Here's a new image featuring actor Bill Skarsgård in the role of the monstrous Pennywise the Clown in the big screen adaptation of Stephen King's It. This is our first full body look at the character, and he looks dark and sinister. Just imagine that thing popping up in a storm drain and asking you if you want a balloon. 

A photo posted by Andy Muschietti (@andy_muschietti) on Aug 12, 2016 at 7:04pm PDT

The costume design comes from costume designer Janie Bryant (Deadwood, Mad Men) who talked to EW about the design of the outfit saying:

“The costume definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will. He is definitely a clown from a different time.

“That pleating is actually Fortuny pleating, which gives it almost a crepe-like effect. It’s a different technique than what the Elizabethans would do. It’s more organic, it’s more sheer. It has a whimsical, floppy quality to it. It’s not a direct translation of a ruff or a whisk, which were two of the collars popular during the Elizabethan period.”

"There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume. The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality.” 

EW says that every part of the costume is "meant to suggest something both ancient and disturbed." When talking about the colors of the costume, Bryant says:

“The pompoms are orange, and then with the trim around the cuffs and the ankles, it’s basically a ball fringe that’s a combination of orange, red, and cinnamon. It’s almost like Pennywise fades into his environment. But there are accents to pull out the definition of the gray silk.”

It's explained that this version of the character was designed to "camouflage himself and strike rather than lure children with lively plumage." I really like the design of the character and the direction they took it. The real test will be seeing him in action. 

When previously talking about the character, Skarsgård said:

“It’s such an extreme character. Inhumane. It’s beyond even a sociopath, because he’s not even human. He’s not even a clown. I’m playing just one of the beings It creates…It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise, and enjoys the game and the hunt. What’s funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else. But he thinks it’s funny. There’s a childishness to the character, because he’s so closely linked to the kids. The clown is the manifestation of children’s imaginations, so there’s something child-like about that.”

There are two films being developed to tell this incredible story. The first one is set in the 1980s and will focus on a group of friends known as the "Losers Club" who band together to battle a terrifying monster who is killing children in Derry, Maine. The second film is set 30 years later in modern times when the monster returns and the Losers Club come back together to try and destroy It once and for all.

The movie is being directed by Andy Muschietti and it stars Jaeden Lieberher (Midnight Special) as Bill Denbrough, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Richie Tozier, Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, Jack Dylan Grazer (Tales of Halloween) as Stan Uris, Wyatt Oleff (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Eddie Kaspbrak, Chosen Jacobs (Hawaii Five-0) as Mike Hanlon, and Jeremy Ray Taylor (42) as Ben Hanscom. Here's a official synopsis:

Based on the novel by Stephen King, the film’s story recalls a promise made twenty-eight years ago that forces seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers once more.

The first film is set to be released on September 8th, 2017. Here are a few new photos from the film that the director posted on his Instagram account:

A photo posted by Andy Muschietti (@andy_muschietti) on Jul 30, 2016 at 7:14am PDT

A photo posted by Andy Muschietti (@andy_muschietti) on Aug 13, 2016 at 12:12pm PDT

A photo posted by Andy Muschietti (@andy_muschietti) on Jul 30, 2016 at 9:37am PDT

A photo posted by Andy Muschietti (@andy_muschietti) on Jul 30, 2016 at 7:07am PDT

The National Geographic Channel is currently developing their first scripted series. It’s called Genius, it will focus on Albert Einstein, and the network has cast Geoffrey Rush to play the theoretical physicist. They’ve also cast an actor by the name of Johnny Flynn to play the younger version of Einstein.

According to THR, this is an anthology series, and the first season will be based on Walter Isaacson’s critically acclaimed biography of the scientist. We also have a little description of what the series will entail:

The 10-episode Genius will feature Flynn as Einstein in the years before he rose to international attention and acclaim. The drama will chart how an imaginative, rebellious patent clerk, who couldn’t get a teaching job or a doctorate, unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe. Each episode will explore Einstein’s scientific achievements, along with his volatile, passionate and complex personal relationships.

