All the News That’s Fit to Rank: Week of September 11, 2015

These are the top movie stories that got the Flickchart staff talking this week. We rank ’em, you read ’em.

1. Christopher Nolan‘s next movie coming in 2017

If you’ve been waiting with bated breath for Christopher Nolan’s next project, you can…hold it a little bit longer. We’ve got almost two more years to wait for the untitled film that we know nothing about except that Warner Bros will release it on July 21, 2017. Presumably Nolan will be at least co-writing and co-producing the film through his Syncopy label, as he has on pretty much all his films since 2005. Even though it’s two years away, the July 21 date is already filling up – though of course any or all of these could change, at this point Nolan’s film is up against Pitch Perfect 3, Luc Besson‘s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planes and an untitled Blue Sky/Fox animated film. Actually, that sounds like a pretty good lineup to me! (via Variety)

2. The Goonies immersive stage show is in development

There’s been talk of a Goonies sequel for years now, but it seems like nothing’s really coming to fruition on that – however, in a recent interview Richard Donner suggests that the film’s fans, at least those near or willing to travel to New York City, might have something else to look forward to – an immersive theatre experience:

“there’s no seats, the venue is you go into a warehouse and there’s something happening in that warehouse and that’s the play you’ve come to see, only you become part of it and you travel through with actors.”

So…they’re going to put a pirate ship in a warehouse and have everyone try to get to it? In any case, this could definitely be creative fun if it happens. Apparently Donner has been trying to do a stage version of The Goonies for a while, too, with little success. (via /Film)

3. Suspiria remake is moving forward with Luca Guadagnino

For a while, David Gordon Green was attached to direct a remake of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, but now it looks like he’s departed the project and I Am Love director Luca Guadagnino (who was going to just produce) is now planning to direct it, bringing along Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes, and Tilda Swinton, who are all in Guadagnino’s upcoming A Bigger Splash. Tilda Swinton as Argento’s witch? Yes, please. But really, Suspiria is about the combination of lurid visual set-pieces and sensory-overload music – so someone better be getting Goblin on the phone. (via The AV Club)

4. Tom Cruise and Doug Liman are developing sci-fi Luna Park

Edge of Tomorrow was a surprisingly solid film, and now Tom Cruise and Doug Liman are looking to do it again (maybe with financial returns to match the glowing reviews this time) with a sci-fi project called Luna Park. Liman has actually had the project in development for several years, but it’s been in limbo since 2011 due to budgetary concerns. Hopefully, the addition of Cruise to the project will have Paramount (which already greenlit the film once before backing out) on board again. (via Variety)

5. Aretha Franklin successfully gets injunction to cancel TIFF screening of Amazing Grace doc

This story requires a little backstory. In 1972, Sydney Pollack shot Aretha Franklin’s legendary “Amazing Grace” concert, but never released any of the footage because he’d struggled with getting the sound right. Since the director’s death in 2008, producer Alan Elliott has been wrangling the footage into a documentary which was supposed to screen the Toronto International Film Festival this week, but Franklin was granted an injunction against the film’s screening, since the original 1972 agreement with Pollack stipulated he wouldn’t use the footage commercially without Franklin’s permission, which Elliott apparently failed to secure. Hopefully, this is all just legal stuff that’ll be worked out soon so the film can be released, since apparently it’s quite good. Note to any would-be producers out there – get your legal ducks in a row before you set off to the biggest festival in North America. (via Variety)

6. Barry Sonnenfeld will direct Netflix’s upcoming Lemony Snicket series

Netflix is currently vying for all of your time AND your children’s time with its production slate, and one of the more interesting projects for the pre-teen crowd is a series adapting Lemony Snicket’s popular book series A Series of Unfortunate Events. Barry Sonnenfeld has just been announced as director and co-producer (along with True Blood showrunner Mark Hudis); while Sonnenfeld hasn’t been TOO active on the film circuit lately, he does have Men in Black and The Addams Family in his credits, plus he produced the 2004 film adaptation, so he’s got some experience with the material. (via The AV Club)

