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MoviePass aims to launch a family plan within the next month (HMNY)

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MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe and Helios and Matheson Chief Executive Ted Farnsworth.

  • MoviePass told Gizmodo that it is looking launch a family plan for its service within a month.
  • The company is currently burning cash at a rate of around $20 million per month to fund its subscription service for individual users. 
  • MoviePass told Gizmodo that it is projecting to exceed five million paying subscribers by the end of 2018.

MoviePass told Gizmodo that it's looking to launch a family plan for its service within the next month.

The company currently offers a $9.95-a-month subscription service that allows individual users to see one movie per day in theaters each month (with several caveats), and it's burning cash at a rapid rate to fund it. 

When it reached two million paying subscribers in February, MoviePass said that it would be profitable at between three million and four million subscribers. After the company hit three million subscribers this week, Ted Farnsworth, the head of MoviePass' parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, claimed the company could break even at five million subscribers. It is unclear how MoviePass could accomplish this given that it currently loses money on every additional subscriber.

"MoviePass' rapid growth is within its projections that estimate the service will exceed five million paying subscribers by the end of 2018," MoviePass told Gizmodo in a statement.

The company has not yet announced a price point for its prospective family plan, but it could very well help push the service to the subscriber numbers it's projecting. 

MoviePass has said that it has secured a $300 million "equity line of credit" that could sustain it for a year despite its losses of around $20 million per month, but financial experts have cast doubt on that statement, saying that MoviePass would have to convince investors of its long-term viability and potential for profit to access that money. 

The company's stock has plummeted more than 98% from its 52-week high of $32.90 set in October. On Friday the company was trading at under 40 cents per share, as concerns on Wall Street continue to mount about the company's financial stability.

SEE ALSO: MoviePass has hit 3 million paid subscribers, but its growth has slowed

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5 hidden gem movies you should see in theaters, especially if you have MoviePass

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first reformed ethan hawke

It's easy to forget about some great movies while they are in theaters, especially during the summer movie season. Some smaller-budget films go under the radar when up against blockbusters like "Infinity War" or "Solo."

That's why every week Business Insider suggests five potentially overlooked movies currently playing in theaters that you can choose from for the weekend.

Some may be harder to find than others, but these movies are the perfect watch if you are looking for plans, especially if you have MoviePass, which lets you see any movie you want in theaters for $10 a month. It's a great way to get you in the theater for movies you may not have considered otherwise. 

This week's movies include the child-raising drama "Tully" starring Charlize Theron, Ethan Hawke as a priest struggling with his faith in "First Reformed," and a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Below are five movies you can see in theaters this week:

SEE ALSO: The 10 most anticipated movies of the summer, according to IMDb

"First Reformed"

Release date: May 18

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 97%

"First Reformed" is from writer/director Paul Scrader, the writer behind classic Martin Scorsese films "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull." With "First Reformed," he delivers a story packed with questions on the relationship between faith and morality, and Ethan Hawke gives one of his best performances as a priest struggling with those ideas.

Description:"Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence. From writer-director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver; American Gigolo; Affliction) comes a gripping thriller about a crisis of faith that is at once personal, political, and planetary."



"On Chesil Beach"

Release date: May 18

Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%

Saoirse Ronan follows up her Oscar-nominated performance in "Lady Bird" with "On Cesil Beach." If you're in the mood for a romantic story, and more of Ronan (who is great in everything she does), then this might be the movie for you.

Description:"Adapted by Ian McEwan from his bestselling novel, the drama centers on a young couple of drastically different backgrounds in the summer of 1962. Following the pair through their idyllic courtship, the film explores sex and the societal pressure that can accompany physical intimacy, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night. The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle, Anne-Marie Duff, Adrian Scarborough, Emily Watson, and Samuel West."



"Tully"

Release date: May 4

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Charlize Theron delivers another amazing performance as a mother struggling to raise her children. If you liked director Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" and writer Diablo Cody's "Juno," then you might like this. You may even relate to it if you have children of your own.

Description:"A new comedy from Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno). Marlo (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron), a mother of three including a newborn, is gifted a night nanny by her brother (Mark Duplass). Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis)."



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17 movie sequels that took over 10 years to be released, including 'Incredibles 2'

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incredibles

"Incredibles 2" is finally in theaters after 14 years, and with a 95% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday morning, it seems to be worth the wait.

But the Pixar follow-up is far from the only sequel to take so long to be made. In fact, another long-awaited sequel is coming to theaters later this years with "Halloween," which brings back Jamie Lee Curtis to the horror franchise. 

Business Insider rounded up 17 sequels that took over 10 years to be released following the last film in its respective series. To be considered, it couldn't be a reboot — as in, it had to be a sequel within a series of films that continues the story and/or features the same actors.

In the case of this year's "Halloween," it is a direct follow-up to the original 1978 film that ignores all other sequels, so we included it as such. In the case of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," we counted it as a sequel to "Return of the Jedi."

We ranked the sequels below from least amount of time to longest amount of time to finally be released after their predecessors. 

Below are 17 movie sequels that took over 10 years to be released:

SEE ALSO: The 10 most anticipated movies of the summer, according to IMDb

"Toy Story 3"

Release date: June 18, 2010

Predecessor:"Toy Story 2" (1999)

Years between films: 11



"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"

Release date: July 2, 2003

Predecessor:"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991)

Years between films: 12



"Clerks II"

Release date: July 21, 2006

Predecessor:"Clerks" (1994)

Years between films: 12



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'Incredibles 2' is on pace to beat the opening weekend box-office record for an animated movie, currently held by 'Finding Dory' (DIS)

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the incredibles 2

  • "Incredibles 2" took in a record-breaking $18.5 million at its Thursday preview screenings. 
  • It's set to break the record for biggest opening weekend box office for an animated movie, currently held by "Finding Dory" ($135 million).


