Season 45 – yes, 45 – of NBC’s Saturday Night Live will begin with Woody Harrelson as host and Billie Eilish as musical guest. The season 45 premiere will mark Harrelson’s fourth time handling the SNL hosting gig. Harrelson will be in the middle of a publicity tour for Zombieland: Double Tap, the much-anticipated sequel to 2009’s zombie apocalypse comedy, Zombieland, when he takes the SNL spotlight.
Zombieland: Double Tap will arrive in theaters on October 18, 2019.
Billie Eilish’s appearance on the season premiere will be her first SNL performance. Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? hit the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart three times. Her “bad guy” single also made it to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Episode two of the 45th season airing on October 5th has Phoebe Waller-Bridge hosting for the first time. Waller-Bridge’s the star of the critically acclaimed series Fleabag which she created. The series has been nominated for 11 Emmy Awards. She also served as the writer and showrunner on the award-winning first season of Killing Eve.
Taylor Swift is set to perform songs off of Lover when she makes her third appearance on SNL. In addition to her new album, Swift’s been busy working on the feature film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Cats opening on December 20th.
Stranger Things and Hellboy star David Harbour is also making his hosting debut this season. Harbour will handle hosting duties for the October 12th episode, with Grammy Award nominee Camila Cabello joining him for her first SNL musical guest-starring appearance.
Kristen Stewart, soon to be seen in the remake of Charlie’s Angels, will host for the second time on the November 2nd episode. And SNL veteran Eddie Murphy has agreed to host the final episode airing in 2019 on December 21st, marking his first time on the 30 Rock stage as host since 1984.
Fox Searchlight just unveiled a full trailer for Lucy in the Sky starring Oscar winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan). The full trailer confirms the drama (and Portman in particular) will be heavily mentioned during awards season.
The film’s inspired by the incredibly bizarre true story of astronaut Lisa Nowak. Nowak sprang into the spotlight not from her work for NASA but because she flipped out, put on an adult diaper, and drove from Houston to Orlando with the intent of attacking her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend. The twisted tale was all over the news in 2007.
In addition to Natalie Portman, the cast features Emmy winner Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Baby Driver), Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast, Legion), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2, Atlanta), Pearl Amanda Dickson (Legion, Actors Anonymous) and Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
Noah Hawley, creator of FX’s Fargo and Legion, makes his feature film directorial debut from a screenplay he wrote along with Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi (story by Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi). Hawley, Reese Witherspoon, Bruna Papandrea, and John Cameron served as producers.
Hawley’s behind the scenes team includes director of photography Polly Morgan, editor Regis Kimble, production designer Stefania Cella, art director Samantha Avila, and costume designer Louise Frogley, with music by Jeff Russo.
Fox Searchlight is targeting an early awards-season release date of October 4, 2019.
The Plot:
“In Lucy in the Sky, Natalie Portman plays Lucy Cola, a strong woman whose determination and drive as an astronaut take her to space, where she’s deeply moved by the transcendent experience of seeing her life from afar. Back home as Lucy’s world suddenly feels too small, her connection with reality slowly unravels.”
Official poster for ‘Lucy in the Sky’ starring Natalie Portman (Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight)
Focus Features sure knows how to jump to the top of the sorting order among all Monday morning publicity emails! The studio has just released two special dog-centric posters from Downton Abbey (the movie) in honor of International Dog Day.
The fictional Crawley family are long-time dog lovers, and a Labrador will be featured in the upcoming film. The dog – Isis’ successor – is pictured on the two new posters, although how much we’ll see of the four-legged Crawley family member in the film is unknown at this point.
Focus Features is targeting a September 20, 2019 theatrical release date.
The cast of the film inspired by the popular series is led by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern. Returning cast members include Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery, Robert James-Collier, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Penelope Wilton, and two-time Academy-Award winner Maggie Smith (California Suite, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).
New to the Downton Abbey world are Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Pride), Geraldine James (Anne with an E, Beast), Simon Jones (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Brideshead Revisited), David Haig (Killing Eve, Penny Dreadful), Tuppence Middleton (War and Peace, The Imitation Game), Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders, The Crown), and Stephen Campbell Moore (History Boys, Lark Rise to Candleford).
Series creator Julian Fellowes wrote the script and Michael Engler directed the feature film adaptation. Fellowes also serves as a producer along with Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge.
The Plot:
“The television series Downton Abbey followed the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who worked for them at the turn of the 20th century in an Edwardian English country house. Over its 6 seasons, the series garnered 3 Golden Globe Awards, 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, 69 Emmy nominations in total, making Downton Abbey the most nominated non-US television show in the history of the Emmys – even earning a Special BAFTA award and a Guinness World Record for the highest critically rated TV show along the way.”
The first minute of the D23 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker special video is a trip down memory lane. The D23 trailer begins by featuring key moments in the lives of Luke, Han, and Leia before segueing into scenes from the new film which ends the blockbuster nine-film Star Wars saga.
As new scenes from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are revealed, the trailer declares, “This Christmas the story of a generation comes to an end.”
The two-minute trailer ends with Daisy Ridley as Rey appearing in a hooded black robe and wielding a red double-sided lightsaber.
Disney and Lucasfilm will release this final chapter in theaters on December 20, 2019.
In addition to Daisy Ridley, the cast of the 2019 Star Wars film includes Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Mark Hamill Luke Skywalker, Adam Driver as Kyle Ren, John Boyega as Finn, and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron. Anthony Daniels is C-3PO, Naomi Ackie is Jannah, Domhnall Gleeson is General Hux, Richard E. Grant is Allegiant General Pryde, Lupita Nyong’o is Maz Kanata, Keri Russell is Zorri Bliss, Joonas Suotamo is Chewbacca, Kelly Marie Tran is Rose Tico, and Billy Dee Williams reprises his role as Lando Calrissian.
J.J. Abrams directed and co-wrote the script with Chris Terrio. Kathleen Kennedy, Abrams and Michelle Rejwan served as producers, and Callum Greene, Tommy Gormley and Jason McGatlin executive produced.
The Teaser Plot Description:
“Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.”
Poster for ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ featuring Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver.
ABC’s set to premiere the new dramatic series Emergence on September 24, 2019. The series will take on the Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT time slot, joining a Tuesday lineup that begins with The Conners at 8pm, followed by Bless This Mess at 8:30pm, mixed-ish at 9pm, and black-ish at 9:30pm.
The new series stars Allison Tolman, best known for her starring role in Fargo, as Jo Evans. Tolman picked up Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for her performance in Fargo, and won the Critics’ Choice Award in the Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries category.
The cast of Emergence also includes Alexa Swinton (Billions) as Piper, Owain Yeoman (The Mentalist) as Benny Gallagher, and Ashley Aufderheide (The Slap) as Mia Evans. Robert Bailey Jr. (The Night Shift) is Officer Chris Minetto, Zabryna Guevara (New Amsterdam) is Abby Frasier, Donald Faison (Ray Donovan) is Alex Evans, and Clancy Brown (Billions) plays Ed.
Emergence comes from writers/executive producers Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters (Marvel’s Agent Carter, Resurrection). Paul McGuigan (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool) directed the pilot and serves as an executive producer.
The Season 1 Plot:
“Beyond explanation … beyond understanding … lies the truth. This character-driven genre thriller follows a police chief who takes in a young child she finds near the site of a mysterious accident who has no memory of what has happened. The investigation draws her into a conspiracy larger than she ever imagined, and the child’s identity is at the center of it all.”
Allison Tolman and Alexa Swinton in ‘Emergence’ season 1 (ABC/Virginia Sherwood)Zabryna Guevara and Alexa Swinton in season 1 (ABC/Barbara Nitke)Ashley Aufderheide and Allison Tolman in season 1 (ABC/Zach Dilgard)Donald Faison in season 1 (ABC/Zach Dilgard)Allison Tolman and Alexa Swinton in season 1 (ABC/Virginia Sherwood)Alexa Swinton and Clancy Brown in season 1 (ABC/Zach Dilgard)
Gerard Butler stars as ‘Mike Banning’ in ‘Angel Has Fallen’ (Photo Credit: Simon Varsano)
Lionsgate scored the number one spot at the box office over the August 23-25, 2019 weekend, with Angel Has Fallen ringing up $21.2 million over its first three days in release. That $21.2 million is just ever so slightly behind the opening weekend numbers of 2016’s London Has Fallen, the second film of the U.S. President in peril franchise.
