Americans might have wanted To Venture to the beach this summer but there was hesitancy when it came to going to the cinema. Normally Blockbuster Season, which covers a period from may until september, brings hollywood more than 40 of its annual revenues. But this year, because of covid 19, that figure was lower. Among the top grossing films this Blockbuster Season were marvel� s action spy thriller, black widow, f9 the latest instalment of the fast and furious franchise, and the horrorfilm a quiet Place Part ii. Audience were pleased were to be able to return to cinemas. To be honest, i was almost over the moon excited about this is my first visit to a theatre since probably 2019. Although several would be blockbusters stumbled at the american Box Office, the films that flew were those well suited to watching in an auditorium as cinemas opened up. The film that has performed so well because it waited for the Movie Theatre, and its so perfectly tailored for the Movie Theatre experience, is a quiet Place Part ii. Horror movies in general play better in a theatre that communal environment, the electricity of everyone being scared together, and that movie perfectly played into the fomo factor, that fear of missing out for audiences who knew they could not get that movie at home. Although a slew of titles was released, there was the sense that no single film qualified as a landmark Summer Movie. Nothing that has been released since restrictions started to be eased in theatres feels like an event to me. There were a lot of movies that i think in theory, like in another time would have been events, and im just naive enough to believe that its not because people are over theatres in some sense, but rather because the circumstances dont make theatres attractive right now. As cinemas reopen, they had to cope with an audience that had grown heavily dependent on streaming. Black widow was launched simultaneously, like several films, in both cinemas and on a disney streaming platform. Box office at cinemas was seen as having suffered as a result. The Movies Star and executive producer, scarlettjohansson, Made News by controversially suing disney for breach of contract. The movie released on disney s Premier Access platforms the same day that it released in theatres. And scarlettjohansson� s lawsuit argues that because it released this way it cut into her earnings potential. This has been one of the most impactful responses to these new streaming services and their new release models that weve seen yet during the pandemic and i think that all of hollywood is watching. Blockbuster season also had other controversies. Lin Manuel Mirandas adaptation of his stage musical, In The Heights, brought a Vibrant Latino Cast to the screens. Latinos have been woefully under represented in mainstream american cinema but In The Heights� cast was being criticised for being too light skinned. So i think this is actually an ongoing issue for hollywood. The lack of inclusion of black latinos, specifically, or darker skinned latinos. We got In The Heights because so many people were so vocal about the fact that hollywood was leaving latinos out, and that sort of criticism spurred the film, and then the film came out, and then those very same people were like, hey, youre not representing all of us. And that sort of opens the door, it acknowledges the conversation and it allows for other projects in the future to be more inclusive. But the eagerly anticipated In The Heights didnt do as well at the Box Office as had been expected which could mean that Studio Bosses will be less than enthusiastic in Green Lighting other Big Movies With Latino Casts in the future. I hope the performance of In The Heights in theatres doesnt prevent studios from Green Lighting Films with diversity or featuring latino stories and those kinds of points of view, and i wouldnt give up on either musicals or films with diversity and those points of viewjust because one movie or even two dont do as well as expected. These are challenging times for the Film Industry, this Blockbuster Season, as movie goers have had to decide whether To Venture into cinemas or stay at home with streaming. At least the stars of this Summer Movie seasons films know where they would like their fans to see their work. Matt Damon Stars in the Thriller Stillwater. Id prefer that people go see it in a cinema. I mean, the relationship that you have to something is so different if you control it and its on your tv and you have a remote control in your hand, its a very different experience than going at a set time and you all watch it together, you dont stop it and get up and make popcorn or if you have to leave the room, the movies not going to stop for you, and thats a very different relationship and i was struck by that going back to the movies again. Film release schedules have been shuffled numerous times over the past few months. The Film Industry wants to see a return to normality, as do Movie Goers Forever Hungry for the Magic And Sustenance that cinema can bring to their lives. Blockbuster season has traditionally been defined by big Budget Action films that many of the better movies this year were smaller more modest offerings. Among them, coda, which sounds the child of deaf adults, as Noah Gittell reports. The main character in coda, ruby, is the only Hearing Person in an otherwise deaf family. In other ways shes like every other teenager caught between two worlds her Childhood Life with her parents and the future she dreams of. Ruby was to study singing at a prestigious arts university. But she also serves as her familys unofficial translator and a key employee of their struggling fishing business. The film effectively blends the emotions of a coming of Age Drama with an authentic portrayal of deaf culture. Director sian heder, a Hearing Person, worked hard to get it right. I spoke with a lot of codas, i got a their firsthand experiences, i reached out to members of the deaf community, i made deaf friends, i, you know it really was if im going to do this, have to make sure that i have the people around me to be the Check And Balance to my own perspective. Portraying Deaf Culture Authentically is not only the right thing to do but it also makes for far more cinematic storytelling. Film, after all, is designed to capture motion, and while speaking Dialogue Aloud can obviously be effective, and we have almost a century of talkies to prove it, watching the characters in coda have passionate discussions in american sign language, or asl, is far more visually stimulating than having the characters simply speak aloud. The first time i watched an asl fight, right . I was like, this is awesome like, Talk About Cinema youre stomping, youre grabbing the other person, youre right like, you dont walk away from a fight � cause you have to be looking at each other. The filmmakers obviously want their movie to find as wide an audience as possible but the opinion of one particular demographic is crucial. Deaf communities take their representation in film very seriously. Theres even a social Media Campaign Deaftalent to call out projects who cast hearing actors in deaf roles. Coda got that one right, casting three Deaf Actors, including marlee matlin, an Oscar Winner for 1986s children of a lesser god, in the key roles. But theres more to it than just casting. Portraying deaf people well also means highlighting the ways in which theyre no different than hearing people. Often they fall into two categories. It � s an object of pity, being deaf is an object of pity. Or. Oh, my gosh, how noble. Theyve overcome the odds and, you know, theyre a shining light in this dark time. Those are two narratives and theyre very two dimensional. Theres no depth. Theres no background, theres no real story. Its just very superficial. And deaf people are like everybody else. Lately it feels like hollywood is starting to listen. Lauren ridloff, a Deaf Actor who won a tony for the 2018 Broadway Revival of children of a lesser god, will soon star as a Marvel Superhero in eternals. Sound of metal, a harrowing drama about a man who loses his hearing and becomes immersed in a deaf community, won two oscars earlier this year. Coda offers a different but savvy strategy towards progress, inserting a raw and authentic portrayal of disability into a comforting and familiar genre. It gives the issue of Deaf Representation its biggest platform yet. Blockbuster season has featured quite a few horror films, among them Emily Blunt in a quiet Place Part ii and michael bays the forever purge. And now candyman, nearly 30 years after it first hooked audiences, has been given a 21st century makeover, as emma jones reports. Candyman. The Urban Legend is, if you say his name five times while looking in the mirror, he appears in reflection kills you. Who would do that . The candyman of the 1992 original, starring Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen was a rarity a black horror protagonist. He was a spectre of daniel robitaille, a black man lynched by a white crowd in chicago, now terrifying those living on a public housing estate. That film achieved Cult Status and inspired two slasher like sequels. This one, produced by jordan peele, the director of get out, and directed by nia dacosta, whose next film will be Superhero Blockbuster the marvels, is altogether bigger, and a direct continuation of the original. This monster is the embodied Rage And Pain of black men who are victims of racial violence, as an artist antony, played by Yahya Abdul Mateen ii, discovers when he summons candyman. I think i made a mistake. What i find really powerful is the expression that this candyman is an expression of the Rage And Pain and Injustice And Violence that has been done to so many black men. Could you expand on that . For sure, i think the first film, which i absolutely love, it really focuses on this one figure, daniel robitaille, and its sort of like, this happened to one person, and this is why he specifically exists, and what i love about the movie is they talk about systemic issues like gentrification for me it was important to show this isntjust a one off thing, it is like a wave of violence as opposed to these little specks and incidents. I feel really connected to this neighbourhood. Candyman has other artful links with the original film. While the legend of the first film is told using Shadow Puppets, the same methods also used to tell these stories of racial violence. The Shadow Puppets ended up being really useful, because i have to tell those stories without thought of exploiting black bodies. Since cinemas reopened, horror films, still cheap in comparison to superhero movies, have carried on performing on the big screen. The forever purge, the fifth in the dystopian series, made its 18 Million budget back already, three times over. John krasinskis a quiet Place Part