Latest news with #Watts
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Spider-Man director Jon Watts explains his Fantastic Four exit
Jon Watts left The Fantastic Four: First Steps because he was 'out of gas'. The 43-year-old filmmaker - who directed Tom Holland's Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Spider-Man trilogy - was due to helm the upcoming superhero blockbuster, though exited the project in April 2022, allowing WandaVision's Matt Shakman to take the job that September. Now, Watts has explained that 'the emotional strain' of COVID protocols, the lengthy post-production process and a general feeling of burnout following Spider-Man: No Way Home ultimately pushed him to leave The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Speaking on a panel at the Mediterrane Film Festival, he said: 'The emotional strain of having to go through all of those COVID protocols while also trying to make something creative while also trying to make sure that your cast and crew were all safe - literally people could've died if you did things wrong - that, and the post-production process was very difficult. 'When you're doing [visual effects work], there's a whole international component to it where you're using vendors from all over the world, and the supply chain had been interrupted because of COVID. It was really hard to get effects done in a traditional way. 'By the time No Way Home was done and out, I went in to get back into the story for Fantastic Four. I was like, 'I am out of gas.' 'The COVID layer on top of making a giant movie layer, I knew I didn't have what it would've taken to make that movie great. I was just out of steam, so I just needed to take some time to recover.' Watts added Marvel 'totally understood' his decision to walk away from The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He said: 'Everyone at Marvel totally understood. They had been through it with me as well, so they knew how hard and draining that experience has been; in the end, very satisfying, but at some point, if you can't do it at the level that you feel like you need to for it to be great, then it's better to not do it.' Even so, Watts said he was 'very excited' to see The Fantastic Four: First Steps when it hits cinemas on 25 July. He said: 'I don't know exactly what happens in it. But I've seen the trailers, I've heard a couple of things. 'I think it's pretty close to what we had initially come up with in our story. Obviously, it evolves and adapts over time, but the main villain, the basic threat, the broad strokes ... retrofuturism version of Fantastic Four ... It's going to be a totally surreal experience for me to go and watch that movie.' The Fantastic Four: First Steps - which stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon-Moss Bachrach - follows the titular team as they gain extraordinary powers after a cosmic accident during their exploration of outer space. As they grapple with their new identities, the Fantastic Four must unite to stop the rising threat of Galactus, who could destroy Earth.
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley says Bohs defeat was a "kick up the a***"
Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley feels Monday's derby defeat to Bohemians was 'a kick up the arse'. And he is calling on his Premier Division leaders to get back on track against Waterford tonight. Bohs battered the Hoops 2-0 with a first-half double whammy and Bradley accepted that Rovers deserved nothing from the game. Yesterday, he said: 'Sometimes in life and football, you need a kick up the arse, you know? Sometimes it's not a bad thing. 'Would you prefer it not to be in games like that? Of course you would. But such is life. Sometimes you think it's going right and then you get a slap in the face. Sometimes it's a good thing, but it's only a good thing if you put the wrongs right and that's up to us to do that.' But Bradley insists there was no big enquiry or overreaction to Monday's defeat to their arch rivals. 'We're not like that here - and never have been. We don't react to results and be all emotional with our week, that's not how we do things. The players still get their time off. 'The've been excellent for a large part of the season. It's more a staff point of view, and what we could have done better and why we came so far off our levels like we did.' Dylan Watts was worth his weight in goals last season, chipping in with decisive strikes at pivotal times for Shamrock Rovers. But the midfielder has yet to break his duck this year and would love to open his account against Waterford tonight. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Watts banged in four in the league as the Hoops fell short in the title race, but his European goals were priceless as Rovers banked the big bucks on their historic run. The former Leicester City man slotted home from the penalty spot in the Europa League home-leg win over Celje of Slovenia. He then came off the bench to score a rare headed, injury-time equaliser against APOEL in the Conference League league phase, before scoring in the win over TNS. Yesterday, Watts said: 'No, I've not scored yet this year. Hopefully I can start a scoring run now. I think last year was the same, I didn't score for the first lot of games and then scored a few big goals towards the end of the season. 'It's something that I'm really looking to add to my game. It's something that I'm capable of doing so hopefully I can get a few towards the end of the season. 