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DCFandome gave comic book folks plenty to get excited about while they endure a year without a proper Comic-Con, and the biggest news of the night was a first look at a trailer for Robert Pattinson’s turn as Bruce Wayne in The Batman. The dark look at a movie that’s less than a quarter filmed didn’t offer much narratively, but it did show some pretty brutal violence from the caped crusader and a bit of what Pattinson will sound like while in the costume.

There’s a lot to break down from the look we’re given, despite Pattinson’s reticence to speak about the movie and what’s included in it. But one thing fans immediately fixated on was a still that leaked early on Saturday, was quickly scrubbed from the internet and then indeed popped up in the trailer that was shown off to end the DCFandome event.

We get a look at this potential, well, look twice during the trailer. First, a pair of eyes watching a press conference from the shadows at the 1:05 mark. Later, there’s a scene where Pattinson arrives back at what’s almost certainly the Batcave and takes off his helmet to reveal a very dark look.

Many, including our own Kimberly Ricci, noted that it looked a lot like The Crow, the 1994 revenge film starring Brandon Lee. In the movie, Lee’s character is killed along with his fiancé, though he comes back from the dead to exact some very dark vengeance while sporting a visage that’s very similar to what Pattinson wears at times during the trailer.

Seven was another movie that people pointed out as seemingly referenced in the trailer as well.

As the trailer spread online, “The Crow” started to trend on Twitter, as many made the comparison between Pattinson’s look and the jolt of nostalgia it gave. As many pointed out, the use of a haunting Nirvana tune could also be another hint that the movie will rely on the aesthetic from The Crow, as it also had a haunting and very good soundtrack.

Others pointed out it’s not the first Batman movie to take some hints from makeup in The Crow, though the last time fans pointed it out it was for the bad guy, not Bruce Wayne.

We’ll have to rely a lot more on influence and intuition to learn more about what’s in store for this version of The Bat as production on the film remains on hold due to COVID-19, but Saturday certainly gave fans a lot to think over. And in this case, maybe a 90s classic to re-watch in anticipation of the next Batman movie’s release.

DCFandome gave comic book folks plenty to get excited about while they endure a year without a proper Comic-Con, and the biggest news of the night was a first look at a trailer for Robert Pattinson’s turn as Bruce Wayne in The Batman. The dark look at a movie that’s less than a quarter filmed didn’t offer much narratively, but it did show some pretty brutal violence from the caped crusader and a bit of what Pattinson will sound like while in the costume.

There’s a lot to break down from the look we’re given, despite Pattinson’s reticence to speak about the movie and what’s included in it. But one thing fans immediately fixated on was a still that leaked early on Saturday, was quickly scrubbed from the internet and then indeed popped up in the trailer that was shown off to end the DCFandome event.

We get a look at this potential, well, look twice during the trailer. First, a pair of eyes watching a press conference from the shadows at the 1:05 mark. Later, there’s a scene where Pattinson arrives back at what’s almost certainly the Batcave and takes off his helmet to reveal a very dark look.

Many, including our own Kimberly Ricci, noted that it looked a lot like The Crow, the 1994 revenge film starring Brandon Lee. In the movie, Lee’s character is killed along with his fiancé, though he comes back from the dead to exact some very dark vengeance while sporting a visage that’s very similar to what Pattinson wears at times during the trailer.

Seven was another movie that people pointed out as seemingly referenced in the trailer as well.

As the trailer spread online, “The Crow” started to trend on Twitter, as many made the comparison between Pattinson’s look and the jolt of nostalgia it gave. As many pointed out, the use of a haunting Nirvana tune could also be another hint that the movie will rely on the aesthetic from The Crow, as it also had a haunting and very good soundtrack.

Others pointed out it’s not the first Batman movie to take some hints from makeup in The Crow, though the last time fans pointed it out it was for the bad guy, not Bruce Wayne.

We’ll have to rely a lot more on influence and intuition to learn more about what’s in store for this version of The Bat as production on the film remains on hold due to COVID-19, but Saturday certainly gave fans a lot to think over. And in this case, maybe a 90s classic to re-watch in anticipation of the next Batman movie’s release.

We have written about the father of Macaulay and Kieran Culkin before, when Macaulay was on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron several years ago. According to Macaulay, their father, Kit, was “a bad abusive man,” with whom Macaulay severed all contact after his parent’s divorce. Macaulay remains estranged from him to this day.

