The Ringer: All Posts by Miles Surrey2024-03-28T06:30:00-04:00https://www.theringer.com/authors/miles-surrey/rss2024-03-28T06:30:00-04:002024-03-28T06:30:00-04:00Giancarlo Esposito Shifts Into the Driver’s Seat
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<p>The master of TV villainy embraces a new role as a leading man in AMC’s upcoming ‘Parish.’ Along the way, he’s been growing as a leader and as a father. “If you have a very intense personality, sometimes you can push people away,” he says. “I’m learning that from my daughters.”</p> <p id="qEJIIG">There are few actors who have a busier 2024 than Giancarlo Esposito. On the big screen, Esposito is starring in four projects, including the final installment of Ti West’s <em>X</em> trilogy, <em>MaXXXine</em>, and Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited sci-fi epic, <em>Megalopolis</em>. It’s a similar story on television, where Esposito has already featured in the small-screen spinoff of Guy Ritchie’s <em>The Gentlemen</em> and <a href="https://gamerant.com/the-boys-season-4-giancarlo-esposito-stan-edgar-return/">teased the return</a> of the sinister (and recently ousted) corporate executive Stan Edgar in the fourth season of <em>The Boys</em>. But it’s Esposito’s work in the new AMC series <em>Parish</em>, premiering on Sunday night, that adds another intriguing feather to his cap: the role of a leading man. </p>
<p id="N5VoGt">While Esposito has long been a go-to actor in high-profile dramas, those roles tend to fall into a <a href="https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/12/23/22195299/giancarlo-esposito-the-mandalorian-the-boys-better-call-saul">familiar wheelhouse</a>. Whether it’s the notorious drug kingpin Gus Fring from the <em>Breaking Bad</em> universe, the Darksaber-wielding Moff Gideon of<em> The Mandalorian</em>, or the aforementioned Edgar in <em>The Boys</em>, there’s no one else you’d rather see morph into a cunning villain—the type of character whose eerie presence always makes it seem like they’re two steps ahead of everyone else. With <em>Parish</em>, however, Esposito gets to play the other side of the coin: a good man thrust into making bad choices. </p>
<p id="cB2ptb">In the series, which is a remake of BBC One’s <em>The Driver</em>, Esposito plays Gracián “Gray” Parish, a family man from New Orleans whose black car limousine service is at risk of going out of business. The dire situation leads Parish to return to the criminal life he’d left in the rearview, finding himself entangled with a Zimbabwean mobster who specializes in human trafficking. Naturally, Parish’s conscience begins to gnaw at him, leading to a collision course (pun unintended) with the city’s underworld. </p>
<p id="OkAPJP">“He’s in a predicament,” Esposito tells <em>The Ringer</em>. “I think it serves the show well for our audience—deep down, we know he’s a good man, but we really want him to get back on the good foot, and we’ll root for him to do that.” Indeed, after he’s portrayed so many villains we couldn’t look away from, it’s easy to embrace Esposito as television’s latest brooding antihero. Below, we discuss Esposito’s work in <em>Parish</em>, the qualities that make him such a memorable antagonist, and how fatherhood has changed his life—and his approach to acting—for the better. </p>
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<p id="iw0WDE"><strong>You’ve been so prolific of late, especially on television, I have to imagine you can be selective about the roles you choose. What drew you to </strong><em><strong>Parish</strong></em><strong>? </strong></p>
<p id="Sbasid">Well, it came to me from my producing partner and now-manager, Josh Kesselman, who was a fan of the British version of <em>The Driver</em>. It was <a href="https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-turnaround-in-film-definition/">in turnaround</a> in America. They wanted to try and make it here and asked me if I was interested. That started an eight-year journey of me getting involved in regard to the story, where to place it, hiring a director, hiring a showrunner, getting [<em>The Driver</em> cocreator] Danny Brocklehurst to cowrite with us, and placing it in this new setting.</p>
<p id="6nGVHj">Then it went through maybe seven or eight incarnations in terms of what Parish’s journey would be. But we pick up with a man who’s in turmoil: a broken man who has lost a son. He also has a business that’s failing, and he has a marriage that’s not working out and another child who he has not been able to pay much attention to because he’s so busy trying to make a living. What I liked about it was that there was a man who, in many ways, had all the odds against him, and he had to find a way to recover. Part of that story is reflective of my story, and I realized it would be more personal if I was able to find a way to exemplify some of what has happened to me in my life, because it would make it more real and more organic and more truthful.</p>
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<p id="J3Ui8l"><strong>It’s interesting, someone like Gus Fring has the facade of an everyman, but here you actually get to play one. That must have been a nice change of pace. </strong></p>
<p id="PHjSSz">Absolutely. Gustavo Fring is rich, so he’s not an everyman at all. He’s posing as that, but he’s actually something else. If we go back to his roots in Chile, I always had the idea that he came from a military family. He probably could’ve run for the presidency and probably would’ve become a dictator, but he wanted his own life away from that world. He went into the world that he graduated into, and he’s in control. The juxtaposition to that is that Gracián Parish is not in control at all. He would like to be but is unable to be.</p>
<p id="NIboOm">Through the circumstances of his life, he finds himself in a position where he’s faced with doing something that he doesn’t want to do once he finds out that he’s working for someone who is a criminal. He’s faced with his conscience. What we start to find out is that he has a criminal past himself, and he’s been hiding that. And then being placed in New Orleans, which I feel represents the ghost of a city—not only because of its <a href="https://www.frenchquarter.com/new-orleans-haunted-history/">larger history</a>, but also because of its turmoil in the last number of years. It’s a much smaller city than it was after Katrina. All those ghosts are still haunting New Orleans in a way; I felt like this city could represent Gracián Parish’s turmoil in a really fantastic way. </p>
<p id="ogTQSu"><strong>With a show like </strong><em><strong>Parish</strong></em><strong>, which as you mentioned is a remake, do you look back and study what’s been done before, or do you prefer to tackle the material and the character with fresh eyes?</strong></p>
<p id="puGgXw">Oh, I’m such an original in what I do—at least I strive for originality and strive for organic newness. Even the word remake; this is a reenvisioning on a theme, is the way I would put it. I loved what I saw in the original and was intrigued by it, but it was really the story and the journey of the man and the family that attracted me. Naturally, when you start writing it, the original was so good, and it was three two-hour movies, but we were asked to create six episodes. We were already in a land that’s different in terms of length and timing than the original, and we had to create a bible for more than one season. </p>
<p id="B1MRbL"><strong>You’re also an executive producer on </strong><em><strong>Parish</strong></em><strong>. How, if at all, did those added responsibilities inform your experience on the set? </strong></p>
<p id="J2mNjx">I’m blessed to have produced and starred in two movies independently. It gave me an example of what that experience might be. It’s a heavy lift when you’re involved in something that is so close to you—this piece became very, very close to me on many levels. I mean, I love driving. I love cars. I do all my driving in the show. That was the root of things, too. I was very particular about figuring out how to be able to drive this in a new direction, just in the vehicle sense of it, but then it’s not lost on me that <em>driving</em> the project has to come from a very strong leader. </p>
<p id="XoARiL">On this project, I realized very quickly that my goal was to be in synchronicity with others. The best leader you can be is to empower people to share what their thoughts are on their creation. I’ve always been this way as a director. On my first feature film, I remember giving the script to everyone and encouraging them to read it and give feedback to me because I wanted to know how they felt about the piece. That was a way of creating a habit of asking and inviting as opposed to telling and ordering. </p>
<p id="pFu7XM">Most other businesses—I’ve been in the restaurant business, I’ve driven a taxi, I’ve driven a school bus, I’ve done a lot of different things in my life. I realize that the way you do anything is the way you do everything. If you’re inviting people to be a part of it, it creates a stronger company. It creates a stronger environment, and it creates ownership. My ownership stepped up on this being a producer because it started to resound for me on a very deep level.</p>
<p id="6DVClp"><strong>I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this, but a few years ago, the satirical news site </strong><em><strong>The Onion </strong></em><a href="https://www.theonion.com/introduction-of-giancarlo-esposito-suggests-main-charac-1845750451"><strong>published an article</strong></a><strong> with the headline “Introduction of Giancarlo Esposito Suggests Main Character Now Totally Fucked,” which is really a testament to how your villain roles have penetrated the zeitgeist. As a performer, what are the qualities that make you such a compelling antagonist in so many different projects?</strong></p>
<p id="i1s6N3">I believe that part of what I do, if I allow it to be available to me, is to exorcize some demons that are within. I believe that human beings are not just all light, but they’re also a little dark. I believe that we are a balance on the gray scale in between, and I believe that you choose what you want to be. I come from a background of a multiracial marriage, but I grew up poor, struggling, and always on guard in this place we call America because I have brown skin. I’m also a control freak, so that lent to my figuring out how to play a villainous character because they want to control everything, including you. </p>
<p id="IQNftd">I could take on the garment of someone good, bad, or indifferent very well and nuance my performance in a way that could be frightening. That’s my job as an actor, and I have a very resounding voice and great expressions that can switch from being kind to not kind in a heartbeat. People sometimes ask, “Where does that come from?” Sometimes I don’t know where it comes from, but I know I can try to identify it. Some of that can be anger, a little bit of an edge that people didn’t always acknowledge that I’m intelligent and smart and graceful. </p>
<aside id="XXvZMB"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Sydney Sweeney Is More Than Meets the Eye ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/3/21/24107033/sydney-sweeney-movies-and-tv-shows-immaculate-review-snl"},{"title":"The ‘3 Body Problem’ Exit Survey ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/3/25/24111400/3-body-problem-netflix-show-exit-survey"},{"title":"The ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Trailers Show Greens Vs. Blacks—and a Forthcoming War ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/house-of-the-dragon/2024/3/21/24107956/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-trailers-hbo-game-of-thrones"}]}'></div></aside><p id="XmCC3c">I think it’s my Italian heritage that goes back to my father, who wanted to control everything and who had a big voice and who was very passionate. Sometimes that gets taken as being angry, but he had an edge. I do it well, and I’m now able to recognize where it comes from and how to control it because that’s not really me. I have a daughter who’s so tenderhearted, and if I speak to her the way I’m talking to you now, I’m yelling. [<em>Gentler voice</em>] So I’ve got to talk like this. I don’t want to intimidate her, but I have a big personality. My other girls really put me in my place. They just look at me and go, “Papa, you’re extra.” I like that because I <em>am</em> extra. Can you deal with the extra? [<em>Laughs</em>] </p>
<p id="LgOYMe"><strong>I can relate to that. Not Italian, but I’m half Greek on my dad’s side of the family, and a lot of relatives are still in Greece. There’s a certain boisterous quality that—sometimes people are so reserved, they can find it off-putting. But when you’re in that environment, it’s almost infectious. It’s like you carry that energy with you. </strong></p>
<p id="OjdaPE">I would agree with you. It’s a realness. I do acknowledge there’s a fierceness about me, but I developed that fierceness trying to get to where I wanted to go. It took me a long time to not be passive-aggressive and really speak up. I had a conversation with someone the other day, and I went, “I have a resentment I need to tell you about.” That was really huge for me, as opposed to holding that resentment and hating that person and being in this funk about it, which would eat me up and be scary to all those around me. I went, “You know what? I can let this go. I can be clearer about my communication.”</p>
<p id="uCmRSv">As my life gets healthier, I can turn on my acting chops. This role in <em>Parish</em> and even my role of Gustavo Fring, I feel my characters because I feel like I’ve got to give my heart and soul to them. I’m a painter, I love art, I collect art. I love things of beauty. I believe inside me, I’m an artist, and artists are different. We’re temperamental. We go through stuff, because I don’t just go and phone it in: I live it. I think that’s necessary for an artist. When you’re breathing life into a painting, you’re living that motion, you’re living that color, you’re living that vision, you’re living that dream. </p>
<p id="YghI85">I think that leaves me with a full life, but again, I have to be careful because I’m not the only one in my life. If you have a very intense personality, sometimes you can push people away. I’m learning that from my daughters. I don’t have to be intense anymore because I’m more secure in who I am at heart.</p>
<p id="eqMgHH"><strong>I also wanted to talk about </strong><em><strong>Better Call Saul</strong></em><strong>. I love the final scene we have with Gus at the wine bar—there’s a warm intimacy between him and the sommelier before Gus decides to leave. In hindsight, it made me realize that, while lots of people like to compare Walt and Gus, or Walt and Saul, there’s also some similarities between Gus and Saul. Both characters channel the pain of losing a loved one—Max in the case of Gus, Kim in the case of Saul—and it consumes them. Do you see Gus Fring’s story as something of a tragedy? </strong></p>
<p id="YfkM4n">[<em>Gus Fring voice</em>] We are not alike. </p>
<p id="mU6LTs">You’re asking a very big question in terms of the whole show. Do I want to agree with you? Not really, but maybe I have to, because does Gus really get what he wants? He’s another lonely man who doesn’t really get the relationship he wants. He’s driven by his work and by his business acumen. He feels like he can do it better than the Salamancas. He can, but no one’s acknowledging that, so he steps up and takes the reins. He comes from a very brutal culture of <em>drogas</em>—he’s lived through it and made it up to a certain point, and he wants more.</p>
<p id="LR1QRC">Is it a tragedy? I think it might be because he has to hide his whole life. We don’t really know, is he straight or gay? We don’t know, really, where he comes from. He’s hidden everything about himself, and that’s a character who’s holding it very close to the vest. I love this character, of course, because I was so invested in creating him and in hiding who he really was from most everyone, but I think that also played into part of my own life again. </p>
