ICYMI: Rebel Wilson’s Personal Story, Thor: Ragnarok Conquers the Box Office

Pitch Perfect 3 star Rebel Wilson shared two experiences on Twitter last week regarding sexual harassment, one being with a male star “in a position of power” and another with an encounter with a top director. In the first encounter, the male star had asked her to go into a room with him and then “repeatedly asking [her] to stick [her] finger up his a–.” She added that his male friends attempted to film the incident on their iPhones while laughing. Wilson had contacted her lawyer to make sure she would not receive legal backlash if she chose to leave the production if the incidents happened again. She later added that one of the star’s representatives threatened her, telling her to be nice to the star.

In the second instance, Wilson was in a “hotel room encounter” with a top director. “I thought we were there to talk comedy,” she wrote. “Nothing physical happened because the guy’s wife called and started abusing him over the phone for sleeping with actresses and luckily she was yelling so loud that I could hear her and bolted out of there immediately.” Lucky for her that Wilson got out of that situation somewhat safely, even though the memory will always stay with her. However, sharing her stories will not only help herself, but help others who may have experienced the same trauma.

In more positive movie news, Thor: Ragnarok is set to stay on top of the box office at $61.3 million at 4,080 North American locations during its second weekend. Fans of Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum will be satisfied to hear of the Disney-Marvel film’s rising financial success. The third Thor movie ended a monthlong box office slump last weekend when it opened with $122.7 million, the fourth-best launch of 2017, so a decline of under 50% is well above the norm.

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Hot Topic: A First Look at Fantastic Beasts 2,  Jordan Peele on Get Out’s Comedy Label

Potterheads, wands at the ready for this exclusive first-look photo of the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald, the second in the “Harry Potter” prequel franchise! The poster features Eddie Redmayne as magical zoologist Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina, Alison Sudol as Queenie, Dan Fogler as Jacob, Ezra Miller as Credence, Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange, and Johnny Depp as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. David Yates is returning to direct, and “Potter” author J.K. Rowling as screenwriter.

A new castmate in this photo is Jude Law as the great Albus Dumbledore, the future Hogwarts headmaster. Jude Law does not sport Dumbledore’s signature white beard, hair and cloak, but fans still have plenty to get excited about. In this next movie segment, Dumbledore orders his former student Newt Scamander to capture Grindelwald. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” was set in the 1920s New York City. Warner Bros. has not yet revealed when the third, fourth, and fifth films will be released.

In stranger news, Jordan Peele’s highly successful directorial debut, horror flick Get Out, was found labelled in the Musical/Comedy section for the 2018 Golden Globes. Which, if you’ve seen the movie, as heavy in satire as it is, this movie is not a comedy. Get Out is about a black man who discovers the terrifying truth about rich, liberal suburban white people while visiting his girlfriend’s parents. On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Golden Globes would consider Get Out for its Musical/Comedy categories rather than Drama, a move that seemed logical to those who view Get Out as satire, but completely ridiculous to viewers who perceive the movie as telling deadly-serious truths about racism. In response to this label, Peele merely tweeted, “Get Out is a documentary.” That makes a lot of sense given that this movie is more of a documentary for most black people who have experienced prejudice, racism and family politics in American society. Having the Golden Globes place the film as a Comedy pushes away difficult conversations the mass majority need to have, especially come awards season.

Guess Who: The Get Down’s Justice Smith Cast in Live-Action “Pokemon” Movie, Stephen Chbosky to Direct Prince Charming Movie, Tiffany Haddish Cast in Two Comedies!

Just because Netflix’s The Get Down fell through on its second season does not mean Justice Smith has stopped working. On top of working with Universal and director J.A. Bayona for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Smith also recently finished filming on MGM’s “Every Day.” He now has been cast as the lead in Detective Pikachu, the first-ever live-action “Pokemon” film. Rob Letterman is on board to direct with a script by Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch. There has been no word on which lead character Smith will portray ‒ either Pikachu or his trusted human companion, Ash Ketchum ‒ but hopefully, we’ll know more information soon.

Disney has found Stephen Chbosky to direct and write the Prince Charming live-action film. Matt Fogel penned the initial script for the project, written from the point of view of Prince Charming’s brother who never quite lived up to the family name.

“Prince Charming” re-teams Chbosky with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV, who produced “Wonder.” Hoberman and Lieberman are producing “Charming” along with Tripp Vinson. Chbosky has a lot of experience with story-to-movie adaptations, being that he wrote and directed the 2012 teen drama adaptation of his book, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller. He also wrote the screenplay for 2005’s “Rent” and worked on Disney’s smash live-action “Beauty and the Beast”. With all of this in mind, it will be exciting to see what Chbosky brings to “Prince Charming”.

“Girls Trip” breakout star Tiffany Haddish has been cast in two comedies, “The Temp” and “The Kitchen”. “The Kitchen”, the directorial debut of the “Straight Outta Compton” screenwriter Andrea Berloff, is based on the Vertigo comic book series from Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle, about the Irish mafia in Hell’s Kitchen in the 1970s. “The Temp” is described as a female-driven film, according to “Girls Trip” producer Will Packer.