ii has so far made 200 Million globally. So has another horror franchise, the conjuring the devil made me do it, produced byjames wan. Another horrorfilm he has directed, malignant, is due out shortly. There are also high hopes for tom hardys Venom Horror Comedy superhero sequel. It seems a thrill of imagined fear is one collective experience audiences still crave. Given the collective trauma we have all been through in recent months, is there a cathartic nature to this kind of horror . Oh, 100 . I think horrorfilms, when you look at them decade to decade, you completely understand what everyone was anxious about in that time. Whether it is like, godzilla and the fear of nuclear weapons, nuclear war, nuclear proliferation, or its a Bunch Of Exorcism Films and religious anxiety, it pinpoints what we are scared of in any moment of time. Candyman say his name. screaming candyman candyman, like other blockbusters of this time, tread a Fine Line between entertainment and trauma. And it certainly reinforces the message that the true horror is in the human heart. The Thriller Stillwater was unveiled halfway through Blockbuster Season at the Cannes Film Festival injuly. It comes from a Thoughtful American filmmaker, tom mccarthy, and stars a much liked hollywood Leading Man, Matt Damon. The day you left for marseille. Stillwater puts reliable hollywood Leading Man Matt Damon front and centre, playing an unemployed Oil Rig Roughneck from oklahoma, travelling to marseille in france to visit his daughter who has been imprisoned on the charge of murdering her girlfriend. Father and daughter dont really get along. Tell me exactly what you did, dad. I hate myself for ever trusting you Damons Character Bill baker becomes immersed in a Rogue Attempt to exonerate his daughter. This larger than life american blue Collar Worker definitely sticks out in very french surroundings. Damon worked hard to get the role right. The character was not Something Id seen before, you know, a roughneck from oklahoma, that is a very specific thing. And it was really, going down there and researching and spending time with those guys was really. Interesting and kind of critical to getting this guy right. The movie is really well observed, do you think part of the enjoyment is actually seeing your character as a kind of fish out of water . Yeah, tom, but in a real way, but not in a hollywood movie way. Like, the character that i play is a very specific thing, and to sort of put that guy in a place like marseille, which is in itself a very specific city and to kind of see how those two interact with one another was a really interesting movie. It is a drama that is directed and Cowritten By The Oscar winning filmmaker tom mccarthy, its story partly based on Amanda Knox, the us Exchange Student who was wrongly convicted of the 2007 murder of her british roommate in italy. Early on, 10 11 years ago i was following that case, i thought it was fascinating. I think personally i felt like it was sensationalised in a way that wasnt ultimately very healthy, but i really wanted to examine the relationship, which was fictionalised at this point, between a young woman in prison in europe and herfather. One welcome addition to the cast is the french actress, camille cottin, well known for the Netflix Series call my agent, who plays the eventual Love Interest to Matt Damons character. She aids him in his effort to get his daughter out of jail. Camille cottin has a real ease to her performance which was refreshing to watch. She is at least relieved that in these pandemic Times Stillwater ended up in cinemas, not on a streaming platform. I am so thankful that the film will be out on screen, and i think personally, this is a movie that has to be seen on a big screen, because it is a trip to marseille, and we Cant Travel anymore. At least we can have a glimpse of marseille in a very big screen, and it makes the experience much more intense. This film tries, through damons character, to make some political points to take a swipe at american populism and a me first mentality. It doesnt quite succeed. Although there are some commendable components to this picture, it is an ambitious concoction that falls a bit short. And Amanda Knox certainly made it clear that she is not happy that this film was made. On twitter she posted that people continue to profit off my name, Face And Story without my consent. Most recently, the film stillwater. One of the pleasant surprises of Blockbuster Season was summer of soul, a documentary that threw a light on a little known festival that took place here in harlem in new York City in 1969, the same year the much more high Woodstock Music Festival was held. Tristan daley reports. Nobody ever heard of the harlem cultural festival. Summer of soul . 