<p id="asMuXY">In a way, I wear a lot of masks, and if I believe those masks, then that’s who I become. That’s why I’m a good actor, and I think I’m a better actor now that I understand that I can take these masks on and off at will. I can do it without having to live it. I’m getting closer to the essence of who I am. I can’t wait to do a comedy.</p>
<p id="9HEaxD"><strong>To show this other side of yourself that I can just tell from this interview is so exuberant. </strong></p>
<p id="5Oe8D9">When I’m playing a role, I don’t go see any other movies. I don’t go out, I don’t allow myself to see other entertainment because I’m so into it. It may be a very Method way of working, but I don’t want to be stimulated in any other way because I want to serve the writer’s intention and serve the assignment I’ve been given. But I don’t want to ever become one of those actors that believes that’s <em>who</em> I am. I already have enough of my own pain; I don’t need to deal with Gus’s pain and all these other people’s pain. I got my own shit, you know what I mean? In a way, every role exorcizes me further, to a point where I can really understand myself on a deeper level.</p>
<p id="n6TU79"><strong>Of all the projects you’ve got lined up in 2024, I’m so excited to see what you end up doing in Francis Ford Coppola’s </strong><em><strong>Megalopolis</strong></em><strong>. What can you share about your experience on the film and working with one of our greats?</strong></p>
<p id="2Qrqb7">I think Francis is a genius. It’s my second time working with him; I did <em>Cotton Club </em>with him. To be able to work with him on this has been a special event. He’s been working on this for 30, 40 years; I did a reading of it many, many years ago. It all came back around through many different circumstances that I would be cast in this role. When you see the film, the character I play is named after him, a guy who has a New York feel to him. This is the essence of Francis.</p>
<p id="At5ozU">I feel honored, number one, to be in the film and to be able to work with a man who doesn’t know how it’s going to happen or play out. He has a script that he’s written but is willing to go away from it, is willing to deepen it along the way—similar to working with Guy Ritchie recently on <em>The Gentlemen</em>. He’s not attached; he just wants to make it better. Francis is very much his own man, his own director with his own very specific vision, so you’ve got to find a way to fit in and be in concert with that. </p>
<p id="bA9M3Z">I enjoyed being in this place where I played the mayor of New York. I played the guy who’s got to make hard decisions and figure out how to lead people in a graceful way. I mean, it’s all based on Cicero and Caesar. When you go back to the Roman story of Cicero and Caesar, Caesar tried to get into the Roman Senate six times and was denied, and Cicero was at the forefront in denying him. This is the mythology that this movie is based on: two men, one man with new ideas, one man with old ideas. I love this story because, in the end, we’re looking for a better world. Through Francis’s story, he’s trying to show how that better world comes about, which means something has to give; <em>someone</em> has to give. At the crux of it, I feel like I represent the old-school world in this movie.</p>
<p id="YZmMOR">I’ll end this by saying that for me in my life, I think when we become more mature, we think we know a lot. My mother used to say, “You think you know more than me? I brought you into this world, I can take you out of this world.” What an awful thing. I don’t want to repeat that. I’ve got four daughters who are really smart, really brilliant, and really vocal. At what point in your life, when you’re a mature man coming from a male standpoint with four girls who are progressive, do you allow space for them to tell you? When I grew up, you were supposed to be seen and not heard. That’s how I was parented, and that was not their fault; they came from a different time. Now, I’m with my children and I can’t pull that card because I respect them.</p>
<p id="IQPTEX">You start giving them credit as they grow into adults. I want to empower them. For years, I was responsible for keeping them safe: crossing the street, what they eat, what they’re exposed to, all of that. Now they’ve got it and they’re on their own. I can’t be that same father. Now, I got to be the guy that hears them, that listens more than I talk, right? It’s changed my life. It helps me be more progressive, more witted, more youthful, more giving, more compassionate, more loving. I can’t stay in the same role I was when they were 2, 3, 4, when I had to teach them, because now they can teach me.</p>
<p id="KBv1Eg"><strong>It evolves. </strong></p>
<p id="UCcA6X">It evolves. That’s how I feel current, and that’s how I feel about my work. I’m about to venture into a whole new world in my work that I feel really excited about. Don’t get me preaching now, I’ll keep going! I loved being with you today, and I thank you for this great interview.</p>
<p id="eyDuQu"><strong>Thank you so much, Giancarlo. For what it’s worth, you sound like a wonderful father, and your daughters are lucky to have you.</strong></p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="Uq2hMa">Thank you for saying that. I’m lucky to have them, too. It’s a great journey for all of us.</p>
<p id="WdhG9n"><em>This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. </em></p>
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https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/3/28/24113783/giancarlo-esposito-interview-parish-amc-new-showMiles Surrey2024-03-21T08:36:14-04:002024-03-21T08:36:14-04:00Sydney Sweeney Is More Than Meets the Eye
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<p>It’s always been reductive to diminish Sweeney to the most salacious elements of her TV roles, but the actress is making interesting career choices as she ventures more into film, including her latest horror project, ‘Immaculate’</p> <p id="Gb2qai">When Sydney Sweeney hosted <em>Saturday Night Live</em> for the first time earlier this month, it was a fairly lackluster affair. With the exception of an amusing sketch in which cast member Bowen Yang was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsBSCj2oqwU">“revealed” to be straight and in turn seduced Sweeney</a>, the episode will go down as barely a footnote in the annals of <em>SNL</em>. Conversely, there was plenty of attention paid to Sweeney’s appearance on the show. Conservative commentators latched on to a harebrained narrative that Sweeney’s cleavage was meant to <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardHanania/status/1764348035432374659">own the libs</a>; in fact, one of the biggest national newspapers in Canada <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/amy-hamm-wokeness-is-no-match-for-sydney-sweeneys-undeniable-beauty">ran an op-ed</a> with the lede “Are Sydney Sweeney’s breasts double-D harbingers of the death of woke?” (We live in cursed times.) </p>
<p id="SC9Njx">Another meaningless debate about wokeness is one thing; it’s even weirder when the conversation is centered on someone’s body. It’s a phenomenon that Sweeney is familiar with. As she joked in her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4fh7eBK4qE"><em>SNL</em> monologue</a>, she’s known as “the girl on TV who screams, cries, and has sex—sometimes all three at the same time.” Seeing as most of the episode poked fun at the hyperfixation on Sweeney’s attractiveness, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/09/sydney-sweeney-snl-republican-misogyny">ensuing</a> <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2024/03/sydney-sweeney-snl-hooters-glen-powell.html">news</a> <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2024/03/sydney-sweeney-breast-size-oscars-snl.html">cycle</a> felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy. “People feel connected and free to be able to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I’ve signed my life away,” Sweeney <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/sydney-sweeney-immaculate-glen-powell-euphoria-season-3-1235943028/">recently explained in an interview with <em>Variety</em></a>. “It’s this weird relationship that people have with me that I have no control or say over.” </p>
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<p id="LAYaqE">Of course, it’s always been reductive to diminish Sweeney to the most salacious elements of her TV roles. Though her portrayal of Cassie Howard in HBO’s <em>Euphoria</em>, which premiered in 2019, is widely credited for putting Sweeney on the map, it was a trio of performances from the previous year that first demonstrated her acting chops. Between supporting roles in Netflix’s short-lived dramedy <em>Everything Sucks!</em>, Hulu’s Emmy-winning drama <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em>, and the HBO miniseries <em>Sharp Objects</em>, Sweeney conveyed the kind of intensity and vulnerability that’s since become her calling card. Throw in her performance as Olivia Mossbacher in the first season of <em>The White Lotus</em>—a character whose mix of ruthlessness and insecurity puts Regina George to shame—and it’s clear that there are few actors from Sweeney’s generation who are better at capturing teen angst. (FYI, Cassie has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk4DSmXaHss">never, ever been happier</a>.) </p>
<p id="5yrH8H">But since Sweeney’s previous roles have had a shorter shelf life—<em>Everything Sucks! </em>was canceled after one season, her character is tragically killed in <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em>, and <em>Sharp Objects</em> and <em>The White Lotus</em> were one-offs—<em>Euphoria</em> has inevitably loomed large over the rest of her young career. And despite the plaudits that Sweeney has received for <em>Euphoria</em>, including an Emmy nomination in 2022, there’s always a sense that the work is somewhat overshadowed by all the attention paid to Cassie’s nude scenes. “This is something that has bothered me for a while,” <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sydney-sweeney-white-lotus-euphoria-b1997058.html">Sweeney told <em>The Independent</em></a> in 2022. “I’m very proud of my work in <em>Euphoria</em>. I thought it was a great performance. But no one talks about it because I got naked.” </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="HpdLgJ"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"‘Love Lies Bleeding’ Review: Kristen Stewart Finds Love, Drugs, and Murder","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/3/13/24098767/love-lies-bleeding-movie-review"},{"title":"Is ‘Madame Web’ a Good Bad Movie or an Irredeemable Bad Movie?","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/16/24074844/madame-web-sony-spiderverse-bad-movie-review"},{"title":"‘Euphoria’ Doesn’t Need Shock Value Anymore to Make Us Keep Watching","url":"https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/1/10/22875874/euphoria-season-2-review-hbo-rue-zendaya-jules-nate"},{"title":"‘The White Lotus’ Mixes Tropical Delight With Cold Class Warfare","url":"https://www.theringer.com/tv/2021/7/12/22569875/the-white-lotus-hbo-review-mike-white"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="v6DXtN">But as Sweeney has parlayed her success on television into starring roles in film, an interesting through line has emerged: Rather than shy away from how she’s being sexualized, she’s embraced it in clever ways. In the Amazon Studios original movie <em>The Voyeurs</em>, Sweeney plays Pippa, an early-career optometrist who moves in with her boyfriend, Thomas (Justice Smith), before they begin spying on their attractive, exhibitionist neighbors across the street. (Basically, imagine if <em>Rear Window</em> were extremely horny.) Erotic thrillers have <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2022/3/17/22981776/erotic-thriller-hollywood-history-basic-instinct">practically gone extinct</a> in the 21st century, so the existence of <em>The Voyeurs</em> was titillating in and of itself. But aside from its pulpy pleasures, <em>The Voyeurs </em>can also be read as Sweeney’s attempt to take agency over her sexuality. In the opening scene of the film, the camera spies on Pippa through a department store window as she’s trying on lingerie in a dressing room. Suddenly, she makes direct eye contact and closes the curtain: a cheeky meta-commentary on the bizarre fascination that some people have with Sweeney’s body. </p>
<p id="qmapwX">Sweeney is subject to a different kind of gaze in HBO Films’ <em>Reality</em>, a drama centered on the FBI interrogation of whistleblower Reality Winner, who leaked a classified NSA report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. All of <em>Reality</em>’s dialogue is taken straight from the FBI transcript—even the little moments when characters stammer over their words or have a coughing fit—and the result is an incredibly unnerving tale of entrapment. Sweeney has also never been better: Whether attempting to deflect from the FBI’s search of her home with small talk about her pets or dealing with the invasion of her personal space by a physically imposing agent, she channels Reality’s creeping dread with little more than her mannerisms. It’s a performance that asks a lot of her even if it seems like she’s doing very little—practically the antithesis of what she’s known for on <em>Euphoria</em>. Make no mistake: Even if it was a streaming release, <em>Reality</em> was the surest sign yet of Sweeney’s movie star bona fides. </p>
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<p id="dFzzav"><br>Naturally, the tried-and-true star-making roles soon followed. The romantic comedy has also fallen out of favor lately, but Sweeney did her part to revive the genre with <em>Anyone but You</em>, a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s <em>Much Ado About Nothing</em>. In the film, Sweeney plays Bea, a law student at Boston College who hits it off with Ben (Glen Powell), a charming finance bro—if such a thing even exists. A misunderstanding after their first night together leads Bea and Ben to sour on each other; as fate would have it, they’re both later whisked away as guests of a destination wedding in Australia. If not entirely novel, <em>Anyone but You</em> knew how to play the hits: The chemistry between Sweeney and Powell was strong enough to spark <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-11-14/glen-powell-sydney-sweeney-affair-rumors-anyone-but-you">rumors of an affair</a>, the raunchy humor was (mostly) effective, and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnbyBawSfXY">cast endearingly sings Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten”</a> over the end credits. (Hot take: All movies should end with a cast sing-along.) Best of all, <em>Anyone but You</em> emerged as a <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/02/anyone-but-you-global-box-office-milestones-marketing-highlights-sydney-sweeney-glen-powell-1235841791/">sleeper hit at the box office</a>: a potent reminder that Hollywood shouldn’t put all its eggs in the blockbuster basket. </p>
<p id="aMqDFX">Of course, the path to modern stardom often makes a pitstop in the world of superheroes, and Sweeney was no exception, having been cast as Julia Cornwall (a.k.a. Spider-Woman) in Sony’s <em>Madame Web</em>. Well, uh, about that: The <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2023/12/aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-box-office-marvel-mcu-dc-comic-book-superhero-movies.html">bottom has finally dropped out</a> of the superhero-industrial complex, and all the ridicule aimed at <em>Madame Web</em> feels like an extinction-level event for the dominance of these types of movies. The only consolation for Sweeney is that she came out of <em>Madame Web</em> relatively unscathed: Of all the issues plaguing this film, her muted performance isn’t anywhere near the top of the list. (I’m still stuck on the fact that Dakota Johnson <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/14/24073101/dakota-johnson-viral-press-moments-madame-web">used an entire press tour to trash her own movie</a>, and that virtually all of the <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/the-villain-in-madame-web-is-just-some-guy-i-guess/">villain’s dialogue was dubbed over</a>.) </p>
<p id="kiJikP">Besides, the best way to wash away the stench of a bad movie is by having another project waiting in the wings. Which brings us to <em>Immaculate</em>, Sweeney’s first real stab at a horror film, which premieres on Friday. <em>Immaculate</em> begins when an American nun, Cecilia (Sweeney), transfers to a convent in rural Italy after her parish closes down. Shortly after arriving, Cecilia becomes pregnant: a discovery that could be a divine miracle, or something more nefarious. (It’s a horror flick, so you can guess where this is headed.) </p>
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<p id="mx5Bhq">A reunion between Sweeney and <em>The Voyeurs</em> director Michael Mohan, <em>Immaculate</em> is another project that weaponizes the audience’s perception of Sweeney—this time to make a larger point about bodily autonomy. As soon as Cecilia’s pregnancy is confirmed, she’s treated less like a person than a vessel. At one point, after a jealous nun attempts to drown her, all of the convent’s leaders gather around and celebrate that the fetus came away from the attack unscathed. “But I’m not OK,” Cecilia says, a plea that those around her dismiss. The sense that the community cares about Cecilia’s body more than they care about Cecilia herself is also reflected in how Mohan frames Sweeney: The camera is often leering as a bunch of religious leaders—predominantly men—try to assume ownership over her choices. With how the movie ends—a brutal, bloody climax that cements Sweeney’s aspirations as a next-gen scream queen—<em>Immaculate</em> may well be the first film about a nun that feels explicitly pro-choice. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="ZL87h8">If nothing else, <em>Immaculate</em> couldn’t have arrived at a better time: Just as a bunch of conservatives <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/boobs-are-back-thank-you-sydney-sweeney/">weirdly obsess over Sweeney’s body</a>, a movie is doing the same by design. More importantly, <em>Immaculate</em> is further proof that Sweeney is making some of the most interesting career choices of any up-and-comer in Hollywood. Rather than being pigeonholed, she has done a bit of everything in recent years: an erotic thriller, a rom-com, a claustrophobic chamber piece that pulls from an actual FBI transcript, a superhero blockbuster, and now, a horror movie. It’s almost enough to make <em>Euphoria</em> seem like an afterthought. In any case, whether she’s in a prestige drama or a project for the big screen, Sweeney has established herself as a star on the rise—one who’s more than meets the eye. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/3/21/24107033/sydney-sweeney-movies-and-tv-shows-immaculate-review-snlMiles Surrey2024-03-11T00:07:44-04:002024-03-11T00:07:44-04:00The Winners and Losers of the 2024 Oscars
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<p>Christopher Nolan and ‘Oppenheimer’ completed their victory lap, but there were a few shock surprises—including the way Al Pacino announced the Best Picture winner</p> <p id="6ee4gK"><em>The 2024 Academy Awards are in the books, which means we’ve finally reached the end of awards season. (That sound you hear is countless pop culture bloggers breathing a collective sigh of relief.) While there weren’t too many surprises during the show, the Oscars did what they do best: celebrate some of the best movies of the year, while giving a generational filmmaker his worthy coronation on Hollywood’s biggest night. Below, we break down the biggest winners and losers from Sunday’s festivities. </em></p>
<h3 id="qZXxu8">Winner: The Oscars </h3>
<p id="ECZLHi">The Academy may not want to consider itself to be in crisis mode, but the Oscars haven’t been in the best place lately: The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/14/oscars-tv-ratings-improve-to-third-worst-ever">ratings continue to be in a freefall</a>, and the most memorable moments of the past decade happen to involve an infamous Best Picture envelope mishap and Will Smith <a href="https://www.theringer.com/oscars/2022/3/28/22999430/2022-oscars-will-smith-chris-rock-slap-coda-best-picture">slapping Chris Rock in the face</a>. But even though most of the awards on Sunday night had predictable outcomes, the Oscars managed to be something the ceremony has sorely lacked: fun. </p>
<p id="N6coAj">Ryan Gosling blew the roof off the Dolby Theatre with his lively rendition of “I’m Just Ken”; a naked John Cena realized <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-cant-see-me">we can see him</a> (more on that shortly); the acting categories tried something different by having former Oscar winners give stirring tributes to each nominee. These moments and more contributed to the Oscars accomplishing what it should strive to do each year: celebrating the power of cinema with humor and heart. </p>
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<br>Winner: The Christopher Nolan Victory Lap</h3>
<p id="gahppR">Sometimes, the Oscars take a while to anoint an artist with a long-overdue statuette. After delivering masterpieces like <em>Raging Bull</em> and <em>Goodfellas</em>, it took until <em>The Departed</em> for Martin Scorsese to finally win an Oscar; Leonardo DiCaprio, meanwhile, had to eat raw bison liver in <em>The Revenant </em>to receive the Oscar he had long been craving. In that spirit, the 2024 Academy Awards will forever be known as the Christopher Nolan Oscars, with <em>Oppenheimer</em> taking home seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. But what’s so thrilling about Nolan’s coronation on the Oscars stage is that it’s a result of what may be the best film of the director’s distinguished career: a three-hour biopic that captivated moviegoers around the world and made nearly a billion dollars in the process. </p>
<p id="bSoWr7">Also exciting: Nolan is 53, which in filmmaking terms—health permitting—means he’s got decades ahead of him to outdo what he achieved in <em>Oppenheimer</em>. Perhaps this won’t be the last time we see Nolan going onstage to accept an Oscar or two; <a href="https://www.cbr.com/tenet-we-live-twilight-world-meaning-theory/">we live in a twilight world</a>, after all. </p>
<h3 id="wOwhlY">Loser: <em>Barbie</em> </h3>
<p id="S58Rv2">For anyone who felt like <em>Barbie</em> was already dismissed by the Academy, which failed to nominate Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie for Best Director and Best Actress, respectively, the Oscars did little to dispel that notion. Despite being up for eight awards, <em>Barbie</em> managed only a single win, for Best Original Song, courtesy of Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s “What Was I Made For?” (One bit of good news: by winning, the 22-year-old Eilish and 26-year-old O’Connell became the youngest people in history to win two Oscars.) </p>
<p id="abaqq3">While <em>Barbie</em> was an outsider for Best Picture, it stood a much better chance of making some headway for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. In both of these categories, though, <em>Barbie</em> lost out to <em>Poor Things</em>, which, as many people have noted, feels like a <a href="https://www.elle.com.au/culture/barbie-poor-things-movie-similarities/">bizarro version of <em>Barbie</em></a> itself by way of Frankenstein’s monster. It was a night to forget for <em>Barbie</em>, but that should be of little consequence. After all, <em>Barbie</em> was the highest-grossing movie of 2023: to paraphrase its Oscar-winning song, that’s what it was made for. </p>
<h3 id="TVIJ4W">Loser, Somehow: <em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em> </h3>
<p id="lJIEMA">Martin Scorsese has a long and storied history at the Oscars, and unfortunately, he’s often been on the losing end of things: Both <em>Gangs of New York</em> and <em>The Irishman</em> had the honor of being nominated for 10 Oscars—and the ignominy of winning zero of them. Now, sadly, we can add <em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em> to that list, and like Scorsese’s previous epics, it deserved much better. </p>
<p id="mmThwh">There are two categories, in particular, where <em>Killers of the Flower Moon </em>should feel hard done by. For one, there was a time when Lily Gladstone seemed like a lock to win Best Actress: Not only was her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart the soul of the film, but she would’ve become the first Native American to win an acting Oscar. Alas, the award went to <em>Poor Things</em> star Emma Stone, who looks like she’s living out the second season of <em>The Curse</em> in real time. And while Ludwig Goransson was widely tapped to win Best Original Score for his work in <em>Oppenheimer</em>, spare a thought for the late Robbie Robertson, whose music made a memorable imprint on <em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em>. All told, Scorsese’s latest masterpiece deserved better from the Academy; here’s hoping he has more luck with his <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/leonardo-dicaprio-martin-scorsese-naval-survival-movie-wager-apple-1235189018/">adaptation of <em>The Wager</em></a><em>.</em> </p>
<aside id="O68Hz2"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How Will the Soon-to-Be Oscar for Casting Work? Let This Year’s Films Explain.","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/3/7/24093352/oscar-awards-best-casting-new-category"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="POZtLN">Winner: Cord Jefferson </h3>
<p id="byi0wp">In the past five years alone, <em>American Fiction</em> writer-director Cord Jefferson has put together an impressive body of work, writing episodes of <em>The Good Place</em>, <em>Station Eleven</em>, and HBO’s <em>Watchmen</em> miniseries, the latter of which won him an Emmy. (He was also a consultant on <em>Succession</em>, which just so happens to be one of the best shows of its era.) Now, Jefferson can add a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar to his résumé—in his directorial debut, no less—punctuated by a charming acceptance speech imploring Hollywood to make more $20 million movies instead of placing all their bets on one $200 million blockbuster. </p>
<p id="rU2IKO">Also, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Jefferson became the first person to win an Oscar who used to be an editor at <em>Gawker</em> (RIP). It’s been a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/is-the-media-prepared-for-an-extinction-level-event">brutal few months in digital media</a>; Cord’s Oscar win is a win for journos everywhere. </p>
<h3 id="eTLhr4">Winner: John Cena’s … Bits </h3>
<p id="oOmlGP">To commemorate (?) the 50th anniversary of the time a streaker ran across the stage during the 46th Academy Awards, John Cena briefly appeared naked onstage to present Best Costume Design. <em>Poor Things</em> ended up winning the Oscar, but that’s not what viewers are going to remember. Yes, that was an (absolutely shredded) WWE star actually waltzing onstage with just an envelope covering his crotch. There’s a universe in which this bit about Cena’s, ahem, bits failed spectacularly, but if Dave Bautista is the WWE-turned-actor GOAT, Cena is far and away the funniest performer who started out in professional wrestling. The fact that this moment didn’t fall flat is a testament to Cena’s gifts for physical comedy. (Also, shout-out to that <a href="https://twitter.com/vulture/status/1766980713000423817">quick wardrobe change</a>.) Hollywood, keep putting John Cena in comedies—just make them better than <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ricky_stanicky"><em>Ricky</em> <em>Stanicky</em></a>. </p>
<h3 id="H4RiVy">Impossible to Categorize: Al Pacino Announcing Best Picture</h3>
<p id="65p926">The Academy brought out some legends of cinema throughout the evening—none other than Steven Spielberg handed Nolan his Best Director Oscar—but the ceremony saved the best for last. Al Pacino was on hand to present Best Picture, and he was rightly given a standing ovation by the attendees when he came onstage. Even among A-listers, the living legend who starred in the <em>Godfather</em> trilogy, <em>Serpico</em>, <em>Heat</em>, <em>Dog Day Afternoon</em>, <em>Scent of a Woman</em>, and so many more classics is in a league of his own. </p>
<p id="MOcq6j">But as has been proved throughout his iconic career, Pacino also marches to the beat of his own drum: You never know what he’s going to do, or how he’s going to enunciate a line of dialogue. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9hFRw5jeRQ">“She’s got a GREAT ASS”</a> lives in my head rent-free.) And after all the anticipation for the final award of the night, Best Picture, my guy anticlimactically opened the envelope, looked inside, and said, “My eyes see <em>Oppenheimer</em>?” </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m obsessed with the way Al Pacino announced Oppenheimer as Best Picture. couldn’t have been more chaotic or confusing lol<br><br>“Best Picture…uh, I have to go to the envelope for that. And I will. Here it comes. And my eyes see Oppenheimer?”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oscars</a> <a href="https://t.co/a0hNQ4ZP7j">pic.twitter.com/a0hNQ4ZP7j</a></p>— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerAlthouse/status/1767014759960859102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2024</a>
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<p id="krOzy3">Yes, Al Pacino turned his Best Picture announcement into a question with all the energy of someone who was brought onstage without any advance warning. Give him an Oscar for this performance, and let him announce every category next year. </p>
<h3 id="P4eEvT">Loser: Messi’s Haters </h3>
<p id="dgsOct">For anyone who watched <em>Anatomy of a Fall</em>, the true star of the film is Messi, the family dog who was integral to the plot—all the way down to the final verdict in the courtroom. Messi genuinely delivered what might be the best performance a dog has ever given on-screen, and he was given the A-list treatment throughout awards season, <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1757136143697563740">giving “interviews”</a> on red carpets and appearing at official Oscars functions. Incredibly, some <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/messi-anatomy-of-a-fall-dog-oscars-academy-awards-1235845408/">awards strategists were pissed about Messi stealing the limelight</a> in the lead-up to the Oscars, fearing that this good boy would sway Academy members to give their vote to<em> Anatomy of a Fall</em>, and there were even reports that he wouldn’t attend the ceremony. Well, suck it, haters: Not only was Messi in attendance, he was <a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerAlthouse/status/1766989468559421939">applauding during the show</a> and peed on Matt Damon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Anatomy of a Fall" star Messi appears to pee on Matt Damon's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. <a href="https://t.co/UNgGySGz3r">https://t.co/UNgGySGz3r</a> <a href="https://t.co/yMXgsvpiip">pic.twitter.com/yMXgsvpiip</a></p>— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1767015079977914450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2024</a>
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<p class="c-end-para" id="C5XDJz">Is Messi the reason that <em>Anatomy of a Fall </em>ended up winning Best Original Screenplay? Who’s to say, but between the dog and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/17/messi-dog-anatomy-of-a-fall-interview">soccer player he’s named after</a>, it’s safe to say that America has Messi Fever. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/oscars/2024/3/11/24096952/oscars-winners-2024-academy-awards-losers-best-pictureMiles Surrey2024-03-01T06:20:00-05:002024-03-01T06:20:00-05:00Is Denis Villeneuve Willing ‘Dune: Part Three’ Into Existence?
