Paul Walter Hauser has been a household name since appearing in the television drama ‘Kingdom,’ going on to appear in ‘I, Tonya’ and Clint Eastwood’s ‘Richard Jewel.’ He has most recently appeared in the Disney reboot ‘Cruella’ about the titular villain. One of his recognizable characters is Stingray from the Netflix series ‘Cobra Kai.’
Hauser sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his future in ‘The Karate Kid’ sequel show and other projects.
When asked if he would return to the show, he replied, “I hope so! I love that show.”
“Those guys hit me up all the time to check on me. They’re very sweet, and they want to know what I’m up to and how I’m doing,” he said. “But there are so many characters in the Cobra Kai universe that I never want to take precious screen time away from those main characters. So if they have a way to plug me in in the future, I’m all for it. I’m just waiting on the phone call.”
Hauser also opened up about his failed Chris Farley project, one he was so passionate about, he even contacted Farley’s family to get their blessing on filming the biopic. Unfortunately, it never came to fruition.
“I wanted to do a Chris Farley movie where he’s in rehab for half of the film, and for the other half of the movie, he’s doing his SNL stuff and his movies,” Hauser explained. “I think I have a really great take on that story, but I’m trying to lose weight and I’m trying to redefine myself as a person of healthy choice-making, and as an actor. So the days of doing Fatty Arbuckle, Chris Farley or Ignatius J. Reilly in a Confederacy of Dunces movie have a very small time window, and it’s getting smaller by the week.”
When asked about his inspiration for the character of Horace for ‘Cruella,’ he cited Bob Hoskins as a source for his English accent.
“I studied Bob Hoskins quite a bit in preparation for this role,” Hauser said. “I was given two options by the dialect coach Neil Swain; he said to me, ‘Do you want to go for a Bob Hoskins or a Ray Winstone?’ He gave me those examples, and I couldn’t shake Bob Hoskins as Smee from the movie Hook. I just felt like that was dead on and what I had to do. So I studied that, I did it and I’m happy really, really happy with how it turned out. I don’t think it’s perfect, but it’ll fool some people who don’t know my work very well. That would be kinda cool.”
Paul Walter Hauser Talks ‘Cobra Kai’ Future, His Failed Chris Farley Biopic, and ‘Cruella’
‘Endangered Species’ Director Discusses The Inspiration Behind The Survival Film
British director M.J. Bassett has directed several films surrounding horror, drama, and action, but with ‘Endangered Species,’ the filmmaker is branching off in survival.
The film follows two parents played by Rebecca Romijn and Philip Winchester who take their teenaged children on a trip to Africa for a vacation. After their rented vehicle breaks down, they are captured by poachers, whose leader, played by Jerry O’Connell, forces the family to act as prey for a hunt.
Bassett, who also co-wrote the screenplay, recently set down with the Illuminerdi to discuss the movie’s inspiration and why the ‘Deathwatch’ director prefers indie productions.
When discussing one scene in particular, where the family’s vehicle gets rammed by a rhino, the director explained that the scene was based on a real event.
“Specifically with this film, there’s a couple of incidents in this movie which I kinda lived through,” the filmmaker said. “The rhino attack, I nearly had that happen to me with my family many years ago when my kids were young. I’m this arrogant westerner, we went around, I let my son drive, he was maybe 15-16 years old at the time, we came around a corner, and there was a huge white rhino in the middle of the road, almost exactly like in the movie.”
“She had her head down, she looked at us, and their eyesight is terrible, so she’s kinda peering at us and her ears came forward like ‘I don’t want you people in the middle of my road!’ So she lowered her head, she pawed the ground, and she was coming towards us. And we were all yelling in the car for Tom to reverse, and he was trying to figure out how to reverse, and the rhino peeled off, and there was no danger at all,” the director added. “I remembered that feeling, and when I was writing the script for ‘Endangered Species’…”
When asked about the director’s time on Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist,’ Bassett elaborated on what it is like to have creative control on an indie film versus a franchise.
“I like my independent movies. I don’t mind having no budget and sole creative control. When you get into something like the Netflix/Marvel world…it’s very much a corporate thing. There are lots and lots of people overseeing every single decision. There’s creative freedom, but painted within very specific lines of a very specific palate,” Bassett, “It’s never a no, it just depends what it is.”
Funimation Unveils English Voice Cast For ‘Shadow House’ Anime
‘Shadow House’ is a Gothic supernatural thriller manga written and illustrated by the duo So-ma-to in 2018. It was launched in 2018 and has appeared in ‘Weekly Young Jump’ magazine. Its popularity led to an anime adaption from CloverWorks Inc. launched in April 2018.
Funimation announced on their website that they acquired the license to produce an English dub on their streaming service Funimation Now. They also announced the voice cast for ‘Shadow House.’
“Living dolls, a faceless clan and a haunted mansion? If you haven’t jumped in yet, get ready, because the SHADOWS HOUSE English dub is officially coming to Funimation! We’re excited to announce that Episode 1 of the SHADOWS HOUSE English dub arrives exclusively on Funimation,” they write. “h, were you looking for some cast and crew info as well? We’ve got you.”
Dani Chambers (ASTRA LOST IN SPACE) will voice Emilico, the living doll protagonist who befriends her owner and discovers that there is a dark mystery in her home. Emi Lo (Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU) will voice Kate, Emilico’s owner who has intelligence and a calm demeanor, making her an expert at problem-solving. She wants to help Kate be free of being a doll and solve the mysteries of her gothic house.
The rest of the cast includes Jordan Dash Cruz as Shaun/John, Adam McArthur as Ricky/Patrick, Marisa Duran as Lou/Louise, Risa Mei as Rum/Shirley, Emily Fajardo as Mia/Sarah, Michelle Lee as Rosemary/Maryrose, Elizabeth Maxwell as Barbie/Barbara, and Christopher Smith as Edward. Caitlin Glass will serve as ADR Director.
The official synopsis explains, “High atop a cliff sits the mansion known as Shadows House, home to a faceless clan that pretends to live like nobles. They express their emotions through living dolls that also endlessly clean the home of soot. One such servant, Emilico, aids her master Kate as they learn more about themselves and the mysteries of the house.”
Funimation has released the pilot episode of the anime with both the Japanese and English versions available.
Chris Pratt Shares Moving Memorial Day Tribute
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star Chris Pratt has always had a soft spot for United States veterans as his brother served in the US Army for more than eight years.
That is why it came as no surprise when the Daily Caller reporter that the ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ star shared a powerful tribute to veterans on Memorial Day.
Sharing moving pictures of troops and their families mourning lost loved ones Pratt credits to the MMA fighter Tim Kennedy,” he wrote, “Please, look at each one.”
“Pause, give them your consideration,” he said. “America’s exceptional armed forces have altered the course of the world for the better. From the Union Army defeating slave owning confederates, to the Greatest Generation and her Allies vanquishing the Nazis or our special operators hunting down the perpetrators of 9/11.”
Pratt continued, “We count the names of each fallen solider (sic) lest they be countless. They are the good guys. They run to the sound of gunfire. They know pain and suffering we never will. They have given us the most free and decent society planet earth has ever seen. We run the risk of losing that decency when we fail to instill gratitude in the minds of our youth or the perspective of what it actually means to be free- should they never learn of the selfless sacrifice of our armed service members in the face of oppressive evil.”
“So join me in showing support for our fallen,” Pratt added. “Take a quiet moment to really consider the sacrifice. And if you use the comments section on posts like this to bitch and moan about America please understand there are countries in the world where criticizing your government will get you killed or imprisoned. Criticism is a right and necessity in amending the flawed systems of man. So by all means, let your voice be heard. But never forget your right to free expression is paid for in blood.”
“May God give their souls rest, and may they live in our memories this weekend and always,” he concluded.
Regina King Reacts To Rumor She Is On The Shortlist To Direct ‘Superman’
Warner Bros. recently announced that they tapped J.J. Abrams to co-produce and Ta-Nehisi Coates to write a race-swapped Superman where the character will be Black. Warner Media also made it clear that they are seeking an African-American director to helm the picture.
