Harrison Ford Joins the MCU; Paul Dano’s Tracking Device; Notes From Newport Beach

Harrison Ford has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as General Ross; Paul Dano says he had a tracking device on his script for The Batman; Notes from the Newport Beach Film Festival. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.

Dear Diary: I’ve just arrived home after spending the last five days at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and wow, I miss it already! Not only did they have an absolutely wonderful slate of films — my favorites were A Little White Lie, Anonymous Sister, and The Quiet Girl (see below) — they also know how to throw a good party. If you’re a filmmaker looking to network and make meaningful connections, this is the place. I actually made, like, multiple new friends this weekend. It’s still going on through Thursday, so it’s not too late to snag a ticket.

The Quiet Girl: There’s a new Irish movie that everyone should watch called The Quiet Girl. It’s not out in the U.S. yet, but it’s been killing it at the Irish box office. It’s based on a New Yorker short story by Claire Keegan about a little girl who gets sent to live with foster parents for the summer and realizes what it feels like to be loved for the first time. You WILL cry. I mean it. Plus, this movie has cultural significance to Ireland — it’s told in the Irish language, something that up until recently, when the country started offering incentives to Irish-language filmmakers, was very rare. The Quiet Girl is Ireland’s submission to the best international feature Oscars race, and I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t get nominated. I spoke with the director, Colm Bairéad, in Newport Beach.

Harrison Ford in the MCU: Han Solo, I mean Harrison Ford, has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he’s going to play General Ross — a character previously played by the late William Hurt — in Captain America: New World Order. Even if you, like me, are not a huge Marvel fan (sorry everyone) this might entice you to watch the new Captain America movie. Which also probably means that you, like me, will have to go back and watch the previous Captain America movies for context. Now I’m roped in! Marvel, you evil genius.

By The Way: Harrison Ford also said Indiana Jones 5 will “kick your ass.”

Paul Dano’s Tracking Device: The Batman actor told GQ that when he got the script to play The Riddler opposite Robert Pattinson, there was at first only a locking code on it to prevent it from being leaked or shared or compromised in some way — but then a tracking device was added for extra security. Very intense move, Warner Bros. I respect it.

It’s a Very Christmas-y Christmastime In A Christmas Story Christmas: The first teaser for the A Christmas Story sequel, A Christmas Story Christmas is out, and it’s basically all throwbacks to the original A Christmas Story. One of my favorites is when The Old Man (Darren McGavin) reads the “fragile” stamp on the wooden box that his fishnet-stockinged leg lamp arrives in and says “fra-gee-lay… it must be Italian!” One of the moms in my hometown started a jewelry company that was inspired by that very scene, and it was called Fragile (pronounced the Italian way). The company isn’t around anymore, but gosh, those bracelets were cute. Here’s the trailer for the new movie.

Cobra Kai Has Creed to Thank: For giving Ralph Macchio an example of what a successful revival of a beloved movie franchise could look like. The Cobra Kai star told Mark Maron on his WTF podcast that he was hesitant about Cobra Kai at first, but then Creed convinced him that it was possible to do it well without stepping on the toes of the original Karate Kid movies.

Box Office Flops: In honor of Bros and Amsterdam, Variety kindly compiled a list of other movies that didn’t do as well as planned at the box office, including Brad Pitt’s Ad Astra (saw it on a plane and was underwhelmed), The Last Duel (I loved it and think it deserved more recognition) and even the beloved Fight Club. So it just goes to show you that, like Martin Scorsese says, numbers aren’t everything.

Need a Movie to Watch Tonight?: Instead of looking up Olivia Wilde’s “special salad dressing” recipe, why not watch a classic movie? Vulture has some thoughts on Marilyn Monroe’s Gentleman Prefer Blondes, which would be a fun Tuesday night watch. Or you could watch the new Marilyn Monroe drama Blonde on Netflix and then read our cover story with director Andrew Dominik and star Ana de Armas. Or go to Newport Beach and watch a movie there. All good options.

I’ll Leave You With This: My favorite scene from The Batman, The Riddler’s “no no no no” scene. This is how I feel when I have to go somewhere and I’m late and I don’t have time to stop at Dunkin Donuts.

Main Image: Paul Dano as The Riddler in The Batman. Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures