Author: Hollyood rep

Laurence Fishburne wanted to be a part of the fourth film in The Matrix franchise, but the team behind the project wasn’t on the same page.  “I offered my services to the fourth Matrix, and they didn’t respond well to that,” Fishburne said during a Thursday appearance on The View. “It’s not like I didn’t say, ‘I’d like to offer my services.’ I did.” After being asked if he’d be interested in being a part of the franchise’s upcoming fifth film, the Oscar nominee didn’t entirely write off appearing in the sequel, but he did note that his casting would…

In a tumultuous Hollywood age of corporate takeovers and executive turnovers, Richard Brener is a rarity of the business. The tall, soft-spoken president and CCO of New Line has been at company for 30, yes, you read that right, 30 years come May 1. He started as a temp in Los Angeles, working in every conceivable department. Then, when a story editor position opened up, applied for the job. That gig instead went to a woman named Donna Langley, now the chairman and CCO of NBCUniversal, but then an executive’s assistant. “That was smart of them because she’s obviously done…

CinemaCon got a dose of The Weeknd on a Tuesday morning. The global superstar, aka Abel Tesfaye, hit the Colosseum stage inside Caesars Palace to close out Lionsgate’s studio presentation and help promote his new film, Hurry Up Tomorrow, from Trey Edward Shults. The filmmaker joined co-star Jenna Ortega in introducing the exclusive set as Ortega called the singer “our incredibly talented friend and collaborator.” The show-stopping appearance, which featured the smash hit “Blinding Lights,” comes ahead of the May 16 release of the film. In what marked a rare moment for the CinemaCon crowd, all the exhibitors, theater owners…

This year’s edition of CinemaCon arrives as a number of Hollywood studios face leadership turmoil. Put another way, some executives may be taking the stage inside the gargantuan Colosseum theater at Caesar’s Palace in for the last time — at least in the jobs they have now. For others, it’s more than safe to bet they’ll be back next year. That includes veteran movie chief Tom Rothman, who kicks off the action Monday night when presenting Sony’s upcoming slate to thousands of theater owners gathering together in Las Vegas this week. All signs point to Rothman staying on as chairman…

Twenty years ago, the comedy world was stunned by the death of beloved performer Mitch Hedberg, who was still on the rise not long after having released what would become his best-selling album. Known for his absurdist, one-liner-style delivery, Hedberg was revered by fans and fellow comics alike. He made 10 appearances on The Late Show With David Letterman and has three stand-up albums, including Mitch All Together, released in December 2003 and certified gold in 2021. Hedberg, who had been dubbed “the next [Jerry] Seinfeld” by Time magazine, was found dead from a drug overdose at age 37 on March 30, 2005.…

Middle America is taking charge of the box office, where David Ayers’ blue-collar drama A Working Man declares victory over Snow White with a projected $15.6 million opening after topping Friday’s chart with $5.6 million. Snow White is looking at gross of $14 million to $15 million in its second weekend, a steep decline of 65 percent or more as the live-action update continues be dogged by poor word-of-mouth and controversial headlines over its star, Rachel Zegler. However, Disney isn’t waving the white flag of defeat and says its movie could still pull ahead of Working Man as kids become…

Viola Davis is back in action for Amazon‘s G20, playing U.S. president Danielle Sutton who must defend her family and world leaders when the G20 summit is overtaken by terrorists. At the film‘s Los Angeles premiere on Thursday, Davis noted how “it was a long ride” to release the movie after working on it as a producer since 2016. Standing alongside husband and producing partner Julius Tennon, Davis told The Hollywood Reporter that the project “was just different for us — it seemed like a very commercial, fun movie, out of the box; something that people wouldn’t normally see me…

In 2013, Jesse Garcia’s animal wrangler character delivered a few lines opposite Steve Carell’s family man character on the set of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. A decade later, Garcia found himself playing the family man character on the set of Very Bad Day’s standalone sequel, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip. The movies aren’t connected to one another, but Garcia still tried to spiritually tie one to the other by creating a backstory that his current chef character, Frank Garcia, worked as an animal wrangler to pay for culinary…

Things aren’t going very well for Jason Statham’s character in the actor’s new action vehicle. He’s sleeping in his car, desperately in need of funds for the legal fees necessary to secure custody of his young daughter (Isla Gie) from her grandfather. And although he has a solid job as a construction foreman, trouble always seems to come his way, as when he’s forced to reveal his tremendous fighting skills when a gang of toughs show up to threaten one of his workers. “You didn’t see anything,” he tells his boss’ daughter Jenny (Arrianna Rivas) after she witnesses him in…

It’s official, the James Bond franchise has found its producers in Amy Pascal and David Heyman. The duo have been tapped by Amazon MGM to steer the new Bond film, the first to be produced by someone outside the Broccoli family. Pascal will produce the film via Pascal Pictures, with Heyman producing via Heyday Films. It wasn’t made immediately clear if they would be producing Bond titles beyond the immediate next film. The selection comes after Amazon MGM closed a deal with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the producers whose family has been producing 007 movies since the 1960s,…