Welcome to your Heat Vision newsletter, coming to you a day early because of Juneteenth.
It’s Father’s Day this weekend (it’s not too late to make plans) and the big movie is Toy Story 5, which is shaping up to be a rare, multi-generational player at the box office. It’s tracking to have the biggest opening of the year so far with a projected $140 domestically, and possibly around $275 million globally. Who’s your daddy now?
But beyond that, is it us or does it feel like we’re all just waiting for The Odyssey, San Diego Comic-Con, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day to just get here, already? Everything else, to an extent, is just filler.
Speaking of filler, this edition is DEFINITELY not that, as we have some all-important, all-vital news to deliver: A movie scoop that will grow your heart three sizes in one day and an interview with a reclusive comic creator who steps out of his cave. —Aaron Couch and Borys Kit.
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At the height of his star power, Jim Carrey underwent eight hours of makeup everyday for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a process he has described in interviews as excruciating.
"The first day in makeup took eight hours. And I went into the trailer and asked Ron (Howard) and Brian (Grazer) to come in, and I told them that I wouldn’t be able to do the movie and I was quitting," Carrey told Vulture last year. Luckily, he did quit and have to return his $20 million fee. (A CIA trainer taught him techniques for dealing with torture, while the makeup team got the time in the chair down to three hours.)
The film went on to be the top grossing film domestically of the year and is now a perennial favorite for Christmas time.
And 26 years later, Carrey is ready for more.
Carrey is in talks to return for an untitled sequel for Universal and Imagine Entertainment. Filmmaker Ron Howard is set to direct and produce, with his Imagine partner Brian Grazer also producing.
A trio of prolific comedy guys are set to pen the script: Alec Berg (Barry, Silicon Valley, Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jeff Schaffer (Life, Larry and The Pursuit of Unhappiness, Dave, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and David Mandel (Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm). The three collaborated on the 2003 Mike Myers movie Cat in the Hat, based on the Seuss book.
Welcome back to Whoville.
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RECLUSIVE X-MEN LEGEND JOHN BYRNE IS READY TO TALK.
In 1980, Uncanny X-Men burned like a supernova, creatively and saleswise. Then the unthinkable happened: The superstar writer-artist surprised the industry by leaving the title over editorial disagreements, including the death of Jean Grey at the end of "The Dark Phoenix" story.
Four decades later, he started drawing X-Men stories on his own, completely separate from Marvel...just for fun...uploading the pages to his website. Now, those stories are being collected in a graphic novel that has already sold out ahead of its first printing.
We unpack the reclusive Byrne's journey in a rare interview, where he also sounds off on Marvel movies (he can't stand them, except for Iron Man — and thinks Hugh Jackman is all wrong for Wolverine), and his best and worst career experiences.
Feel the Byrne.
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IT'S SOMETHING VERY RARE IN HOLLYWOOD THESE DAYS: A legitimately shocking business story that made everybody feel more optimistic about the future. That’s what’s happened with the rise (and rise and rise!) of Obsession at the box office, becoming a perfect underdog story that’s renewed Hollywood’s faith in the bankability of smart, low-budget storytelling, and in the taste of the next generation of moviegoers, while pushing back against the domination of well-worn franchises.
In this week’s cover story, James Hibberd sat down with Obsession writer-director Curry Barker and had him walk us through his roller coaster experience since Focus Features dropped the surprise hit of the year. Barker gave his thoughts on what lessons Hollywood should learn from the film’s success (and what Gen Z wants in return), offered new insights into his upcoming projects, and discussed what it’s been like to go from working in a coffee shop to being every industry bigwig’s new best friend.
But what if Focus — instead of offering to buy his movie outright — had made Barker a different offer last year? In one exchange from our interview (which we left on the cutting room floor) we asked Barker what he would have done if Focus had offered him $15 million to remake the film with a larger budget instead.
“I would be like, ‘Okay, if that's what I need to do, I'll do it,’” Barker said.
And what would he have changed?
“I probably would have made it feel bigger,” he replied. “I would have [done more with] some of the bigger set pieces, like the party scene. We would have put more focus into some of the effects. But now I don't want to change a thing.”
And below, this behind-the-scenes photo we snapped from the shoot in the movie theater just downstairs from our THR office:
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➤ The bad news: The Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things follow-up The Boroughs gets cancelled after one season and less than a month after its premiere.