One of the names mentioned was ‘Watchmen’ actress Regina King to take on the directing duties for the DC Comics project.
Apparently, that was news to King as Deadline notes. During an interview with MSNBC host Tiffany Cross, the ‘Boyz n the Hood’ actress acted with surprise that she is on the shortlist.
“I’m curious, because this is a little bit of gossip. You’re rumored to be on the shortlist to direct Superman. You and Barry Jenkins, both of your names have been thrown out there,” ‘The Cross Connection‘ host observed. “Anything you want to tell us? Is there any news you can break this morning about those conversations?”
“Tiffany, that is news to me. You have broke the news to me,” King joked. “A news break, live on MSNBC! Yeah, no, I have not heard that until just now.”
Besides King and Jenkins, others that are being considered include Ryan Coogler (‘Black Panther’), Steven Caple Jr. (‘Creed II’), J.D. Dillard (‘Sweetheart’), and Shaka King (‘Judas and the Black Messiah’).
As The Hollywood Reporter noted in May 2021, “When Warners announced in February that celebrated author Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing the screenplay and Abrams is producing, it did not address the matter of helming. But insiders say Warners and DC are committed to hiring a Black director to tackle what will be the first cinematic incarnation of Superman featuring a Black actor, with one source adding that putting Abrams at the helm would be ‘tone-deaf.'”
Regina King’s first stint at directing was the ‘Southland’ episode “Off Duty” in 2013. She would go on to direct several episodes for shows such as ‘Being Mary Jane’ and ‘Scandal’ before making her feature film directorial debut with 2020’s ‘One Night In Miami.’
John Krasinski Discusses How ‘Jaws’ Influenced ‘A Quiet Place’
John Krasinski roared into popularity while portraying paper salesman Jim Halpert in the NBC sitcom ‘The Office.’ Since then, he has made several film appearances and has stepped into directing with the science fiction horror ‘A Quiet Place’ and its recently released sequel ‘A Quiet Place Part II.’
In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Krasinski discussed how the Steven Spielberg shark thriller ‘Jaws’ influenced how he framed the plot of his sci-fi films.
Speaking specifically about ‘A Quiet Place Part II,’ he explained, “This movie I really want to feel like a throwback.”
He continued, “So it was definitely all the Hitchcock stuff for sure. I watched [that] religiously, and then I watched Alien, but certainly, ‘Jaws’ is a huge touchstone for me. With the opening of [A Quiet Place Part II], I think there’s even visuals I wanted to feel from the sense of ‘Jaws.”
“[It’s] almost like on the beach when we’re at the baseball game, you get that sense,” The ‘Leatherheads’ actor continued. “And I think Jaws is a perfect film, and I think that, storytelling-wise, what I learned from it was simplicity, the strength that comes from simplicity. The idea that just getting your characters you love from Point A to Point B is sometimes journey enough. You don’t have to think of all these crazy ways to ‘sequel’ this thing, you just tell a story that’s organic and real, and it may be as emotionally impactful if not more so.”
“Most recently I certainly loved ‘Us,'” Krasinski continued. “I love everything that Jordan [Peele is] doing. That was an amazing follow-up for me to watch. Most recently what I liked was The Lighthouse. I really loved Robert Eggers’ follow-up to The Witch. [It] was so horror, yes, but such an artistic accomplishment that happened to be extremely eerie and scary.”
As of the writing of this article, ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ netted over 47 million on its opening weekend and has since gone on to gain over 57 million globally according to Box Office Mojo.
Scout Partners with Execution Posse for New Horror Comic
‘Paradise City’ star Lorenzo Antonucci has gone from music with the thrash metal band Sworn Enemy to filmmaking and now to executive producing a comic book. The ‘American Satan’ actor has partnered with Scout Comics to bring an action-horror series ‘Night of the Cadillacs.’
