(This article forms a part of the First Day First Show newsletter that brings you the latest and best from the world of movies and entertainment. Subscribe now)
Bollywood
Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan attend star-studded premiere of ‘The Archies’
Akshay Kumar’s ‘Housefull 5’ pushed to 2025
Ajay Devgn, Tabu-starrer ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha!’ gets a release date
Veteran actor Junior Mehmood dies at 68 after bout with cancer
Aamir Khan rescued from flood in Chennai after cyclone Michaung
Zoya Akhtar opens up about sequel to ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’
Alia Bhatt to join ‘In-Conversation’ section at Red Sea Film Festival
Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal’s debut production ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ to premiere at Sundance Film Festival
Hollywood
Actors vote to approve deal that ended strike, bringing relief to union leaders and Hollywood
Kristen Stewart, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Steven Soderbergh to feature in the 40th Sundance Film Festival
‘Oppenheimer’ to screen in Japan next year after atomic bomb controversy
Legendary TV producer Norman Lear passes away at 101
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ named best film of 2023 by National Board of Review
Pixar to release ‘Soul’, ‘Turning Red’ and ‘Luca’ in theatres
Jennifer Lopez to star in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ feature film adaptation
Al Pacino, Diego Boneta and more to star in ‘Killing Castro’
Alan Ritchson’s ‘Reacher’ renewed for season three at Prime Video
‘Home Alone’ star Macaulay Culkin receives his star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Zack Snyder regains rights to ‘homoerotic, super violent’ ‘Blood and Ashes’
Regional Cinema
Yash’s next film is ‘Toxic’, directed by Geetu Mohandas
Chandrika Ravi to play Silk Smitha in new biopic
Rashmika Mandanna begins shooting for Rahul Ravindran’s ‘The Girlfriend’
Darshana Rajendran, Darshan to headline ‘Seththumaan’ director’s next
World Cinema
Mai Whelan wins ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ while reality show gets a second season order at Netflix
Jordan Peele teams with Hideo Kojima on game-movie hybrid ‘OD’
Trailers
Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu battle odds to emigrate in trailer of ‘Dunki’
Prabhas is a one-man in army in trailer of Prashanth Neel’s ‘Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire’
Pink Godzilla teams up with armoured King Kong in trailer of ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’
Trailer of action-comedy ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’, starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, puts new twist to the tale
Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower unleash fury in the teaser of ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2
Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone fly high in teaser of Siddharth Anand’s ‘Fighter’
Max’s 2024 trailer shows new footage from ‘The Penguin’ series and ‘it’ prequel ‘Welcome to Derry’
Mohanlal, Lijo Jose Pellissery keep mystery intact with the teaser of ‘Malaikottai Vaaliban’
‘The Boys’ Season 4 teaser trailer shows Homelander take on Starlight, as new allies and foes emerge
Teaser of Prime Video’s sci-fi series ‘Fallout’ shows Vault Dweller Lucy step into the Wasteland in
Dan Levy promises a tearjerker in the trailer of his directorial debut ‘Good Grief’
Ashok Selvan celebrates love in the trailer of the fun coming-of-age film, ‘Saba Nayagan’
Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick really can’t live without each other in the trailer of ‘Self Reliance’
Art takes centre stage in trailer of ‘Kadhikan’, starring Mukesh and Unni Mukundan
‘Keerthi Pandian, Ammu Abhirami and more promise four hard-hitting stories in trailer of ‘Kannagi’
New in streaming
New on Netflix this December: Coming-of-age musical The Archies, the second part of the sixth season of The Crown, psychological thriller Leave the World Behind, and more.
Coming to Apple TV+: Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa starrer Argylle, Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche starrer The New Look, Mark Wahlberg’s action comedy The Family Plan, and more
New on Amazon Prime Video this week: Neena Gupta, Jackie Shroff starrer Mast Mein Rehne Ka, Zakir Khan stand-up special Mann Pasand, and more
New on Disney+ Hotstar in December: Season 2 of Marvel’s superhero series What if...?, live-action series based on books by Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and more
New K-dramas to watch this December: The sequel of horror thriller Sweet Home, Soundtrack #2, and romantic drama series Welcome to Samdal-ri
Essential reading
1) Zoya Akhtar on ‘The Archies’: The film has seven leads, not three
>> She discusses her love for the original comics, relocating Riverdale to 1960s India, casting choices and the potential for a franchise
2) Nani on ‘Hi Nanna’: I did not want the success of ‘Dasara’ to dictate what I choose next
>> He says the decision to release his films in different languages is to ensure qualitative dubbing for movie buffs across languages and not for the pan-India tag
3) Suresh Krissna on ‘Aalavandhan’ re-release: I hope the film gets the recognition it deserves now
>> He looks back at collaborating with Kamal Haasan for the ambitious project and Quentin Tarantino’s comments on the psychological thriller
4) Paul King on ‘Wonka’: ‘Roald Dahl’s writing is like salted caramel’
>> The director says one of the joys of adapting Dahl is in placing childlike whimsy beside macabre storytelling
5) Mrunal Thakur: I did not move from my seat as Shouryuv narrated ‘Hi Nanna’; it is all about love
>> She discusses her second Telugu film ‘Hi Nanna’ and her admiration for the high benchmark for romance, set by Shah Rukh Khan
6) The shock therapy of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’
>> There have always been those who have offended popular sensibilities; however, of any piece of volatile art, we must ask a few questions
7) Nithiin on ‘Extra-Ordinary Man’: Comedy can get mechanical if we don’t crack it at the earliest
>> He speaks about why his character in the film is the best he has been offered and on going through highs and lows in his 21-year career
8) From SRK to Rajini, why are movie stars sporting cigars onscreen?
>> The cigar and masculinity trope is nothing new for film and TV, but studies show that Gen Z smokes far less than previous generations
9) Cinephiles explain what brings them to the International Film Festival of Kerala every year
>> IFFK, the 28th edition of which is currently ongoing, has shaped the viewing culture of several generations of film buffs in Kerala
10) Malayalam actor Poornima Indrajith talks about landing the role in the Netflix series ‘Kaala Paani’
>> She speaks about her return to acting after marriage and on negotiating her way through the OTT space
What to watch
1) ‘The Archies’ is too basic, but the kids are all right
2) ‘Wonka’ is Paul King’s engaging, decadent Christmas present
3) ‘Hi Nanna’ is a reaffirming story of love that conquers everything
4) Pankaj Tripathi livens up languid thriller 'Kadak Singh’
5) Manoj Bajpayee fuels ‘Joram’, a gripping thriller on the politics of development
6) ‘Sam Bahadur’ is an adulatory tribute to India’s most beloved soldier
7) Vakkantham Vamsi’s ‘Extra Ordinary Man’, starring Nithiin, is hilarious in parts
8) Jayathirtha, Dhanveerah’s gangster drama ‘Kaiva’ suffers from lack of focus
9) ‘Kadhikan’, Jayaraj’s film on Kathaprasangam, is a good effort that falters in certain parts
10) Short film ‘The Shepherd’ is an elegant, heart-warming Christmas carol
11) ‘Family Switch’ is a not-so festive spin on Freaky Friday
12) Nayanthara stars in ‘Annapoorani’, a template underdog story that’s neither appetising nor delectable
Published - December 08, 2023 06:33 pm IST