Fans of “Orphan Black” and “Captain America” will be surprised to hear of Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany and Sebastian Stan in negotiations to join Academy Award and Emmy Award winner, Nicole Kidman, in Destroyer. The crime thriller will be directed by Karyn Kusama from an original screenplay by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. “Destroyer” follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past.

Social Frenzy: Deadpool 2’s Weirdly Funny Teaser, The Internet Swoons Over Jude Law’s Young Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts 2 Poster

Just when you think Ryan Reynolds couldn’t get any weirder and funnier, he proves us wrong in the new “Deadpool 2” trailer. It’s basically Reynolds impersonating painter Bob Ross, in Deadpool’s costume. It’s weird, eccentric, ridiculous, and made the Internet go crazy! Watch the teaser on Refinery 29.

“Potter” fans are going thirsty for young, hot Albus Dumbledore, played by Jude Law in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald”. Most are curious as to how the sequel will play out the hinted relationship between Dumbledore and Johnny Depp’s Gellert Grindelwald. In the books, Dumbledore and Grindelwald were very close as youngsters, and Dumbledore is rumored to have fallen in love with him, though it is unknown if Grindewald returned his affection. The pair had a falling out when Dumbldore’s sister Ariana was accidentally killed in a duel. Twitter exploded with thoughts, opinions and feels from fans across the globe.

Rumor Has It: Ben Affleck’s Status as Batman after Justice League

A little birdy told Den of Geek that Ben Affleck might leave Batman behind, with Jake Gyllenhaal as his prospective replacement. Affleck’s journey as Bruce Wayne has been long and difficult, to say the least. Initial reactions to his casting were met with high skepticism from fans online, but the Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice proved that Affleck had the chops. However, critical responses had been less that pleasant for BVS.

A solo movie for Affleck, entitled “The Batman”, was planned with director Matt Reeves, but there was never a set release date. He told Extra TV during this year’s San Diego Comic Con:

“I don’t know about that… we’ll see what the future holds. [It’s] something I’m contemplating…You don’t do it forever, so I want to find a graceful and cool way to segue out of it.”

Rumors have already started that Reeves has already met with fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal to play Batman on his own.

Talent Interviews: Logan Director James Mangold Praises Production Team, IDFA founder Ally Derks: “Why Isn’t There A Cannes For Documentaries?”

There’s no “I” in team, and “Logan” director James Mangold perfectly understands that motto. He did an editorial with Variety to discuss how his production team ‒ Cinematographer John Mathieson, Production designer François Audouy, Sound supervisor Don Sylvester, Sound mixers Paul Massey, David Giammarco, Editors Michael McCusker, Dirk Westervelt, and Music Supervisor Marco Beltrami ‒ on how they all have helped make the X-Men film the best it could have been.

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) founder Ally Derks did an in-depth interview with Variety on leaving the company after 30 years of service. Derks also talked about why she had started IDFA in the first place: “I always had the idea, ‘Why isn’t there a Cannes for documentaries?’” she says. “Why is Cannes only for fiction films? There should be a place in the world where all these documentary filmmakers can come together and share their stories – with each other and with an audience. And Amsterdam is a fantastic place for that.”

Coming Soon: The Incredibles 2 adorable teaser trailer, The Voice Top 12 and Pitch Perfect 3’s “Freedom! ‘90 x Cups!” Mashup

Even though the Incredibles 2 full-length movie blasts into theaters on June 15, 2018, the teaser trailer will still have everyone going crazy over it. See the teaser trailer here!

The “Pitch Perfect 3” Bellas and “The Voice” Top 12 teamed up for the new single, “Freedom! ’90 x Cups”, as promotion for the film coming December 22. For a limited time, fans who purchase their “Pitch Perfect 3” tickets on Fandango receive a free download of the “Freedom! ’90 x Cups” mashup! Watch the mashup video on Coming Soon.

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What’s Happening Next Week: The Franco Brothers’ Sibling Rivalry in The Disaster Artist, Ethan Hawke only has 24 Hours to Live, The Shape of Water’s Cold War Dilemma and More!

James and Dave Franco don’t get to do a ton of movies together, but in “The Disaster Artist”, this proves that they really should in the future. With a limited release on December 1 and a wide release on December 8, “The Disaster Artist” is a comedic take on the many ways to become a legend ‒ and no limit to what you can achieve when you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing.

In “24 Hours to Live”, this action-thriller plot sounds as simple as the title. Ethan Hawke plays a mastermind career assassin who is given a second chance at life after his employer accidentally kills then revives him. “24 Hours to Live” drops December 1 in New York and LA theaters, with a VOD release on December 8.

“The Shape of Water” describes an otherworldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. The film drops December 1, with a New York and Los Angeles release on December 8.

Rapper and social media socialite Azealia Banks makes her acting debut in RZA’s “Love Beats Rhyme”, co-starring music superstars Common, Jill Scott, Lorraine Toussaint, Hana Mae Lee, John David Washington, and Lucien Laviscount. When struggling rapper Coco (Azealia Banks) enrolls in a poetry class, she thinks her rhymes will impress her teacher, Professor Dixon (Jill Scott). Instead, Dixon challenges Coco to seek real meaning in her lyrics, setting her on a journey of discovery that takes her through rap clubs and poetry slams, leading her to find her true voice — and true love. “Love Beats Rhyme” hits theaters December 1 on limited, Digital HD, On Demand release.