According to a press release, the comic book is “a captivating new horror comic executive produced by Lorenzo Antonucci, star & executive producer of the trending hit series Paradise City (Amazon Prime) in collaboration with Sean E. Demott, Jake Hearns and Terrance Zdunich. Comic book art by Kirk Manley and Rob Prior.” It adds that the story is “a compelling story inspired by L.A.’s Fairfax District’s street culture and cult films The Lost Boys and The Warriors. Supernatural gangs come to Earth on a mission to retrieve live-restoring blood from humans during a rare blood moon.”
Demott told the Hollywood Reporter that the writers “met in this shady, shady bar in the Valley. I said ‘We need to have Warriors, but it’s supernatural with a love story.'”
Hearns said that they “made this agreement early on. No capes, no tights.”
Antonucci added, “Ripped jeans and ripped shorts and tattoos and fangs.”
The official synopsis explains that “‘Night of the Cadillacs’ is a high-octane, genre-bending mix of horror, hard action, forbidden love and street culture. Rival supernatural gangs come to earth on an overnight raiding mission to retrieve life-restoring blood from humans. The gangs fight among themselves for prized human captives and the survival of their clan. While the battle rages, a defiant and charismatic gangbanger (our hero Stiv) breaks free from his crew to go on the run with a rebellious, 18-year-old human girl (our other hero Hope) to protect her from his predatory family.”
‘Night of the Cadillacs’ will be released by Scout Comics & Entertainment Holdings Inc. with distribution by Simon & Schuster and Lunar in September 2021.
Kartoon Channel! Continues to Expand Offerings With 240 Hours of Content Coming to the Platform
Following the successful premiere of Stan Lee’s Super Hero Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, on Kartoon Channel!, Genius Brands International, Inc., continues to grow its content offering with the acquisition of proven hit series from award-winning third party producers.
Jon Ollwerther, who was recently promoted as President of Kartoon Channel! and EVP of Business Development of Genius Brands commented: “We are continuing to grow Kartoon Channel! each month, with more and more viewers enjoying what we believe is the very best combination of original, exclusive, and acquired content in the kid’s entertainment industry, including our hit Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. With Lou Fazio, former Executive Director of Programming & Acquisitions at Disney Channel, leading the charge, we are excited about our content pipeline, including 240 hours of newly acquired content from partners, including WildBrain, ABC Australia, Nelvana, and Zodiak Kids which will begin to premier on Kartoon Channel! in June.”
Since launching in June 2020, Kartoon Channel!, which is now widely available and fully distributed in the U.S. across all platforms, has significantly expanded its catalog of original and third-party programming. On April 23, 2021, Genius Brands launched its first Kartoon Channel! original, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which has since garnered over 22 million views, making it one of the fastest growing children’s series today.
The new content acquisitions for Kartoon Channel! include classic evergreen and new popular series and feature films. From WildBrain, Genius Brands has licensed the rights to Super Mario Bros., Adventures of Paddington Bear, Trollz, Madeline, and Liberty’s Kids.
From Nelvana, movies and series acquired for Kartoon Channel! include Donkey Kong Country, movie specials from the Franklin franchise, including Franklin and the Green Knight, Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure, A Franklin and Friends Adventure: Polar Explorer, A Franklin and Friends Adventure: Deep Sea Voyage, Franklin Back to School, and Franklin’s Magic Christmas; and lastly, The Santa Clause Brothers movie special
ABC Australia has licensed to the Kartoon Channel! the rights to The Wiggles World, Wiggle Pop special, among others.
Source: Genius Brands & Kartoon Channel!
New Sonic Team, Remastered Sonic Colors Games Coming Says SEGA
Sonic is turning 30. He can officially drink and drive and vote and be a terrible person like all the other 30-somethings on Twitter. Yay! On his birthday, I hope he gets a kiss from the king. It feels like only yesterday that Sonic turned 18 years old.
According to Gamespot, SEGA teased and pleased with a bunch of announcements. Some things were new titles, while others were glimpses into random cameo appearances the little blue needle mouse will be making in non-SEGA properties.
