THE MAX REBRAND TRAILERS

Warner Bros. Discovery revealed the plans for and put a name to its new streaming service, Max, during a large-scale press presentation on the Warner Bros. Studio lot Wednesday, April 12.

Central to the excitement surrounding the rebrand (and some analysts have questioned just how exciting the whole thing turned out to be) was a rebrand sizzle reel and roster of first-look trailers that suggests there will be quality entertainment value in the repackaged streamer. Some of the big announcements came without video support -  a new “The Big Bang Theory” series; a show set in “The Conjuring” universe called “The Devil Made Me Do It”; a “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight”; and, a “faithful” series adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s seven Harry Potter books over the next 10 years. But what was on show was star heavy and undeniably impressive...

INTRODUCING MAX - THE ONE TO WATCH

"It’s all here. Iconic series, award-winning movies, fresh originals, family favorites, and the best entertainment for every mood."

TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY | Official Teaser 

"A new chapter in the acclaimed HBO Original Series True Detective, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, is coming this year to Max."

THE PENGUIN | Featurette

"The new Max Original Series from Matt Reeves and the next chapter in The Batman saga is now in production. Coming in 2024 to Max"

THE SYMPATHIZER | Official Teaser

"The Sympathizer, the new @HBO Original Limited Series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, is coming to Max in 2024."

BARBIE DREAMHOUSE CHALLENGE | Official Teaser

"Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge is coming soon to Max and HGTV."

THE REGIME | Official Teaser

"The Regime, an HBO Original Limited Series starring Kate Winslet, is coming in 2024 to Max"

SMARTLESS: ON THE ROAD | Official Trailer

"Smartless On The Road is coming May 23 to Max."

GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI | Official Teaser

"Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is coming in May 2023 to Max."

FIXER UPPER: THE HOTEL | Official Teaser

"Fixer Upper: The Hotel is coming this fall to Max."

THE SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON TRAILER COMPILE

First-look trailer reveals are coming thick and fast out of San Diego, where this year's star-studded Comic-Con is unfolding to hordes of pop-culturalists, ravenous for fresh content. The first wave of visual treats include properties from comic-book movie titans Marvel and DC, studios such as Warner Bros and New Line and streamers AMC+ and Paramount+.

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
Wakanda Forever is the only theatrical release that Marvel Studios has left for 2022, so it makes sense for it to get the spotlight on the biggest stage of San Diego Comic-Con. 

After Chadwick Boseman died in August 2020, the filmmakers had to rethink how a sequel would work without his character, T’Challa. In December 2020, Disney announced that a new actor would not be hired to fill the role, adding that the new movie would focus on other characters within the world of Wakanda, the fictional African country where T’Challa was king.

ANNE RICE'S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
Based on Anne Rice’s revolutionary gothic novel, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) and Claudia’s (Bailey Bass) epic story of love, blood and the perils of immortality, as told to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian).

Chafing at the limitations of life as a black man in 1900s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist the rakish Lestat’s offer of the ultimate escape: joining him as his vampire companion. But Louis’s intoxicating new powers come with a violent price and the introduction of Lestat’s newest fledgling, the child vampire Claudia, soon sets them on a decades-long path of revenge and atonement. 

BLACK ADAM:

Dwayne Johnson stars in the action adventure Black Adam. The first-ever feature film to explore the story of the DC Super Hero comes to the big screen under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra.

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS:
From New Line Cinema comes Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!,” is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam.

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” stars returning cast members Zachary Levi (“Thor: Ragnarok”) as Shazam; Asher Angel (“Andi Mack”) as Billy Batson, who are joined in the sequel by Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”), with Lucy Liu (“Kung Fu Panda” franchise) and Helen Mirren (“F9: The Fast Saga”).

JOHN WICK 4:
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) takes on his most lethal adversaries yet in the upcoming fourth installment of the series. With the price on his head ever increasing, Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Osaka to Berlin.

Joining Reeves on-screen will be a cast that includes Lawrence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Scott Adkins, Natalia Tena, and Clancy Brown.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER
This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. 

Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

TRAILER PARK: FIVE OF THE BEST FROM SXSW

It is the cutting-edge cool of festival cinema, so when SXSW anoints a new film with a premiere slot, all industry eyes focus in. With the 2019 event about to shutter in Austin, Texas, we take a look a five films (apart from Jordan Peele’s Us, which had heat before heading west) that emerged from the fest with major buzz…

BOOKSMART (US | 102 mins | Annapurna Pictures) Dir: Olivia Wilde; Cast: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Will Forte, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Sudeikis.
From the program: Told from a wildly original, fresh and modern perspective, Booksmart is an unfiltered comedy about high school friendships and the bonds we create that last a lifetime. Capturing the spirit of our times, the film is a coming of age story for a new generation.
Critics said: “In this year’s class of first-time feature directors, Wilde handily earns the title of Most Likely to Succeed.” - Variety

LONG SHOT (US | 120 mins | Summit Entertainment) Dir: Jonathan Levine; Cast: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Andy Serkis, June Diane Raphael, Ravi Patel and Alexander Skarsgård.
From the program: An ambitious diplomat with a spotless reputation and a hard-partying journalist hilariously redefine “international relations” as they try to keep their red-hot romance under wraps.
Critics said: “A rom-com with a political edge that will be one of this year's most beloved crowdpleasers.” – RogerEbert.com

I AM RICHARD PRYOR (US | 92 mins | Paramount Network) Dir: Jesse James Miller; Cast: Richard Pryor.
From the program: I Am Richard Pryor tells the life story of the legendary performer and iconic social satirist, who transcended race and social barriers by delivering his honest irreverent and biting humor to America’s stages and living rooms until his death at 65.
Critics said: “Jesse James Miller's biographical documentary is a conventional but fascinating portrait of the self-destructive comic great.” – Variety

ONE MAN DIES A MILLION TIMES (Russia | 92 mins ) Dir: Jessica Oreck; Cast: Alyssa Lozovskaya, Maksim Blinov, Vladimir Koshevoy, Alena Artemova, Konstantin Malyshev, Andrey Emelyanov, Alexei Yuferev.
From the program: Set in the future, a story about seeds and genetic diversity, about growth and decay, about love and war, and about hunger of all kinds.
Critics said: “Transports viewers to another time and place, much in the manner of Aleksey German’s immersive masterworks…it is a rather fascinating and undeniably ambitious work of cinema.” – J.B. Spins

THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE (US | 104 mins | Bleeker Street) Dir: Riley Stearns; Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots.
From the program: Jesse Eisenberg plays a man who is attacked on the street and enlists in a local dojo, led by a charismatic Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself.
Critics said: “Manages to clarify the filmmaker's intriguing vision by stuffing it into a remarkably unnerving character study.” – Indiewire.

FESTIVAL DE CANNES 2018: TRAILER COMPILE

The 2018 Cannes Film Festival is in its final stages, the red carpet and barricades set to be garaged after the event wraps up on May 19. The programme strands and marketplace have offered first-look trailers for films that promise to be some of the most anticipated international releases of the next 12 months...

IN COMPETITION:

Film: BLACKkKLANSMAN (Focus Features | USA | 128 mins)
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace. 

Film: NETEMO SAMETOMO (ASAKO I & II) (Bitters End Distribution | Japan | 119 mins)
Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Stars: Masahiro Higashide, Erika Karata, Sairi Itô.

Film: ZIMNA WOJNA (COLD WAR) (Kino Swiat, Poland, Amazon Studios USA | Poland | 84 mins)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski | Stars: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc.

Film: UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (A24 | USA | 139 mins)
Dir: David Robert Mitchell | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Riley Keogh.

UN CERTAIN REGARD:

Film: GIRL (Cinimien | The Netherlands | 100 mins)
Dir: Lukas Dhont | Stars: Valentijn Dhaenens.

Film: GUEULE D'ANGEL (ANGEL FACE) (Mars Distribution | France | 108 mins)
Director: Vanessa Filho | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Alban Lenoir, Ayline Aksoy-Etaix.

OUT OF COMPETITION:

Film: GONGJAK (THE SPY GONE NORTH) (CJ Entertainment | South Korea | 141 mins)
Director: Jong-bin Yoon | Stars: Jung-min Hwang, Sung-min Lee, Jin-Woong Cho.

LA SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE:

Film: FUGA (FUGUE) (Kino Swiat | Poland | 100 mins)
Director: Agnieszka Smoczyńska | Stars: Gabriela Muskala, Lukasz Simlat, Malgorzata Buczkowska. 

Film: THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT ( IFC Films | Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden | 155 mins)
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Matt Dillon, Brono Ganz, Uma Thurman.

QUINZAINE DES REALISATEURS:

Film: CLIMAX (Wild Bunch | France | 95 mins)
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub.

Film: PETRA ( Wanda Vision SA | Spain )
Director: Jaime Rosales | Stars: Bárbara Lennie, Alex Brendemühl, Joan Botey.