I am weirdly fascinated with Macaulay Culkin’s father, Kit, and so clearly is Marc Maron, who had Kieran on his WTF Podcast this week. At the outset, Maron said to Kieran, “I know you and your siblings don’t like to talk about your old man, but… ” and then proceeded to talk about Kieran’s father for the next 20 minutes. Kieran, however, was game, and said at one point that it was fun to talk about his father with someone for the first time in years.

Kieren didn’t get into his father’s abuse as Macaulay had, but Kieran echoed something that Macaulay had told Maron about his experiences with his father: “I’m going around the country locked in a room with a man who didn’t like me,” Macaulay had said. Meanwhile, Kieran also didn’t like to be trapped in hotel rooms with his father, but for different reasons. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t really bathe,” Kieran told Maron. “One of those guys who, if you try to tell him he stinks, says, ‘I smell human.’ It sounds like I’m exaggerating, but he wouldn’t bathe but maybe once a year, he would take a bath. That is true. He just didn’t bathe.”

Kieran recalls a story, in fact, when his father took a bath while he and his siblings were at school, and “my sister Cody, she was a teenager, she walked in, smelled the air, and said, ‘Eww. Did Dad take a bath?’ And I remember seeing layers of dirt film on the side of the tub. He was just an offensive man.”

Ironically, their father was a failed actor, although Maron wondered if the fact that he didn’t bathe might have contributed to his inability to land a role. “He would have been really good as a homeless guy,” Kieran said. “My mom said, when she met him, she asked him what he did, and when he said he was an actor, she immediately looked at his teeth and thought he must be lying. He had teeth growing in sideways and they were yellow and falling out. He was also afraid of the dentist.”

Kit Culkin sounds like a real character. There are photos of him in his 70s floating around the Internet, which seem to echo Kieran’s description. Kieran, like Macaulay, remains estranged from their father, although Kieran did say that he came and saw him at a Broadway play about six years ago. It was the first time he’d seen his father in 16 or 17 years. “Holy sh*t, you really let yourself get old,” was the first thing that Kieran said to his father.

“I did, Kieran. I did,” he replied with a dead serious tone. Kieran hasn’t spoken to his father since, although Kit Culkin will get a chance to see his son at the Emmy Awards on television early next month, where he’ll be up for Best Supporting Actor in a drama.

Source: WTF with Marc Maron

We have written about the father of Macaulay and Kieran Culkin before, when Macaulay was on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron several years ago. According to Macaulay, their father, Kit, was “a bad abusive man,” with whom Macaulay severed all contact after his parent’s divorce. Macaulay remains estranged from him to this day.

I am weirdly fascinated with Macaulay Culkin’s father, Kit, and so clearly is Marc Maron, who had Kieran on his WTF Podcast this week. At the outset, Maron said to Kieran, “I know you and your siblings don’t like to talk about your old man, but… ” and then proceeded to talk about Kieran’s father for the next 20 minutes. Kieran, however, was game, and said at one point that it was fun to talk about his father with someone for the first time in years.

Kieren didn’t get into his father’s abuse as Macaulay had, but Kieran echoed something that Macaulay had told Maron about his experiences with his father: “I’m going around the country locked in a room with a man who didn’t like me,” Macaulay had said. Meanwhile, Kieran also didn’t like to be trapped in hotel rooms with his father, but for different reasons. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t really bathe,” Kieran told Maron. “One of those guys who, if you try to tell him he stinks, says, ‘I smell human.’ It sounds like I’m exaggerating, but he wouldn’t bathe but maybe once a year, he would take a bath. That is true. He just didn’t bathe.”

Kieran recalls a story, in fact, when his father took a bath while he and his siblings were at school, and “my sister Cody, she was a teenager, she walked in, smelled the air, and said, ‘Eww. Did Dad take a bath?’ And I remember seeing layers of dirt film on the side of the tub. He was just an offensive man.”

Ironically, their father was a failed actor, although Maron wondered if the fact that he didn’t bathe might have contributed to his inability to land a role. “He would have been really good as a homeless guy,” Kieran said. “My mom said, when she met him, she asked him what he did, and when he said he was an actor, she immediately looked at his teeth and thought he must be lying. He had teeth growing in sideways and they were yellow and falling out. He was also afraid of the dentist.”

Kit Culkin sounds like a real character. There are photos of him in his 70s floating around the Internet, which seem to echo Kieran’s description. Kieran, like Macaulay, remains estranged from their father, although Kieran did say that he came and saw him at a Broadway play about six years ago. It was the first time he’d seen his father in 16 or 17 years. “Holy sh*t, you really let yourself get old,” was the first thing that Kieran said to his father.

“I did, Kieran. I did,” he replied with a dead serious tone. Kieran hasn’t spoken to his father since, although Kit Culkin will get a chance to see his son at the Emmy Awards on television early next month, where he’ll be up for Best Supporting Actor in a drama.

Source: WTF with Marc Maron

After a successful battle between 2 Chainz and Rick Ross, Verzuz has unveiled the contestants for their next battle. Bringing viewers a heavy dose of 2000s R&B, Brandy and Monica will go head-to-head in the next edition of the online music battle. The contest is a wish come true for fans as they’ve spent the last few months requesting a matchup between Brandy and Monica on the platform.

When asked about a possible battle between the two singers, Brandy revealed that it was her belief that Monica turned down the matchup. “I heard that she doesn’t wanna do it,” Brandy said. “The last thing I heard is she pretty much turned it down, she didn’t want to be a part of that, but I understand.” Thankfully, the R&B talents were able to work it out.

The battle between Brandy and Monica will serve as the first R&B battle since John Legend and Alicia Keys went head-to-head on Juneteenth. The upcoming battle is also the third edition of Verzuz to take place on Apple Music, in addition to Instagram, as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland inked a deal with the streaming platform to make the competitions more available to fans at a higher quality.

While most of their classic records live in 2000s section of R&B the two singers have remained fairly active over the past few years, with Brandy sharing her most recent album B7 arriving last month while Monica’s most recent album, Code Red arrived in 2015.

Tune in 8/6 at 5pm PST/ 8pm EST to watch Brandy and Monica’s battle.

After a successful battle between 2 Chainz and Rick Ross, Verzuz has unveiled the contestants for their next battle. Bringing viewers a heavy dose of 2000s R&B, Brandy and Monica will go head-to-head in the next edition of the online music battle. The contest is a wish come true for fans as they’ve spent the last few months requesting a matchup between Brandy and Monica on the platform.

When asked about a possible battle between the two singers, Brandy revealed that it was her belief that Monica turned down the matchup. “I heard that she doesn’t wanna do it,” Brandy said. “The last thing I heard is she pretty much turned it down, she didn’t want to be a part of that, but I understand.” Thankfully, the R&B talents were able to work it out.

The battle between Brandy and Monica will serve as the first R&B battle since John Legend and Alicia Keys went head-to-head on Juneteenth. The upcoming battle is also the third edition of Verzuz to take place on Apple Music, in addition to Instagram, as Swizz Beatz and Timbaland inked a deal with the streaming platform to make the competitions more available to fans at a higher quality.

While most of their classic records live in 2000s section of R&B the two singers have remained fairly active over the past few years, with Brandy sharing her most recent album B7 arriving last month while Monica’s most recent album, Code Red arrived in 2015.

Tune in 8/6 at 5pm PST/ 8pm EST to watch Brandy and Monica’s battle.

It’s been so long since The Office aired, and the Andy and Erin relationship was such a big part of the show in the final seasons that it’s easy to forget that the two actually didn’t end up together in the end. Erin, in fact, ended the series dating Pete in what was essentially Jim and Pam redux. Andy and Erin had broken up when Andy abandoned Erin for three months to go sailing with his younger brother.

It’s probably for the best, because Andy and Erin were not a good match, at least according to Ellie Kemper, who played Erin on the long-running The Office. “I never thought [Andy and Erin were a good match],” Ellie Kemper told Brian Baumgartner on The Oral History of ‘The Office’ podcast. “I felt like Andy was a bit too childish. He wasn’t ready to take care of Erin. Erin was ready to take care of Andy, but I felt that it was uneven in that respect.”

Baumgartner, however, revealed one match that could have been on the series. “Do you know that I pitched Kevin and Erin getting together?” Baumgartner told Kemper on the podcast.

“Brian,” Kemper said, gasping. “I think that would be a pretty reasonable relationship.” Kemper is dead wrong about that, but Baumgartner continued. “I went up to the writers’ room, and I said, ‘If Kevin could mature just a little, there was something about their energy that I thought was right. Their energies matched in a weird way.’”

I don’t think that’s right, but Kemper seemed to agree. “That actually makes perfect sense to me. I love that pitch.”

“Sadly,” Baumgartner added, “we never got to witness the great love story that Kevin and Erin could have been.”

Source: An Oral History of The Office

We’re back! For the first time since March, we get to speak about actual box-office figures this weekend instead of Netflix charts (although, for the record, Netflix originals Project Power and the kid-friendly The Sleepover led the way on the streamer). There have obviously been a lot of concerns about how comfortable moviegoers would be about returning to theaters. However, an Atom Tickets survey recently revealed that 40 percent of moviegoers are ready to return to theaters now, while 74 percent of moviegoers will be prepared to return within a month.

This weekend was the first real test of moviegoers’ comfort, as AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Marcus Corp all reopened their theaters. For the first time, there was a major new product: Russell Crowe’s Unhinged, which has trailed around Tenet all summer, insisting on being the trial balloon that opened two weeks ahead of the Christopher Nolan film. It was a big gamble for Solstice Studios, which is behind Unhinged, but it looks like it will pay off. The film earned $4 million this weekend ($5 million including Canada), and Solstice is predicting a running total of $8 million by Thursday. The film has also opened internationally, where it has already put up $8 million.

The budget for the film is $33 million, and there’s a chance — with the way that it’s playing so far — that Solstice actually earns its money back from its investment, even in a pandemic. The $4.2 million it has earned in America also comes with a very big caveat: It’s not playing in the nation’s two largest markets, Los Angeles and New York City, where theaters have not reopened yet. It’s playing best in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando, which is good news for theaters, although it may not be great news for public health. What is also interesting is that its grosses are not coming entirely from the younger demographic: A whopping 71 percent of moviegoers on the first day were over the age of 25, with 56% being male. Another caveat is this: A lot of those grosses came from drive-in theaters, since Unhinged seems to be ideally suited to that format.

Reviews for the film have been mixed (48 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), although critics are including another factor in their reviews: Is it worth risking one’s health to see? Most reviewers are coming down on the negative side of that, but it is clear that there are plenty anxious moviegoers waiting for any reason to return to theaters, and Russell Crowe playing a villain is apparently reason enough.

Don’t expect to see a normal top ten, or even top five at the box office anytime soon. There were a few other new films available in theaters this weekend, although they didn’t generate much interest. Roadside Attractions Words on Bathrooms Walls, with AnnaSophia Robb and Walton Goggins, only mustered $420,000 in 925 theater, of $454 per theater. In 108 theaters, IFC’s Tesla starring Ethan Hawke only earned $42,000, good for only $389 per theater. Tesla, however, is also available on VOD. That’s less than Dave Franco’s The Rental, which earned $108,000 in 105 theaters, despite being available at drive-in theaters and on VOD for weeks.

RZA’s Cut Throat City also took a chance on opening weekend, but it came up mostly empty, earning $240,000 in 395 theaters ($608 per). Meanwhile, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run is only screening in theaters in Canada, but it’s not doing a ton of business there in 326 theaters. It earned about $500,000 this weekend to bring its 10-day total in Canada to $10 million.

There is, however, spectacular box-office news in … China. There, the coronavirus is under control, and business in theaters has returned to normal. To wit: The Huayi Brothers’ The Eight Hundred earned a whopping $107 million in its first weekend. Historically, China has always come in second behind the United States in terms of total box office, but I could easily see China surpassing North America this year.

Next weekend, movie theaters will get a bigger test, sort of. Disney is releasing The New Mutants, the last of the X-Men universe movies from 20th Century Fox, which Disney now owns. The movie has been delayed countless times, and this feels like a dump job. However, we might be surprised to see how many people eager to return to the movies will turn out to see it anyway.

Source: Atom, Deadline, Exhibitor Relations

The Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns were among NFL teams that altered their practice schedules on Sunday following a number of reported positive tests for COVID-19, though some were believed to be false positives that stemmed from a single lab in New Jersey.