0r, when the revolution could not be televised , is a documentary all about the harlem cultural festival, an event in which some musical legends performed to Hundreds Of Thousands of attendees over the course of six weekends in the summer of 1969. The festival took place in new yorks harlem neighbourhood in upper manhattan, and it was slated to celebrate black Culture And History in america. Those in attendance but like it was a momentous occasion but back then it was overshadowed by woodstock. Footage of the event sat in a basement for decades forgotten until now. Are you ready black people . Crowd cheering. Are you really ready . The film was the directorial debut for ahmir questlove thompson, known by many as questlove, a Founding Member of the Hip Hop Group the roots. In the film, he drives home the sense of injustice felt that a cultural and historical Music Event that elevated blackness had been seriously overlooked by the media for so long. We are a new people i didnt believe such a thing happened. But when i saw the footage it was like, i got a responsibility. But this is not. I dont consider this my directorial debut, more that i consider it my chance to correct history. I heard it through the grapevine. The film featured a strong lineup of performances from Iconic Black Musical acts including Gladys Knight and the pips, and stevie wonder. I am just about, just about, just about. The documentary plays like Concert Film commemorating the performances from musical legends. It also acknowledges the sociopolitical climate that surrounded the event in 1969, when black communities all across america were experiencing turbulence. � 69 was a paradigm shift, and you kind of had a younger generation that had demands. You know, the first draft, the first wave of civil rights was more about quiet, peaceful protest, and this new generation. You know, demanded respect. Questlove hopes that audiences will embrace the blackjoy that is also present in the film. Thats an element that also needs to be told in black stories. You know, weve told the trauma, we told the pain, we told the sorrow, we told some Progress Too Butjoy is also an element, and this is what this has. Well, we hope youve enjoyed the programme. Please remember you can always reach us online at bbc. Com talkingmovies, and you can find us on facebook and twitter. So from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking Movies Production Team here in Coney Island in new York City, its goodbye, as we leave you with a Music Clip from Lin Manuel mirandas In The Heights, one of Blockbuster Seasons early releases. Esa Bonita Bandera Contiene Mi Alma entera in fact, can we sing so loud and raucous they can hear us across the bridge in East Secaucus . Parriba Esa Bandera alzala Donde Quiera from Puerto Rico to Santo Domingo wherever we go, we rep our people and The Beat go. Esa Bonita Bandera Contiene Mi Alma entera vanessa, forget about what coulda been, dance with me, one last night, in the hood again. Wepa carnaval del barrio, carnaval del barrio. Carnaval del barrio, carnaval del barrio. Hello there. Our short spell of hot weather is coming to an end now. This picture was taken earlier in the night in sussex. This picture was taken during the day on wednesday in the Scottish Borders where temperatures reached 29 celsius, making it the hottest September Day in scotland since 1906. We had temperatures widely 29 celsius in england, into parts of wales as well. Top temperature was recorded at Heathrow Airport 30 celsius. Its very warm overnight as well. These are the temperatures by morning this band of heavy and thundery rain continues to move northwards, clearing away quickly from east anglia, moving across northern england. Those downpours ease off for a while as they head into scotland. But, as you can see elsewhere for western areas, those showers break out again more widely, threatening some localised flooding with some thundery downpours. Not as many showers for some Eastern Parts of england, temperatures here making 211 25 celsius warm for the time of year, but not as hot, of course, as it has been just recently. Those heavy showers, always going to be fewer towards the southeast as we head into the evening, but a few continuing to crack away elsewhere into the evening. As we head into friday as well, theres more showers to come. The reason the weather is changing and temperatures are dropping is low pressure drifting up from the southwest, bringing all these downpours as well. So a limited amount of sunshine again on friday, perhaps not quite as many showers or quite as widespread, but still the threat of some thundery ones, bringing localised flooding. And weve got temperatures typically on Friday Afternoon at around 20 21 celsius not too bad really for this time of year, but quite a change, of course. Heading into the weekend, theres still the potential for some more rain to be affecting northernmost parts of scotland. Elsewhere, fewer showers, lighter showers, more places will be dry. Not promising much in the way of sunshine, mind you, and weve got temperatures around 20 21 celsius. So as we head into the weekend, the low pressure thats been bringing the downpours will be moving away. Slightly higher pressure leaves us almost in no mans land, but it does look like it will be turning drier. But before then, weve got temperatures dropping as those downpours arrive. Then, by the weekend, much drier, probably a lot of cloud, and dont expect the heat to return. Welcome to Bbc News im tim willcox. Our top stories. Six years after the worst ever Terror Attacks in Paris Salah Abdeslam and 19 other defendants finally go on trial. Ashraf ghani apologises to the afghan people. The former president says he fled the country to avoid more bloodshed. A statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee is taken down in Virginias State Capital after a year long legal battle. The World Health Organisation urges wealthy countries to halt covid Booster Programmes as Vaccination Targets in the global South Arent met. 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