Latest news with #liveaction
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Akira: Taika Waititi's Live-Action Movie Gets Disappointing Update
Taika Waititi's live-action movie has received a disappointing update courtesy of a new report from THR. According to a new report from THR, the Akira live-action movie at Warner Bros. Discovery is officially not happening. The movie studio has reportedly let go of the movie rights, reverting them back to Kodansha, the manga publisher that originally released Katsuhiro Otomo's story in 1982. THR's report mentions that producers and other talent have already begun 'lining up' to try and attach themselves to the property for future pitches. As for Waititi's long-in-development movie, this means the project is likely fully over with. Akira's movie development has been a long and extremely complicated one. Warner Bros. picked up the rights to the incredibly popular manga in 2002, and originally had Stephen Norrington (Blade) attached as a director. That began two decades of what THR describes as development hell, with writers and directors like Garry Whitta, Mark Fergus, Hawk Otsby, Steve Kloves, and more all attached at one point or another. In 2017, Waititi was announced to be writing and directing a movie based on the manga. This project even received a 2021 release date and was in the process of casting, according to THR. However, Waititi became too busy with other projects, and never recommitted to the project. Originally released in 1982, Akira tells the story of a post-apocalyptic and futuristic 'Neo-Tokyo,' and centers on Shotaro Kaneda, a gang leader, the militant revolutionary Kei, and more. The manga received an animated film in 1988, which is often heralded as one of the greatest films ever made and something that helped make anime as a whole a pop culture staple, although it does deviate heavily from the source material. (Source: The Hollywood Reporter) The post Akira: Taika Waititi's Live-Action Movie Gets Disappointing Update appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
New York Times
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Watch Hiccup and Toothless Connect in ‘How to Train Your Dragon'
In 'Anatomy of a Scene,' we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays. You can also watch our collection of more than 150 videos on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel. In the live-action version of 'How to Train Your Dragon,' expressions can speak louder than words. That's the case in this early scene from the film, in which Hiccup (Mason Thames) has caught a Night Fury dragon and is conflicted about what to do. He comes from a line of Vikings who kill dragons as part of their warrior tribe, but when Hiccup gets close to the Night Fury, he connects with the dragon (whom he later nicknames Toothless) and can't muster the will to kill the creature. Narrating the scene, the director Dean DeBlois (who also directed the 2010 animated film), said, 'This is one of the scenes that follows quite closely the animated movie. It's a handful of scenes that I wanted to recreate almost shot for shot. But in this case we realized we didn't need a lot of the dialogue that we gave Hiccup in the animated version. So much of it could be played on Mason Thames's face.' DeBlois said he spoke with his actor about the emotional way to play the scene. 'I remember on the day talking to Mason before we started rolling cameras, and I said, 'Don't forget, this is the moment you reference later in the movie when you looked into his eyes and you saw yourself.' It seems like a moment of weakness but this is that strength in disguise that causes Hiccup to be a new thinker that can usher in an era of peace that nobody saw coming.' Read the 'How to Train Your Dragon' review. Sign up for the Movies Update newsletter and get a roundup of reviews, news, Critics' Picks and more.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Where and When to Stream the ‘How Train Your Dragon' Live-Action Movie
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." It's time to take this story to new heights as How to Train Your Dragon is released in theaters, this time in a new live-action version that brings the iconic story to life. Surprisingly, it sticks pretty accurately to the original and also helps that they have the best cast to bring these characters to life. Pair it up with the familiar sounds of the original film and you're absolutely going to get emotional. Obviously, you're going to want to experience this for yourself! Here's everything you need to know about watching the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake. The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon was released on June 13, 2025, over 15 years after the original movie. Live the legend and see #HowToTrainYourDragon in theaters June 13 🔥⚔️ Get tickets now: — #HowToTrainYourDragon (@HTTYDragon) June 9, 2025 Luckily, it's pretty easy to catch How to Train Your Dragon on the big screen! Since it just came out, the film is now available to watch in theaters. Just make sure to grab some tickets beforehand or else you're screening might be sold out! at It's a little too early to catch it at home, especially since the remake was just released in theaters. However, you can always catch the lovely animated original at home! at peacocktv The live-action HTTYD will no doubt join Peacock after it leaves theaters. However, you're not subscribed or you have another favorite place to watch, you can still rent or buy it at home via online stores like Prime Video, iTunes, Fandango at Home, YouTube, or Google Play. Or if you're a huge fan, you'll also be able to buy it on Blu-ray and DVD!$39.99 at Might Also Like Here's What NOT to Wear to a Wedding Meet the Laziest, Easiest Acne Routine You'll Ever Try
