On this episode of Collider Movie Talk (August 9th, 2016) Mark Ellis, Kristian Harloff, Jon Schnepp, and Ashley Mova discuss the following:

  • Gareth Edwards reveals new details on “Jedi Holy Land” planet in Rogue One
  • Brie Larson to make directorial debut with comedy Unicorn Store
  • The Crazies director Breck Eisner in talks to direct Friday the 13th reboot  
  • First trailer released for Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi drama Arrival starring Amy Adams
  • Opening this Week
  • Mail Bag

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In addition to introducing a ton of new characters, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will further expand the Star Wars universe by also introducing new worlds including a previously unknown planet called Jedha. Ahead of the new trailer debut on Thursday, director Gareth Edwards spoke to EW revealing the planet to be a sort of holy land where people who believe in the Force would go on a pilgrimage. Within the planet, even though there’s the oppressive foot of the Empire, there’s also a resistance that won’t give up and the characters have to go and meet people there to try and secure a person from this group. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will hit theatres on December 16th.

Before she suits up as Captain Marvel, Brie Larson will be getting behind the camera. THR reports the Oscar winning actress will make her directorial debut with the independent comedy Unicorn Store. Larson will also produce and star in the film, which is based on an original screenplay by Samantha McIntyre and revolves around a woman who moves back in with her parents and suddenly receives an invitation to a store that will “test her ideas of what it really means to grow up." The project has been developed by producers David Bernad and Ruben Fleischer via their banner The District, and was at one point set up as a starring vehicle for Rebel Wilson. Bernad and Fleischer brought the project to Larson before she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Room, and now with funding secured, Unicorn Store is moving full-speed ahead with an October production start-date eyed. A release date hasn’t been set.

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Image via Paramount

According to a report from Deadline, The Crazies director Breck Eisner is in talks to direct a reboot of Friday the 13th, which is being brought back to life at Paramount Pictures. Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes will be producing the project with a release expected sometime next year.  Prisoners scribe Aaron Guzikowski turned in his screenplay last month, which Platinum Dunes producer Brad Fuller called an “origin-ish” story. Jason’s mother, Pamela, is said to be making an appearance in the new incarnation as is his father, Elias, with Bloody Disgusting saying he’s actually in the script quite a bit. Back in June, Fuller told Yahoo that we were going to meet Jason’s whole family, shedding some light on how it all happened. Eisner directed the fantastic remake of George A. Romero’s classic horror film The Crazies, as well as Lionsgate’s The Last Witch Hunter, which starred Vin Diesel. He also spent years attached to direct remakes of The Creature From the Black Lagoon for Universal, as well as Escape From New York for New Line. An official release date has yet to to be set.

BUY OR SELL

Deadline is reporting that Shrek and Chronicles of Narnia director Andrew Adamson will write and direct a live-action Curious George film for Universal Pictures, based on the children’s book series written by Margret & H.A. Rey. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard will produce for their Imagine Entertainment banner, alongside David Kirschner and Jon Shapiro. Universal first turned the curious primate and the man in the yellow hat into an animated feature film that starred the voice of Will Ferrell as the man in the yellow hat. Curious George was hatched by Houghton Mifflin in 1941 and has been a globally branded book series for 75 years, selling more than 75 million copies. In addition to the animated film, it was also turned into the Emmy-winning kids animated series on PBS. There is still no word on a release date.

A new trailer has been released for the The Sea of Trees starring Matthew McConaughey, and directed by Good Will Hunting’s Gus Van Sant. The movie tells the story about Japan’s infamous suicide forest at the base of Mt. Fuji dubbed “the sea of trees” with McConaughey playing a man who travels to Japan in the midst of a personal crisis that involves his wife played Naomi Watts, who has a fatal condition. Upon entering the “sea of trees,” he encounters an injured man played by Ken Watanabe and the two set out on a journey to return him home. The Sea of Trees premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2015, with critics bashing the film soon after. A24 Films will distribute the film, adding it to their list of critical hits such as Green Room and The Witch. The Sea of Trees hits theatres on August 26th.


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Image via Paramount Pictures

As Sicario was building considerable buzz last year, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve was already busy readying his next project, which would mark his first foray into the sci-fi realm: Arrival. Previously titled Story of Your Life, the film is billed as an intellectual sci-fi drama “with a genre twist.” The first images and a new trailer have been released ahead of the film’s premiere on the fall film festival circuit. Arrival stars Amy Adams as a linguist who is hired by the U.S. government to decipher an extraterrestrial language when a series of alien pods materialize in the atmosphere and hover mysteriously near the ground. Jeremy Renner co-stars as a physicist and recently told USA Today that the movie is a mix of Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg. The film will serve as a sci-fi warm-up for Villeneuve’s next picture, which is the highly anticipated Blade Runner sequel that stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling. Arrival also stars Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg and will hit theaters on November 11th.

OPENING THIS WEEK 

Sausage Party - Life is good for all the food items that occupy the shelves at the local supermarket. Frank (Seth Rogen) the sausage, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) the hot dog bun, Teresa Taco and Sammy Bagel Jr. can't wait to go home with a happy customer. Soon, their world comes crashing down as poor Frank learns the horrifying truth that he will eventually become a meal. After warning his pals about their similar fate, the panicked perishables devise a plan to escape from their human enemies.

Hell or High Water - Toby is a divorced father who's trying to make a better life for his son. His brother Tanner is an ex-convict with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that's about to foreclose on their family ranch. Standing in their way is Marcus, a Texas Ranger who's only weeks away from retirement. As the siblings plot their final robbery, they must also prepare for a showdown with a crafty lawman who's not ready to ride off into the sunset.

MAIL BAG

Miguel Fernandez writes:

Hey guys!

I know these are times of comic book movies and sci-fi, but I wanted to focus on other kinds of films. Thus, I was wondering which are those two or three movies you consider every single living thing MUST see. By this, I do not necessarily mean only classic movies, and I do not mean your favorite films either. My picks, for example, would be The Shawshank Redemption, It’s a Wonderful Life or Schindler’s List, but I could also include Good Will Hunting or Life is Beautiful. So, which are those films you HAVE TO watch before you die?

Thanks for all your streaming shows, which I love, and keep up your extraordinary work. 

Bree writes:

Hey there Collider!

Now that the summer movie season is winding down, do you think there are any movies left that will be a surprise hit for this year? There are the obvious hits and Oscar contenders: Birth of a Nation, Manchester by the Sea, etc... But are there any movies that will come out later this year that will take the audience and critics by surprise at how good it is?

Thanks and keep up the great work.

LIVE TWITTER QUESTIONS

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Image via Universal Pictures