Apple Original Films Releases Trailer for Anya Taylor-Joy’s Survival Action Film “The Gorge”

Anya Taylor-Joy is in survivor mode… with a side of romance.

Apple Original Films has officially debuted the thrilling first trailer for the survival action film The Gorge, starring the 28-year-old Argentine American Golden Globe-winning actress.

Anya Taylor-JoySparks fly between Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller in the trailer for the film, which takes the duo to a remote corner of the world to protect a highly-guarded secret threat.

The Gorge, which premieres February 14 on Apple TV+, was written by Zach Dean and directed by Scott Derrickson.

Taylor-Joy and Teller star as Drasa and Levi, two elite snipers appointed to guard posts on opposite sides of a deep, highly-classified gorge that protects the world from the mysterious evil lurking below.

“You need to stop what’s in the gorge from coming out,” Levi’s comrade tells him. “The gorge is the door to Hell, and we’re standing guard at the gate.”

Forbidden from communicating with the outside or even with each other, it doesn’t take long before he and Drasa get bored and start flirting with binoculars and notepads.

When their security is breached, Levi falls into the gorge and Drasa goes after him. Now, they must work together to keep the secret of the gorge buried.

“This place is evil,” she says.

The film also stars Sigourney Weaver as the government official who sends Levi on his year-long mission

Pedro Pascal to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards Show

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Pedro Pascal is headed to the Oscars

The 47-year-old Chilean actor appears on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ final list of names chosen as presenters for the 95th annual Academy Awards.

Pedro Pascal

In addition to Pascal, the latest round of stars set to present includes Eva Longoria, Halle Berry, Paul Dano, Cara Delevingne, Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Olsen and John Travolta, executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner and executive producer Molly McNearney have announced.

Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, at Ovation’s Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Previously announced Oscars presenters include Riz Ahmed, Halle Bailey, Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Nicole Kidman, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Florence Pugh, Questlove, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Donnie Yen.

Antonio Banderas to Serve as Presenter During Academy Awards Show

Antonio Banderas is headed to the Oscars

The 62-year-old Spanish actor and director has been added to the presenter ranks for this weekend’s Academy Awards show by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS).

Antonio BanderasBanderas is among a list of recently added presenters that includes Halle Bailey, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman, Florence Pugh and Sigourney Weaver.

They join the previously announced Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Questlove, Zoe Saldaña and Donnie Yen.

More presenters will be revealed during the week.

The latest adds to Hollywood’s Big Night come just as Oscar voting is set to end, with ballots due at 5 p.m. PT tonight.

The months-long awards season culminates with the 95th annual Academy Awards, which will be handed out Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

ABC will air the ceremony live coast-to-coast starting at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET, along with more than 200 countries around the world.

First Full Trailer Released for Zoe Saldana’s “Avatar” Sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Zoe Saldana is heading the way of water

The first full official trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, starring the 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress, has been released.

Zoë SaldañaDisney will begin the overseas rollout of the sequel to the highest-grossing film ever on December 14 with its U.S. release set for December 16.

The Way of Water is set more than a decade after the events of the first Avatar film. It follows the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri [Saldana] and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure as they fight for their home on Pandora. Brimming with stunning visuals and new creatures, the trailer also features a callback to the original movie with the signature Na’vi line: “I see you.”

Zoe Saldana, Avatar: The Way of Water,The sequel stars Sam Worthington, Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement and more.

Disney previously previewed a teaser trailer at CinemaCon in April before playing it exclusively in theaters on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessand then put it online in May.

The studio, Cameron and producer Jon Landau have been making the rounds with footage from the film, screening during June’s CineEurope conference in Barcelona and at D23 in September as well as for executives from China Film Group (a release there is still unconfirmed).

Disney also released a remastered 4K HDR version of the original film in September to set the table for the sequel, and included sneak footage tagged onto the end.

Sources indicate The Way of Water will clock in at more than three hours, but no exact final run-time has been decided. The original was two hours and 41 minutes.

In total, four sequels are planned. Said Landau in Vegas, “The journey across all four movies will create a connected saga.”

Said Cameron at the time, the new films are “pushing limits even farther with high frame rate, higher resolution 3D and greater reality in our visual effects. I wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special. Every shot is designed for the biggest screen, highest resolution and most immersive 3D available. I think we pulled it off.”

Sebastián Zurita to Appear in Prime Video Series “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart”

Sebastián Zurita has a blooming new role…

The 35-yea-old Mexican actor has landed a recurring role in Prime Video’s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, based on the novel of the same name by Holly Ringland.

Sebastián ZuritaZurita joins previously announced star and executive producer Sigourney WeaverAlycia Debnam-Carey, Alyla Browne, Leah Purcell, Asher Keddie, Frankie Adams, Alexander England, Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Charlie Vickers.

The 7-part drama series set in Australia tells the story of a young girl, Alice Hart (played by Browne as a youth and Debnam-Carey as an adult), whose violent childhood casts a dark shadow over her adult life. After a family tragedy in which she loses both her abusive father and beloved mother in a mysterious fire, 9-year-old Alice is taken to live with her grandmother June (Weaver) on a flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart comes from Amazon Studios and is produced by Made Up Stories and Endeavor Content.