Expect Disney to rebound nicely this weekend with its first release following the lackluster box-office performance from the "Star Wars" movie, "Solo," a few weeks ago.

Its Pixar shingle will release the long-anticipated "Incredibles 2," and by the numbers coming out of its Thursday night previews, it's looking like Disney will be getting another record-breaking performance from the animated studio by Sunday. 

"Incredibles 2," which is the sequel to the hit 2004 movie about a family with superhero powers in hiding, took in a huge $18.5 million at Thursday previews, according to Deadline. That shatters the previous record held by fellow Pixar release "Finding Dory" in 2016 of $9.2 million. 

"Finding Dory" went on to take in $135 million its opening weekend to set the record for biggest opening ever by an animated movie. The start by "Incredibles 2" makes it look like it will pass "Finding Dory" for the top spot by the end of the weekend.

It should also be helped by good reviews. The movie currently has a 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Thursday night performance by "Incredibles 2" also did better that some big name live-action titles. The Hollywood Reporter pointed out that its $18.5 million outpaced the live-action "Beauty and the Beast" ($16.3 million), "Spider-Man: Homecoming" ($15.4 million), and "Thor: Ragnarok" ($14.5 million).  All three of those movies went on to not just have over $100 million opening weekends, but easily earned over $800 million worldwide for their box-office runs. 

2004's "The Incredibles" earned over $633 million worldwide at the box office.

SEE ALSO: 5 hidden gems you should see in theaters, especially if you have MoviePass

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21 movie sequels that took 10 years or more to come to theaters

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incredibles family

"The Incredibles" is getting a sequel 14 years after the original movie and it's just as good as the first one.

While fans have waited a long time to see the Parr family back on screen, it's not the first sequel that's been years in the making. 

INSIDER rounded up sequels that took over 10 years to come to theaters along with a few that have been recently announced. Some of them are sequels fans eagerly awaited while others are films that would have been better left on the cutting room floor.

1. "Men in Black III" (2012)

Years it took for the sequel: 10
Worldwide box office: $624 million

J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) returned to the secret alien fighting division after a lackluster sequel in 2002.

The third film in the series changed up the "MIB" formula by introducing time travel and a great Tommy Lee Jones impression by Josh Brolin who played a younger version of Jones's character. Reviews were pretty positive and the film became one of the highest-grossing movies of 2012.



2. "The X Files: I Want to Believe" (2008)

Years it took for the sequel: 10
Worldwide box office: $68.4 million

A decade after the cult success of the first "X Files" movie, creator Chris Carter reteamed with Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as Scully and Mulder, respectively, for the sequel.

What should have been an exciting and tense adventure — the plot involved a priest that had visions of grisly crimes — became difficult to understand and ridiculously dull. The only thing it had going for it was the remaining chemistry between its main stars. 



3. "Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens" (2015)

Years it's taking for the sequel: 10
Worldwide box office: $2 billion

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, the Mouse House announced a new "Star Wars" trilogy would soon be on its way. "Star Wars" fans received a new, young protagonist in Daisy Ridley's mysterious orphan, Rey.

The continuation of the Skywalker saga broke the record for largest opening weekend ever at $247.9 million. It will be tough for another movie to ever crack that number again.



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Fans have been sharing 'Incredibles 2' spoilers without context and they’re pretty amazing

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incredibles 2

  • "Incredibles 2" is in theaters 14 years after the original movie.
  • Fans who have seen the movie already are discussing the movie online in a way so they don't spoil the film for those who haven't seen it.
  • Many are tweeting images of "Incredibles 2 spoilers without context."
  • It's similar to what fans did after the release of "Avengers: Infinity War."
  • They consist of memes or images that correspond with significant moments or happenings in the movie without giving much away.

Fans who wanted to discuss "Incredibles 2" without spoiling the sequel for others found the perfect way to talk about the movie. 

Fans started tweeting one to four images of memes or photographs alluding to a big moment or moment of significance in the film.  

People who have seen the movie will easily understand the images. Those who haven't seen "Incredibles 2" may be a bit confused, but at least they won't have the film's big moments spoiled.

Here are a few of the best. 

Confused? 

Here's a short breakdown of the meaning behind some of the popular images being shared. 

Warning: There are spoilers ahead. 

Raccoon image: In the sequel, Jack-Jack gets into a tussle with the raccoon. After watching a movie with a burglar, Jack-Jack mistakens the critter for a robber and chases after him in the backyard while his dad is asleep.

Spinning black and white images: The movie's villain uses a series of flashing, strobe lights against Mrs. Incredible. Some became concerned the images may trigger those with photosensitive epilepsy and seizure conditions, vertigo, ADHD, and more. In response, Disney asked theaters to add a warning ahead of screenings.

Edna and her mini me: Jack-Jack uses one of his 17 superpowers to transform into a mini version of Edna during the movie. Edna falls instantly in love with the child.

"Men in Black" image: Early in the movie, an agent uses a device to wipe the mind of one of Violet's classmates of any memories of her. A similar device is used in the "Men in Black" movies to wipe anyone's minds after they see alien activity.

Pew pew pew images and Gifs: One of Jack-Jack's many powers is that you can pick him up and aim him to fire off his laser eyes.

Anyone sneezing liquid out of their nose: When Violet runs into her crush at a restaurant with her family, she gets embarrassed and water shoots out of her nose.

