Barbie receives rapturous first reviews as Oppenheimer cast discuss the atomic bomb – movie news
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Hollywood feels more like the centre of the universe than ever this week as the release of the two biggest films of the year coincides with a historic actors’ strike.
Anticipation for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has reached a fever pitch ahead of their release in unison on 21 July.
Axios has reported this week that movie theatres in Texas, Washington DC and Atlanta have already sold out tickets for the Margot Robbie-led feature about the famous toy doll.
Meanwhile, Oppenheimer star Matt Damon got personal about his decision to join the movie, which came after he promised his wife he’d take an acting break in couples’ therapy.
Oppenheimer’s London premiere was cut short, however, as the cast left early in preparation for the SAG-AFTRA strike order, which was initiated hours after the premiere.
The actors’ union joined the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike since early May, over demands for increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era, plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by AI.
Key points
Matt Damon told his wife he’d take a break from acting unless ‘Chris Nolan called’
Michael Cera says he became ‘paranoid and weird’ after Superbad fame
Christopher Nolan on why he thinks Quentin Tarantino is retiring from filmmaking
Oppenheimer to feature ‘prolonged full nudity’ by Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy
23:19 , Tom Murray
Oppenheimer features a significant subplot involving the nuclear scientist’s relationship with psychiatrist and physician Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.
In a recent report, it was claimed that the film’s lead Cillian Murphy and Pugh have scenes of “prolonged full nudity” together, and that it makes Oppenheimer one of Nolan’s rare films to include a significant interest in sex and relationships.
Fans theorised that Nolan would venture into this territory in June, when it was revealed that Oppenheimer had received the filmmaker’s first “R” rating in the US since his 2002 film Insomnia.
Read more:
Oppenheimer to feature ‘prolonged nudity’ by Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy
Watch: Margot Robbie says it took just one question to get John Cena in the Barbie movie
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How the Barbie soundtrack came together, according to Mark Ronson
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“You know the Chicago (Disco Demolition) thing, where everyone burned their disco records, Saturday Night Fever had reached its apex and the poor Bee Gees were like, ‘All we wanted to do was make people dance! What did we do wrong?’ That’s Barbie,” Ronson told The Associated Press.
“I’ve never really executive produced something before,” he said. “I love this film. We had an amazing partner in Atlantic Records.”
“And then doing the score, but it was a lot of learning on the job. It was still a job that I’ve never really done before. ... It’s fun to show people different scenes and getting them to dream big.”
Watch: Issa Rae says she can't wait to 'burn' pink Barbie clothes
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Cillian Murphy addresses Danny Boyle’s ‘28 Days Later' sequel update
20:55 , Tom Murray
In June, 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland revealed plans to make a follow-up to their hit 2000 horror film.
Oppenheimer star Murphy played the lead role of Jim in the horror film, released in 2000, which follows survivors of an incurable virus that ravages the world.
In an interview with The Independent this week, Murphy said he’d “be there in a flash” if the opportunity to reprise his role arose.
Read more:
Cillian Murphy addresses Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later sequel update
Mayor in Norway admits he secretly kept Tom Cruise’s stunt bikes
20:20 , Tom Murray
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was also released in cinemas this month.
This week, a mayor in Norway, who was supposed to destroy motorbikes used in the latest Tom Cruise movie admitted he kept them as mementoes.
The stunt was filmed on the Helsetkopen mountain in Stranda in September 2020, and involved Cruise driving a motorbike off the side of a cliff before pulling a parachute.
“A mayor in Stranda can’t always be the one who follows rules and regulations,” came his mischeivous explanation in an interview.
Read more:
Mayor in Norway admits he secretly kept Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible stunt bikes
How is the SAG-AFTRA strike affecting Barbie and Oppenheimer?
19:54 , Tom Murray
Following its strike announcement, SAG sent a memo to all of its members forbidding them from promoting any forthcoming projects.
This means that publicity events, including interviews, have ground to a halt for the two blockbusters.
“I very much am in support of all the unions and I’m a part of SAG, so I would absolutely stand by them,” Robbie said at Barbie’s London premiere.
Christopher Nolan offered a similar message of support when his cast walked out of the London premiere.
Fortunately, publicity for these films has been so omnipresent that the last few days is likely to have little effect on their box office performance. Worse affected will be films coming in August, which include DC Comics’ Blue Beetle (out 18 August) and Denzel Washington’s Equalizer 3 (1 September).
Read more about how the strikes will affect you here:
Why Hollywood writers and actors are going on strike
Video: Cillian Murphy says it ‘took a toll’ playing scientist J Robert Oppenheimer
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Matt Damon told his wife he’d take a break from acting unless ‘Chris Nolan called’
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Matt Damon’s wife can’t catch a break.
During a roundtable interview with his Oppenheimer costars, Damon revealed he’d promised his wife, Luciana Barroso, that’d he take a break from acting while the pair were in couple’s therapy.
There was one exception to the rule, though: if Christopher Nolan called, Damon could take the gig.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Read more:
The Independent calls ‘Barbie’ ‘a near-miraculous achievement’
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The Independent’s Barbie review has just gone live and boy is our critic Clarisse Loughrey a fan.
In her five-star review, Loughrey calls Gerwig’s picture “one of the most inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory – a testament to what can be achieved within even the deepest bowels of capitalism”.
“Barbie is joyous from minute to minute to minute. But it’s where the film ends up that really cements the near-miraculousness of Gerwig’s achievement,” Loughrey teases.
Read the full review here:
