National Geographic Takes Viewers Inside the Global Underworld in New Docuseries, Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, Premiering January 1, 2021
Ahead of Winter Premiere, Network Greenlights Second Season
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Armed with National Geographic’s trademark inside access, Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller takes viewers on a journey inside the most dangerous black markets on the planet. Each investigation in the eight-part series embeds with Peabody and duPont Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller as she explores the complex and often violent inner workings of a smuggling network. While she dives deeper and deeper into these underworlds, Mariana reveals — with characteristic boldness and empathy — that the people operating these trafficking rings are often a lot more like us than we realize. Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller premieres January 1, 2021.
“I couldn’t be more excited to share Trafficked with viewers around the world”
Trafficked offers viewers a mission-driven adventure to places rarely seen, providing an intimate peek behind the criminal curtain. Mariana spends time with major players from a host of underground economies — from tiger traffickers and international scammers to counterfeiters, gunrunners and fentanyl suppliers. Along the way, she also meets with law enforcement, ex-cons, fellow journalists and locals caught in the crossfire, all in an attempt to provide a 360-degree view of these poorly understood trafficking networks that contribute to the world’s multi-trillion-dollar shadow economy.
“I couldn’t be more excited to share Trafficked with viewers around the world,” said Mariana van Zeller, who has spent the better part of the last 15 years reporting on the global underworld. “People don’t realize that black markets are all around us, hidden in plain sight. And what fascinates me most is how normal, law-abiding people — people like you and me — get pulled into these criminal worlds.”
In a two-hour special episode, Mariana uncovers a lethal supply chain of American firearms being smuggled into the hands of drug cartels and fueling record levels of gun violence in Mexico. A journey filled with jaw-dropping access to gunrunners, mules, cartel bosses and assassins takes an even more terrifying turn when the son of the world’s most notorious drug lord, El Chapo Guzman, is arrested and the cartel that Mariana infiltrates decides to violently revolt.
Additional episode topics include:
COUNTERFEITING: Mariana journeys deep inside the Peruvian underworld to meet the gangster craftsmen who make and sell the world’s finest counterfeit U.S. dollars. Along the way, she learns that many of these counterfeiting operations are run by criminal families in Lima, who are making a fortune despite the anti-counterfeiting efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and the Peruvian National Police.
SCAMS: Mariana dives into the world of international scamming to understand how it all works and meet the outlaws at the heart of this booming industry. Her investigation takes her from the streets of Montego Bay to the glitzy neighborhoods of Tel Aviv as she pursues some of the biggest phone, lottery and financial scammers in the world and learns why Americans are the perfect targets.
COCAINE: Mariana retraces one of the world’s most intractable smuggling routes, following cocaine’s path from a remote Peruvian valley through Colombia’s Caribbean coast, all the way to the streets of Miami. Despite the decades-long U.S. War on Drugs, cocaine production is at an all-time high, and Mariana meets some of the makers, smugglers, drivers and teenage backpackers who risk their lives to deliver America’s favorite party drug.
STEROIDS: In the age of social media, the demand for illegal steroids is booming. Mariana searches out producers and users in an attempt to understand the vanity, insecurity and greed that’s driving this dangerously unregulated, billion-dollar black market in body-enhancing drugs.
FENTANYL: Fentanyl has turbocharged the deadliest drug crisis in American history. But less understood is how the drug has utterly transformed the black market. Mariana goes in search of the new bosses, new routes, new risks and the American communities paying the price for fentanyl’s next wave.
TIGERS: Mariana tackles what one of her sources calls “the untouchable smuggling story.” The black market for tigers and tiger parts is so lucrative, so secretive and so dangerous that few have attempted to uncover its ugly details. Mariana journeys far, and near, to meet the smugglers face-to-face.
PIMPS: In an eye-opening journey through her home state of California, Mariana embeds with pimps, victims, undercover cops and private investigators to understand the ugly business of illicit sex in America. How do pimps recruit? How do they think? Where do they get their power? And just how far will they go to grab their share of this billion-dollar black market?
TRAFFICKED WITH MARIANA VAN ZELLER is produced for National Geographic by Muck Media. For National Geographic, Bengt Anderson is executive producer; Matt Renner is executive producer and vice president, original programming and production; Alan Eyres is senior vice president of production and development; and Geoff Daniels is executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment.
For more information, follow @NGC_PR on Twitter.
Friday, January 1, 2021
NatGeo Debuts New Season of "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller"
A Negromancer New Year - January 2021
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Thursday, December 31, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 20th to 31st, 2020 - Update #41
Support Leroy on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Actress Tina Louise remembers her fellow "Gilligan's Island" cast mate, Dawn Wells, who died of COVID-19 yesterday (Dec. 30th). Louise is now the last surviving member of the beloved 1960s TV series, which continues to gain new fans.
COVID-19-STIMULUS - From YahooFortune: Some people may have already started getting their $600 stimulus check Tuesday night, Dec. 29th.
COVID-19 - From WDSU: Congress-elect Luke Letlow, Republican from Louisiana, has died of COVID-19. The 41-year old had recently won Louisiana's 5th U.S. Congressional district seat, representing Central and Northeast Louisiana. He was slated to be sworn into office in Sunday, January 3rd, 2021.
MOVIES - From WeGotThisCovered: Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns are developing a "philosophical sequel" to their now-prescient 2011 film, "Contagion."
STREAMING - From CBC: How the streaming wars will change movies in 2021
BOX OFFICE - From Variety: The winner of the 12/25 to 12/27/20 weekend box office is "Wonder Woman 1984" with an estimated take of 16.7 million dollars.
PIXAR - From VictoriaAdvocate: Meet Texas A&M graduate Cheyenne Chapel, a CG artist behind Pixar's new animated film 'Soul' which premieres this Christmas on Disney+.
KAREN ALERT - From TheGrio: A white woman assaults a black man and his son over her "stolen" iPhone. It turns out that she had left it in an Uber a day or so earlier.
From TheGrio: A California "Karen" with a taser demands that her black neighbors "act white."
POLITICS - From MSN: Mike Pence Cannot Block the Certification of Joe Biden’s Victory When the Senate Formally Counts Electoral College Votes on Jan. 6th, 2021.
COVID-19 - From Deadline: Actor Shemar Moore, star of CBS' "S.W.A.T.," has announced that he has COVID-19.
CELEBRITY - From THR: NBA champion and legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes about celebrities who basically destroy and hurt their careers via crazy social media commentary.
CULTURE - From TheRoot: The city council of Murdock, a small town in Minnesota, has given a permit for a hate-group to open a "whites-only" church, and now, people are fighting back.
BREAKING NEWS - From CNN: Nashville, Tennessee, police now believe this morning's explosion in the downtown area was "intentional."
CELERITY - From YahooReuters: Billionaire investor, Ron Burkle, has bought the late Michael Jackson's "Neverland" ranch for 22 million dollars, 78 million less than what was the 100 million asking price in 2015.
COVID-19 - From YahooNews: L.A. County hit another record with 148 COVID-19 deaths in a day.