Any image of a ragtag group of heroes: A group of new, second-rate heroes are introduced with random powers. One of them is an older man who refers to themselves as Reflux. He can vomit hot lava.

Any image with a bunch of duplicates: One of Jack-Jack's other superpowers is that he can split into duplicate versions of himself.

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Movie theaters are adding a warning to 'Incredibles 2' after fans were worried about a scene with strobe lights

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incredibles 2

  • "Incredibles 2" is now in theaters.
  • Some fans are concerned about several scenes with flashing lights that may be potentially harmful to those with epilepsy and who are sensitive to light.
  • The sequel didn't have a warning about the flashing light scenes.
  • Blogger and Twitter user Veronica Lewis was among those asking for the warning.
  • Disney has asked theaters showing "Incredibles 2" to let viewers know about the scene before the movie starts.

This weekend’s release of the long-awaited “Incredibles 2” has prompted some attendees to caution others via Twitter that the movie has several scenes with flashing lights that could pose a danger to those with epilepsy or other light-sensitive conditions — and that “Incredibles 2” doesn’t come with its own strobe light warning.

Disney has been notified of the situation and asked all theaters that are showing “Incredibles 2” to notify patrons of the scene in question.

Blogger and Twitter user Veronica Lewis (@veron4ica) seems to have initiated the warning online with a Twitter thread that has gone viral, in addition to a post to her blog, Veroniiiica.

She wrote that “Incredibles 2” is “filled with tons of strobe/flashing lights,” and explained that people with photosensitive epilepsy aren’t the only ones who could be affected — those who suffer from migraines, vision impairments, seizure conditions, vertigo (specifically flicker vertigo), autism, ADHD, and PTSD could also experience a reaction to the images.

incredibles 2 flashing scene

She detailed that one of the scenes lasts at least 90 seconds and that others range from five to 30 seconds in length. She added that her descriptive audio device did warn her of some of the scenes, but not all.

Lewis made it clear she wasn’t calling for a boycott of the film, or asking Disney to remove it from theaters. Rather, she just wanted to make sure parents were informed before taking their children who could be affected to see “Incredibles 2.”

“I just wish Disney/Pixar and theaters alike would issue a warning that the movie contains several scenes with strobe lights,” she wrote.

So far, no incidents as a result of watching “Incredibles 2” have been reported.

In 1997, 685 children were sent to hospitals in Japan after an episode of “Pokemon” flashed red and blue lights to animate a scene in which Pikachu blows up missiles in cyberspace. Nintendo’s stocks took a hit after the incident, which became known in Japan as “Pokemon Shock,” and the show was taken off the air for nearly four months.

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'Incredibles 2' earns the biggest opening weekend ever for an animated movie with $180 million (DIS)

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the incredibles 2

  • Disney/Pixar's "Incredible 2" took in an estimated $180 million.
  • That's the best opening ever for an animated release.
  • It passed 2016's "Finding Dory" ($135 million).

Pixar — and the superhero Parr family — has put Disney back on top.

Following a little speed bump with the lackluster release of "Solo: A Star Wars Story," the house that Mickey Mouse built has rebounded quite nicely with the record-breaking opening for "Incredibles 2."

The movie took in an estimated $180 million over the weekend, according to BoxOfficePro.com. That destroys the $135 million opening by the previous record holder, 2016's "Finding Dory."

And like "Dory," which was released 13 years after its original, "Finding Nemo," the long wait for a sequel to "Incredibles" didn't hurt mass audience interest. Fourteen years after the original "Incredibles," the movie sucked up all the box office this weekend, attracting not just kids (many who weren't around for the opening of the original movie), but their parents as well.

"Incredibles 2" also beat "Finding Dory" to become the second-biggest opening of all time in the month of June (behind the $208.8 million by 2015's "Jurassic World").

The movie's $71.5 million opening day tally on Friday (including a record-breaking $18.5 million in Thursday preview screenings) also shattered the best single day at the box office for an animated movie, again passing "Finding Dory" ($54.7 million).

The summer movie season will potentially continue to bring in more major coin next weekend with Universal's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" hits theaters domestically. The movie has already had an impressive overseas run, having made $300 million so far, topped by an impressive opening this weekend in China.

SEE ALSO: The 29 most rewatchable movies of all time

SEE ALSO: 15 adults who are way too excited to see 'Incredibles 2' this weekend

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John Travolta's MoviePass-funded mob movie 'Gotti' got slaughtered by critics and has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

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john travolta gotti

  • John Travolta's new mob biopic, "Gotti," was slaughtered by critics ahead of its opening this weekend. 
  • The film brought in $1.67 million, 40% of which reportedly came from MoviePass, which acquired an equity stake in the film earlier this year. 
  • "Gotti" currently has a 0% "rotten" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

John Travolta's new mob movie, "Gotti," premiered this weekend to a poor box-office performance and universal critical panning, and MoviePass appears to be the only thing giving it a semblance of a pulse. 

MoviePass invested in "Gotti" earlier this year through its MoviePass Ventures subsidary, which the company created to take equity stakes in movies. MoviePass accounted for 40% ($668,000) of the film's $1.67 million opening weekend, according to Deadline.

MoviePass acquired a stake in "Gotti" in April, making it the second movie it invested in through MoviePass Ventures. The company first acquired a stake in the heist movie "American Animals," which debuted in a limited opening to critical acclaim. "American Animals" currently stands at a box office haul of $760,545, according to Box Office Mojo.

"'Gotti' is precisely the type of film we established MoviePass Ventures to support," MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said of the Travolta film in a statement in April. "We are helping boost traffic to these theaters for people to see these great films."

"Gotti" undoubtedly suffered from going into its opening weekend with a  0% "rotten" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 

Many critics did not hold back in their reviews. 

"I'd rather wake up next to a severed horse head than ever watch 'Gotti' again," New York Post critic Johnny Oleksinski wrote in a review.

"That the long-gestating crime drama Gotti is a dismal mess comes as no surprise. What does shock is just how multifaceted a dismal mess it is,"wrote Glenn Kenney for The New York Times. 

Meanwhile, MoviePass hit three million subscribers last week, which prompted Ted Farnsworth, the head of its parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, to claim that the company could break even at five million subscribers.

But it's unclear how MoviePass could accomplish this given that it currently loses money on every additional subscriber, has been burning cash at a rate of over $20 million per month, and invests in movies that aren't exactly piling up money. 

SEE ALSO: MoviePass has hit 3 million paid subscribers, but its growth has slowed

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Every Pixar movie, ranked from worst to best

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incredibles 2

Having earned over $12 billion worldwide, the movies from Pixar Animation aren't just enjoyable global moneymakers, but are stories that affect us on an emotional level that we can't wait to experience again and again.

From the "you've got a friend" tale of the "Toy Story" movies to a commentary on how we need to protect our planet in the multilayered "WALL-E," Pixar movies are much more than kids movies or cartoons. 

With Pixar's latest, "Incredibles 2," hitting theaters this past weekend and earning the highest-grossing opening weekend at the box office ever for an animated movie (beating another Pixar title, "Finding Dory"), we've taken on the gargantuan task of ranking all 20 Pixar releases — scroll down to find out the best.

SEE ALSO: 17 movie sequels that took over 10 years to be released, including "Incredibles 2"

20. 'Cars 2' (2011)

Taking Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) away from Radiator Springs and going international (plus making Mater a spy) didn't grab critics. This sequel became the first "rotten" Pixar movie on Rotten Tomatoes. Deservedly.

  



19. 'A Bug’s Life' (1998)

In the second movie ever released by Pixar, an ant named Flik (voiced by Dave Foley) sets out to find others to help save his colony against grasshoppers and ends up recruiting a unique group of allies.

Though the movie was successful at the box office, with the release of DreamWorks' "Antz" a month earlier, you're more likely to remember the Lasseter-Katzenberg feud than the films. 

 



18. 'Cars 3' (2017)

Though the "Cars" movies are the least acclaimed of anything Pixar makes, the company continues to churn them out. The latest one touches on some interesting themes like mortality and self-confidence, but it feels like everyone involved in the making of it was on cruise control.



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'Superfly' director on how making music videos for Drake and Rihanna taught him how to thrive in the Hollywood studio system

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Director X Paras Griffin Getty final

  • The director of "Superfly," Director X, is best known for his landmark music videos for artists like Drake ("Hotline Bling") and Rihanna ("Work").
  • But he's now taking the skills he learned making music videos and commercials to build a career in Hollywood.
  • He compares working for Madison Avenue or Hollywood to being a chef or mercenary who has been hired to follow through on an order.


Director X can easily recall the biggest cinematic moment of his youth.

“‘Empire Strikes Back’ is the movie that I remember affecting me immediately,” X, whose real name is Julien Christian Lutz, told Business Insider over the phone. “The Legos I used I was trying to recreate the spaceships from the movie. That’s the standout.”

Born and raised near Toronto, Director X said he was always a visual person. Around the time he was being amazed by the “Star Wars” saga, he was also running around with his friends in the neighborhood shooting little movies with a video camera. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was drawing in a notepad with dreams of one day getting into the comic-book business.

It’s that thirst for the visual arts that led him to cement himself as the premiere hip-hop music video director working today.

Hotline Bling Cash MoneyIf you’re not familiar with his name you most certainly have seen his work: “Hotline Bling” (Drake), “Work” (Rihanna), “Excuse Me Miss” (Jay-Z), “Hot in Herre” (“Nelly”) aren’t just standouts because of the artists behind the music, but the look of the videos. They are crafted by X with polished production design and his trademark opening and closing of the videos with the horizontal or vertical frames of the shot, expanding to reveal the shot and closing in until the screen goes black.

Now X is getting his chance at a studio movie, as he’s director of the reboot of the Blaxploitation classic, “Superfly” (in theaters).

The plot points are similar to the original movie (1972 “Super Fly”) — a cocaine dealer named Priest (played by Ron O’Neal in the original movie and Trevor Jackson in the reboot) is out for one last major score — but the new version tweaked it to give it more of a 2018 feel. Instead of being set in New York City, it’s in Atlanta (the generous tax credit for shooting movies in the state of Georgia may have also motivated this change), and instead of the cops providing Priest with the massive amounts of cocaine to sell, like in the original, a Mexican cartel is the distributor.

These changes and the injection of hip-hop in the movie (the soundtrack was produced by artist Future) make it an experience at the multiplex that is extremely entertaining.

As X put it, “If you don’t know the song the cop is singing when he pulls Freddy over, you shouldn’t be seeing the film.” He was referring to when one of the members of Priest’s crew is pulled over and, while the police search his car, the officer sings Chamillionaire’s anthem, “Ridin’.” 

Superfly Sony final

But even with the movie’s playfulness, X sprinkles in moments of seriousness. One gang leader dies at the end of a car chase by crashing into a Confederate statue, which is a nod to the string of monuments celebrating Confederate figures being torn down last summer around the country. And at the end of the movie, Priest has a fight with a cop, pummeling him with his martial-arts moves. It’s a moment that isn’t just borrowed from the original movie, but a recognition of Black Lives Matter.