The pilot episode is set to be directed by Ron Howard, and this will be his first time directing a scripted primetime drama. The director had this to say in a statement:

"National Geographic’s unwavering commitment to excellence and their support and passion for this project has helped us attract talent such as Geoffrey and Johnny. My excitement for this project grows every day, and I cannot wait to get started.” 

I’m a fan of Howard’s work, and Rush is just an insanely talented actor who is going to be awesome in the role of Einstein. He’s really the perfect choice to play the legendary scientist. I'll be looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Here’s a description of the book:

By the author of the acclaimed bestsellers Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs, this is the definitive biography of Albert Einstein. How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson’s biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom. Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk—a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn’t get a teaching job or a doctorate—became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom, and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals. These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.

Paramount Pictures has released two full-length trailers for their new sci-fi film, Arrival. The first is a domestic trailer, and the second is an international trailer, which as you might imagine features even more new footage and story details than the initial teaser that was released. I also included twelve posters that have been released, each one  features the alien spacecraft in a different area of the world. 

I love what I've seen of this movie so far. It looks like it tells a thrillingly intense story and a fantastically made film. I've been waiting for a great new sci-fi movie, and maybe Arrival will be it. There are a lot of talented individuals involved with the creation of this film, so the chances of it being a success are high. 

The movie is based on a 1998 novella written by Ted Chiang, and the film was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who previously brought us films such as Prisoners and Sicario. Arrival also has a wonderful cast that includes Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

When mysterious spacecrafts touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

Arrival hits theaters on November 11th, 2016.

Director James Gunn has been kicking ass in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Guardians of the Galaxy property. What he's done has been so impressive that Warner Bros. has actually tried to get him on board to direct one of their DC Comics movies. 

During a recent Q&A session on Facebook, Gunn was asked if he was ever given the opportunity to direct a DC film and if he ever did direct one, what characters he would be interested in taking on. This was his reply:

"I thought there was some amazing action sequences in Man of Steel, but I haven't seen the other two films. I've had opportunities to make DC films, but I haven't said yes to anything, and not sure I would at this time. I've talked before about which projects appeal to me the most IF I was into making one, and it's always Shazam and Metal Men and Swamp Thing and Johan Hex and a few other DC IPs I've enjoyed for a great deal of my life."

The only film project that Gunn mentioned here that is actually currently in development is Shazam with Dwayne Johnson. Make me wonder if Gunn has actually had conversations with Warner Bros. about possibly taking it on. It also sounds like there are currently offers on the table, he just hasn't said yes to anything, and he's not sure if he will. This tells me he's still weighing his options and hasn't said no to anything yet.

Then at one point during the Q&A the director was asked what female character he would like to take on and he said, "Maybe Batgirl. Cassandra Cain version."

I'd personally love to see Gunn take on Shazam or any of the other characters he mentioned. If he did, we know the movie would be good! I think his allegiance is with Marvel, but who knows, though! Maybe one day he'll jump on board a DC property and give us some awesome. 

Would you like to see James Gunn direct a DC movie one day?

It was once stated by Hello Games head Sean Murray that No Man's Sky would have free DLC to help continually expand the game's content. Gamespot reports...read more on Gametyrant

Permalink

Robert Downey Jr. has been trying to get a Perry Mason movie made at Warner Bros. for the past five years, and now it appears that he may be taking that project to the small screen. THR reports that Downey is teaming up with True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto for a mysterious drama at HBO, and their sources indicate it may be a reworked version of the long-gestating Perry Mason movie.

Perry Mason was a hugely popular legal drama that originally ran in the late '50s and early '60s, centering on a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who often dramatically revealed his clients' innocence by proving another person committed the crime.

This will mark Downey's return to television after his run on Fox's Ally McBeal, and his first time on the small screen since breaking out with 2008's Iron Man. What do you think? Would you watch Downey in a weekly courtroom drama?

