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Dungeons & Dragons’ Comedy Avoids The Biggest LOTR Problem

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves rolls the dice on a more comedic film and addresses one of its biggest challenges from The Lord of the Rings.

In an age where fantastic quests are undertaken daily through streaming services, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was wise enough, through its comedy, to avoid the problem of being compared to The Lord of the Rings. With J. R. R. Tolkien’s works establishing such a high standard of storytelling, and TV series like Game of Thrones achieving almost unparalleled success, other high-fantasy movies and shows struggle to stand out. When it seems so many stories are trying to be the next fantasy epic, a sense of humor and self-awareness can go a long way.

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In development since 2013, the latest attempt at a Dungeons & Dragons movie released its first trailer at Comic-Con 2022. Looking reminiscent of Guardians of the GalaxyDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves introduces Chris Pine as a roguish bard who accidentally delivers a great power into evil hands. Played against the background sounds of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” rather than the usual orchestral fantasy score, the promise of a comedy-focused adventure becomes clear with deliciously over-the-top action scenes, snappy one-liners, and the proclamation of “who needs heroes…when you have thieves?” With a party of quirky protagonists, the Dungeons & Dragons movie reboot’s trailer sets up a character-driven adventure, but one that isn’t afraid to have a few laughs along the way.


The Lord of the Rings delivered some of fiction’s most emotional and breathtaking moments. From Gandalf’s battle with a Balrog to the friendship of Sam and Frodo, it’s an emotionally spellbinding journey that many fantasy stories have tried to recreate. The Lord of the Rings set a high standard and has since drawn comparisons from across the genre, as other medieval-set quests have found themselves eclipsed by the shadows of Tolkien’s books and Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations. In the case of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the trailer displays the hallmarks of a medieval adventure with dragons, castles, and the like, but the movie doesn’t always take these things too seriously, unlike The Lord of the Rings. Its focus on humor and a very different cast of dubious D&D heroes makes the 2023 movie thankfully stand out at a time when everybody else is still trying to be Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, oversaturating the market with more drama-centric titles, including the Game of Thrones franchise and the upcoming Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series.


D&D Is Right To Avoid Lord Of The Rings Comparisons

When Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings movie premiered in 2001, its legacy inspired countless copycats. But genre fatigue happens, especially when so many other storytellers attempt to mimic the aesthetics and success of something like the Lord of the Rings series. Unfortunately, many fantasy worlds believe they need to rely on the sentimental beats of a Tolkein-inspired world when they don’t. Popular titles like The Princess Bride and The Legend of Vox Machina found success by standing out with a sense of humor at the expense of their characters and tropes. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves didn’t need to be the next Lord of the Rings, and trying to copy what made it successful would’ve only lost the D&D movie among a sea of relatively solemn fantasy films and TV projects. Instead, the Dungeons & Dragons movie reboot created its own identity with its jokes and overblown action. It’s not wrong for a D&D movie to have fun with its versatile world, and it could be what separates it from a critical success or failure by doing something more original.


J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth may have shaped the medieval fantasy genre, but it shouldn’t solely define it. Adventures come in all types and, along the way, they can make audiences laugh, cry, or shriek. The Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves seem like two very different entertainments, and they should be.

  • Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)Release date: Sep 08, 2023




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TCM Sets Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary Program Slate Including 10 Restored Classic Films

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Warner Bros. will commemorate its 100th anniversary with a block of programming on Turner Classic Movies starting April 1.

TCM will broadcast remastered and newly restored versions of 10 classic Warner Bros. films, each featuring an introduction from a filmmaker or film expert culled from the network’s ongoing partnership with the Film Foundation, a non-profit preservation and exhibition organization. The program coincides with the April 13-16 run of the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood.

On April 13, a new 4K restoration of 1959’s “Rio Bravo,” Howard Hawks’ classic western starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and Angie Dickinson, will premiere on TCM and serve as the opening night film of the festival. Dickinson will attend the in-person event, while Martin Scorsese will introduce the film on TCM’s small-screen presentation. Similarly, Warner Bros. will premiere a new 4K restoration of Elia Kazan’s “East of Eden,” starring James Dean, on both the big screen and the network, the latter featuring an introduction by filmmakers Wes Anderson and Joanna Hogg.

Other films planned for broadcast on TCM include “Land of the Pharaohs” and “Storm Warning” (both introduced by Scorsese), “Rachel, Rachel” (introduced by Ethan Hawke), “Safe in Hell” (by Alexander Payne), and “A Lion is in the Streets,” introduced by Daphne Dentz and Robyn Sklaren of the Warner Bros. Discovery Library.

