by Gill Pringle in Las Vegas
Firstly, Aussie expat director Craig Gillespie [pictured] teased his all-star movie, Dumb Money, taking to the stage with his leading man Paul Dano.
“This is a really communal film for audiences, because it’s really about the little person – it’s the true story of how the everyday investor flipped the script on Wall Street in a way that reverberates around the world,” said Gillespie, best known for his films Lars and the Real Girl and Cruella.
Dano stars as real life blue collar YouTuber Keith – otherwise known as Roaring Kitty on YouTube and DeepFuckingValue on Reddit – who put his entire life savings into GameStop.
“Nobody else sees him coming,” says Gillespie, who is clearly drawn to real-life OTT, considering he helmed I, Tonya along with episodes of Pam & Tommy and Mike.
The footage shown opens on January 25, 2021 in Miami, introducing a host of characters played by Seth Rogen, Clancy Brown, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan, Nick Offerman, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, among others.
Based on the book The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees by Ben Mezrich, the movie is based on the GameStop stock manipulation that turned a bunch of Redditors into internet folk heroes – for five minutes.
Dano clearly relished playing Keith. “As more and more regular folks buy Gamestop, the price starts going up and up and up,” says the actor who portrayed The Riddler in last year’s The Batman.
Possibly one of the most thrilling sequences aired during Sony’s presentation was its highly anticipated R-rated Marvel movie, Kraven the Hunter featuring Russell Crowe as Kraven’s father.
With Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the bloody eponymous lead aka Sergei Kravinoff – there would be no Kraven without Crowe’s Russian-born evil patriarch.
Among Sony’s Marvel universe characters, Kraven is one of the most iconic and notorious antiheroes. He has had encounters with Venom and Black Panther, among many others, and is one of Spider-Man’s best known and most formidable enemies.
“Fuck yes, it’s rated R,” said Kraven himself Aaron Taylor-Johnson in a pre-taped teaser for the film before the first trailer for the profane and bloody action flick was shown, marking the studio’s first R-rated Marvel film.
The footage featured numerous gruesome kills, as Kraven is seen taking out poachers and mercenaries alike. In one of the most exciting reveals, we learn that Alessandro Nivola is playing the Rhino. Furthermore, his skin begins transforming into rhino skin.
Also in the trailer, there is a very brief shot of Sergei holding up the classic fur costume Kraven wore in the Marvel comics.
Other films showcased at Sony’s CinemaCon presentation included Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Gran Turismo, The Equalizer 3, No Hard Feelings and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.
Later, Sydney’s own Rose Byrne was shown reprising her role in James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s Insidious franchise.
It’s been ten years since she first teamed with the Aussie filmmakers, starring opposite Patrick Wilson as a couple terrorised by supernatural spirits haunting their new home.
Fast forward a decade and their kids are all grown up and ready for college, as the Lambert family once more do battle against evil forces.
In this new installment, Insidious: The Red Door – which is actually directed by Wilson – the Lamberts are joined by Insidious veteran Lin Shaye.
One of the earlier projects developed by Wan and Whannell, the Insidious franchise has now grossed more than half a billion dollars at the box office since the first film debuted in 2010, following in the success of their Saw franchise.
The fifth entry in the franchise is set about 10 years after the original film, focusing on a father-son tale and dealing with the trauma of the events depicted in the first two movies.
Lastly, CinemaCon attendees were treated to a sneak-peek of Will Gluck’s Anyone But You, where Sydney itself actually stars in the romantic comedy.
Featuring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as a mismatched couple, Anyone But You was shot all around Sydney [the city], including the Opera House, Surry Hills, Double Bay and Barangaroo.
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney gush over filming in Australia together and tease their highly anticipated rom-com #AnyoneButYou at #CinemaCon. pic.twitter.com/aFyzZVcbQt
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) April 25, 2023
And a movie set in Australia wouldn’t be complete without Rachel Griffiths and Bryan Brown also co-starring.
