Category: Worldwide

Star Trek Beyond sure was a long time ago. It’s coming up on six long years since we last time saw the version of the Enterprise led by Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk. Since then that wing of the franchise has stumbled about, unsure where to go next. Would it be helmed by Fargo‘s Noah Hawley? Would Quentin Tarantino make his R-rated take on Gene Roddenberry’s baby? Well, now we finally have an answer.

On the same day Paramount released news on Yellowstone (another prequel!), SpongeBob (three more spin-off movies!), and A Quiet Place III (coming 2025!), they also announced this: The Pine-captained gang is getting back together. Though details are still being inked, the plan is to bring Pine alongside Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and John Cho. (Anton Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekhov, tragically died in 2016.)

It was already revealed that the fourquel will be helmed by WandaVision director Matt Shakman, with a script that finds Josh Friedman (Terminator: Dark Fate, Avatar 2) and Cameron Squires (also of WandaVision) rewriting a previous one by Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess is a Loser) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider, Captain Marvel). But it was unclear whether or not it would bring back the old gang, which revived the movie IP with 2009’s Star Trek.

Mind you, it’s not like Trek has been laying dormant. The franchise has too many TV shows to count, all living on Paramount+, from Star Trek Discovery to the TNG spin-off Picard to Below Decks, the cartoon from a key Rick and Morty writer. But this is the first time it’ll be back on the big screen since the Obama administration.

(Via THR)

Ghosts is a supernatural sitcom that premiered on CBS last fall that has been slowly but surely making buzz on the internet. The show is based on the BBC One series of the same name, which just finished its third season in December. After the American adaptation started to gain popularity, many have been wondering if the show will follow in its British iteration’s footsteps.

The show was officially renewed for a second season last month, which will most likely begin production sometime this year, for a fall 2022 release. The official Ghosts Twitter account tweeted the official notice, along with a video of them surprising the cast and crew with the news.

In the video, you can see a crew member asking Rose McIver to say, “Catch us next fall, because we are officially picked up for season two.” The cast is visibly surprised, and thus season two was officially born.

The account tweeted a follow-up to thank their dedicated fanbase: “We could not have done this without our amazing fans— we’re so grateful to you all for watching!”

Ghosts stars McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as young couple Sam and Jay, who inherit an old mansion which they decide to turn into a quaint bed and breakfast, before realizing there are a bunch of ghosts haunting the place, which Sam can see after a near-death experience. All of the ghosts have their own unique personalities based from the time period they lived in, from a sixties flower child to a late nineties stock bro. You can stream every episode so far on Paramount+.

Paramount+ is less than a year old — though its original version, CBS All Access, has actually existed since 2014 — and it still needs as much content as it can muster. Thank god, then, for franchises. On the same day the streamer announced yet another Yellowstone prequel, it also revealed that there will be not one, not two, but three SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off movies, each focusing on a different side character.

As per Deadline, next year Paramount+ subscribers will get their mitts on the first of those three SpongeBob movies, which will follow a different resident of Bikini Bottom. Which one? That has not yet been revealed. Ditto for the other two, which will arrive at an as-yet-undisclosed time.

The movies will join a growing number of other SpongeBob spin-offs, including the shows Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show, alongside the still-chooglin’ original version of the show. Then there’s the movies. The third and most recent one, Sponge on the Run, which featured Awkwafina and Matt Berry, wound up dropping on Paramount+ last March after its theatrical release date was bumped due to the pandemic. A fourth is in the works.

All in all, this is more great news for longtime SpongeBob voice actor (and excellent Mr. Show alum) Tom Kenny, who deserves to have one of the longest gigs in the entertainment world.

(Via Deadline)

Welcome to the Yellowstone Extended Universe. (The… YEU? We’ll work on this.) The staggeringly popular Yellowstone, the modern-day Western from Taylor Sheridan that has given Kevin Costner his biggest hit since the good ol’ days, is expanding even further. The show has already spawned the instant hit prequel 1883 (as well as the forthcoming 6666, set in the present day). So how about another?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the next spin-off will be called 1932, which will delve even further into the backstory of the Dutton empire. Where Yellowstone shows the family dealing with Native American neighbors and developers, and 1883 deals with their ancestors venturing from Texas to Montana, the Depression-era set one will look at them, as per a press release, “during the time of western expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.”

There’s no word on who will take the helm of this spin-off/prequel, but the producers have their work cut out for them finding someone to follow in the footsteps of Kevin Costner and Sam Elliott. Perhaps Nick Nolte? Or Kris Kristofferson? Maybe they’ll think outside the box and hire Werner Herzog.

