Remember when North Korean hackers stole a bunch of Sony emails and released them to the public? Well, a leak of that magnitude just happened and not nearly enough people are talking about it. Someone managed to swipe an entire film that was slated for a fall theatrical release—Avatar: Aang, the Last Airbender, the long-awaited sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender—and put it online. Here's the truly scary thing: Paramount, the hot-topic studio behind it, doesn't appear to be doing all that much about it. Below, Eric Francisco will tell you why the doom times for Hollywood may have finally arrived.
—Brady Langmann, senior entertainment editor
|
|
|
No, not that Avatar. But this is still very grim.
|
One of the biggest Hollywood leaks since North Korean hackers released all those Sony emails in 2014 happened last weekend. Avatar: Aang, the Last Airbender was an upcoming sequel film to the hit Nickelodeon fantasy series Avatar: The Last Airbender that aired from 2005 to 2008 and set a new standard for all-ages animation. Originally scheduled for wide release on October 9, the movie was instead made into a Paramount+ exclusive that would premiere on the streamer instead of the big screen. I describe the movie in the past tense because now its release is in doubt. The whole movie is online.
|
|
|
When Jamie Dornan’s face first appears on the screen during our Zoom call, he’s bathed in light. Or maybe bathed isn’t quite the right word. It’s more like he’s bombarded, the sun hitting him squarely in the face as he attempts to adjust his angle away from the glare.
He’s on vacation with the family and “as relaxed as I can be with three kids,” he says. Where in the world is he, I inquire, that would have him seeking refuge from the onslaught of UV rays directed at his eyeballs?
“In Ireland!” he laughs. It’s a fitting getaway location for the 43-year-old actor, who grew up in Belfast before making his way across the water to London, where he began his career as a model in the early 2000s. But, being part of the famously dreary British Isles, it’s not exactly the sort of spot where you’d expect aggressive sunlight to pose a problem in the early spring.
That said, the sense of subverted expectations is on theme for our discussion. We are, after all, talking to one another because Dornan is the face of a bright, playful new summer campaign from one of the most famous cold-weather brands in the world: Moncler.
|
|
|
The room is too small for him. Even when he’s sitting, his presence overwhelms the space almost comically. Fernando Mendoza, the improbable national champion, unquestioned Heisman Trophy winner, and soon-to-be number-one NFL draft pick, is immured in a conference room in an office park in Irvine, California, at Excel Sports Management, the agency to which he has entrusted his future, talking about the daily drills and exercises he’s doing to make himself a better quarterback. There’s an idle flat-screen hanging on one wall, a whiteboard and some dry-erase markers, errant water bottles, and an Office Depot table with swivel chairs, one of which he is swiveling in.
Mendoza is explaining how he’s handling what they call the fishbowl, through which masses of people are watching him, analyzing him, prognosticating about him, doubting him, praising him, and expecting unreasonably high achievements from him at an age when he still gets carded. These masses include football fans broadly, of course.
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment