Weird Mind News Room Episode 98: Jan 6th - 12th
*music tracks for a journey abroad*
The first of the new releases of this week is one that will be getting a little bit steamy and have a story that may give you exactly everything that you may have wanted as we are getting passionate (I believe or may have some more deeper story to it all) as we have the newest erotic thriller of Babygirl. The film will follow a high powered CEO (Nicole Kidman) of a massive successful company who will be about to put her career and family on the line when she begins to have an affair with a much Younger Intern (Harris Dickinson). Reception to this new film has been very well recieved with praise to its narrative and performance of leading lady Nicole Kidman and also for being a very steamy film indeed (with the only piece of news I keep seeing for this film is that Kidman could not stop orgasming while they made this film and nothing else which I mean go off on it as Women should feel that sense of pleasure with a partner and not be one sided) and if you want to see how steamy it will come from this whole picture, then you can check this film out now in cinemas.
As for the only other new release of the week is delving into one that will be focus on family coming together after a long time that may end up becoming something personal or may end up with them killing each other in the process as Jesse Eisenberg is getting in front of and behind the camera for his all new film of A Real Pain. The film follows a pair of mismatched cousins of David and Benji, as they tour across Poland to honour their late grandmother, but soon their adventure becomes a little more complicated as old tensions resurface while exploring their family history. Reception to this new title has been very highly praised with many accolades going to the writing and directing of Eisenberg and for his performance alongside his co-star Kieran Culkin as well as its themes and messaging of the film and if you are up for reflection and some strange family dynamics, then you can also catch this new film out now in cinemas.
On the first of the news stories for this week is with a follow up to the first event of the year with the focus of the discussion on the big event of the Golden Globes as the event played out on Sunday night with plenty of wins, surprises and some snubs and debates online that came from the event but we have a few bits to discuss on the wins from the event.
So the first of the discussions and the first of the announcements was that after the smash hit success the game has had since release nearly a year ago, it was announced we are getting a film adaptation of the popular MMO of Helldivers 2. So it is a case that yes, I can understand the approach of making an adaptation for this as its a no brainer, but I am not sure if I would've went straight to a film and would go for more of 1 of 2 approaches, either start with an episode from the recent series of Secret Level (which they briefly appear in the last episode of season 1) or the other is with a more structured TV show as it will help to build it out more on the characters and the world and lore of the games cause I feel that it will become more strained with development and pacing and everything as well that it may be a bit like Starship Troopers with a bigger budget. But I will see how this turns out overtime and if the likes of Democracy has been established well in the final product.
Now on the likes of the next story, we have a new update on one of the projects I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that was in the realm of uncertainty and that was with the adaptation of the Horizon games series. When I last mentioned the project, the series version for Netflix was announced to have been shelved due to some allegations made to the showrunner of some toxic work environment from his work on the previous show of Umbrella Academy and many wondered if it would see the light of day and this series actually gets some respect that it deserves. Well now we have finally gotten an update to the project and it was announced that it will now be going from a tv series into a film that will be made by Sony. So I can appeal on this that it could be worth to see some of these giant mech creatures on the big screen and work well that it also comes to the concern that hopefully it will work well of changing to a film version and that they get a good choice for the cast and main lead of Aloy and can respect some set pieces from the games while also carving its own story well with a fine balance but I will give it a chance when it does come around down the line but I will give hope for this for the moment and will be updating when anything for this comes along.
Now on the only form of tv series announcement, besides the announced release month for Last of Us Season 2, we have also recieved the announcement that we are getting an anime adaptation of the multiplayer story of Ghost of Tsushima with Legends that will be taking its spot into the streaming service of Crunchyroll and is aiming for a release in 2027. So I have played a little of the main game and haven't gone too much in the area with the multiplayer (as I do not have much interest or many to play multiplayer with) but I think that this game series would go so hard with the focus of an anime and I will be for sure checking this out when it was does come around in 2 years time.