The first film of the Fallen series, Olympus Has Fallen, debuted on March 22, 2013. The action thriller starring Gerard Butler grossed $30 million during its first weekend in theaters. It went on to earn $170 million before exiting theaters. London Has Fallen improved on those box office numbers, finishing its run with $205 million.
Critics haven’t been kind to the franchise overall, with the first film receiving a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the second scoring negative reviews to the tune of 26% on RT. Angel Has Fallen currently rests at 40%, a rotten score, on RT.
Despite the reviews, the franchise apparently hasn’t worn out its welcome. Of course, there wasn’t much in the way of new competition to steal the action audience away from Fallen #3. That will change when It Chapter 2 arrives on August 30th.
“When there is an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), his trusted confidant, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart the FBI in order to find the real threat to the President. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm and save the country from imminent danger.”
Breaking Bad fans finally have an answer to the “what’s happening with a Breaking Bad movie” question. Netflix has confirmed El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie will premiere exclusively on the streaming service on October 11, 2019.
The announcement came with a one-minute teaser video, a poster, and an official photo.
The much-anticipated film finds Aaron Paul reprising his role as Jesse Pinkman. However, in announcing the premiere date Netflix did not confirm any additional cast members – either new or returning.
Series creator Vince Gilligan wrote and directed the Breaking Bad film. Aaron Paul, Mark Johnson, Melissa Bernstein, Charles Newirth, and Diane Mercer produced in association with Sony Pictures Television.
The critically acclaimed, award-winning series ran for five seasons, kicking off on January 20, 2008 and finishing up on September 29, 2013.
The Plot:
“The Netflix Television Event El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie reunites fans with Jesse Pinkman (Emmy-winner Aaron Paul). In the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future.”
Charles Baker in ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’ (Courtesy of Netflix)Poster for ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’ (Photo Courtesy of Netflix)
Disney+ dropped major news during its debut on the D23 Expo stage on August 23, 2019. Along with premiering trailers from series debuting this year or early 2020, the soon-to-be-launched subscription service revealed six new previously unannounced shows.
“With less than three months until launch, Disney+ will soon entertain and inspire audiences of all ages for generations to come, and we’re excited to preview some of the amazing original content being created for the service exclusively from our world-class brands today at the D23 Expo,” stated Kevin Mayer, chairman, Direct-to-Consumer & International. “Storytelling is the cornerstone of The Walt Disney Company and we’re thrilled to unveil a new slate of original shows from the Star Wars and Marvel cinematic universes, along with popular television franchises set to return with all-new series streaming only on Disney+.”
New Disney+ Series Announcements:
Ewan McGregor will return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a new untitled series from Lucasfilm.
Kevin Feige announced Marvel Studios is developing three new live-action series: Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk, all derived from Marvel comics.
Hilary Duff will reprise the role she made famous in an all-new Lizzie McGuire series from Terri Minsky.
40 years after leaving the swamp in his big screen debut in The Muppet Movie, Kermit the Frog is heading upstream with Miss Piggy, and the gang, bringing a new kind of mayhem and laughter to Disney+ with their first-ever unscripted short-form series, Muppets Now.
A scene from ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ (Disney+/Fred Hayes)
The 2019 D23 event, held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, found talent from the slate of upcoming shows taking the stage to promote the launch of Disney’s version of Hulu and Netflix. Disney+ will be available beginning November 12th for $6.99 a month or $69.99 annually.
The D23 presentation included appearances by the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series – Joshua Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Julia Lester, Larry Saperstein, Dara Reneé, Frankie A. Rodriguez, Kate Reinders, and Mark St. Cyr. The 10 episode series is guided by showrunner Tim Federle and is “set at the real-life East High, where the original movie was filmed, and follows a group of students as they countdown to opening night of their school’s first-ever production of High School Musical.”
The Disney+ presentation revealed first looks at the live-action Lady and the Tramp; the holiday comedy, Noelle, starring Anna Kendrick and Billy Eichner; and the 12 episode National Geographic series The World According to Jeff Goldblum starring and hosted by Jeff Goldblum.
Series set to premiere on the subscription service in 2020 include Diary of a Female President starring Tess Romero and executive produced by Gina Rodriguez and the animated series Monsters at Work inspired by Monsters, Inc. and featuring the voices of Ben Feldman and Aisha Tyler.
