PopcultureSmart

News as it drops. Click on each image for specifics to that project. Official trailers that have been released in the comments. Some teasers were for attendees only and haven't been released yet.

The utterly charming star of Ms. Marvel, Iman Vellani, talking to Erik Voss of New Rockstars, my favorite entertainment analyst, and it’s a total delight.

While they get into a lot of interesting info about working in the MCU (asking Kevin Feige questions, working in green screen, 616 debates, etc.) what made me smile was just watching two comic book geeks being so happy to geek out with each other. Can’t wait to see the follow-up interview after The Marvels comes out.

And I really hope Vellani has a long, happy career. She’s awesome.

Note: The video has some spoilers for the Ms Marvel series

MCU Phase 5: MUTANT FUTURE! Iman Vellani EXCLUSIVE Interview! Erik Voss meets Kamala Khan herself, Iman Vellani, in this exclusive interview with the star of Ms Marvel and The Marvels! Who will be the next mutant introd...

Lots of great movies on this list. I'm especially looking forward to The Marvels, directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman)

Every Studio Film Directed by Female Filmmakers Coming Out in 2022 and 2023 All of the major studios have at least two female-directed features coming, which has not always been the case in previous years.

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

https://apple.news/A8c32Bh9WR7qHGhSdSEHemQ

Where to Stream Some of the Best Christmas Movies Online, From 'Elf' to 'Die Hard' — The Hollywood Reporter Spend the next few days with John McClane, Buddy, Ralphie and other classic holiday film characters.

More Tom Holland Spider-Man movies are in the works, which makes sense since they’re so successful.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kevin-feige-sony-marvel-developing-more-spider-man-1235064978/

Kevin Feige Confirms Marvel, Sony Are “Actively Beginning to Develop” More ‘Spider-Man’ The Marvel Studios president says he outright confirmed the news "because I don’t want fans to go through any separation trauma like what happened after 'Far From Home.'"

I love both that geek entertainment is being recognized as well as more diverse movies.
What movie do you think deserves greater cultural recognition?

https://www.polygon.com/22834411/national-film-registry-2021-lord-of-the-rings-star-wars-horror-library-of-congress?fbclid=IwAR2EgqN-TjruUhMtiJI2qPSe92Uk8ZM4sfE93Y6B-PEzunVt9w1htrPyOmU

Lord of the Rings, Return of the Jedi deemed culturally significant by Library of Congress On top of the blockbusters, the National Registry is also getting more diverse

Spider-Man: No Way Home Villains Panel with Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina at CCXP. Tom Holland introduces the panel, too.

When they talk about “Amy” they’re referring to Amy Pascal at Sony, who executive produces with Kevin Feige.

https://youtu.be/oKzWmAehB0c

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - Villains Panel Look who’s back! Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx talk about reprising their iconic roles as Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Electro in a special panel...

, yes, even when greeen make-up is involved.

Now when will we get a WOC playing Glinda?

Brittney Johnson Makes History As the First Black Woman to Star As Glinda in Broadway Production of 'Wicked' • EBONY Three years after her first understudy performance as Glinda, the Good witch, Johnson will be taking over the iconic role full time.

Authenticity not only makes a story better, it also adds heart.

Raising Our Voices: How Three Latinas Helped Make Authentic Magic in ‘Encanto’ Behind the scenes on Disney’s animated feature, Charise Castro Smith, Yvett Merino and Germaine Franco drew from personal experiences to tell a tale of displacement, overcoming odds and unconditional love.

Representation takes all kinds of forms. This is one aspect missed in the reviews and discussions about Shang-Chi

Interview: Shang-Chi Star Meng’er Zhang On Her Future With The Ten Rings & The Importance Of Diversity In Hollywood Meng’er Zhang spoke with Game Rant about her character in Shang-Chi and the role she played in representing Asian culture in mainstream media.

Despite (or because of) 2021’s challenges for theaters, streaming options meant a good year for black film

10 Best Black Movies of 2021 With streaming taking over and movie theaters just starting to fully recover, 2021 provided an interesting mix of movies for our best of the year list.

Next Big Thing: 'Hawkeye' Star Alaqua Cox Prepares for Marvel Stardom (she’s also getting her own series)

https://apple.news/AvYx4HngpQSWBfqGqu12-zw

Next Big Thing: 'Hawkeye' Star Alaqua Cox Prepares for Marvel Stardom — The Hollywood Reporter The actor, whose sole entertainment experience was a background part in a high school play, has seen her life change after friends sent her a casting call for a deaf Native American actress.

