It’s time once again to turn on The Monitor, WIRED’s roundup of the latest in the world of culture, from CGI-heavy trailers to big streaming deals to box-office news. In today’s installment: A new look at Aquaman surfaces; the fate of FilmStruck is revealed; and General Mills makes a Boo-ty call to Hollywood.
Warner Bros. just released an elaborate second trailer for next month’s Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa as the would-be king of the underseas. The new footage includes the first extensive look at Willem Dafoe as Vulko, the hero’s mentor and trident-teacher (or would the term be “tridentist”?), as well as a quick glimpse of Dolph Lundgren’s King Nereus. Mostly, though, the preview offers a further glimpse at the film’s lush oceansphere, full of fluorescent jellyfish, high-speed rays, oversized sharks, and one giant dino-dragon-like creature. It’s so immersive and detailed, it’s almost like a ... waterworld! Yeah! Waterworld. What a cool movie title that would have been. Wonder why they didn’t go with it? [#video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/2wcj6SrX4zw&feature=youtu.be
The beloved classic-film streamer FilmStruck—which is scheduled to close down next week—is getting a happy ending: Next year will see the launch of The Criterion Channel, a new freestanding service that will feature several titles from the current FilmStruck catalog (the venture was a collaboration between Criterion and the WarnerMedia-owned Turner Classic Movies). An announcement for the new Criterion Channel notes its goal is to be “a movie lover’s dream streaming service,” with annual memberships ranging from $89.99 to $100 a year. The decision to close FilmStruck was made by Warner Bros.’ new corporate overlords at AT&T, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it didn’t get a good reception: Several passionate fans launched a petition to salvage the service, and a letter-writing campaign wound up luring such filmmakers as Christopher Nolan and Barry Jenkins. FilmStruck closes on November 29, meaning you have little more than a week to get as cineaste-y as you wanna be.
General Mills—purveyor of such morning-sugar delivery-devices as Count Chocula and Boo Berry—is looking to launch its own pop-culture franchise: The manufacturer has announced hopes to expand its cereal-box characters into movies and TV shows, having mounted at least one high-visibility Frankenbillboard in Los Angeles, and soliciting ideas from creators via its official website. “We want to work with you to bring great stories to life,” notes the site. “Together, let’s captivate the hearts and minds of teens and adults.” Though no modern movie has been spun off from a cereal brand—the 1999 Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence dramedy Life was, alas, totally oats-free—the company’s site points out its history with such animated shows as The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle. Who knows? Maybe it’s time to brush off your long-languishing Like Water for Chocula spec script!
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