7. Rumors of Terry Gilliam‘s demise have been greatly exaggerated

On Tuesday, Variety briefly posted an article stating that film director Terry Gilliam had passed away “at XXX” – the erroneously published article was swiftly removed, but not before plenty of people had seen and screenshot it. You can’t get away with anything on the internet anymore. Thankfully, Gilliam is still with us, and took the error with his usual aplomb, even using it as a springboard to promote his upcoming autobiography – ironically titled Gilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir. Just remember guys, don’t believe everything you read online. Especially if it still has placeholder text in the headline. Makes you wonder, though, how many obituaries do major publications have on hand so they can publish the instant someone dies? Do they have someone whose only job is to continuously update the obituaries so they’re always current? (via The AV Club)

8. The CIA tightens guidelines after Zero Dark Thirty dealings deemed “sloppy”

When Kathryn Bigelow‘s Zero Dark Thirty was released in 2012, it came under fire quickly due to its suggestion that torture played an integral role in finding Osama Bin Laden when, in fact, it did not. Turns out the film’s production was controversial behind the scenes, too, sparking at least three internal investigations at the CIA regarding favors and gifts given to CIA agents by the producers as well as the potential dissemination of classified information to the screenwriter. Documents detailing these investigations only came to light recently in an article in VICE – apparently the CIA’s record-keeping of their dealings with Hollywood has gotten a lot stricter over the past two years, which may affect filmmakers trying to consult with the CIA on their projects. (via Hollywood Reporter)

9. Ava DuVernay expands distribution company Array to distribute more films by women and minorities

Since the release of her film Selma has given her a national platform, Ava DuVernay has been very vocal about the difficulties faced by female and minority filmmakers (of which she happens to be both), and the need for more outlets for these filmmakers to release their work. With her newfound influence, she’s putting her money where her mouth is, so to speak, and transforming her five-year-old distribution company AFFRAM (African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement) into Array, which will focus on releasing films from women and minorities at both film festivals and on streaming platforms. AFFRAM had been distributing about two films a year; plans are for Array to boost that number significantly. (via Variety)

10. Defendant in James Woods Twitter lawsuit uses “Woods is a jerk” defense

This is kind of the story that just keeps on giving. A few weeks ago, we learned that James Woods was suing a Twitter user for defamation of character because the user suggested Woods had a cocaine addiction. Now the case is moving towards court, and the user is bringing the ever-successful “but he’s a jerk” defense – because if Woods is a jerk on Twitter, responding to him with an insult is fair game. Now, I’m really not taking sides – the line between joke and libel is really hard to find in online discourse. On the other hand, as the AV Club points out – how long before autocomplete just assumes you’re Googling info on Woods’ cocaine habit rather than on his distinguished film career, or crotchety political views? (via The AV Club)

Top Trailers of the Week

Demolition literally just had its premiere at TIFF, and so far the reactions seem very positive; TIFF loves director Jean-Marc Vallée (Wild, Dallas Buyers Club), and seems like he’s not letting them down. Jake Gyllenhaal is a man coming to terms with the death of his wife, who he’s just now realizing he didn’t really know that well. Vallée is a master at unusual relationships, and this looks really good.

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Nothing says Happy Holidays like a little Christmas horror based on the ancient legend of Krampus, the flip side of St. Nicholas who punishes the bad children. What an awesome idea for a horror film. Looks like the creatures are a bit on the campy side, but if they embrace that, it could be super fun.

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Cate Blanchett is always an exciting name to hear in an upcoming movie, and Rooney Mara is becoming one. In Carol, they fall in forbidden love in a 1940s period setting. With director Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) and a story by Patricia Highsmith, this looks to be lush and romantic to a fault.

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A sensation at Sundance earlier this year, Room features Brie Larson as a woman and her five-year-old son being held captive in a single room – he’s never seen the outside world since his mom was kidnapped. I actually stopped watching the trailer after about thirty seconds, because I’m so intrigued I’d like to see this fresh.

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If Krampus looks like campy fun, The Hallow actually looks pretty legitimately terrifying, an Irish supernatural horror tale about what happens when a family trespasses in “the Hallow,” a set of woods inhabited by fairies, and not the shiny happy kind. This also got good buzz out of Sundance.