Reports on Sunday indicated a number of teams got back troubling test results from a New Jersey testing facility, causing the NFL to look into the results and their testing procedures as the league attempts to hold a season in the general population amid a still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The league released a statement on Sunday that said it was investigating the lab where results came back positive, with some “several” results coming back positive from teams serviced by that lab.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Chicago Bears were among those teams that had positives, though their nine tests were later thought to be false positives.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported Sunday that the NFL is exploring what happened at the New Jersey lab, which is performing tests in conjunction with BioReference, which is handling the NFL’s testing this season. The setup is meant to get results back to teams within 24 hours or less, but a number of positives that were later proven false caused teams to push back or alter their schedules on Sunday as the situation was sorted out. Not all test results were immediately proven to be false positives, though, including cases on the Cleveland Browns.

The Chicago Bears were among the teams affected, announcing that they received nine positive test results from their Saturday test regimen. All nine were determined to be false positive results, meaning none were actual indications of infection. The Bears moved back their morning practice to Sunday afternoon “out of an abundance of caution” while they sorted through them.

The Cleveland Browns, meanwhile, canceled their Sunday practice entirely, saying they received results that indicated multiple “presumptive positive” tests from players, coaches and support staff. The Browns said those who had positive rests remain asymptomatic, but the team said Sunday’s meetings would be conducted virtually while the facility undergoes a “thorough deep cleaning and disinfecting process.”

The Buffalo Bills also pushed back the start of their practice by one hour, but did not say why.

The Bills and GM Brandon Beane later confirmed they moved practice back because of coronavirus testing, saying a number of players would miss practice while they wait for more results.

The Jets also suddenly had several positive cases.

The Steelers and Vikings announced they had tests come back positive as well.

The NFL’s statement on Sunday only indicated that it was investigating the results, but the reports indicate all the positives were traced back to the same lab in New Jersey. It’s a worrying development for the NFL, as even if the results were inaccurate it creates another potential issue in holding a season. If results came back positive, even falsely, the league and its teams would be faced with decisions about whether to hold players back or even cancel games if the results were widespread enough.

Thankfully this problem came up well before the start of the regular season and in a period where no preseason games were played, meaning there may still be time to figure out a system that works and keeps everyone safe as the league tries to pull off one of its most ambitious seasons in league history.

During Saturday’s DC FanDome event, Zack Snyder revealed the teaser trailer to his Director’s Cut of Justice League also known as fan-driven “the Snyder Cut.” HBO Max will stream this retooled version (that will end up being over four hours long) sometime in 2021, which means that Joss Whedon’s theatrical version won’t be officially erased but virtually so. Yet Snyder has been perfectly upfront about how his cut won’t affect the DCEU, continuity-wise, and it will be “an entirely new thing.” So, what does all of this mean if fans believe that they’ve found evidence of the Joker in the teaser trailer?

No, really. People are pointing towards a Joker Card and more as proof.

The card appears in a nightmare sequence, but let’s consider the possibilities here:

(1) Zack Snyder can do whatever he wants and is simply nodding towards the greatest supervillain of Gotham for the heck of it;

(2) Zack Snyder can do whatever he wants and is messing with everyone;

(3) Zack Snyder can do whatever he wants and actually decided to include the Joker.

If the third option wins, then we have to start thinking about this question: which Joker?

Well, Jared Leto still technically qualifies as the current version of the DCEU Joker unless stated otherwise, and no one has gone there yet, although James Gunn has clarified that he won’t be in The Suicide Squad. That’s a blow, but still, he hasn’t been replaced in the role (even while bouncing over to Sony to play Morbius the Living Vampire). Yet there may be other possibilities.

Unavoidably, we must remember that the Snyder Cut isn’t bound to DCEU constraints. So, that means that anyone is possible in the Joker role, including the ghost of Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, or maybe Snyder will make Lakeith Stanfield’s dreams come true. Or we could see the the entire refreshed cast of The Suicide Squad become the Joker. Or maybe Brad Pitt? What I’m trying to say here is that anything is possible.

What we do know is that the trailer definitively gave the audience Superman’s Black Suit in motion, plus more of Darkseid and an upgraded Steppenwolf. Yes, Batfleck, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman are on board, but Snyder made it clear that we’ll see more of Cyborg and The Flash in his cut. Is there also room for the Joker? Sure, why not.