How is it already May? This panorama is still messing with how I perceive time and it is not appreciated. What is, though, is the shift between the last few years and this one; seems like people collectively decided not to honor the yearly *NSYNC meme anymore after being reminded of Justin Timberlake’s treatment of multiple women artists in the past. Instead, it seems to have been replaced with a few different versions referencing songs by Britney Spears.
We no longer do "It's Gonna Be May," we do "You Want a Piece of May." pic.twitter.com/cUTh2qvJcJ
— Courtney Enlow (@courtenlow) April 30, 2021
In any case, here’s Last Week’s Episode with your weekly dose of entertainment news.
Important Issues
Several authors who have worked on projects under Disney’s IP, including Marvel and Star Wars novelizations or comics, have banded together in an effort to force the corporation to honor royalties contracts and pay authors what they are owed for their work. Uniting under the #DisneyMustPay Joint Taskforce, writers including Neil Gaiman, Chuck Wendig, Tess Gerritsen, and Mary Robinette Kowal have joined with writing guilds like the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to push a reversal of Disney’s apparent policy that “royalties don’t transfer” in cases of acquisition after buy-out. The task force is urging other writers believed to be missing royalty payments on prior franchise work now owned by Disney to reach out on https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ [io9]
In his first on-camera interview since coming out as trans via social media in December, Elliot Page spoke to Oprah about his experiences up to and since that moment, as well as the importance of fighting the worrying slate of anti-trans legislation aimed at removing protections and eliminating healthcare for trans children being pushed in several US states. The interview was part of “The Oprah Conversation” and was released last Friday on Apple TV+. [LA Times]
Supergirl actress Nicole Maines has also spoken out against these laws, specifically Arkansas’s recent ban on gender affirming medical care for trans youth, which was passed over a veto from its governor. In an exclusive with [Hollywood Life], she describes how damaging and cruel these measures are and the harm they could do to children who are already vulnerable to depression and suicide, and reaffirms that each child is themself an expert on their own gender.
content warning: the following contains discussion of sexual abuse and workplace violence
Actor and producer Noel Clarke, known for The Hood Trilogy as well as a formerly-recurring stint on Doctor Who, has been accused of sexual harassment, abuse of power, bullying, and other inappropriate behavior by a mix of 20 named and anonymous women who have worked with him in a professional capacity. They describe being groped, having explicit photos and videos taken of them without their consent and shared with other colleagues, receiving unsolicited photos of a sexual nature, being propositioned, and being threatened by him, among other harrowing experiences. Despite having received reports of these allegations, the UK’s premiere film and television academy awarded him a BAFTA prize in early April. The disturbing accounts have been reported on by [The Guardian].
Movies
Eli Roth’s adaptation of the Borderlands video game has completed its cast with Gina Gershon as Moxxi, Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs, Charles Babalola as Hammerlock, Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus, Steven Boyer as Scooter, and Ryann Redmond as Ellie, as well as Bobby Lee as a new character named Larry. [io9]
Lady Killer, a Dark Horse Comic about a 1950s housewife who moonlights as a mercenary assassin (kind of the opposite of The Way of the Househusband), is being adapted for the screen by Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s Body) for Netflix. Blake Lively will play Josie Schuller, the leading role in the film; a director is yet to be announced. [Deadline]
Here’s some speculation over who could potentially be on the short list for DC as it looks for a director to helm the Superman project in development, for which Warner Bros. has committed to casting a Black actor. [The Hollywood Reporter]
The world may change and evolve, but the one thing that will never change: we’re all part of one big family. pic.twitter.com/jZVYL6fOq6
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) May 3, 2021
Marvel released a trailer this week with dates and teasers for its upcoming slate of Phase 4 MCU films. These include
- Black Widow on July 9, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on September 3, Eternals on November 5, Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17 in 2021;
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on March 25, Thor: Love and Thunder on May 6, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on July 8, The Marvels on November 11 in 2022;
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on February 17, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 on May 5 in 2023;
- and an as-yet untitled Fantastic 4 movie on an unspecified future date.
We now have confirmation that the second installment of Captain Marvel will feature not only Brie Larson as Carol Danvers but also Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. [Marvel]
Hannah John-Kamen, who previously played villain/victim Ava in Ant-Man and the Wasp, has been cast to star in Joey Soloway (Transparent) and Tasha Huo’s (the upcoming animated Tomb Raider) new Red Sonja title. The movie, produced by Millennium Media, will be based on the character’s appearances in Dynamite Entertainment comics. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Netflix has cast Henry Golding (A Simple Favor) as William Elliot in its adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. He will be joining Dakota Johnson (50 Shades series), who will play the main character Anne Elliot, a cousin and marriage prospect. [Deadline]
Television
The stealing is mutual. #LeverageRedemption drops 7/9 on @IMDbTV ? pic.twitter.com/B82LCa3CZH
— Leverage: Redemption (@LeverageRedempt) May 3, 2021
Beloved Robin Hood heist show Leverage is back by popular demand and IMDb TV has released a trailer! Seems we’ll be following Parker, Hardison, and Elliot (explicit queer triad rep, please!) as they recruit Sophie and two new characters for increasingly difficult ways of holding power to account. The anticipation is high for new interactions among the established team, as well as with newcomers Aleyse Shannon playing Hardison’s sister and Noah Wyle (who along with Christian Kane is a veteran of The Librarians, another Dean Devlin show) as a corporate lawyer looking for redemption. [Deadline]
After a bloody and horrifying finale to Season 1, Invincible has secured a second and third season on Amazon Prime. [SYFY WIRE]
Speaking to the British Film Institute’s magazine, Barry Jenkins revealed some of the directors whose work inspired him during the development of his new limited series adaptation based on Colson Whitehead’s novel The Underground Railroad. These included Wong Kar-Wai, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Cronenberg, Jordan Peele, Alfred Hitchcock, as well as Claire Denis. The series follows an enslaved woman, played by Thuso Mbedu, as she runs via the Underground Railroad, which is reimagined as a literal train, and premieres on Amazon Prime on May 14. [Sight and Sound]
Sony’s live-action series based on Cindy Moon/Silk is reportedly set to begin filming in August with Sang Kyu Kim (Jupiter’s Legacy) as showrunner. Casting, however, has not yet been announced. [ComicBook.com]
let the family fun begin ? which part made you say omd? season 5 part 2 of #lucifer drops may 28 on @netflix pic.twitter.com/jLdYqYquAX
— Lucifer (@LuciferNetflix) April 30, 2021
Scott Patterson, who played Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls, is starting a podcast where he watches the show for the first time and provides his commentary. He’s said that he has only seen the pilot and the movie, so it should be a fun time. The podcast is called I Am All In. [ET Online]
Greta Lee (Russian Doll) is adapting and executive producing Cathy Park Hong’s book Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning for A24. She will also star in the series. Supervising the project and co-executive producing is Christina Lee, the showrunner of HBO Max’s Made for Love. [Deadline]
After our announcement that our memoir High School got green lit for TV, a few people text me excited that we're acting now. Guyssss the memoir is about us in high school in the 90's. We are 40. I know we look youngish but we don't look THAT young. Plus @cleaduvall said no.
— Tegan and Sara (@teganandsara) May 4, 2021
