THUNDERBOLTS* Director Jake Schreier Talks About Olga Kurylenko's Reaction to Her Character's Fate in the Film — GeekTyrant
We've written a couple of times about the surprising death of the character Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster, played by actress Olga Kurylenko in Marvel's Thunderbolts* a couple of weeks ago.
It was one of those choices in a movie that you don't see coming, seeing as how that character was one of the core members of the team, but director Jake Schreier previously said to The New York Times that the decision was made when they realized how little bloodshed had happened in the first drafts of the film's script.
Schreier explained:
"That was a tough one because it's a character that matters to a lot of people and we don't want to take that lightly. That idea came after the strike when it just felt like the movie at that point was a little bloodless.
'It's not rated R, but if we were trying to tell a story that had real tension about people who killed people for a living, you needed to depict that in a way.
'Obviously, we could have introduced a new character and then gotten rid of them, but then it wouldn't have the resonance or potentially the shock of doing it to Taskmaster."
When asked asked how Olga Kurylenko reacted to the news of her character's early death, Schreier responded:
"It's not easy. It's like in sports: Players want to play. Olga's a great actress and of course that's a hard conversation to have, but she was an absolute pro about it and willing to show up, and I'm very grateful for that."
It was sad to see her character go. I loved her in Black Widow , and was interested in seeing her again, so it was too bad her screentime was cut short. But it did serve the story, and who knows, maybe we will see her again before the multiverse is closed for good.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
25 minutes ago
- CBS News
Brooklyn restaurant crawl kicks off Juneteenth celebrations with flavor and purpose
A savory blend of cheeses, creamy macaroni, and a fall-off-the-bone serving of oxtail makes up Brooklyn Beso's signature oxtail mac and cheese. The dish has been drawing food lovers to the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant. "It is the right amount of cheese, the right amount of pasta. And then the oxtail, which is one of my favorite, is also very good. It's seasoned well," said Kaltmann Edwards, who traveled from Queens to enjoy the dish. The indulgent meal is just one of many offerings featured during a weeklong Juneteenth restaurant crawl celebrating Black-owned businesses across Brooklyn. "It was good, cheesy, nice and hot," said Fatou Sylla, another diner. "People go crazy over it. This is what we're really known for," said Donna Drakes, owner of Brooklyn Beso. Drakes, a native of St. Lucia, has operated her Latin-Caribbean fusion restaurant in Bed-Stuy for 15 years. She said she opened the restaurant to bring something new to a neighborhood rooted in Black culture. This week, she joins several local eateries taking part in a food crawl, which spotlights Black entrepreneurs and their culinary creativity. "I think it's more inspiring to little girls who want to start their own business no matter what avenue it is," Edwards added. "It's so important to celebrate that day" For Drakes, the event is about more than good food. It's about honoring the significance of Juneteenth. "It's a form of liberation," she said. "It's so important to celebrate that day. Everyone fought for it. Our ancestors fought for it." The restaurant crawl began Thursday and runs through June 19. It inviting locals and visitors alike to explore Brooklyn's rich food scene while supporting Black-owned establishments. "The winter was pretty rough. A lot of restaurants folded. And it is so important to keep Black-owned businesses alive, especially our culture, our foods," Drakes said. Back in the kitchen, orders of shrimp pasta were flying out, and margaritas were being poured at a steady clip. Diners packed the space, sampling the soulful menu that has been shaped by years of resilience and passion. "It's really important, especially for Black-owned businesses, to get the recognition that they do deserve, especially the local ones that have been here for 15 years and people might not have known about them," said uest Raysa Chouwdhury. "Food always makes people happy. It's for the soul. So if you can, you know, get to someone's soul, it's important. It's a way to bring people together," Drakes said. CBS News New York is a proud partner of Juneteenth NYC. The celebration continues this weekend with the Juneteenth NYC Festival at Gershwin Park in Brooklyn, where our team will host a pop-up newsroom for the second year in a row. Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah by CLICKING HERE.
Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Weinstein case judge declares mistrial on remaining rape charge as jury foreperson won't deliberate
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial came to a disjointed end Thursday as the jury foreperson declined to deliberate and the judge declared a mistrial on a remaining rape charge, a day after a split verdict on other charges in the landmark #MeToo-era case. The outcome positions the ex-studio boss for a third New York trial — prosecutors said they're ready to retry the rape count — even as he faces a new sentencing on his sexual assault conviction. Weinstein, 73, denies all the charges. The Oscar-winning movie producer had a blank, drained expression as court officers escorted him out Thursday in his wheelchair. His lawyer said he plans to appeal. 'What happened in that jury room was absolutely improper,' attorney Arthur Aidala said outside court. Weinstein is due back in court July 2 for discussion of retrial and sentencing dates. His first-degree criminal sex act conviction carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison, while the unresolved third-degree rape charge is punishable by up to four years — less than he already has served. He's been behind bars since his initial conviction in 2020, and he later also was sentenced to prison in a separate California case, which he's appealing. In Wednesday's partial verdict, Weinstein was convicted of one criminal sex act charge but acquitted of another. Both concerned accusations of forcing oral sex on women in 2006. Those verdicts still stand. While the jury of seven women and five men was unanimous on those decisions, it got stuck on the rape charge involving another woman, Jessica Mann. The hairstylist and actor testified at length — as she did in 2020 — that Weinstein raped her amid a years-long consensual relationship. 'I will never give up on myself and making sure my voice – and the truth – is heard,' Mann said in a statement Thursday, confirming she's ready to testify yet again. Jury-room strains started leaking into public view Friday, when a juror asked to be excused because he felt another was being treated unfairly. Then Monday, the foreperson complained that other jurors were pushing people to change their minds and talking about information beyond the charges. The man raised concerns again Wednesday, telling the judge he felt afraid in the jury room because another juror was yelling at him for sticking to his opinion and suggested the foreperson would 'see me outside.' When Judge Curtis Farber asked the foreperson Thursday whether he was willing to return to deliberations, the man said said no. And with that, Farber declared a mistrial on the rape count. Two jurors disputed the foreperson's account as they left court. One, Chantan Holmes, said that no one mistreated the man and that she believed he was just tired of deliberating. 'We all felt bad. Because we really wanted to do this. We put our hearts and souls in here,' she said. Another jury member, who identified himself only by his juror number, said the deliberations were contentious, but respectful. Weinstein's 2020 conviction seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood's most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the # MeToo movement. The anti-sexual-misconduct campaign was fueled by allegations against him. But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse. Weinstein's accusers said he exploited his Tinseltown influence to dangle career help, get them alone and then trap and force them into sexual encounters. 'These hopeful young women were trying to follow their dreams in a world that he controlled,' Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said at a news conference Thursday. Weinstein's defense portrayed his accusers as Hollywood wannabes and hangers-on who willingly hooked up with him to court opportunity, then later said they were victimized to collect settlement funds and #MeToo approbation. Miriam Haley, the producer and production assistant whom Weinstein was convicted — twice, now — of sexually assaulting, said outside court Wednesday that the new verdict 'gives me hope.' Accuser Kaja Sokola also called it 'a big win for everyone,' even though Weinstein was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was a 19-year-old fashion model. Her allegation was added to the case after the retrial was ordered. Holmes, the juror who spoke outside court, said the panel all felt Sokola 'wasn't credible.' The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified. