What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1473357
July 17 - 23, 2022 WHATS UP! T11 but it cost nearly as much to make, which qualifies it as a flop. It fared even worse among critics, if you can believe it. It was nominated for a whopping five Golden Raspberry Awards (affectionately known as the Razzies), with nods in all the big categories, including Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay. All that is pretty tough to come back from for a movie, es- pecially one with a budget as high as this one. The only good news here is that the people behind "Gods of Egypt" all seem to have sur- vived the debacle, so you can watch their subsequent work in lieu of a sequel if you want. Director Alex Proyas has a new movie in the works: the lower-budget horror flick "Sis- ter Darkness," due out late next year. Lead actor Brenton Thwaites, meanwhile, has been starring in the HBO Max series "Titans" since 2018, and screen- writers Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama have penned two somewhat successful films since "Egypt" — 2017's "Power Rangers" and 2022's "Morbius." Q: I just saw "The French Dispatch" and the credits start by thanking a big list of people whose names I vaguely recognize, such as James Thurber. Did they work on the movie some- how? A: No, and indeed many of them have been dead for quite some time. That list of thank yous named all the journalists the film was dedicated to, most of whom worked for The New Yorker magazine in some capacity. In- deed, the whole film was a sort of love letter to journalism and to that magazine in particular. For those who haven't seen it, 2021's "The French Dispatch" is about the last issue of a fictional magazine of the same name. The covers they created for the film look a lot like old New Yorker covers, and several of the storylines and characters are clearly drawn from people and stories from New Yorkers past. Indeed, director Wes An- derson ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," 2014) has said so himself — in an interview with the real- life New Yorker, no less. The thank yous at the end in- clude some of those people, such as Canadian-born writer Mavis Gallant. She was the in- spiration for the film's second segment, about a journalist (played by Frances McDor- mand, "Fargo," 1996) covering the French student uprising in 1968, a real historical event Gal- lant covered for The New York- er. The list also includes Harold Ross and A.J. Liebling, who were combined to create Bill Murray's ("Caddyshack," 1980) editor character. As you alluded, cartoonist and writer Thurber is one of the most recognizable names on the list. Although he doesn't seem to have directly inspired any of the characters, the film's production designer, Adam Stockhausen ("West Side Sto- ry," 2021), said Thurber's sketches of The New Yorker's office influenced the look of the film — and Anderson is an in- credibly look-driven director. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Advance Pest Control 2 x 2 TAKE 5 BY ADAM THOMLISON TV Media Q: What happened to the guy who played Smash on "Friday Night Lights"? Is he still acting? A: Gaius Charles has been looking for a role as meaty as Brian Williams, better known to TV fans (and fictional high school football fans) as Smash, since "Friday Night Lights" left the air in 2008. There's a chance he may have finally found it. He was recently cast in AMC's "Isle of the Dead," a hot- ly anticipated spinoff of the channel's long-running hit "The Walking Dead." In the new series, Charles will play Perlie Armstrong, a character who may or may not be a villain — fans of the origi- nal show know that line tends to blur. The casting announce- ment (on Deadline.com) re- ferred to him as "confident, ruthless and unyielding in the pursuit of what he believes is justice," so make of that what you will. Whatever else the role is, it'll be big. The announcement says Charles will be leading the se- ries, opposite Lauren Cohen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, both of whom are reprising their fan- favorite original series roles as Maggie and Negan. Charles has been searching for a role of this profile since his star-making turn on "Lights." His biggest appearance since then was a full-time gig for two seasons on "Grey's Anatomy" from 2012 to 2014, playing Dr. Shane Ross. Otherwise, he's mostly been cast in supporting roles and guest stints on shows such as "Roswell, New Mexico," "Aquarius" and the recent "Wonder Years" reboot. Q: Are they ever going to make a sequel to "Gods of Egypt"? It looked like it was poised to be a series. A: A "Gods of Egypt" (2016) series may have been the plan at the beginning, but audiences didn't co-operate. The film was, quite simply, a flop. In fact, it was one of the biggest bombs of the year (and that's in a year that also boasted the disastrous "Ben-Hur" re- make you probably forgot about). "Gods of Egypt" made rough- ly $150 million at the box office — which is a lot of money — Gaius Charles in "Friday Night Lights" HOLLYWOOD Q&A Solution on page T23 Use the clues above and beside the grid to fill in the squares www.advancepestcontrolnwa.com Family Owned, Competitively Priced, Quality Service Since 1981 Rogers 479-636-5590 Springdale 479-756-1788 Eureka Springs 479-253-8967 PEST CONTROL TERMITE FERTILIZATION WEED CONTROL PRE-EMERGENTS