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“Lets begin with the latest news. Italian filmmaker Ruggero Deodato, whose hyper-realistic horror pic Cannibal Holocaust got him arrested and was banned in more than 50 countries, passed away aged 83 on Thursday, Dec 29th. According to Deadline, no detailed information about his death was given.
Over the course of a 60-year career, Deodato produced scores of movies and TV shows in a variety of genres, but none was more infamous, divisive, or under scrutiny than Cannibal Holocaust.
He also directed episodes of shows like We Are Angels, Thinking About Africa, Padre Speranza, and Incantesmo 8. His final credit was for a segment in the 24-part horror anthology film Deathcember, which explored the darker aspects of the holiday season.”
“Football legend Pelé died Thursday, Dec 29th, of cancer at a hospital in Sao Paulo. but whether or not he scored almost 1,300 goals in his professional career, all his biographers agree the three-time World Cup champion wrote more than 100 songs and sold more than 100,000 copies of one of his albums.
He was also in the movies, notably the World War II film Victory, and King Pelé.
Pelé had many cameos too. Most of his appearances were on TV Globo’s soap operas, which are often exported to the rest of the world. He was also one of the stars of a Brazilian comedy that brought more than 3.6 million people to the theaters in the South American nation.”
“On Wednesday, Dec 28th, Marvel Entertainment tweeted a 25-second video confirming the debut of a Stan Lee documentary that coincides with the late comic creator’s 100th birthday.
In the video, a few of Stan Lee’s minor roles and guest appearances in cinema are seen. The joyous montage ends with a zoom-out that gradually shows an image of the multi-talented inventor. Marvel Entertainment captioned it as, “100 years of dreaming. 100 years of creating. 100 years of Stan Lee. Stan Lee, an Original documentary, is streaming 2023 on @DisneyPlus.”
Lee maintained his relationship with Marvel even after leaving the company in the 1990s by serving as an executive producer on Marvel-produced films and cameo appearances.”
Jo Mersa Marley, the grandson of famed Reggae musician Bob Marley, died recently, as per a report by US-based news portal, The New York Post. Jo, who was also a reggae musician of Jamaican-American heritage, was found unresponsive in a vehicle, The NY Post cited a tweet by journalist Abka Fitz-Henley. The reason for the death of the “Hurting Inside” singer was confirmed to be an asthma attack, The NY Post cited an Instagram post of South Florida radio station, WZPP. The “Burn It Down” singer spent much of his early life in Jamaica. Subsequently, he moved to Florida to attend high school. He later attended Miami Dade College to study studio engineering.
“In other news, American comedian and actor Pete Davidson and supermodel Emily Ratajkowski are not together anymore. According to Page Six, Pete and Emily were first linked in November, two months after Emily split with her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard. They were then spotted together enjoying a Knicks game later that month.
Later, as per Page Six, Pete was photographed with his Bodies Bodies Bodies co-star Chase Sui Wonders, while Emily was snapped with artist Jack Greer.
Pete Davidson was earlier dating Kim Kardashian. They called it off last summer. Earlier this year, Kim revealed some intimate details of her sex life with Pete Davidson to her grandmother, Mary Jo ‘MJ’ Campbell.”
“For the first time, The Walt Disney Co.’s marquee character, Mickey, is set to enter public domain. Steamboat Willie, the 1928 short film that introduced Mickey worldwide, will lose copyright protection in the US and a few other countries at the end of next year.
This means the black-and-white film can be shown without Disney’s permission and even resold by third parties.
But those who try to capitalize on this could easily end up in a legal mousetrap, as only one copyright, which covers the original version, is expiring.
The later versions remain protected, including the sweeter, rounder Mickey with red shorts and white gloves most familiar to audiences. They will enter the public domain at different points over the coming decades.”
“Meanwhile,following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water has crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. The long-awaited science-fiction sequel was released 13 years after the debut of the first Avatar, which remains the highest-grossing movie in history with $2.9 billion at the global box office.
The Way of Water has grossed $317 million in the United States and $712 million in the rest of the world. It has now become the second-biggest movie of 2022, ahead of Top Gun: Maverick $1.48 billion. Only three films have passed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office this year; the third being Jurassic World Dominion. “
“Lastly, Director James Cameron, in an interview with Esquire Middle East, revealed he edited out 10 minutes of Avatar: The Way of Water as he wanted to avoid glorifying gun violence.
He said, “I wanted to get rid of some of the ugliness, to find a balance between light and dark. You have to have conflict, of course. Violence and action are the same things, depending on how you look at them. This is the dilemma of every action filmmaker, and I’m known as an action filmmaker.”
He also reflected on his previous films and said he wouldn’t make those movies in the current political climate.
Avatar: The Way of Water has turned out to be a huge box-office success. “
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