➤ The good news: The Duffer Brothers' mystery event movie the duo is doing for Paramount gets a Nov. 3, 2028 release date
➤ Twisted father: Mark Hamill joins the cast of Peacock's Twisted Metal series.
➤ That's a Moura: Wagner Moura to play the dastardly villain in the Ocean's Eleven prequel opposite Margot Robbie and Bradley Cooper.
➤ RIP: Daveigh Chase, best known as the child star in the horror film The Ring and also the voice of Lilo in Lilo & Stitch, tragically dies at 35.
➤ On the heels of its new trailer, Spider-Man: Brand New Day may change things for co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton, but he still hopes to direct on Wonder Man season two: "There is nothing that I would want more than to direct more Wonder Man. There's no place that makes me happier."
➤ Why Brad Bird's Ray Gunn won't go theatrical.
➤ Charles Melton has joined Matt Damon in new Daniels movie.
Catch up on these Heat Vision interviews...
➤ Scary Movie director Michael Tiddes explains how Scream 7 changed the ending of the Wayans' latest parody movie. Oddly enough, that meant cutting the original ending's joke about Melissa Barrera being fired from Scream 7.
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COMING AFTER LAST YEAR'S EXCELLENT Jack Kirby: Heroes & Humanity exhibit, the Skirball Cultural Center is once again showcasing the comic artform with the new, more expansive and fantastic Inventing America: The Comic Book Revolution.
Featuring significant contributions from the collection of Riot Games co-founder (and presenting donor) Brandon Beck, among several other notable names, the exhibit features over 250 items ranging from comic books, original art, artifacts and ephemera. It covers the humble beginnings of the industry and touches on the major movements and figures that influenced it and grew it into a cultural behemoth.
Yes, you’ve got Superman (with an Action Comics No. 1 and seats to watch the Fleischer Studios cartoons) and Captain America (Captain America Comics No. 1, check), and looks at Jewish creators, as well as stops for Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby.
But you also have dives into EC Comics (look for an original Frank Frazetta cover for Weird Science Fantasy No. 29), as well as censorship and book burnings. There’s a whole look at comics reflecting the women’s liberation movement and the civil rights era.
One section looks at the rise of fandom and early cosplayers while another highlights comics’ impact on popular culture (and shows off the original cover art for Star Wars No. 1!). And we haven’t even gotten to Archie, Mad, 1970s underground comix, and the 1980s (Wolfpack, anyone?).
Inventing America gets Skirball’s biggest exhibition space, something it richly deserves. And while it doesn’t have the wow (pow?) factor of having a ton of Kirby art right in your face, it’s very much an amazing journey to take — on Father’s Day, a summer afternoon visit, or quite frankly, anytime. It runs through Feb. 28, 2027.
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WE'D GIVE OUR RIGHT HAND FOR THIS!
Rarely does it get this historic. A blockbuster Hollywood & Entertainment auction from Heritage will get underway July 13 and the pièce de résistance is… Mark Hamill’s screen-used lightsaber…with severed hand effects rig!...from the truly iconic duel with Darth Vader in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back.
It's the duel where Vader reveals to Luke he’s his father (on no, we’ve spoiled everything!) and soon after, cuts Luke's hand off. Kids and adults alike were punched in the gut.
From Heritage’s description: “The rig consists of a resin-cast wrist section concealed beneath Mark Hamill's costume sleeve and a separate resin severed hand fitted to the saber hilt. During filming, Hamill would grip the concealed wrist mechanism while a spring-loaded trigger released the hand-and-lightsaber assembly at the precise moment required for the effect - all achieved entirely in-camera without digital enhancement.
"Created directly from a cast of Hamill's hand by (makeup artist Stuart Freeborn's) makeup department, the resin hand features detailed painted wound effects at the severed wrist cross-section and thumb area. A protruding metal pin joins the hand assembly to the receiving wrist section, while the internal release mechanics remain present though untested. With the hand and wrist assembly attached, the complete rig measures approximately 14" x 9".”
The lightsaber has “expected age and screen-use wear, including a missing test bulb, scuffing and oxidation to the finish.” The hand/wrist rig also has some wear.
The starting bid for this historic piece is $1 million. As Heritage notes, in 2025, a Darth Vader lightsaber from Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi gaveled at $3.6 million.
The auction also features a host of other name items, from rugs from The Big Lebowski to a screen-matched pink Mattel hoverboard from Back to the Future part II, from Gene Wilder’s top hat from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West hat from The Wizard of Oz.
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