Editorial Staff
Hope y’all had a terrific weekend. Hopefully more of you caught “Blade Runner 2049” than those early weekend totals suggest? Remember : every time a unique, ambitious and special picture like “Blade Runner 2049” sinks, a “Transformers” sequel rises in its place. You know exactly what I’m saying..
Because of our commitments to NYCC, as well as the plethora of trailers that hit on Sunday, it’s been a busy weekend around these creaky editing rooms of Moviehole. Busy is good though!
Just as visits are. Our traffic has been jumping into the 7 numerals range this weekend because of the Morgan Freeman/Brian Banks exclusive, but unlike the early days of 1999 and 2000 when we’d get a massive influx of traffic from an exclusive break, the hosting mechanics that keep the machine running can handle it – so visit and visit often (and don’t forget to bookmark and us as an i-bookmark). Appreciate it!
While we prep all our NYCC coverage from over the weekend, here’s a new nugget from the water tower in Burbank.
New live-action “Scooby Doo” film about to be announced, folks. Ashley Tisdale, of “High School Musical” game, is executive producing and overseeing it – suggesting this one will be aimed squarely at teenage girls. Still, sounds fun… and Tisdale seems to have her finger on the pulse when it comes to the young generation.
Likely inspired by the success of “Riverdale”, which took the original and recorded a very new-age cover, they’re doing something very different here – an origin story fixing on only two of the Mystery Inc crew, Daphne and Velma. Film will focus on the new friendship – it’s this mystery that brings them together – and how they use their dissimilar skills and disparate personalities to uncover the monster of the movie.
The two “Ridge Valley High” students get in over their heads when they start to suspect something funky is up with some fellow students – well, it’s Velma that lures Daphne away from her gang of cool friends to join her on the mission – they all seem to be turning into drones or zombies of some sort (think “Disturbing Behaviour”).
While it will only be Velma and Daphne of the “Mystery Inc” crew caught up in the adventure, their respective parents, the school principal, and fellow students (being a prequel, we won’t know these kids) will play a part in the Mystery.
The story itself isn’t unlike a typical “Scooby Doo” episode (which is, after all, what fans will likely expect and want to see), with its host of intentionally amusing scared and a “big reveal” twist ending, but the chatter and characters within it will be hip to what’s “in” at the moment – particularly with teen females, so your sis, my cousin and that girl who serves the buttery stuff at the theater concession stand is likely going to dig it!
No idea if Tisdale herself will have an on-camera role but there’s a couple of big supporting roles (popular girl ‘Carol’ maybe?) one could imagine her playing.
Now I’m not quite sure why the untitled Velma & Daphne movie has opted to leave Scooby and gang out of proceedings, but it could have something to do with rights (I know Warner is developing a new big-budget “Scooby” movie too, so it could be something to do with that) or it might merely be the producing troupe’s idea to do something we haven’t seen before. Either way, I’m sure that’ll be revealed when WB officially announce the project
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Linda Cardellini played Daphne and Velma, respectively, in the two bigscreen “Scooby Doo” movies, while Kate Melton and Hayley Kiyoki played the roles, respectively, in several direct to DVD movies, including 2009’s “Scooby Doo : The Mystery Begins”.
