Did You Get Your Tarzan On Yet?

The #TarzanChallenge – you know, the marketing fitness challenge surrounding this summer’s The Legend of Tarzan – is on, and here we go, let’s do this, Week 2:



As mentioned last week, Chef’d is also on board the campaign with a weekly paleo-type “jungle meal” menu inspired by the movie. Here’s what’s good this week – since I forgot to share last week’s recipe.

The Legend of Tarzan – starring Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, and Christoph Waltz – will be in theaters on July 1.

The Man of Bronze Is Coming

The first would have to be that imposing, alright.

Dwayne Johnson announced yesterday that he has landed the role of Clark “Doc” Savage, “the world’s first superhero,” in Doc Savage, a new superhero blockbuster to be irreverently co-written and directed by Shane Black (The Nice Guys).

Doc Savage first came to life in American pulp magazines, in the ’30s and ’40s. Known as the Man of Bronze, the character evidently would go on to inspire the creation of Superman.

Black’s script is expected to zero in on the oft-hilarious relationship between Doc Savage’s strength and his lack of social grace.

Photo: ABCNews.Go.com.

The Death Cure Is Nigh

The Death Cure will be a little later to arrive.

Due to the injuries that star Dylan O’Brien suffered on the set of the already once-delayed threequel The Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the blockbuster’s release date has been pushed once again, from next February to January 2018.

No word on when production on the project will resume, but O’Brien is said to be on the mend (not to mention lining up other work).

Photo: Forbes.com (The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials).

Literally Standing There with His Dick In His Hand

Oh, Justin Bieber.

What does it mean...when he does something like this, snapping a shirtless selfie in which he appears just standing there, with his little Justin in his hand. As he did earlier this weekend.

What does it mean?

Sure, the guy is wearing Calvin Klein, for which he is a spokesmodel. But what...does this mean?

That is where we at, huh? That’s where we live now.

Photo: Instagram.com/justinbieber.

Such a Stahr, Dahlings!

Ooh, childs!

Take a first look-see at Matt Bomer in character as the wonderfully named Monroe Stahr on The Last Tycoon.

The upcoming Amazon potential co-starring the likes of Kelsey Grammer and Lily Collins will feature Bomer as a wunderkind studio exec of a Hollywood era gone by inspired by film mogul Irving Thalberg.

The pilot episode for The Last Tycoon will be posted on June 17 and, if enough people likey, then the show will be a go

So let’s watch!

Photo: TVLine.com.

Godless Cowboy

Scoot McNairy (AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire) is heeding the call of the stream.

Of Netflix, that is.

See, the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice pawn is circling Godless, a limited period drama that Money Monster’s Jack O’Connell is set to lead.

A western set in an 1800s New Mexico mining town, the project will be executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, and also has drawn the interest of Jeff Daniels, who, I bet, is also excited about the prospect of playing a cowboy.

For I presume this one will be about cowboys.

Photo: Deadline.com.

Fallen Salling

Well there go his weekend plans.

Mark Salling (TV’s Glee) was indicted on child-pornography federal charges today, and is now facing a mandatory minimum five years in prison for receiving and possessing child porn on his laptop and in a flash drive.

The actor was arrested last December and charged on two accounts of receiving and possessing an image and two videos featuring young girls.

Salling is expected to surrender to the feds on June 3, to face the charges and be arraigned.

Photo: InTouchWeekly.com.

Update: As expected, Mark Salling was arraigned on June 3. He pleaded not guilty to the two counts of child pornography and, though he made bail, he was ordered to keep at least 100 feet away from kids and surrender his passport and any legally obtained medical marijuana.

He also was fitted with a GPS monitoring device.

OG Mutant in Revolt

No end and no beginning....

Those lyrics by Madonna came to mind almost immediately upon leaving the theater, having properly kicked off the summer season – so sowy, Captain America et al., and Batman and Superman! – by catching X-Men: Apocalypse, the threequel to the prequel-sequel-movie-with-the-mequel. Y’ know (don’t act like you don’t), the second Bryan Singer-directed follow-up to 2011’s X-Men: First Class (the first being X-Men: Days of Future Past, which opened two Memorial Day weekends ago).

But why – why did that particular thought cross my mind?

Because, as the seminal and successful franchise stands, the future participation of new-gen stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence is completely up in the air (all three were contracted for a reboot trilogy), yet that of next-gen X-Men like Sophie Turner (HBO’s Game of Thrones), Mud’s Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Alexandra Shipp (she played Aaliyah for Lifetime), and newcomer Lana Condor – who respectively join the action as young Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Jubilee – is all but assured.

Also, because Simon Kinberg’s screenplay allows for quite the neat resolution to the destructo-drama that Oscar Isaac’s villain of the title brings about – no spoiler, since, after all, his character is named Apocalypse. Trust me, folks, to say this doesn’t constitute a betrayal. You don’t really believe that the mythical OG mutant the actor portrays – or tries to under a beyond-misguided, if necessary thicket of purple-ish blue make-up and armor like – comes out on top, right?

If you do, I have a bridge I’d like to talk to you about.

While it gets thisclose, the end of the world doesn’t take to be in this one, ’cause of the X-Men – although a heckuva lot of collateral damage is produced. Most of our young heroes live to see the rest of the ’80s (the action picks up in 1983, a decade after the events of the last blockbuster), and all is well on Earth, at least until the post-credits scene gets to rollin’ and you get to wonderin’ again).

X-Men Apocalypse has great strengths and greater weaknesses. It wisely gives J. Law’s Mystique a leadership role to sink her teeth into, albeit reluctantly, before she realizes who Apocalypse is or that he has awoken from a millennia-long slumber – a smart move that makes us think of Katniss Everdeen. It effectively introduces a new crop of X-Men that swiftly and somewhat smoothly becomes ready for battle (and good at it, too); Turner, in particular, is a standout. It even throws it back to First Class by giving us more Rose Byrne, whose CIA agent Moira MacTaggert becomes a grounding, welcome sight for sore eyes (an abundance of pop-y-colored visual effects will do that to ya) even if she’s made to repeat clumsy exposition, if memory serves.

Plus, there’s a sharp cameo at the halfway point everyone’s gonna love.

What’s cringe-worthy is how truly indistinctive the bad guy turns out to be – no fault of Isaac, for I am sure it wasn’t his idea to style the peacock, not to mention the character, to within an inch of his immortal life.

Potentially interesting baddies like Olivia Munn’s Psylocke and Ben Hardy’s Angel are treated like stock, barely uttering any dialogue and clearly in it to win it through sheer CGI-aided athleticism. (Actually, few characters handle the dialogue.)

To say that X-Men: Apocalypse is uneven would be obvious. It’s clear that, overall, this trio of movies has been better, much more thoughtfully conceived; the relationships among McAvoy’s Professor X and Lawrence’s badass shapeshifter and the Fass’s Holocaust-survivor Magneto have been a treat of intricate conflict that have chronicled actual growth. Ditto that this one’s just a tad overstuffed.

At least three storylines worthy of expansion compete against one another, what with Mystique out on her own in the world, rescuing oppressed mutants and Magneto trying to assimilate to regular Joe life with tragic results, and, of course, Apocalypse rising and the professor and his gifted pupils setting out to stop him (again, keep your eye on a certain redhead).

And at least one theme could have been further explored: feminism. Given that the powerful women in this are the ones to respect.

At face value, X-Men: Apocalypse is too much and, surprisingly, all fine and dandy. Just take it for what it is and you will enjoy. Fingers crossed, Singer, Kinberg & Co. will learn from their indulgences (Evan Peters is back as Quicksilver) and – paging Ms. Turner – triumphantly deliver the streamlined Jean Grey-centric new entry we all want in a few years.

My Rating **1/2

Photo: 20th Century Fox.

Lucky Daniel Craig

Loving. This!

Daniel Craig is going to work with Steven Soderbergh.

That’s right. And that’s so right.

Craig is thisclose to joining Channing Tatum, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, and Adam Driver in Logan Lucky, a heist movie about two brothers pulling a fast one during a NASCAR race.

Katherine Heigl is also jumping on board.

Now I really cannot wait to see this one.

Photo: GQIndia.com.

Shelld

Too little, too late?

The powers that be behind Scarlett Johansson’s Ghost In the Shell have added a little more diversity to their controversial project by tapping Rila Fukushima (TV’s Arrow, The Wolverine) for a part.

Fukushima joins Michael Pitt and Juliette Binoche in the Rupert Sanders-directed blockbuster, as well as Japanese actors Takeshi Kitano (Brother), Kaori Momoi (Memoirs of a Geisha), and Yutaka Izumihara (Unbroken), and Chin Han (Netflix’s Marco Polo) from Singapore.

An adaptation of the popular eponymous Japanese anime movie, Ghost In the Shell will feature Johansson as a member of a covert-ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in flighting tech-related crime. And kicking ass.

But that goes without saying, alright.

Photo: Models.com.

Go Mary; Act, Mary!

The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul is going to act some more.

Fresh off a turn on TV’s The Wiz Live!, Mary J. Blige has been cast in Mudbound, a post-World War II drama that deals with coping with coming home and racism and coping with racism. Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton), Carey Mulligan, and Garrett Hedlund are already on board the Dee (HBO’s Bessie, Pariah) Rees-helmed project.

The story will be set in rural Mississippi and center on two vets returning to work on a farm.

From a live musical to a heavy big-screen drama.... Don’t nobody say that MJB ain’t a versatile performer.

Photo: StyleBistro.com.

A Hotshot, Indeed

Taylor Kitsch as a fireman?

Sold!

Yes, Kitsch Kravers, our main guy is going to portray one of the better guys in an untitled firefighter drama starring Miles Teller.

