Arnold Schwarzeneggeris back in his role as the T-800 for Terminator: Dark Fate.
Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth film in the Terminator franchise, but acts as a direct sequel to only the first two movies: Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The other three films are now considered part of an alternate timeline, according to the filmmakers.
Schwarzeneggerisn’t the only Terminator veteran returning. Linda Hamilton is back in the role of Sarah Connor for the first time since the Judgment Day. While Schwarzenegger reprised his role in most of the sequels (save for Salvation), others have filled in in Hamilton’s absence. Previously, Emilia Clarke played Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys and Lena Headey portrayed her in the television show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
New to the Terminator franchise are Mackenzie Davis (The Martian) as what looks to be a new human/Terminator hybrid, Natalie Reyes as the person everyone wants to protect, and Gabriel Luna (Agents of Shield) as the killer robot of the day. VFX technology will enable younger versions of both the T-800 and John Connor to be depicted, with body double standing in for the actors.
Arnold Schwarzeneggeris back in his role as the T-800 for Terminator: Dark Fate.
Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth film in the Terminator franchise, but acts as a direct sequel to only the first two movies: Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The other three films are now considered part of an alternate timeline, according to the filmmakers.
Schwarzeneggerisn’t the only Terminator veteran returning. Linda Hamilton is back in the role of Sarah Connor for the first time since the Judgment Day. While Schwarzenegger reprised his role in most of the sequels (save for Salvation), others have filled in in Hamilton’s absence. Previously, Emilia Clarke played Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys and Lena Headey portrayed her in the television show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
New to the Terminator franchise are Mackenzie Davis (The Martian) as what looks to be a new human/Terminator hybrid, Natalie Reyes as the person everyone wants to protect, and Gabriel Luna (Agents of Shield) as the killer robot of the day. VFX technology will enable younger versions of both the T-800 and John Connor to be depicted, with body double standing in for the actors.
Rihanna has launched her fashion label Fenty at a pop-up boutique in Paris, becoming the first black woman to create an original brand with the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.
The event was attended, among others, by Olivier Rousteing and Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative directors of Balmain and Dior respectively.
Last week, Rihanna revealed that she had moved to London ahead of the launch, telling The New York Times Style Magazine that she tries to 'keep it a little incognito' when walking around the British capital.
Fenty, which will debut in a Paris pop-up store on May 24 and online on online on May 29, is the latest of Rihanna's business ventures. It joins her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie label Savage X Fenty, which launched in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
A look from Rihanna's Fenty fashion line. Credit: Courtesy Fenty
The clothing collection is the 31-year-old musician's first venture into the luxury fashion market, although she has already created collections for British fashion retailer River Island, and was made creative director of Puma in 2014.
Her brand now joins labels such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Givenchy under the LVMH umbrella.
"Women are forces of this earth. We are multifaceted, complex, vulnerable yet bulletproof, and Fenty speaks to all of our intricacies. Some days I want to be submissive, many days I'm completely in charge and most days I feel like being both ... so it was imperative that we created a line versatile enough to embrace and celebrate us in that way," Rihanna said in a statement.
Courtesy Fenty
"The collections are easily worn together and meant to be staples in our wardrobe. I'm just hyped to see people in my clothes, man."
The label will forgo seasonal collection previews, instead opting to retail "via multiple incremental releases on a "See-Now-Wear-Now" model," LVMH explained.
The collection "is centered on Rihanna, developed by her, and takes shape with her vision in terms of ready to wear, shoes and accessories, including commerciality and communication of the brand," according to a press release.
Rihanna's other ventures have been widely celebrated for their inclusivity. The singer's Fenty Beauty cosmetics line debuted 40 foundation shades, while her lingerie line has been applauded for catering to a range of skin tones and body types.
Ed Sheeran has announced No.6 Collaborations Project, a new LP of collaborations. The record, which follows 2017’s ÷, is out July 12 via Atlantic. New song “Cross Me” featuring Chance the Rapper and PNB Rock arrives tonight.
Sheeran says in a press release, “Before I was signed in 2011, I made an EP called No.5 Collaborations Project. Since then, I’ve always wanted to do another, so I started No.6 on my laptop when I was on tour last year. I’m a huge fan of all the artists I’ve collaborated with and it’s been a lot of fun to make.”
Ayesha Curry appeared good-natured when questioned about her weight on a Tuesday Instagram post, but drew the line when the comments began body-shaming her 10-month-old son.
The 30-year-old celebrity chef and spouse of Stephen Curry had shared a photo of her family celebrating the Golden State Warriors’ NBA Western Conference final victory.
“Are you pregnant again?????” read one of the comments.
“Absolutely not LOL,” Curry responded. “My 30-lb. son is just breaking my back in every photo.”
But when the comments shifter to her son’s weight, Curry’s tone turned more defensive.
“Maybe portion-control his food a bid,” read a now-deleted comment.
Curry shot back: “Excuse you? No. Just no.”
Others came to her defense, quipping that the author of the comment ought to “portion control his rudeness!! Chubby babies are the cutest!!”
We learned a lot from Game Of Thrones’ series finale, “The Iron Throne,” like how there is literally no failure too big to get Tyrion fired, dragons have an uncanny understanding of symbolism, and the Citadel is a four-month college. But the show’s last episode raised plenty of questions, too, and in the final Mailbag Of Thrones we’re answering yours about ambiguous endings, what the final season might tell us about George R.R. Martin’s books, and when we should expect a reboot.
Carina asks: So, can Bran see the future or what? Or is there maybe a bowl made of weirwood in Tyrion’s pantry prison that showed Bran how he worked through this all?
We know he has brief flashes of future events, like when he saw Cersei blowing up the Sept of Baelor and Drogon flying over King’s Landing, but the show never indicated he can clearly see future events the way Maggy the Frog foresaw Cersei’s fate. And that’s the problem with him telling Tyrion he traveled all that way to King’s Landing to become king. Why? How? Was he a 17-level-chess genius who anticipated that exact sequence of events would happen? Or did Bran know everything that was going to happen before it did?
If it was the latter, uh, he’s super evil. With that ability couldn’t he have stopped Daenerys before she murdered all those innocent people? Or maybe did more to prevent the Night King from killing so many at Winterfell? If so, the only reason not to mention any of this beforehand was that he was playing the long game of thrones and knew he’d end up ruling.
Either Bran was the secret big bad all along or the show did a bad job explaining his powers, making it unclear what he knew and when. The former is pretty cool. The latter, unfortunately, is the right answer.
Photo: Macall B. Polay (HBO)
Jim asks: What was a crueler yada yada: Bran talking about finding Drogon with his powers (possibly warging into him), or Dorne and the Iron Islands calmly accepting they’re still part of the Six Kingdoms (given their well-documented history of rebellions) even after the council and Bran let Sansa and the North secede with little more than a shoulder shrug?
Maybe the new Prince of Dorne, who is not a Martell (unless he was an unmentioned bastard) is a putz who has no stomach for conflict, so we can ignore the silliness of a kingdom that managed to remain independent for 187 years after Aegon became king as the failings of one man. But in what universe would Yara Greyjoy allow a Northerner to be her king while the North gets to be independent? It was absurd, as though Sansa outsmarted them by waiting until they all said yes and there were no take-backs.
The Yara we know would have either laughed at that whole inane sequence or revolted, like she did when the Iron Island’s Kingsmoot didn’t go her way.
At least with Bran he might have only meant he was going to “look” for Drogon, not that he was going to warg into him. It’s still bullshit he never even tried to warg into a dragon, but the final season aggressively thumbed its nose at almost every major fan theory, so by the finale it wasn’t unexpected.
Mark asks: Would the outcome have been better received if the same story beats had been allowed to develop over two 10-episode seasons?
If they had used those episodes to better establish the motivations of its characters, especially the abrupt change in Daenerys from protector of the downtrodden to tyrant, then yes, absolutely. The last two seasons were rushed, incoherent, and lacked internal logic. They were really stupid, and taking some time to have things make sense would have fixed many issues.
If they had been 10-episode seasons of the same quality of what we did get they would have been even worse nightmares that lasted a few more terrible weeks.
Image: HBO
Ryan asks: Is Daario ever going to find out about Dany’s fate? Will he take an army and wage war against Westeros?
Not if he’s smart. Until Daenerys, an Essos force hadn’t invaded mainland Westeros since the Andals thousands of years ago, and for a reason: It’s really a huge pain in the ass. Even the Valyrians didn’t bother until Aegon the Conqueror, and the Targaryens had been on Dragonstone for a century by that point.
Daario should declare himself King in the Bay of Dragons and live in the Meereen pyramid penthouse until he’s murdered in his sleep, which he definitely will be.
Sean asks: Did Jon return to the Night’s Watch? Or did he run off with the free folk? The final shot confused me a bit.
There was no reason for him to escort the wildlings past the Wall, but he clearly wasn’t expecting the gate to shut behind him. His little smile when it did is why I’m fully convinced the Night’s Watch freed him without letting him know beforehand. They rewarded him for his service to the Realm by letting him walk away from it and any responsibilities.
Plus, what was he going to do on the Wall? Protect the Realm from all of the wildlings they had become friends with?
Colby asks: What was the point of Jon being a Targaryen? Did everyone forget in the last episode he was technically the rightful heir? Or did they not care? No one even mentioned it.
Jon’s birth, which was a huge deal from day one of the story, only really mattered because it made Daenerys furious and threatened, which contributed to her burning King’s Landing.
