Film News
Warner Bros. UK Summer Movie Slate
Legend of Tarzan, The Conjuring 2 and Suicide Squad Head Up Studio’s Summer Movies
♦It may be rainy and windy in some parts of the UK today but summer is around the corner and Warner Bros. have released their list of films coming out this summer…
Top Cat Begins
Release Date: 27 May
Director: Andres Couturier
Cast: Jason Harris, David Hoffman, Chris Edgerley
Tracing the roots of the famous animated series from cartoon legends Hanna-Barbera, get set for this ‘purrfect’ feature adventure that tells the ‘tail’ of how our hero, T.C. created his infamous, Manhattan alley cats gang.
Poor, lonely and living on the streets, Top Cat is one sad cat, until a chance meeting with Benny, a naïve and good-hearted cat looking for adventure. The pair quickly become best buddies – and partners in crime – pickpocketing their way out of poverty and quickly believing they are the real cats’ whiskers!
Setting their sights higher, they decide to steal from Mr. Big, a mysterious diamond-stealing henchman who rules New York’s backstreets. As Top Cat and Benny hatch a plan to take the diamonds for themselves, little do they know, success is just the start of their problems.
Along the way, our heroes meet fellow alley cats Choo Choo, Fancy-Fancy and Brain, and together they’re a formidable bunch. However, when Mr. Big catches up with them and captures Top Cat, can his new friends save the day?
Starring the voice talent of Jason Harris (Top Cat: The Movie, Rio 2) and Chris Edgerly (Happy Feet, The Simpsons), “Top Cat Begins” is a funny and warm-hearted family feature that is ideal for all ages.
Me Before You
Release date: 3 June
Director: Thea Sharrock
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Brendan Coyle, Stephen Peacocke, Matthew Lewis, Jenna Coleman, Samantha Spiro
Based on the critically acclaimed, bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes, New Line Cinema’s and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ “Me Before You” stars Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) and Sam Claflin (“The Hunger Games” series), under the direction of Thea Sharrock, making her feature film directorial debut.
Oftentimes you find love where you least expect it. Sometimes it takes you where you never expected to go…
Louisa “Lou” Clark (Clarke) lives in a quaint town in the English countryside. With no clear direction in her life, the quirky and creative 26-year-old goes from one job to the next in order to help her tight-knit family make ends meet. Her normally cheery outlook is put to the test, however, when she faces her newest career challenge. Taking a job at the local “castle,” she becomes caregiver and companion to Will Traynor (Claflin), a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident two years prior, and whose whole world changed dramatically in the blink of an eye. No longer the adventurous soul he once was, the now cynical Will has all but given up. That is until Lou determines to show him that life is worth living. Embarking together on a series of adventures, both Lou and Will get more than they bargained for, and find their lives—and hearts—changing in ways neither one could have imagined.
The film also stars Charles Dance (“The Imitation Game”), Jenna Coleman (“Dr. Who”), Matthew Lewis (the “Harry Potter” films), Vanessa Kirby (“About Time”), Stephen Peacocke (“Hercules”), Brendan Coyle (“Downton Abbey”) and Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs,” “Tumbleweeds”).
Sharrock directs from a screenplay by Jojo Moyes and Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (“The Fault in Our Stars”), based on the book by Moyes. The film is being produced by Karen Rosenfelt (“The Twilight Saga” films, upcoming “Max”) and Alison Owen (“Saving Mr. Banks,” upcoming “Suffragette”), and executive produced by Sue Baden-Powell (“Elysium,” upcoming “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”).
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Remi Adefarasin (“Elizabeth”), production designer Andrew McAlpine (“An Education”), editor John Wilson (“Downton Abbey”) and costume designer Jill Taylor (“My Week with Marilyn”).
“Me Before You” is a presentation of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM). Set for release beginning June 3, 2016, it will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company, and MGM in select territories.
The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case
Release Date: 17 June (previews 13)
Director: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Simon McBurney,
Simon Delaney
Reprising their roles, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up In the Air,” TV’s “Bates Motel”) and Patrick Wilson (the “Insidious” films), star as Lorraine and Ed Warren, who, in one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.
The film follows the phenomenal worldwide reception of Wan’s “The Conjuring,” which marked the largest opening ever for an original horror movie. The film went on to make more than $319 million worldwide and still remains the second highest grossing original horror movie of all time, second only to “The Exorcist.”
Rounding out the cast are Frances O’Connor (TV’s “The Missing”) as the single mom, with Madison Wolfe (TV’s “Zoo”) and newcomers Lauren Esposito, Patrick McAuley and Benjamin Haigh as her children; Maria Doyle Kennedy (TV’s “Orphan Black”); Simon Delaney (TV’s “Roy”); Franka Potente (TV’s “The Bridge”); and Simon McBurney (“Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”).
The screenplay is by Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes & James Wan and David Leslie Johnson, story by Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes & James Wan.
Peter Safran and Rob Cowan, who previously collaborated on “The Conjuring,” are producing with Wan. The executive producers are Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter.
