Valkyrie Archives - The Playlist

‘Valkyrie’ Editor Says The Experience With Bryan Singer, Tom Cruise & Chris McQuarrie Left Him “Weeping”

Charles Barfield — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 17:41:37 +0000

Editor/composer/filmmaker John Ottman has had a lot of success thanks to Bryan Singer. The duo of Ottman and Singer have worked together closely since the latter’s first major work, “The Usual Suspects,” and have collaborated on every project (minus 2000’s “X-Men”) up to last year’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which earned the editor an Oscar nomination. However, despite Ottman’s close relationship with Singer, he’s quick to tell everyone that it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride, leading to at least one experience that left him sobbing.

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‘Thor: Ragnarok’: Tessa Thompson And Other Marvel Stars Want A Female Super Team Movie

Gregory Ellwood — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 23:53:45 +0000

BEVERLY HILLS — The review embargo for “Thor: Ragnarok” isn’t up yet, but if you’ve been following social media reactions, it’s clear the breakout star is Tessa Thompson.

The 34-year-old actress is best known for her work in Ryan Coogler’s “Creed,” but she’s had standout performances in the movie version of “Dear White People,” “For Colored Girls” and HBO’s “Westworld.” In ‘Ragnarok,’ Thompson takes the mantle of the sole remaining Valkyrie, a warrior goddess of Asgard who has become disillusioned with Odin’s reign and meets up with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on Sakaar, a planet run by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum).

Continue reading ‘Thor: Ragnarok’: Tessa Thompson And Other Marvel Stars Want A Female Super Team Movie at The Playlist.

The Essentials: The Films Of Bryan Singer Ranked

Oliver Lyttelton — Mon, 23 May 2016 17:20:48 +0000

The release of “X-Men: Apocalypse” (read our review here) on Friday marks something of a landmark for director Bryan Singer; it’s the helmer’s tenth film since his career got underway 22 years ago. The director won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize with his little-seen first film, “Public Access,” then truly broke out with his second film, “The Usual Suspects,” one of the great cult hits of the 1990s, and by his fourth, “X-Men,” he was within the studio system, and helping to pioneer the current superhero trend (for better or for worse).

Continue reading The Essentials: The Films Of Bryan Singer Ranked at The Playlist.

Bryan Singer’s ‘First Class’ To Judo-Chop ‘X-Men Origins: Magneto’ Out Of Existence?

Gabe Toro — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:14:00 +0000

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, Bryan Singer spilled more details about his top-secret “X-Men: First Class” project. His long-awaited return to Fox and the X-Men franchise is still shrouded in some layers of secrecy (until it turns out so bad that Fox leaks it months before its release to cover their asses! D’OH!), but he was able to clarify some speculation regarding the project, especially in the wake of fellow X-projects like “Wolverine 2” (bad), “Deadpool” (worse) and “X-Men Origins: Magneto” (yeah, what?).

Continue reading Bryan Singer’s ‘First Class’ To Judo-Chop ‘X-Men Origins: Magneto’ Out Of Existence? at The Playlist.

Bryan Singer Adds ‘Excalibur’ Remake To Busy Dance Card- Also Possibly Returning To ‘X-Men’?

Gabe Toro — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:34:00 +0000

Well, now that the “Avatar” trailer has been revealed to suck, Hollywood’s genre filmmakers can get back to work without fear of “awe” and “spectacle” being monopolized by James Cameron. A week after being announced as onboard a “Battlestar Galactica” redo over at Universal, Variety reports that Bryan Singer has signed on to produce and develop a remake of John Boorman’s “Excalibur.” The original was a badass swords and sorcery epic revolving around the retelling of the King Arthur myth, embracing the magic and outlandishness of the original legends.

Continue reading Bryan Singer Adds ‘Excalibur’ Remake To Busy Dance Card- Also Possibly Returning To ‘X-Men’? at The Playlist.

Work Is Work: Oscar Winner Christopher McQuarrie Pens ‘Wolverine 2’

Gabe Toro — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:58:00 +0000

There are a couple of steps towards getting a green light for a blockbuster sequel nobody wants. Step one is when the original’s spectacular opening weekend debuts and a sequel is announced as not greenlit, but “in development,” which is code for, “we think this thing’s gonna tank in week 2.” Step two is the followup, when the dust has settled, the film has unperformed, and the star is talking up the next film, knowing full well it’s essentially all he’s got in his career (see: Vin Diesel, Brandon Routh).

Continue reading Work Is Work: Oscar Winner Christopher McQuarrie Pens ‘Wolverine 2’ at The Playlist.

Bryan Singer Eyeing Low-Rent Thriller Pitch- Mom Called It ‘Psychologically Taut’

Gabe Toro — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Director Bryan Singer is circling the Mark Wahlberg suspense thriller “The Prisoners” as his next project, reports EW. The story concerns a Boston father (surprise!) who goes on the hunt for a kidnapper who has nabbed his daughter. EW claims the screenplay, credited to newcomer Aaron Guzikowski, is a combination of “Silence of the Lambs” and “Seven,” such a tired, dated frame of reference that it makes us think of Donald Kaufman’s pitch for “The Thr3e.” The fact that Singer is being mentioned in conjunction with projects like this and Joel Silver’s “Logan’s Run” suggests that he may finally be removed from speculation over where Warner Bros.