TCM additionally plans to program trailers, archival interviews, documentaries and other ephemera from Warner Bros., complementing festival programs such as “Looney Tunes at the Oscars” and “Warner Bros. Coming Attractions,” panels exploring the studio’s extensive history.



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Jeff Goldblum Addresses His Jurassic Park Costar’s Cancer Diagnosis

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Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum has addressed his costar Sam Neill’s diagnosis of stage 3 blood cancer. Goldblum portrayed mathematician Dr. Ian Macolm in the first Jurassic Park film opposite Neill’s paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant. He returned to his role as Ian in The Lost World: Jurassic Park and in Jurassic World: Dominion, the latter of which saw him reunite with Neill in the franchise for the first time since Spielberg’s original film.


Speaking with Evening Standard, Goldblum opened up about Neill’s diagnosis of stage 3 blood cancer, which the Jurassic Park actor revealed in his recent autobiography. He quietly spoke about Neill’s remission, hopeful that the actor would recover soon. Read what Goldblum had to say below:

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“He shared it with us early on. He’s been in constant touch with me and, well, he looks fantastic, he sounds great. Hopefully, he’s as healthy as a horse now. I just adore him.”


How Jeff Goldblum & Sam Neill’s Jurassic Park Roles Defined Them

Having starred in Jurassic Park in 1993, Goldblum and Neill have continued to be friends since taking their roles in the dinosaur franchise. During the production of Jurassic World: Dominion and while dealing with the Covid pandemic, the duo began singing and posting cover songs online. The pair are good friends, which makes Goldblum’s well wishes for Neill’s recovery process all the more heartwarming.

Goldblum and Neill are also the only actors whose Jurassic Park characters visited Isla Sorna on the big screen. Ian Malcolm went to Site B in The Lost World: Jurassic Park to document the dinosaurs, while Alan Grant visited the island in Jurassic Park III after being hired to find a lost boy. Their return in subsequent Jurassic Park sequels underscores their roles as the heart of the franchise, made all the more prominent because of their reunion in Jurassic World: Dominion.

Thankfully, Neill’s cancer has been in remission for the last eight months, indicating the treatment he went through has been working to save his life. The talented actor is already filming a new project as well, having reassured his fans in an Instagram post earlier this week that he is doing well. Goldblum’s concern for his friend is one of many well wishes the Jurassic Park star has received as he continues to recover from his diagnosis.

Source: Evening Standard

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Vanessa Hudgens Sets Philippines Travel Documentary Exploring Her Family’s Asian Heritage

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Vanessa Hudgens, the Asian American actor whose career kicked off in Disney’s “High School Musical” series, is set to shoot a travel documentary in the Philippines, the country of her mother’s birth.

The untitled project will shoot in Palawan and Manila in March. Paul Soriano is attached as a director, producer and executive producer. Mark A. Victor of TEN17P will also serve as executive producer. No distributor, broadcaster or streaming platform has yet been disclosed.

Soriano’s recent credits include directing the 2019 film “Mañanita” and Manny Pacquiao biopic “Kid Kulafu.”

The documentary is said to showcase the relationship between Hudgens and her Filipino mother, Gina, who emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 25, as well as Hudgens’ sister, Stella.

Since “High School Musical,” Hudgens has notched up key roles in “Spring Breakers”, “Gimme Shelter,” “Bad Boys for Life,” and the Oscar-nominated Lin-Manuel Miranda-directed musical “Tick, Tick …Boom!” Hudgens executive produced and starred in the film “The Knight Before Christmas” and all three installments of “The Princess Switch” series for Netflix. Hudgens is next set to star in the upcoming films “French Girl” and “Bad Boys 4.”

“I feel like ours is such a relatable story to so many women all over the world,” Hudgens said in a statement announcing the documentary. “The more that we can share, the more we can lift each other up.”

“We are honored to work with Vanessa for this film project. It’s inspiring to note that with everything she has achieved in life, she wants to discover her Filipino roots and pay homage to her mother’s country. Hopefully, this opens doors for many more collaborations to come,” said Soriano in a statement.

Soriano previously produced “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery” (2016), which won a special film award at the Berlin International Film Festival, and “Transit” in 2013, which was selected as the Philippines’ entry for the foreign language film category at the Academy Awards. He is also a presidential creative adviser to the Philippines’ government.

Hudgens is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, the Lede Company and Ziffren Brittenham.



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