Collaborating with Wan behind-the-scenes is Oscar-nominated director of photography Don Burgess (“Forrest Gump,” “42”). Reuniting with the director from “The Conjuring” are production designer Julie Berghoff, editor Kirk Morri, costume designer Kristin Burke, and composer Joseph Bishara.
New Line Cinema presents a Safran Company/Atomic Monster Production, a James Wan film, “The Conjuring 2.” Scheduled for release worldwide beginning June 10, 2016, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Barbershop: A Fresh Cut
Release Date: 17 June
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Cast: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Regina Hall, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve,
Anthony Anderson, Jazmine Lewis, JB Smoove, Nicki Minaj
Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer are reunited in “Barbershop: A Fresh Cut,” directed by Malcolm D. Lee (“The Best Man” films, “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins”).
It’s been more than 10 years since our last appointment at Calvin’s Barbershop. Calvin (Ice Cube) and his longtime crew, including Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), are still there, but the shop has undergone some major changes. Most noticeably, our once male-dominated sanctuary is now co-ed. The ladies bring their own flavor, drama and gossip to the shop challenging the fellas at every turn. Despite the good times and camaraderie within the shop, the surrounding community has taken a turn for the worse, forcing Calvin and our crew to come together to not only save the shop, but their neighbourhood.
“Barbershop: A Fresh Cut” features a starring ensemble cast including Regina Hall (“Think Like a Man”), Anthony Anderson (TV’s “Black-ish”), Eve (“Whip It”) and JB Smoove (TV’s “The Millers”), with Oscar winner Common (Best Song, “Selma”) and Nicki Minaj (“The Other Woman”).
Lee directed the film from a screenplay by Kenya Barris (“Black-ish”) & Tracy Oliver (“The Neighbors”), based on characters created by Mark Brown. “Barbershop: A Fresh Cut” is produced by Robert Teitel and George L. Tillman, reteaming from the first two films, and Ice Cube. Malcolm D. Lee, Becki Cross Trujillo, Ronald G. Muhammad and Jeff Kwatinetz served as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Greg Gardiner, production designer Ina Mayhew, editor Paul Millspaugh, composer Stanley Clarke and costume designer Danielle Hollowell.
The Legend of Tarzan
Release Date: 8 July
Director: David Yates
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson
From Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures comes the action adventure “The Legend of Tarzan,” starring Alexander Skarsgård (HBO’s “True Blood”) as the legendary character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The film also stars Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction,” the “Captain America” films), Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond,” “Gladiator”), Oscar nominee John Hurt (“The Elephant Man,” the “Harry Potter” films), with Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (“Iris”), and two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained”).
It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.
David Yates (the final four “Harry Potter” films, upcoming “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”) directed “The Legend of Tarzan” from a screenplay by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer, story by Brewer and Cozad based on the Tarzan stories created by Burroughs. Legendary producer Jerry Weintraub (“Behind the Candelabra,” the “Ocean’s” trilogy) produced the film, together with David Barron (the “Harry Potter” films, “Cinderella”), Alan Riche (“Southpaw”) and Tony Ludwig (“Starsky & Hutch”). Susan Ekins, Nikolas Korda, Keith Goldberg, David Yates, Mike Richardson and Bruce Berman served as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Henry Braham (“The Golden Compass”), Oscar-winning production designer Stuart Craig (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “The English Patient,” the “Harry Potter” films), editor Mark Day (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 & 2”), and Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (“Emma,” “Unknown”).
“The Legend of Tarzan” was shot at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, as well as on location around the UK.
The film will be distributed in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Keanu
Release Date: 15th July
Director: Peter Atencio
Cast: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Tiffany Haddish, Method Man
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, a.k.a. the hugely popular comedy duo Key & Peele, star in New Line Cinema’s action comedy “Keanu.” The two play Clarence and Rell, cousins who live in the city but are far from streetwise. When Rell’s beloved kitten, Keanu, is catnapped, the hopelessly straight-laced pair must impersonate ruthless killers in order to infiltrate a street gang and retrieve the purloined feline. But the incredibly adorable kitten becomes so coveted that the fight over his custody creates a gang war, forcing our two unwitting heroes to take the law into their own hands.
Peter Atencio (“Key and Peele,” “The Last Man on Earth”) directed the film from a script written by Jordan Peele and Alex Rubens (“Key and Peele,” “Community”). Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Peter Principato, Paul Young, and Joel Zadak produced the film, with Ben Ormand serving as executive producer.
Peele’s character, Rell, is an introverted stoner artist, whose precious cat, Keanu, has become his favorite model, and Key is his chipper, all-too-eager-to-please cousin, Clarence. The film also stars Method Man (“The Fast and the Furious,” “Red Tails”) as the menacing gang leader, Cheddar; Tiffany Haddish (“Real Husbands of Hollywood”) as the stone-cold gangster, Hi-C; with Luis Guzmán (“We’re the Millers,” “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”) as the Mexican cartel kingpin, Bacon; Nia Long (“The Best Man” films) as Clarence’s beautiful wife, Hannah; and Will Forte (“The Last Man on Earth,” “Nebraska”) as the eccentric drug dealer, Hulka.