In the meantime, 1883 will be getting more episodes, though Paramount stopped short of calling it a “renewal” or “another season.” There will simply be more episodes, of some number at some point of time in the future. And probably more after that. It’s a whole big thing.

(Via THR)

James Cameron’s box office monster Avatar has been defeated by a teenage Peter Parker. Spider-Man: No Way Home has just the $760.9 million point at the domestic box office, beating out Avatar’s $760.5 million. The sci-fi flick hit theaters in 2009 and has since been falling down the box office totem pole as superhero movies continue to dominate, though it still has the top slot at the global box office.

No Way Home has been steadily racking up views, even as it enters its ninth week in theaters. It took Avatar nearly nine months to make it to that mark, in addition to a 2010 re-release. The Tom Holland film now trails behind 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which is at $936.6M) and fellow superhero flick Avengers: Endgame at a whopping $858.3M.

According to industry insiders, this is probably the peak of Peter Parker’s success, as the movie enters its fourth month of being out in theaters, and will probably hit streaming services soon. Though with fans campaigning for some Oscars acknowledgment, perhaps the movie will get another push.

Allegedly, Avatar 2 will hit theaters this year. But after nearly a decade of hype who is to say if it will really happen. Do we really want it to happen? Does Cameron even want it to happen? Only time will tell.

Whenever the Super Bowl comes to town, it inevitably brings with it Super Bowl parties — parties that are usually among the biggest of the year. But for NBA Hall Of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, “big” isn’t just a descriptor, it’s a way of life. In that spirit, he has to go bigger than big, and at this year’s iteration of Shaq’s Fun House in Los Angeles, he did just that, inviting superstars Diplo and Lil Wayne to take over the Shrine Auditorium near USC for a massive carnival that supersized everything from the endless drinks and food to the jumbo NBA Jam arcade game set up outside the venue.

While Shaq may be from New Jersey, for the last several years he’s called Los Angeles home, so it’s only right that he pulled out all the stops for this year’s edition of his annual carnival. Upon arrival, guests were greeted by stilt walkers and a marching band playing brassy renditions of hits like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Among the attractions were such fairground staples as bumper cars, a high striker (you know, with the hammer and the bell), a water gun race, an 80-foot slide, and of course, a Ferris wheel.

Those attractions were augmented by the presence of an open bar supplied by Bud Light and Maker’s Mark, with pop-up food booths representing some of LA’s most famous eateries like Pink’s Hot Dogs and Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. The Meat District food truck also had a non-stop line as partygoers clamored to pick up the signature burgers and fries on offer. Meanwhile, a section cordoned off for 1Up Arcade machines proved to be a steady draw as gamers indulged their nostalgia for games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, and Mortal Kombat. Those unperturbed by the possibility of getting dunked on in front of the crowd could play an oversized version of NBA Jam with buttons the size of dinner plates.

Inside the Shrine, a roster of DJs including Myles O’Neal, Diplo, and DJ Diesel himself kept the party going with humongous bass drops and dazzling light shows ahead of headlining sets from Zedd and Lil Wayne. In the VIP area, fans could also try another LA restaurant, Kazunori, which got in the carnival spirit with its easy-to-carry hand rolls. On the red carpet, Shaq explained his philosophy in hosting the carnival each year, “All the other parties, you just come, you stand around and shake hands. You go, ‘Hey Tom, hey Bob, hey Jamal.’ This party is a carnival with rides, favorite restaurants, top restaurants in L.A… Ferris wheel. I paid a lot of money to get this stuff here.”

In a move that will undoubtedly prove to be controversial, Goldenvoice has announced that it’s dropping COVID-19 safety protocols from its upcoming Coachella Music Festival, and will not require proof of vaccination, a negative COVID test, or masks. The promoter previously rolled back its vaccination policy but has now done away with all other precautions, as well.

Updating the festival’s health and safety rules page, organizers wrote, “In accordance with local guidelines, there will be no vaccination, testing or masking requirements at Coachella 2022. “However, the event shall be presented in accordance with applicable public health conditions as of the date of the event and which may change at any time as determined by federal, state or local government agencies or instrumentalities, artists or the promoter.”

With California loosening COVID safety rules, Coachella would be exempted from the few remaining guidelines regarding vaccinations and masks, which will only be enforced for indoor events of 1,000 or more attendees. Goldenvoice’s updated rules still include the disclaimer warning that COVID-19 “is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death.”