Kathleen Kennedy confirmed the new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will consist of 12 episodes arriving in 2020. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex will all be featured in the upcoming season.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will arrive in 2020 with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles. The series will be set after the events of Avengers: Endgame and will feature Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter and Wyatt Russell as John Walker.
Avengers Vision and Wanda Maximoff are pairing up for Marvel Studios’ WandaVision debuting in 2021. Paul Bettany steps back into his Vision character and Elizabeth Olsen returns as Wanda. The 2021 series will also feature Kat Dennings and Randall Park reprising their characters from Thor and Ant-Man and The Wasp. The series will channel the tone of classic sitcoms while set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Per Disney+, WandaVision finds the “two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives who begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.”
Tom Hiddleston is confirmed to step back into the role of MCU fan favorite Loki for a series of the same name. Kate Herron is directing and Michael Waldron is on board as the head writer, with Disney+ aiming for a 2021 premiere. The series will be set after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
In other Star Wars news, Rogue One stars Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk are continuing their involvement with the sci-fi universe in the second Star Wars live-action series. According to Lucasfilm, the untitled series follows “Cassian Andor’s adventures as a rebel spy during the formative years of the Rebellion, before the events of A New Hope.”
Whatever you expected from The Mandalorian, odds are the trailer delivered on your expectations tenfold. Disney+ hosted its first panel at the Disney fanfest, D23, providing ticket holders and then the internet with a glimpse at what’s in store for the brand new streaming platform. The Mandalorian‘s trailer was one of the big reveals, and Lucasfilm and Disney used the opportunity to also announce a new cast member.
Ming-Na Wen from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and the voice of Mulan) has joined the cast of the genre-blending series.
Pedro Pascal (Narcos, Game of Thrones) stars in the title role. The cast also includes Gina Carano (Deadpool, Haywire), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Emily Swallow (Supernatural, How to Get Away with Murder), Carl Weathers (Predator, the Rocky film franchise), Omid Abtahi (American Gods, Damien), Werner Herzog (Oscar nominated director of Encounters at the End of the World), and Nick Nolte (Affliction, A Walk in the Woods).
Taiki Waititi, creator of What We Do in the Shadows and director of Thor: Ragnarok, will be bringing the droid IG-11 to life in the series.
The Mandalorian was created by series writer Jon Favreau and is executive produced by Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, and Colin Wilson. Filoni, Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard, Deborah Chow, and Rick Famuyiwa directed episodes of the first season.
Disney+ will launch on November 12th, with the first episode of The Mandalorian debuting that day to subscribers. The service will cost $6.99 a month or $69.99 annually, according to Disney.
The Plot:
“After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.”
Pedro Pascal is The Mandalorian in the Disney+ series ‘The Mandalorian’ (Photo credit: 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd)
Gwynn and Garret are set to be reunited in The CW’s The Outpost season two episode eight, “A Crown for the Queen.” Episode eight will air on August 29, 2019 and was directed by Milan Todorovic from a script by Katherine DiSavino.
New episodes of season two arrive on Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT.
The season two cast is led by Jessica Green as Talon. Imogen Waterhouse plays Gwynn, Anand Desai-Barochia is Janzo, Jake Stormoen is Captain Garret Spears, Philip Brodie is Everit Dred, Robyn Malcolm is The Mistress, and Andrew Howard plays Marshal Withers.
Jason Faller and Kynan Griffin created the series and serve as executive producers with Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson. Jennifer Griffin and Jonathan English produce.
“The A Crown For The Queen” Plot – SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO THE PLAN – Talon (Green) and Zed (guest star Reece Ritchie) pursue a cold-blooded killer in a bold rescue attempt. Gwynn (Waterhouse) tasks Janzo (Desai-Barochai) with finding a cure for the plaguelings, as well as a delusional patient. Gwynn and Garret (Stormoen) are reunited.
The Outpost Plot:
“Having defeated Dred and retaken the Outpost, Talon (Green) and Gwynn prepare for war. Talon delves deeper into demon summoning, while Gwynn (Waterhouse) recruits allies. The Prime Order trinity known as “The Three” reveal mysterious powers as they send spies, assassins, and a devastating weapon to the Outpost. As Talon uncovers the legacy of her people, she must decide who to trust, and separate her real friends from her enemies before the Prime Order attacks.”
