The Chow Down Recap – February 9th
Straight Outta Compton Trailer
The Chow Down gang started off the show with business as usual – by discussing recent trailers from the past week. The first trailer they discussed was Straight Outta Compton. Straight Outta Compton is a biopic about the rise of the rap group, NWA, from their lives in Compton to renowned fame. The trailer opens with an introduction by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube talking about music and their hometown. They even have a brief conversation with fellow (albeit much younger) artist Kendrick Lamar to discuss the influence NWA had over the hip hop industry. The footage seen in the trailer is exciting, to say the very least. Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., is portraying his father in his film to add another level of realism. Our hosts came to a unanimous decision that they are excited to see how this film turns out.
Poltergeist
The next trailer that the Chow Downers talked about was the trailer for Gil Kenan’s remake of the classic horror flick Poltergeist. The remake features Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt, and it is produced by Sam Raimi (Drag Me to Hell, Evil Dead franchise). The gang decided that this wasn’t anything to get excited over. It looked like it was going to be another jump-scare horror film with a lot of recycling of shots from the original film.
Female Leads for Deadpool Film
Four names have been released to be the female lead in the new X-Men spinoff, Deadpool, coming to theaters February 2016. The actresses are Morena Baccarin (Homeland), Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black), Crystal Reed (Teen Wolf), and Rebecca Rittenhouse (The Red Band Society). The gang believes that the female lead will be none other than Domino, a common female character in many Deadpool story arcs from the comic books.
Set Photos from Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs Biopic
The first images from Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic were released this past week. The gang all agreed that although Seth Rogen bears a striking resemblance to Steve Wozniak, Michael Fassbender does not really look similar to Steve Jobs. While they all agree that he is a very talented actor and will most likely do the role justice, the viewer will have to look past him as a “long-haired Michael Fassbender,” and see him as a young Steve Jobs.
Passengers is a Sony Pictures project about a spaceship travelling through space. Said spaceship contains passengers in a deep, induced sleep to quickly pass the flight. Something goes awry and the male protagonist wakes up early. He begins to get lonely, so he decides to wake up a female passenger. As this movie goes on, it develops into a full-blown romantic plot. However, the big news is about the casting of this film. Chris Pratt – a Chow Down favorite – is in talks to be the male lead, while Jennifer Lawrence is rumored to be the female lead. The gang seems pretty split about this film. They decide that it can either be a great dramatic breakout role for Chris Pratt, but they are leery that he may not have good chemistry with someone who has as much dramatic screen presence as J-Law.
Amy Pascal has recently stepped down as co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment in the wake of Sony’s hacking scandal. The gang asked the most important question when this issue was brought up, “What does this mean for Spiderman?” The gang decides that this could be good for anyone hoping that Marvel regains some of the rights to Spider-man. They believe that the new chair, wanting to make a big impression shortly after he gets the position, may piggyback off of Marvel’s success. As the email leak showed, Sony was already in talks with Marvel about the rights to Spiderman, but could this be what finishes a deal?
Lionsgate wants Hunger Games Sequels
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer told analysts recently that he was “actively looking at some development and thinking about prequel and sequel possibilities.” The gang seemed split on this issue as well. While some members wanted to see them end on a good note and to not milk the cash cow that is The Hunger Games for all that it is worth, Nate and Will liked the possibilities of more movies. They agreed that as long as Suzanne Collins came back to help them, an exploration into the troubled past of Panem would make for an interesting story for fans of the series.
