Latest Movie News From Moviefone

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• Why Disney's Live-Action 'Jungle Book' Has Deep Roots in 'Bambi,' 'Lion King'
• 'New Girl' Renewed for Season 6
• 'The People v. O.J. Simpson' Is Cable's Most-Watched New Series of 2016
• 'The Vampire Diaries' to End After Season 8, Ian Somerhalder Says
• It's Raining Cats and Dogs in New 'Secret Life of Pets' Trailer
• Here Are Three 'Game of Thrones' Season 6 Clips to Tantalize You
• 'Bridget Jones's Diary': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Hit Comedy
• 5 Things You Need to Know Before Seeing Disney's 'The Jungle Book'

Why Disney's Live-Action 'Jungle Book' Has Deep Roots in 'Bambi,' 'Lion King' Posted: In anticipation of Disney's live-action adaptation of "The Jungle Book," Moviefone had the opportunity to chat with director Jon Favreau about what inspired him to re-imagine the beloved animated classic. Opening this Friday, Favreau's movie takes us back into the jungle with Mowgli and friends using cutting-edge technology that renders an incredible, photo-realistic world in 3D. When you see it, you'll be shocked by the knowledge that "The Jungle Book" was shot entirely in Downtown Los Angeles using practical sets and Dolby vision laser projection. In other words, if you thought movies like "Avatar" and "Life of Pi" looked amazing, you ain't seen nothin' yet. We also get some of what we love from the original musical Walt Disney production but fit to reflect the time and outfitted with a stellar voice cast. Newcomer Neel Sethi plays Mowgli and is joined by Sir Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Lupita Nyong'o (Raksha), Bill Murray (Baloo), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Giancarlo Esposito (Akilah) and Christopher Walken (King Louie). With all of this in mind, we couldn't wait to talk to Favreau about raising the bar on visual storytelling using a tried and proven method: the Walt Disney way. Moviefone: What I took away the most from your take on "The Jungle Book" was just how steeped in Walt Disney's philosophy for storytelling it was. You did what he did with fairy tales and the classic Kipling story to create a new take on a beloved movie. How did you go about mining the core of the original film's narrative to build your own vision? Jon Favreau: You just can't make the movie exactly like the old one. It wouldn't work live-action, so we had to make some changes to it. Hopefully, we honored the legacy of the original one enough that you feel satisfied if you're expecting that, but yet you're seeing something that goes further in some ways. Enough people who love Disney have seen it that I feel comfortable that we didn't at least put them off -- that we didn't do our homework and embrace the original. That was an important film for me.When tackling this project, what helped you focus on the story you wanted to tell as you researched the original? It's interesting because it's not like going back to the original movie unlocked all those puzzles. The trick that I had done on "Iron Man" that had worked pretty well was: the first thing I do is try to remember and brainstorm for the images and the things I remember most clearly because if it sits clearly in your memory it's probably been prioritized and is most important. And so "Bare Necessities" was a big one, and "I Wanna Be Like You," King Louie and the crumbling temple, and Kaa with his hypnotic eyes, and the boy being woozy, and me being scared. And then floating down the river and singing, and Shere Khan and the torch, and the elephants and the baby elephant. I make a big list of all that stuff, and then I look at the materials because, when you watch it fresh, you'll connect with different things. I wanted to make sure to include all those images that I had connected to. And then I actually took a lot of cues from the way the plot unfolds the story because that was actually well done. Walt's a great story man, and that was very different from the book. We looked at the books, too, to get inspiration. Certain things the books were better at. I like the treatment of the elephants in the books. I like the treatment of Ikki, the porcupine, I liked Raksha, the mother. So I kinda pick and choose between the two. I think me being such a fan of the material and connecting with it gave me confidence that my instincts were going to be the instincts of others like me. With that wealth of information, how did you tread through it and not let it overwhelm your vision for "The Jungle Book"? They say a book is like designing a boat, and a screenplay is like designing an airplane. It has to lift. Once you hit the end of that runway, the thing has to take off. And if it doesn't fly under its own engineering, it falls apart. So there are certain rules you have to stick by. You have to keep the pace at a certain rhythm, you have to have the right mixture of emotion and tone, and once you lock into that you could get clues from other movies. Honestly, as much as we looked at "Jungle Book," we looked at "Bambi," we looked at "Pinocchio," we looked at "The Lion King." For the PG version, we made, there