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Tag Archives: film

Warner Bros. Pictures provides cinemas a long runway for reopening

Warner Bros. Pictures is saving cinema. 

In early December of 2020, I first sat down to write this article. That first line was going to be my headline. The same day HBOMax/theater release strategy felt like the best possible decision considering the state of the world. Not every theater in the country was closed. Those that were open had become dependent mostly on limited run and re-release films. Warner Bros. was making the risky decision to keep their film slate moving while offering open cinemas a bone. A very tiny bone, but a bone nonetheless. That was my gut response, but, holy cow, it was not the popular response.

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Frankensteining a pandemic horror film festival

The last time I was in a movie theater was March 13, 2020. COVID-19 had finally arrived on the U.S. shores and we weren’t quite sure what it would mean, but everything was starting to shut down. I figured it would probably be one of my last opportunities to visit the cinema for a couple of months, so I chose the earliest screening of Valiant’s Bloodshot.

It was an uncomfortable experience. The theater was mostly empty but one of the few other attendees chose to sit two seats away from me. He spent the film coughing, snorting, and, at least twice, spitting. I was pretty sure that was going to be it. My zeal to get one last film in would result in hospitalization from this virus we were still trying to understand.

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Mandy Sneak Preview in Dublin

Be one of the first people to see Panos Cosmatos’ newest film at a Mandy sneak preview screening on September 13 in Dublin, California.

Mandy Sneak Preview

Join the members of Legion M, the worlds first fan-owned entertainment company, for a sneak preview screening of Mandy at Regal Hacienda in Dublin, California! Mandy is an action horror film directed by Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) starring Nicolas Cage and Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, Oblivion). It is one of the last films scored by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival). Be one of the first to see what’s sure to become one of the most talked about films of the year.

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Black Panther Inspires Disney to Fund STEM Initiative in Oakland

At this point everyone in Oakland has had a chance to catch Black Panther, right? In case you haven’t, but plan on doing so, I should note everything below in this post is a spoiler for the final Oakland-based scene of the film. Okay?

Black Panther is breaking all sorts of records and that means plenty of dollar bills for the Walt Disney Company. According to ComingSoon.net, the House of Mouse has decided to put some of that money back into the communities that have no doubt helped make Black Panther one of the most successful superhero films ever.

Disney plans to donate $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of America to help expand the organizations STEM programs. Part of that investment includes helping to establish an Oakland-based STEM Center of Innovation. The move is a clear nod to the film’s ending where Wakanda starts making contact with the rest of the world by establishing a science center in Oakland. T’Challa’s wicked smart sister, Shuri, is tapped to lead the science outreach initiative.

Black Panther - Shuir smiling

The majority of the film takes place in the fictional nation of Wakanda, but it is an Oakland film at heart. The Bay Area city is the birthplace of director Ryan Coogler who made his Hollywood debut with the critically-acclaimed indie film Fruitvale Station. That film told the story of Oscar Grant who on New Year’s Eve 2009 was shot in the back and murdered by BART police.

In a statement, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger noted that Black Panther is “sparking discussion, inspiring people young and old, and breaking down age-old industry myths.”

Disney’s money will additionally support STEM programs in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Harlem, Hartford, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Watts.