“No one is under the illusion that what’s been happening lately is a new occurrence,” X said of police violence. “The original ‘Superfly’ was a moment of revenge, even if it’s a fantasy, you got to feel it. So this movie I feel is the same way. It’s a fun ride but really it’s the moment of fantasy to see somebody get their f---ing deserved a-- whipping.”

For X, the release of “Superfly” is a landmark moment in his career, as he ascends to a new level in filmmaking.

But he’s seen firsthand that it all can change drastically. One of his biggest mentors is legendary music video director Hype Williams. Like X today, he was behind the most ambitious videos by the biggest artists in the late 1990s (The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems,” Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” TLC’s “No Scrubs”) and early 2000s (Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’,” Kanye West’s “Stronger”).

At one point, it was Williams (along with fellow music video director Alan Ferguson) who gave X the pep talk he needed to stay in the business after a rough day of shooting on his first music video, in which he said “he got walked on” by everyone on the set.

“Hype’s main thing was that voice that you hear that you suck is the enemy and you can’t listen to it,” X recalled. “It was the inspiration that I needed to keep on going.”

Belly Artisan EntertainmentA few years after that incident, Williams made the movie “Belly,” which X was a visual consultant on. Starring Nas and DMX, its highly stylized story of the drug game became a cult classic and a beloved work for many in the hip-hop community. But Williams has never since gotten another feature film made. X absorbed what Williams went through. He also built an understanding of how to work collaboratively with corporate executives over the years through countless music videos and commercial shoots, and seems destined to handle working for Hollywood better than Williams has.

Comparing himself in some moments to a chef and in others to a mercenary, either way X is making the point that he sees his job as completing a project using the blueprint formed already — whether by a marketing executive, screenwriter, or producer.

“Joel Silver has been trying to make ‘Superfly’ for 20 years, so who the f--- am I to take it out of his hands and act like it’s mine,” X said. “Studio pictures definitely have a lot of things flying around and the idea that the director is the one sole creative decision-making source is not real. It took me a long time to get that balance versus my vision.”

X pointed out that a sequence at the end of “Superfly,” where a flashback scene is used to drive home the connection Priest has with his mentor Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams), exists because of note from the studio. Going forward, X sees his experience on Madison Avenue benefitting him greatly in Hollywood.

Going back to that chef analogy —

“This is the job, you are getting hired to prepare a meal, in a sense,” he said. “As a director you are in the kitchen cooking it up and if they ask for a steak you better bring them a steak. I approached ‘Superfly’ to fulfill the order that had been made.”

SEE ALSO: Ray Liotta on working with Jennifer Lopez, why he's been in only on Scorsese movie, and not believing the Woody Allen sexual-misconduct allegations

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Tiffany Haddish is the first black woman to host the MTV Movie and TV awards — and her opening monologue was amazing

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Tiffany Haddish

  • Tiffany Haddish is the host of the 2018 MTV Movie and TV Awards.
  • She is the first black woman to host the show.
  • "It's been a year of firsts for black people," Haddish said in her opening monologue. "I'm the first black woman to host the MTV Movie and TV Awards, 'Black Panther' is the first African American movie to make $1 billion, and 'A Quiet Place' is the first film to scare black people out of talking in movie theaters."
  • Haddish also kicked the show off by addressing audience members including Zendaya, Nick Jonas, and, of course, the Kardashians.
  • Haddish also summed up the general appeal of the awards show: "I’m glad this show covers both TV and Movies because now I get to flirt with Chris Pratt from 'Parks and Recreationand Chris Pratt from 'Guardians of the Galaxy,'"she said. "Hey, Chris. I got a galaxy you can guard."
  • You can watch the rest of her hilarious monologue below. 

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Here are all the 2018 MTV Movie and TV Awards winners

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The 2018 MTV movie and TV awards brought together stars from the most popular films and series, from "Black Panther" to "13 Reasons Why." With "Girls Trip" star Tiffany Haddish hosting the festivities, it was certainly a memorable show.

Some stars are first-time nominees while others are award show veterans. This year's show was taped Saturday at California's Barker Hangar and aired Monday on MTV.

Marvel’s "Black Panther" wa the big winner of the night, taking home four awards. Meanwhile, “Stranger Things” won three awards. “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” “Love, Simon,” “IT,” and “Wonder Woman” took home golden popcorn statues also.

Keep reading to find out who every who was nominated and ultimately took home the coveted golden popcorn at the 2018 MTV movie and TV awards. (Winners are in bold).

Generation award

The generation award is given each year to one outstanding talent for their noteworthy contributions for film and TV. 

*Chris Pratt* has captured the hearts of audiences on both TV and film for the past 25 years in iconic roles on "Parks and Recreation," and in "Jurassic World,""Guardians of the Galaxy," and most recently "Avengers: Infinity War."



Trailblazer award

The trailblazer award recognizes game-changing creators with fresh and fearless voices in entertainment.

*Lena Waithe* has made groundbreaking contributions on and off the screen, including making history as the first woman of color to win an Emmy for “outstanding writing in a comedy series.” 



Best movie

"Avengers: Infinity War"

*"Black Panther"*

"Girls Trip"

"IT"

"Wonder Woman" 



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35 of the most iconic movie songs of all time

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A film's soundtrack is one of the most important parts of the movie-going experience, whether we realize it or not as we're watching. The right music helps set the scene, sparking emotions from the viewer, even telling a story all on its own, elevating our experience and bringing us into the world being shown before us.

But some songs, whether specifically made for the movie or just perfectly added to an integral scene, seem to transcend the films they were featured in. Others become inextricably linked to their films, becoming a part of pop culture history for generations to come.

These are some of the most iconic movie songs of all time, in no particular order. These songs transcend decades and genres but are all unmistakably linked to the movies they're featured in.

