Otis Redding biopic in the works; John Boyega to star

October 2, 2024

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

An upcoming film about the legendary singer Otis Redding has found its stars.

Variety reports that Star Wars actor John Boyega has been cast to play the legendary soul singer with Till‘s Danielle Deadwyler playing his wife, Zelma Redding, in the biopic Otis & Zelma.

The film, directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples, will chronicle the life of the famed singer, best known for such tunes as “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and “Hard to Handle.”

According to the description, the film “celebrates the 10 short years Otis and Zelma had together, and their eternal love story after his passing.” Redding died in a plane crash in 1967 at the age of 27.

The description adds, “Zelma’s resilience and determination to preserve his musical legacy for the last 56 years fuels her, just as much as Otis’ love for Zelma fueled him.”

In other Otis Redding news … the singer will be posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. He will receive the 2,791st star and is being honored in the category of Live Theatre/Live Performance.

Keanu Reeves cameos in hard-hitting trailer to ‘John Wick’ spin-off ‘Ballerina’

Lionsgate

Lionsgate has debuted the action-packed trailer to the John Wick spin-off Ballerina.

Officially titled From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the action movie stars Ana de Armas as a young woman with vengeance on her mind.

The trailer opens with the Wick series’ Winston (Ian McShane) asking a bloodied little girl, “Do you like to dance? I know a school that teaches dancers.”

However, it’s more than a ballet school. It’s an assassin training academy glimpsed in John Wick: Chapter 3, led by Anjelica Huston‘s The Director.

It’s there that de Armas’ Eve undergoes a master class in killing. “You will always be weaker. You will always be smaller,” her class is told.

“You want to win? Improve. Adapt. Cheat.” To that end, she’s shown dispatching a much larger male foe with strikes to his nethers.

The trailer brings Eve to New York City’s Continental Hotel, where she is greeted at the front desk by the concierge, Charon, played again by the late Lance Reddick.

“What a pleasure it is to see you again,” Winston tells the now-grown assassin.

De Armas dispatches enemies in all manner of ways — including one with an ice skate and another with a grenade stuffed into his mouth — as she works her way up the chain to her father’s killers.

Co-star Norman Reedus warns her, “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

The action culminates with the assassin fighting a flamethrower-wielding baddie with a raging firehose, but the trailer saves the best for last.

A train pulls up, and a mysterious figure descends. “You’re him,” Eve says. “The one they call the Baba Yaga. How do I start doing what you do?”

Keanu Reeves is then revealed as John Wick. “Looks like you already have,” he says.

Ballerina comes out in 2025.

Netflix shares first-look image as the ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie gets rolling

Netflix

Cillian Murphy is looking a little grayer but every bit Tommy Shelby in a new first-look image from the anticipated Peaky Blinders film.

Netflix UK dropped the image on Monday to commemorate the first day of shooting in the U.K. on the feature film follow-up to the beloved gangster series.

As reported, Saltburn and Banshees of Inisherin star Barry Keoghan will appear alongside Murphy in the movie, along with Dune franchise veteran Rebecca Ferguson and new addition Tim Roth.

Netflix teases the film will be the “epic continuation of the multi-award-winning, six-season gangster saga.”

Show creator — and the movie’s writer — Steven Knight previously called it “an explosive chapter in the Peaky Blinders story,” adding, “No holds barred. Full on Peaky Blinders at war.”

The film is said to take place during the World War II period.

The series initially ran from 2013 to 2022 and was set in Birmingham, England, between 1919 and 1934. It centered on Tommy and his family making a name for themselves on the mean streets of England.

Series veteran director Tom Harper is behind the camera for the movie, co-executive produced by Murphy.

The Wayans family is back behind the ‘Scary Movie’ franchise with Miramax/Paramount deal

L-R: Shawn, Marlon, Keenen and Damon Wayans in 2000 — David Keeler/Online USA

A month after Marlon Wayans decried how Harvey Weinstein “stole” the Scary Movie franchise from Keenen Ivory Wayans and his family, ABC Audio has confirmed the fam will be back with a new installment in the horror spoof films.

Weinstein’s former company Miramax has teamed up with distributor Paramount Pictures for the new project, which was first announced at the CinemaCon confab over the summer — but without the Wayans name attached at that point.

In an Instagram post, Marlon said, “WE’RE BACK!!! After nearly 20 years, the Wayans brothers are finally going to give the fans what they’ve been asking for… a return to the SCARY MOVIE franchise!”

He added, “We’re looking forward to having fun on the big screen again.”

In a statement, Miramax head Jonathan Glickman trumpeted, “We are thrilled to reunite Scary Movie with the Wayans brothers, the brilliant creators behind the beloved franchise. … we’re lucky to have Keenen, Marlon and Shawn‘s unique comedic vision bringing it to audiences around the world.”

In the announcement, Marlon, Shawn, and Keenan added in part,”This is a franchise we created more than 20 years ago. We remember people laughing in the aisles and hope to see that happen again.”

As reported back in September, Marlon talked to the Club Shay Shay podcast about the runaway success of the first film, which was directed by Keenan.

After the “huge” first film, “We got a good deal for the second one,” but then Harvey and brother Bob Weinstein “took it from us.” He insisted they paid for it at the box office with subsequent attempts minus the famous family.

“You can’t do Wayans s*** without the Wayanses,” Marlon said. “We have 200 years of comedy between me, Shawn and Keenan. Damon, Kim. We have a lot of years of excellence of what we do.”