'We're in a good position in the league, certainly in a better position than we have been in the last few years. We have Europe to look forward to as well. It's an exciting time and hopefully we'll kick on now in both.' Watts has been building his minutes off the bench of late after missing four matches with a hamstring issue. And he wants to impact tonight's clash with the Blues after Rovers were bossed by arch rivals Bohemians in Monday's 2-0 defeat at Dalymount. Watts said: 'It obviously wasn't a very good performance, we didn't play well. Bohs pressed aggressively and controlled most of the game. But one thing that's never been an issue with us is never getting too comfortable or anything like that. 'The performance and result was what it was, but so long as we bounce back tonight I think we'll be alright. We're still in a strong position. Monday wasn't good enough but we need to put it in the past and move on.' Meanwhile, Bradley has hailed teenager Victor Ozhianvuna for how he dealt with the racist incident in Waterford in May. The 16-year-old Rovers ace was warming up during the first-half of Waterford's home game with Shamrock Rovers when a Blues fan racially abused him. On Wednesday, the FAI fined Waterford following a probe into the matter but An Garda Siochána's investigation is still ongoing. Hoops boss Bradley said: 'Gardai from Tallaght have been here quite a bit with a few of our players and staff, taking statements and going over Gardai have been really good with how they have dealt with it and the sensitivity dealing with this considering Victor is a minor.' And Bradley said of the teenager, who is on Arsenal's radar: 'He's a strong fella. There's no doubt it had an effect on him. Something like that would have an effect on anyone. 'We have Mary (Larkin, club psychologist) who is working with our players on a weekly basis so they get the tools to deal with this sort of stuff. But it still doesn't make it right. He's a 16-year-old who had to hear that in his place of work, which is not acceptable. 'He's been okay but I'm quite sure it's had a negative effect on him as we're all human at the end of the day.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.
7NEWS
a day ago
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Netflix turns up the volume on unscripted music shows with two Aussies set for the global stage
Netflix has dropped two new trailers for its latest slate of unscripted music shows, and one of them will shine a global spotlight on two Australian artists. Building The Band has been dubbed 'The Voice meets Love Is Blind', with contestants choosing their bandmates based solely on vocal performance, without ever seeing them. The trailer, released this week, marks the final project completed by singer Liam Payne before his unexpected death. The show features Payne alongside star mentor Nicole Scherzinger, judge Kelly Rowland and host AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys as they guide 50 hopeful musicians. The field will be narrowed to six bands competing for the top prize. Among the contestants are two Australian musicians: Toowoomba's Mason Watts and Conor Smith from the NSW Central Coast. Watts, a national finalist in TikTok's 2023 Gimme The Mic competition, has already tasted chart success. His remix of To The Moon And Back hit number one on the ARIA Club Chart, clocked more than one million TikTok views and landed him at number 25 on TikTok Australia's Rising Star Chart. The singer released his debut EP The Afterlove via City Pop Records, which also represents Eurovision 2023 Cyprus contestant Andrew Lambrou, pop/R&B artist JXN and electro-pop artist Mia Rodriguez. More recently, Watts has been working with Swedish songwriters and producers Anton Engdahl and Kristin Carpenter, whose credits include Khalid, Jisoo of Blackpink, Alan Walker and Afrojack. Watts' latest release, the Space EP, dropped in May and features the song Growing Pains, written in Stockholm after what he described as 'a quarter-life crisis'. In the trailer, Watts is heard saying: 'We've got a lot of work to do vocally.' Smith is no stranger to music competitions, having first appeared on Australian Idol in 2019 at just 16, joining Guy Sebastian's team. He returned to the competition last year, auditioning with Classic by MKTO. In the Building The Band trailer, Smith appears briefly, featured resting his head on his microphone and showing off his hand tattoos. Production on the series paused in October following Payne's death. It will now air with the blessing of his family. The show is produced by Remarkable Entertainment, part of Banijay UK, the company behind Deal Or No Deal, Survivor UK and MasterChef. understands a third Australian musician will also feature on Building The Band, with their identity to be revealed when the series premieres on Netflix on July 9. Netflix also unveiled the trailer for its new docu-reality series Hitmakers this week. Set to premiere on July 24, the six-episode series offers a rare look inside the songwriting process, featuring some of the world's top music creators. The line-up includes Jenna Andrews (BTS, Benee, Little Mix), Tommy Brown (Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Meghan Trainor), Trey Campbell (John Legend, BANKS, Guy Sebastian), Ferras (Katy Perry), Harv (Justin Bieber, Normani, Skrillex), Ben Johnson (Morgan Wallen, Weezer, Justin Timberlake), Stephen Kirk (BTS, Jessie Murph), JHart (Justin Bieber, Troye Sivan, Little Mix), Whitney Phillips (Demi Lovato, Jason Derulo), Sevyn Streeter (Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland) and Nova Wav (Beyoncé, Rihanna).
Newsweek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'Spider-Man' Director Reveals Why He Quit 'Fantastic Four'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Not that long ago, instead of Matt Shakman, it was "Spider-Man: No Way Home" director Jon Watts who was set to bring the Fantastic Four to the MCU. Now we finally know why Watts bowed out of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" - he ran out of gas. Read More: Tobey Maguire 'Spider-Man' Trilogy Re-Releasing in Theaters Speaking at the Mediterranean Film Festival, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter, Watts fielded questions about his departure from "First Steps". Watts committed to "First Steps" between making "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and "No Way Home," and he said that when it came time to start work on "The Fantastic Four," it occurred to him, "I am out of gas." Watts continued, "The COVID layer on top of making a giant movie layer, I knew I didn't have what it would've taken to make that movie great. I was just out of steam, so I just needed to take some time to recover. Everyone at Marvel totally understood." "They had been through it with me as well, so they knew how hard and draining that experience has been; in the end, very satisfying, but at some point, if you can't do it at the level that you feel like you need to for it to be great, then it's better to not do it." Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach in The Fantastic Four: First Steps Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach in The Fantastic Four: First Steps Disney Particularly because it was being made during the COVID pandemic, Watts said the post-production for "No Way Home" was particularly grueling. "The emotional strain of having to go through all of those COVID protocols while also trying to make something creative while also trying to make sure that your cast and crew were all safe — literally people could've died if you did things wrong — that and the post-production process was very difficult," Watts explained. "When you're doing [visual effects work], there's a whole international component to it where you're using vendors from all over the world, and the supply chain had been interrupted because of COVID. It was really hard to get effects done in a traditional way." Shakman added that it will be a "totally surreal experience" for him to eventually watch "The Fantastic Four: First Steps". "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" releases in theaters July 25. The film is directed by Matt Shakman. It stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, John Malkovich, and Sarah Niles. More Comics: 'Fantastic Four' Final Trailer Teases Epic Showdown With Galactus 'Thunderbolts' Director Reacts to X-Men Reboot Rumors
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
A new ocean is forming in East Africa
Rhythmic pulsing deep beneath landlocked east Africa is literally tearing the continent apart. But while the effects won't arrive on the planet's surface for a while, the end result is an entirely new ocean basin above it. An international research team reached their conclusion after analyzing more than 130 samples from young volcanoes located across a rare geological region below Ethiopia. The evidence is laid out in a study published on June 25 in the journal Nature Geoscience. The Afar Rift zone is one of the few examples on Earth where three tectonic rifts converge. Experts previously theorized this juncture of the Main Ethiopian, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden Rifts contained an active, hot upwelling of molten mantle. If true, this area—often known as a plume—would display clear effects on the tectonic plates above it. Rift zones typically stretch and pull tectonic plates until they eventually rupture. But how the plume beneath Afar's is structured, how it behaves, and how it is influencing the crust above it have remained mysteries. To investigate, a 10-institution team led by Swansea University geoscientist Emma Watts traveled to Ethiopia where they collected over 130 rock samples from both the Afar region and the Main Ethiopian Rift. Researchers then combined sample analysis with existing data and advanced statistical modeling to explore the area's crust and mantle dynamics. As suspected, the Afar mantle plume isn't uniform or static. 'It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures,' Watts said in a statement. 'These ascending pulses of partially molten mantle are channelled by the rifting plates above. That's important for how we think about the interaction between Earth's interior and its surface.' Tom Gernon, a University of Southampton earth science professor and study co-author, likened the chemical striping to a heartbeat. 'These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart,' he added. 'In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery.' The team also confirmed that deep mantle upwellings are closely tied to tectonic plate motion. According to study co-author and earth scientist Derek Keir, the findings have 'profound implications' for how geologists can better understand surface volcanism, earthquakes, and continental breakups. As to when Earth will see the birth of a new ocean basin—experts like Watts aren't sure. But that doesn't mean anyone needs to start worrying. 'In terms of timescales—it's hard to put an exact number to it given that rifting rates can change, so to be honest we can't know for sure,' Watts told Popular Science in an email. She noted for reference that their study area's rifting rates range between just 5-16 millimeters each year.'[So] one thing we do know is that it will be on the order of millions of years,' she added. 'Hopefully, our next work will get closer to some probabilistic estimates.' CORRECTION: 6/25/25 12:50PM: A previous version of this article misidentified the annual rift rate cited by Watts.