Note: We did not include iconic movie scores, the instrumental music from a film, because those are honestly worthy of their own list.

"Footloose" by Kenny Loggins ("Footloose")

The movie musical quickly became one of the biggest hits when it was released in 1984, in no small part thanks to Loggins' now-iconic song. It's impossible not to dance when you hear it, which is probably why the song topped the charts for three weeks in a row on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming such a massive hit that Loggins himself was blown away by its success.

In 2014, he revealed in an interview, "It became the biggest movie of the summer. We didn't see it coming. But I remember going to the premiere and watching the opening scene of the movie, … using "Footloose" (the song) over the dancing feet. My wife turns to me and goes, ‘This is gonna be huge.'" Audiences furiously kicked off their Sunday shoes in agreement, of course.



"Kiss From a Rose" by Seal ("Batman Forever")

Seal originally released the song in 1994, but it hit icon status when it was featured on the "Batman Forever" soundtrack a year later, earning the singer three Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

It might feel like an unlikely song for a superhero movie, but that's what makes it work so perfectly. "Kiss From a Rose" is no doubt Seal's biggest hit, cementing Val Kilmer's Batman as one of the most memorable of all.



"I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston ("The Bodyguard")

Houston was already a bona fide music legend by the time she made her acting debut in the 1992 romantic thriller, but the song rapidly became one of her most remarkable hits, thanks to those searing high notes and her flawless delivery.

It's often forgotten that the ballad is actually a cover of a Dolly Parton song, and it made music history as the only country song to reach No. 1 in three separate decades. It topped the charts around the globe upon its release and did the same within hours of Houston's death in 2012.



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Michael B. Jordan reminded us that his 'Black Panther' co-star Chadwick Boseman is over the Wakanda salute

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  • Chadwick Boseman had said some comments that led people to believe that he was over doing the Wakanda salute from "Black Panther."
  • During his acceptance speech for best villain at the MTV Movie and TV Awards that aired Monday, Michael B. Jordan jokingly said that Boseman wanted him to reiterate those feelings.
  • “Chadwick Boseman, he personally asked me to ask y’all to stop asking him to say ‘Wakanda Forever’ out on the streets,” Jordan told the crowd.
  • Boseman also took home the awards for best hero and best performance in a movie.


Chadwick Boseman needs a break from doing the “Wakanda Forever” salute -- at least according to Michael B. Jordan.

Jordan accepted the award for best villain at the MTV Movie and TV Awards -- which were taped on Saturday but aired on Monday -- and joked that his “Black Panther” co-star is getting really tired of people asking him to bust out the Wakanda Forever salute from the hit Marvel movie.

“Chadwick Boseman, he personally asked me to ask y’all to stop asking him to say ‘Wakanda Forever’ out on the streets,” Jordan told the crowd. “Y’all taking this forever thing a little too seriously.”

After Jordan made the plea to fans, the camera panned back to Boseman, who couldn’t contain his laughter.

It’s difficult to tell if Jordan was really just joking since fans noticed that Boseman, who plays T’Challa in the Marvel franchise, seems to have grown visibly weary over time when asked to perform the salute at what seems like every promotional event he’s had to attend since “Black Panther” was released in February.

Boseman, who took home the awards for best hero and best performance in a movie, previously told Jimmy Kimmel that fans have been completely obsessed with getting him to do the salute.

“If I don't want to do it, I have to not leave the house, pretty much," he said. "I've been chased in cars."

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11 rising cinematographers taking over Hollywood

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If the director is the most important crew member on set, in most cases the cinematographer is the second-most important.

A skilled director of photography can turn a mediocre movie suddenly into a critical darling or a good movie into an Oscar contender. But unlike directors, who can have a breakout indie and suddenly get snatched up to do the next Hollywood blockbuster, cinematographers are in it for the long game.

Many have to work a decade or two on independent films, shorts, TV shows, and commercials before scoring a studio feature. And even at that point you still have to compete for work with the legends in the field like Emmanuel Lubezi, Robert Richardson, and Roger Deakins to land a job. 

Here are 11 cinematographers who are beginning to make their mark in Hollywood — including the visionaries behind "Moonlight" and "The Last Jedi."

SEE ALSO: "Superfly" director on how making music videos for Drake and Rihanna taught him how to thrive in the Hollywood studio system

Mike Gioulakis (“It Follows,” “Split”)

Gioulakis has found success in the thriller genre with the indie darling “It Follows” and M. Night Shyamalan’s latest hit, “Split,” being the standouts. For both, Gioulakis’ use of natural light and shadows to amp up the spookiness is a very useful tool.



James Laxton (“Moonlight”)

Jumping around from low-budget indies to a few Kevin Smith movies (“Tusk” and “Yoga Hosers”), Laxton reteamed with Barry Jenkins (he shot Jenkins’ debut feature “Medicine for Melancholy”) to make “Moonlight” — and the rest his history. The beautiful exterior shots of Miami are one of the reasons the movie went on to win an Oscar.



Jody Lee Lipes (“Manchester by the Sea,” “Martha Marcy May Marlene”)

In the early 2000s, Lipes was the guy at NYU everyone wanted to shoot their short films, and since he’s been in high demand on the professional level. From shooting episodes of “Girls” to lensing “Trainwreck,” he’s worked on every budget level. His standouts, though, have been his beautiful shooting of tough stories like Sean Durkin’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene” in 2011 and Kenneth Lonergan’s 2016 Oscar-winning movie, “Manchester by the Sea.”