BLM-COVID-19 - From YahooNews: A black female doctor dies of COVID-19 after complaining of racist treatment in her battle against the virus.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Warner Bros. has set the the theatrical release dates for three films. The "Mad Max" prequel, "Furiosa," gets June 23, 2023. The animated hybrid "Road Runner" movie, "Coyote vs. Acme," gets July 21, 2023. The movie version of "The Color Purple" musical gets December 20, 2023.
POLITICS - From CNN: Former Democratic presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, has filed papers to run for mayor of New York City.
POLITICS - From YahooNews: President Donald - unhappy, unleashed, and unpredictable.
POLITICS - From YahooFinance: The new stimulus checks will go out to fewer people ... in addition to being smaller.
SPORTS - From YahooSports: The Los Angeles Lakers get their 2020 NBA Championship rings.
CULTURE - From YahooNews: MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon's Jeff Bezos, upends philanthropy by giving away billions of dollars fast.
STREAMING - From CNN: Inside the 5,000+-pages long Covid-19 stimulus bill is a new law that punishes streamers that pirate large amounts of copyrighted content. Supposedly, the law specifically doesn't apply to people who use illegal streaming services or "individuals who access pirated streams or unwittingly stream unauthorized copies of copyrighted works," but is focused on "commercial, for-profit streaming piracy services" that make money from illegally streaming copyrighted material.
MOVIES - From THR: Indie filmmaker turned hit-maker, David Gordon Green, is in talks to direct Blumhouse and Morgan Creek Productions sequel to the 1973 movie sensation, "The Exorcist."
AWARDS - From ChicagoSunTimes: The Chicago Film Critics Film Association has named "Nomadland" its best film of 2020. The late Chadwick Boseman was named best actor for his performance in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
ANIMATION - From Deadline: U2's Bono, Pharrell Williams, and Halsey will lend their voices to Universal/Illumination's "Sing 2."
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: The winner of the 12/18 to 12/20/2020 weekend box office is "Monster Hunter" with an estimated take of 2.2 million dollars.
COVID-19 - From ScienceMagazine: Mutant coronavirus in the United Kingdom sets off alarms but its importance remains unclear
LGBTQ - From TheMirror: Comedian and actress, Eddie Izzard, reveals her prounouns - "she" and "her."
MOVIES - From Deadline: Universal Pictures has landed the rights to an adaptation of the graphic novel, "The Electric State," with Millie Bobby Brown attached to star and Joe and Anthony Russo ("Avengers: Endgame") on board to direct. The Russos will also produce through their AGBO banner.
BLM - From WashPost: The Rev. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. that was attacked on Sat., Dec. 12th, 2020 by members of the racist group, the "Proud Boys." The "Boys" were in Washington for a pro-Trump rally/riot. Rev. Lamar wrote an opinion piece for the "Washington Post" entitled "My church will replace our Black Lives Matter sign. Will America replace its racist myth?" One of the quotes is "...that White men can employ violence to take what they want and do what they want and call that criminality justice, freedom and liberty."
OBITS:
From Deadline: American choreographer, actor, and dancer, Adolfo Quiñones, who was better known as "Shabba Doo," has died at the age of 65, Wednesday, December 30, 2020. A dance pioneer, Shabba Doo was a member of "The Original Lockers," innovators in the dance style known as "locking." However, Shabba Doo was best known for playing the role of "Orlando" also known as "Ozone," in the 1984 break-dancing films, "Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo."
From Deadline: The actress, Dawn Wells, has died at the age of 82, Wednesday, December 30, 2020 of complications of COVID-19. Welles was best known for the role of "Mary Ann Summers" on the late CBS sitcom, "Gilligan's Island" (1964-67). Over a six-decade career, Wells appeared in numerous television series, including "77 Sunset Strip," "Bonanza," and the soap opera, "The Bold and the Beautiful."
From Deadline: Television writer and producer, William Link, has died at the age of 87, Sunday, December 27, 2020. Link was best known for co-creating the TV series NBC's "Columbo" and CBS' "Murder, She Wrote." Link and his long-time writing partner, Richard Levinson, won two Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama." Link was nominated for the Emmy nine other times.
From Deadline: Veteran television and film animator, Tuck Tucker, has died at the age of 59, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Tucker was best known for his work on Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Hey Arnold!" However, he had numerous credits, including on "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," to name a few.
From CNN: Former Major League Baseball pitcher, Phil Niekro, has died at the age of 81, Saturday, December 26, 2020. He was known for his "knuckleball" pitch, and his 318 career wins is the most by a knuckleball pitcher. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Phil and his late brother, Joe Niekro (also an MLB pitcher), had 539 career victories between the two of them - the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history.
From CNN: Former pro basketball coach and player and NBA champion, K.C. Jones, has died at the age of 88, Friday, December 25, 2020. Jones won 8 championships as a member of the Boston Celtics (1959-66). He won two as a Celtics assistant coach (1972, 1981), and two more as the Celtics head coach (1984, 1986). In 1955 and 1956, Jones won two NCAA championships with his future Celtics teammate, Bill Russell, as members of the University of San Francisco men's basketball team. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - Class of 1989.
From Deadline: Rapper, songwriter, and recording artist, John "Ecstasy" Fletcher, has died at the age of 56, Wednesday, December 23, 2020. Fletcher was best known as a member a co-founder of the pioneering rap group, "Whodini," which was among the most commercially successful of the early rap groups, having multiple albums certified gold or platinum.
From Variety: Broadway actress and recording artist, Rebecca Luker, has died at the age of 59, Wednesday, December 23, 2020, following a battle with ALS. She was a three-time Tony Award nominee ("Showboat," "The Music Man," and "Mary Poppins"). She performed numerous Broadway-related recordings, but also recorded four solo albums.
From NFL: Former NFL linebacker, Kevin Greene, has died at the age of 58, Monday, December 21, 2020. Greene started his career with the Los Angeles Rams, and he played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a member of the Steelers team that lost Super Bowl XXX. As a coach, Greene won a member of the 2010 Green Bay Packers that won Super Bowl XLV. Green was inducted into the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" in 2016.
From Deadline: Country singer-songwriter, K.T. Oslin, has died at the age of 78, Monday, December 21, 2020. A late bloomer, Oslin had a string of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her 1987 album, "80s Ladies," topped the "Billboard" Country LP chart. Oslin won three Grammy Awards including the 1989 award for "Best Country Song" for "Hold Me."
From Deadline: American stage and television actress, Peg Murray, has died at the age of 96, November 29, 2020. Murray won a Tony Award for her performance in the original Broadway production of "Cabaret" (1966). Her TV credits include the daytime soap operas, "Another World" and "All My Children."
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
"Angelika Film Center" Inspires New Streaming Platfor, "Angelika Anywhere"
Angelika Anywhere: Curated for Film Lovers
A streaming platform inspired by the Angelika Film Center
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reading International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDI) announces the launch of Angelika Anywhere, a streaming platform curated for film lovers, as inspired by its Angelika Film Center in New York City, North America’s most recognized dedicated arthouse.