I've praised Netflix's Stranger Things — and specifically its awesome instrumental theme song — here on the site already, so I won't heap any more love onto it now. (OK, just a little: it's freaking awesome! OK...now I'm done.) But for those of us who really dig the title sequence and maybe wondered what decisions went into creating it, Vox has us covered with a new video in which they spoke to the company responsible for designing it. It's an informative and interesting look at a small aspect of the show, and for those who are obsessed with all things Stranger, this will enhance your appreciation of the show even more.

I hope you've been watching the USA series Mr. Robot, because it's one of the best shows on TV right now! Season 1 was incredible and so far Season 2 has been a freakin' masterpiece! Holy shit! You are are really missing out on something special if you aren't watching Mr. Robot. 

If you are watching the show, you will be ecstatic to hear that the series has officially been renewed for a third season and it's set to premiere in 2017. I can't even begin to speculate where the story for Season 3 will go because we are still in the middle of Season 2. 

Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, had this to say in a statement:

"We couldn’t be more proud of Mr. Robot, a series that has pushed boundaries, captured the cultural zeitgeist, and been honored as one of the best dramas on television. Midway through its second season, Mr. Robot continues to break new ground and open up new opportunities for the network.”

I'm excited for this series and I'm curious to see how far the story goes and what it's all leading to. I just have to be patient and enjoy the story unfolding one episode at a time until it's over. 

Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cyber-security engineer who becomes involved in the underground hacker group fsociety, after being recruited by their leader (Christian Slater). Following the events of fsociety’s five/nine hack on multi-national company Evil Corp, the second season explores the consequences of that attack as well as the illusion of control.

The series also stars Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, Martin Wallström, Grace Gummer, Michael Cristofer, and Stephanie Corneliussen. 

Via: Deadline

When Deadpool came out earlier this year, I wrote about how things typically don't go very well when a studio or filmmakers claim they made a movie "for the fans." Deadpool was one of the rare examples when it actually worked out for everyone involved (fans included), but Warner Bros. and DC Films' Suicide Squad seems to be a textbook case of the opposite — these filmmakers are just using the old "we made it for the fans" statement as an excuse to shield themselves from bad reviews.

I've been thinking a lot about Suicide Squad since I saw it. Joey loved it, but if you've read any complaints about the film elsewhere online, there's a good chance they mirror my own. I'll sum my feelings up like this: I think the movie is a sloppy, poorly edited mess. (There was reportedly a lot of studio meddling behind the scenes, and though Ayer claims the final cut is 100% his, I don't buy it. Unlike Josh Trank, who had a public meltdown when 20th Century Fox released a compromised version of Fantastic Four, Ayer is savvy enough to avoid burning any bridges or brand himself as a "difficult" filmmaker to work with.) Regardless of whose fault it ended up being, Suicide Squad is an excellent example of why the increasingly common practice of giving a movie a release date before it has a script is a bad idea.

Most critics tend to agree. As I write this, the film currently has a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, a website fans tried to shut down because they didn't like the fact that the movie was receiving bad reviews. The cast and director have hidden behind the guise of making the movie for the fans, predictably falling right in line with the established pattern of what's happened time and time again with movies like these. You probably recognize this chain of events by now: a high-profile movie comes out, gets bad reviews, and the filmmakers attempt to spin the situation into one in which movie critics either had it out for them from the start or aren't capable of liking the movie. Of course, they create a situation in which the fans — the pure, innocent fans, who, coincidentally, are the ones who might pay to see the movie over and over again — are the only ones who can appreciate what they've created.

It's a garbage argument. Suicide Squad is a niche comic book that didn't have much, if any, larger cultural recognition before the movie's first trailers came out. The amount of people buying Suicide Squad comics is so small, there's no way Warner Bros. would spend nearly $200 million making a movie just "for the fans." Only 23,425 issues of New Suicide Squad were sold to comic book stores in North America in May 2016, so assuming all of those were actually bought by consumers and all the people who bought those issues went to see the movie, that's just over $200,000. Let's be generous and say they all bring a date, so we can double that number. Warner Bros. is clearly trying to reach out and pull in a much larger crowd; as much as fans like to think properties are being adapted just for them, making movies on this scale is first and foremost a business decision.

