Sorry we’ve been light on the news lately, chewers. I could get into all sorts of reasons why I haven’t been writing as often over the last few weeks, but they’d only be excuses. So in hopes of temporarily sating your all-consuming need for movie news, let’s all sit down for a relaxing news dump.
First up, lets talk about everyone’s favorite brightly-colored punching bag: Kevin Smith. The news broke today that his next film project, Yoga Hosers, will star none other than Johnny Depp. You might recall a rumor sneaking around the web that Depp is also in the upcoming Tusk, and that his role has been kept tightly under wraps. Well, it looks like that could be likely. I’m fully expecting to see Depp as Canadian detective Guy Lapointe in both films, because Yoga Hosers takes place in the same wacky Canada-verse with which Smith is currently obsessed. What’s even weirder is that all of the cast of Tusk is returning in Yoga Hosers, including these two:
The two main characters in Yoga Hosers (pictured above) are fifteen-year-old convenience store clerks, both named Colleen, who are played by Smith and Depp’s daughters (Harley Quinn and Lily-Rose, respectively). Ain’t that adorable? Cross-generational family filmmaking is downright heartwarming.
All right, look: I can hear some of you gagging. You don’t like Kevin Smith. “He’s repeating himself,” you say. “It’s like he can’t stop making movies about convenience store clerks. How is this evolution? Why would he keep making movies if he’s just gonna recycle the same ideas?”
These are valid points, and I share most of your concern here. We don’t yet know if these two kids can carry a movie. Smith and Depp obviously feel otherwise, but c’mon, you don’t trust their judgement. Yoga Hosers will enter production this week, but just like all movies, the proof is in the pudding. We’ll just have to wait until it’s done, and that’s that.
Next up, we have the first trailer from Jason Reitman’s new film, Men, Women & Children.
I certainly like this a lot more than what I saw of Reitman’s Labor Day (that peach pie scene looked groan-worthy), and I like the fact that all the “dialogue” in trailer is purely digital. My only fear about this is that the film’s message of social isolation exacerbated by social media/gadgets could come off as heavy-handed. On the other hand, the trailer has Judy Greer, and she’s great. You’ll also see Kaitlyn Dever, who rocked in Short Term 12, so hopefully she’ll be good here, too. The film doesn’t yet have a solid US release date (expect awards season), but it will be shown at TIFF next month.
Last up, let’s talk about Ant-Man. Marvel’s troubled pre-production has finally come to an end, and as of yesterday, principal photography has officially begun. Want proof? Here’s the first official photo of Paul Rudd as hero Scott Lang:
Some new Ant-Man casting has also come to light: John Slattery will reprise his role as Howard Stark (as seen in Iron Man 2), and Abby Ryder Fortson, Bobby Cannavale, David Dastmalchian, Gregg Turkington, Judy Greer (yay!), Michael Peña, T.I., and Wood Harris have all been brought into the fold as well.