were more clues in those films than there were in "The Jungle Book" for how to present it, because we always found ourselves tonally: a little too young, a little too humorous. So whenever we brought in a musical element or a humorous element from the original, we found ourselves really having to be careful that we didn't trip up the whole film.On a recent trip to the old Ink and Paint building over at Walt Disney Studios, I saw a multi-plane shadowbox for the opening scene of "Bambi," which I immediately thought of during the opening of your film in its composition. We looked at that shot. We looked at the opening of "Bambi" because back, when he was doing Bambi, Walt was still flushed with success and revenue from "Snow White," which was a huge hit and, unfortunately, over Walt's career, they were operating to diminishing returns from that point on. But Walt was so passionate that he would convince Roy, his brother, to give him the resources and the people that he needed. "Bambi" was really the one where he wanted to raise the bar like they were able to do in "Snow White" and that was his labor of love for many, many years. I don't know if he was ever fully satisfied with the version that came out judging from the notes that I had read, because the studio was coming into a lot of other challenges. I think the war was coming on or the strike. I think it was the strike for that film, and there was definitely a version of the film he was going for and what was nice is that he got stenographers keeping notes of all their story sessions. On the Blu-ray of "Bambi," you hear them talking about how they were gonna make the animals look photo-real, and the tone of the performance vs. how cartooney they were in "Snow White," how realistic they were presenting them, and the way there were gonna show the photo-real backgrounds, and how they would stylize things. And the way they would treat the hunter, and the way they would treat the weather. Hearing it in his read-back transcript, it was almost like having him available to us. And he really was wrestling with a lot of things people wrestle with today. Certainly, we did. So we drew inspiration looking at the shots. The beauty of the shots in "Bambi" were unsurpassed by the time we got to the '67 "Jungle Book" film. Although character animation was still hitting a high watermark because you had the Nine Old Men around. I think most if not all of them were still around for the animated emotional moments. You didn't have the same lushness of the multi-plane, nearly the amount of artists designing a project like this. And, although it was a big success for them financially, it wasn't embraced in the same way the films like "Snow White" were in its day. So I think by trying to channel the entire Disney legacy and then also "The Lion King," which came afterwards (that was affected very much by "The Jungle Book" if you hear the animators of that one speak). I think that one was essential in having fun musical moments but also having scary moments, where characters are in serious danger. And taking cues from Walt there makes so much sense, it immerses you in Mowgli's world, with its practical and CGI surroundings. He used to do that with his "Alice" and old "Laugh-O-Gram" stuff by having a live-action girl in an illustrated world. It was something he was first drawn to. So yeah, we really tried to honor the legacy but tried to do something new and exciting that just stands on its own two feet. We've got to talk casting; this is an incredible ensemble. What inspired you to approach the talent attached to the film? That's a big part of my job. You know Walt Disney in "The Jungle Book" was the only time he did celebrity casting because those people were famous back then before the film, so I think it gave me permission to go after higher people like Christopher Walken or Idris Elba. Loved the cowbell reference by the way. So meta!Did you catch it? I'm so glad it's in there. That was an on-set discovery. That was a prop in the background that I pulled and I said, "Oh my god, this is what Mowgli has to use. I knew he had to touch something that would get the attention of King Louie and I saw the cowbell off to the side and I pulled that in and swapped it out for the prop that we had designed for it. Awesome. Sorry, back to casting... With Christopher Walken and Bill Murray, I let them really be themselves and be recognizable through the characters. I think that was part of what made the original special as well. Disney's "The Jungle Book" opens Friday, April 15th. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'New Girl' Renewed for Season 6 Posted: Jess, Nick, Schmidt, Winston, and CeCe will stick together for another year: Fox announced on Tuesday that it has renewed "New Girl" for a sixth season. Though ratings have been down this year for the sitcom, it's still the network's most-watched series on Tuesday nights, anchoring a comedy block that also includes "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (which was also picked up for another season) and freshmen series "The Grinder" and "Grandfathered." (No word yet on the fate of those latter two shows.) "Every network comedy should aspire to what [creator] Liz Meriwether is achieving in 'New Girl,' with its bravura dialogue, inventive and witty performances by the talented cast, and emotionally engaging storytelling," said Fox president David Madden in a statement. "The series is as creatively strong today as it ever was, we want to congratulate 'New Girl' on reaching its milestone 100th episode, and we can't wait for the next subversive and hilarious chapter of these characters' lives." Season five has been an unusual one for the sitcom, which was pushed to a midseason premiere for the first time in order to accommodate titular star Zooey Deschanel's pregnancy (which was not written into the show). After appearing in the beginning of the season, Deschanel's Jess then sat out five episodes, and actress Megan Fox rotated into the cast for a guest arc as sexy pharmaceutical rep Reagan. The show's 100th episode featured Jess's triumphant return to the loft, and Reagan's departure. It's unclear if Fox will once again hold "New Girl" for midseason on the 2016-2017 schedule. Either way, fans should be pleased that they'll get to spend another season with the gang. [via: Variety] Photo credit: John P. Fleenor/FOX This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'The People v. O.J. Simpson' Is Cable's Most-Watched New Series of 2016 Posted: FX miniseries "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" finished its stellar 10-week run to critical acclaim and audience adoration, and now, it can add another feather to its cap: It's also the year's most-watched new series on cable. According to Nielsen numbers, the show was especially impressive among advertiser-coveted demographics. Throughout its first eight weeks, it was averaging 7.5 million viewers per episode in live plus-7 numbers, making it the most-watched program on Tuesday nights among 18-34-year-olds, and the second (behind NBC's "The Voice") among 18-49-year-olds. And according to Variety, "Among all scripted dramas to have aired multiple times this spring, the FX series ranks second in adults 18-49 on cable (behind only AMC's 'The Walking Dead') and seventh overall, according to Nielsen's 'live plus-3' estimates." In addition to those episode-by-episode estimates, the series also averaged 12.7 million weekly viewers throughout its first eight weeks among combined linear and non-linear audiences (a.k.a. those who watched it live, and those who watched it via DVR, on demand, or streaming). FX has yet to crunch the numbers for the final two "O.J." episodes, but the show's success so far indicates that that 12.7 million average will likely rise to accommodate for additional non-linear views. That's great news for the cable network, which pumped a lot of resources into the program, including landing a starry cast that featured Cuba Gooding Jr., John Travolta, Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance, Nathan Lane, Sterling K. Brown, and David Schwimmer. Executive producer Ryan Murphy is known for splashy television; with "O.J.," he also delivered quality programming, too. The next season of "American Crime Story" will be set around the events of Hurricane Katrina. No airdate has been announced yet. [via: Variety] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'The Vampire Diaries' to End After Season 8, Ian Somerhalder Says Posted: Fans of "The Vampire Diaries" just got some bad news: The CW series is reportedly going to end after its next season. That's the word from star Ian Somerhalder, who made the annoucement during an appearance at WalkerStalkerCon in Nashville last weekend. While there's still no official word from the network, according to the actor, the time to say goodbye has come. "We have decided to do one last season to really do the story justice," Somerhalder told the con crowd. While "TVD" fans are no doubt disappointed, the move ultimately makes sense for the show, which lost its original leading lady after season six, when Nina Dobrev decided to depart the series. And just a few days ago, fellow star Kat Graham told Us Weekly that she would also be leaving the program after season eight wraps. Variety reached out to The CW for comment on Somerhalder's announcement, and a spokesperson for the network said that "no decision has been made" yet about the show's future. (Curiously, the actor's statement was originally quoted by the official WalkerStalkerCon Twitter account; for whatever reason, that tweet has since been deleted. Perhaps because Somerhalder spoke out of turn?) "TVD"'s eighth season order was part of a mass renewal from the network, which renewed all 11 of its scripted series earlier this year. Stay tuned to see what the network has to say going forward. [via: Variety] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