This year’s Coachella festival is set to be headlined by Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Kanye West, although Kanye threatened to drop out if Eilish didn’t issue an apology to Travis Scott — something she’s shown seemingly little interest in doing. Coachella takes place April 15-17 and 22-24 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. You can find more information here.

The classic true-crime docuseries The Staircase (which first appeared on Sundance TV, later to hit Netflix) obviously included the guilty verdict for Michael Peterson, as well as a lengthy prison sentence, regarding the death of his wife, Kathleen, in 2001. Yet the story was anything but airtight (did she truly die from falling down the stairs as he claimed?), and HBO Max is now picking up the saga (co-starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette as husband/wife, with a cast including Sophie Turner and Parker Posey) and likely going in an at-least slightly different direction. For one thing, the story will be dramatized, so that allows for certain liberties that could surface in the future.

HBO Max has released a few images, just to give a taste of the surface family dynamic.

What of the owl theory, though? I don’t want to spoil too much if you haven’t seen the original series, but let’s just say that there may have been a predatory intervening party involved, and it wouldn’t bode too well with the true-crime audience if this theory was ignored. Never fear, though, because as The Wrap notes, director/writer Antonio Campos declared that there will be “a deep dive” into the Owl Theory. He added, “We took it as seriously as any other theory.”

Bring it on. You can read more about the Owl Theory here, and for now, HBO Max keeps the logline simple:

Based on a true story, THE STAIRCASE explores the life of Michael Peterson, his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson.

The cast also includes Michael Stuhlbarg, Juliette Binoche, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Rosemarie DeWitt, Tim Guinee, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Vincent Vermignon, and Odessa Young. HBO Max’s The Staircase is geared toward a spring release.

(Via The Wrap)

Wilco is the gift that keeps on giving. Last week, the band announced a limited run of shows in New York City and Chicago to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the decidedly perfect album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Shortly thereafter, singer Jeff Tweedy took to his very active Starship Casual Substack newsletter to tease that a new Wilco album is on the horizon.

In one of Tweedy’s “Chit Chat Check-In” recordings on the multimedia newsletter, he first apologized for not being as active on Starship Casual over the past week or so. But quickly explained why:

“It’s almost entirely because I’ve been in the studio with Wilco making some new music, chipping away at a new record. It’s been very, very fun and exciting and we’re having a great time. Next time we should be able to get back to some normal correspondence. If I can get everyone in the Wilco braintrust on board, maybe I’ll share a snippet of a work in progress or something like that over the weekend behind the paywall.”

First of all, it’s incredibly endearing for Tweedy to feel the need to apologize for taking a brief hiatus from updating his newsletter. But that qualifies as a pretty excellent excuse for Wilco fans. he also explained that he and Tom Waits recently covered a Tom Waits song “behind the paywall,” of the newsletter’s subscription tier. The audio referenced above is not behind the paywall however and can be heard here.

via Consequence.

Anyone who is even sort of plugged into hoop Twitter or follows sports accounts on Instagram has likely learned of Hansel Enmanuel, an 18-year-old basketball player at Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida who has become a viral sensation for his play against other top high schoolers. While his flashy passes and dunks would be impressive enough on their own, they are made all the more so by his handicap; due to a childhood accident, the Dominican Republic-born Hansel only has one arm.

It’s a safe bet that’s where J. Cole, a hoops head and inspirational story in his own right, first learned of the young star, and perhaps sensing a kindred, underdog spirit, Cole scooped him up to appear in his latest ad for his Dreamer brand. Produced by Pomp&Clout and directed by Scott Lazer and J. Cole, “The Audacity II” simply features Enmanuel dribbling the ball in front of the camera, changing up the rhythm, tempo, and direction in a drill meant to display his focus and stamina as Cole narrates.

I got to keep it 100 with you. They don’t think you can do it. They look at you and all they see is a man standing in front of a mountain that’s too big to scare. But I believe in you. Sh*t you made me a believer cause I see how much you believe in yourself. Why else would you work this hard? Sh*t, I ain’t gonna lie, they surprised you made it this far. Now, quietly in the back of their minds, there’s a tiny thought that wonders how far you can actually go with this. And I know something they don’t know. That the answer to that question, my boy… is up to you.

Cole could very well have been speaking to himself. A long-shot to play pro ball at 36 years old, Cole was able to parlay his lifetime hoop dream into a role in the Basketball Africa League, where he played three games during the inaugural 2021 season.