The presentation started with CinemaCon's State Of The Industry address. Sean Baker's Academy Awards acceptance speech appeared on the big screen, calling for exhibitors to save the theater-going experience. NEON then provided numbers that prove low-budget films can be a box office success, and the one and only Tom Cruise joined us via video to gush about his love for cinema and the theater experience.
Stay tuned! Lionsgate's presentation is coming...
The Lionsgate panel has kicked off with a new trailer for Ballerina! Some of it we've seen before, like Ana De Armas' exchange with John Wick himself, but it included an intensely badass and brutal fight sequence. Armas' Eve is at a small-town restaurant where things go haywire. Butcher knives, dish carts, dinner plates and an axe are among the weapons used.
Ana De Armas has taken the stage with Len Wiseman to talk about the insane action. Wiseman addresses the aforementioned scene with the dinner plates, and explains the complications of working with breakaway plates.
Armas, however, exclaims that it's not by any means the most difficult action scene to shoot. She says that she had screws in her shoes to keep her steady in the heavy, snowy Winters shooting outdoors. She trained for almost four months, and can't wait for us to see how ballet is incorporated into the action.
Mark Hamill is in the house! He's taken the stage with director Francis Lawrence and David Jonsson, his costar in The Long Walk. Jonsson talked about how difficult it was to work alongside Hamill as the film's antagonist, because they must resist liking him, despite his blatant likability.
Now Hamill is on the microphone, explaining that he had a desire to work with Francis Lawrence, but joked that didn't see himself in The Hunger Games franchise, so he seized this opportunity. He's wearing sunglasses as a tribute to his character, and not, as he says, "Pulling a Jack Nicholson."
The trailer is fantastic, heartfelt, disturbing, and hard to watch. The participants must keep walking, and if they don't, they're killed. The intimate and simplistic nature of it makes it all the more thrilling.
Francis Lawrence has stayed on stage to talk about directing The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping! He says that it's his "favorite book in the series," that they've been in pre-production for a long time, and that he's thrilled to be able to announce the film officially.
They don't have any footage to show, as it's very early in the process, but they did provide us with an animated logo! You can see it in the video at the top of this article, and you can hear a familiar voice towards the end.
After having showed footage from the Michael Jackson biopic Michael last year, they told us that they were not bringing any new updates, but that they'd have something to show the public soon.
Lionsgate has officially announced John Wick 5! As well as an animated prequel from Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski. More information to come!
Luca Guadagnino, the famed director of Call Me By Your Name and Challengers, came to us via video to announce a brand new adaptation of American Psycho. There's very little information on the project now, but there's more to come!
A full-length trailer for Aziz Ansari's Good Fortune screened, giving us more Keanu Reeves as the "budget guardian angel" and more Seth Rogen as the selfish and privileged Jeff. The film looks smart and hilarious. More information to come.
We were treated to a brand new trailer for Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd's Power Ballad, a feel-good dramedy about two song writers from different generations.
A graphic reading "Now You See Me: Now You Don't" graced the screen, and the crowd went wild. Director Ruben Fleischer has taken the stage, gushing about his love of magic and their use of practical magic effects for the film series. He has announced a first look trailer...
Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco are on stage in the trailer as Eisenberg's J. Daniel Atlas says, "It's good to be back." Joining them for this trick is Dominic Sessa, and of course, Morgan Freeman.
Director Paul Feig and stars/executive producers Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried are on stage talking about their upcoming book adaptation, The Housemaid. Seyfried is gushing about the experience, saying that they had the privilege of creating some "wacky shit." She called it "bananas," and said that the film was "coming to movie theaters. Thank f***ing God." This prompted an applause from the audience, and for Paul Feig to extend a profound thanks to exhibitors.
Now, a first-look trailer has started screening...
The teaser showed us a ton of imagery, without really revealing any plot details. It seems thrilling and intense, but one thing is for sure: this movie is going to be "bananas."
Director Trey Edward Shults is on stage with star and executive producer of Hurry Up Tomorrow, Jenna Ortega. After charming the audience with some stories from set, they set up an exclusive first look at the film.
Barry Keoghan and The Weeknd look fantastic in this twisted, artsy thriller.
Now, the panel's big finale is being announced with a warning for folks who have epilepsy, as a guitarist and drummer set up on stage.
Jenna Ortega has announced her "incredibly talented friend and collaborator..."
THE WEEKND!
The bass can be felt through the whole Coliseum as The Weeknd plays a fantastic 10-minute set while beautifully cinematic scenes from Hurry Up Tomorrow play in the background. At one point, he exclaimed, in the middle of Blinded By The Light, "I can't believe I'm looking at Mark Hamill right now, that's f***ing crazy."
And that's it, folks. What a finale! Join us later this evening for the Warner Brothers panel, as we'll be live blogging the whole event!