It's Raining Cats and Dogs in New 'Secret Life of Pets' Trailer Posted: Who let the dogs out? In "The Secret Life of Pets," they did it themselves! A new, full-length trailer for the animated movie features the same cheeky humor as the teaser trailer, but lays out a bit more of the story. Max (voice of Louis C.K.) is a happy-go-lucky dog living in New York City whose world is turned upside down when his owner brings in a new "brother," a gigantic, slobbering mutt named Duke (Eric Stonestreet). When Max tries to sabotage Duke and get him kicked out of the apartment, his plan backfires, and both dogs are taken by animal control. It's up to Max's friends, including a conniving bunny (Kevin Hart), to rescue them. The trailer is cute and fun, with a lot of gentle humor about how pets behave when their owners aren't watching. "The Secret Life of Pets" opens in theaters July 8. Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Here Are Three 'Game of Thrones' Season 6 Clips to Tantalize You Posted: "Game of Thrones" season 6 is almost here — we can practically taste it. As the April 24 premiere date draws near, HBO has been releasing more and more footage from the new season, including a second trailer yesterday and a clip of Davos Seaworth protecting Jon Snow's corpse (sob). Now, there are three new clips to drool over and dissect. The first features Daenerys arriving in Vaes Dothrak, the huge (and only) Dothraki city. The sheer scale of it stuns her — she's just one of thousands entering the city, which is guarded by immense statues of fighting stallions. And there's no guarantee she'll be treated well, despite her status as a former khaleesi, as one Dothraki warrior warns her, "Hey, Great Khaleesi, move your ass."In the second clip, a despondent Cersei talks to her brother/lover, Jaime, about the first time they saw a dead body — their mother. Just as she couldn't help but think morbid thoughts then, about her mother's corpse bloating and turning black, she thinks them now about their daughter, Myrcella.The third clip sees Sansa and Theon fleeing from Winterfell. As they run through the snowy forest, the barks of the dogs grow louder — until they reach an icy obstacle. Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

'Bridget Jones's Diary': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Hit Comedy Posted: Hard to believe it's been 15 years since "Bridget Jones's Diary" surprised the world with blue soup, ugly Christmas sweaters, an unexpectedly funny Colin Firth, a shockingly nasty Hugh Grant, and a stunningly perfect English accent emerging from Texan Renée Zellweger. Since the film adaptation of Helen Fielding's novel hit these shores on April 13, 2001, the awkward but lovable "singleton" heroine has been a worldwide favorite, spawning a 2004 sequel and a long-awaited third installment, "Bridget Jones's Baby," finally due for delivery this fall. To celebrate the film's 15th anniversary this week, here are some behind-the-scenes facts you need to know. 1. Helen Fielding's worldwide bestseller started out as a series of columns in Britain's Independent newspaper that loosely fictionalized the romantic misadventures of Fielding and her thirtysomething pals. Fielding acknowledged that she lifted her storyline from "Pride and Prejudice." "Jane Austen's plots are very good and have been market researched over a number of centuries so I decided simply to steal one of them," Fielding joked. "I thought she wouldn't mind, and anyway, she's dead." 2. Director Sharon Maguire got the job in part because she was one of Fielding's close friends; in fact, the character of Shazza (played by Sally Phillips) was based on Maguire. 3. It took producers two years to find the perfect Bridget Jones. Among those considered were Cameron Diaz, Cate Blanchett, Emily Watson, Rachel Weisz (Maguire decided she was "too beautiful"), and Kate Winslet (who, at 24, was deemed too young). Toni Collette has said she turned the part down because she was busy acting on Broadway in "The Wild Party." 4. Zellweger finally won Maguire over, convincing her that her salty, Texas-bred sense of humor helped her empathize with the earthy Bridget. But when her casting was announced, many Brits were outraged over the idea of an American playing such a quintessentially English character. To learn Bridget's British accent, Zellweger enlisted Barbara Berkery, the dialect coach who had guided Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar-winning performance in "Shakespeare in Love." 5. Zellweger's ultimate test came when she went undercover as Bridget Cavendish, taking on a Bridget Jones-like job as a publicist trainee at Picador, the London publishing firm where Fielding had worked while she wrote her novel. For two weeks, the actress learned the publishing business, practiced her accent, and successfully passed as a local; no one recognized her as the Hollywood leading lady of "Jerry Maguire." 6. The willowy actress also had to pull a "Raging Bull" and pack on weight to play the curvy Bridget. She famously gained 17 pounds on a diet of bagels, burgers, buttered biscuits, croissants, cheesecake, pizza, peanut butter, and protein shakes with ice cream. 