This theory matches comments Tom Holland made earlier this year about wanting to continue as Spider-Man — comments that were distorted online and believed by people who didn’t watch the actual video interview.

Spider-Man Rumor Reveals Disney+'s Big Plans for Tom Holland's Hero https://thedirect.com/article/spider-man-tom-holland-rumor-disney-plus

Spider-Man Rumor Reveals Disney+'s Big Plans for Tom Holland's Hero A big rumor revealed possible plans for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the coming years.

This perks up a Monday -- and we find out more about the dowager countess' saucy past. Downton Abbey: A New Era

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaSIjLJJRuc

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA - Official Teaser Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 18 You are cordially invited to the grandest escape of the year. Watch the teaser trailer for : A New Era, and see it only in theaters March 18.The...

Marvel producer Victoria Alonso waited 16 years to see Salma Hayek as a superhero.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/pablovaldivia/salma-hayek-eternals-suit?fbclid=IwAR1TKIJBRdmvU5XHsCCsyyB7m55pM5nC7mUW-hmWOAobBWGZIO7vw1RPQeE

Salma Hayek Cried When She First Saw Herself In Her "Eternals" Costume, And Now I'm Crying "I saw my brown face in a superhero suit."

Makkari Has Marvel's Eternals Fans Wanting to Learn Sign Language Makkari is easily the best character in Chloé Zhao's 'Eternals' and now there is an increase online of people wanting to learn sign language!

Ehis Osifo from Buzzfeed hits the nail on the head. I think his theory plus Owen Gleiberman’s explains the unfair negative reviews Eternals has gotten

https://www.buzzfeed.com/daily/eternals-mcu-marvel-reviews-critics

Here’s Why Everyone Is Wrong About Marvel’s “Eternals” “I don’t need Thor or Bucky Barnes in every Marvel movie, because then it’s not a cinematic universe. It’s just us following these white boys around.”

I frequently disagree with Owen Gleiberman but I think he has a point here in regard to the reaction from paid critics. . I also think the hating inclusivity and it having a woman director is behind the review bombing

Why Is Chloé Zhao's 'Eternals' Being Called the Worst MCU Movie Ever? For Reasons That Are Not Onscreen (Column) — Variety I disagree with other critics all the time, and don’t generally blink an eye about it, but as soon as the news dropped that “Eternals,” the Marvel epic directed by Chloé Zhao, had received the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score (48% fresh) of any film in the 13-year history of the MCU, making it th...

Terrific interviews with the actors that reveals some of the secrets of casting.

'Eternals' Cast Share Their Favorite Memories From Set | Around the Table | Entertainment Weekly Kit Harrington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Don Lee, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff and Lia McHugh break down their new marvel film 'Eternals'.Subscribe to...

Lauren Ridloff from Eternals is correct -- normalize subtitles, closed captioning and audio descriptive services.

What did you think of Makkari?

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/eternals-lauren-ridloff-deaf-superhero-marvel-studios-1235103428/?fbclid=IwAR1XWUifDEhyXRo0i0owG-XWI6kkhV8KPNpVo2vhjVMJajlx1n8c-VZyEVg

‘Eternals’ Star Lauren Ridloff on Playing Marvel’s First Deaf Superhero and the Need to ‘Normalize Subtitles’ When Lauren Ridloff saw Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” for the first time at a special screening on the Disney lot in October, the actor began to cry before the movie had even started…

Interesting casting.

https://apple.news/AQ5JTKCFnTSOP01ftPv_xHQ

Gal Gadot Joins Disney's 'Snow White' Remake as Evil Queen — Variety Gal Gadot is in final negotiations to portray the Evil Queen in Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of “Snow White,” a source close to the project confirmed to Variety. Gadot will star opposite “West Side Story” breakout Rachel Zegler, who was cast as the classic princess in June. Sin...

I’m looking forward to this. What do you think?

‘House of Gucci’ Trailer: Lady Gaga Plots the Downfall of the Gucci Family MGM has offered another peek at “House of Gucci,” releasing a new trailer for its upcoming star-studded drama. Set to the alluring beat of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” …

A trailer for the movie the Buzz Lightyear toy comes from. I’m intrigued.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JRJ1IUVgreY&pp=QAFIAQ%3D%3D&d=n

LIGHTYEAR Trailer (2022) LIGHTYEAR Trailer (2022) Buzz Lightyear Pixar Animation Movie© 2021 - Disney Pixar

Union rules exist for reasons and safety is #1. According to reports, union crew were replaced with non-union members before the accident.
RIP Halyna Hutchins

This is NOT an Alec Baldwin story, this is is a story about workplace safety. IATSE Local 600 DP, Halyna Hutchins, died today because she showed up to work. Her children were orphaned today because she showed up for work. She deserves more than a moment of silence. She deserves every crew member in this industry putting down their tools and walking off the job. Shut it down. This has to stop.

