News Analysis India

Tag: Suicide Squad

  • ‘Suicide Squad’ fame David Dastmalchian to star in Late Night With the Devil

    By Express News Service

    David Dastmalchian of Suicide Squad fame has just been roped to star in the upcoming indie horror film, Late Night with the Devil. He will be joining Australian actor Ian Bliss. The film will tell the story of a late-night talk show that goes horribly wrong in 1977, and unleashes “evil into the nation’s living rooms.”

    The film is written and directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, who previously helmed the horror flicks 100 Bloody Acres and Scare Campaign. Late Night with the Devil marks the second collaboration of Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Abu Dhabi after this year’s Watcher.

    Late Night with the Devil is Cairnes’s brother’s first film since 2016’s Scare Campaign. Dastmalchian was a little-known character artist appearing in brief roles in titles like The Dark Knight and Ray Donovan, until he became famous for roles in films such as Prisoners and Ant-Man.

    The actor was last seen in hit films The Suicide Squad and Dune. His upcoming releases include Last Voyage of the Demeter, Oppenheimer, and The Boogeyman. He will also appear in Boston Strangler and Girls will be Girls 2012. Late Night with the Devil is currently filming in Australia and is aiming for a 2023 release date. Not many details are known about the project.

  • With coronavirus rising in the US, ‘The Suicide Squad’ opens softly

    By Associated Press

    NEW YORK: Moviegoing, once expected to be closer to semi-normal levels by now, continues to be battered by the pandemic, the delta variant of the coronavirus and in-home streaming. The latest casualty: James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad,” a critically acclaimed, carnage-ridden would-be smash that disappointed with $26.5 million in estimated ticket sales. The Warner Bros. film, which was released simultaneously on HBO Max, could claim one pandemic record: the top R-rated opening. But “The Suicide Squad,” featuring the “Guardians of the Galaxy” director’s first DC Comics film, had seemed poised to be a bigger hit — and may have been if the delta variant wasn’t keeping a lot of moviegoers home. Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., acknowledged the recovery is taking longer than anyone hoped. “We always knew the ramp-up would be two steps forward and one step back,” Goldstein said. “But when we’re living it, it’s not great.” As recently as a month ago, the outlook for movie theaters was brightening. Marvel’s “Black Widow” set a pandemic-best mark with an $80 million domestic debut. Now, that movie’s hybrid release is the focus of a bitter legal battle between star Scarlett Johansson and the Walt Disney Co. that has larger ramifications for the economics of big-budget movies in the streaming era.More importantly, COVID cases in the United States have since rocketed — from a few thousand daily infections to more than 100,000. That has led some to curtail indoor activities and some states to consider changing regulations. New York is planning to make vaccination a requirement for indoor dining and other venues, including movie theaters. “I think avid moviegoers have returned to theaters, and they show up first night and through the weekend,” Goldstein said. “But what we’re not seeing is the casual moviegoers — those who were interested and would have gone in a pre-pandemic context. Right now, they’re not quite there.” The result for “The Suicide Squad” — strong reviews, underwhelming opening — is a kind of inverse to 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” which was lambasted by critics but also made a lot of money. The film, directed by David Ayer (who has since called the film “not my cut”), opened with $133.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, eventually grossing $745 million worldwide.) In part because of fan backlash to DC titles like “The Suicide Squad,” Gunn was brought in to set a more irreverent tone. Gunn’s movie, a sequel-reboot that returns some cast members but not others, drew good reviews (92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), already has a series spinoff starring John Cena upcoming and was largely endorsed by moviegoers with a B+ CinemaScore. The film stars Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman. Not back: Will Smith or Jared Leto. “The Suicide Squad” cost about $185 million to make, but the current state of the box office doesn’t offer much of a chance for profitability for movies at that scale. Warner didn’t release any streaming or subscription data related to the “The Suicide Squad,” but Goldstein said that every release has seen “a proportional response” on HBO Max that correlates to its popularity in theaters. If it’s a hit in theaters, it’s a hit on streaming. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, said that while he believes day-and-date releases can hurt a movie’s box office, the dominant variable is still the pandemic. “Today is a very different marketplace than it was even just a few weeks ago, which makes any kind of long-term proclamations as to what’s going on with the movie industry or movie theaters very challenging,” Dergarabedian said. “The desire for going to the movies is there, but the marketplace is in flux.” Last week’s top film, Disney’s even pricier “Jungle Cruise,” also opened softer than expected, collecting $34 million in the U.S. and Canada against a reported budget of $200 million. While most titles this year have fallen fast after release, “Jungle Cruise” held reasonably well, dropping 55% in its second week with $15.7 million. Globally, it has totaled $122 million. That doesn’t include the $30 million Disney said “Jungle Cruise” made in its first weekend in “early access” purchases on Disney+. (Disney didn’t share updated streaming revenue in the movie’s second week.) If COVID-19 cases don’t drop soon, studios will be faced with the difficult question of what to do with upcoming tentpole releases — especially distributors that aren’t as tethered to streaming platforms. Eyes will be on how MGM handles the James Bond film “No Time to Die” (Oct. 8) and whether Sony holds with “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (Sept. 24). Paramount recently postponed the release of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” citing the rise of the delta variant. “Currently, this is an unforgiving market,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consultancy firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “The last couple of big movies have been flawed. Under normal conditions, a strong marketing campaign can overcome a few drawbacks and generate a good weekend. Under current conditions, that isn’t happening.”Goldstein said that if not for the streaming half of its releases, Warner Bros. wouldn’t likely be opening films like “The Suicide Squad.” “We’ve definitely declared that a day-and-date strategy with HBO Max is not our plan and it’s not what we’re going to do in 2022. But if we didn’t do this in 2021, we couldn’t afford the marketing, let alone it would have been ridiculous to put the movies out,” Goldstein said. “It’s definitely a complicated time.” Some independent films have still found relative success. Tom McCarthy’s “Stillwater,” starring Matt Damon, added $2.9 million to bring its two-week total past $10 million for Focus Features. David Lowery’s “The Green Knight”  grossed $2.6 million to bring its two-week gross to $12.2 million. 