Kirsty Fisher and Kim Wilson are on-board as writers. Glendyn Ivin will direct all 7 episodes.

The series will be produced by Barbara Gibbs and co-executive produced by Made Up Stories’ Lucinda Reynolds.

Up next for Zurita is the April 15 premiere of Prime Video’s Como Sobrevivir Soltero’s second season, a series he stars in and co-created alongside his brother Emiliano Zurita. The project has been renewed for a third season.

He previously starred in El Juego De Las Llaves for Prime Video and Pantaya, and Crackle’s The Oath.

Esai Morales to Star in Paul Schrader’s Film “Master Gardener”

Esai Morales is taking up gardening

The 59-year-old old Puerto Rican actor will star in Paul Schrader’s film Master Gardener.

Esai MoralesLed by Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver, the film is now shooting in Louisiana.

In addition to Morales, recently added cast members include Quintessa Swindell, who will play Maya, the wayward and troubled great-niece of Mrs Haverhill (Weaver), who is taken on as a new apprentice by the titular gardener Narvel Roth (Edgerton).

Morales will play Roth’s Witness Protection Officer.

Amanda Crittenden of KOJO Studios and Scott LaStaiti are producing together with David Gonzales, Schrader’s manager. Luisa Law, KOJO Studios’ Linda Ujuk and Dale Roberts are executive producers.

Morales previous credits include La Bamba, American Family, Resurrection Blvd., NYPD Blue and Ozark.

Penelope Cruz to Present at This Year’s Oscars

Penelope Cruzhas a date with Oscar

The 45-year-old Spanish actress and Oscar winner is set to present at the 92nd annual Academy Awardson ABC

Penelope Cruz

Cruz, a three-time nominee who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Woody Allen‘s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, joins a roster of new additions to the presenters roster that includes James CordenBeanie FeldsteinZack GottsagenDiane KeatonShia LaBeouf, George MacKaySteve MartinKeanu Reeves, Maya Rudolph and Sigourney Weaver.

Previously announced presenters include Zazie BeetzTimothée ChalametWill FerrellGal GadotMindy KalingJulia Louis-DreyfusLin-Manuel MirandaAnthony RamosMark RuffaloKelly Marie Tranand Kristen Wiig.

The Oscars will be televised live on February 9 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Morena Baccarin to Star in the Feature “The Good House”

Morena Baccarin is ready to play House…

The 40-year-old Brazilian actress has been cast in Amblin Partners’ Sigourney WeaverKevin Kline feature reteam The Good House.

Morena Baccarin

Baccarin joins a list of recent cast additions that includes Rob Delaney, Beverly D’AngeloDavid RascheRebecca Hendersonand Molly Brown.

The film, already shooting in Canada, is directed by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky, based on a script they co-wrote adapted from the Ann Learynovel

The Good House follows Hildy Good (Weaver), a wry New England realtor and descendant of the Salem witches who loves her wine and loves her secrets. Her compartmentalized life starts to unravel as she rekindles an old romance and becomes dangerously entwined in one person’s reckless behavior.

Baccarin will play Rebecca McAllister, a beautiful, luminous woman in an unhappy marriage. She’s distractible, emotional, with an air of danger around her. 

Baccarin just wrapped back to back films Waldo opposite Charlie Hunnam and Greenland opposite Gerard Butler

She’s starred in such television series as VGotham and Homelandthe latter on which earned her a best supporting actress Emmy nomination. 

Focus Features to Release Bayona’s “A Monster Calls” in October

It looks like J.A. Bayona will have a Monster October…

Focus Features will release the 41-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s fantasy drama A Monster Calls on October 21, one week later than originally planned.

J.A. Bayona & A Monster Calls Cast

Written by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls follows a boy who seeks the help of a tree monster so that he can cope with his single mother’s terminal disease. The monster tells him stories to help him cope with his life, though he has difficulty understanding the point of the bizarre tales. The boy doesn’t get along with his grandmother, which is unfortunate because he will have to live with her when his mother passes away.

J.A. Bayona & A Monster Calls Cast

Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell, Lewis MacDougall and Liam Neeson star.

Bayona’s previous feature The Impossible played during awards season 2012 and focused on a family in peril during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand.

Saban Films Acquires North American Rights to Rodriguez’s “Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale”

Michelle Rodriguez is getting revenge

Saban Films has acquired the North American distribution rights to Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale, Walter Hill’s crime thriller starring the 37-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican-American actress and Fast & Furious star.

Michelle Rodriguez

One of the more controversial films in the genre, it follows a hitman (Rodriguez) who was double-crossed by gangsters and forced to undergo sex-reassignment surgery as punishment and then seeks revenge against them and the surgeon. No release date has been announced.

In addition to Rodriguez, the film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia and Caitlin Gerard.

The film was written by Hill and Denis Hamill.

“This is a revenge action thriller with a twist,” said Saban Film’s Bill Bromiley. “Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale is a unique and clever film which will take audience on a cool adventure.”