The last of the updates that I have is one that we know is coming up this year and very soon as we have been given some details about the upcoming project and a little context to this does provide a little bit of confusion to how much it is close to the original game. One of the concerns many had was why there was some lack of the numbers of cast members in the narrative as it was short about 2 or 3 characters of the group from the original cast that many wondered how will they work this out, but at the recent event they have given a bit of the context to the film itself as the film is not telling the original games story but rather it is a new film that is set in the same universe as that story and follow new characters in a different setting and dealing with some new creatures with the only character that is left to focus and connect to that original story is with Peter Stormare returning as his character as Dr Hill from the original game (and maybe as the supposed sequel that was teased in the recent remake of the game). This is where I question if this is really an Until Dawn adaptation and more of one of the stories of the Dark Pictures Anthology but just replacing the Curator as it sounds like that over a snowy cabin, 8 teens or young adults and a dangerous form of creatures but I will be intrigued to see how this adaptation comes about and going off the director for the film, he can do a horror well, so here is hoping this turns out good.
The 3rd remake story for this week is coming to us from the likes of an update to the discussion of the remake of the American Psycho film that was in talks to be starring Austin Butler as Patrick Bateman as there has been an update that has thrown the whole thing into disarray. Now according to the original novels author, it seems to be the case that the whole remake may have actually been a long running fake news story that has gone out of control and that it is not going ahead at all. He has mentioned the case that no film has been discussed nor the actor or director of Luca Guadagino has been contacted about it so it seems that it was all a bit of a ruse and that it is not coming after all. I feel this was expected a little as the likes of this announcement was not really overblown discussion about the whole thing online like a lot of projects are but I feel it is too much of a popular film to try and adapt again. I am sure it will be made in the future but for the time being, it is best to be left as it is.
The last of the discussion of this story is not with the likes of a film or series remake or reboot but rather in the change of a character actor for an ongoing project and this relates to the series of Star Wars and the series focused on Ashoka. This is in relation to the character that was played by the late Ray Stevenson who played the character of Baylan Skoll in the first season and from how it ended it looked like he was being set up for another big arc in the 2nd season but since he passed away, it has been a question of how they will continue that arc and it seems they may have found a replacement for the role. According to some rumoured sources, it is looking like actor of Rory McCann who played the Hound in Game of Thrones may have been offered the role for the following season and personally it is not a bad choice role for this in particular and can do something good with a performance of this caliber. At the moment it has not been fully confirmed but once I hear anything I will update in a later piece.
The first of the changes came from the realm of video games as it was announced at the beginning of the week that the upcoming new entry of Assassins Creed with Shadows has been delayed once again but not by too long as it was announced to be delayed from Feb 14th to March 20th. Now this is not the first delay to this game as it was initially supposed to have released back on November 15th 2024 but was delayed for some final fixes and touchups to make it the best Game in the series as many have been waiting for this Assassins creed in this time setting so I understand of wanting to make it the best that it can be and delaying it by another month is fine enough as it is. Hopefully it will turn out well but I guess we will see when the game comes out in 2 months time.
And the last of the changes in release dates is coming in the area of 2 films from the animation slate of companies owned by Universal with the first piece of news being announced that the upcoming Shrek 5 has been delayed by about 6 months from its June 30th release date to December 23rd 2026, which is a bit annoying but if the film is on par with the first sequel and the recent Puss in Boots then I am fine with the delay. As for what it is being replaced with on that date now for some reason as they more confident in it is the 3rd Minions movie that has been moved up by a whole year which does bring a bit of a concern in its quality and the likes that they feel people are more excited for a 3rd Minions film over a long awaited return of everyone's Favourite Ogre, so it is a little confusing. It also feels a little money hungry as Illumination already has another film out that year already and it is the supposed Mario Movie sequel in April 2026 which if the first film was a smash success in revenue then they have a big payout on their way with that one. In my head it will make the latter film feel rushed or in most case will get delayed again but who really knows. All I know is that I give it to the end of the year and then we will have a 6 month marketing campaign for that film and will get overly tedious, but we will see how it comes about in due time.