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'Avengers: Infinity War' writers give their advice on fixing the DC Extended Universe

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justice league

  • "Avengers: Infinity War" screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus shared their advice on how to fix what critics have taken issue with in DC Extended Universe films in a podcast appearance.
  • The pair described how the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off a decade ago without "A-list characters" like Spider-Man and the X-Men, but found success in a number of untested properties.

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has seen its fair share of critical misfires, from “Batman v. Superman” to “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League,” but all hope isn’t lost. During an appearance on Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin’s podcast “Fat Man on Batman,” Marvel Cinematic Universe screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus offered their advice on how the DCEU can be saved, and it turns out less is more when it comes to building a gigantic movie universe.

"I would look at what Marvel did, out of necessity, in that they didn’t have their A-list characters [at the beginning]," Markus said. "They didn’t have Spider-Man, they didn’t have the X-Men, and they went down the line and found [other characters]."

Markus pointed to Iron Man kicking off the MCU a decade ago. While the character has since become one of the most popular superheroes in the world, Iron Man wasn’t a guarantee for success in 2008. Marvel also took risks with untested properties like “Ant-Man,” “Thor,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” all of which turned their superheroes into box office gold.

Iron Man

“[Iron Man] wasn’t there, and they made a really good movie out of it,” Markus said. “I might put Batman and Superman and everybody else, I mean, Wonder Woman is doing fine, aside for a second and go through the vast world and go ‘that guy, or that girl’ and go, ‘let’s just make a really good movie and not a universe and see what happens.’ You know, there’s a lot of spaghetti being thrown at the wall.”

McFeely followed by tipping his hat to “Justice League” and agreeing with Markus. According to McFeely, the best thing the DCEU could do moving forward is to stop thinking about universe building.

“My familiarity with the DC universe is not that great, so I mean I can just go sort of strategically, it’s make one right,” McFeely said. “To quote ‘Justice League,’ ‘Save one person.’”

Markus and McFeely have become the screenwriting backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The two started their MCU careers with “Captain America: The First Avenger” and have written “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and the upcoming fourth “Avengers” movie. The duo also did a script polish on James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” screenplay.

While the DCEU has been struggling in recent years, the universe hopes to get back on track with its upcoming releases. Jason Momoa’s standalone “Aquaman” movie opens this Christmas, while Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot are currently shooting the “Wonder Women” sequel, which is scheduled for November 2019.

SEE ALSO: John Travolta's MoviePass-funded mob movie 'Gotti' got slaughtered by critics and has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

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REVIEW: 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' is a fun and silly sequel, but it's not better than the first

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Warning: There are some minor spoilers ahead.

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" is in theaters Friday and if you were a fan of the franchise reboot, you'll enjoy this as well. It's not as good as the 2015 return to Isla Nublar, but it sets up a promising sequel.

"Fallen Kingdom" takes place four years after the last film. The Jurassic theme park has been long abandoned on Isla Nublar, but the remaining dinosaurs are in trouble from an active volcano. The government wants to let the dinos go extinct again and that's where Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) comes in. No longer running the park, she's working for a dinosaur protection group and gets roped into a dino rescue mission.

Naturally, she has to recruit raptor trainer — and her ex — Owen (Chris Pratt) to come save his former beloved raptor, Blue, who is also trapped on the island.

All of this seems fine, but, naturally, there's a cynical plot brewing beneath the surface. It turns out there's a lot of cash to be made in the black market for dinos and not everyone is on board to save them from extinction. And, because this is a "Jurassic Park" movie, a new genetically engineered dinosaur, the Indoraptor, is introduced.

Why to see it: Chris Pratt, dinosaurs, and nostalgia. 

chris pratt jurassic world 2.JPG

2015's "Jurassic World" stunned critics when it broke the record for highest-grossing opening weekend previously held by "The Avengers." It also became the first film to gross $500 million in one weekend. It was later dethroned by "The Force Awakens," but the dinosaur movie is still the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time.

The main stars from the last movie are back and Pratt is a highlight of the film, but you know you're mostly here to see the dinosaurs shown off in the trailers. The T. rex, Blue, and even the mosasaurus (the giant whale dinosaur from the first movie) are all back. And you just can't beat that John Williams' score. Here, take a listen. I'm sure it's in your head right now.

What's hot: The dino action and Chris Pratt. Bryce Dallas Howard's proper foot attire.

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If you were cheering over the T. rex and Indominus Rex fight in the 2015 movie, you'll be happy with another good dino fight in the sequel. "Fallen Kingdom" also has several stand-out moments with several dinosaurs, both big and small that will please fans. A new, sleek dinosaur named the Indoraptor (made from the Indominus Rex of the 2015 movie and a raptor) is a scene-stealer. Kids heading out to see the movie will definitely want action figures of the Indoraptor, of which there are plenty, and Owen's raptor, Blue.

Chris Pratt is really the heart of this franchise and it simply wouldn't be as good without him. He gets all the one-liners and carries the most deserved laughs in the sequel. There's a moment where his character Owen goes off into danger and tells Claire, "If I don't make it back, remember ... you're the one who made me come." 

Owen's relationship with the raptor is probably the sweetest one in the film. (Sorry, Claire and Owen shippers. There's something off about a relationship where the sparks are only ignited when you're in perilous danger from a bunch of carnivores.)

jurassic world 2 blue owen.JPG

Some may be bummed that a lot of the movie's action is mostly limited to an estate of one of the original co-founders of Jurassic Park, but the film makes it work by making the small confines of a mansion feel like a house being haunted by one vicious dino.

indoraptor jurassic world 2.JPG

BD Wong's brief return as the geneticist responsible for engineering all of these new dinosaurs is another highlight. Everytime he appeared on screen — yelling at an assistant or making demands about his newest creation — he owned the entire room. But it would have been nice if his appearance wasn't confined to a few short scenes.  