Continue reading Bryan Singer Eyeing Low-Rent Thriller Pitch- Mom Called It ‘Psychologically Taut’ at The Playlist.

Box Office: Did You Know?

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:31:00 +0000

If The Oscar Best Picture Goes By Populism: The five 2008 Best Picture nominees go like this so far:
– “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button” – $104 million total
– “Slumdog Millionaire” – $44.7 million total
– “Milk” – $20.6 million
– “Frost/Nixon” – $8.8 million (note: still in limited release; goes wide Friday, Jan 23)
– “The Reader – $8 million

Best Actor Film Grosses
Brad Pitt – ‘Ben Button’ $104 million total
Sean Penn – “Milk” – $20.6 million
Richard Jenkins – “The Visitor” – $9.4 million (total for its now long-finished theatrical run)
Frank Langella – “Frost/Nixon” – $8.8 million
Mickey Rourke – “The Wrestler” – $5.6 million

Best Actress Film Grosses
Angelina Jolie – “Changeling” – $35.7 million (total for its now long-finished theatrical run)
Meryl Streep – “Doubt” – $25 million
Anne Hathaway – “Rachel Getting Married”- $10.7 million (total for its now long-finished theatrical run)
Kate Winslet – “The Reader” – $8 million
Melissa Leo – “Frozen River” – $2.3 million

Not A Bomb Or The Disaster Some Critics Suggested (from a bottom dollar point of view)
“Valkyrie” – $78.8 million total
“Seven Pounds” – $69.5 million total

Wow, Who Knew?

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No Country For Old Men? ‘Gran Torino’ Roars Past The Box-Office Competition

Rodrigo Perez — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:16:00 +0000

No country for old men? Hardly. Man, Warner Bros. has got to be happy. Despite being in theaters for five weeks now, albeit in limited release, Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” took the number one spot on the box office with a whopping $29 million total putting it’s complete gross so far at $40 million. Not bad for a small little drama, much more scaled back then some of Eastwood’s more ambitious war films. Btw, this was a record for the director/actor, Eastwood’s previous best grossing weekend was with “Space Cowboys,” which earned $18 million in 2000.

Continue reading No Country For Old Men? ‘Gran Torino’ Roars Past The Box-Office Competition at The Playlist.

‘Marley And Me’ Top Dog At The Box-Office Again

Rodrigo Perez — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:30:00 +0000

It’s probably no surprise to anyone that with no new films in wide release again, the Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston puppy movie, “Marley and Me” topped the box-office weekend again, taking in an additional $24 million to its now $100-million-plus gross. Chalk it up as another victory for bland, white people. Adam Sandler’s “Bedtime Stories” at #2 with $20 million dollars is again, no big shocker.

What is semi-surprising is the massive success of more specialty films like ‘Benjamin Button’ and Tom Cruise’s “Valkyrie.” Unlike 20th Century Fox’s gamble on Baz Luhrmann and “Australia,” Paramount’s risk involving the $130 million-dollar costing ‘Benjamin Button’ by David Fincher seems to be paying off.

Continue reading ‘Marley And Me’ Top Dog At The Box-Office Again at The Playlist.

Oddball Potential “Valkyrie” Lawsuit, Travolta’s Son Dies In Tragic Accident

The Playlist — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:23:00 +0000

How’s this for a late post? Apologies for the truancy. Here’s a round-up of today’s news stories:

According to the New York Post, the advertising genius behind the Rice-A-Roni jingle will possibly file a lawsuit against United Artists for unlicensed use of the likeness of Hitler’s globe in Tom Cruise’s latest film, “Valkyrie.” Apparently the aforementioned ad wizard, Robert Pritikin, has an extensive art collection that includes the globe in question and has copyrighted its likeness in order to prevent its use by neo-Nazi groups.

Continue reading Oddball Potential “Valkyrie” Lawsuit, Travolta’s Son Dies In Tragic Accident at The Playlist.

Tom Cruise Hearts ‘Valkyrie’ Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:31:00 +0000

“Valkyrie” scribe Christopher McQuarrie has three new projects in the works, all involving Tom Cruise (though only two have confirmed connections with the actor) according to Variety.

The first McQuarrie/Cruise collaboration is Spyglass’ “The Tourist”, which is a remake of 2005’s French thriller “Anthony Zimmer”. Cruise is set to co-star in ‘Tourist’ with Charlize Theron under the direction of Bharat Nalluri (“Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”). “The Tourist” script was originally written by Julian Fellowes (“Shadowlands”)

Also on McQuarrie & Cruise’s collective table is “The Champions”, a film version of a British television property that finds a group of government agents given superpowers after being rescued from a Himalayan plane crash by an advanced civilization.