Hello again to all of you wonderful people to the newest weekly episode of Weird Mind News Room and the 98th episode of the series where this week we are talking on a small selection of new releases and trailers and a little few choices of stories from the news round up of media. So without too much to waste, let us delve more into the content of all things media from this week.
New Releases of reflection
Movies
Baby Girl
A Real Pain
Trailers to delve into the pains
The Last of Us Season 2
We are starting off this weeks 2 options of trailers with a big one and probably my most anticipated tv show of the year as we are heading forward a few short years into the future in an alternate timeline that even when lost in the darkness and the world is overrun with infected, there is still a chance to find the light, even if it may become more dimmer in this season as we have recieved another new trailer for the upcoming 2nd season of The Last of Us. The plot of this season of course will follow the plot of the massive, critically acclaimed and heavily divisive sequel that will see some time jumps, new faces, romances, heartbreaks and other parts of survival as they will be delving into the massive story of that game and focus heavily on a different theme compared to season 1 where that was love and hope, this is about Hate and revenge. So for the time being as I know how the story goes from playing the game (that I do love and will do a separate video as to why I do and a gameplay of the title too) and there is a sense of fear and prepping my emotions for this season as it will be something like the first season it will be breaking me once again (and am also intrigued to hear some peoples opinions about the narrative for those that have not looked into the games or series, but from this small glimpse I am very excited for it and also intrigued to see how they will go about telling the narrative as the game has its specific way of telling the story. Now we do not have to wait too long as while no specific date as of yet, we have a release month as it will be dropping onto HBO and on Sky sometime this April.
Reacher Season 3
And for the 2nd and last trailer for this week is showing the case when something big is causing a problem that needs to be resolved, its best to get a bigger man to tackle this as a one man army as everyone's favourite special forces officer is back for another job as we have recieved a trailer for the upcoming 3rd season of Reacher. This season will follow the story of the 7th book in the series of Persuader, as Reacher hurtles into the dark heart of a vast criminal enterprise in order to rescue an undercover DEA agent while dealing with a discovery of secrecy and violence and confronting some unfinished business from his past. So I have not delved too much into this series (I have seen the odd clip but will get to it eventually) but what I have heard from my parents is that this series is really good and Alan Ritchson is the perfect fit for the role of the series character (and also truth be told, I would be all fine for him to play Batman for the DCU) and from this trailer it does look like there will be plenty to enjoy from this new season and thankfully the wait is not too much longer as a new season will be releasing onto Amazon Prime in a little over a months time on February 20th.
News of things to come
the glitz and glam of the globes
On the side of the films for this year the 2 biggest winners of the award circuit went to the Netflix film of Emilia Perez with 4 wins of its 10 nominations including best picture of Musical and Comedy and then on the other side went with The Brutalist at 3 wins of its 7 nominations with plenty of other wins for some of the other big wins including Demi Moore getting the love that she deserved for her performance in the Substance winning for Best Actress and another competitor in the animation contest with the film of Flow winning best animated feature over tough competition of Wild Robot, Inside Out 2 and Wallace and Gromit so it may be a big surprise battle at the Oscars (and hopefully a few more nominations for these films in multiple categories instead of being overlooked like always). The biggest debate and discourse that has come from this has been with Emilia Perez as the film since the release and its wins has now gotten a lot more backlash as it has faced scrutiny over its portrayal with Gender Identity and the cast being not from the country the film is based on and many see it be a case if the film wins big and nominated heavily in the oscars then it will be a big debate, but I will need to give a look myself and see what they are getting at, though I can see that it may be different explanations for different people and maybe it is with the directors vision but I have no idea. Sure it will all be a debate for people on what should win or lose but it becomes a debate and sometimes that whole appeal will come from it all.
As on the likes of the tv side of things, we have 3 winners for this section for big shows and limited series with the big winner being Shogun going 4 for 4 of its wins including for best series for Drama which has been the one expected to win big as it has been sweeping the award seasons and then on the likes of the other 2 shows with Hacks and Baby Reindeer winning 2 a piece with Hacks winning best series comedy and BR winning for best limited series and for Jessica Gunning winning for best supporting actress. One other big one that I was happy for was with Colin Farrell winning for best actor for the Penguin and just really giving it his all as OS Coppelpot and was rightfully deserved. Not much of an issue on the tv side of things and a lot of it was well deserved and I think it went well overall. Sure there is some debate every year with the awards but it is bound to happen but here is to say when we are back here in a years time talking on the same things again.
