KUNG FU PANDA 4 (2024)
The DreamWorks franchise that began in 2008 gifted Black with one of his most enduring roles: kindly, kickass, black-and-white bear, Po.
'I love kung-fu cinema so this is the only real opportunity to explore that world for me. I've just had a blast. When I first got the offer, [former DreamWorks CEO] Jeffrey Katzenberg liked what I did in School of Rock and was like, "I just did Shrek, and things are kickin' ass, and I think you'd be great as this panda." At first, I was hesitant. I was like, "I don't know if I quite understand what the concept is." He showed me a rough drawing of Po animated to a scene from High Fidelity. I got it in that moment. I was like, "Yeah, let's do it." And it's been an incredible bucking bronco ride ever since. I guess it's just that combination that people love; they love martial arts and when you can mix comedy with that, it has that combustible sort of combination. Jackie Chan was able to do it really well for dozens of films. Stephen Chow did that to great effect with Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. I think it's the same kind of thing that resonates with a Kung Fu Panda audience. Do I want to do any more? It's not up to me. I could see them going, "Oh, now there's a bunch of baby pandas. It's Kung Fu Pandaz - with a 'Z'." But I'm always down to clown. You know I'm ready to party.'
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017)
Another videogame-flavoured franchise offered Black hilarious bodyswap potential, playing a videogame avatar inhabited by a teen girl.
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Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av Total Film.
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Snow Time to Die - Red One J.K. Simmons' Santa gets kidnapped. Luckily, Dwayne Johnson's on hand to save him...
If 2022's Violent Night gave us Die Hard in a Santa suit, Jake Kasdan's Red One could be retitled North Pole Has Fallen. The world imagined by Kasdan finds Saint Nick kidnapped two days before Christmas Eve. It's up to Dwayne Johnson's head of security, Callum Drift, and Chris Evans' unscrupulous hacker-for-hire, Jack O'Malley, to hunt down the man in red in time for the big day.
Back With a Vengeance - Sir Ridley Scott returns to the Colosseum with Gladiator II, the long-awaited sequel to the greatest historical epic of this century. Total Film meets the director and cast to discover how Maximus' legacy is echoing in eternity.
Ridley Scott is not a filmmaker to repeat himself. It's a trait that's all the more remarkable when you consider how prolific he's been over the nearly five decades since his feature debut, 1977's The Duellists. Alien prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are the only times he's gone back to the same world, and those films are radical departures from the original.
Bad Romance - Timestalker Alice Lowe falls in love with the wrong man time and time again...
Her antidote to that? Timestalker a dark not-quite-romcom set over the course of centuries. Her protagonist Agnes finds herself attracted to the same man, Alex (Dunkirk's Aneurin Barnard), in every lifetime as she's reincarnated in the 1680s, 1790s, 1980s and the 22nd century. As romantic as that may sound, there's a bit of a catch: 'He's sort of a dickhead. On the surface he's appealing, but under, he's not.'
McQueen & Country
A moment of national pride and terror comes to the screen with World War Two historical drama Blitz. Total Film speaks to writer/director Steve McQueen and his stars Saoirse Ronan and Stephen Graham about uncovering the truth and celebrating the triumph of a defining moment in modern British history.
'I WAS, AND AM STILL, SURPRISED BY EVERY OPPORTUNITY. I'VE BEEN CONTINUOUS AND FEEL AT THE TOP OF MY FORM' JEFF GOLDBLUM
Seth Brundle. Dr. Ian Malcolm. Grandmaster. Jeff Goldblum has played some titanic characters over his 50-year career, and is celebrating a half-century on our screens by going bigger than ever. First he played Zeus in Netflix show Kaos, and now he's the Wizard of Oz in Wicked. Total Film meets the man behind the curtain...
STICKY SITUATION
Seven years on from his last big-screen appearance, marmalade's biggest fan returns for Paddington in Peru. Total Film talks to director Dougal Wilson, actor Hugh Bonneville and the visual-effects wizards who make the magic happen...
BORN TO BE WILD
BROTHERS IS THE MOST SURPRISING ACTION COMEDY OF THE YEAR, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE JOSH BROLIN AND PETER DINKLAGE PLAY CRIMINAL TWINS. TOTAL FILM ROUNDS UP THE STARS TO TALK ABOUT DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES, THE 'HARD AS NAILS' COMEDIES THEY GREW UP WITH, AND MASTURBATING MONKEYS...
TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT Payal Kapadia's film shows the Mumbai you've never seen...
HUMPH DAY BOGART: LIFE COMES IN FLASHES
Behind every great man is a great woman. Or in Humphrey Bogart's case, four great women...
CALLING THE SHOTS
NEVER LOOK AWAY Lucy Lawless directs a bio-doc about a trailblazing camerawoman...
