Latest news with #LethalWeapon3
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Videoheaven' Required Maya Hawke's Voice, a Decade of Close Viewing, and Seinfeld Jokes
There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in 'Lethal Weapon 3,' a tracking shot, that isn't meant to draw any kind of attention to itself. But it did draw the eye of director Alex Ross Perry and appears as part of his essay film, 'Videoheaven' because in the background of the shot, there are not one, but two video stores. Perry and editor Clyde Folley have watched movies and television shows for a decade now, hunting out depictions of video stores in cinema. 'Videoheaven' isn't just charting their rise and fall across the American commercial landscape, but the ways in which the cultural reception of video stores in films and TV shows allowed cinema to speak to and about itself, and to position us as viewers and consumers in a moment in history. More from IndieWire Ebon Moss-Bachrach: Mark Ruffalo Made Me Less 'Anxious' About Working with CGI for 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Henry Golding Wanted to Do Something Totally Different - Nacho Vigalondo's Sci-Fi Love Story Fit the Bill The resulting documentary – narrated by Maya Hawke from a script Perry wrote with deep fondness whether she's talking about her father's work in 'Hamlet,' the significance of Troma posters, her own throwback video store scenes in 'Stranger Things,' the social peril of picking out tables as demonstrated in multiple episodes of 'Seinfeld,' or the soft power of the video store clerk — is a beautiful balance of films and shows that tackle the video store as a setting head-on and those that simply reflect what it was like to live in a now-vanished world where they existed. Creating it required, simply, the time to watch a lot of movies. 'I'm confident no one has ever noticed that [shot from 'Lethal Weapon III'] except for me,' the writer/director behind 'Pavements' and 'Her Smell' told IndieWire. 'Between 2014 and November of last year when we were conceivably finishing 'Videoheaven,' either I watched this movie, Clyde watched this movie and texted me, a friend of ours watched it and said, 'I got one for you,' I saw a clip of it on Instagram… everything came piecemeal, which is the benefit of doing something for so long.' 'Videoheaven' has about 200 sources from films, TV shows, commercials, news reports, and related media. But acquiring that material is not the same time as creating a narrative and every single clip was up to Perry's and Folley's discretion about where, how, and why it should be used in visually demonstrating the message of the documentary. Perry knew from early on that he wanted to start with the clip of the 'To Be Or Not To Be' soliloquy in Michael Almereyda's 2000 version of 'Hamlet,' which takes place as Hamlet (Ethan Hawke) experiences choice paralysis in the aisles of a Blockbuster. But beyond that, there was no roadmap. 'We don't know what the next thing you see is. It could be literally one of 200 things. And the challenge for us is looking at every single clip and saying, 'What visual goes hand in hand with what our narration is saying right here.' But also, what do you show people at minute three that they know there's 160 more minutes? Because it could be anything, but it has to be something that is the exact right clip,' Perry said. The process of building and swapping out clips happened slowly, in Folley's and Perry's spare time as they worked on other projects, but Folley told IndieWire that ended up being a benefit to their work. 'Something that's really unique about this project is that, ostensibly, we didn't have deadlines for a very long time. We didn't have producers breathing down our necks. We didn't have money people to answer to. It's just one of those things where it took as long as it took and then it just started feeling, at some point, more like a movie,' Folley told IndieWire. The project started as a hard-drive of around 60 notable examples of video stores in film, given to the 'Videoheaven' team by film scholar Daniel Herbert, and a script idea. Folley spent a couple of years, in moments of free time, putting together rough assemblies and guessing at what clips might work well against his scratch VO track of Perry's script. Two or three years into the process, the team started to watch the latest four hour assemblies in Folley's apartment and use weekly edit sessions to refine it. 'We would just huddle around my desk and work on this. It really felt a lot like chiseling away at this larger stone before it becomes the statue,' Folley said. Films like 'Be Kind, Rewind,' and 'Watching The Detectives,' which are set in video stories, required lots of time and effort to find the essential clips, both video-only and audio-included, that would fit inside of 'Videoheaven.' But sometimes the process of chiseling away at the statue could be incredibly streamlined. 'Literally mid-stride between last week's session and next week's session, I see online [that] they went to a video store in last night's episode of 'Yellowjackets,' here are the tapes they talked about. I send it to Clyde and to Drew, our downloader… and that episode was in our timeline probably within 10 days of it airing,' Perry said. Perry and Folley's refining work wasn't just at the level of clip selection, of course. The team needed to make sure that the film said absolutely what it needed to say in the right tonal mix between academic interest and pop history. ''Los Angeles Plays Itself' has like one and a half feet in the academic and 'Room 237' has two feet in the pop. And I wanted to straddle the difference,' Perry said. Once 'Videoheaven' went from having temp narration to Hawke's voiceover, it started to feel even more like the bones were in place. A festival acceptance at Rotterdam gave it a helpful deadline to meet. It's a mark of the finished film's success that Folley observed that he keeps referencing points the film itself is making when talking about the making of it. 'The movie says so much,' Folley said. 'I feel like there's not a lot that's just left on the table.' Even so, Perry told IndieWire there's an alternate world where they're still working on 'Videoheaven,' because the act of making it was such a pleasure. 'I just can't overstate the joy of working on something with no pressure, no external necessity, no money on the line, no deadlines, no anxious producers, and no reason to finish it other than because we think it's the best version it could be, and that purity is entirely — I mean, you can't do that at a profession level. That's called a passion project. That's called being an artist.' 'Videoheaven' is now playing at the IFC Center in New York City. Best of IndieWire The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in July, from 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window' to 'Emily the Criminal' The Best Lesbian Movies Ever Made, from 'D.E.B.S.' and 'Carol' to 'Bound' and 'Pariah' All 12 Wes Anderson Movies, Ranked, from 'Bottle Rocket' to 'The Phoenician Scheme'