7. For Mark Darcy, the filmmakers had no other choice but Colin Firth, who had played Mr. Darcy in the celebrated 1995 BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice," making women swoon throughout the English-speaking world. Among those who had developed a crush on Firth's TV Darcy was Fielding, who name-checked the actor in her book. She was so intent on casting him in the film that the producers also hired Andrew Davies, who had scripted the Austen mini-series, to co-write the "Bridget Jones" screenplay with Fielding and British romantic comedy master Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral"). Firth, drawn by Davies' presence and by the chance to spoof his own persona, accepted the role.8. At the time he was cast as cad Daniel Cleaver, Hugh Grant was known for stammering nice-guy roles in such Curtis comedies as "Four Weddings" and "Notting Hill." He was thrilled to play someone with more of an edge, or, as he put it, "a character that was nearer to the real me." 9. The film cost a reported $26 million to produce. It earned back $72 million in North America and a total of $282 million worldwide. 10. Zellweger was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, a rarity for a comic performance. She lost to Halle Berry for "Monster's Ball." Two years later, Zellweger won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Cold Mountain," a trophy many considered a make-up prize for her "Bridget Jones" snub. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

5 Things You Need to Know Before Seeing Disney's 'The Jungle Book' Posted: Disney's latest live-action update of one of its classic animated features is "The Jungle Book." But don't expect just a shiny CG update of the 1967 cartoon that turned Rudyard Kipling's fierce beasts into mostly adorable, toy-ready critters. For one thing, if you've seen the trailers, you know this new version features some impressive-looking animals, speaking with the voices of some impressive stars. For another thing, its director is Jon Favreau, who helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Iron Man." Favreau and Disney clearly wanted to make something more than just a retread of the studio's 1967 cartoon -- or Disney's 1994 live-action version. Judging by the 100% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, they've pulled it off. Here are five things you need to know before entering the "Jungle." 1. Think "Avatar," Only Earthbound The James Cameron epic is a movie Favreau has name-checked often in describing the exotic, immersive, 3D forest world he's tried to create here. From its setting to its jungle animals, Favreau's film is almost completely CGI -- except, of course, for Neel Sethi, the 12-year-old New York native who plays wild boy Mowgli. Favreau and his effects team shot the whole film on stages in downtown Los Angeles, digitally added lush vegetation, and populated it with creatures based on the appearances and movements of real animals -- but given an artistic flourish by digital animators. Imagine the CGI tiger in "Life of Pi," except that he's moving his lips as Idris Elba's (above) menacing voice emerges from his mouth. 2. This Is No Cartoon The generally-lighthearted 1967 cartoon wasn't especially faithful to the source material. Favreau has said his film delves deeper into the Kipling stories, which means the animals are more savage and the danger to Mowgli is greater. Elba's tiger Shere Khan is reportedly one of the scariest screen villains since -- well, Elba's warlord in "Beasts of No Nation." No wonder some critics are calling the film a kiddie "Revenant." 3. It's Not Just a Guy Thing Favreau decided that the cartoon, populated almost exclusively by male characters, needed more feminine presences. So Kaa the Python got a sex change; she's voiced by Scarlett Johansson (pictured). Interestingly, in "Jungle Book: Origins," Andy Serkis' upcoming 2017 take on the same public-domain Kipling stories, which will also mix live-action actors and motion-capture animals, Kaa will be female as well, voiced by Cate Blanchett. Favreau also beefed up the role of Raksha, the wolf mother who adopts Mowgli. She doesn't even speak in the cartoon, but here, she's voiced by no less a luminary than Lupita Nyong'o. 4. The Animals Are Zoologically Correct Well, except for the whole talking thing. But at least Baloo (Bill Murray) is now more obviously a sloth bear, a mammal native to India, than the generic bear of the cartoon. Alas, there are no orangutans in India, so King Louie (Christopher Walken) is now a Gigantopithecus (pictured), an orangutan-like ape that is now extinct but which did once live in India. 5. Don't Worry, Your Favorite Songs Are Still Here Darker tone aside, Favreau made sure to keep some of the cartoon's comic-relief moments, as is apparent by the casting of Murray and Walken. (The late Garry Shandling is here, too, as a nervous porcupine.) Baloo does get to sing "Bare Necessities" and Louie still sings "I Wan'na Be Like You." Richard M. Sherman, who wrote that song's lyrics 50 years ago, has updated the words for the new film. And Kaa still delivers the hypnotic "Trust in Me" -- though, instead of Sterling Holloway's Winnie-the-Pooh bluster, the snake now purrs the words in Johansson's seductive, unsettling rasp. "Jungle Book" hits theaters Friday. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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