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<p>After betting on himself and deciding to split ‘Dune’ into multiple movies before the second was green-lit, Villeneuve may once again be daring Warner Bros. to extend his franchise—this time to a trilogy </p> <figure class="e-image">
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<p id="qjd4Ba">When Denis Villeneuve was <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/1/14468876/dune-reboot-denis-villeneuve-director-official">hired</a> to direct a new adaptation of <em>Dune</em> in February 2017, the French Canadian filmmaker was in the midst of a serious sci-fi hot streak. The announcement came on the heels of his Best Director nomination for <em>Arrival</em>, pound for pound one of the best science-fiction films of the century. Then later that year <em>Blade Runner 2049</em> made its way to theaters, becoming a rare legacy sequel that lived up to its predecessor. (In true <em>Blade Runner</em> spirit, <em>Blade Runner 2049</em> also had a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/blade-runner-2049-losses-could-hit-80-million-producer-alcon-1055855">hard time at the box office</a>.) If there was any challenge in the genre greater than making a worthy follow-up to<em> Blade Runner</em>, it was trying to adapt something as <a href="https://www.theringer.com/year-in-review/2021/12/22/22849412/the-end-of-unfilmable-ip-dune-foundation-wheel-of-time">notoriously unfilmable</a> as <em>Dune</em>. But Villeneuve wasn’t just prepared to tackle Frank Herbert’s seminal novel: He was willing to bet on himself. </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="VlYtGM"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Previously On ‘Dune’ … ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/dune/2024/2/29/24086263/dune-movie-part-two-explained-summary-breakdown-primer"},{"title":"The Dutiful Perfection of ‘Dune: Part Two’ ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/dune/2024/2/29/24086127/dune-2-movie-review"},{"title":"Let’s Talk About Magic Dick Theory in ‘Dune’","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/28/24085259/dune-part-two-magic-dick-theory-paul-atreides-chosen-one-messiah"},{"title":"How ‘Dune: Part Two’ Became the Movie Event of 2024","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/27/24084127/dune-part-two-movie-2024-box-office"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="ymCF3X">In Villeneuve’s view, the source material of the series’ first book was so dense that a faithful adaptation had to be split into two movies. Trying to condense all the events of Herbert’s novel into a two-and-a-half-hour film—introducing the beguiling desert planet Arrakis, interplanetary politics among the Great Houses, a psychedelic compound called spice that’s the most precious resource in the cosmos, and an entire glossary of <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/26/24083433/dune-part-two-movie-dictionary-terminology-language-explained">bizarre terminology</a>—would be too much for a filmmaker to attempt. There was just one problem: Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures had agreed to finance only the first film; the prospect of a sequel was essentially in the hands of the moviegoing public. With all that in mind, you can understand why Villeneuve was among Hollywood’s loudest critics when Warner Bros., reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, elected to have all its 2021 theatrical releases simultaneously available on the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max. “Warner Bros.’ decision means <em>Dune</em> won’t have the chance to perform financially in order to be viable and piracy will ultimately triumph,” <a href="https://variety.com/2020/film/news/dune-denis-villeneuve-blasts-warner-bros-1234851270/">Villeneuve wrote in a spicy op-ed for <em>Variety</em></a>. “Warner Bros. might just have killed the <em>Dune</em> franchise.” </p>
<p id="gFSxlT">Heading into the movie’s release, Villeneuve had every reason to worry about the future of his project. But it’s also fair to say that Villeneuve backed himself into a corner by making the first <em>Dune</em> less of a stand-alone story than a cinematic ellipsis. As the Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya) says to Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), in what is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEb3pK8EiDI">literally the last line of the film</a>: “This is only the beginning.” If <em>Dune</em> ended up being both the beginning <em>and</em> the premature end of the series, Villeneuve’s admirable self-confidence would’ve been remembered as a tragic self-own. </p>
<p id="MIpoSR">Of course, he didn’t have to wait long to learn about <em>Dune</em>’s fate: Within a week of the movie’s domestic debut, the sequel was <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/dune-part-2-sequel-1235094974/">officially green-lit</a>. In all, <em>Dune</em> grossed just north of $430 million at the box office, which, given its availability on HBO Max, was impressive in and of itself. (The movie’s 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, weren’t too shabby, either.) The gamble paid off and set the stage for <em>Dune: Part Two</em> to deliver a satisfying conclusion to this intergalactic saga. Surely Villeneuve wouldn’t tempt fate by dangling more narrative threads that couldn’t be resolved without another film in the pipeline, right? </p>
<p id="KTFNX4">Well, to quote the TV series created by the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/10/20/22735151/dune-david-lynch-1984-movie">first filmmaker who adapted <em>Dune</em></a> to the big screen: <a href="https://api.floodmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Twin_Peaks-1990-itishappeningagain_screenshot.jpg">It is happening again</a>. </p>
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<p id="lqGbP3"><br>Picking up almost immediately after the events of the first movie, <em>Dune: Part Two</em> begins with Paul and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) living among the Fremen. Some of the Fremen naturally distrust the outsiders; others, like the tribal leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem), believe that Paul is the messianic figure who’s been foretold among their people for generations. Paul, for his part, wants to earn the trust and respect of the Fremen through his own actions rather than by embracing an ancient prophecy that is, in actuality, a centuries-spanning propaganda campaign planted by the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/10/25/22740538/dune-explainer-bene-gesserit-paul-atriedes-part-2">Bene Gesserit</a>. But Jessica has other ideas: As Paul leads raids against House Harkonnen’s spice harvesters and falls in love with Chani, Jessica travels deeper into the deserts of Arrakis to convert more Fremen to her son’s cause. </p>
<p id="ZD2DQc">Paul fears what will happen if he follows his mother’s wishes: He’s seen visions of a holy war in which billions of people starve and countless others die fighting in his name. Unfortunately, the Harkonnens set off a series of events that eventually force his hand. They attack the northern stronghold of the Fremen until Paul has no choice but to migrate farther south. Reuniting with his mother, he consumes the water of life, a toxic liquid extracted from a drowning sandworm that increases his prescience, and eventually he accepts his messianic destiny. To borrow a phrase memorably coined by my <em>Ringer</em> colleague Brian Phillips, Paul has finally subscribed to <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/28/24085259/dune-part-two-magic-dick-theory-paul-atreides-chosen-one-messiah">Magic Dick Theory</a>. </p>
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<p id="Btk8oq">With the Fremen united in following Paul, he leads an invasion of Arrakeen, the capital city of Arrakis, killing the villainous Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) and holding Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) hostage. Paul then defeats Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) in a ritualistic knife fight—not unlike a trial by combat in <em>Game of Thrones</em>—leaving the emperor no choice but to surrender the throne to him. But while the emperor reluctantly concedes power, the Great Houses refuse to accept Paul’s ascendancy; in retaliation, Paul tells the Fremen to “send them to paradise.” Just like that, Paul’s kick-started the holy war he once desperately hoped to avoid. </p>
<p id="9eey3l">If <em>Dune: Part Two </em>ended with the Fremen being ordered to attack the Great Houses, it would have put a tidy bow on this story: Paul avenges the fall of House Atreides and the death of his father, with his goal coming at a tremendous cost. But Villeneuve has other ideas. Instead, the final scene of the film sees Chani, feeling betrayed by Paul’s actions, mounting a sandworm and traveling off to parts unknown. It’s not exactly a cliff-hanger on the level of the first <em>Dune</em>’s, but it does make clear that Villeneuve isn’t content with a two-parter: He’s setting up a trilogy. </p>
<p id="mFshFf">Villeneuve’s been quite open about <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/denis-villeneuve-dune-3-script-almost-finished-1235829382/">wanting to direct a third film</a> that covers Herbert’s second novel in the six-book series, <em>Dune Messiah</em>, in which Paul has established himself as the new emperor of the known universe. (There’s also the small matter of <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/denis-villeneuve-anya-taylor-joy-dune-casting-secret-explained-1235835959/">Anya Taylor-Joy’s cameo</a> as Alia Atreides, Paul’s younger sister, who is a key figure in the novels.) But it’s one thing to simply have aspirations to make a trilogy; it’s another flex entirely to basically dare the studio to extend the series not once, but twice. “We’re in a very conservative time; creativity is restricted,” <a href="https://time.com/6589871/denis-villeneuve-dune-part-two-interview/">Villeneuve told <em>Time</em></a> in January. “Everything’s about Wall Street. What will save cinema is freedom and taking risks.” In his own way, Villeneuve is putting Warner Bros. in a position to give him such freedom, even if it means he’s taking a risk by planning a trilogy that needs to be approved at every step of the journey: no small feat at a time when the studio’s parent company is <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/12/24070471/coyote-vs-acme-movie-canceled-new-yorker-article-news-warner-wbd-zaslav">killing its projects for a tax break</a>. </p>
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<p id="HE1skO"><br>Thankfully, keeping the <em>Dune</em> franchise alive on the big screen has never felt more like a sure bet. Setting aside the <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dune_part_two">overwhelming critical acclaim</a> for<em> Dune: Part Two</em>, the film is expected to have the <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/dune-2-box-office-opening-weekend-projections-timothee-chalamet-1235924121/">biggest opening weekend at the domestic box office</a> since October and may well go down as the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/27/24084127/dune-part-two-movie-2024-box-office">moviegoing event of the year</a>. No less an authority than Christopher Nolan has <a href="https://theplaylist.net/dune-part-two-christopher-nolan-compares-sequel-to-empire-strikes-back-20240205/">compared <em>Dune: Part Two</em> to <em>The Empire Strikes Back</em></a>: a massive stamp of approval for sci-fi fanatics, and one that tacitly acknowledges there’s more story to tell in Villeneuve’s galaxy far, far away. </p>
<p id="DmSYTB">If all goes to plan, <em>Dune: Part Two</em> will be just the prelude to an even more epic send-off—one that could cement Villeneuve’s series as the <em>Star Wars </em>of its era. Not unlike <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/12/star-wars-george-lucas-independent-film">George Lucas’s original trilogy</a>, Villeneuve’s <em>Dune</em> started on shaky ground, overcoming a global pandemic and its own studio’s ill-fated streaming strategy to embody what cinema can achieve under the singular, uncompromised vision of a generational auteur. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="i3JeXK">Contrary to Paul Atreides, I don’t have any otherworldly psychedelics to show me what the future holds—I just know greatness when I see it. And after <em>Dune </em>and <em>Dune: Part Two</em>, it’s clear that Villeneuve has more than earned the right to end the franchise on his own terms. </p>
<aside id="n5IVi8"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ringer_newsletter"}'></div></aside><p id="XWvC0B"></p>
https://www.theringer.com/dune/2024/3/1/24086949/dune-part-two-denis-villeneuve-trilogy-frank-herbertMiles Surrey2024-02-29T08:15:14-05:002024-02-29T08:15:14-05:00Previously On ‘Dune’ …
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<figcaption>Warner Bros./Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
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<p>It’s time to get reacquainted with Arrakis. Ahead of ‘Dune: Part Two,’ look back on 12 crucial moments from the first film, and what they could mean for the sequel. </p> <p id="uYy7XC">Our long national nightmare is almost over. After being moved from its original October 2023 release date due to the Hollywood labor strikes, <em>Dune: Part Two</em> finally arrives in theaters this weekend. In an alternate timeline, Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated sequel could’ve been brushing shoulders with fellow heavyweights <em>Barbie</em> and <em>Oppenheimer</em> at this year’s Academy Awards; instead, it’s positioned to be the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/27/24084127/dune-part-two-movie-2024-box-office">first (and biggest?) must-see cinematic event of 2024</a>. If the first <em>Dune</em> made over $400 million despite being simultaneously available to stream on HBO Max, you can bet that <em>Part Two</em> will have an <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/features/dune-2-box-office-win-budget-1235907288/">absolute feast</a> at the box office. </p>
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<p id="XKEZRB">Anyone familiar with Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel will know what they’re getting with <em>Part Two</em>—one of the joys for book-readers is seeing how their favorite moments from the page come to life on screen. But for moviegoers like myself who are going into the sequel with minimal knowledge of the source material, the tantalizing aspect of<em> Part Two </em>is the unknown: discovering what events from the first film could lead to exciting payoffs. (At CinemaCon last year, Villeneuve <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dune-sequel-trailer-movie-timothee-chalamet-austin-butler-1235399584/">teased that <em>Part Two</em></a><em> </em>will be an “action-packed, epic war movie” shot entirely with IMAX cameras, as if the hype levels for this thing weren’t already at a 10.) </p>
<p id="5dgff8">For fellow non-book-readers, I present this unofficial primer for <em>Part Two</em>: a breakdown of 12 crucial moments from the first <em>Dune</em> and some totally uneducated guesses about what they could mean for the sequel. Without further ado, let’s harness some desert power. </p>
<h3 id="NRTyPH">The Bene Gesserit and Paul’s Prophecy </h3>
<p id="m3HiQp">While there are powerful families in the world of <em>Dune</em>—House Atreides and House Harkonnen get much of the spotlight—the real X factor is the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/10/25/22740538/dune-explainer-bene-gesserit-paul-atriedes-part-2%5C">Bene Gesserit</a>, a mysterious sisterhood with abilities that cause people to liken them to witches. (We’ll address “the Voice” shortly.) The Bene Gesserit prefer to operate in the shadows and think about the bigger picture: As the very intimidating Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) explains in <em>Dune</em>, their plans are best measured in centuries. That includes a selective breeding program to bring about the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/26/24083433/dune-part-two-movie-dictionary-terminology-language-explained">Kwisatz Haderach</a>, a male heir who would not only wield the clan’s powers, but be able to see into the future. </p>
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<p id="QK3Wkp">Our young protagonist, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), is believed to be the Kwisatz Haderach; his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), is a member of the Bene Gesserit who went against the sisterhood’s wishes and gave birth to a son. (Yes, Bene Gesserit can control what sex their babies will be, which is a lawful good if it means nobody in this universe can host <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/gender-reveal-party-wildfire.html">ill-advised gender-reveal parties</a>.) From Neo to Harry Potter to Luke Skywalker, chosen-one narratives are a popular trope in science fiction and fantasy. On the surface, <em>Dune</em> is no exception, but one has to wonder <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/28/24085259/dune-part-two-magic-dick-theory-paul-atreides-chosen-one-messiah">whether Paul is actually a child of destiny</a> or whether he’s been duped by the very propaganda preceding his arrival on the desert planet Arrakis. After all, the Bene Gesserit have long planted the seeds for the Fremen to believe Paul is their savior—the <a href="https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Mahdi">Mahdi</a>—and his journey on Arrakis could be a matter of circumstance as much as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. </p>
<p id="QO70IQ">What do the Bene Gesserit really want, and will Lady Jessica act in the best interests of her son or her sisterhood? Hopefully those answers will arrive in <em>Part Two</em>. </p>
<h3 id="GaqBnp">“Use the Voice” </h3>
<p id="adqrCf">Perhaps the most impressive thing the Bene Gesserit are capable of is wielding “the Voice,” which essentially allows the user to control others by modulating their voice to sound like the distant cousin of Tom Hardy’s Venom. Since Paul is still learning how to use his powers, he begins <em>Dune</em> as something of a novice with the Voice, but it’s easy to see how dangerous it can be in the wrong hands. (To break free from their Harkonnen captors toward the end of the film, Lady Jessica orders one of the soldiers to kill his comrade.) Most importantly, though, the Voice blessed us with a wonderful <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/use-the-voice">meme template</a>. </p>
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<p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/LQnR4K74A9">pic.twitter.com/LQnR4K74A9</a></p>— paige (@BonerWizard) <a href="https://twitter.com/BonerWizard/status/1458303484508340225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2021</a>
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<h3 id="Zy67i7">The Pain Box </h3>
<p id="oZLx4o">Thankfully, the Bene Gesserit have devised a test to ensure anyone with those abilities is in control of their impulses. As the Reverend Mother wields a poison-tipped needle at his neck, Paul must stick his hand in a box capable of inflicting unimaginable pain—the Reverend Mother demands that he keep his hand inside; otherwise, she’ll kill him. It’s one of the most arresting sequences of <em>Dune</em>: an early moment that shows what Paul could be capable of once he’s mastered his abilities. Even the Reverend Mother looks intimidated: </p>
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<cite>All images courtesy of Warner Bros.</cite>
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<p id="qmkGpZ">I don’t imagine the pain box will return in the sequel—it feels like the <em>Dune</em> equivalent of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat; you save it for special occasions!—but as the first step on Paul’s journey to possible messiah status, it’s well worth remembering. </p>
<h3 id="JigAiD">Shots of Giant Ships Slowly Taking Off and Landing </h3>
<p id="YmuULc">Villeneuve is one of the most exciting filmmakers working in science fiction: an auteur who took on the seemingly insurmountable tasks of making a sequel to <em>Blade Runner</em> and adapting <em>Dune</em>, and he came out on the other side with overwhelming acclaim. (<a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/10/20/22735151/dune-david-lynch-1984-movie">David Lynch’s <em>Dune</em> has its merits</a>, but even he largely disowned the movie.) When it comes to big-budget sci-fi, there are several reasons Villeneuve is the right man for the job: He excels at world-building and creating a sense of scale that most blockbusters never achieve. He also understands that the coolest things you can show an audience in these kinds of films are shots of giant ships slowly taking off and landing: </p>
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<p id="hAHsI4">As someone who lives and breathes science fiction, I find these moments to be as tranquil as a Japanese rock garden: </p>
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<p id="eAYybf">With <em>Dune: Part Two</em>, there’s no need for Villeneuve to deviate from a winning formula. Give the people what they want: extremely expensive-looking landing procedures on alien planets. </p>
<h3 id="WG0C9a">Stephen McKinley Henderson’s Dainty Umbrella </h3>
<p id="3v1lnq">I know what you’re thinking: The only way to survive the punishing conditions on Arrakis is by wearing a Fremen stillsuit, which uses every drop of sweat to replenish your body’s fluids in the sweltering heat. But is your survival on a hostile planet as important as pulling off an iconic look? I present to you Stephen McKinley Henderson’s Thufir Hawat, with the greatest fashion statement in the universe: </p>
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<p id="qCrLhf">I love this parasol, and I love that someone on set <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/stephen-mckinley-henderson-on-dune-lady-bird-and-timothe.html">offered it to Henderson</a> to protect him from the sun before Villeneuve decided his character should just carry it around. If the parasol isn’t back for the sequel, there will be hell to pay. </p>
<h3 id="YqT5Zq">The Fall of House Atreides </h3>
<p id="8ZZVs7">Like the ill-fated House Stark in <em>Game of Thrones</em>, House Atreides is admired for its honor and sense of duty, which compels the family patriarch, Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), to accept the Emperor’s assignment to become the new fief-holder on Arrakis. Of course, the whole thing was an elaborate ploy by the Emperor and House Harkonnen to destroy House Atreides, which basically goes through its own version of the Red Wedding. In a dead-of-night siege, the Atreides military is all but wiped out, while Leto is incapacitated by Dr. Wellington Yueh (Chang Chen), who betrays his sovereign because Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) is holding his wife captive. Only a handful of characters, including Paul and Lady Jessica, survive the deadly siege. Suffice it to say, avenging House Atreides will be at the top of Paul’s mind in the sequel. </p>
<aside id="JGVlzR"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Dutiful Perfection of ‘Dune: Part Two’ ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/dune/2024/2/29/24086127/dune-2-movie-review"},{"title":"Let’s Talk About Magic Dick Theory in ‘Dune’","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/28/24085259/dune-part-two-magic-dick-theory-paul-atreides-chosen-one-messiah"},{"title":"How ‘Dune: Part Two’ Became the Movie Event of 2024","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/27/24084127/dune-part-two-movie-2024-box-office"},{"title":"The ‘Dune’ Dictionary","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/26/24083433/dune-part-two-movie-dictionary-terminology-language-explained"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="mCieq1">The Fall of Leto Atreides’s Clothing </h3>
<p id="oG9JFz">With House Atreides all but defeated, Baron Harkonnen rubs it in Leto’s face by having his paralyzed adversary laid out in nude repose at the end of a comically massive dining table. While the scene carries a lot of significance, it’s impossible not to be distracted by the sight of a naked Oscar Isaac, someone who has been hailed by <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/oscar-isaac-is-the-sexiest-man-alive">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2021/12/yes-oscar-isaac-is-the-hottest-man-of-the-year.html">publications</a> as the sexiest man alive. (No lies detected. Have you <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/isaac-cheetos-kimmel-questions">seen the way this dude eats Cheetos</a>?) Out of context, this would make for a steamy magazine spread: </p>
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<p id="3gmgY0">But even as he accepts his fate, Leto does get one final moment of revenge. Dr. Yueh inserted a false tooth in Leto’s mouth that releases a poisonous gas, which he uses at an opportune moment to poison the Baron. Unless there’s some kind of prologue or flashback sequence, Leto won’t be back for the sequel, but we’ll always have his memorable death scene. As for Villeneuve, Leto will always be with the director in spirit—because Isaac <a href="https://ew.com/awards/oscar-isaac-denis-villeneuve-sock-dune-nude-scene/">gifted him the cock sock</a> he used in the character’s final moments. </p>
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<h3 id="eVP9Yt">
<br>Baron Harkonnen’s Oil Bath</h3>
<p id="fk2uSK">Alas, while Leto’s poison capsule grievously harms the Baron, it’s not enough to kill him. After the Baron survives the attack by hanging onto the dining room ceiling like an overweight vampire bat, he soaks in what appears to be a giant vat of oil as a form of healing. A restorative spa treatment may not seem like the most crucial thing to remember from <em>Dune</em>, but consider that <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/dune-stellan-skarsgard-nude-scenes-villain-baron-harkonnen/">Stellan Skarsgard <em>loved</em> being naked on the set</a> and actually requested more scenes where the Baron is nude because he felt the character looked more frightening that way. (If only Oscar Isaac requested more Leto Atreides nude scenes.) </p>
<p id="kmyFAu">I can’t disagree with Skarsgard’s logic—a naked Baron is the stuff of nightmares—but at the same time, something compels me to dive into that oil bath next to him. There’s plenty of room in the tub, and bloggers deserve spa days, too: </p>
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<h3 id="KB8Mwv">Gurney Halleck and Glossu Rabban </h3>
<p id="FWryB6">Let me just get this out of the way: Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista) are <em>elite</em> goofy sci-fi names. Gurney and Glossu sound like the galaxy’s best buddy-cop duo, and if I were in charge of Warner Bros. Discovery, I would green-light that <em>Dune</em> spinoff <em>immediately</em>. </p>
<p id="yQEkOt">OK, back to the business at hand. Gurney is the weapons master of House Atreides, a renowned fighter who is one of the few characters of import to survive the deadly Harkonnen siege. Rabban, meanwhile, is the Baron’s nephew who spends most of <em>Dune</em> scowling and grunting, which is all the more intimidating when the dude is built like a former professional wrestler. I get the feeling that Gurney and Rabban are on a collision course in <em>Part Two</em> and that a fight between them would be the most brutal face-off between secondary characters since the Hound and the Mountain in <em>Game of Thrones</em>’ final season. Either that or they’ll set aside their differences to start an intergalactic detective agency. (Fingers crossed.) </p>
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<br>Desert Power</h3>
<p id="fEhL04">Before House Atreides arrives on Arrakis, Leto stresses to Paul the importance of “desert power.” In essence, Leto is saying it would behoove them to learn the ways of the Fremen and their survival methods in the harsh conditions of the planet. (It’s also just really fun to say “desert power.”) The Fremen have little screen time in the first <em>Dune</em>, and the giant sandworms that make harvesting spice such a dangerous proposition are mostly given the <em>Jaws</em> treatment, where their mere presence burrowing underneath the sand strikes fear. But as <em>Dune</em> ends on the sight of a Fremen riding a sandworm like the world’s gnarliest chariot, it won’t be long before Paul learns what it truly means to embrace desert power. </p>
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<h3 id="ZHgX2d">Spit Etiquette </h3>
<p id="JyThO2">Water is a precious resource on a desert planet like Arrakis, and the Fremen value the natural moisture that comes from our bodies so much that their stillsuits filter sweat and urine for hydration. (Somewhere, Bear Grylls vigorously nods his head in approval.) So when Stilgar (Javier Bardem), the Fremen leader of the Sietch Tabr tribe, spits in the direction of Leto Atreides upon meeting him, it’s a gesture of goodwill: </p>
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<p id="yPnHus">Naturally, everyone else in the room is like, “Did this guy just spit at our leader?!” before Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), the House Atreides sword master who spent time embedded with the Fremen, clarifies Stilgar’s intentions. These little details about the Fremen are among the most fascinating aspects of <em>Dune</em>—later in the film, some Fremen warriors prepare what appears to be the sci-fi equivalent of Turkish coffee by spitting on a futuristic coffee maker. (To be clear, I <em>really</em> want to try this saliva coffee.) I can’t wait to learn more about how Fremen communities thrive in the desert in <em>Part Two</em>. Until then, Stilgar, I graciously hawk a loogie in your honor. </p>
<h3 id="eRCDFo">Paul’s Trippy Visions </h3>
<p id="Y5LVi2">The reason Arrakis is such an important planet in the universe of <em>Dune</em> comes down to Melange, or spice, a psychedelic compound that gives its users a heightened awareness, which is necessary for faster-than-light travel across the galaxy. (Long-term exposure to spice will also turn someone’s eyes blue, which is why all the Fremen look that way.) Since much of <em>Dune</em> is riffing on historical conflicts within the Middle East, spice is the series’ equivalent of oil. As the Baron explains, “He who controls spice controls the universe.” </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="XsJMVt">By consuming spice, it’s also possible to see into the past, present, and future. Since Paul is particularly sensitive to the effects of spice, he encounters some fascinating (and potentially prescient) visions in <em>Dune</em>, which tease where his story could be headed. But everything that Paul experiences shouldn’t necessarily be taken at face value: In some of these visions, he befriends Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun), a Fremen warrior who challenges Paul to a ritual duel to the death at the end of the film. In any case, it’ll be interesting to look back at Paul’s visions in <em>Dune</em> after watching the sequel and learn how much—or how little—these sequences telegraphed what’s to come. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/dune/2024/2/29/24086263/dune-movie-part-two-explained-summary-breakdown-primerMiles Surrey2024-02-27T08:42:48-05:002024-02-27T08:42:48-05:00‘Shogun’ Is High-Stakes Event TV at Its Finest
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<figcaption>FX/Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
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<p>The new FX limited series is a sweeping historical epic oozing with political intrigue</p> <p id="Pa0Vje">There have been several shows aspiring to be the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/game-of-thrones/2020/5/22/21266295/the-next-game-of-thrones-his-dark-materials-lord-of-the-rings">“next <em>Game of Thrones</em>,”</a> including HBO’s own prequel series about the fall of House Targaryen. What unites many of these would-be successors is that they’re works of fantasy: If <em>Thrones</em> proved that audiences had an appetite for a series featuring dragons and ice zombies, the thinking goes, viewers will hunger for something similar. But while the fantasy elements were an essential ingredient for <em>Thrones</em>, the secret sauce was something a bit more grounded: the high-stakes politicking. HBO might’ve spent an ungodly amount of money to bring Westeros to life, but to paraphrase Tyrion Lannister, the show never felt more assured than when it boiled down to great conversations in elegant rooms. (A passive-aggressive argument between Varys and Littlefinger honestly felt more charged than some of <em>Thrones</em>’ battle scenes.) Throw in the painstakingly detailed history of Westeros, and <em>Thrones</em> was one of the most immersive experiences the medium has ever seen. </p>
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<p id="PF3PcL">The television landscape has evolved quite a bit since <em>Thrones</em> was at the height of its popularity: The influx of streaming services means that consumers’ viewing habits are increasingly fractured, while <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/hollywood-writers-guild-strike-peak-tv-ai-e29b6278">Peak TV is finally starting to plateau</a> after years of extravagant spending. In essence, the conditions aren’t right for any show to become the “next <em>Game of Thrones</em>,” no matter how compelling a program may be. But if any series deserves to cut through the noise, the new FX limited series <em>Shogun</em> is a worthy contender for the crown: a sweeping historical epic oozing with political intrigue. </p>
<p id="AV5pZL">Based on <a href="https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/2/26/24083263/shogun-fx-adaptation-hiroyuki-sanada-justin-marks-rachel-kondo">James Clavell’s bestselling novel of the same name</a>, which was previously adapted into a miniseries for NBC in 1980, <em>Shogun</em> is set in 17th-century Japan with the nation on the precipice of a civil war. It’s been a year since the taiko, the supreme leader of a unified Japan, died. The taiko’s heir is too young to lay claim to the throne, so a five-person Council of Regents has been established in his place. While each member of the council has their own agenda—two of the men have converted to Catholicism after the Portuguese established trade with the island nation—the most enigmatic of the bunch is Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a renowned warrior who hails from a dynastic family. The other members of the council have united against Toranaga, fearing he plans to anoint himself shogun and rule Japan in a de facto military dictatorship. </p>
<p id="25Citd">Led by the scheming Lord Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira), the council is readying a vote to impeach Toranaga, which would double as a death sentence. But when a battered Dutch vessel arrives on the shores of Japan, piloted by the English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), Toranaga sees an opportunity. As a Protestant, Blackthorne is an enemy of the Portuguese-allied members of the council and could be a useful bargaining chip against them. But more importantly, Blackthorne has knowledge of Western warfare, and his “barbarian” ship is loaded with cannons and muskets: weapons that could turn the tide in Toranaga’s favor if war were to break out. </p>
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<p id="uttfJx">It’s a dense setup, and one of the thrills of <em>Shogun</em> is trying to keep track of the shifting allegiances between the major political players. The situation is especially fraught because of the strict set of rituals and decorums unique to Japanese culture. In the premiere, for instance, one of Toranaga’s samurai speaks out of turn when Ishido insults his lord—as punishment, the samurai is ordered to commit <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/seppuku">seppuku</a> and end his bloodline. In moments like this, Blackthorne is an effective audience proxy, reacting in disbelief as the people around him seem to treat life and death so callously. (Blackthorne’s culture shock is also where <em>Shogun</em> embraces some levity: He can’t fathom why people in this country choose to bathe more than <em>once a week</em>. Blackthorne, <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-know-it-smell-crazy-in-there">I know it smells crazy</a> in your kimono.) </p>
<p id="KlQRWt">Of course, Blackthorne doesn’t speak Japanese, so Toranaga enlists Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a noblewoman from a disgraced family, to serve as Blackthorne’s translator. (As a converted Catholic, Mariko speaks Portuguese, which is how she and Blackthorne communicate, although all of their dialogue in the series is in English.) With time, Mariko and Blackthorne bond over the bizarre circumstances in which they find themselves: two pawns in a tense political chess game in which one false move could lead to an all-out war that tears Japan apart. </p>