Another trend that always happens when bad comic book movies come out is that a lot of fans will jump into comments sections and defend the movie using knowledge previously gained from reading the comics. It's all well and good that a character's motivation for doing something was more clear over a multi-issue arc than it was in the film adaptation of those events, but that doesn't mean anything when it comes to the movie's quality: a film has to be able to stand on its own and coherently deliver information that makes sense to an audience who has never read a single issue. Again, Deadpool did this well; Suicide Squad does not.

(Side note: If a movie has Captain Boomerang in it and you're the world's biggest Captain Boomerang fan, you don't automatically have to like that movie. It's OK to demand better for the things you love. The more people accept and try to defend incoherent movies, the lower the bar becomes for studios to meet when it comes to quality.)

This should all be common sense at this point, but I find myself seeing this same argument pop up again and again, and hopefully this will help those of you who love the Suicide Squad comic books and can't understand why people didn't like the movie try to see things from a slightly different perspective. Look: you like what you like. I'm not here to shout you down or tell you what your taste in movies should be. All I'm saying is that it's not good enough for a studio to only make a movie "for the fans." If that's truly all they were aiming for, great — Suicide Squad is a huge success. But we all know that's not the truth, so can filmmakers at least just be honest moving forward and stop hiding behind the same old argument? When it comes down to it, making this movie "for the fans" just wasn't good enough.

Amazon has announced that it's given the greenlight to Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, a TV series based on the CIA agent character who's been played on the big screen by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine over the years. The first season will be comprised of ten one-hour episodes, and will star John Krasinski (The Office, 13 Hours) as the title hero.

The show "follows an up-and-coming CIA analyst thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time. Ryan (Krasinski) uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale."

Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel) and Graham Roland (Almost Human) are executive producing along with Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, while Paramount and Skydance Television will co-produce.

“We’re excited to add the Jack Ryan global franchise to our robust originals pipeline,” said Roy Price, Head of Amazon Studios. “Our customers will enjoy a compelling adaptation of the action-packed spy thriller book series, further raising the bar for the quality level of storytelling that has made Prime Video a leading destination for content.”

What do you think? Are you going to be checking out the new global adventures of Jack Ryan on the small screen with Krasinski in the lead role?

You might feel sad for Rita Repulsa looking at this latest photo from Power Rangers (via Coming Soon), but don't be fooled. Either this is Rita in her 10,000-year prison, or she's getting ready to break through some glass and destroy some lives!

I was leery initially of the new look for the Power Rangers film, but even in pictures, Elizabeth Banks looks way scarier as Rita Repulsa than the original actress ever did! She singlehandedly has won me over on this film! Anyone else feel the same way?

Power Rangers hits theaters on March 24, 2017.

As you all know, I enjoyed the hell out of Suicide Squad. I thought it was an incredibly fun film, but there was one part in the movie that just felt really awkward and out of place to me. I wanted to wait awhile to talk about this scene so that most fans could have a chance to see the movie, and I thought now would be a good time as any to talk about it. 

The scene in question takes place early on in the film after Joker and Harley Quinn are being chased down by Batman. The Joker drives his sports car into a body of water and Batman dives in to save Harley Quinn, who smashed through the windshield. When Batman gets to Harley underwater, she whips out a knife and starts slashing at him. Batman quickly punches her in the face and knocks her out.

Batman pulls her out of the water and lays her unconscious body on his Batmobile. He checks her out for a second, then things get very awkward and feel completely out of place. To me it looked like Batman went in for a creepy kiss. I saw the movie a second time just so I could see if it was a kiss or if it was CPR, and I'm not fully convinced it was CPR.

