October 03, 2022

Here's the Scoop...

Smile, a horror movie starring Sosie Bacon and Jessie T. Usher, is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $22 million in receipts this weekend.

Coming in at No. 2 is Don't Worry Darling with $7.3 million, followed by The Woman King at No. 3 with 7 million, Bros at No. 4 with $4.8 million and Avatar at No. 5 with $4.7 million.

Rounding out the top tier are Ponniyin Selvan at No. 6 with $4 million, Barbarian at No. 7 with $2.8 million, Bullet Train at No. 8 with $1.4 million, DC League of Super-Pets at No. 9 with $1.3 million and Top Gun: Maverick at No. 10 with $1.2 million.

Last weekend's Top 10 movies earned a total of about $55.8 million with Don't Worry Darling in the lead with $19.2 million. This weekend's Top 10 raked in about $56.6 miilion.

Be Well,
Steve

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'Community' movie in the works at Peacock

The Community movie is officially a go at Peacock.

The streaming service confirmed in a press release Friday that it is developing a new film based on the NBC and Yahoo! Screen comedy series, which had a six-season run from 2009 to 2015.

The movie hails from Community series creator Dan Harmon and executive producer Andrew Guest, and will reunite original cast members Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong.

"'Six seasons and movie' started out as a cheeky line from Community's early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious and cool (cool, cool) NBC comedy," NBCUniversal Television and Streaming chairman of entertainment content Susan Rovner said.

"We're incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can't wait to get work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences," she added.

"This franchise is the very definition of community," Universal Television president Erin Underhill said. "We're excited to bring the band back together and continue the journey of these beloved characters."

In addition, Peacock has acquired the full series for streaming.

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' trailer mourns T'Challa, introduces new hero

Marvel is giving a glimpse of the new film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The studio shared a trailer for the superhero film Monday featuring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira and Tenoch Huerta.

Wakanda Forever is a sequel to Black Panther (2018) and was filmed following the death of Chadwick Boseman, who played T'Challa, aka Black Panther, in the first film. Boseman died at age 43 in August 2020 and his role was not recast.

The trailer opens with T'Challa's family and the nation of Wakanda mourning T'Challa's death. The film will see Wakanda face off with the underwater kingdom of Talocan, ruled by Namor (Tenoch Huerta).

In addition, the preview introduces a new hero in the Black Panther suit, who appears to be a woman. The person is speculated to be Shuri (Wright), an inventor and T'Challa's sister.

Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Martin Freeman and Angela Bassett also star.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters Nov. 11. The film is directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the script with Joe Robert Cole.

WATCH IT NOW: Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Official Trailer

Rich Koz keeps monster movie legacy alive with 'Svengoolie'

Rich Koz says he is flattered and even a bit overwhelmed at times by the size of the multigenerational fandom dedicated to Svengoolie, the weekly horror and comedy programming block he has hosted for more than four decades.

"It's something I never would have expected to happen in my life," Koz told UPI in a phone interview Wednesday. "But it's really very flattering and very gratifying. The fact that people like what we do all over the country is something that means a lot to me."

Koz started providing comedy and commentary before, after and between classic horror movies and low-budget cult films on local TV in Chicago in 1979. But Svengoolie's audience expanded when it premiered on MeTV across the United States in 2011.

Several Svengoolie Facebook groups invite fans to bond over the show, champion their favorite scary movies and what they're munching on during Svengoolie.

"It's become kind of a national event every Saturday," the 70-year-old entertainer laughed.

"The whole thing with people picking appropriate snacks to match the movie, that's something I'd never would have thought of -- that's for sure, but it's great to see the comments coming through [social media], reminds me a lot of times of radio where you'd get more direct feedback from the people listening via the telephone."

While the program is first and foremost intended to entertain, Koz said it also helps keep alive the spirit of early cinematic treasures from a historical aspect.

"It shows what could be done back then. Some of the special effects from that time period were really groundbreaking and amazing," he said.

Koz noted the use of shadow in black-and-white movies to create suspense, and the elaborate, practical sets filmmakers built and used before green screen and computer technology, as other reasons to study old movies.

"If you are into horror, you need to know about the basis from which all of these movies came - the whole Universal original movies [library] that started the whole horror trend," he said, referring to the studio famous for releasing iconic creepy tales about Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and the Mummy.

"Before we started airing these Universal movies, a lot of them hadn't even aired on free TV in 20 years or so. There's a whole audience that never really saw them unless they went online or rented them or bought the DVDs. We made them more readily available to people."

Most of the movies shown on Svengoolie aren't as graphically gruesome as those released in recent years, meaning family members of all ages can enjoy them together.

"I've had people come up to me when we do [public] appearances and say, 'I used to watch you when I was a kid and now I watch you with my kids.' And it's really flattering to me that this is a show that whole families will watch together," Koz said. "I don't think there are too many shows like that."

Svengoolie's Halloween BOOnanza kicks off with the primetime special, Svengoolie Uncrypted, followed by a screening of the 1975 anthology horror flick, Trilogy of Terror, on Saturday night.

"There's some stuff in there that is a little more violent and adult situations," Koz said, explaining there will be a warning about that before it starts so parents can get the kiddies out of the room if they deem it inappropriate.

"That's one of the reasons I'm there, too, because I am kind of a safety valve. When it gets real tense, you have the scary stuff and then it comes to me and we kind of lighten the whole mood."

Saturday's Svengoolie Uncrypted is Koz's first prime-time special.

"It's kind of an adventure, along with being somewhat biographical. It's like a documentary, but there are some similarities to the regular show throughout the whole thing," he said.

"You'll learn about my career from the past, but also there is a plot of me going around, trying to collect a couple of artifacts from my career in various places around the Chicago area and we end up at the big Svengoolie Day being held in the suburb we always mention -- Berwyn, Ill. It's very cool."

Koz teased that there will be a big announcement at the end of the special, but promises it won't be that he is retiring.

"I've always said that as long as my health holds out and as long as I am having a good time doing the show -- granted it is work, but it's also fun -- I'll keep doing it," he said.

"I became an overnight success after about 43 years, so I can attribute that to MeTV and it's pretty nice. At this point, I'd be foolish to retire."

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Native American activist and actress Sacheen Littlefeather dead at 75

Native American activist Sacha Littlefeather, who famously appeared on winner Marlon Brando's behalf at the 1973 Oscars, has died at the age of 75.

Winterhawk and Trial of Billy Jack actress Littlefeather read part of an eight-page speech written by Brando about the mistreatment of Indigenous people by the American government and Hollywood filmmakers.

Brando did not attend the ceremony and declined his Oscar for his performance in The Godfather out of solidarity with Native Americans.

Littlefeather went on to earn a degree in holistic health from Antioch University with a minor in Native American medicine and worked in the wellness industry for decades while continuing her advocacy for Indigenous people.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences formally apologized to Littlefeather in June because few TV networks or filmmakers would hire her after the 1973 Oscars.

"The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified," David Rubin, who was then president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said in a letter dated June 18.

"The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration."

Littlefeather announced in March 2018 that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. It had metastasized in recent years and she died Sunday at her California home, surrounded by her loved ones.

The official Oscars Twitter feed announced her death Sunday.

The post included a photo of Littlefeather with a quote attributed to her: "When I am gone, always be reminded that whenever you stand for your truth, you will be keeping my voice and the voices of our nations and our people alive. I remain Sacheen Littlefeather."