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘How to Train Your Dragon' Star Nico Parker Says ‘I Just Don't Care' That People Are Upset Over Her Casting: ‘I Can't Value Your Opinion on My Hair'
Nico Parker is paying no mind to those who are upset about her casting in the live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon.' In a recent interview with The Times of London, Parker addressed the online backlash surrounding her casting as the young dragon butt kicker Astrid. Some were upset that Parker doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes like the character in the original animated 'How to Train Your Dragon.' However, the 20-year-old British actress explained that she does not let those comments get to her head. More from Variety 'How to Train Your Dragon' Soars to Korea Box Office Crown 'How to Train Your Dragon' Review: DreamWorks Swoops Into the Remake Game With Respectful Cover From Co-Director of 2010 Toon Live-Action 'How To Train Your Dragon' Among Additions to Annecy Lineup 'There's some people that really love the animated movies and really want to see an exact play-by-play of that film, and I hope that you can watch [the new version] and find something that you love about it, regardless,' she said. 'But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change — when it comes to that side of things, I just don't care.' She continued, 'If I wouldn't value your opinion on most things in life, I can't value your opinion on my hair. If I did, I would go mad.' Parker comes from a family of filmmakers. Her father is director Ol Parker and her mother is actress Thandiwe Newton. She added that when she was younger, the representation in Hollywood of 'mixed race or Black icons' was 'really minimal,' but thinks it's 'really special' to see how far the industry has come. 'There's still a long way to go — for women in general, in terms of new parts, original material and female-led stories,' Parker added. 'But I think that everything's changing. I'd like to think that I could contribute to that change at some point.' The original 'How to Train Your Dragon,' loosely adapted from the 2003 children's book by Cressida Cowell, was released in 2010 and went on to gross a massive $495 million worldwide. Leading cast members included Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and America Ferrera. In his review for the new live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon,' which hits theaters June 13, Variety film critic Peter Debruge praised Parker's performance, writing, 'The swaggering Astrid was always the film's most self-reliant character, and in Parker's hands, the romance between her and Hiccup takes on Clark Kent-Lois Lane vibes, especially when the two hit the skies.' Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘How to Train Your Dragon' Used Bagpipes, Sheep Fur and the Faroe Islands to Bring the Remake to Life
When Dreamworks released the animated feature 'How to Train Your Dragon' in 2010, it seemed almost inevitable that a live-action feature would come along. Cinematographer Roger Deakins gave the feature a stunning cinematic style that felt almost live-action, and composer John Powell added a sweeping score to the narrative. More from Variety Box Office: 'How to Train Your Dragon' Lifts Off With Fourth-Biggest Opening Day of 2025, 'Materialists' Serving Third Place Debut 'How to Train Your Dragon' Director on the Big Changes Made and the Storylines He Expanded for Live-Action Remake 'How to Train Your Dragon' Star Nico Parker Says Astrid Is a 'Boss Bitch' in New Live-Action Film Director Dean DeBlois heard a live-action movie was in the works, and he called Powell. The animated feature was not only beloved, but it had also become part of pop culture history. His first call asked Powell, 'Should we do a live-action?' Powell says, DeBlois next said, 'Well, if I do it, would you do it?' Powell said yes. After spending over a decade scoring all three films in the animated feature trilogy, Powell felt a sense of responsibility to the music of the franchise. And who better to do it than he to breathe new life into a beloved score? The new film follows Hiccup (Mason Thames), a young and scrawny Viking boy who refuses to follow his tribe's tradition of hunting dragons. This is much to the chagrin of his proudly traditional father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who happens to be the village leader and a legendary dragon slayer. The film also stars Nico Parker as Astrid, Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, Gabriel Howell as Snotlout, Bronwyn James as Ruffnut, Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut and Nick Frost as Gobber. In his approach to breathing new life into the live-action score, Powell looked to make subtle changes in tempo, density and clarity. He says, 'There's some stuff that was made to be very much the same, and there are not many changes for 20-30 seconds, and then suddenly you might see something shift.' One noticeable change in scoring the live-action was the use of bagpipes. This time around, Powell was able to use a real bagpipe player, Lorne MacDougall, founder of the Red Hot Chili Pipers. With DeBlois expanding the story, Powell relied on the familiar, but he also found room to expand his score. In the father-son relationship between Stoick and Hiccup, Powell says that the theme did a lot of the heavy lifting. 