringing back the beloved “Mosters, Inc.” franchise as inspiration for a new series coming to Disney+.

Continue reading Billy Crystal & John Goodman Return To ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Franchise With New Disney+ Streaming Series at The Playlist.

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and now Facebook Watch. The new contender for original content, Facebook Watch goes big with star power in the dramedy “Sorry for Your Loss.” Created by playwright Kit Steinkellner (“Z: The Beginning of Everything”), “Sorry for Your Loss” follows the story of a young widow dealing with the sudden death of her husband and the unexpected struggles this hardship causes in her family life.

Continue reading Facebook Gives Elizabeth Olsen’s ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ A Season 2 & Touts Incredible ‘Watch’ Viewership Numbers at The Playlist.

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and now Facebook. The new contender for original content, Facebook Watch goes big with big names in their upcoming dramedy “Sorry for Your Loss.” Since their short press release earlier this year (our article on it here), we are finally getting details on the new project. Created by playwright Kit Steinkellner (“Z: The Beginning of Everything”), “Sorry for Your Loss” follows the story of a young widow dealing with the sudden death of her husband and the unexpected struggles this hardship causes in her family life.

Continue reading ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ Trailer: Elizabeth Olsen & Kelly Marie Tran Deal With The Sudden Loss Of A Loved One at The Playlist.

It’s been almost three months since “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” actress Kelly Marie Tran erased her Instagram account and went silent on social media. This came after months and months of racist and sexist comments aimed at Tran, apparently just for starring in a beloved franchise. With her social media blackout, the spotlight was put on the idea of “toxic fandom” and since then, we’ve seen multiple attempts by so-called fans to force stars off social media.

Continue reading Kelly Marie Tran Breaks Silence After Toxic Fan Situation: “My Real Name Is Loan. And I Am Just Getting Started.” at The Playlist.