"Today is the end of non-sanctioned merchandise! The end of a regime of Star Wars fans that acquiesce to disorder. At this very moment, in a factory far from here, Baby Yoda lies to the galaxy while secretly supporting the treachery of the rogues of Etsy." I imagine this is how Jon Favreau or Bob Iger or whoever has final say on merch for The Mandalorianhas yelled at their legal team lately to motivate them. And whatever was yelled worked, as Disney has gone after thousands of users selling homemade Baby Yoda merchandise.
"You go in, find the remake, bring him out in 24 hours, and you're a free man." I can only imagine that this is how the studio pitched The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell a possible remake of cult classic Escape From New York. While previously announced as far back as 2017, with Robert Rodriguez attached to direct and Whannell just writing, nothing's really come of it for a while. Now, however, Mr. Whannell has offered an update of sorts.
Cameos from folks you wouldn't otherwise find in a Star Wars enterprise has become, in this new era, quite the common happening. In The Force Awakens alone, there are blink-and-you'll-miss-'em/too-heavily-costumed-to-be-recognized spots from Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg and Ben Schwartz (aka Sonic the Hedgehog), and in The Last Jedi we had directors Gareth Edwards and Edgar Wright popping up, too. None of them caused any problems, though. Comedian Adam Pally, meanwhile, almost derailed The Mandalorian for everyone.
Yesterday, I wrote a little something about the 11th anniversary of Friday the 13th's last appearance in theaters. On top of that momentous occasion, the original film's director, Sean Cunningham, and the original film's writer, Victor Miller, met in court to debate the rights to the first movie and all of its contents this week. The case seemingly may be cleared up sometime this summer, too, per an entertainment lawyer close to the proceedings.
Between 1980 and 1989, Jason Vorhees (or his mom, technically kicking things off in '80) got real good at slashing unsuspecting campers and counselors up. The Friday the 13th franchise churned out a film almost every year, making eight movies in those nine years. Jason, through various incarnations and mutations, killed 85 people if we combine Part 2, Part III, The Final Chapter, Jason Lives, The New Blood and Jason Takes Manhattan. You know, the movies where Jason is actually the killer? Now, however, as of today, it's been a whopping 11 years, the longest gap between films in the franchise's history, since an F13 movie hit the big screen.
Avengers: Endgame truly had it all. And after debuting, it writhed around in its piles and pools of money, getting bills dirty with sweat and tears and becoming the highest-grossing film of all-time, dethroning Avatar. Those silly billies at Disney and Marvel then had the audacity to push many For Your Consideration campaigns for the film, including Best Actor for Robert Downey Jr. (haha), Best Visual Effects (sure, makes sense) and, most importantly, Best Picture (ooookay). Despite their efforts, though, Endgame now has a distinct difference from every other Highest Grosser Of All-Time, as it's the only one to not secure a Best Picture nomination.
A tragedy has befallen us as a human collective. Someone, some vile, evil man has declared war on the cutest creature in the known universe. Or, more specifically, a galaxy far, far away. The creature in question? The Mandalorian's breakout star Baby Yoda. The horrible, horrible man at the center of our attention? Sexiest Man Alive Oscar Issac. How could such an atrocity come to light? I blame MTV News!
Michael Myers has been through various timelines and incarnations, stabbed, poked in the eye with a sewing needle, shot somewhere between 6 and 500 times, decapitated, kung-fu'd...you name it. Nothing stops him, though. The Shape will get you, much like any good boogeyman would. And apparently, this sentiment is carried through to Halloween Kills, the sequel to the timeline-resetting 2018 Halloween.