'We called it 'He's Not That Boy,' which is funny because Marc Platt also produced this and 'Wicked.' During the end title, we have a song that is sung by a choir, and I said to Dean, 'Do you want to write some words?' and he did. It became this whole tune that threads through the movie.' Costume designer Lindsay Pugh wanted to keep the essence of the characters that had been established through the animation and be respectful of that. Still, she also needed to find a characterization that would work in real life. Says Pugh, 'It was trying to find that balance, but being respectful to what everybody wants to see.' Pugh maintained Hiccup's calmness from the original. 'I didn't want him to be very colorful,' she says behind her decision to anchor his palette in natural tones and green. 'It's very calming and a very gentle color.' However, she wanted to give his outfit texture, and so she took a dive into historical references of embroidery, needlework and weaving techniques. 'We found all of these different textures that we could use, and we wove all of the embroidery. So it gives us visual interest in what, from a distance, would be quite a simple garment,' but on closer inspection, that fine detail would reveal itself. Pugh also paid attention to Viking culture. Since DeBlois was extending this universe, Pugh's designs were 'specifically Viking, as we would automatically imagine, because that's sort of what the world was.' She draped them in sheepskin and explained, 'One of the very first scenes in the movie was the dragons going down and stealing or trying to steal these poor decoy sheep, so it's a really perfect setup of having that.' The film has environmental goals, and aside from using sustainable materials where possible, any fur was made from sheepskin. She adds, 'They have great fur, great wool and skins on that. Ecologically, they were not something that is as detrimental to the planet.' Butler has previously joked that his outfit weighed over 90 pounds. Pugh's response is, 'I just want to say Gerry, it was with the helmet, the cape, the sword and the shield.' She notes she wanted to give him weight and a foundation so he could push against it. 'We have Gerry on the inside, and then all of these layers. We have leather and layer upon layer of natural fabrics,' explains Pugh, who used 3D printing wherever she could; it wasn't always possible. 'The intricacy of the work in everything adds a little bit of weight.' Production designer Dominic Watkins wanted to make the world of dragons feel plausible. Watkins says, the world building was 'very challenging and we wanted to make it feel real so that people believed that these were characters involved with dragons.' During a location scout, Watkins felt the geography of the Faroe Islands lent itself how Berk should look. 'There was one island on the Faroe Islands that we decided we were going to mold the village on, and that was going to be the epicenter of all the action,' Watkins explains. That became the center point of where the dragons and the rest of the world were. He saw the colors of the building and was inspired by what palette to choose from. 'The rust, corn colors and greens were very specific, and we took that palette from there and brought that to the village.' He adds, 'A lot of the medieval stuff in reality was quite grim, so we wanted to make it more colorful.' Other real-world locations included Ireland and Scotland. Watkins also utilized the Belfast Titanic studios where he built out the rest of Berk on backlots and sounstages. 'We built the center of Berk, but it was extended from ther. We built 16 houses around the center square.' Elsewhere, he wanted to give the Vikings believability. Their purpose was to slay dragons, so Watkins carried that lore into his designs. 'We had lots of carvings of dragons and motifs on the pinnacles of the and the eaves of the houses to just show there was a hatred of them.' As for the film's dragon arena, Watkins built a chain dome, but needed beams to hold it upright. 'We found these ironwood beams that had sunk in Belfast harbor over 100 years ago, and coincidentally, they were pulling these 3040 foot beams out of Belfast Harbor. Our construction manager knew about them, and somehow he managed to get his hands on them.' The beams had become fossilized after being in the water for so long and needed heavy cranes to be moved. 'We were now repurposing them and putting in the arena, and it was pretty incredible.' Watkins adds, 'We used them in a few other places, but that was predominantly where all the spiked beams were in the set. They were beautifully aged, beautifully tarnished, and they worked out.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
