Movies

'Mad Max: Fury Road' director George Miller has announced he won't return to the franchise.
The 70-year-old filmmaker categorically stated he "won't do" movies that involve extensive filming schedules and require trotting the globe - which includes any sequel to the 2015 dystopian action film - because they take "forever to make".
Speaking at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday (12.01.16) he said: "I won't make more Mad Max movies. 'Fury Road' was forever getting completed. If you finish one in a year, it's considered a leap of faith. Start, stop, start again. I've shot in Australia in a field of wild flowers and flat red earth when it rained heavily forever. We had to wait 18 months and every return to the US was 27 hours. Those films take forever. I won't do those any more."
The news comes at the same time as it was announced that Miller has been nominated for a Director's Guild Award in the Feature Film category for his work on the movie, in which Tom Hardy starred as titular protagonist Max Rockatansky alongside Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.
The Australian director shot to fame when he made the original 1979 film 'Mad Max' - which starred Mel Gibson and catapulted the actor to prominence.
He has also helmed every other movie in the series; 'Mad Max 2' and 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'.

Ryan Coogler created a "father-and-son" story for 'Creed' as a mark of his love for his dad.
The 29-year-old director - whose boxing drama sees Michael B. Jordan's Adonis 'Donnie' Creed get trained to be a fighter by Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa - attended the European premiere of the movie in London's Leicester Square on Tuesday (12.01.16) with his dad Ira, and revealed it was their relationship and his father's love of the 'Rocky' franchise that inspired him to write the storyline.
Speaking from the red carpet at the event, he said: "It was my relationship with my dad that motivated me to want to make (the movie), so it was always a father-and-son story for me ... He's the biggest 'Rocky' fan in the world, and he means a lot to me."
Coogler also opened up about his dad's experience with illness and how he wove it into the film's plot with Rocky being sick.
He shared: "He got really sick round about the time I finished film school. And going through that put me in a real emotional place, and I came up with this story as a way to vent."
Meanwhile, Tessa Thompson - who plays Adonis 'Donnie' Creed's love interest Bianca - added that the young cast veered away from worrying about Rocky's "legacy" and focused on introducing the iconic character to a new generation of fans.
She said: "We tried not to think too much about the legacy, because I think if we did, we'd all get in our heads and be worried that we couldn't satisfy it.
"I think for 'Rocky' fans, there's certainly a lot there in that it feels like a classic 'Rocky' film, and then I think it also brings in a new generation."
A host of boxers turned out for the premiere including former world heavyweight champion David Haye, retired super middleweight legend Carl Froch and Tony Bellew - who portrays Donnie's opponent 'Pretty' Ricky Conlan in the movie.

'Black Panther' will be directed by Ryan Coogler.
The 'Creed' filmmaker - who received critical acclaim for directing the boxing drama - has been confirmed to take on the star-studded Marvel Studios movie which will see 'Get On Up' actor Chadwick Boseman play the titular superhero.
The studio is delighted to have Coogler - who also received plaudits for his first feature-length movie 'Fruitvale Station' - on board, with Marvel head Kevin Feige saying in a statement: "We are fortunate to have such an esteemed filmmaker join the Marvel family. The talents Ryan showcased in his first two films easily made him our top choice to direct 'Black Panther.' Many fans have waited a long time to see' Black Panther' in his own film, and with Ryan we know we've found the perfect director to bring T'Challa's story to life."
The plot is yet to be revealed but will likely centre around an origin story of how T'Challa becomes the Black Panther.
In the original comic book series, his father T'Chaka is king of the African nation Wakanda and has the ceremonial title Black Panther as the chief of the Panther Tribe.
T'Chaka is murdered by the adventurer Ulysses Klaw and with the tribe in danger a young T'Challa used Klaw's sound weapon on Klaw and his men to force them to flee and then earned the right to become the Black Panther.
Before appearing in his own standalone film, Boseman will be seen as Black Panther in 'Captain America: Civil War', which will be released in March.
The 'Black Panther' movie is scheduled for release in 2018.

J.J. Abrams is "incredibly relieved" that 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' was received well.
The director of the latest instalment of the science fiction franchise is glad the movie has appealed to such a wide audience and that the new characters have been accepted by fans.
Speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, he said: "I'm just incredibly relieved that the movie's out and it was well-received, and I'm more excited when I hear that people went to see the movie with their parents who took them to see the original movie when they were kids, or who took their own kids who maybe had never seen a 'Star Wars' movie and who fell in love with Rey [Daisy Ridley] or found Finn [John Boyega] to be someone that they wanted to be for Halloween.
"Those kinds of stories are frankly infinitely more impactful and gratifying than all the numbers - which are wonderful, and I'm very grateful to everyone who went to see the film, but it's mostly exciting to hear that people actually went and had the experience."
Meanwhile, lead star John previously spoke of his own relief at landing the part in the popular flick.
He said: "When I found out I had the part, the overwhelming feeling was of relief. I'd been auditioning for seven months so it was just unbelievable to think, yes, finally I know for sure I'm going to be in this film."