“In addition to our curated programming, Angelika Anywhere will also offer exclusive Q&A content with filmmakers and talent from live events at the Angelika Film Center. Going forward, we plan to partner with filmmakers and studios to secure brand new exclusive content to further enrich the Angelika Anywhere experience.”
Since its inception in 1989, the Angelika’s flagship SoHo cinema has been debuting and celebrating groundbreaking independent and international films, many of which have gone on to become important pinnacles of the cinema industry at large. Among these standout titles are The Blair Witch Project, Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, Oscar winner Searching for Sugar Man, Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run, and Sebastián Lelio’s Oscar winner A Fantastic Woman.
Angelika Anywhere expands the cinema experience beyond the four walls of the theater, bringing the Angelika Film Center’s curated programming to cinephiles across the United States. The platform’s programming team has hand-picked an array of celebrated arthouse, international and independent films, and ensured that all films on the platform have earned the Angelika’s stamp of approval. Angelika Anywhere features Curated Collections starting with The Angelika Vault, which features a selection of films that have played at the Angelika in New York over the last 30 years, including audience favorites, milestone films and programmers’ picks. Other Curated Collections include Celebrate Black Cinema, Global Cinema, Spotlight on Latin America, LGBTQ+, Award Winners, Music and Documentary.
“We are thrilled to offer viewers the Angelika experience at home or on the go,” said Denise Hughes, senior director of programming. “With Angelika Anywhere, our goal is to eliminate the paradox of choice – the endless scrolling through seemingly infinite choices on other platforms - and offer great films front and center so a viewer can start watching a film in moments, with the knowledge that it was hand-selected. At launch, the platform offers immediate access to over 150 titles, and we will be frequently adding films and creating new collections moving forward. We are also thrilled to provide audiences access to select virtual cinema titles, whose intended theatrical release has been cut off or postponed due to cinema closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Angelika Anywhere offers us a great opportunity to preserve for our viewers access to the films that have, over the years, made Angelika a trusted name in arthouse, independent and international film.”
The Angelika’s Marketing Director, Kelley Anderson, adds, “When users log into Angelika Anywhere, we want them to feel like they’re walking into the Angelika Film Center. Guests come to the Angelika because they trust the programming, and our goal is to achieve that same trust with our platform.” Ms. Anderson continued, “In addition to our curated programming, Angelika Anywhere will also offer exclusive Q&A content with filmmakers and talent from live events at the Angelika Film Center. Going forward, we plan to partner with filmmakers and studios to secure brand new exclusive content to further enrich the Angelika Anywhere experience.”
Starting Dec. 30th, Angelika Anywhere is proud to host a one-week exclusive virtual cinema engagement of NEON’s Night of the Kings, an Official Selection of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, 2020 Venice and New York Film Festivals, and 2020 Toronto International Film Festival Amplify Voices Award winner. The film is the official Oscar selection by the Côte d'Ivoire for consideration at the upcoming 2021 Academy Awards. Night of the Kings, from Director Philippe Lacôte (Run, African Metropolis) follows a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the "Roman," or "Storyteller," and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country's mythological past and recent history, while around him, prison politics threaten to boil over.
In the first exclusive virtual filmmaker Q&A on Angelika Anywhere, Denise Hughes will be speaking with Oscar winning Director Juan Jose Campanella about his new film The Weasels’ Tale - the enjoyable story of four lifelong friends that is Sunset Boulevard meets The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, with a Latin Twist. Campanella’s Q&A will debut on Angelika Anywhere on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 8pm EST.
About Angelika Anywhere:
No Subscription Required - Angelika Anywhere does not require a subscription. Users only pay for each film they rent or purchase.
30 Day Rental - Once users rent a film, they have 30 days to begin watching it. Once they press play, the film will remain available for 48 hours.
#MyAngelika - A user’s rented and purchased films will be stored in their “Library”. Users may also click on “My List” to add any film to their personal watchlist.
Watch Anywhere - All films are viewable on a web browser, Apple devices (iPhone, iPad via app or browser), Apple TV, and Google devices (Android phones via app or browser, Android TV devices) and Google Chromecast. Roku integration is in development, scheduled to be released in 2021.
Angelika on the Go - Users who download the Angelika Anywhere Player app on the App Store or Google Play can log in and access/stream their personal film Library.
For more information on Angelika Anywhere, please visit AngelikaAnywhere.com or follow Angelika Anywhere on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About Reading International, Inc.:
Reading International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDI), an internationally diversified cinema and real estate company, is a leading entertainment and real estate company, engaged in the development, ownership and operation of cinemas and retail and commercial real estate in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
The family of Reading brands includes cinema brands: Reading Cinemas, Angelika Film Centers, Consolidated Theatres, City Cinemas, and the State Cinema; live theatres operated by Liberty Theatres in the United States; and signature property developments, including Newmarket Village, Auburn Redyard, Cannon Park, and The Belmont Common in Australia, Courtenay Central in New Zealand, and 44 Union Square in New York City.
For more information about Reading, please visit ReadingRDI.com.
About the Angelika Film Center:
Since its inception in 1989, the original Angelika Film Center & Café in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood has become synonymous with the best in arthouse, independent and international film, due to its curated and diverse programming. As a true filmmaker’s jewel and a choice destination for cinephiles, the Angelika has attained, and continues to be, the most successful and recognized arthouse in North America.
Since 2000, the Angelika brand has expanded in the United States to Dallas and Plano, Texas; Fairfax, Virginia; Washington D.C. and San Diego, California. Each new theater opening has elevated the standard of excellence, optimizing the cinema-going experience for guests.
Reading’s cinema portfolio includes other key specialty cinemas, including the Village East and Cinemas 123 in New York City, The Tower Theatre in Sacramento and the State Cinema in Tasmania, Australia.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Marvel Studios Negromancer Link-o-Rama - 2020 - Update #110
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
TRAILERS, TEASES, and TV SPOTS:
From Marvel: A first look at Disney+ series, "Loki" (Thurs., Dec. 10th, 2020)
From Marvel: A first look at "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (Thurs., Dec. 10th, 2020)
From Marvel: A first look at Marvel Studios' "What If ... ?" (Thurs., Dec. 10th, 2020)
From YouTube: The official trailer for the Disney+ series, "WandaVision." (released, Sun., Sept. 20, 2020)
From YouTube: The "final trailer" for "Black Widow" (released Mon., March 9, 2020).
From Newsarama: This Disney+ Super Bowl TV spot focuses on the upcoming Marvel Studios TV series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "WandaVision," and "Loki."
From Newsarama: Here is the 30-second TV spot for "Black Widow" that was shown during Super Bowl LIV (Sun., Feb. 2nd, 2020).
From EW: Here is the special look at "Black Widow" shown during the "College Football Playoff" Championship game between LSU (winner) and Clemson (Mon., Jan. 13th, 2020).
From Marvel: See first official teaser trailer for Marvel Studios' "Black Widow" (Tues., Ded. 3, 2019).
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NEWS:
FRANCHISE - From WeGotThisCovered: Rumors suggest that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige wants most Marvel heroes to be women and people of color going forward.