Otherwise there was really no point to him being Aegon Targaryen. It still should have come up during the Dragonpit council though. Someone definitely should have at least mentioned it. Seemed relevant that a great hero and respected leader was also the legal son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
The discovery that Jon Snow was really Aegon Targaryen was as irrelevant to the story as the White Walkers, whose presence and defeat didn’t matter to anyone. Genuinely insane how little both of those stories ultimately mattered.
Photo: Helen Sloan (HBO)
Lewis asks: MVP of the show? My votes are for Drogon and Ghost, ’cause at least I cared about their story arcs.
Brienne, who went from an insecure laughingstock to Lord Commander, has a good case. Arya became a Faceless Man and killed the freaking Night King, so I would definitely put her on my ballot too. Even Sam, who killed a White Walker, became a dad, and rose to Grand Maester so fast he might have paid an Oldtown sailing coach for his degree, had a pretty good run too.
But I’m going with Bronn. He was a nobody sellsword when we first met him, and now he’s the Lord of Highgarden, which should make him the richest man in Westeros in short order. Plus, he’s on the Small Council where he’ll likely do a terrible job but keep his position forever (we call this the “Tyrion Principle).
My LVP? The Night King. Nice job waiting thousands of years to return, all so you could lose focus at the very end, in a story that ultimately meant nothing and left everyone feeling empty, you stupid blue-eyed goober.
Christie asks: Do you think George R. R. Martin already knows how he plans to end the book series? Or do you think he’s taking into consideration some of the negative feedback the last few episodes have received?
Martin says he’s had the “major beats” of his ending planned for years, and what happened on the show, or fans correctly predicting what will happen in the last two books, won’t alter them. He’s also repeatedly said it would be a “mistake” to change “midstream” how his story ends after laying all the groundwork for it, so he won’t be swayed by negative feedback to the show, except it might convince him he really should take as much time as he needs to finish them correctly.
And that’s not wrong, but I don’t have to like it.
Image: HBO
Raymond asks: What do you expect from that ending will actually be in the books?
Daenerys burning King’s Landing to the ground. How the show got there didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it feels like a Martin-like twist that fits his story,
I trust he’ll take his time developing her journey to that moment, so I’m actually looking forward to it, even if it’s tragic.
Gregory asks: How long until Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/Disney reboots Game Of Thrones to be closer to the books? One year? Two years? Within my lifetime? I’m sure we’ll see a new Spider-Man cast take over and do it right this time.
I’m setting the over/under at 15 years (assuming the novels are even done by then), but the new show will be animated. The cost of doing an even bigger, more sprawling version of A Song Of Ice And Fire won’t ever be feasible. There won’t be any mysteries left, and without that and all of the fan theories to help drive interest, it seems impossible a remake/reboot will ever generate the same kind of craze.
But an animated series would still have major appeal, especially to fans who want to see Martin’s version of the story come to the screen.
And if it does I hope I’m here to answer your questions about it. I loved doing this column, and it was only possible because all of you, so thank you.
I wish you good fortune in the next television phenomenon to come. Which will hopefully be a Game Of Thrones prequel so we can do this again.
Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin is a confectionery musical that boasts star-making turns for two relative unknowns (Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine) and a knuckle-cracking, return-to-comedic-form moment for Will Smith. From the costumed characters to the eye-popping sets, there’s never been a movie that feels more like walking the streets of a Disney park.
For anyone with a memory of the 1992 original, Aladdin can also feel like a relentless insult to the artistry of 2D animation, paving over the vibrancy and imagination of the 2D feature with imitation and vacant photorealism. The adaptation skimps on the choreography and indulges in the intoxicating effect of the Disney brand as it goes through the motions. Even more so than Genie, the hands of writer-director Guy Ritchie (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) are bound by unseen forces and masters who demand their wishes granted.
The Disney animated classics of the ’90s had marketing plans, merch lines, and Happy Meal tie-ins, but the craft of hand-drawn cartooning ensured that a certain amount of vision made it into every frame. An artist drew Aladdin’s dreamy stares and leaps of faith. An artist calibrated the wind that blew through Jasmine’s hair in moments of carpet-flying exhilaration. An artist kept up with Robin Williams’ zany, constantly morphing persona (lest we forget the William F. Buckley Jr. impression in a movie targeting 10-year-olds). 2019’s Aladdin can’t crack the code on how to reignite that magic, so it settles for recreating the beats. By the end, one feels less entertained than successfully fluffed like a slumped-over couch pillow.
Really, for a remake of an animated musical standing the test of time, it’s all about the songs. This is where Disney makes the boldest choices, and in the end, where Aladdin gets a bit ... pitchy.
[Ed. note: The Aladdin soundtrack is out now, but could contain spoilers for those who have not seen the 1992 Aladdin.]
