Hollywood will revisit old-school Nashville to bring back glory days of Hank Williams

Good news, country music fans. The too-short glory of Hank Williams will be given some justice do by Hollywood. “I Saw the Light” is being shot in Louisiana, and stars have been signed for the three major roles. Hank, if you need a reintroduction, died at the age of 29 in 1953 after showing what…

You can Marvel at their list that stretches to 2019

I have to give it up for Marvel Studios. The honchos have their stuff together. This week they put on a big to-do in LA to unveil Phase Three of their comics-to-silver-screen parade, and the list goes on to ………. 2019. Yowser. New characters getting movies of their own will be Doctor Strange, Black Panther,…

As ‘John Wick’ gets good reviews, Keanu Reeves has a beef

Everything is relative. So when Cinema Blend comes out with a story on the week that the movie “John Wick,” starring Keanu Reeves, will hit the theaters with the news that all is not great in Mr. Reeves’ world, well, I’m not rushing out there to Hollywood holding out my box of Kleenex. Still. I…

Another superhero to arrive on the big screen, the Scarlet Speedster

“The Flash” is coming in 2018. As a fan of DC Comics over Marvel, that makes me happy. And, furthermore, as a lad who never had much zip to his running stride, the superhero who donned the Scarlet suit and zipped around in record time could capture my attention in a split second when The…

Before there was Harry Potter, the wizard writer battled beasts

J.K. Rowling is writing a screenplay for Warner Brothers, and so the Harry Potter franchise shall live on. So says a story on Screen Rant this week. Except that, really, the movie titled “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is about the wizard who wrote the Hogwarts textbook that Harry and students studied. No…

Are you game for movies based on ‘Tetris,’ ‘Angry Birds’ big screeners?

First off, I’ve never played Tetris. Not in the 1980s, not in a retro moment since. Nevertheless, my eyebrow arched at the sight of a Rolling Stone story that the Game Boy console game favorite from 30 years ago is being turned into a movie. An epic sci-fi movie. I’d heard enough talk about Tetris…

Vin Diesel shares ‘Fast and Furious 7’ still photos with many millions of friends

I’m lagging a bit behind in my Facebook friend count. I found an interesting bit about Vin Diesel’s fan page while researching this week’s installmennt for my Film News blog over at the wonderful Syracuse New Times site. Mr. Diesel and the rest of the cast were given a preview of the trailer for “Fast…

Can ‘Galaxy’ make a star from the cutting room floor?

I am ever more impressed by the ways fans can tune in to “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The old songs brought the soundtrack to No. 1, and the box office success continued. Now writer/director James Gunn’s continued posting on his social media is including pictures and details about deleted scenes. A picture of a blue-faced…

Godzilla apparently lost the fight for screen time

When you remake a classic like “Godzilla,” you’re going to give the scaly beast plenty of star power, right? That’s what I thought, even though the monster mash didn’t make my review list this summer. Then I caught the Cinema Blend story by Mike Bracken writing of the Honest Trailers clip that picks on the…

‘The Jungle Book’ gets selfies, courtesy of Favreau

Jon Favreau put a selfie on his Facebook page a trio shot, with he, Bill Murray and a 10-year-old, all grinning like best buds. They’re on location shooting a live-action version of “The Jungle Book” for Disney, which will be release in October 2015. Favreau will direct, and newcomer 10-year-old New Yorker Neel Sethi, will…