  • Restraining order granted to ‘Suicide Squad’ star Joel Kinnaman against model accusing rape

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Hollywood actor Joel Kinnaman has been granted a temporary restraining order against model Bella Davis. Kinnaman had alleged that she tried to “extort money” from him and threatened physical harm to his family.

    According to Variety, Davis, a Swedish-Jamaican model whose real name is Gabriella Magnusson, had accused Kinnaman of raping her in 2018, in New York, while she was intoxicated, the actor stated.

    Kinnaman said the two had a “brief romantic relationship” in late 2018 that encompassed two consensual encounters. The actor, who lives in Los Angeles, posted a long statement on social media on Friday asserting that Davis has made “daily threats of physical harm” against him and his family.

    She has now been ordered not to contact Kinnaman and to stay 100 yards away from the actor, his home, cars and other property.

    Kinnaman alleged that Davis had vowed to smear him in public “with fabricated, vile rumours unless I agree to a list of demands that includes money, Hollywood connections” and other assistance including another USD 400,000 for an apartment, a Sports Illustrated photoshoot and a verified Instagram page.

    The restraining order granted on Friday to Kinnaman asserted that Davis “appears to be obsessed with (Kinnaman) and needs to be restrained from further harassing, threatening or contacting him.”

    Patricia Glaser and Adam Pines from Glaser Weil are representing the Swedish-American actor who has been a rising star since he gained fame playing a street-savvy cop in the 2011-2014 AMC crime drama series ‘The Killing’.

    Early Saturday, Davis had posted a stream of Instagram messages addressing her allegations. Some featured screenshots of text messages exchanged with ‘Joel Agent’, who she identified as manager Orlando John, that made reference to a plan and the two lawyers.

    Davis wrote, “Why did Joel Kinnaman agent pay for my lawyer and my lawyer refused to go with the deal they wanted. They wanted me to be silent. But let the true come out.”

    As per Variety, the restraining order petition stated that John met with Davis and her brother in Sweden on July 25. When he arrived, Davis’ brother, who was unnamed in the order “was carrying a rifle and had a hostile demeanour.”

    Davis expressed other threats against Kinnaman, including her claim that she had spoken to such notables as Chris Brown, LeBron James and and Lil Wayne who were “allegedly available to harm him on (Davis’) behalf,” according to the order.

    On Instagram, Davis posted audio of her discussing the situation with Kinnaman in Swedish via Zoom. Kinnaman, in his statement, said the two had a lengthy call in which “she more than once acknowledged that the sex was consensual,” Davis asserted that he “begged for forgiveness.”

    “I talked to Joel Kinnaman’s agent yesterday so how scared can Joel be (if anyone is scared of anyone it’s me after what he done) let’s just see in court! I Said I choosing to go to the cops that’s why they making things up. And can all newspaper stop posting him like his Obama. When truth comes out y’all will be ashamed,” Davis captioned a screenshot with Kinnaman’s agent.

    In his statement, Kinnaman said that Davis’ “threats of violence against me and my family have become so serious and specific that I felt I had no choice but to seek a restraining order.”

    The conflict between Davis and Kinnaman erupted in the public eye on Friday, just as his highly anticipated Warner Bros. movie ‘The Suicide Squad’ arrived in theatres and on HBO Max.

  • Filmmaker David Ayer slams ‘Suicide Squad’ studio, saying the released cut ‘is not my movie’

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: Hollywood filmmaker David Ayer, who directed the 2016 ‘Suicide Squad’, has taken his criticism of the released version of his comic book film to a new level. He has accused Warner Bros. of dramatically recutting his film from his original version.

    In a long tweet titled ‘My Turn’, Ayer wrote, “I put my life into Suicide Squad. I made something amazing. My cut is intricate and emotional journey with some bad people who are shit on and discarded (a theme that resonates in my soul). The studio cut is not my movie. Read that again.”

    My turn… https://t.co/E5uumAwvdp pic.twitter.com/ckr9kzeGFD
    — David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) July 29, 2021

    Explaining further about his version of the film, he continued, “My cut is not the 10 week director’s cut — it’s a fully mature edit by Lee Smith standing on the incredible work by John Gilroy. It’s all Steven Price’s brilliant score, with not a single radio song in the whole thing. It has traditional character arcs, amazing performances, a solid third-act resolution. A handful of people have seen it.”

    With that being said, Ayer added, “I never told my side of the story and never will … I’m old school like that. So I kept my mouth shut and took the tsunami of sometimes shocking personal criticism.”

    The director concluded by saying he is “so proud” of Gunn and “I support WB and am thrilled the franchise is getting the legs it needs … James’ brilliant work will be the miracles of miracles,” and that, “I will no longer speak publicly on the matter.”

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, before the release of ‘Suicide Squad’, Warner Bros. took the unusual step of commissioning multiple cuts of the film by multiple editors. Gilroy was credited on the theatrical version.

    At the time, Warner Bros. issued a statement admitting the film had “a lot of experimentation and collaboration along the way” but said, “we are very proud of the result … this is a David Ayer film.”

    Since then, Warner Bros. underwent an extensive regime change across 2019 and 2020 that included Ann Sarnoff being named CEO of WarnerMedia. In wake of Zack Snyder getting to release a director’s cut of Justice League in March, some have asked for an Ayer Cut of ‘Suicide Squad’.

    Yet the studio has shot down the idea, with Sarnoff telling Variety in March, “We won’t be developing David Ayer’s cut.” When the story was published, Ayer tweeted, “Why?”

    The upcoming ‘Suicide Squad’ reboot by James Gunnm which is slated to come out on August 6 has drawn early praise and comparisons to Ayer’s film.

  • James Gunn unveils new still from ‘The Suicide Squad’

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: James Gunn, the director of the upcoming DC flick ‘The Suicide Squad’ recently unveiled a new image from his sequel, which is scheduled to hit theaters and HBO Max simultaneously on August 6.

    According to Deadline, Gunn took to his Instagram handle and shared a still from the movie, referring to characters played by actors Daniela Melchior, Peter Capaldi, Idris Elba and David Dastmalchian, respectively. In the caption, he wrote, “Squad Undercover in Corto Maltese: Ratcatcher 2, The Thinker, Bloodsport, & Polka Dot Man in TheSuicideSquad.”

    The upcoming film, which Gunn also wrote, follows an assortment of supervillains and criminals from Belle Reve prison, as they’re sent to the island of Corto Maltese, as part of the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X.

    This Warner Bros title, produced by DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Safran Company, also stars Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Taika Waititi, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Alice Braga, Jai Courtney, John Cena, Viola Davis, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Freddie Stroma, Mikaela Hoover, Jennifer Holland, Flula Borg, Steve Agee, Joaquin Cosio, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, Mayling Ng, and Tinashe Kajese.

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ is something of a sideways sequel to the 2016 film ‘Suicide Squad’. Cena’s Peacemaker is expected to be a highlight of the film and is getting his own HBO Max spinoff from Gunn. This is Gunn’s first feature since 2017’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’. He is expected to begin production on a third ‘Guardians’ film in London later this year. 

  • ‘Suicide Squad’ actor Joel Kinnaman announces engagement with model Kelly Gale

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Actor Joel Kinnaman has announced his engagement to model Kelly Gale.

    The 41-year-old “Suicide Squad” actor took to Instagram to share the news. “She said no. Jus kiddin…” Kinnaman wrote alongside a picture of him proposing to Kelly. The 25-year-old Victoria’s Secret Model also broke the news of her engagement on her Instagram account.

    Kinnaman and Kelly have been dating for nearly two years. They went public with their romance at the Coachella Music Festival in April 2019, just months after the actor split from wife Cleo Wattenstrom in January.