'World War Z 2' has lost its director after Juan Antonio Bayona walked away from the project.
The zombie apocalypse movie - which will see Brad Pitt reprise his role as United Nations investigator Gerry Lane who discovered the source of the virus that turned half of humanity into the walking dead - has experienced extensive production problems and now the filmmaker has quit production.
Deadline reports the cause of the 40-year-old director's detachment from the project is the timing of the shoot, despite the fact he signed on to the movie in December 2013.
Rumour has it the Spanish filmmaker is wanted by Universal Pictures for 'Jurassic World 2' - the follow up the 2015 blockbuster which starred Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Despite the claims, Bayona is said to be tied up with the post-production and publicity run for his latest film 'A Monster Calls', which stars Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson.
A statement from studio Paramount read: "Bayona is no longer able to make 'World War Z 2' this year and it is our ambition to do so. He is a wonderful director and we hope to work with him soon."
A plot for the next installment in the zombie franchise - which is an adaptation of the book 'World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War' by Max Brooks - is yet to be revealed.
The film is due out in the US on June 9, 2017.

Michael B. Jordan felt the "legacy" of the 1977 hit 'Rocky' on his shoulders when he agreed to the star in the spin-off.
The 28-year-old actor appears alongside Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone in the new movie 'Creed', in which he plays the son of Rocky Balboa's famed rival Apollo Creed, Adonis - and has admitted he felt an overwhelming struggle to recreate even a fraction of the original's huge success.
He explained: "With all the pieces of the puzzle on the table, to have the legacy of 'Rocky' on my shoulder a little bit.
"You step into a world that's created forty years ago by Sly. Being a part of that whole world is really special and just trying to raise the bar or at least come close to what he did forty years ago ... It kinda feels like an origin story, so it's kinda cool."
Despite the pressure of taking on the mantle of Stallone's boxing saga, Michael was put at ease by the veteran actor.
He told BBC Radio One's breakfast show: "He said to me, 'This isn't 'Rocky 7'. This is 'Creed', this is your film. Don't compete with what I did forty years ago, don't try to live up to any expectations. Just do your thing.'
"So that took the pressure off my shoulders before I even got to set. And it allowed me to come to work every day and do the best job I could do."

Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't pine after Oscar success when he makes a movie.
The 41-year-old actor has been nominated four times for an Academy Award for his acting roles in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape', 'The Aviator', 'Blood Diamond' and 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and is tipped to pick up the coveted Best Actor prize for playing the lead in 'The Revenant'.
But opening up about what it would mean to him to win an Oscar, the star revealed: "It (Oscar success) is never ever what I'm thinking about when I'm making movies. There's nothing I've done for the specific reason of getting an award. Every single time you just go in there trying to bat a thousand, trying to give it your all."
DiCaprio plays frontiersman Hugh Glass, who is stranded in the wilderness after a brutal bear attack and his hunting team leave him for dead, in the biographical Western.
And filming for the survival epic was apparently a "living hell" as the legendary actor was forced to eat raw bison liver in one scene, to which his reaction was far from an act.
He told Timeout magazine: "The fake liver they gave me didn't look real. Arthur (RedCloud who plays Hikuc), the Native American actor I was working with, had been eating liver all day while I was sitting there eating a big piece of Play-Doh. I had to give it a shot. But I only did it twice, and my reaction is up on screen. That's instinct."

Jamie Foxx has joined the cast of 'Robin Hood: Origins'. The 48-year-old actor will reportedly star alongside 'Kingsman' and 'Legend' actor Taron Egerton and newcomer Eve Hewson in the upcoming Otto Bathurst-directed film based on the 15th Century Eng...

John Boyega has revealed filming for 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' is underway and the movie is much "darker" than 'The Force Awakens'.
The 23-year-old British actor is reprising his role as rogue Stormtrooper Finn and admits the sci-fi franchise is going to take a sinister turn in the next instalment.
In an interview with Vogue.co.uk, he shared: "(We're) just starting work on 'Star Wars VIII,' the next film, so I'm back to keeping secrets again. It's great. Much darker, but we're very excited."
Mark Hamill's character Luke Skywalker is set to have a prominent role in the sequel, while Daisy Ridley is returning as Rey, 'Game of Thrones' star Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma and Adam Driver will be donning his black mask and hood again as villain Kylo Ren.
Boyega was involved in several big action scenes in 'The Force Awakens' and he admits he has even more stunts to do in 'Episode VIII' so he is going to up his gym sessions.
Speaking about preparing for the new movie, he said: "For ('The Force Awakens') we really just took it scene by scene, there wasn't a huge regime. My part in the next film will be much more physical so I might be in the gym a bit more."
Rian Johnson is directing 'Star Wars: Episode VIII', while J.J. Abrams - who helmed 'Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens' - is acting as executive producer.
The movie is scheduled for release on 26 May 2017.