Josh Brolin and James Badge Dale (13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) are also on board, as is Jeff Bridges.

Oblivion’s Joseph Kosinski is directing the project f.k.a. No Exit, which was inspired by the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of firefighters that, in 2013, attempted to put out the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona, which claimed 19 of 20 crew members.

The script, btw, is based on a GQ magazine article titled “No Exit.”

Photo: Time.com.

From Batman to Birdman to Vulture?

Michael Keaton has a thing for superhero material – do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

The Academy Award-nominated actor – the OG cinematic Batman! Birdman! – has joined the cast of the forthcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr., don’t you know, don’t you know.

Keaton’s participation in the blockbuster was touch and go for a minute, but he’s definitely in now, and playing the villain, to boot.

So say hello to...the Vulture, y’all.

Photo: Indiewire.com.

The Fargo Twins

His Minnesotan accent must be on fleek.

Ewan McGregor has landed the lead(s) on the third installment of FX’s celebrated adaptation of Fargo.

The actor will pull double duty playing brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy in a story set much more close to the now. The former character will be known as the charismatic and successful Parking Lot King of the North Star State, while the latter will be the slightly younger cautionary tale, a parole officer who peaked in high school with a big ol’ chip on his shoulder.

Fargo’s new season is expected to premiere next year, with a whole bunch of people rounding out the cast.

Oh, who will they be....

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Beyond to the Con

Yas nerds.

It was announced late last week that the upcoming blockbustin’ threequel Star Trek Beyond is going to premiere at Comic-Con in San Diego this summer. This will be the first-ever open-air IMAX world premiere, kids – so make sure you cosplay is extra-special this year.

The event – which will feature cast vets like Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, and Simon Pegg, among others, not to mention newcomers including Sofia Boutella (pictured here with Pegg) and Idris Elba, as well as a live performance of the score by composer Michael Giacchino by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra – will take place on July 20, two days before the movie is officially set to open.

Stay tuned for ticket information, which is coming soon this summer – and, please, do remember to live long and prosper.

Photo: TrekMovie.com.

One Sunday in the Park with Jakey-bear

Jake Gyllenhaal’s big theater dreams keep coming true.

The Gyllen-yum has been tapped to play the lead role in a one-off concert performance of Sunday in the Park with George on Oct. 24. You know, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Stephen Sondheim play, all for the benefit of the New York City Center.

Jakey-bear – who last summer starred in the New York City Center’s Encores! Off-Center production of Little Shop of Horrors – will play painter Georges Seurat in his artistic struggle leading up to the completion of his “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.”

Click here for tickets to the show, which are $75. If you care to buy a table, then you better start saving now. Table prices range from $2,500 to a whopping $150,000 – for which, I would hope, one would get a kiss from the actor himself!

Photo: PopSugar.com.

Ab Fab Preview

OMG. Forgive me, all that is absolute and fabulous.

How did I fail to watch the Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie trailer like, a month ago?

I don’t know, sweetie darlings – but here I am, loving that Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Edina (Jennifer Saunders) will have their next adventure be...all about Kate Moss?

Indeed, the plot for the eagerly anticipated movie, will revolve, at first, around La Moss and how she’s changing her PR, and how the girls will just have to get her account. Or not.

See, an initial approach goes awry, and that’s what sends P and E to the south of France. Because when those two flee, they do in style.

The cameo-filled Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie will open stateside on July 22. And now you know.

Photo: Telegraph.co.uk.

Wanna Get That Skars-bod?

Wanna get a hot bod just like the one that Alexander Skarsgård will be rocking in the upcoming summer tentpole The Legend of Tarzan?

Well then, join the #TarzanChallenge, kids!

See, celebrity trainers Nick Hounslow and Teri Anna Krefting have designed a six-week custom Tarzan-inspired work-out program that the powers that be behind the blockbuster’s marketing plan are hoping you are going to heart. Chef’d is also on board the campaign with a weekly paleo-type “jungle meal” menu inspired by the movie – but this is about your new routine. Check out what’s in store for Week 1:



It’s in the bag, right?

The Legend of Tarzan will be in theaters on July 1.

Meet the Lovings

An essential story of African-America history – of American history – is coming to a movie theater near you this fall.

Loving, directed by Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special), will spin the yarn of Richard and Mildred Loving, the real-life couple from Virginia, who in 1958 was arrested in their bedroom for the crime of matrimony. She was black and he was white, and that was not allowed at the time.

My, how far we’ve come. And, my, how far we’ve yet to go.

I bet that that’s going to be one of the main points made by the Nov. 4 film, which also will have to touch upon the Lovings-precipitated landmark Supreme Court case decision of 1967, which unanimously ruled their arrest and all state prohibitions against interracial marriage unlawful.

Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga (AMC’s Preacher, TV’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) star in Loving, which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to raves, btw.

This one is gonna matter, and it is also going to factor into the upcoming awards season. Of that I’m sure.

Photo: EW.com.