R.IP. Meat Loaf, and Louie Anderson; Season 2 details — including a new location — for The White Lotus; ambitious plans for a film studio in space. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.
R.I.P. Marvin Lee Aday, AKA Meat Loaf: The rock star and actor known as Meat Loaf has died at 74 after contracting COVID. His 1977 debut album Bat Out Of Hell is still one of the best-selling albums of all time, NPR reports, and the Grammy winner went on to appear in over 65 movies, including Fight Club, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Wayne’s World.
R.I.P. Louie Anderson: The standup comic, whose film roles included lovable turns in Coming to America and last year’s sequel, Coming 2 America, has died at 68 at a Las Vegas hospital after a long struggle with cancer. He also earned an Emmy for his role as a mom to twin sons on the FX comedy Baskets. He told The Associated Press that the role was inspired in part by his own mother. (Anderson’s death was reported after we initially published today’s Rundown.)
‘Everyone Is Really Bummed Out’: That Hollywood Reporter headline refers to the mood around Pixar, now that parent company Disney has decided to release Turning Red straight-to-streaming. This is the third straight Pixar movie that is not being released in theaters after Soul and Luca.
The Full Quote: “Many wonder whether Pixar animators are seeing red over the Jan. 7 announcement. According to several sources with close ties to Pixar, that’s not the case. Disappointment, not outrage, is a more apt description. ‘Everyone is really bummed, but most of us get it. Families just aren’t going to the movies,’ says one person at Pixar,” The Hollywood Reporter says.
Let’s Lighten the Mood: Bong Joon-ho’s follow up to his Best Picture-winner Parasite is confirmed. We’re all excited for that. The sci-fi adaptation of “Mickey7, a forthcoming novel from author Edward Ashton,” is set at Warner Brothers, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing, and Robert Pattinson is starring.
Buckle Up: The runtime for Matt Reeves’ The Batman was confirmed yesterday and we’re looking at just a shade (5 minutes) under three hours, The Hollywood Reporter says.
The White Lotus Season 2 Details: The second season of the “Who died at the resort?” mystery/wealth satire has a location. Season 1 was in Hawaii and Season 2 will take place in Sicily, Variety reports.
White Lotus Cast Info: “Season 2 of the dark comedy will star Michael Imperioli and Aubrey Plaza alongside recently announced cast members F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hollander, Adam DiMarco and Haley Lu Richardson. Season 1 fan-favorite Jennifer Coolidge, who played the mourning heiress Tanya McQuoid, will also return for Season 2,” Variety adds.
Speaking of Murder Mystery TV: My weekend streaming rec is Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Watching Steve Martin and Martin Short play off one another and the rest of the star-studded cast is a true delight. Season 2 when?
The World of Tomorrow Is Here: Plans are in place for a film studio in space! This seems very impractical in a way that I find fun. It has more application than simply launching billionaires into the outer regions of Earth’s atmosphere for minutes at a time. The full plans are “to launch a TV and film studio, alongside a streaming content studio and sports arena, in space, scheduled for a late 2024 opening,” The Hollywood Reporter says.
Side Note: There’s gotta be a better phrase than “streaming content studio.”
‘Late 2024’ You Say? That seems like a very bold timeline. But that might be because I live in Los Angeles, where I don’t think I’ve witnessed a single regular building — you know, on Earth — open when originally scheduled. Let’s hope the same people are not in charge of zoning.
Remember Space Camp? Not sure why I thought of that, but the frequent grand prize for Nickelodeon game shows in the ’90s springs to mind.
We Leave You: With the song for which Meat Loaf won a Grammy. Prepare yourself. This is going to be in your head all Friday.
Main image: Edward Norton and Meat Loaf in Fight Club.
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