The Little Mermaid Has Some Surprising Cameos That You Might Have Missed Working as an animator is a tedious process. Drawing picture after picture can get a little boring, and it’s not uncommon for an animator to start throwing in a few fun background details and in-jokes just to keep their minds occupied. Looking at the backgrounds of many animation productions may reveal caricatures of the animators themselves, references to other projects the animators may have worked on, and — as has been widely speculated — the occasional blue joke....

The Morning Watch: Analyzing Explosions In Movies Like ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Chernobyl’ VFX Breakdown & More The Morning Watchis a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows. In this edition, an explosive engineer and special effects expert review some big explosions from movies likeThe Dark Knight, Rush Hour, Desperadoand more....

The Police Had A Big Problem With Apocalypse Now’s Prop Department Though “Apocalypse Now” is known as one of cinema’s finest war epics, it’s also well known for having acontroversial productionthat involved actor disputes, near-death experiences, and a deadly hurricane. Director Francis Ford Coppola had invested millions of his own money into the project and contemplated killing himself on the hellish shoot, according toIndependent. “Apocalypse Now” updates Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella “Heart of Darkness” to the Vietnam War....

The Return Of ‘Ghostbusters’ Ecto Cooler Seemingly Confirmed With A New Can Last November, we got word that Coca-Cola hadre-registered the trademarkforEcto-Cooler, theGhostbustersthemed juice drink that was popular in the 80s and ’90s. There was no guarantee that the soft drink company would bring back the flavor thatGhostbustersfans have wanted back on shelves for years, but with a newGhostbutstersmovie on the way this summer, a nostalgic cash grab just made sense....

Universal Studios Beijing Reveals Seven Themed Lands: Harry Potter, Transformers, Jurassic World & More Universal Studios Beijingis bringing the magic of the movies to China in the form of a huge new theme park, as well as the signature Universal CityWalk entertainment complex, and two new resort hotels. Today, the seven themed lands that make up the new theme park were revealed, and they include some Universal Studios favorites like theWizarding World of Harry PotterandJurassic World, but also lands forTransformers,Kung Fu Panda, the Minions ofDespicable Me, and more....

USA Network’s Thank You For Smoking TV Series When I first saw Jason Reitman’sThank You For Smokingat its Eccles Theater Sundance Film Festival premiere, I wondered out loud to a friend what a television series based on the film would be like. The film starred Aaron Eckhart as a chief spokesman of a big tobacco company with the seemingly impossible task: promoting cigarette smoking in a time when the health hazards of the activity have become too plain to ignore....

‘A Quiet Place’ Sequel In The Works At Paramount In news that should come as no surprise to anyone who ever wandered the horror section at a video rental store and saw the number of titles with numbers in them, Paramount is planning a sequel toA Quiet Place. But there’s something a little different here. Most horror sequels follow a modest hit, a film made for pennies that caters to a hungry niche....

‘Aquaman 2’ Cast Adds ‘Game Of Thrones’ Actor Pilou Asbaek Pilou Asbaek, who played horny pirate Euron Greyjoy onGame of Thrones, is setting his sights on more aquatic adventure withAquaman 2. The actor is in talks to join the cast of theJames Wan-directed film, which will bring backJason Momoaas the lead. As is usually the case with this sort of casting news, we have no idea who Asbaek is playing just yet....

‘Batman Ninja’ Anime Arrives In 2018 From ‘Afro Samurai’ Creator While DC Entertainment is just beginning their expansion into standalone live-action films featuring the most popular superheroes from DC Comics, the DC Universe Original Movies from Warner Bros. Animation are have been bringing some of the biggest comic book storylines to life for the past decade. Soon fans will see a Victorian spin on The Dark Knight inBatman: Gotham by Gaslight, and now we have word of Batman getting an anime makeover in another animated feature....

‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ Review In a summer crowded with superhero blockbusters,Captain America: The First Avengerranks just belowX-Men: First Class, and far ahead ofGreen Lanternand fellowAvengerslead-inThor. It never quite reaches the highs ofFirst Classor 2008’sIron Man, but thanks largely toJoe Johnston’s direction andChris Evans' performance, it is a genuinely enjoyable film that gets right so much of whatThorandGreen Lanterncouldn’t. It’s nothing we haven’t heard a million times before, but Johnston manages to tell it in a way that feels both fresh and classic....

‘Death On The Nile’, Follow-Up To ‘Murder On The Orient Express’, Adds Gal Gadot To Cast Gal Gadotis the first big name in talks to join theDeath on the Nilecast. The follow-up to 2017’sMurder on the Orient Expresswill bring backKenneth Branaghand his glorious mustache as Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. Branagh will also direct again. More on theDeath on the Nilecast below.Murder on the Orient Expresshad a huge, star-studded cast, and it looks likeDeath on the Nilewill follow suit....

‘Everybody Knows’ Trailer: Javier Bardem And Penelope Cruz Reunite In Asghar Farhadi’s Kidnapping Thriller Penelope Cruzreunites onscreen with spouseJavier Bardemfor the first time since 2013’sThe Counselorin a new movie this year. But while that movie didn’t give them much screen time together,Everybody Knowsputs the duo through the wringer. Cruz and Bardem star in the taut kidnapping thriller from Oscar-winning Iranian filmmakerAsghar Farhadiwhich premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in May....

‘Flypaper’ Trailer There’s a bank heist movie coming out starringPatrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, Tim Blake Nelson, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey TamborandRob Huebel, directed by one of the guys behindThe Lion Kingand written by the guys who didThe Hangover. Sounds pretty good, right?Flypaper, directed byRob Minkoffand written byJon LucasandScott Mooretells the story of what happens when three separate crews mistakenly decide to rob a bank at the same time. It premiered at theSundance Film Festivaland will come on demand July 15 before opening in theaters August 19....