New York Post
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Lethal Weapon' co-stars Mel Gibson, 69, and Danny Glover, 78, reunite ahead of fifth installment
They're not too old for this s–t! 'Lethal Weapon' co-stars Mel Gibson, 69, and Danny Glover, 78, reminded fans of the iconic catchphrase featured in all four films when they reunited over the weekend, 38 years after the first movie launched. Their reunion happened at a fan expo in Philadelphia, where the legendary duo fielded questions about the long-delayed fifth 'Lethal Weapon' installment. Gibson is directing the flick, and Glover agreed to reprise his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh, who famously claimed he was 'too old for this s–t' in each installment. 10 Mel Gibson and Danny Glover reunite at Philadelphia's fan expo. Ouzounova / 10 It's been 38 years since the first film of the franchise. Ouzounova / Glover was joined by Gibson, who plays Murtaugh's unpredictable partner Martin Riggs. The boys appeared happy to be in each other's company, smiling while speaking to audience members and seemingly mirroring a famous moment from the fourth blockbuster. Glover dressed in a red shirt, black pants, a brown suit jacket and a baseball cap, rocked his grey facial hair and reached over to grab Gibson's hand in what appeared to be an homage to a scene in 1994's 'Lethal Weapon 4.' 10 The pair looked older but acted as if no time had passed. Shutterstock 10 Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in 1998's 'Lethal Weapon 4.' Andrew Cooper/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock In the movie, the mischievous men shake each other's hands after they are informed they've been shockingly promoted to captains, despite leaving destruction behind everywhere they go. Unfortunately, Gibson must not have gotten the memo because the guys fist-bumped, missing the mark on the iconic reenactment opportunity. The actor-turned-director kept it casual in a black polo shirt, jeans and navy-colored Crocs for the weekend outing. Just like Glover, Gibson, too, sported his grey locks and facial hair, showing just how much time has passed since the franchise's first film in 1987. 10 Danny Glover at the fan expo. Ouzounova / 10 Mel Gibson at the fan expo. Ouzounova / 10 'Lethal Weapon 3' movie poster. Snap/Shutterstock Gibson and Glover have reunited several times over the years, most recently in February at the MegaCon fan convention in Orlando. News of a 'Lethal Weapon 5' was confirmed by producer Dan Lin in 2020 during a roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter. However, Richard Donner, who directed all four 'Lethal Weapon' films, died in July 2021 at age 91. Months later, Gibson shared that Donner had previously requested that the actor direct the project if he wasn't around to do so. 10 Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in 'Lethal Weapon 2.' 10 Danny Glover, Mel Gibson in 1992's 'Lethal Weapon 3.' ©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Co 10 Danny Glover, Mel Gibson in 1987's 'Lethal Weapon.' Warner Bros 'He was developing the screenplay and he got pretty far along with it. And he said to me one day, 'Listen kid, if I kick the bucket you will do it.' And I said, 'Shut up,'' Gibson said in November 2011. 'But he did indeed pass away. But he did ask me to do it and at the time I didn't say anything. He said it to his wife and to the studio and the producer. So I will be directing the fifth one.' In 2022, Gibson expressed he had mixed thoughts about directing 'Lethal Weapon 5.' 'I wish I wasn't directing it. I wish Richard Donner was still here to do it but left us untimely, and he actually asked me, he said, 'Hey kid, if I don't make it, you'll take the reins, huh?' I told him to shut up.' He added, 'I think it's an honour for me to be able to carry the flag for him.' Gibson also shared that he asked Glover for his blessing. 'I called Danny [Glover] up, of course, and said, 'Hey, dude, is it okay with you if I direct this?' to which Glover replied, 'Yeah, let's go.''
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover Have Surprise 'Lethal Weapon' Reunion, 38 Years After Film's Release
They definitely aren't too old for this. On Friday night, Feb. 7, fans got a surprise when Danny Glover walked into Mel Gibson's panel during the MegaCon fan convention in Orlando. Gibson, 69, was giving a talk on the most iconic roles in his career — and the roles he passed on, including James Bond and Gladiator's Maximus — when Glover, 78, ascended the stage, getting a standing ovation from the crowd. Gibson and Glover starred together in 1987's Lethal Weapon, going on to reprise their roles as Los Angeles police detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, respectively, in 1989's Lethal Weapon 2, 1992's Lethal Weapon 3 and 1998's Lethal Weapon 4. They won an MTV Movie Award in 1993 for best on-screen duo for their work on the third film. Related: Samuel L. Jackson Receives His First-Ever Oscar from Denzel Washington: 'I'm Really Proud' Collectively, the movies made nearly $1 billion at the international box office. The franchise also spawned a TV series, which ran from 2016 to 2019 and starred Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans in the lead roles. Gibson and Glover have reunited several times over the years, most recently in 2017, when they participated in an Academy Tribute to Richard Donner, the films' director. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. And in 2020, producer Dan Lin confirmed Lethal Weapon 5 is close to happening during a roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Though Gibson, Glover and Donner were all slated to return, Donner died in July 2021 at 91 years old. Months later, Gibson reportedly said he would step in as director. Elsewhere at MegaCon, casts from Twilight, Happy Days, High School Musical and The Breakfast Club reunited, sharing secrets from their storied sets. Read the original article on People