Atencio’s behind-the-scenes team included director of photography Jas Shelton, production designer Aaron Osborne, editor Nicholas Monsour, and costume designer Abby O’Sullivan. The music is by Steve Jablonsky & Nathan Whitehead.
Suicide Squad
Release Date: 5 August
Director: David Ayer
Cast: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Cara Delevingne, Adam Beach, Karen Fukuhara
From director David Ayer (“Fury,” “End of Watch”) comes “Suicide Squad,” starring Oscar nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “The Pursuit of Happyness”), Oscar winner Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”), Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Focus”), Joel Kinnaman (Netflix’s “House of Cards”) and Oscar nominee Viola Davis (“The Help,” “Doubt”).
It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?
Written and directed by Ayer based on the characters from DC Comics, the film also stars Jai Courtney (“Insurgent”), Jay Hernandez (“Takers”), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Thor: The Dark World”), Ike Barinholtz (“Neighbors”), Scott Eastwood (“Fury”), Cara Delevingne (“Paper Towns”), Adam Beach (“Cowboys & Aliens”), and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. It is produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
Ayer’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Roman Vasyanov (“Fury,” “End of Watch”), production designer Oliver Scholl (“Edge of Tomorrow”), editor John Gilroy (“Pacific Rim”), costume designer Kate Hawley (“The Hobbit” Trilogy) and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen (“Stuart Little,” “Fury,” “The Amazing Spider-Man” films). The music is by Oscar-winning composer Steven Price (“Gravity”).
Lights Out
Release Date: 19 August
Director: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Billy Burke, Alexander DiPersia, Maria Bello
When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged.
But this time, as Rebecca gets closer to unlocking the truth, there is no denying that all their lives are in danger…once the lights go out.
“Lights Out” marks the feature film directorial debut of David F. Sandberg, who directed the film from a screenplay by Eric Heisserer (“Final Destination 5”), based on Sandberg’s own short film. James Wan, Lawrence Grey and Heisserer produced the film, with Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter and Richard Brener serving as executive producers.
Sandberg’s behind-the-scenes team included director of photography Marc Spicer (“Furious 7”), production designer Jennifer Spence (the “Insidious” films), editor Kirk Morri (“The Conjuring”) and costume designer Kristin M. Burke (“The Conjuring”). The music is composed by Benjamin Wallfisch.
War Dogs
Release Date: 26 August
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Bradley Cooper
Based on a true story, “War Dogs” follows two friends in their early 20s (Hill and Teller) living in Miami during the Iraq War who exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts. Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life. But the pair gets in over their heads when they land a $300 million deal to arm the Afghan Military—a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people, not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government.
Phillips directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jason Smilovic (“Lucky Number Slevin”), and Stephen C. Chin (“Another Day in Paradise”), based on the Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson. Todd Phillips and Bradley Cooper, under the banner of their 22nd & Green Productions, and Mark Gordon, under the banner of The Mark Gordon Company, are producing the film. The executive producers are David Siegel and Bryan Zuriff. Filming began on location in Romania, and shooting is also being accomplished in Las Vegas, Southern California, Miami, and in Morocco.
“War Dogs” reunites Phillips with several of his collaborators from “The Hangover” trilogy, including director of photography Lawrence Sher, production designer Bill Brzeski and editor Jeff Groth. Joining the team is costume designer Michael Kaplan (“Star Trek,” “Star Trek: Into Darkness”). The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.
The Girl With All The Gifts
Release Date: 9 September
Director: Colm McCarthy
Cast: Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, Anamaria Marinca, Fisayo
Akinade, Anthony Welsh, Dominique Tipper & newcomer Sennia Nanua
A post-apocalyptic zombie thriller adapted by acclaimed novelist M.R. Carey from his best-selling novel ‘The Girl With All Gifts’. The highly anticipated feature from Colm McCarthy, produced by Camille Gatin and Angus Lamont.
The near future; humanity has been all but destroyed by a mutated fungal disease that eradicates free will and turns its victims into flesh-eating “hungries”. Only a small group of children seem immune to its effects.
At an army base in rural England, this group of unique children are being studied, subjected to cruel experiments by biologist Dr. Caldwell. Despite having been infected with the zombie pathogen that has decimated the world, these children retain normal thoughts and emotions. And while still being subject to the craving for human flesh that marks the disease these second-generation “hungries” are able to think and feel making them a vital resource in the search for a cure.
The children attend school lessons daily, guarded by the ever watchful Sergeant Parks. But one little girl, Melanie, stands out from the rest. Melanie is special. She excels in the classroom, is inquisitive, imaginative and loves her favourite teacher Miss Justineau.
When the base falls, Melanie escapes along with Miss Justineau, Sergeant Parks and Dr. Caldwell. Against the backdrop of a blighted Britain, Melanie must discover what she is and ultimately decide both her own future and that of the human race.
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