I guess Batman could have gone in to give her CPR. I believe he did check her pulse, but there were no chest compressions given to resuscitate her and it seriously didn’t look like any kind of CPR that I’ve ever seen! She didn't cough up water or anything when he was done, and he didn't check to see if she was breathing after he did it. But if that's really what happened, maybe, just maybe, when he went in to give her mouth to mouth, Harley was faking and she was the one who actually kissed him because there were some smooching sounds. But I imagine if that was the case, it would have looked a lot more like this:

Now if he did kiss her, it doesn't make any sense why he would do that. Is Batman a horndog looking to get action from an unconscious women? Because that’s not a very superhero-like thing to do. 

There’s been no explanation as to what that moment was. I'm not convinced it was CPR, though. If it was a kiss, it serves no purpose to the story. Was there some kind of background between the characters that we don’t know about? Was Batman doing it in hopes The Joker was watching so he could piss him off? I don’t know! 

I thought Harley Quinn’s character was handled perfectly in the film. Margot Robbie was Harley Quinn. But with Batman, even though he is a morally grey hero, that kiss seems out of character for him. Now we were previously told that this version of Batman was seen from the point of view of the villains. So is that how Harley Quinn viewed Batman? Is the kiss something that she would have liked Batman to do? Was it just a story she just tells? Was the flashback a real story or was it a story that was passed down of how Batman caught Harley Quinn, kind of like the telephone game of how stories and information change as they are passed down from one person to another?

Nothing is made clear and that’s this whole point of this article. I’m just throwing out ideas and speculation here and I just wanted to get your thoughts on this whole thing. What do you all think went down during that awkward moment? I'm legitimately asking: was it a kiss or was it the poorest attempt at CPR in the history of film?

After securing roles in high-profile movies like Suicide Squad and Fast 8, Scott Eastwood has booked a leading role in a new sci-fi film called Ecstasia.

THR reports that the project comes from writer/director Wayne Kramer, who managed to coax an amazing performance out of another somewhat bland actor, Paul Walker, back in 2006's excellent Running Scared. Maybe he can do something similar for Eastwood, who surely has chiseled looks but hasn't proven to be a memorable force on screen in anything he's been in so far.

Eastwood will star alongside Italian actress Matilda Lutz in Ecstasia, a film about "a couple who live in a world where love no longer exists during their final days together before their love expires." A description from Deadline a few years ago paints a more detailed picture of the plot:

[The movie is set] at a time when love no longer exists, except when it is artificially simulated through a costly procedure called “commitment.” Ecstasia is accomplished through computer chips implanted ineach couple. They are incredibly expensive to maintain, comparable to managing a mortgage. Those who cannot meet the cost are forced into “dissolution,” which ends the emotional link. Kramer’s film revolves around a man and woman who are 10 days away from losing their “commitment,” trying desperately to refinance their love.

The actor will be seen in Fast 8, Pacific Rim 2, and Ben Affleck's Live By Night all in the next year or two. Filming on Ecstasia begins in spring of 2017.

I remember at E3 hearing a lot of people who talked about ReCore speak ill of it. I think the main reason for it was the game being viewed as something completely...read more on Gametyrant

Permalink

If you've seen Josh Trank's Fantastic Four, you're well aware the movie is spectacularly awful. It wasn't always that way though, as its initial screenwriter Jeremy Slater says the initial plan was much better! In an interview with Screencrush, Slater explains how the original script for the film called for Mole Man, 60 ft monsters, and an all-out war in Latveria:

"In addition to Annihilus and the Negative Zone, we had Doctor Doom declaring war against the civilized world, the Mole Man unleashing a 60 foot genetically-engineered monster in downtown Manhattan, a commando raid on the Baxter Foundation, a Saving Private Ryan-style finale pitting our heroes against an army of Doombots in war-torn Latveria, and a post-credit teaser featuring Galactus and the Silver Surfer destroying an entire planet. We had monsters and aliens and Fantasticars and a cute spherical H.E.R.B.I.E. robot that was basically BB-8 two years before BB-8 ever existed. And if you think all of that sounds great...well, yeah, we did, too. The problem was, it would have also been massively, MASSIVELY expensive."