<aside id="Ozz4Cp"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"FX’s ‘Shogun’ Tells a Familiar Story With a Wider Lens","url":"https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/2/26/24083263/shogun-fx-adaptation-hiroyuki-sanada-justin-marks-rachel-kondo"}]}'></div></aside><p id="o3iH4N">What separates <em>Shogun</em> from other historical epics, though, is how effectively the series exercises restraint. Make no mistake, there are scenes of shocking violence where characters are swiftly decapitated, disemboweled, or blown into gory chunks of flesh by cannon fire. But for the most part, <em>Shogun</em> focuses on the careful steps characters take to avoid walking the path of destruction, none more so than Toranaga. In his heyday as a warrior, Toranaga’s greatest asset was letting his opponent strike first: Fighting was always a final recourse rather than something to embrace. It’s a mindset Toranaga carries into the political arena, patiently waiting for his rivals to make a play before revealing his hand. </p>
<p id="lnfthe">These qualities make <em>Shogun</em> a subtler show than viewers might expect from such a lavish production. But this approach aligns with a Japanese proverb that’s frequently cited throughout the series: “A man has a false heart for the world to see, another in his breast to show friends and family, and a secret heart only known to themselves.” Fittingly, Toranaga keeps his cards so close to the chest that not even his most trusted advisers seem to know if he’s really gunning to be shogun. That the characters internalize so much of what motivates them can, at first, make <em>Shogun</em> a difficult series to connect with on an emotional level. But once you get on <em>Shogun</em>’s wavelength, there’s plenty to savor in reading between the lines and knowing how much is left unsaid by the characters in key situations. (Mariko is the queen of throwing shade within the polite strictures of society.) </p>
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<p id="BlUYQf"><br>Naturally, the one exception to the rule is Blackthorne, who begins the series as a foulmouthed brute unafraid to speak his mind. In a lesser series, a character like Blackthorne would be painted as a savior: the white outsider with a fresh perspective who swoops in to save the day, à la <em>Dances With Wolves</em> or <em>The Last Samurai</em>. But what elevates <em>Shogun </em>above movies of that ilk is that Blackthorne isn’t there to save anyone; if anything, Japan saves him. Later in the series, when Blackthorne reunites with a belligerent former shipmate drunk out of his mind on sake, he hardly recognizes the man he once was. All he sees in his old comrade is the absence of honor and civility: a humbling moment for a character who grows to appreciate all that Japan has to offer. </p>
<p id="PFfQg7">I certainly appreciate that <em>Shogun</em> exists in the first place. This is the kind of large-scale event series that feels increasingly rare at a time when networks and streamers are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/14/23507793/streaming-wars-hbo-max-netflix-ads-residuals-warrior-nun">scaling back after years of excessive spending</a>. Of course, it’s also not surprising that FX, of all places, has taken such a big swing: it’s a network that’s long been synonymous with prestige television. What’s more, FX is known for miniseries that blossom into full-fledged anthology shows, including <em>Fargo</em>, <em>American Crime Story</em>, and <em>Feud</em>. Could <em>Shogun</em> follow suit? The series may be a self-contained story, but Clavell ended up writing six novels that constitute his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Saga">Asian Saga</a>: historical fiction centered on Europeans in Asia and what happens when these two cultures intersect. (Historical epics are <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2023/12/29/24018681/historical-epic-movies-oppenheimer-killers-flower-moon-napoleon">having a moment</a>, so why not enter the Clavellverse?) </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="D9vls6">In any case, <em>Shogun</em> more than deserves to stand on its own. The level of craftsmanship that went into the series is apparent in every gorgeous frame, as is the commitment to foregrounding the story from a Japanese perspective, rather than solely a Westerner’s view. (The vast majority of the dialogue in <em>Shogun </em>is in Japanese, which shouldn’t be a problem for anyone willing to overcome the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/movies/movies-subtitles-parasite.html">1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles</a>.) All told, <em>Shogun</em> won’t just scratch the <em>Game of Thrones</em> itch: It’s the best new series of the year, a ruminative epic that, in moments big and small, always manages to cut deep.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/2/27/24084095/shogun-fx-review-tv-show-cast-japan-yoshii-toranaga-blackthorneMiles Surrey2024-02-22T08:40:21-05:002024-02-22T08:40:21-05:00Netflix’s ‘Avatar’ Isn’t As Bad As We Expected or As Good As We Hoped
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<p>The streamer has delivered neither a masterpiece nor a colossal failure; instead, ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ gets a passing grade—but there is reason to believe the show can improve</p> <p id="f162bc">No streaming service can pull off a perfect batting average with its original programming, but when it comes to Netflix’s live-action anime adaptations, the company has long been hitting below the Mendoza Line. Storied animes like<em> </em><a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/cowboy-bebop-director-slams-netflix-remake-shut-off-one-scene-1235504755/"><em>Cowboy Bebop</em></a> and <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/death-note-whitewashing-conversation-1201871811/"><em>Death Note</em></a> arrived on the streamer with plenty of fanfare, only to be eviscerated by the very communities to which Netflix was trying to cater. Every live-action anime adaptation faces a unique challenge: the fantastical, seemingly limitless possibilities of animation are something even the best special effects can fail to capture. But Netflix has kept trying despite those high-profile early failures because the shows tend to come with a large built-in audience. If an anime adaptation can appease the fandom <em>and</em> become a hit with the rest of its subscriber base, Netflix could be sitting on a gold mine—perhaps even the next <em>Stranger Things</em>. </p>
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<p id="LcpEgH">To the streamer’s credit, Netflix finally made some progress on the live-action anime front last year. The first season of the <em>One Piece</em> adaptation, which premiered in August, was beloved by critics and fans alike for embodying the kinetic energy of the manga. (The show has since been renewed for a second season. The only problem: <em>One Piece</em> creator Eiichiro Oda <em>still</em> hasn’t finished writing the series, which has been active since 1997. In theory, Netflix could roll out a dozen seasons of <em>One Piece </em>and barely scratch the surface of the source material.) Then, in December, the streamer dropped a live-action adaptation of <em>Yu Yu Hakusho</em>. While <em>Yu Yu Hakusho </em>didn’t carry the same hype as <em>One Piece</em>, it also scored favorable reviews—in fact, the biggest complaint about the show was that its <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12881027/Netflix-fans-hooked-adventure-series-urge-streaming-giant-release-episodes.html">first season was far too short</a>. </p>
<p id="ZakJnI">After so many whiffs on the live-action anime front, Netflix was suddenly two for two on major titles, which appeared to bode well heading into arguably its buzziest adaptation to date. Whether the Nickelodeon animated series <em>Avatar: The Last Airbender</em> qualifies as anime is something <a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/avatar-the-last-airbender-anime-michael-dimartino-bryan-konietzko">even its own creators debate</a>, but at the very least, it’s heavily influenced by the genre. (Dante Basco, who voiced Prince Zuko, considers it “American anime,” which is a solid compromise.) In any case, <em>Avatar</em> is a franchise that’s treated with the kind of reverence that’s rare among American animation: a story that gracefully touches on mature themes such as genocide, war, and imperialism for a younger audience. (The animation itself is also stunning, echoing the esteemed works of <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2023/12/8/23992278/hayao-miyazaki-cult-hero-influence-anime-was-a-mistake-meme">Hayao Miyazaki</a>, another major inspiration for the show.) In the nearly two decades since <em>Avatar</em> first aired on Nickelodeon, it’s been widely regarded as one of the best animated series ever made. </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="vjJJ4x"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Still Has Many Lessons to Teach","url":"https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/5/15/21259676/avatar-last-airbender-netflix"},{"title":"Is ‘Madame Web’ a Good Bad Movie or an Irredeemable Bad Movie?","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/16/24074844/madame-web-sony-spiderverse-bad-movie-review"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="MJFJeY">With all the adoration surrounding <em>Avatar</em>, however, an adaptation of the series is a terrifying prospect. (Even the sequel series made by the original creators, <em>The Legend of Korra</em>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/8/13/21362113/legend-of-korra-netflix-controversy-korra-vs-aang-korrasami">divided the fandom</a>—and it was very good!) The last time the world got a live-action <em>Avatar</em> adaptation, M. Night Shyamalan’s <em>The Last Airbender</em>, it was universally panned. How bad was it? Well, the film earned a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/last_airbender">whopping 5 percent</a> on Rotten Tomatoes—when something as notoriously reviled as <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragonball"><em>Dragonball: Evolution</em> has better reviews</a>, you know something went horribly wrong. Surely, Netflix’s adaptation (also called <em>Avatar: The Last Airbender</em>) couldn’t fumble the bag as badly as Shyamalan, right? </p>
<p id="3RaZzs">Fans certainly had reason to worry when the original <em>Avatar</em> creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, left the project over <a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-creators-exit-1234732982/">creative differences</a>. The promotional rollout for <em>Avatar</em> didn’t exactly inspire confidence, either, with showrunner Albert Kim explaining that the adaptation would <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/the-big-netflix-avatar-the-last-airbender-producer-interview-this-is-a-remix-not-a-cover">bypass many of the story’s side adventures</a> and that <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/netflixs-avatar-remake-retooling-iffy-elements-like-sokkas-sexism">character traits deemed “iffy”</a> were removed entirely. But despite all signs pointing to the live-action series being a misfire, that’s not what transpired. The new <em>Avatar</em> is just … fine. </p>
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<p id="RBUOA6">For the uninitiated, <em>Avatar</em> takes place in a fantastical world composed of four nations related to one of the classical elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Gifted individuals from each nation are capable of “bending”: essentially, manipulating their native element in an elevated form of martial arts. But one being, the Avatar, is able to master all four elements and maintain peace among the nations. Similar to the Dalai Lama, the Avatar reincarnates and passes to a different nation with each life cycle. Before the start of the series, the Fire Nation eradicates all of the Air Nomads, knowing that the Avatar lives among them: the first step in an ambitious plan to conquer the world. A young Airbender named Aang (Gordon Cormier in the Netflix series), the Avatar in training, isn’t with the Air Nomads during the fateful attack; instead, he’s caught in a terrible storm, and his Avatar State (a heightened ability that’s akin to going Super Saiyan) freezes him in a block of ice for a century as a defense mechanism. </p>
<p id="8HHp0F">In the time since the Avatar disappeared, the Earth and Water nations have isolated themselves from the rest of the world in a handful of cities: the last strongholds standing in the way of the Fire Nation. The story begins with two siblings from the Southern Water Tribe, Waterbender Katara (Kiawentiio) and her sardonic older brother, Sokka (Ian Ousley), inadvertently stumbling upon Aang as he awakens from his century-long slumber. Aang’s reemergence quickly captures the attention of Zuko (Dallas Liu), the Fire Nation’s exiled prince who has spent years searching for the Avatar—his only hope of being welcomed home by his father, Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), the show’s Big Bad. With threats lurking around every corner, Aang and his new pals must travel the world so that he can master the other three elements and stop the Fire Nation before it’s too late. </p>
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<p id="sv0rKI"><br>Netflix’s <em>Avatar</em> broadly covers the first season of the animated series, during which Aang focuses on mastering Waterbending while traveling to the Northern Water Tribe to help defend it from a Fire Nation assault. Along the way, Aang must contend with what’s happened to the world in the century he’s been gone—the extermination of his people, the loss of hope among the other nations—and what sorts of sacrifices are required to become a fully realized Avatar. As far as adapting the story to live action, it’s a pretty seamless transition, aided in part by a young cast that not only looks the part, but also largely embodies their respective characters. Ousley, in particular, absolutely nails Sokka—someone whose constant wisecracks hide a well of insecurities that he’s not the fearsome warrior he makes himself out to be. </p>
<p id="Wfv0jz">Really, the show’s greatest strength is its ability to lean on such gripping source material. While some story lines from the original series are meshed together for the sake of brevity, all of the rich character dynamics remain intact: the relationship between the emotionally wounded Zuko and the kindly Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) will once again tug at the heartstrings; Sokka, somehow, remains the franchise’s most eligible bachelor, spitting game at warriors and princesses alike. Perhaps the show’s finest improvement on its animated predecessor is a secondary antagonist from the Fire Nation, Commander Zhao, whose guile and arrogance are given new dimensions by <em>Industry</em>’s <a href="https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/8/23/23317139/ken-leung-industry-interview-rush-hour">Ken Leung</a>. (Performance-wise, Leung and Lee are at the top of their game, with few weak links in the sprawling cast.) </p>
<p id="fRPoQU">The biggest problem for <em>Avatar</em> is a familiar one for many live-action adaptations: By streamlining the narrative into eight episodes, the show loses sight of the idiosyncrasies that made the animated series so beloved in the first place. Some of the best moments in the original <em>Avatar</em> happened during Team Avatar’s side adventures, which weren’t just important from a <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/netflix-avatar-the-last-airbender-cutting-out-side-adventures-removes-a-key-piece-of-aangs-motivation-actually/">character development standpoint</a>, but also allowed the viewer to become engrossed in the world. This version of <em>Avatar</em> is like doing a speedrun in a video game, rather than savoring every little detail: you may get to the finish line faster, but the journey isn’t nearly as memorable. In fact, the characters bounce between major locations so quickly—the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, Kyoshi Island, and so on—that the world can’t help but feel smaller in the process. </p>
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<p id="bgTxlH"><br>Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible for <em>Avatar</em> to adapt the entirety of the animated series without Netflix spending the equivalent of a small nation’s GDP. What we do get visually, however, is a bit of a mixed bag. Appa the flying bison and Momo the winged lemur have been impressively brought to life with CGI, but some of the bending sequences more closely resemble PS2 cutscenes. (The same sentiment applies to the show’s many locations: Omashu and the Fire Nation’s throne room are clear winners; the Water Tribe communities look glaringly artificial.) Thankfully, the show does excel in some of the finer details: Each nation is inspired by Asian and Indigenous culture and folklore, which is reflected in everything from the set design and artwork to the food. (Not gonna lie: I wanted to <em>devour</em> every tastefully presented meal.) It’s the kind of authenticity that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/07/is-the-last-airbender-racist/344982/">Shyamalan’s <em>The Last Airbender</em> notoriously lacked</a>, so seeing that cultural representation realized on-screen is commendable in and of itself. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="i3bVkS">All told, a solid if unspectacular <em>Avatar</em> adaptation is probably the least interesting outcome. After months—if not years—of anticipation, Netflix has delivered neither a masterpiece nor a colossal failure; instead, the show gets a passing grade, at least from this fan of the animated series. I’m much more curious to see how <em>Avatar</em> is received by people unfamiliar with the franchise, and whether this unique universe of benders, animal hybrids, mythical spirits, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UByhxXvmX8o">ill-fated cabbages</a> draws them in. If that does happen, then Netflix could have another massive hit on its hands, and, hopefully, a chance to improve on some of the show’s early shortcomings in future seasons. Trying to live up to the legacy of the original series was always going to be a losing battle, but while Netflix’s <em>Avatar</em> isn’t off to a flawless start, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1EnW4kn1kg">I still believe Aang can save the world</a>. </p>
