Coming Soon
Out this week
* Movies
- Escape Room (starring Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Tyler Labine, Jay Ellis, Nik Dodani) – horror; six strangers invited to compete in a series of immersive escape rooms discover that the rooms contain deadly traps.
- Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (starring Fionn Whitehead, Will Poulter, Asim Chaudhry, Craig Parkinson) – thriller, interactive film in the Black Mirror series in which viewers make decisions for the main character; a young programmer (Fionn Whitehead) adapts a “choose your own adventure” book into a video game in 1984.
Celeb Tweets
- Matthew Gray Gubler (GUBLERNATION): How many pints of icecream are in a gallon of icecream because that’s how many pints I just ate and is there a hotline for icecream addiction?
- Hailee Steinfeld (HaileeSteinfeld): At what point do you stop using “it’s the holidays” as an excuse to keep eating?
- Kelly Clarkson (kelly_clarkson): To the person that lost weight over the holidays... Don’t worry, I found it and I will get it back to you starting January 1st. #TightPants #ButSoWorthIt
Spotlight
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Voice cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, Liev Schreiber
Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Tagline: Enter a universe where more than one wears the mask.
- Animation; after acquiring spider-like powers, Miles Morales (Moore) joins Spider-Men from alternative universes to save the world from the Kingpin (Schreiber).
- First animated feature film in the Spider-Man franchise.
- Had a budget of $90 million; has made over $210 million in nearly three weeks.
- Has received critical acclaim; the storytelling, humour, and poignancy have been widely praised.
- Is dedicated in memory of Spider-Man co-creators Steve Ditko (who died in July 2018) and Stan Lee (who died in November 2018).
- Features a touching posthumous cameo by Stan Lee, his final voice-acting role.
- Up to 180 animators worked on the project, the largest crew ever used by a Sony Pictures Animation film.
- Score composed by Daniel Pemberton. Artists on the soundtrack include Post Malone, Swae Lee, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Ty Dolla Sign.
- A sequel and several spin-offs are being developed.
Star
John Michael Stipe
- Born on 4th January 1960 in Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
- Has a younger sister, Lynda, who is also a singer.
- Attended the University of Georgia in Athens.
- Met Peter Buck at a record store where Buck worked. They became friends and formed a band that eventually became R.E.M. The group achieved critical and commercial success, releasing fifteen albums before disbanding amicably in 2011.
- Has made a number of acting appearances in films and on television.
- Is the godfather of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances.
- Has participated in political activism and has helped raise awareness and funds for environmental and human rights causes.
Also born today: Deana Carter, Dave Foley, Dot Jones, Tina Knowles