You would've needed an Avengers-type budget for a film like that, and let's be honest, who would've green-lit that after the earlier Fantastic Four movies? I'm sure even the most avid fans of the series would've been suspect of a film with that much budget behind it.

It's easy to say "wow that's awesome, Josh Trank is an idiot," but one of the challenges of being a screenwriter is developing a usable script that's realistic to the film's budget. This script was nothing more than a pipedream, even if the final product was pretty awful...and man, was it awful.

Walt Disney Pictures is in the Lin-Manuel Miranda business, and it looks like they're going to try to keep that relationship going as long as possible. The studio has already hired the Hamilton maestro to help write music for the upcoming animated feature Moana, and they've cast him as a lamp lighter in Mary Poppins Returns; now Deadline reports that the studio has brought him on to work with Oscar-winning songwriter Alan Menken on the music for a live action film adaptation of their 1989 classic The Little Mermaid.

Miranda and Menken will write the film's music together (a mixture of old and new songs), and Miranda will also supervise the story (there seems to be an implication that he could also contribute to the screenplay, but there's no firm info there). A writer is reportedly being hired soon. In addition to his writing duties, Miranda will also produce the movie alongside Marc Platt, which seems like a big step up for him. He harbors a big love for this particular movie, as evidenced by the fact that he named his son Sebastian after Ariel's crab friend.

There's no word yet about when this new live action movie will hit theaters, but Universal has a competing Little Mermaid movie in the works too with Chloe Grace Moretz lined up.

Jakks should be embarrassed about this! They released this pretty poor-looking version of Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and then were made to look foolish by an awesome artist. Noel Cruz took on the task of making the toy look more realistic...and KILLED it. Seriously, I thought this was a Photoshop job! See the pictures below, and thanks to io9 for putting us on to this amazing work!

You've probably heard the story by now. In the mid-1990s, famed B-movie producer Roger Corman (Death Race 2000) made a film based on Marvel Comics' first family of heroes, the Fantastic Four, that cost under a million dollars. It was a low budget crapfest that was made largely so the rights to the characters didn't revert back to Marvel, and though the movie never received a proper release, it has since leaked onto the internet and gained something of a cult following.

Director Marty Langford has put together the untold story about the making of that movie in a documentary called DOOMED! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's THE FANTASTIC FOUR, which is chock full of behind-the-scenes tales from the cast, crew, and those involved with the project. It's been searching for distribution for a while now, and Uncork'd Entertainment has stepped up and will release the documentary this year. It hits VOD on October 11, 2016 before arriving on DVD on December 20, 2016.

Watch the trailer below, and get a sneak peek at a clip from the new doc right here. And if you want, you can watch the entire original Fantastic Four movie on YouTube.

Via: /Film

I just finished Stranger Things less than a week ago and I already want to go and re-watch it! Needless to say, it's going to be a long wait for me until season 2 comes out, but I have my memes to hold me over until then. This one, in particular, got me chuckling pretty hard. Funny how all it takes is some music to bring in the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia vibe! Great work by Juan Carlos Pelayo!

Not content with remaking their animated classics in live action, Disney is now moving into the world of plays and will adapt The Nutcracker for the big screen in a film called The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Variety reports that Pirates of the Caribbean star Keira Knightley has signed on to play the Sugar Plum Fairy, while Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar, The Little Prince) will play Clara, a young girl who gets sucked into a battle between toys that come to life and the forces of the evil Mouse King. Misty Copeland and Morgan Freeman are also attached to star.

I went on a field trip to see The Nutcracker in elementary school, but that particular story has never been a Christmastime staple for my family, so I've forgotten all of the details about what happens and even how the Sugar Plum Fairy is involved. Knightley seems like she has the right physicality for a role like this, and I wonder if other people who, like me, aren't really familiar with the story, will embrace a live action film from Disney or if a live action adaptation just won't work for modern audiences.

Lasse Hallstrom is directing the film from a script by Ashleigh Powell, but we aren't sure when filming begins. What do you think? Do you know the story well? Is Knightley a good fit for the part?