The movie opens with a revised rendition of “Arabian Nights,” performed by Will Smith ... who appears on a boat, in human form, with his two kids. Disposing of the more problematic lyrics, Smith’s ballad whisks us back in time to the streets of Agrabah, and sets the tone for everything to come. Every aspect of this new Aladdin feels auto-tuned for mass consumption.
Mena Massoud (Amazon’s Jack Ryan) is our new Aladdin, and he has movie star qualities. His rendition of “One Jump Ahead,” unfortunately, is the worst-case scenario for the live-action remake. Ritchie can’t find a way to glue the chase set-piece aspect of the number to the harmonious sounds of Massoud singing, even when the picture gear-shifts to slow motion to glimpse the star mouthing the words. Carpool Karaoke looks like a more physical act than Aladdin skirting and singing atop the rooftops of Agrabah. The result is a disembodied, discombobulated redo that never effectively introduces our live-action hero.
The reveal of Will Smith’s dad bod Genie stirred up the internet, and he remains the most head-scratching-yet-effective part of the movie. Hope seems to be lost when we first meet Genie in the Cave of Wonders; Ritchie and the Walt Disney Company task Smith with performing many of the same voices and bits as Williams (down to hyperactive wisecracks like “Phenomenal cosmic powers! Itty-bitty living space”), minus the elastic freedom of 2D animation. The act is, uh ... cue Genie’s Rodney-Dangerfield-clutching-his-tie impression.
Smith finds a groove by turning “Friend Like Me” into a Fresh Prince number. He grabs the mic. He works the audience. The CG animation abandons reason and becomes a Willennium Fantasia. The whole shebang could get cranked up a few hundred decibels, but this is Smith finally popping out of the comfort zone of the lamp.
Like the original movie, Aladdin refuses to elaborate on its Eastern influences. Agrabah is in the “Middle East,” and the dance numbers are vaguely Bollywood. The movie cries out for cultural touchstones, which may have provided a semblance of choreographic philosophy. Trapped on stages, the dancing suffocates under point-and-shoot direction. Turns out, much like Aladdin’s alter ego Prince Ali, no amount of swaying handmaidens, fire breathers, and elephants paraded down a street can fake the mojo required to capture the hearts of onlookers. “Prince Ali” is conjured from the assumptions of what makes musicals work.
Annie Leibovitz’s portrait of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony as Jasmine and Aladdin had more gusto than what Disney is able to do in its live-action riff on “A Whole New World.” The canned vocals and Skyrim-like landscapes of this new version shatter the link Massoud and Naomi Scott form over the first half of the movie. This is deeply unromantic.
Jasmine is the most successful part of Aladdin, thanks to how Ritchie and screenwriter John August imbue the princess with a quest to become sultan, and the ferocity that Naomi Scott brings to her every move. To embolden her, Disney hired Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land, The Greatest Showman) to add a number to Alan Menken’s original slew of songs. Those familiar with the duo’s work see their fingerprints all over “Speechless,” a hammy anthem destined for high school musical recitals. The song’s calculated message of rah-rah self-actualization devolves into what might be described in 2019 as “Instagram fierce,” more like a “Let It Go” meme than “Let It Go” itself. Jasmine’s story, and Scott’s tremendous performance (she’s in the new Charlie’s Angels, so get pumped), deserved better than “Speechless,” even if she sings the hell out of it.
Will Smith made an Aladdin end-creditsrap in the style of “Men in Black” and “Wild Wild West”! And it opens with DJ Khaled saying “another one,” as if to pull back the curtain on what Disney just pulled off.
The amazing part is comedian Demi Adejuyigbe nailed Smith’s “Friend Like Me” rap two years ago as a goof.
wow- just saw a preview of Will Smith's credits music from the new Aladdin!! managed to sneak a video- watch before Disney takes it down!! pic.twitter.com/XOGdSIc8up
The original Aladdin rode the wave of a Disney animation renaissance. The new Aladdin arrives at a hyper-saturated moment between a live-action remake of Dumbo and a live-action remake of The Lion King that echoes the company’s post-renaissance, direct-to-DVD scramble. The meta text creeps into the vacuum of sitting down and watching the movie because Aladdin feels like cobbled-together, bubble-wrapped, shipped-off-by-release-date product; while Disney — in movies, in parks, in experience — has always prided itself on immaculate immersion, the seams holding this remake together show. It’s unusual.
Marvel has Kevin Feige. Star Wars has Kathleen Kennedy. Disney’s live-action slate has ... Disney executives who remain behind the scenes and do the job. For many, the company’s classic animated films are as precious as those massive franchises. The songs need to skyrocket and the dance moves should sweep us off our feet. In this era of corporate nostalgia, the least a movie like Aladdin could get is a protector. Hell, a friend.
