Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
WIRE Buzz: Invisible Man wins the box office; Tessa Thompson's fencing dreams; more
We've always thought Tessa Thompson was dreamy.
The Westworld and Thor: Ragnarok actress has signed on to star in the psychological thriller Balestra, about a disgraced competitive fencer who tries to get her mojo back with the help of lucid dreaming (where the dreamer is aware she is dreaming).
Inception however this is not.
Per Deadline, the movie follows fencer Joanna Bathory (Thompson) who, desperate for an Olympic comeback, tries out a prototype device at the behest of her trainer husband enabling her to extend her training into her sleeping hours. By day she's on the piste, and by night she's lucid dreaming. But reality begins to blur when she meets a stranger named Elliot, played by Aladdin's Marwan Kenzari, and gets tanged up in a web of subconscious desires and unfulfilling reality.
The film will be directed by Nicole Dorsey (Black Conflux). No word yet on when shooting will get underway.
Netflix is looking to step up its support for organizations that help provide opportunities for black creators, as well as support for black-owned businesses, with a $5 million donation to multiple charities.
The donation will go to support groups including Ghetto Film School, Film Independent's Project Involve, Firelight Media, Black Public Media, Know Your Rights Camp, Vermont Slauson Economic Development (VSEDC), and others.
"Tackling racism and injustice in meaningful ways means creating long-term opportunities for the Black community," Netflix chairman and CEO Reed Hastings said via Deadline. "The main role we play is through our funding of and member viewing of important content like ‘When They See Us.' As an additional step, today we're committing $5 million to nonprofits dedicated to creating direct opportunities for Black creators, Black youth and Black-owned businesses."
In case you thought movie houses had disappeared in the age of the coronavirus, Universal/Blumhouse's The Invisible Man is a reminder that they're very much alive – at least in the parts of America not still in lockdown.
Deadline reports that the horror remake starring Elisabeth Moss was the number one film at the box office this past weekend – and for the second time at that in its 16th week of release. The Invisible Man earned $383,000 in 147 theaters during the Friday through Sunday frame, mostly on indie screens and drive-ins as the big chains remain closed.
The flick first bowed in theaters on Feb. 28 and materialized $28 million for a first place finish. But it was subsequently replaced in the number one spot by Pixar's Onward just before the pandemic hit.
Invisible's weekend's tally snapped a nine-week winning streak by the studio's DreamWorks Animation sequel Trolls World Tour, which sank to number two.
Not far behind were a trio of other Universal classics. A reissue of Back to the Future generated $263,000 from 91 theaters in release to take the third spot. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park came in sixth and eighth place respectively while Warner Bros.' reissue of The Goonies took the ninth spot.