WHAT IF...? - From YahooEntertainment: Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has confirmed that the late actor, Chadwick Boseman ("Black Panther") recorded a number of voice performances for Marvel's upcoming animated series, "What If...?"
DAREDEVIL - From WeGotThisCovered: Rumors suggest that Marvel Studios will produce a "Daredevil" TV series in the vein of the one that streamed on Netflix - meaning it will be adult oriented. Actor Charlie Cox, who played Matt Murdoch/Daredevil on the Netflix series, would return to the role.
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER - From Marvel: Oscar-winning actor, Christian Bale, is joining "Thor: Love and Thunder" as "Gorr the God Butcher." The film is due May 6, 2022.
HAWKEYE - From Marvel: Marvel Studios has announced that Oscar-nominated actress, Hailee Steinfeld, is joining the Disney+ series, "Hawkeye," as the character "Kate Bishop."
BLACK PANTHER 2 - From TheVerge: Marvel Studios will not recast the role of T'Challa in the wake of the death of Chadwick Boseman who played T'Challa/Black Panther. The sequel, "Black Panther 2," will begin shooting next year for a July 2022 release date. It will focus on the other characters in the world of Wakanda.
FANTASTIC FOUR - From io9: Marvel Studios makes it official and are rebooting the "Fantastic Four," with Jon Watts (Marvel's "Spider-Man" films) will direct.
CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 - From WeGotThisCovered: According to an (alleged) Marvel Studios insider, actress Brie Larson is set to make a minimum of 15 million dollars for starring in "Captain Marvel 2."
SPIDER-MAN 3 - From MurphysMultiverse: Reportedly, actor Charlie Cox, who played Matt Murdoch/Daredevil in Netflix/Marvel's "Daredevil" series will reprise the role in Sony/Marvel's third "Spider-Man" film.
SPIDER-MAN 3 - From Variety: Actor Alfred Molina is apparently reprising his role as "Dr. Octopus" from "Spider-Man 2" (2004) for the third Sony/Marvel Studios "Spider-Man" film.
BLACK PANTHER - From BET: To honor Chadwick Boseman, Disney has added new opening credits to the Disney+ streaming version of the Oscar-winning, 2018 film, "Black Panther."
BLACK PANTHER 2 - From THR: "Black Panther 2" will begin shooting in July 2021, with the character "Shuri" (Black Panther's sister) having a larger role. The actor Tenoch Huerta will reportedly play one of the film's villains.
DEADPOOL 3 - From Deadline: Marvel Studios and Deadpool star, Ryan Reynolds, have chosen the Emmy-winning sisters, Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin ("Bob's Burgers"), to pen the script for "Deadpool 3." The film is in early development and will be Marvel's first shot at the character since the Disney-Fox merger brought the character to Marvel.
WANDAVISION - From GamesRadar: "WandaVision" is currently scheduled to hit Disney+ January 15, 2021.
WANDAVISION - From IndieWire: "WandaVision" filmed in front of a live audience and director Matt Shakman and Marvel boss Kevin Feige even consulted classic sitcom actor, Dick Van Dyke ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") - in order to capture the feel of a TV situation comedy (sitcom).
SPIDER-MAN 3 - From TheWrap: First set photo from the third Sony/Marvel "Spider Man" movie reveals Tom Holland wearing two masks.
MOON KNIGHT - From Deadline: Oscar Isaac (Star Wars' "Poe Dameron") is reportedly in negotiations to play the title character in Disney+/Marvel Studios' "Moon Knight," based on the comic book character.
BLADE - From THR: In this article about studios hiring "diverse voices" in their filmmaking process, there is some "Blade" news.
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 -From Deadline: Actress Xochitl Gomez ("The Baby-Sitters Club") will reportedly join Marvel Studios' sequel film, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
MARVEL SPIDER-MAN 3 - From THR: Sources tell the news site that Benedict Cumberbatch will appear as "Doctor Strange" in Sony/Marvel's third "Spider-Man" film.
MARVEL SPIDER-MAN 3 - From THR: Sources say that Jamie Foxx, who played "Electro," a villain in 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," is in negotiations to return as the character in the third Sony/Marvel Studios "Spider-Man" film.
MS. MARVEL - From Deadline: According to sources, Marvel Studios has chosen newcomer Iman Vellani to play "Ms. Marvel"/"Kamala Kahn" in the "Ms. Marvel" Disney+ series.
NICK FURY - From Variety: Sources have told the venerable Hollywood news site that Disney is developing a "Nick Fury" TV series with Samuel L. Jackson for Disney+.
WANDAVISION - From Deadline: Disney+/Marvel's "WandaVision" trailer draws 53 million views online in the 24 hours afters its debut during the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards.
BLACK PANTHER - From Variety: Disneyland unveils a "Black Panther" mural featuring the late actor Chadwick Boseman in its "Downtown Disney" shopping district.
SHE-HULK - From Deadline: Sources tell the site that Tatiana Maslany ("Orphan Black") will star in Marvel's "She-Hulk" series for Disney+.
WANDAVISION - From ComicBook: Apparently, Marvel Studios' "WandaVision" will make it to Disney+ this year.
ANT-MAN 3 - From Deadline: Actor Jonathan Majors ("Lovecraft Country," "The Last Black Man in San Francisco") will play the super-villain "Kang the Conqueror" in the next "Ant-Man" movie... according to sources.
CHADWICK BOSEMAN - From Variety: The actor Chadwick Boseman has died at the age of 43, Friday, August 27, 2020, after a four-year battle with cancel. Boseman was best known for playing T'Challa/Black Panther in Marvel Studios' 2018, Oscar-winning, recording-setting film, "Black Panther." Boseman also appeared in a number of biopics: Jackie Robinson in "42" (2013); James Brown in "Get on Up" (2014), and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in "Marshall" (2017).
From THR: Disney Grapples With How to Proceed on "Black Panther" Without Chadwick Boseman
From BET: Chadwick Boseman's "Black Panther" co-stars react to his passing.
From Variety: What Chadwick Boseman's "Black Panther" legacy mean.
From YahooEntertainment: The Future of ‘Black Panther': What Can Disney Do to Continue the Franchise.
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BLACK PANTHER 2 - From YahooEntertainment: The delays in film production caused by COVID-19 might decide who will be the cinematographer on "Black Panther 2."
CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 - From Deadline: The site reports that it is "hearing" that Nia DaCosta, who directed the new "Candyman" film that COVID-19 is keeping out of theaters, will be the director of Marvel Studio's sequel to its 2019 billion-dollar hit, "Captain Marvel." Disney and Marvel Studios had no comment on that for Deadline.
HAWKEYE - From YahooEntertainment: Andy Park, director of visual development at Marvel Studios, shared artwork on Twitter from the Disney+ series, "Hawkeye," featuring the character, "Kate Bishop."
DOCTOR STRANGE - From MarvelEntertainment: "Doctor Strange" star, Benedict Cumberbatch, wanders into a comic book store... dressed as Doctor Strange!
FUTURE - From Epicstream: A rumor: Marvel is considering Emmy-nominated actor, Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon of "The Mandalorian") to play the iconic Marvel Comics villain, Doctor Doom.
