Welcome to B.H.โs Screen Time, where every week, weโll give you the cliff notes on whatโs happening in the entertainment industry. From various stages of development chatter and our take on the newest releases, to a fun throwback worth revisiting, think of it as an insiderโs digest meets movie club.
Coming Soon
Denis Villeneuveโs Dune: Part Three (previously thought to be titled Dune: Messiah after the source material itโs adapting) has officially begun production in Budapest, Hungary.
Last month, it was reported that the threequel had cast Nakoa-Wolf Momoa (real-life son of returning franchise co-star Jason Momoa) and Ida Brooke of Silo fame; with Robert Pattinson in negotiations for a villain role opposite Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, and plenty more.
While this ongoing discussion is no doubt fascinating, the most consequential addition of personnel involves the filmโs cinematographer: replacing Australian-born talent Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, The Batman, Project Hail Mary), who handled the first two instalments, will be the Academy Award-winning Linus Sandgren (La La Land, First Man, Babylon, No Time To Die).
Fraser has sadly bowed out due to his speculated commitment to The Batman: Part II. Though itโs interesting to note that Sandgren effectively marks the second Bond franchise cinematographer that Villeneuve will have collaborated with after Roger Deakins (Skyfall, Prisoners, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049).
Wonder whoโll be tapped for his hotly anticipated 007 reboot?
Over to the world of television, Larry David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame is teaming up with director/producer Jeff Schaffer and former US President Barack Obama (via his and wife Michelleโs Higher Ground production company) for a limited half-hour sketch comedy series headed to HBO.
According to the official logline: โPresident and Mrs Obama wanted to honour Americaโs 250th anniversary and celebrate the unique history of our nation on this special occasionโฆ but then Larry David called.โ
โIโve sat across the table from some of the worldโs most difficult leaders and wrestled with some of our most intractable problems,โ Obama himself said in a statement. โNothing has prepared me for working with Larry David.โ
Schaffer added, โThe characters Larry is playing didnโt change history. In fact, they were largely ignored by history. And thatโs a good thing.โ
One can imagine what weโre in for with this.
And finally, The Office spin-off (titled The Paper) has set a September 4th, 2025 release date.
Helmed by the US sitcomโs original co-creator Greg Daniels, the mockumentary is set in the same universe as The Office, and follows the daily chaos at The Truth Teller โ a fictional (and floundering) small-town newspaper in Toledo, Ohio; which begins recruiting volunteer reporters to keep the presses running in the age of digital.
The cast is led by Domhnall Gleeson and The White Lotus alum Sabrina Impacciatore, with The Office star Oscar Nunez reprising his role as accountant Oscar Martinez.
Keep an eye out for The Paper on NBCโs Peacock internationally; Australian streaming platform still TBA (our guess is either Stan, Netflix, or Binge based on domestic rights precedents).
Now Showing
Despite the incessant moaning of Snyderbos and faux controversy surrounding certain geopolitical stand-ins, James Gunnโs Superman starring the charming trio of David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult seems like an unstoppable train at the global box office.
At the time of this writing, itโs generated $217 million in the opening weekend alone against a $225 million production budget.
The B.H. perspective: as overstuffed and goofy as it may be at times, it delivers all the unflinching earnestness and optimism that the Superman character demands. Refreshingly cheery in an age of dimly lit and all-too-angsty comic book movies.
Yes, the exposition-heavy dialogue and childish plot points are bound to elicit an eyeroll or two (remember that itโs essentially made for kids).
Yes, we wish modern screenplays would stop forcing everyone to verbalise precisely what theyโre thinking/feeling (nobody needs Superman to monologue about why heโs more human than human).
But itโs a step in the right direction for DCโs cinematic universe after a decade of squandering its talent by trying to play the MCUโs game.
PS: We hate how much we loved Krypto the CGI superdog.
PPS: Itโs hilariously clear what fetish sites James Gunn frequents based on what we can only assume was his specific costuming direction for some of the women.
They Donโt Make โEm Like They Used Toโฆ
In the same way that weโve lost the swashbuckling likes of Mask of Zorro, we just donโt do old-fashioned, gunslinging revenge movies anymore. At least not the kind with a masterful build-up and where violence doesnโt lose all meaning after the fourth or fifth goon bites the dust.
Thatโs why George P. Cosmatosโ Tombstone stands the test of time.
Loosely based on the real-life gunfight at the O.K. Corral, it follows Kurt Russell as legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, who settles down for a peaceful life in Tucson, Arizona, alongside his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliot) and Morgan (Bill Paxton).
But when the outlaw gang known as the Cowboys roll into town, the brothers and the hard-living โlungerโ Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) are forced to draw their smoke wagons to seek justice the only way they know how.
Insanely quotable. Insanely memorable. The late great Kilmer, in our opinion, has never shone brighter; and the escalation to his eventual showdown with Michael Biehnโs Johnny Ringo is a thing of true beauty.
You can now stream Tombstone (1993) here in Australia via Disney+.