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Two new additions — a young girl Maisie (Isabella Sermon) and a scientist, Dr. Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda) — add new female heroines to the franchise for young girls.

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If you were bothered by Howard's footwear in the first film, you'll be happy to know that problem has been resolved. Though Claire starts the movie off wearing heels, she ditches them for boots (they're not exactly hiking boots, but whatever) when she gets ready to head to Isla Nublar to save the remaining dinosaurs stranded there from a very active volcano. After many critiqued Claire's footwear in the first film, original sequel director Colin Trevorrow spent a lot of time finding just the right shoes for Claire, and the ones they selected get a lot of closeups.

What's bad: An overblown cameo that would have been better left a surprise and a plot straying from the dinos.

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When Jeff Goldblum showed up in one of the first trailers for "Fallen Kingdom," reprising his role of Ian Malcolm, fans were excited. However, I was worried his trailer scene may be the only time we see him in the movie. Suffice to say, I was correct. Goldblum appears twice in the film and both times it's in court.

Look, it's cool to see Goldblum reprise roles he made famous decades earlier in sequels for "Jurassic Park" and "Independence Day," but if you have the opportunity to include him, don't waste it. 

I'm not going to bother poking holes into some of the logic in the movie. Should Owen be alive if he's mere inches away from lava? Probably not. Can anyone really outrun a T. rex? Doubtful! But I don't care about that and neither will most general audiences. I'm sure there are a bunch of nitpicky things people will pick apart from this movie, and that's just silly. This is a movie about dinosaurs. 

I look at the "Jurassic World" franchise much the same as Universal's "Fast and Furious" movies. They're fun, popcorn thrillers. But at the end of the day, give me dinos. Dinos fighting other dinos or more of Blue's heartwarming relationship with her former trainer, Owen.

And that's where "Fallen Kingdom" starts to try and become something more than a dinosaur movie by introducing a big twist. Hint: They're not just cloning dinos anymore. (That's all I'll say.) The good news is that the direction for the third movie looks promising. What happens when there isn't an island left for the dinosaurs to roam on? By the end of this movie, you'll finally understand why the new franchise is coined "Jurassic World."

Overall: If you're not done with summer movies just yet, see it.

dinosaur jurassic world fallen kingdom

If you're just going to this movie to see Chris Pratt try and save some dinosaurs while other dinosaurs eat the bad guys (what usually happens in these movies), then you'll be satisfied. The movie has been released just about everywhere but the US at this point and it has already grossed over $300 million internationally. Just remember to check common sense at the door. And stay through the credits for a small extra scene teasing the next movie. If you miss it, it's not the end of the world. 

Grade: B-

"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" will be in theaters Friday. Watch a trailer below.

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Netflix's 8 original romantic movies, ranked from worst to best by critics

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In an age when major film studios have practically killed off the once-thriving genre of romantic comedy, Netflix has been steadily filling a niche by producing original romantic comedies and dramas.  

Netflix's latest romantic film, the rom-com "Set It Up," got an enthusiastic reception from critics and audiences around its release this week.

To find out which of Netflix's original romantic movies have received similar or lesser acclaim, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to rank each release by its critic score.

We excluded Netflix original romantic films that didn't have enough reviews to receive a designation of "fresh" or "rotten" on the site.

Here are eight of Netflix's original romantic films, ranked from worst to best according to critics:

SEE ALSO: 12 fan-favorite shows Netflix has revived or rebooted, ranked from worst to best

8. "The Kissing Booth" (2018) — 17%

Critic score: 17%

Audience score: 71%

Netflix description: "When teenager Elle's first kiss leads to a forbidden romance with the hottest boy in high school, she risks her relationship with her best friend."



7. "When We First Met" (2018) — 39%

Critic score: 39%

Audience score: 60%

Netflix description: "Using a magical photo booth that sends him back in time, Noah relives the night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him."



6. "Christmas Inheritance" (2017) — 60%

Critic score: 60%

Audience score: 33%

Netflix description: "To inherit her father's company, socialite Ellen must first visit his small hometown, where she learns the value of hard work and helping others."



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Watch the electric first trailer for 'Creed II,' the sequel to 2015's blockbuster boxing movie

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  • The first trailer for "Creed II," the sequel to 2015's "Creed," debuted Wednesday.
  • It features Kendrick Lamar's song "DNA." and sets up a compelling fight between Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed and the son of Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago.
  • The film is set for release on November 21.

The first trailer for "Creed II," the sequel to 2015's successful movie "Creed," debuted on Wednesday, and it sets up a compelling fight for Michael B. Jordan's character Adonis Creed. 

The trailer features a chopped rendition of Kendrick Lamar's song "DNA."

Lamar's track intersperses audio and footage of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balbao trying to convince Creed not to fight the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), who killed Creed's father, Apollo, in a fight in "Rocky IV."

Drago's son, Viktor, is played by the real-life professional boxer Florian Munteanu, and Tessa Thompson ("Thor: Ragnarok") also stars in the movie, reprising her role from the first film as Creed's girlfriend Bianca.

Written by Sylvester Stallone and Cheo Hodari Coker (the creator of Netflix's "Luke Cage"), and directed by Steven Caple Jr., the film is set for release on November 21.

The first "Creed" was directed by "Black Panther" writer-director Ryan Coogler and grossed $173.5 million in 2015 against an estimated budget of $35 million. The movie earned Sylvester Stallone an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in 2015.

Watch the trailer for "Creed II" below:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best movies of all time, according to critics

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