brightlight Archives

Mar92025 by cineverseNo Comments

Box Office: ‘Mickey 17’ Freezes Up With Chilly $7.7 Million Opening Day

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By J. Kim Murphy According To The variety Bong Joon Ho‘s “Mickey 17,” the first of Warner Bros.‘ eclectic, pricey 2025 slate of original films from name-brand directors like Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson, isn’t getting the warmest arrival at the box office. The sci-fi comedy, starring Robert Pattinson as a pair of interstellar doppelgangers, earned $7.7 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,807 locations. That kick-off puts “Mickey 17” on pace to land within projections for an opening weekend north of $18 million. Whether or not it can fulfill that forecast though, it’s going to be a slow start for a film sporting a $118 million production budget. Add in marketing and distribution costs and the Warner Bros. release will likely struggle to enter pr...

Mar82025 by cineverseNo Comments

The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick’ Review: A DIY Wellness Satire Steeped in Thuddingly Obvious Metaphors

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By Siddhant Adlakha According To The variety Wellness culture takes sinister form in “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick,” a horror-adjacent domestic drama that can’t quite sustain its tongue-in-cheek delights. Directed by Pete Ohs (“Jethica”), and co-written by Ohs and his four lead actors, the ultra-indie SXSW discovery’s wry tone is accompanied by strange characters and even stranger sound design, and yields a wildly enjoyable initial half. However, like its grieving lead character lost in her millennial malaise, it loses itself down a rabbit hole of metaphors. After Yvonne (Zoë Chao) experiences a personal tragedy — the surprising details of which are hinted at over a phone call, before gradually coming to light — she drives to the isolated, woodl...

Mar82025 by cineverseNo Comments

Blake Lively Speaks in Public for First Time Since Justin Baldoni Controversy at ‘Another Simple Favor’ SXSW Premiere

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By Selome Hailu According To The variety At the South by Southwest premiere of “Another Simple Favor,” Blake Lively spoke in public for the first time since her legal battle with Justin Baldoni began in December. “I love this character so much. It’s probably my favorite character I’ve ever been fortunate enough to play,” she said onstage at Austin’s Paramount Theater after the screening. “So when Paul asked us to come back, I was so excited.” Though no one referenced the Baldoni controversy directly, support for Lively among her collaborators was clear. On the red carpet before the premiere, director Paul Feig told Variety that she is “the most amazing collaborator,” adding that “every movie star has opinions about what they’re doing. I haven’t wor...

Mar42025 by cineverseNo Comments

James Cameron Champions Zoe Saldaña’s Oscar Win: The ‘Avatar’ Family Has Always Known Her to Be a ‘World-Class Performer’

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By Zack Sharf According To The variety Zoe Saldaña is an Oscar winner, and James Cameron is over the moon. The “Avatar” director shared his reaction to his leading lady’s victory by telling Variety: “I was so happy to see Zoe acknowledged as the world-class performer we, in the ‘Avatar’ family, have always known her to be. Her acceptance speech was a noble reminder of what immigrant families bring to the U.S. and to Hollywood.” In her Oscars speech, Saldaña proudly referred to herself as the “proud child of immigrant parents” while revealing she had become the first American of Dominican decent to win an Academy Award. “And I know I will not be the last. I hope,” she added. “The fact that I’m getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish ...

Mar42025 by cineverseNo Comments

Millie Bobby Brown Slams Press for ‘Dissecting My Face,’ Calls Out Writers for ‘Disturbing’ Articles About Her Body: ‘This Is Bullying… I Will Not Be Shamed’

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By Zack Sharf According To The variety Millie Bobby Brown has posted a video on Instagram in which she condemns the press for “bullying” her over her changing physical appearance. The “Stranger Things” star called out specific articles and writers for their “disturbing” coverage that is devoted to “dissecting my face, my body, my choices.” “I started in this industry when I was 10 years old,” Brown wrote in the caption to the video. “I grew up in front of the world, and for some reason, people can’t seem to grow with me. Instead, they act like I’m supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on ‘Stranger Things’ Season 1. And because I don’t, I’m now a target.” Brown blasted “the people who are so desperate to tear young women down” and went on to n...

Mar32025 by cineverseNo Comments

L.A. Firefighters Roast ‘Joker 2’ at Oscars: ‘Our Hearts Go Out to Those Who Lost Their Homes. And I’m Talking About’ the ‘Joker’ Producers

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By Rebecca Rubin According To The variety Oscar host Conan O’Brien gave Los Angeles firefighters the opportunity to deliver a few zingers during Hollywood’s biggest night. On stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, O’Brien told the audience of A-listers, “Now, I know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but there are some jokes even I’m not brave enough to tell.” So he enlisted a number of first responders — members of the fire service who battled this year’s devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires — and instructed: “On behalf of myself, would you please read what’s in the prompter?” O’Brien first them turned back to the crowd to say, “Remember — everyone in this audience has to laugh; these are heroes!” Los Angeles Fire Department captain Erik Scott kicked things of...

Mar22025 by cineverseNo Comments

2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action’ Review: Optimism and Outrage Battle It Out in Solid Shorts Crop

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By Peter Debruge According To The variety Over the past two decades, the Academy Awards have been in a constant state of flux: There are now 10 best picture nominees instead of five, the membership has grown (and diversified) by more than 50% in that time, streaming releases now routinely vie for the top prize. Amid all that change, one constant remains: For 20 years, ShortsTV has been working with the short film nominees to get their work seen around the country. The theatrical audience for those releases grows each year, to the point that the “2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action” package is on track to outgross best picture nominee “Nickel Boys” at the box office. First up in an all-around strong (and impressively international) selection is the Croatian short that won th...