HELSTROM - From BleedingCool: Cast and creatives of the new Hulu/Marvel Studios' series, "Hellstrom," talk about the show, which is due to debut October 16th, 2020. There is also a new teaser trailer.
SPIDER-MAN - From Deadline: Sony Pictures moves its sequel to "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (a co-production with Disney/Marvel) to December 17, 2021.
FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER - From Variety: Marvel Studios/Disney+'s "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will not make its August 2020 release date. The production remains shutdown because of COVID-19.
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - From YahooEntertainment: Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played "Karl Mordo" in the film, "Doctor Strange," says that Sam Raimi is perfect to direct the planned sequel.
ANTHONY MACKIE - From CinemaBlend: Anthony Mackie ("Falcon") gives his honest (and blunt) assessment on Marvel Studios' lack of diversity.
ANTHONY MACKIE - From YahooEntertainment: Twitter loves the interview MCU star, Anthony Mackie, gave when he appeared in "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Thurs., June 11th.
WANDAVISION - From MurphysMultiverse: Evan Peters, who played "Quicksilver" in Fox's "X-Men" movies signed on to play a mystery role in "WandaVision," and he has apparently already filmed his scenes. Could he be playing Quicksilver again?
SPIDER-MAN - From EW: J.K. Simmons says that he has signed on to reprise the role of "Spider-Man" character, "J. Jonah Jameson," hot-tempered editor of "The Daily Bugle." When and where will he appear? Time will tell.
CAPTAIN AMERICA - From THR: While promoting his Apple+ miniseries, "Defending Jacob," Chris Evan stated that he initially kept saying "No!" to the part of Steve Rogers/Captain America.
OBIT - From Variety: Leslie A. Pope, the set decorator for "Avengers: Endgame," has died at the age of 65, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Pope had received an Oscar nomination for her work on 2003's "Seabiscuit" ("Best Art Direction," which she shared with Jeannine Oppewall).
IRON MAN 2 - From YahooUK: What went wrong with "Iron Man 2" (2010), Marvel Studios most troubled production?
FALCON-WINTER SOLDIER - From THR: Sebastian Stan talks about his latest film, "Endings, Beginnings," and his role as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in Marvel Studios' "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - From Variety: "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" gets another release date change, March 25, 2022.
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - From ComingSoon: Director Sam Raimi seems to officially confirm that he is directing the Marvel Studios film, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
THOR 4 - From Deadline: Director Taika Waititi and star Tessa Thompson tease the upcoming "Thor" sequel, "Thor: Love & Thunder."
GUARDIAN GALAXY 3 - From GamesRadar: Director James Gunn teases that "Rocket" is a big part of what happens next for the "Guardians of the Galaxy."
ANT-MAN 3 - From THR: Writer Jeff Loveness has been hired to write a draft of "Ant-Man 3." Loveness is known for being a writer and producer on Cartoon Network's popular "Rick and Morty" animated series. Loveness has also written issues of Marvel Comics' "Groot" and "Nova" comic book series. Peyton Reed, the director of the first two "Ant-Man" films, has been signed to return for the third film.
FUTURE - From Variety: Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Walt Disney has changed the release dates of several of its films, including a big shift for all Marvel Studios films through 2022.
BLACK WIDOW - From FilmMusicReporter: Lorne Balfe is composing music for the "Black Widow" film. There isn't any word on the music already composed for the film by Oscar-winner Alexandre Desplat.
COVID-19 - From BusinessInsider: In an opinion piece, the article says that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) faces a big test as shifting movie release dates challenges its meticulous story planning. The release of "Black Widow" has already been postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak.
THOR: THE DARK WORLD - From IndieWire: Director Patty Jenkins explains why she left "Thor: The Dark World." [It wasn't a big loss - Ed.]
LOKI - From DiscussingFilm: Actor Richard E. Grant, who recently appeared in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," has joined Disney+/Marvel Studios TV series, "Loki," in a secret role.
FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER - From Deadline: Shooting on Disney+'s "The Falcon & the Winter Soldier" in the city of Prague has shut down over coronavirus concerns. The series is due to debut August 2020.
WHAT IF - From Variety: Marvel Studios has picked the Quebec, Canada-based animation studio, "Squeeze," to create five episodes of its "What If...?" series.
BLACK WIDOW - From EW: Scarlett Johansson talks about the "closure" of appearing in the standalone "Black Widow" film. This article includes a video interview.
THOR 4 - From ETOnline: Tessa Thompson ("Valkyrie") says that Christina Bale will play the villain in 2021's "Thor: Love & Thunder."
From CinemaBlend: Vin Diesel says that the "Guardians of the Galaxy" will appear in "Thor: Love & Thunder." Diesel voices the GotG character, "Groot."
FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER - From Newsarama: "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" star Anthony Mackie says the Disney+ shows are shot completely differently from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
HAWKEYE - From BleedingCool: Jeremy Renner talks about working out for the Disney+ "Hawkeye" series. This suggests that the rumors that the series was being cancelled or that Renner was being replaced are not true...
ETERNALS - From Newsarama: Kumail Nanjiani says that the character he plays in Marvel's "The Eternals" is the "biggest Bollywood star."
SHE-HULK - From ComicBook: Mark Ruffalo says that he has had some preliminary talks to reprise his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the planned Disney+ series, "She-Hulk."
FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER - From Deadline: Actor Carl Lumbly ("Supergirl") has reportedly joined the cast of Disney+'s "The Falcon & the Winter Soldier."
ETERNALS - From NewNowNext: Actor Haaz Sleiman says that he will be the husband of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first openly gay superhero in "The Eternals." He says that the film will feature the first "gay kiss."
LOKI - From Variety: The actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been cast in Disney+/Marvel Studios' "Loki."
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER - From Variety: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is reportedly joining recent Oscar winner, Taika Waititi, to writer "Thor: Love and Thunder."
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - From Variety: Sam Raimi is in talks to direct "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Raimi previously directed Sony's original "Spider-Man" trilogy.
FUTURE - From THR: Including the upcoming "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "WandaVision," and "Loki," Disney CEO Bob Iger says that there are seven other Marvel TV series in various stages of development.
DISNEY+ - From Newsarama: There are new synopses for Disney+/Marvel Studios' TV series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "WandaVision," and "Loki."
BLACK WIDOW - From Newsarama: There are new character posters for "Black Widow," and a new story synopsis.
LOKI - From ComicBook: Actor Owen Wilson has signed on for a major, but unknown role in Disney+/Marvel Studios' "Loki."
CAPTAIN MARVEL - From ShowbizCheatSheet: Rumors suggest that "Captain Marvel" might lead two super-teams.
FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER - From Deadline: Actor Noah Mills (NBC's "The Enemy Within") is joining "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" in an unnamed role.
FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER - From GamesRadar: An alleged leaked photo from the set of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" Disney+ series may include a reference to the world of the "X-Men" comic books.
THE ETERNALS - From GamesRadar: Leaked set photos from "The Eternals" shows what is supposed to be the character, "Ikaris," in flight.
CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 - From THR: A sequel to the billion-dollar film, "Captain Marvel," is apparently in the works. Megan McDonnell, writer of Disney+/Marvel's "WandaVision," is in talks to pen the script.
FUTURE - From GamesRadar: Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Professor X in several of Fox's "X-Men" movies, says that he has he recently met with Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, to "talk shop." Stewart said that Professor X came up in the conversation, but also said that he is through with the character.
FALCON AND WINTER SOLIDER - From TheWrap: Here is a first look at actor Wyatt Russell as "John Walker/U.S. Agent" in "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."
RED SKULL - From YahooMoviesUK: Hugo Weaving said that he did not reprise his role as "the Red Skull" in "Avengers: Endgame" because Marvel was impossible to deal with.
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - From Newsarama: The film industry site, "Backsgate," may have the synopsis for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
BLACK WIDOW - From Newsarama: There is a video "featurette" that delves into Black Widow's history.
ETERNALS - From Newsarama: A new synopsis of Marvel's "The Eternals" reveals story details. The film also ties into "Avengers: Endgame" and seems to borrow plot elements from Neil Gaiman's 2008 "Eternals" comic book series.
FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER - From Variety: Production has been delayed on "Falcon & Winter Soldier" due to the Jan. 7th and Jan. 11th earthquakes in Puerto Rico.
KEVIN FEIGE - From ScreenRant: Managing Marvel Comics may prove to be quite a challenge for Marvel Studios' boss, Kevin Feige.
SHANG-CHI - From Newsarama: Who is Shang-Chi? And what are the "10 rings?"
NEW MUTANTS? - From Newsarama: D23, the official Disney fan club, seems to think that, "The New Mutants," the X-Men film that Disney inherited after buying 20th Century Fox, is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU is comprised of films produced by Marvel Studios.
FRANCHISE - From YahooMovies: Why you'll never see James Dean (or any other dead actor) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
DOCTOR STRANGE - From Deadline: Director Scott Derrickson has left "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" due to "creative differences." Derrickson directed the 2016 original film.
ABC - From Deadline: The ABC Network is in talks with Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige about Marvel developing a new TV series for the network. The net's long-running "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is coming to an end.
BLADE - From Newsarama: Stephen Dorff played the villain, "Deacon Frost," in the original "Blade" film from 1998. He said that he wouldn't mind reprising the role in the planned new Blade films starring his pal, Mahershala Ali."
THOR: LOVE & THUNDER - From THR: Oscar-winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter) is in talks to join "Thor: Love & Thunder."
THOR: LOVE & THUNDER - From Gamespot: Director Taika Watiti says that "Thor: Love & Thunder" is scheduled to begin shooting in Australia in August 2020.
SHANG-CHI - From THR: Director Destin Daniel Cretton talks about moving from directing his current drama, "Just Mercy," to his next film, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
THE ETERNALS - From YahooEntertainment: Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has revealed that Marvel's first transgender character will appear in "The Eternals," which is due November 2020.
WANDAVISION - From Newsarama: Disney has moved the release date for the Disney+/Marvel Studios' series, "WandaVision" to 2020 from 2021.
DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - From Collider: Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige says that "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is not "exactly a horror movie," although it will have scary scenes.
------------------------------
Click here for the 2019 edition of "Marvel Studios Negromancer Link-o-Rama."
Click here for the 2018 edition of "Marvel Studios Negromancer Link-o-Rama."
A "Star Wars" Link-o-Rama 2020 by Negromancer - Update #94
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy Doureseaux on Patreon.
TRAILERS:
From YouTube: The official trailer for "The Mandalorian" Season Two.
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NOVELS - From IndieWire: Beloved "Star Wars" novelist, Alan Dean Foster, talks about being asked to remove a budding romance between Finn and Rey that he was setting up in his novelization of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
BOBA FETT - From StarWars: There is more news on the recently announced Disney+ series, "The Book of Boba Fett," which will be executive produced by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Robert Rodriguez.
From Deadline: Previously unannounced, "The Book of Boba Fett" will be a new Disney+ "Star Wars" series. A spinoff of "The Mandalorian," the series is set to debut December 2021.
COMICS - From BleedingCool: Marvel Comics' "Star Wars: The High Republic #1" has sold out three weeks before its release date. Marvel has reportedly ordered a second printing.
OBIT - From CinemaBlend: The English actor Jeremy Bulloch has died at the age of 75, Thursday, December 17, 2020. Bulloch played the bounty hunter, "Boba Fett," in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, appearing in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of Jedi." While Bulloch wore Boba's costume, the late American actor, Jason Wingreen ("All in the Family," "Archie Bunker's Place") provided Boba's voice.
GEORGE LUCAS - From IndieWire: Legendary film director, Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather"), says that he feels sad that "Star Wars" dominated George Lucas' career.
OBI-WAN - From Deadline: Hayden Christensen will return as Darth Vader in the developing Disney+ series, "Obi-Wan Kenobi."
ROGUE SQUADRON - From Deadline: Patty Jenkins, the director of the "Wonder Woman" film franchise, will direct a new "Star Wars" film, "Rogue Squadron." This will be the first "Star Wars" feature directed by a female director.
OBIT - From StarWars: David Prowse, the actor who gave the physical performance of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, died this weekend. He was 85.
REVENGE OF THE SITH - From IGN: Star Wars Stunt Co-Ordinator Selling Lightsabers From Revenge of the Sith
HIGH REPUBLIC - From WeGotThisCovered: A preview of pages from Marvel Comics' "Star Wars: The High Republic" reveals a look at a younger Yoda.
JOHN BOYEGA - From Deadline: John Boyega Had A “Transparent, Honest” Phone Call With Kathleen Kennedy After "Star Wars" Race Comments
HIGH REPUBLIC - From Previews: In its first contribution to Lucasfilm’s "Star Wars: The High Republic" publishing campaign spanning comics and prose, IDW announced the February 3rd, 2021 launch of "Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures," an ongoing comic book series set 200 years before the live action film continuity.
PREQUEL TRILOGY - From IndieWire: An upcoming book, "Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005," reveals stunning new details of George Lucas' plans for the sequel trilogy (Episodes 7 to 9). This includes resurrected Darth Maul and making him the "godfather of crime" in the universe.
FUTURE - From IndieWire: Leslye Headland, creator of Netflix's "Russian Doll," says that her Disney+ TV series will be set in a part of the "Star Wars" timeline that fans "don't know much about."
JOHN BOYEGA - From THR: This wide-ranging article features interviews with actors John Boyega and Letitia Wright, and Oscar-winning filmmaker, Steve McQueen. In the interview, Boyega says that he met with a high-ranking Disney executive (that he did not name) about his criticisms of the way "people of color" were treated in the recent "Star Wars" trilogy.
THE MANDALORIAN - From Deadline: SPOILER - Actor Temuera Morrison makes a cameo appearance in Episode 1 of "The Mandalorian" Season Two. Morrison played Jango Fett, Boba Fett's father, in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones." Rumor says he will play Boba in "The Mandalorian."