<aside id="mUvk7B"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ringer_newsletter"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/2/22/24079652/avatar-the-last-airbender-netflix-live-action-review-aangMiles Surrey2024-02-12T09:01:04-05:002024-02-12T09:01:04-05:00There’s a Reason Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Is, Frankly, Bizarre
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<p>‘Madame Web’ is the latest Sony Spider-Man Universe movie to emanate serious WTF vibes, which was kind of inevitable considering the studio’s strategy for the franchise</p> <p id="Qr4QNE">When <em>Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</em> arrived over the holidays with minimal marketing and even less fanfare, it felt like a sea change (sorry) for superhero movies. Just as <em>The Lost Kingdom</em> underwhelmingly <a href="https://www.theringer.com/dc/2023/2/1/23581613/james-gunn-peter-safran-dc-studios-dcu-chapter-1-gods-and-monsters-explained">closed the chapter on the DC Extended Universe</a>, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in the midst of its worst stretch to date, compounded by <em>The Marvels</em>’ bombing at the box office. Now, in 2024, Marvel and DC are in a bit of a retreat: All DC has on the calendar is <em>Joker: Folie à Deux</em>—a [<em>sigh</em>] musical sequel that’s adding Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn—while Marvel is rolling out <em>Deadpool 3</em>. Given the flood of superhero movies in the theatrical landscape, both studios’ scale-backs this year might prove to be beneficial; perhaps all audiences need is a breather from nonstop superhero programming. There’s just one problem: Sony didn’t get the memo. </p>
<p id="GfZAoF">In 2024, Sony has three superhero films lined up as part of its Spider-Man extended universe. The most exciting of the bunch is <em>Venom 3</em>, the deranged continuation of Tom Hardy’s dual performance as a perpetually sweaty investigative journalist possessed by an alien parasite. As with<em> Venom: Let There Be Carnage</em>, Hardy has a story credit on <em>Venom 3</em>; its writer-director, Kelly Marcel, previously penned the first <em>Fifty Shades of Grey</em> movie. All signs point to <em>Venom 3 </em>being another bizarro masterpiece with horny, sadomasochistic undertones, and Sony is wisely releasing the film in November—coinciding with the heart of awards season. (In a just universe, Hardy will go up onstage to accept the Oscar for Best Actor before Venom emerges from his body and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BVFXVVFLts">recites his entire speech from the <em>Let There Be Carnage</em> rave</a>.) But while the world of <em>Venom</em> has a <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/9/30/22701211/venom-power-ranking-there-will-be-carnage-preview">genuinely endearing B-movie sensibility</a>, it’s a quality that isn’t owed to Sony as much as to Hardy’s incredible commitment to the bit, which included <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/8/17951952/venom-movie-lobster-scene-tom-hardy">spontaneously jumping into a lobster tank</a> in the first film. (Not all heroes wear capes; some of them <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL3ZOCRgJZM&t=99s">sow chaos at fine-dining establishments</a>.) </p>
<aside id="OIoju0"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"What’s Next for the Spider-Verse? ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2023/6/8/23754048/beyond-the-spider-verse-sony-miles-morales-gwen-stacy"},{"title":"How Many Spider-Characters Can the Spider-Verse Hold? ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2023/6/1/23745276/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse-spider-variants"}]}'></div></aside><p id="voGXLY">Over the summer, Sony will also release <em>Kraven the Hunter</em>, an R-rated origin story for the eponymous Spider-Man villain, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. <em>Kraven the Hunter</em> is far enough out that it’s hard to know what to make of the movie—all we have is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rze8QYwWGMs">gory trailer</a> to go off of. The same can’t be said for <em>Madame Web</em>, which premieres on Valentine’s Day and has been ridiculed by just about everyone in the lead-up to its release—even <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/dakota-johnson-absolutely-psychotic-madame-web-blue-screen-1235889691/">Madame Web herself</a>. To understand why <em>Madame Web</em> has turned into a laughingstock, look no further than its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAyzEOeeBZw&t=101s">notoriously tacky trailer</a>, which features star Dakota Johnson delivering the immortal line “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.” If memes actually translated to box office success, <em>Madame Web</em> is shaping up to be the new <em>Avatar</em>. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">In another life, I would have really liked… just being in the Amazon… with your mom… when she was researching spiders… right before she died <a href="https://t.co/H5uTqdOHpg">pic.twitter.com/H5uTqdOHpg</a></p>— Isaac Feldberg (@isaacfeldberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/isaacfeldberg/status/1725293716511117414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died <a href="https://t.co/xJ4HSc1iXx">pic.twitter.com/xJ4HSc1iXx</a></p>— alex (@alex_abads) <a href="https://twitter.com/alex_abads/status/1724834503653298293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">She said “he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” <a href="https://t.co/lPfdRDUPqS">pic.twitter.com/lPfdRDUPqS</a></p>— Adam Straughan (@Straughan87) <a href="https://twitter.com/Straughan87/status/1725239045150671218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">he was in. the amazon. with my mom. when she was researching spiders right before she died. <a href="https://t.co/CuzJUPpcF3">pic.twitter.com/CuzJUPpcF3</a></p>— William Yu 유규호 (@its_willyu) <a href="https://twitter.com/its_willyu/status/1725306136520450112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2023</a>
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<p id="1uvhvF">That “researching spiders” line—an algorithmic, preposition-stuffed chunk of exposition—is just one example of the cursed vibes emanating from <em>Madame Web</em>. What else? Well, Madame Web’s costume was initially revealed on an <a href="https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1744846735904506240">Ocean Spray bottle</a>, Johnson is <a href="https://twitter.com/LightsCameraPod/status/1745884216678650257">promoting the film</a> with all the enthusiasm of a hostage video, and a Sony teaser was (poorly) edited to make it seem like the villain will <a href="https://twitter.com/MadameWeb/status/1744448896544494056">literally explode</a>. The mediocrity on display is so blatant that one journalist opened their third eye and speculated that <em>Madame Web</em>’s marketing is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/16/madame-web-spider-man-trailer-dakota-johnson">“deliberately terrible,”</a> which is giving Sony <em>a lot</em> of credit. </p>
<p id="sKmI97">It should come as little surprise that, of <em>Madame Web</em>’s four (!) credited screenwriters, two of them were also responsible for <a href="https://www.theringer.com/marvel-cinematic-universe/2022/4/1/23005268/morbius-movie-review-sony-superhero"><em>Morbius</em></a>: a film so profoundly awful that the internet gleefully dunked on it for months. (Incredibly, Sony believed that the <em>Morbius</em> memes would lead to a renewed interest in the movie, so the studio <a href="https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/morbius-return-theaters-social-media-meme-twitter-sony/">rereleased it in theaters</a>. <em>Morbius</em> proceeded to … <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2022/06/04/box-office-jared-leto-morbius-bombs-again-with-85000-friday">bomb a second time</a>.) It feels like these films were made out of a sense of obligation, rather than any sincere artistic intent—as if an advanced AI program were mandated to create something from a tired collection of superhero tropes. The scary thing is, that’s not too far from the truth. </p>
<p id="Ww3DXq">Ever since Sony acquired the film rights to Spider-Man (and the many characters associated with him) from Marvel in 1999, the studio has been in the superhero business. (Marvel was so cash-strapped back then that Sony had the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-black-panther-movie-deal-that-didnt-get-made-1518703200">opportunity to buy most of its superhero roster for as little as $25 million</a>, which is one hell of a Hollywood what-if.) To Sony’s credit, the studio got off to a terrific start: The first two entries of Sam Raimi’s <em>Spider-Man </em>trilogy, starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, are still among the best comic book adaptations ever made. But after <em>Spider-Man 3</em>’s lukewarm reception, Sony did a hard reset, with Andrew Garfield taking over the title role. The Garfield-led <em>Amazing Spider-Man </em>movies didn’t turn out all that amazing, so Sony went back to the drawing board again, this time electing to partner with the ascendant Marvel Cinematic Universe. Through three stand-alone films and several appearances in MCU crossover events, the Tom Holland Spider-Man era has been a crowd-pleasing return to form. </p>
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<p id="obukjP">But for all the goodwill Sony built from its MCU partnership—as well as two beloved <em>Spider-Verse</em> films with a <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/how-spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-changed-animation.html">game-changing animation style</a>—the studio is caught in something of a devil’s bargain. As <em>The Ringer</em>’s Joanna Robinson explained in an appearance on <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1076531156">NPR’s <em>Planet Money</em>,</a> Sony’s deal requires the studio to commence production on a new Spider-Man project within three years and nine months of the preceding movie’s release. Basically, if Sony wants to hold on to arguably its most valuable piece of IP, it must continue green-lighting Spider-Man (or Spidey-adjacent) films in perpetuity. And since there are only so many ways to tell a story about a teenager getting bitten by a radioactive spider before learning that great power comes with great responsibility, the studio is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Former Sony Pictures head Amy Pascal lamented this strange state of affairs in the company’s <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/158148">infamous WikiLeaks email hack</a>, writing, “I only have the spidey universe not the marvel universe. … And in it are only his villains and relatives and girlfriend.” </p>
<p id="AZNE1s">We are now firmly in the “villains and relatives” stage of Sony’s Spidey universe—Adam Scott is <a href="https://uproxx.com/movies/adam-scott-uncle-ben-madame-web/">widely tipped</a> to be playing a younger Uncle Ben in <em>Madame Web</em>—and it’s no great secret that these movies are part of a brazen attempt to hold on to the rights of a financial gold mine. What’s more, Peter Parker himself has barely factored into these offshoots: Holland’s character makes only a cameo in the mid-credits scene for <em>Venom: Let There Be Carnage</em>, while Michael Keaton’s Vulture does the same in <em>Morbius</em> to tease a potential <a href="https://www.marvel.com/teams-and-groups/sinister-six">Sinister Six</a> team-up that may never happen. Holland, for his part, sounds iffy on returning for another <em>Spider-Man</em> film, unless it was <a href="https://ew.com/tom-holland-spider-man-4-would-need-to-do-justice-to-character-8409436">“worth the while of the character.”</a> Suffice it to say, I’m not sure any of these spinoffs will have Holland clamoring to don the Spidey suit again. </p>
<p id="gjYkqa">So what does that mean going forward? Well, it should only be a matter of time before Sony capitalizes on the universal acclaim for the <em>Spider-Verse</em> series with a live-action Miles Morales movie. (As a fellow Miles, I will always support such endeavors.) But on the whole, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the creative well has run dry for Sony: a studio trapped in a Sisyphean loop where every iteration of Spider-Man pushes back the termination of the characters’ film rights. A movie like <em>Madame Web</em> is the cinematic equivalent of hitting the snooze button; box office performance notwithstanding, its ultimate value to Sony is helping delay the inevitable. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="gneuW2">It’s still possible for Sony’s Spider-Man universe to produce some entertaining gems within such a restrictive framework. (I’m honestly afraid to admit how many times I’ve watched <em>Venom</em>, a masterpiece of so-bad-it’s-good cinema.) Virtually every blockbuster has to contend with the inherent friction between art and commerce: how much a filmmaker can put their own unique stamp on a project, and what concessions must be made to satisfy a studio’s bottom line. The problem with Sony is that the scales are tipped toward a corporate strategy that requires more and more artists to play in the same Spidey sandbox that’s been used since the start of the century. The longer this goes on, the greater the risk that Sony follows in Marvel and DC’s footsteps, oversaturating the market with all-too-familiar superhero movies until audiences cut bait. It’s hard to imagine<em> Madame Web</em> changing the studio’s fortunes, or for the Spider-Man extended universe to sustain interest without the presence of its title character. As fate would have it, Sony is caught in a web of its own making. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/12/24069867/madame-web-movie-sony-spider-man-universe-venom-3-morbiusMiles Surrey2024-02-07T06:30:00-05:002024-02-07T06:30:00-05:00Before There Was ‘Barbie,’ There Was ‘The Lego Movie’
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<p>Ten years ago today, ‘The Lego Movie’ gave Hollywood an early template for how to adapt a toy line into a successful—and critically acclaimed—film</p> <p id="Jq7p8G">The turning point was a <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1750185844219015517">Hillary Clinton tweet</a>. When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, the <em>Barbie</em> duo of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie missed out on Best Director and Best Actress, respectively. Never mind that Gerwig and Robbie were still recognized for their respective roles as a writer and a producer on the film—or that <em>Barbie</em> ended up with eight nominations, including Best Picture. Some corners of the internet felt that the Academy committed a grave injustice. That’s when public figures like Clinton waded into the discourse, which reeked of opportunism. Then came the backlash to the backlash, headlined by a<em> </em><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/opinion/barbie-movie-oscars.html"><em>New York Times</em> piece</a> opining that <em>Barbie</em> was, in fact, a bad movie. (It’s not.) The whole <em>Barbie</em> row was much ado about nothing; besides, if there was ever a film based on an iconic toy brand that was wrongfully snubbed by the Academy, that honor belongs to <em>The Lego Movie</em>. </p>
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<p id="r6v8I3"><br>Ten years ago today, <em>The Lego Movie</em> arrived in theaters saddled with a healthy dose of skepticism. It’s not that blockbusters based on popular toys hadn’t been made before—Michael Bay spent the better part of a decade smashing Transformers together under the watchful eye of Hasbro—but <em>The Lego Movie</em> appeared to close the gap between popcorn entertainment and a feature-length commercial even more. I loathe Bay, but even I’ll admit that his <em>Transformers</em> movies have a genuine auteurist sensibility; conversely, <em>The Lego Movie</em> takes place in a world where practically everything has a potential product tie-in. On the surface, <em>The Lego Movie</em> embodied all the cynical qualities of Hollywood’s IP era, brick by tiny yellow brick. </p>
<p id="nwsWoK">There’s no escaping the fact that <em>The Lego Movie </em>exists to sell toys for a multibillion-dollar company, but the writer-director duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller still managed to turn that concept on its head to near-universal acclaim. As in, something called <em>The Lego Movie</em> was named one of the 10 best films of 2014 by the National Board of Review, which, in turn, made its omission from the Academy’s Best Animated Feature category even more galling. (Imagine a world where Barack Obama tweeted about how <em>The Lego Movie</em> was robbed of an Oscar nomination.) No matter: A decade after its release, <em>The Lego Movie</em> endures as a hilarious send-up of American consumerism and an anarchic celebration of the power of imagination. If there’s any connective tissue between <em>The Lego Movie</em> and <em>Barbie</em>, the former proved that, when it comes to critical adoration and brand management, an adaptation of a toy line can have its cake and eat it too. </p>
<aside id="yuxhba"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Life Lessons With ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/2017/2/13/16038592/life-lessons-with-the-lego-batman-movie-941ea8b7737"},{"title":"‘The Lego Movie 2’ Has Chris Pratt Takes ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/2/8/18216164/lego-movie-2-chris-pratt-rex-dangervest"}]}'></div></aside><p id="4QpI5o"><em>The Lego Movie</em> follows the hero’s journey of Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), an everyman construction worker in Bricksburg, a bustling metropolis ruled by Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who publicly rules under the guise of President Business and leads the all-powerful Octan corporation. (At one point, Emmet lists some of the things that Octan produces: music, dairy products, TV shows, coffee, surveillance systems, history books, voting machines.) When Emmet inadvertently stumbles upon the Piece of Resistance—a MacGuffin capable of thwarting Lord Business’s goal to unleash the Kragle, a.k.a. superglue, that would freeze the Lego world—he joins up with a resistance movement made up of Master Builders, individuals who can create anything without sticking to an instruction manual. </p>
