J.J. Abrams Is Remaking Anime Hit ‘Your Name’ – Can It Actually Be Done Well? (Welcome toThe Soapbox, the space where we get loud, feisty, political, and opinionated about anything and everything. In this edition: can a Hollywood remake accurately capture the essence of one of Japan’s biggest recent hits?) The anime craze is continuing, and not even the highest grossing movie in Japan in more than a decade is immune to a Hollywood adaptation....

Javier Bardem Still Attached To ‘The Dark Tower’ As Ron Howard Seeks New Funding The boys at Imagine Entertainment aren’t going to let Universal’s brush-off get them down. Not long ago, Universalopted not to fundan adaptation ofStephen King’s novel seriesThe Dark Tower, which was planned to encompass three feature films and at least two short connective television series.Ron Howard,Brian GrazerandAkiva Goldsmanmake up the trio that have been trying to assemble the project, and, as intimated by King when Universal turned away, they’re not giving up....

John Mulaney Had To Tell Comedy Central Executives Of Dave Chappelle’s Surprise Departure In 2005 Back in 2005, comedianDave Chappelleshocked everybody by fleeing to South Africa in the middle of a lucrative deal with Comedy Central while the third season of his sketch seriesChappelle’s Showwas still in production. But did you know thatSaturday Night Livewriter and comedianJohn Mulaneywas the one who had to break the news to Comedy Central executives that Chappelle was gone?...

John Woo’s ‘The Crossing’ Opens In China In December John Woohas been quiet for several years as he dealt with throat cancer, and as government script approval was delayed for his latest film, but he’s ready to return to cinema screens with a new two-part epic. Much as his last major effort,Red Cliff, was a two-part tale drawn from Chinese history, so tooThe Crossingis a period piece split into two parts....

Marvel’s ‘The Eternals’ Eyes ‘Bodyguard’ And ‘Game Of Thrones’ Actor Richard Madden For A Lead Role Richard Maddenis the next in line to join the cast of Marvel’sThe Eternals, the cosmic comic book film set to be directed byChloe Zhao(The Rider). Madden is currently in talks to joinThe Eternalscast, which currently includesAngelina JolieandKumail Nanjiani.The Wrapinitially broke the news that Richard Madden is in talks to star opposite Jolie and Nanjiani in Marvel’sThe Eternals, though they weren’t sure who Madden would be playing....

New Details About The Coen Brothers' Western TV Series ‘The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs’ Earlier this year, we learned that filmmakersJoelandEthan Coenhad become the latest Hollywood directors who were making the jump to the small screen when they announcedthey’d be writing and directing a new TV series. We knew the title (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), the genre (a Western, which is something they’re familiar with through films likeTrue GritandNo Country for Old Men), and that they’d be collaborating with Annapurna Television for the limited series, which was described as an integrated TV and theatrical experience....

New Line Cuts ‘Gears Of War’ Loose, New Studio Home Sought For Big-Budget Game Tie-In Movie Gears of War, the Epic Games video game series published by Microsoft that has gone through three blockbuster installments so far, wasset upat New Line for a long time as a potential feature. Len Wiseman wasgoing to direct at one point, but in the years since 2007, when New Line signed on, there hasn’t been any significant movement on the project....

Original Big Bird Caroll Spinney Retires From ‘Sesame Street’ After 50 Years A few things have remained constant atSesame Streetsince the children’s show debuted on PBS in 1969, and one of them is the presence of puppeteering legendCaroll Spinney. The puppeteer and performer has played two ofSesame Street’s most famous characters since the show’s debut: Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. But, 50 years since he stepped into the big, yellow suit, Spinney is flying the coop....

Paul Bettany To Play Vision In ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ [Updated] Here’s an interesting story. We have a pretty good idea that Ultron, the prime villain ofAvengers: Age of Ultron, is birthed in some way through Tony Stark’s experimentation with armor and, likely, his AI-powered suits. But there could be another new AI character in theAvengerssequel: the outlandish-looking Vision. The character is a long-standing member of the Marvel Universe and a frequent Avenger, as well as the romantic partner of the Scarlet Witch, played in the film sequel by Elizabeth Olsen....

Plot Details Surface For Sam Raimi’s ‘Oz The Great And Powerful’ In all the times I’ve seenThe Wizard of Oz, I’ve never one wondered how the wizard got there. Maybe that’s just me. Either way, the back story of the man behind the curtain who solves Dorothy and her friend’s problems is the topic ofOz the Great and Powerful, which will be directorSam Raimi’snext project. Besides the fact thatRobert Downey Jr....

Roar: Release Date, Cast, And More (Welcome to …And More, our no-frills, zero B.S. guide to when and where you’re able to watch upcoming movies and shows, and everything else you could possibly stand to know.) The streaming wars have made it so there are so many players in the game it can be nearly impossible to keep up with everything out there. But Apple TV+ has rather quietly built up an impressive library of shows and movies that has increasingly asserted itself as a necessary subscription for people who want to stay caught up with the pop culture conversation....

Sandra Bullock And Ryan Reynolds To Re-Team With ‘The Proposal’ Director? Not So Fast Yesterday there was news thatSandra BullockandRyan Reynoldswould re-team with theirThe ProposaldirectorAnne Fletcherand screenwriterPeter Chiarellito makeMost Wanted, an action comedy pitch recently picked up by Universal . In a different year this wouldn’t have seemed like much more than a casting news blip but, you know, Bullock just won an Oscar. So jumping right back into the romantic action comedy pool seems like kid’s stuff now....

Star Wars Bits: Ben Mendelsohn Talks ‘Rogue One,’ ‘Battlefront’ Trailer Release, Celebration Swag Star Wars Celebrationis in the spotlight, but there’s also movie and TV news in this edition of Star Wars Bits. Below, read about the following: ActorBen Mendelsohnwon’t confirm or deny if he’s been cast inStar Wars: Rogue Onebut, he has.Entertainment Weeklywas talking to the actor and he said the following about being cast: I’m absolutely not sure about any of this at all....