Tag Archives: Christopher Walken

Warner Bros. & Legendary Move Up Release Date of Javier Bardem’s “Dune: Part Two” to March 1

Posted on by
Reply

Javier Bardem has been given his March-ing orders for his highly-anticipated film.

Warner Bros. and Legendary have moved up the release of Denis Villenueve’s Dune: Part Two, starring the 54-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor.

Javier BardemThe second half of the space epic will now open nationwide on March 1.

The new date is two weeks earlier than the March 15 date Warner Bros. set in August when it moved Dune: Part Two out of 2023 amid the Hollywood strikes. The sequel was originally set to open on November 3.

Dune: Part Two is the second chapter in Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science-fiction novel.

The first film opened simultaneously in theaters and on Max (then known as HBO Max) in November 2021 and grossed $402 million at the worldwide box office. It also earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including best picture, and won the Oscars for original score, sound, film editing, cinematography, production design and visual effects.

In addition to Bardem, Villeneuve’s original Dune cast members Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Rampling are all back for the second chapter.

Newcomers to the franchise include Christopher Walken, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Léa Seydoux.

“I just I loved the first film so much,” Butler previously told Variety about stepping into Villeneuve’s world. “It was this cinematic masterpiece, so the idea of getting to be a part of that world is just incredibly exciting and Denis is one of my favorite filmmakers and just an amazing human being. He’s so kind and I’m a fan of every one of those actors in the film, so I I felt really honored.”

In a recent interview with Empire, Villeneuve shared his hopes for a third installment in the sci-fi epic film series, saying, “If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream.”

On his Dune: Part Three progress, Villeneuve teased, “I will say, there are words on paper.” The project would be based on Dune Messiah, the direct sequel to Dune author Frank Herbert’s 1965 original novel.

The official Dune: Part Two synopsis from Warner Bros. and Legendary reads: “This follow-up film will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”

Warner Bros. Releases New Trailer for Javier Bardem’s “Dune: Part Two”

Posted on by
Reply

Javier Bardem is returning to the desert…

Warner Bros has released a new trailer for Dune: Part Two, starring the 54-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor as Stilgar.

Javier BardemDenis Villeneuve’s second film in a planned three-film saga is based on Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel.

The Warner/Legendary Pictures film is set to hit theaters on November 3, 2023.

Timothée Chalamet returns as Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Chani in the film, which picks up after the events of the first Dune, which bowed in 2021 and grossed more than $402 million at the global box office.

In addition to Chalamet, Zenday and Bardem, returning cast members also include Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Stellan Skarsgård.

They’ll be joined by newcomers Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux.

The middle film in the series finds Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen out for revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee (The film’s tagline is “Fury Will Rise”).

Villeneuve co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Spaihts from Herbert’s novel.

The new trailer, which comes after the first official trailer dropped in May following its showing at CinemaCon, shows off the scope that helped the original pic score 11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

Dune: Part One won six Oscars in the crafts categories and returns several from that team here, including editor Joe Walker, production designer Patrice Vermette, composer Hans Zimmer and VFX supervisor Paul Lambert. Costume designer Jacqueline West, who was nominated last go-around, also returns.

Lopez to Star in NBC’s Live Television Adaptation of the Hit Broadway Musical “Bye Bye Birdie”

Posted on by
Reply

Everything’s coming up Rosie for Jennifer Lopez…

NBC has slated Bye Bye Birdie as its next live musical, with the 46-year-old Puerto Rican actress/singer set as the star.

Jennifer Lopez

Lopez will executive produce with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and her company Nuyorican Productions will produce with Universal Television.

Harvey Fierstein will write the television adaptation, with the special set to air in 2017.

The original Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie won the Tony Award in 1961 for best musical. It starred Dick Van Dyke, who also won a Tony for best actor in a musical, as Albert Peterson, the manager of rock star Conrad Birdie, and Chita Rivera as Rosie Alvarez, Albert’s girlfriend and secretary. When Birdie is drafted into the Army, Albert and Rosie concoct a plan to have Birdie give “one last kiss” to a small-town high school girl live on The Ed Sullivan Show before heading off for induction.

The show was adapted into a 1963 feature film starring Van Dyke and Janet Leigh. A short-lived 2010 Broadway revival starred John Stamos and Gina Gershon.

Lopez, who stars in NBC’s Shades of Blue, will play the part of Rosie in the NBC version. No other casting has yet been announced.

Under Greenblatt, NBC has made a tradition of airing live musicals in December, where the network believes the holiday time is a fertile ground for family-friendly co-viewing. The first, Sound of Music Live! starring Carrie Underwood, aired in 2013 and was watched by 18.6 million viewers. That effort was followed by Peter Pan Live! starring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken, and The Wiz Live! starring Queen Latifah and Shanice Williams.

Zadan and Meron have served as exec producers on all four NBC live musicals, and Fierstein previously wrote the television adaptation for The Wiz Live! and wrote the adaptation for NBC’s upcoming Hairspray Live!, which will air on December 7.

Bonham Carter to Star in the “Page Eight” Follow-Up TV Movie “Turks & Caicos”

Posted on by
Reply

Helena Bonham Carter is Turks & Caicos bound…

The 46-year-old part-Spanish actress has signed on to star in Turks & Caicos, the second television movie based on David Hare’s The Worricker Trilogy.

Helena Bonham Carter

From Carnival Films and BBC Two, Turks & Caicos is the follow-up to the first installment Page Eight, which aired in 2011 on BBC Two and PBS and starred Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes and Judy Davis.

Nighy will reprise his role as British intelligence officer Johnny Worricker for part two Turks & Caicos and part three Salting The Battlefield. Fiennes also returns for both.

In addition to Bonham Carter, Turks & Caicos will also star Christopher Walken, Winona Ryder, Dylan Baker and Zach Grenier.

Davis, who was nominated for a supporting actress Emmy for Page Eight, will return for Salting The Battlefield, as will Bonham Carter, along with Saskia Reeves, Kate Burdette and Malcolm Sinclair.

Page Eight, which closed the Toronto Film Festival in 2011, saw Worricker uncover a plot to turn control of MI5 directly over to the prime minister after the head of the organization’s death. Part two will pick up after Worricker leaves his MI5 post and heads to Turks & Caicos where the CIA forces him to deal with a group of ambiguous Americans who are on the islands for a high-level conference. At the same time, an old girlfriend is being asked to betray her boss in London in order to establish an illicit connection between the prime minister and dark goings-on in the war on terror. Salting The Battlefield sees Worricker and the girlfriend on the run from MI5 until Worricker returns home to confront the prime minister in a duel of wits.

A start date has yet to be confirmed.