But what are your own thoughts on this award show and what are your opinions of the wins and snubs and your thoughts on the big debate of the one film? let me know what you think of it all down below.
The productions of PlayStation going from games to the big screen
This next story for this week is a little bit of some updates that have come from the big gaming platform of PlayStation as this week we have recieved some word from the ongoing CES show that will be delving into some announcements from the company that is based on some announced adaptations and an update or 2 for some of the projects in the works that I have some thoughts on and will give a focus on those announced in this story.
But with all of that, I want to know your own thoughts on the announcements and if there is any of these adaptations you are looking forward to? let me know in the comments below and we can discuss them there.
The first of the announcements is taking a new version of a book that has already seen a well loved adaptation over 20 years ago getting a new take on the series in a form that some may be a little divided on. So back in 2003 there was a film adaptation from Disney that was based on a book by Louis Sachar known as Holes about a young kid named Stanley Yelnats who always finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time being sent to a boys juvenile encampment on a barren lake bed where they must dig holes 5 feet deep and 5 feet wide (or the length of the shovel) every day in order for them to build character but has a deeper reason to the whole thing and it was a faithful and beloved take on the book and was a starring film for a young Shia Lebouf and has been a staple of a fan favourite film for years. Well it was just announced this week that we are now getting a new series version of this book being made for Disney+ and the whole difference is that it is being gender swapped with an all female group being the focus of digging holes. Now I do not mind the likes of it going in this direction but I get that it is a whole lot different to the book and I felt that they could've kept it similar to the original book and even adapt the sequel to that book of Small steps that focused on 2 characters from the original novel, but it s hard to tell if the likes of the simple charm will be missing from the adaptation, or they dig up another treasure of success but who knows with this whole project concept in its early stages.
The next concept of a remake that has been in discussion or maybe a possible sequel or a concept for the upcoming superbowl was a cryptic teaser that was posted by Hollywood Actor Will Smith. So we have seen him over the years in some big names films from Men in Black, Independence Day, Bad Boys, Hancock, Shark Tale and many more, but there was initially another film that he was going to see himself be a big star of and that was initially planned to play the lead of Neo in the Matrix films, but he had turned it down to play the lead in the western of Wild, Wild West and many had wondered if he would make an appearance in some form in a future format? Well going off of the teaser, it may be the case that Will Smith could appear in the series, either in a form of an ad for the Superbowl, a planned reboot or remake of the original or possibly in that confirmed 5th Matrix film or even a new piece of music? It is hard to say as of right now what the concept is going to be as it is being mentioned that at this time is not attached to appear in a Matrix film but things could be changing and I am sure things will be announced soon but I guess at the moment it is all down to speculation and to open your mind to the outcome.
The remakes of mixed opinion and some that are involved
The 3rd story for this week is in a focus to the realm of some announcement of some supposed planned remakes or teases to something and the case of a possible change of a actor to continue the story of another character in a massive expanding series but let us delve into those down below.
But with all of that I would like to know your thoughts of these supposed remakes and concept and choices and will you watch them or do you see them working or being a disaster? Let me know your thoughts below.
Minions, Ogres and Assassins all have a topic in common
The last of the stories for this week is with the focus of some discussion of a few release dates and changes for some of the projects coming up from the world of video games and films in animation and we shall get to discussing those now and not waste too much time.
And with all of that I would like to know your thoughts on these release changes and do you see any of these doing well or will they have an affect in its reception, production and revenue because of it? Let me know what you think of it down below.
And with all of that, this brings us to the end of the 98th edition of Weird Mind News Room and I do hope that you have enjoyed this round up of ramblings for another week. Let me know your thoughts on all of these down below and as always, I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday and I will see you all in the next episode :)
Take Care, Keep being you, signing off
Sam H :)
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