OBI-WAN - From MensHealth: Ewan McGregor Wore His Obi-Wan Robes on the Set of The Mandalorian
MANGA - From ScreenRant: Yen Press has released a preview of its upcoming manga-graphic novel, "Leia: Princess of Alderaan."
HIGH REPUBLIC - From BleedingCool: A "High Republic" story written by author Charles Soule will be serialized in "Star Wars Insider," likely beginning in December 2020.
ROGUE ONE SPINOFF - From Deadline: Director Toby Haynes ("Black Mirror") has replaced Tony Gilroy as director of the first three episodes of the Disney+ "Rogue One" spinoff.
COMICS - From BleedingCool: IDW will adapt author Greg Rucka's 2015 Star Wars junior novel, "Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure," as a comic book miniseries.
MERCHANDISE - From People: Shoe maker and Adidas and "Star Wars" launch a fur-covered "Chewbacca" themed sneaker which you can buy at Adidas.com
OBI-WAN - From ET: In an "Entertainment Tonight," actor Ewan McGregor talks about his "Long Way Down" and "Long Way Up" series. Concerning what we really want to know about, the Disney+ "Obi-Wan," he says they will start filming spring of next year and that there plans are for one standalone season only.
JOHN BOYEGA - From GQUK: Here is the John Boyega feature/interview that has caused quite a stir.
THE MANDALORIAN - From Esquire: George Lucas cradles Baby Yoda - with social media reactions.
ROGUE ONE - From Deadline: Actress Adria Arjona will join star Diego Luna (Cassian Andor) in the Disney+ "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" prequel series.
LEIA - From io9: An upcoming book, "Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection" (Oct. 20th), will have details about Leia's lightsaber from "The Rise of Skywalker."
GEORGE LUCAS - From Deadline: Tom Pollock was a studio executive and an entertainment lawyer. He died at the age of 77, Sat., Aug. 1st. He pulled off what is likely Hollywood's all-time greatest deal - the one that got George Lucas sequel and merchandising rights to "Star Wars."
THE MANDALORIAN - From THR: Disney+/Lucasfilm's hit series, "The Mandalorian," received 15 nominations at the 2020 / 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama Series."
THE HIGH REPUBLIC - From THR: The new "Star Wars" publishing initiative, "The High Republic," will connect to existing "Star Wars canon."
BAD BATCH - From Variety: Disney+ has made a series order for the animated series, "Star Wars: Bad Batch." It is a spinoff of the long-running animated series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," and will follow an elite and experimental unit of clone troops.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From Variety: For the first time since 1997, "The Empire Strikes Back" is back on top of the weekend box office. Back in 1997, the film was re-released under the "Special Edition" banner and included new scenes and changes to the film. Reissued again, this time as "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," the film is estimated to gross between $400,000 and $500,000 in this post-COVID-19 theatrical box office.
THE MANDALORIAN - From StarWars: StarWars.com reveals an extensive publishing program of books and titles for all ages based on the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian." This will include comic books from both Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC - From IGN: Read the First Chapter of "Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi" by Charles Soule.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC - From YahooEntertainment: New Star Wars book reveals why The High Republic fell – and kicks off a new era of stories
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From YahooEntertainment: "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" will get a "4K" restoration re-release in the United Kingdom in celebration of the film's 40th anniversary.
From Collider: See graphic designer Matt Ferguson's poster designs for "The Empire Strikes Back" 4K re-release.
TIMELINE - From YahooEntertainment: Here is a detailed (and interesting) Star Wars timeline.
JOHN BOYEGA - From IndieWire: Star Wars' very on "Finn," actor John Boyega, gave an impassioned speech in support of Black Lives Matter in London on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From StarWars: In an interview done to commemorate the 40th anniversary of "The Empire Strikes Back," George Lucas says that he doesn't know why "Star Wars" is so popular.
REVENGE OF THE SITH - From YahooMovieUK: There is a fan petition demanding that Disney release an alleged four-hour cut of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith."
JAR JAR BINKS - From YahooEntertainment: The voice actor behind prequel trilogy star, "Jar Jar Binks," Ahmed Best, will be the host of the upcoming game show, "Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge," on YouTube's "Star Wars Kids" channel.
STAR WARS OBIT - From Variety: "Boom operator" (sound department) veteran Ken Nightingall has died at the age of 92, Tuesday, May 19, 2020. He worked on over 47 films, including the original 1977 film, "Star Wars." In recent years, he became a cult figure when a photo of him emerged in which he was shirtless and wearing pink shorts while his arms were hoisting a boom microphone over Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, CP30, and R2D2 during a scene shot in Tunisia. To fans, Nightingall was the "pink shorts boom guy."
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From YahooEntertainment: George Lucas apparently changed the ending of "The Empire Strikes Back," slightly, early in original release.
THE MANDALORIAN - From SlashFilm: Katee Sackhoff will appear in Season 2 of "The Mandalorian" in which she will play in live-action the character "Bo-Katan Kryze," that she has given voice to in the animated TV series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels."
THE MANDALORIAN - From THR: Actor Temuera Morrison, who played "Jango Fett" in "Attack of the Clones," will reportedly play "Boba Fett" in Season Two of Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
REBELS - From WeGotThisCovered: Rumors say that Lucasfilm is developing a spinoff of the animated series "Star Wars Rebels." The alleged live-action spinoff would focuse on the character, "Kanan Jarrus."
FRANCHISE - From TheWrap: 34 Celebrities You Probably Didn’t Know Were in ‘Star Wars’ Movies (with photos)
WAITITI - From StarWars: Oscar-winner Taika Waititi will co-write and direct a new "Star Wars" film.
ROGUE ONE - From BritishGQ: In an interview, actor Riz Ahmed, who appeared as "Bohdi Rook" in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," says that two of his family members have died of COVID-19.
ROGUE ONE SPIN-OFF - From THR: The Disney+ "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" spinoff has a new showrunner, Tony Gilroy. Gilroy came in to co-write (or script doctor) "Rogue One," and may have directed new scenes for the film. Gilroy replaces original showrunner, Stephen Schiff. The series also added actresses, Genevieve O'Reilly and Denise Gough.
FUTURE - From Variety: Leslye Headland, the creator of Netflix's "Russian Doll," is developing a "Star Wars" series for Disney+.
THE MANDALORIAN - From Variety: While the second season of Disney+/Lucasfilm's "The Mandalorian" is not due until Oct. 2nd of this year, the third season is already being written and conceptualized artistically.
ROGUE ONE SPINOFF - From Variety: Actors Stellan Skarsgard and Kyle Soller join the Disney+ "Rogue One" spinoff.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC - From BleedingCool: The first inter-company crossover between publishers of "High Republic" fiction will involve two comic book publishers, Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. However, the crossover will not be a comic book, but a novel.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC - From StarWars: StarWars.com reveals the Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters that are presumably the main protagonists in the upcoming multi-platform, "Star Wars: The High Republic." The first publications are set to arrive in August 2020, with the "Light of the Jedi" novel due August 25, 2020.
OBI-WAN - From Variety: Joby Harold has been named the new head writer of the planned Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series.
