Weekly Round Up: Olivia Colman, Armie Hammer, Hulk Hogan

25th February 2019

Should we do Oscars? Let’s get the Oscars out of the way.

Last night it was the Oscars, and in case you didn’t know, it was a disappointment all round, unless you feel it wasn’t, because you like who won, in which case… congratulations? Maybe. I dunno…

Olivia Colman took home the Best Actress Oscar and, honestly, no one else deserved it more this year. She is brilliant in The Favourite and as an actress fully deserves the recognition she is currently getting. I still find it hilarious and wonderful that “Sophie from Peep Show” is now getting big awards and if officially an Oscar-winning Actress, but she is, and so there you have it.

Anyway, the real news from last night’s ceremony comes in the form of a rather controversial shaped Best Picture win.

Look, I quite liked Green Book, personally, but it’s hardly Best Picture material, is it? I think we all need to take a little time out to talk about just what Best Picture is supposed to mean, because I don’t think Green Book could take that mantle in any way shape or form. It’s a good movie, but was it really the best movie? And best at what? Unless Best Picture is now shorthand for “Best Picture where Viggo Mortenson does a cartoon Italian American accent and it’s hilarious in the best way” then I just don’t see it.

Whatever. Let’s talk about other movie news, because the Oscars just frustrate me.

Armie Hammer won’t be playing Batman in Warner/DC’s Affleck-less The Batman. The rumour started churning on this one shortly after Affleck was officially announced as having left the project, and, honestly, I’m a little bummed out it’s not true.

I think Hammer would make a great Batman/Bruce Wayne. He has the look, he has the presence and he has the skill to be able to pull it off, and he almost was the iconic Caped Crusader once before with George Millar’s unrealised Justice League: Mortal.

Speaking of Superheroes…

Chris Hemsworth is hulking out. And no, that’s not a mistake. I know he’s Thor and not Hulk, but he’s apparently also Hulk now as well. But not the Hulk you think. No, rather than playing Bruce Banner, the scientist who “looses control and turns into a big green rage monster”, Hemsworth will be taking on the role of famed WWF/WWE pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan, who, at least as far as I know, has never turned into a big green rage monster, but certainly has a temper of his own.

It seems that Netflix are keen to follow up the success of GLOW with a Hulk Hogan biopic directed by Todd Philips, who is most well known for his own on The Hangover trilogy. The film is going to reportedly focus heavily on the period in which Terry Bollea (Hogan’s real-life name) created and developed the Hulk Hogan persona.

I have no feelings about this movie either way. I don’t care much for wrestling, but I think Hemsworth is alright. I don’t really like Todd Phillips’ work thus far, but I did used to love that Hulk Hogan movie where he’s like a bounty hunter from space or something. So, we’ll see.

In news that is far less “oh, okay… at least we get to make that Thor/Hulk joke every time it comes up” and a little more interesting, it would see that Deni Villeneuve’s Dune is still set to be the biggest film ever made ever. Not only do we have yet another cast member to add to the ever-growing list of impressive talent, but we’ve now also got a release date.

So, firstly, in the role of Piter De Vries, which was played by Brad Dourif in David Lynch’s 1984 Dune adaptation, Villeneuve has cast David Dastmalchian, who audiences will most like know from Marvel’s Ant-Man and a small part in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Normally I’d tell you who Dastmalchian will be joining in the film, but honestly there’s so damn many of them at this point I can’t be bother. So… Dastmalchian will be joining loads of other people in what is quickly becoming the most star-studded and hotly anticipated movie of 2020.

And we do now know that the film is coming in 2020.

That’s right, it seems Warner Bros have faith enough in Villeneuve’s movie-making abilities that they’ve decided to drop Dune in the coveted Thanksgiving period. The film is taking up the space left vacant by Fantastic Beasts 3, which has been put on hold since the disappointing performances of Fantastic Beasts 2 last year (well done for that one audience. That movie deserved a poor box-office haul, it was awful!).

Thanksgiving has traditionally been where Warner Bros release their big movies, with the Harry Potter series dominating that spot for years, so it’s interesting that the studio has decided to put Dune there, and it suggests that, as well as sporting an impressive cast list, the film will also be sporting an impressive budget… which makes sense.

So, if you weren’t already excited enough about it, surely that should have you in eager anticipation. I know it certainly has me there. When do we get a trailer?

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