<p id="03kaFq">Emmet isn’t what the Master Builders envisioned as their savior. For his entire existence, Emmet was the perfect little worker drone for Lord Business, following the rules with nary an original thought. In a very kid-friendly way, <em>The Lego Movie</em> posits that such mindless obedience is a slippery slope: The lyrics to the film’s Oscar-nominated earworm, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTqXEQ2l-Y">“Everything Is Awesome!!!,”</a> emphasize the importance of conformity with some sinister undertones. (In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cQgQIMlwWw">early sequence</a>, workers dance along to a never-ending loop of the song in full view of Lord Business’s surveillance cameras.) That <em>The Lego Movie</em> builds (pun unintended) to a climax in which Emmet leads an uprising against Lord Business prompted some critics to describe the film, not inaccurately, as <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2014/02/lego-movies-antidote-to-kids-movie-clichs.html">“practically communist.”</a> Meanwhile, conservative talking heads decried <em>The Lego Movie</em>’s supposed <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/02/fox-news-vs-lego-movie">anti-capitalist sentiment</a>, which is a hilarious accusation to make when Lego was also rolling out an ungodly number of companion toys. (Can I interest you in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Movie-Business-Discontinued-manufacturer/dp/B00F3B3IW8">Lord Business’s Evil Lair</a> for ages 8-14?) </p>
<p id="TRHE5K">While <em>The Lego Movie</em> does culminate in what amounts to a Lego revolution, the film also pulls back the curtain to reveal the truth behind its world. The whole universe stems from the imagination of a young boy named Finn (Jadon Sand); in lieu of fighting Lord Business, Finn has to deal with an uptight father (also Ferrell) who doesn’t want anyone touching his expansive Lego collection. (The dad has serious <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/12/19/21028958/star-wars-last-jedi-reaction-rise-of-skywalker-rian-johnson-jj-abrams">“hated <em>The Last Jedi</em>”</a> energy.) The conflict between father and son works on several levels, including how one approaches playing with Legos: You can choose to fastidiously follow the instructions that come with a set, or you can build something entirely original with the pieces. At the same time, it feels like <em>The Lego Movie</em> is commenting on the inherent friction behind its own existence, caught between the rigid confines of IP management and the desire to create something new. It’s something Lord and Miller have been reckoning with for much of their careers: At the start of their <em>21 Jump Street</em> reboot, Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) says the quiet part out loud. “We’re reviving a canceled undercover police program from the ’80s and revamping it for modern times,” Hardy explains. “You see, the guys in charge of this stuff lack creativity and are completely out of ideas, so all they do now is recycle shit from the past and expect us all not to notice.” </p>
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<p id="CaBWJD">It’s to Lord and Miller’s credit that <em>The Lego Movie</em> rarely feels hemmed in by the limitations of its premise. All the visual gags—the way the characters eat only foods that can click into place with their claw hands, like croissants and sausages; the last-minute introduction of the larger-sized Duplos to signify the presence of Finn’s chaotic younger sister—play into the audience’s familiarity with Lego without crossing into lazy pandering. Even the movie’s treatment of Lego Batman (Will Arnett), the most ubiquitous superhero of modern times, is refreshingly funny, leaning into the character’s brooding reputation from Christopher Nolan’s <em>Dark Knight</em> trilogy. (The lyrics to Lego Batman’s heavy-metal ballad: “DARKNESS … NO PARENTS!”) It’s little surprise that Lord and Miller have since delivered the best Spider-Man adaptations since Sam Raimi by playfully embracing comic book tropes rather than avoiding them. (If only Lord and Miller didn’t go full Lord Business when it comes to the <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2023/06/spider-verse-animation-four-artists-on-making-the-sequel.html">untenable working conditions</a> for <em>Spider-Verse</em>’s animation team.) </p>
<p id="gIzcXV">Of course, the tragic irony of the <em>Lego Movie</em> franchise is that its early success was swiftly undone by greed. Within a two-year period, three films were released: two spinoffs (<em>The Lego Batman Movie</em> and <em>The Lego Ninjago Movie</em>) and one sequel (<em>The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part</em>). It didn’t matter that two of the follow-ups were actually quite good—the less said about <em>The Lego Ninjago Movie</em>, the better. Warner Bros. had oversaturated the Lego brand to such an extent that <em>The Lego Movie 2</em> grossed less than half of what its predecessor earned at the box office. Now, Universal Pictures has <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/04/universal-lego-group-construct-five-year-exclusive-film-partnership-to-create-new-movie-franchises-1202916170/">acquired the rights to Lego</a>, beginning the cycle anew. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="onZFRM">Universal will be hard-pressed to top <em>The Lego Movie</em>, which, in the decade since its release, has been the gold standard for how a toy adaptation can be done right. In fact, when <em>Juno</em> scribe Diablo Cody took on the challenge of writing a <em>Barbie</em> script, <em>The Lego Movie</em> was such a frequent point of reference that it became a creative roadblock. “Any time I came up with something meta, it was too much like what they had done,” <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/barbie-movie-first-attempts-amy-schumer-diablo-cody">Cody told <em>GQ</em></a> about the scrapped project last year. Enough time has elapsed that Gerwig’s <em>Barbie</em> can stand on its own high heels—and even cast Ferrell in a role that might as well be a <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44826543/lego-movie-barbie-fan-theory/">live-action Lord Business</a>. With the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-09-12/barbie-streaming-records-broken-box-office">record-breaking</a> box office numbers <em>Barbie</em> raked in last year, it will probably be a matter of when, not if, Warner Bros. creates some type of follow-up—just as Mattel is planning to build out its <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/barbie-sequel-mattel-films-barney-hot-wheels-1235680302/">own cinematic universe</a>. But if the highs and lows of <em>The Lego Movie</em> franchise have shown us anything, it’s that we should know when it’s time to put away our toys. </p>
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https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/7/24064026/lego-movie-release-date-10th-anniversary-emmet-barbie-oscarsMiles Surrey2024-02-02T07:24:59-05:002024-02-02T07:24:59-05:00‘Argylle’ May Be a Bust, but Apple Is Gathering the Right Intelligence
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<p>The new spy caper might be an absolute slog to sit through, but we should appreciate that it exists to begin with as part of Apple’s revamped movie strategy</p> <p id="9dxK26">When the Jake Gyllenhaal–led <em>Road House</em> remake has its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March, director Doug Liman won’t be part of the festivities. As Liman outlined last month in a <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/01/road-house-movie-doug-liman-boycott-sxsw-premiere-amazon-1235803736/">column for <em>Deadline</em></a>, he’s boycotting his own premiere over Amazon’s decision to release <em>Road House</em> straight to streaming. “Contrary to their public statements, Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas,” Liman wrote. “Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using <em>Road House</em> to sell plumbing fixtures.” </p>
<p id="dpHQQq">Liman is certainly entitled to be pissed off—the whole column is well worth a read—especially when <em>Road House</em> was initially set up at MGM Studios before the company was <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/amazon-mgm-merger-close-1235207852/">acquired by Amazon</a> in 2022. That same year, Amazon announced plans to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-23/amazon-plans-to-invest-1-billion-in-movies-for-theaters">spend $1 billion annually</a> on films that would be released in theaters. To a degree, Amazon held up its end of the bargain in 2023: movies like <em>Air</em> and <em>Saltburn</em> were available in cinemas before premiering on Prime Video. The problem is that Amazon releases far more films—<em>Red, White & Royal Blue</em>; <em>Totally Killer</em>; <em>Candy Cane Lane</em>; and so on—that never receive a theatrical release and risk getting lost in the shuffle. (Even <em>Saltburn</em> had only a limited run in cinemas before going to streaming.) </p>
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<p id="0pcpdD">Frankly, if any movie is worth seeing on the big screen, it’s the UFC-themed remake of an ’80s cult hit from the director responsible for <em>The Bourne Identity</em> and <em>Edge of Tomorrow</em>. (I’ll project <em>Road House</em> on the side of my apartment building if I have to.) But Liman’s public dustup with Amazon is also emblematic of the big-picture anxieties around the future of cinemas in the streaming age. To that end, Netflix is so adamant on prioritizing streaming that the company’s head of film, Scott Stuber, is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-film-chief-scott-stuber-movies-1235807247/">leaving after seven years at the helm</a>—a decision influenced in part by co-CEO Ted Sarandos’s refusal to give any of Netflix’s films a full theatrical release. But in the past year, one streamer has pulled a 180 and embraced the theatrical experience. For now, at least, Apple has emerged as an unlikely haven for auteur-driven blockbusters.</p>
<p id="QZNCYU">Since launching in November 2019, Apple TV+ has <a href="https://www.theringer.com/tv/2023/8/4/23819743/apple-tv-scripted-series-streaming-service-streak-data-numbers">prioritized quality over quantity</a> when it comes to its original programming. The company’s success rate is far from perfect, but in essence, Apple is trying to build its reputation the same way HBO did. That sentiment extends to the Apple Original Films banner, which made history in 2022 when the coming-of-age drama <em>CODA</em> became the first movie distributed by a streamer to win Best Picture. But if it feels like <em>CODA</em> almost immediately vanished from the cultural conversation, it might have something to do with the film’s nonexistent theatrical push. In fact, <em>CODA</em> had such a limited run in cinemas that Apple didn’t disclose its box office numbers; <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/03/coda-theatrical-release-oscars-1234990794/"><em>Deadline</em> estimates</a> that the movie grossed as little as $500,000 prior to its big Oscar win. </p>
<p id="QTJz0C">Apple’s film strategy was meant to entice people to sign up for the streamer, but the downside is that even a Best Picture winner will barely make a ripple in the zeitgeist without a meaningful presence in cinemas, especially when all data points to Apple TV+ having <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/most-popular-streaming-services-by-subscribers/">far fewer subscribers</a> than its competitors. (Did you know Tom Hanks wrote and starred in <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/7/9/21318481/tom-hanks-greyhound-review"><em>Greyhound</em></a>, Apple’s well-received Dad Blockbuster about a Navy commander tasked with defending Allied ships from German U-boats? Exactly.) Now, Apple is leaning in the opposite direction: Like Amazon, the company has pledged to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-23/apple-to-splash-1-billion-a-year-on-films-to-break-into-cinemas">spend $1 billion annually</a> on movies that will be released in theaters. And if you want to show people you mean business on the big screen, there’s no better statement of intent than footing the bill for Martin Scorsese’s latest masterpiece. </p>
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<p id="dPpM2X"><br>In <em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em>, based on David Grann’s nonfiction book of the same name, Scorsese covers a harrowing period in American history known as the Reign of Terror, during which members of the Osage Nation were systematically killed by perpetrators seeking to inherit their wealth. It’s the kind of movie you rarely see from a major studio these days, least of all when it comes with an eye-popping budget of $200 million. (<em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em> was originally set up at Paramount, but soaring production costs led Apple to finance the project.) While <em>Killers of the Flower Moon</em> ended up grossing just north of $155 million, Apple has a different metric for success that isn’t reliant on box office receipts. (And for what it’s worth, earning more than $155 million is no small feat for a film covering such grim subject matter over a 206-minute running time.) <em>Killers of the Flower Moon </em>has since been nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, while demonstrating how Apple can fill the void for filmmakers who may struggle to get certain kinds of movies made in the current studio landscape. </p>
<p id="6KJXi5">In that spirit, Apple’s next major theatrical release was <em>Napoleon</em>, Ridley Scott’s historical epic about the infamous French emperor, as played by Joaquin Phoenix. While the critical reception to <em>Napoleon</em> was more mixed, the film ended up <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/12/napoleon-global-box-office-milestone-ridley-scott-sony-apple-1235682382/">crossing the $200 million threshold</a> at the box office, an impressive achievement in and of itself. (The movie also scored three Oscar nominations.) With the release of <em>Napoleon</em>, Apple added to its burgeoning reputation as an auteur-friendly streamer that treats theatrical distribution as an essential part of its strategy. Which leads us to Apple’s third blockbuster heading to cinemas: <em>Argylle</em>. </p>
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<p id="8iRdep">Directed by Matthew Vaughn (<em>Kick-Ass</em>, <em>X-Men: First Class</em>, the <em>Kingsman</em> franchise), <em>Argylle </em>centers on Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), the author of a popular spy series who gets roped into the world of actual espionage when her books continue to mirror real-life events. It’s a star-studded film—Howard is joined by the likes of Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, and Dua Lipa—and has been the subject of <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/24047134/argylle-elly-conway-taylor-swift-authorship-controversy-explained">rampant internet speculation</a> over the true identity of the author behind the <em>Argylle </em>novel that was published last month as a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-lit-world-mystery-or-brazen-publicity-stunt-argylle-director-matthew/">companion piece</a>. (In short: Some people have latched onto the galaxy-brained idea that Taylor Swift wrote <em>Argylle </em>under a pen name; she almost certainly didn’t.) </p>
<p id="y52zqC">While it’s fun to go down the rabbit hole of <em>Argylle </em>theories—the <a href="https://twitter.com/Srirachachau/status/1751816776445481105">real Agent Argylle</a> was the friends we made along the way—the experience of watching the film is, uh, less so. Overlong, tonally jarring, and loaded with some of the worst CGI I’ve ever seen in a modern action movie, <em>Argylle </em>is an absolute slog to sit through—a painful reminder that Vaughn hasn’t put out a half-decent film in a decade. (Is this really the same filmmaker who made <em>Stardust</em>?) But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the fact that an original tentpole like <em>Argylle </em>exists to begin with, or how audiences will experience it. If <em>Argylle</em> is Apple’s version of <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2022/7/18/23268830/the-gray-man-netflix-movie-theaters"><em>The Gray Man</em></a>—an underwhelming blockbuster with a shockingly high price tag—at least it’ll make an impression in theaters before heading to streaming. (Just don’t say I didn’t warn you that it’s a dumpster fire.) </p>
<p id="dXTSqg">Of course, that’s the movie business for you: No studio or streamer is immune to duds. But it’s encouraging that Apple is committed to the theatrical experience for its buzziest films, which, in the years to come, will include <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/brad-pitt-joseph-kosinski-apple-racing-movie-1235160349/">Joseph Kosinski’s untitled Formula 1 film</a> starring Brad Pitt, and <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/12/apple-sony-wolfs-project-artemis-theatrical-distribution-deal-1235666711/"><em>Wolfs</em></a>, a psychological thriller headlined by Pitt and George Clooney. (In a hilarious twist, Apple will also be the home for <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/12/matt-damon-casey-affleck-apple-original-films-the-instigators-doug-liman-1235193043/"><em>The Instigators</em></a>, the next feature from … Doug Liman. It’s yet to be announced whether <em>The Instigators</em> will score a full theatrical release, but if Apple doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of a scathing column, the company should give it one.) </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="OR2NPu">At the same time, it’s important to remember that Apple isn’t doing all of this out of the goodness of its heart: The company is in the business of promoting a streaming service, and ensuring blockbusters get a proper run in cinemas is a great way to attract top talent. There’s no guarantee that Apple will stick to this strategy in the long run, or that the company won’t butt heads with creatives the way Amazon has. But in the meantime, Apple has transformed into a viable alternative to Hollywood’s major studios—and is taking a bite out of its competition.</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/movies/2024/2/2/24058246/argylle-movie-review-cast-apple-tv-plus-streaming-original-filmsMiles Surrey