[+] 16 August 2024

David Lynch, an Aronofsky Plastic Man, Samurai's and Wolfs

It's been a minute, but we are back with a mega edition of Review of Links. I've revamped things a bit around here so I'll be curious to see what people think. There is tons of news below the fold this week.

🚬 David Lynch Clarifies He’s Not Retiring Despite Emphysema Diagnosis // Pitchfork

When I first saw some of the reports around David Lynch's emphysema diagnosis, I got extremely sad. There had already been so much news around all of these projects he had tried and failed to get made; this felt like the nail in the coffin.

Thankfully he has set the record straight. And I really hope he has one more movie or show in him. There's just so much twisted whimsy and creativity in the man and he hasn't really had the chance to make a modern movie with the HD cameras available nowadays. Either way, we were lucky to get Twin Peaks: The Return.

🗑️ Darren Aronofsky in Talks to Direct ‘Plastic Man’ for DCU // World of Reel

This would be wild.

I haven't really liked anything Aronofsky has made since Black Swan. It feels like he has taken a similar approach to Soderbergh in not wanting to delve much into the world of studios. Ultimately, it's paid off much better for Soderbergh than it has Aronofsky.

But... Aronofsky directing Plastic Man under James Gunn for the DCU... That could work. He'd have a budget again and he'd probably have a relatively long leash with James Gunn calling the shots. Call me crazy, but this really might actually be able to work.

🥷 Elusive Samurai is one of the most beautiful anime I’ve ever seen // Polygon

Love getting to see a delightfully positive review. Even in the screen grabs included, the colors are so bright and vivid. I personally haven't watched a ton of anime, but I've never seen one that pops in such a way.

🐺 Pitt and Clooney Paid $45M Each to Star in ‘Wolfs' // World of Reel

There's a lot of interesting news around this film. There's the obviously high price tag for these two stars. At the same time Apple has been saying they want to get out of the overpaying business. But then again, they've already locked both stars up for the sequel before this even hits theaters.

Speaking of theaters, Apple is apparently done with 'em. They've already cut Wolfs theatrical run down to a week in limited theaters for a single week before it hits the streamer. After that they have limited theatrical commitments with the exception of Brad Pitt's F1 that will hit theaters next summer.

So it seems a bit odd to green light a super expensive sequel for a film that will only have a week to make back some of that budget on the big screen. They either have little confidence in how it will perform in theaters or... maybe they think there's enough juice to really ramp up TV+ sign-ups as people rush to see it. The question becomes how do they get those subscribers to stick around. While the prospect of a sequel is surely nice, no one is sticking around that long.