Movies News

Another streaming service bit the ad-based bullet. The standard Disney+ plan has been rechristened Disney+ Premium and costs $10.99; the brand-new Disney+ ad-based tier, Disney+ Basic, is $7.99. Just as Netflix did last month, Disney fans may now choose a cheaper subscription in exchange for ad breaks. And just as we did for Netflix, IndieWire took Disney+ Basic on a test drive. In terms of ad functionality, it’s what you’d expect: Choose a title for play and you’re greeted by a 45-second spot with one or two ads, which will be followed by shorter spots sprinkled into the programming.

Dr. Seuss’ children’s story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” has likely withstood the test of time because of its simple yet effective message: The Christmas season has more to do with community than material items. There’s also its eponymous villain, whose grouchy “Bah! Humbug!” spirit in the face of borderline-oppressive seasonal cheer is as understandable as his eventual redemption.

“Deep Dive” is a in-depth podcast and video essay series with the stars and creative team behind an exceptional piece of filmmaking. For this winter edition, the IndieWire Crafts team partnered with Prime Video to take a closer look at the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” with showrunners J.

As inflation remains high, Americans may not skimp on holiday gifts, but will get less for their money.      

Mad Max: Fury Road actress Charlize Theron did an excellent job portraying her character in the initial installment of the rebooted franchise. Now, Anya Taylor-Joy is set to take over the role in the upcoming prequel titled Furiosa. However, Taylor-Joy didn't consult Theron while shooting the prequel—but that's okay in her book.

When Somen “Steve” Banerjee started the male strip club Chippendales in 1979, he wanted subversion. The first few episodes of Hulu’s “Welcome to Chippendales” track this journey, with Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) turning heads, getting press, and fielding outright backlash for displaying male bodies and catering to the female gaze. But the Chippendales story is rife with conflict.

It would have been cool to catch Brendan Fraser right after he stood in the Venice Film Festival audience and wept during a raucous standing ovation for Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” He’s talked about it a lot in the last three months.  “It started off as being choked up,” he said on a recent Zoom call with IndieWire.

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were met with blindsiding news in August that their dream debut into the DC Universe, Batgirl, would be cut short. It was scrapped in an attempt to mitigate costs under the new Warner Bros. Discovery merger by CEO and President David Zaslav. This jarring development rocked the film industry as the highly anticipated 90 million dollar movie had just wrapped up principal shooting and begun postproduction when the news broke.

Rick Peréz has officially announced his resignation as executive director of the International Documentary Association, just days before the annual IDA Awards are set to take place on Saturday, December 10. Deadline first reported that Peréz, who joined the IDA in May 2021, will be exiting December 23. The IDA confirmed that Ken Ikeda will serve as interim executive director of the non-profit. “Rick thanked the staff for their work and acknowledged the difficulties as well as successes during the past year and a half as executive director, but that the challenges of leading a changing organization, during and post-pandemic, have weighed on him,” an IDA spokesperson shared with IndieWire, citing Peréz’s announcement December 5.

Tapping into your current workforce is a great way to support recruiting efforts and, ideally, connect with individuals who share common values with your staff.      

Thanks to Josh Gad, we can always build a snowman. “Frozen” star Gad saved lovable character Olaf from being cut out of the Disney film, according to co-director Jennifer Lee. Gad presented Lee the award for Distinguished Storyteller by the Los Angeles Press Club on December 4 as part of the 15th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards. “Josh is Olaf,” Lee said during the acceptance speech (via Variety).

As reported by Variety, according to consultancy Artisan Gateway, One Piece Film Red had a weekend box office gain of RMB56 million (US$7.9 million). The Japanese anime blockbuster topped the charts at the Chinese box office, taking the top spot from Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween, which ranked number one the previous two weeks.

Ice Cube is getting heated with Warner Bros. The N. W. A. rapper turned filmmaker slammed the production company for stalling two “Friday” sequels. Ice Cube wrote and starred in the original 1995 film and penned follow-ups “Next Friday” (2000) and “Friday After Next” (2002). A fourth film, “Last Friday,” was confirmed in 2020; however, more franchise installments are now on the back burner, according to Ice Cube. “I don’t know.

A veteran with PTSD rehabs a baby ocelot in this inspiring new documentary that also tackles mental health and more

The latest poster for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves puts the spotlight on the main players in the upcoming adaptation of the iconic tabletop role-playing game. Putting Star Trek star Chris Pine front-and-center, the poster offers another look at the ensemble cast, with a newly released behind-the-scenes featurette (via Twitter) providing some insight into how directing duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley plan to bring the fantasy to life on the big screen.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has held off David Harbour's Violent Night to secure its fourth weekend box office victory. As reported by Variety, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever brought in $17.6 million in North America to bring its domestic total to $393.7 million. Globally, the latest MCU film that honored the late Chadwick Boseman has reached $733 million.