Beyond the Screen #6: Spider-Man Blunder, Grateful Dead, Jim Jones Biopic, Red Notice’s Big Budget and Period Predator Movie

We take a look back at news of note in the world of film.

Spider-Man Trailer Blunder Leads to Fan Speculation

The latest Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is online now, and though it confirms the presence of at least 5 classic villains, all viewers seem to want to talk about is what’s not in the trailers. Rumor, apparent leaks, and frame-by-frame analysis continues to fly about the return of previous incarnation of the Spider-Man character (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), as eagle-eyed viewers spotted a slight difference from most international additions of the trailer to the Brazilian edition. A money shot depicts Tom Holland’s Spider-Man leaping into battle, facing down three villains, seemingly a perfect moment for all three Spider-Men to line up. Zooming in on the Lizard in the Brazilian trailer reveals what looks to be the biggest indication of a cover-up yet, as the Lizard is decked across the face by an invisible ‘something or other’. All other trailers managed to clean up the shot so as to avoid betraying the presence of someone socking it to the Lizard. Fans have lost their minds, and hype continues to build for the most anticipated film release since Avengers: Endgame.

Jonah Hill to Star in Scorsese’s Grateful Dead Movie

We haven’t seen so much as a poster from Martin Scorsese’s upcoming $200 million Apple TV+ film Killers of the Flower Moon, and yet work is already in motion on the director’s next film for the streaming site. A long-time Deadhead, Scorsese will adapt a biography of the band, focusing on lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia, with Jonah Hill cast in the role. The counter-culture pioneer was instrumental in the rise in prominence the band underwent, a renowned guitarist and songwriter who struggled with his health and drug addiction later in life. Scorsese has previously brought the Grateful Dead story to the screen, producing a documentary on the band’s “never-ending tour”; Long Strange Trip.

DiCaprio Set to Play Cult Leader Jim Jones

Leonardo DiCaprio is zeroing in on a starring role as cult leader Jim Jones for MGM’s upcoming film, written by Scott Rosenberg (of Con-Air and Gone in 60 Seconds). Should talks finalize, DiCaprio and crew have a difficult subject to depict, one which has never had a truly comprehensive and legitimate portrayal. Jones was the leader of the People’s Temple, a religious group whose members were instructed to commit “revolutionary” mass suicide by ingesting cyanide. Many were involuntarily poisoned, including a third of the group’s membership; children. Some posit the group’s meals had been laced with sedatives (a practice which had occurred before in exercises), and armed guards were instructed to shoot those attempting to escape, only a few managed to make it into the surrounding jungle of Guyana. 918 people died. One hopes the matter is dealt with delicately.

Red Notice’s Eye-watering New Budget Estimation

Red Notice, the hot-topic adventure film starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, has been reported to have cost even more than its previous outlandish estimation of $200 million. Variety now pegs the film’s monster budget at around $250 million, in part due to filming constraints placed on production by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many viewers have maligned this price tag, considered the unconvincing and almost cheap look of the film, but this has not stopped the movie from becoming the most viewed first day release in Netflix history. Some dispute the claim, since Netflix is said to disregard lost watch-time from viewers who stop watching shortly after the film has begun, and so could hugely overestimate the amount of real-time subscribers spent watching the film. If the film begins its auto-play, that counts as a “viewing”. This hasn’t stopped everyone involved from envisioning sequels already.

Next Predator Movie Set in 1700s Comanche Nation

The latest Predator film, a prequel set in “the Comanche Nation 300 years ago” directed by Dan Trachtenberg, has changed its title from “Skull” to Prey, announced with a title card in the iconic Predator font. The once-secret fifth movie in the franchise is scheduled to release on streaming platform Hulu next year.