Continue reading Tom Cruise Hearts ‘Valkyrie’ Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie at The Playlist.

‘Valkyrie’ Is A Decently Made Thriller That’s Largely Forgettable

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:23:00 +0000

Reviews for “Valkyrie” seem politely half hearted. Jeffrey Wells called it “passable,” Anne Thompson’s headline review was “Not Bad” (though she did call if “fun”) and Variety’s Tom McCarthy said, the film, “finally takes flight as a thriller in its second half but never soars very high.”

They’re mostly all on the money “Valkyrie” is a half-way competent and entertaining thriller that isn’t terrible, but it’s not very good either. If you haven’t already heard, it’s about an alliance of German “noble heroes” who band together against their Nazi brethren in hopes of ending the war before the Allies devastate Germany (the end of WWII is impending; the writing is on the wall).

Continue reading ‘Valkyrie’ Is A Decently Made Thriller That’s Largely Forgettable at The Playlist.

The Oscar Watch: L.A Film Critics Give ‘Wall-E’ Best Picture

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:18:00 +0000

The year is almost done and let’s face it, the late-game Oscar season isn’t going to change the race much. “Gran Torino” and “Defiance” have screened for press (and us) and while decent, the Best Picture category frame won’t change. Though it’s noted some people are in the tank for Clint Eastwood in the former film. He’s fine enough, but not an Oscar nom in our minds. That’s not saying we don’t think he won’t get nominated, he stands a chance cause of political sympathies, but its us saying, we’ve seen better.

Continue reading The Oscar Watch: L.A Film Critics Give ‘Wall-E’ Best Picture at The Playlist.

‘Che’ Soundtrack Score By Alberto Iglesisas Ready For Pre-Order

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:41:00 +0000

Ugh, update our bad. You can pre-order them now, but none of these discs get shipped until 12/16. I think we were drunk this day.

Tricky little label Varese Saraband is quietly releasing a bunch of scores from films not in theaters yet and at the top of our list is the Alberto Iglesias-penned score to Steven Soderbergh’s “Che.” There’s not a ton of music in both “Che” films, but there’s enough and “Guerrilla,” has some really nice Spanish guitar music that’s really evocative, but generally, much like the movie, the music is understated and doesn’t swell to crescendo-epic cliches.

Continue reading ‘Che’ Soundtrack Score By Alberto Iglesisas Ready For Pre-Order at The Playlist.

Final ‘Valkyrie’ Trailer Suggests Nazis Trying To Kill Hitler Might Not Be As Bad As We Inititally Thought

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:49:00 +0000

Bryan Singer’s WWII suspense drama, “Valkyrie,” has itself a final trailer and a final poster. Note who they switched out the yellow-ish, orange for a red in this final poster. We wonder who many focus groups had to be tapped to tell them red was the better color (and did the designer get paid an additional $5,000 for that 2-second photoshop job?). We never liked the poster much, it’s far too austere and modern for this story about a rogue group of Nazi officers that plot to kill Hitler.

Continue reading Final ‘Valkyrie’ Trailer Suggests Nazis Trying To Kill Hitler Might Not Be As Bad As We Inititally Thought at The Playlist.

New Photos: ‘Valkyrie’

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Some new shots of the Bryan Singer/ Tom Cruise WWII film, “Valkyrie” which hits theaters on December 26. Based on a true story, the film centers on a group of rogue Nazi officers who hatched a plot to kill Hitler and end WWII led by Tom Cruise’s Colonel Von Stauffenberg. Playing his colluding Nazi cohorts, including those aware of his actions, but afraid to report him are, Terrence Stamp, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branahgh and Eddie Izard.

Continue reading New Photos: ‘Valkyrie’ at The Playlist.

Leaked: Enthusiastic Internal MGM Memo About ‘Valkyrie’ And Its Chances At Box Office Success

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:24:00 +0000

Pot-stirrer, Nikki Finke is at it again. The shit disturbing blogger of Deadline Hollywood has published an internal MGM memo about the public perception of Tom Cruise’s upcoming WWII Nazi film, “Valkryie.” The memo basically shows MGM all gung-ho and enthusiastic that the new trailer for the Bryan Singer directed film is going to play well with audiences and result in big box-office returns. It’s pretty hilarious to see a studio take the online temperature reaction to a film.

Continue reading Leaked: Enthusiastic Internal MGM Memo About ‘Valkyrie’ And Its Chances At Box Office Success at The Playlist.

‘Valkyrie’ Trailer & Poster, Mediocre and Awesome Respectively

Nick Plowman — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:05:00 +0000

The trailer for “Valkyrie” ain’t all that and a bag of chips, but it is an indication of an entertaining thriller, something that won’t clean up at the Oscars but will make for a decent film. Because the poster is pretty cool, I expected to get the same from the trailer, but when it comes to this film that I almost gave up on the prospect of seeing, I’m not complaining.

Continue reading ‘Valkyrie’ Trailer & Poster, Mediocre and Awesome Respectively at The Playlist.