Sonic Colors, one of the few great games from Sonic’s past decade, will finally jump into the modern era. A remastered version of the Wii game will debut on September 7th under the new title … Sonic Colors: Ultimate. Strangely the game is only coming out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Optimized versions of the game for the PS5 and Series X have not been announced.
A compilation called Origins is also in the works. Supposedly this will contain four titles: the first three Sonic games and Sonic CD. I wish I could give you more information, but Gamespot says that there isn’t any yet. Based on SEGA’s previous compilations, there will be lots of filters, a rewind feature, promo art, and maybe some interviews. Please don’t hold me to any of that, though.
As far as brand new games go, there will be another Sonic Team title. Not much was given away at the reveal; aside from that, it came to PC and the current-gen consoles. If it’s a new racing title or something akin to Sonic Forces is yet to be seen. From Gamespot’s report, there were no vehicles in the reveal. So, I guess that this will be an on-foot adventure.
The other news isn’t super thrilling. Sonic will make cameos in non-SEGA titles, and there will be lots of merchandise. If my internet petition finally paid off, we’ll get “Sonic for President” plushies and body pillows.
Want A PS5? Here Is The Best Way To Get One Without Paying A Scalper
Getting Sony’s Playstation 5 has been a colossal pain. Between the chip shortages and the scalpers, the regular person really has to be quick to snag their own.
Over the past few months, I’ve been keeping an eye on sites claiming to help consumers. Some are just scams to get your credit card. A few were really scummy get-rich-quick schemes selling you a secret tip.
You wanna know what that tip is? Email Sony’s PR and say you’re a “journalist” who wants a copy to review for a blog. Yes, they want you to commit fraud.
Or you could go the other way and use the current sociopolitical climate to shame Sony as a certain e-celeb did, but you’re not a piece of trash, are you?
Matt Swider the editor-in-chief of Tech Radar.
Matt’s informants were often spot on, allow him to give potential buyers the heads up as to when a restock of both the PS5 and XBOX X consoles would drop. The catch is being fast on that mouse and keyboard.
To test out Matt’s validity, I would stay logged into the sites that would allegedly get the restocks. These would be Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Gamestop. There are others, like Dell and Sam’s Club, but the frequency wasn’t as often as the previously mentioned retailers.
There is also a shuffle over at NewEgg that has the PS5 listed. You enter the shuffle during a certain time during the day, and a few hours later, names are drawn. If you win, you must purchase the item within a certain timeframe. Simple, but not as direct.
Now, back to the online retailer rat race.
Drops would come around mid-day or early afternoon. Some, like the one today was announced in the early evening. As soon as I’d get an alert about his tweet, I’d click the link and see if the item could be added to my cart.
3 out of 10 times, it would work. Keep in mind that some retailers like Walmart will put you into a “waiting room” while their stock cycles, which could take up to 15 minutes in some cases.
Even though the item is in your cart, that doesn’t mean it is in stock. The only real way to know for sure is once the transaction is complete, most of the time. I’ve seen responses to his tweet saying the order was canceled within 24 hours due to shortages.
When the rush is on, don’t be surprised to see these retailer websites crash or slow to a crawl as scalpers, their bots, and untold thousands if not millions of people dash for the hard-to-find consoles.
We managed to get to the very end during our experiments and successfully order two PS5 consoles. The caveat was that they were the $700-$800 bundles. The stand-alone systems sell out in under 2 seconds from what we’ve seen, and we have never successfully been able to add those to our carts.
So, out of all the various ways, it looks like Swider‘s Twitter is the way to go. Not only could we validate a successful order on our part, but several people responded to him with proof of their own:
🥳I see success for GameStop PS5 / Xbox Series X restock!
😅Persistent > ⏲️Speed
👉PS5 bundles https://t.co/VRX42vM02H
👉Xbox bundles https://t.co/mjG5KZFhjSThere's 100% still time to cart a console BUNDLE. If you saw sold out before, it was too early. Try, try again! https://t.co/H2iNOQANuZ
— Matt Swider (tracking PS5 / Xbox / GPU restock) (@mattswider) May 26, 2021
