EDITORIAL

APPLE TV
Apple Original Films is teaming with Sony to give Ridley Scott’s Napoleon an exclusive worldwide run on the big screen before debuting the movie on Apple TV+. The historical epic opens in cinemas Nov. 22, the eve of the lucrative Thanksgiving corridor. Directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, Napoleon stars Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French emperor and military leader. The film is from Apple Studios in conjunction with Scott Free Productions...

The wizarding world of Harry Potter is to be brought to life in a new TV series starring a brand new cast. The Harry Potter books are among the best-selling of all time, having sold more than 600 million copies worldwide. The books have previously been turned into films, which starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter."The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years," Warner Bros Discovery said in a press release. It said each season will be "authentic to the original books", with Rowling named as an executive producer on the series. "Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I'm looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series," Rowling said in a statement...

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has revealed that it is expanding the voting body for the 81st Golden Globe Awards, adding another 215 international voters. The 215 new international voters have been added to the 95 current member voters, leading to a total of 310 voters for the next edition of the awards. The HFPA claims the expansion of the number of voters surpasses its pledge to increase the size and diversity of the voting body. The HFPA says the voting body now represents a total of 76 countries, including international voters from newly added countries such as Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Serbia and Tanzania. According to the organization, 58 percent of the voting body is now diverse, and the new ethnic breakdown is as follows: 25 percent Latinx, 14 percent Asian, 10 percent Black, 9 percent Middle Eastern and 42 percent white. Additionally, the HPFA says that at least 17 percent of the voting body self-identifies as LGBTQ...

One Piece Film: Red, released in 2022, came in at number four on the list of highest-grossing anime movies ever—beating the DCU feature Black Adam at the box office—and is behind huge anime titles, including Your Name at number three, Spirited Away at number two, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train, sitting firmly at the top spot. However, despite the Once Piece entry placing fourth just last year, Makoto Shinkai's Suzume has reached the peak of its success yet during its run in Japanese cinemas, trailing One Piece Film: Red down into fifth place...

Super Mario Bros. Movie: the ultimate power ballad, sung by Jack Black as the evil Bowser, will be eligible to submit for best original song consideration at the Oscars “Peaches” is all about Bowser’s unrequited love. And the subject of his adoration? Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor Joy), who is the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. The song is co-written by Black, the film’s directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, as well as Eric Osmond and John Spiker. Since the music video was released on April 7, it has received over 5 million views on YouTube and is currently No. 2 on the trending page for music...

At Tuesday’s New York City premiere of Nat Geo’s documentary “Wild Life,” Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, shed light on his 2022 decision to donate the entire apparel brand, worth $3 billion, to a trust dedicated to fighting the climate crisis. “I’m kind of pessimistic about the fate of this planet,” Chouinard said. “We’ve been giving one percent of our sales for a long time. We’ve given away $200 or $300 million over the years, but I’m always thinking, ‘What more can I do?” Directed by Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, “Wild Life” chronicles the decades-long efforts by conservationist Kris Tompkins and her late husband and the North Face founder, Doug Tompkins, to create national parks throughout Chile and Argentina. The couple helped Chouinard, who appears in the doc, create and run Patagonia...

For the first time since COVID shuttered movie theaters, business is booming, with audiences flocking to see “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Scream VI” and, just last weekend, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” And Logan, who owns Logan Luxury Theatres in rural South Dakota, is back in the black after enduring two years where profits vanished while studios failed to furnish enough big movies to play. Logan’s theaters aren’t the only ones experiencing a dramatic change of fortunes. Overall, the domestic box office stands at $2.3 billion, up 36.8% from the same period last year and an astounding 589.5% improvement over 2021, according to Comscore. The exhibition industry is finally looking like its pre-pandemic self again. That’s partly attributable to studios releasing new installments of successful franchises, but it is also linked to a shift in attitude among the major media companies when assessing the value of a theatrical release...

A new James Bond is on the way following Daniel Craig’s exit in “No Time to Die.” While rumors circulated last year that a younger actor was being courted and that the age of 007 would decrease considerably from Craig’s era, such claims were squashed by franchise producer Michael G. Wilson. He assured fans the new Bond would a “thirty-something” actor, keeping with Craig’s age range when he started his run as 007 in 2006’s “Casino Royale.” Debbie McWilliams explained why younger actors usually don’t fit when it comes to finding a new James Bond. “We did look at a lot of younger actors, and I just don’t think they had the gravitas. They didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take it on, because it’s not just the part they’re taking on, it’s a massive responsibility.”...