There have been other high-profile fatalities on film sets involving prop guns and sloppy safety measures.

In 1993, Brandon Lee, 28, son of the late martial-arts star Bruce Lee, died after being hit by a .44-caliber slug while filming a death scene for the movie “The Crow.” The gun was supposed to have fired a blank, but an autopsy turned up a bullet lodged near his spine.

Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, tweeted: “Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on “Rust.” No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period.”

In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum died after shooting himself in the head with a prop gun blank while pretending to play Russian roulette with a .44 Magnum on the set of the television series “Cover Up.”

Serious and sometimes fatal film set accidents are rare but have increased in recent years.

A 38-year-old crew member last month sustained critical injuries after a major fall at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood during construction for the Netflix film “Me Time,” which stars Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg.

“The Walking Dead” stuntman John Bernecker died in 2017 from injuries sustained while filming a scene in Georgia for the AMC series’ eighth season.

In the same state, crew member Sarah Jones was killed in a 2014 train accident during the making of “Midnight Rider,” and her family was awarded $11.2 million after filing a wrongful-death lawsuit.

A year earlier, a helicopter pilot, camera operator and crew member were killed in a helicopter crash in Acton during the filming of a reality series for Discovery Channel, the worst film-set accident in California in three decades.

Every year crew members are killed falling asleep while driving home from outrageously long shoot days.

Nobody should have to die making Films and Television.

Thanks to Robert Daraio

It makes sense. COVID safety guidelines make filming take longer. I'd rather have good movies than fast movies. Are you upset about the delay?

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disney-delays-doctor-strange-thor-black-panther-1235091673/?fbclid=IwAR0O60wDV1Z_Ro9445EyXqgDvD9o2VXMWQYL7PaQ3MR_0AoFfsVSDfJfN0o

Disney Delays ‘Doctor Strange 2,’ ‘Thor 4,’ ‘Black Panther’ Sequel and ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Marvel fans, prepare to wait a little bit longer to see Doctor Strange, Thor and Black Panther return to theaters. Disney has delayed release plans for several upcoming films, including “Doct…

ICYMI the Black Adam teaser/previw from DC Fandome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isf3Kpgk9VA

Black Adam - Official Teaser Trailer | DC FanDome 2021 Dwayne Johnson stars as the titular antihero in this DC Comics epic that introduces the Justice Society to the big screen. The cast includes Aldis Hodge as H...

Academy Award-winning director Chloe Zhao talks about what makes Marvel Studios’ Eternals a different movie in look and story. She also confirms 2 post-credit scenes of equal importance and surprise

https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/interview-director-chloe-zhao-on-how-marvels-eternals-will-redefine-the-entire-mcu-moving-forward-754419

Interview: Director Chloé Zhao on How Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ Will Redefine the Entire MCU Moving Forward Tickets for Marvel's Eternals are now on sale

Yes! I want more Agatha!

https://apple.news/AELeOKp3dTCWNFN-DlKRvJw

'WandaVision' Spinoff Starring Kathryn Hahn in the Works at Disney Plus (EXCLUSIVE) — Variety A “WandaVision” spinoff starring Kathryn Hahn is in development at Disney Plus from Marvel Studios, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. Hahn would reprise the role of Agatha Harkness in the series, which is described by sources as a dark comedy, though exact plot details remain under w...

Interesting perspective on Shang-Chi, including the fight scene rhythm (that’s in the bonus clip)

https://youtu.be/dnAEAQtIvGo

Shang-Chi and the Perpetual Foreigners | Video Essay Start your free trial at http://squarespace.com/accentedcinema and use code ACCENTEDCINEMA to get 10% off your first purchase.Accented Cinema - Episode 70I g...

This is awesome,
"ViacomCBS Wednesday announced the launch of BET Studios led by Aisha Summers-Burke with partners including Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. The studio venture provides equity ownership to Black creators across premium TV and film content."

BET Launches BET Studios Led By Aisha Summers-Burke; Provides Equity Ownership To Black Creators In TV, Film ViacomCBS Wednesday announced the launch of BET Studios led by Aisha Summers-Burke with partners including Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. The studio venture provides equity o…