OBITUARY - From YahooEntertainment: Dialect coach and "Star Wars" actor, Andrew Jack, has died at the age of 76, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. He died as a result of COVID-19. Jack played the character Caluan Ematt in "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi," as well as providing the voice for a character in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Since the early 1980s, Jack was the dialect coach for over 200 actors, including stars such as Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Hemsworth. He was the supervising dialect coach on "The Lord of the Rings" and created the "Middle-earth" accents.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From YahooEntertainment: A look at the concept art for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" reveals Lando's original look for the film and also the "space wolves."
THE MANDALORIAN - From THR: Actor Michael Beihn, best known for his roles in James Cameron's "The Terminator" (1984) and "Aliens" (1986), has reportedly been cast in Season 2 of "The Mandalorian."
THE MANDALORIAN - From Variety: Actress Rosario Dawson will portray the "Star Wars" character, Ahsoka Tano," in Season Two of the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian." This will be the first live-action version of the character which appeared in the long-running animated series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
TOYS - From Newsarama: Long time principal "Star Wars" toy designer, Mark Boudreax, is retiring after 43 years of designing for first, Kenner, and then, Hasbro.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From Deadline: Disney drops "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" on digital early, Dec. 13th, instead of the planned Dec. 17th digital release date.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From Empire: Some of the scenes deleted from "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" will appear in Marvel's comic book adaptation of the film.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC - From Newsarama: Formerly known as "Project Luminous," "Star Wars: The High Republic will bridge multiple publishers and platforms. "The High Republic" is set 200 years before the events depicted in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace." The first publications are set to arrive in August 2020.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - From ScaryMommy: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first theatrical release of "The Empire Strikes Back," and Hasbro is celebrating with the upcoming release of a "Retro Collection" of action figures from the move. According to reports the figures are "highly detailed" and "life-like."
FUTURE - From THR: Director J.D. Willard ("Sleight") and writer Matt Owens ("Luke Cage") are developing a "Star Wars" project for Lucasfilm. No other details are known.
From Deadline: Willard and Owens "Star Wars" project will take place on the Sith planet, "Exegol," which debuted in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From Newsarama: Marvel Comics will adapt "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" into a five-issue miniseries, with new material.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From GamesRadar: The novelization of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" confirms a deleted scene from the film in which Kylo Ren meets "The Oracle."
FRANCHISE - From Variety: The future of "Star Wars" is television says Disney CEO Bob Iger.
KATHLEEN KENNEDY - From CNN: Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy, attended the 2020 BAFTA Film Awards ceremony in London on Sun., Feb. 2nd. There, she received the coveted "BAFTA Fellowship" trophy, their version of a lifetime achievement award. She also talked about changing the future of "Star Wars."
OBITUARY - From FanthaTracks: The British "Star Wars" actor, Alan Harris, died at the age of 81, Saturday, January 25, 2020. He was best known for portraying the bounty hunter, "Bossk," in "The Empire Strikes Back." Harris also played several bit parts and was also a body double in the original trilogy films. He wore costumes for tests and also appeared as Terrence Stamp's body double in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace."
UNDERWORLD - From Newsarama: Making the Internet rounds is what is purported to be test footage from "Star Wars: Underworld," the planned "Star Wars" TV series that George Lucas scrapped.
FUTURE - From Esquire: Could the "High Republic" and "Project Luminous" be the future of Star Wars?
EPISODE IX - From GamesRadar: Director Colin Trevorrow, fired from directing "Star Wars 9," confirmed as "real" the recent script leak and concept art for what would have been his Episode 9 film, "Star Wars: Duel of the Fates."
OBI-WAN - From Deadline: The Disney+/Lucasfilm "Obi-Wan" series has been put on hold.
EPISODE IX - From YahooLifestyle: More concept art, allegedly from Colin Trevorrow's aborted version of "Star Wars Episode IX," has been leaked. Trevorrow, who was hot off "Jurassic World," was fired and replaced by J.J. Abrams.
THE CLONE WARS - From GamesRadar: Season 7 of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has a release date (Feb. 21st on Disney+) and a new trailer (which can see in the article I've linked to).
JOHN BOYEGA - From YahooNews: John Boyega, "Finn" in the sequel trilogy (in case you didn't know), bought his parents a house. They were speechless and there were lots of tears...
FUTURE - From TheWrap: Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Taika Waititi, is being eyed to develop a "Star Wars" film of some type.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From Variety: "The Rise of Skywalker" crosses the one billion dollar mark in global box office, $1.001 billion.
EPISODE IX - From YahooEntertainment: Before J.J. Abrams came back to direct what would become "The Rise of Skywalker," Colin Trevorrow was going to co-write and direct Episode IX. Now, comes a leak of what is alleged to be Trevorrow and writing partner's Derek Connolly's Episode IX script, "Star Wars: Duel of the Fates."
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From Space: "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" earned two Oscar nominations as the 2020 / 92nd Academy Awards: "Music (Original Score)" and "Sound Editing and Visual Effects."
THE MANDALORIAN - From TheWrap: Meet the actor who punched the "Baby Yoda" puppet that cost five million dollars to make.
PRINCESS LEIA - From YahooEntertainment: Apparently, Billie Lourd played her mother, Carrie Fisher's character, Princess Leia, in "The Rise of Skywalker," for "a few seconds" with the help of VFX magic.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From GamesRader: Apparenly, classic Star Wars character, Nien Nunb (Return of the Jedi), dies in "The Rise of Skywalker."
COMIC BOOKS - From Newsarama: The site has a first-issue preview of Marvel Comics' new Darth Vader series, "Star Wars: Darth Vader." The preview includes seven pages of interior art and also a look at the art for two covers.
THE MANDALORIAN - From CBR: Director Taika Watiti says that he knows "The Child" a.k.a. "Baby Yoda's" real name, but he is waiting for "The Mandalorian's" creator and executive producer, Jon Favreau to reveal it.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From IGN: "The Rise of Skywalker" apparently has deleted scenes that explain how Palpatine is still alive.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From BleedingCool: Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner (1984-2005) took to Twitter to criticize "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and actress Daisy Ridley's performance in it.
THE MANDALORIAN - From MovieWeb: Actress Gina Garano says that she fainted twice while filming the "Baby Yoda choke scene" during a recent episode of Disney+/Lucasfilm's "The Mandalorian."
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - From VanityFair: Director J.J. Abrams explained how he convinced Harrison Ford to come back and play "Han Solo" one more time in "The Rise of Skywalker."
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STAR WARS Movie Reviews:
From Negromancer: "Star Wars"
From Negromancer: "The Empire Strikes Back"
From Negromancer: "Return of the Jedi"
From Negromancer: "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace"
From Negromancer: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens
From Negromancer: "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
From Negromancer: "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"
From Negromancer: "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (2008 animated film)
From Negromancer: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
From Negromancer: "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
I Reads You "Star Wars Central" comics and graphic novel review page is here.
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Monday, December 28, 2020
BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for December 30, 2020
BOOM! STUDIOS
AUG201005 FIREFLY UNIFICATION WAR TP VOL 01 $14.99
AUG201029 STEVEN UNIVERSE ONGOING TP VOL 09 $14.99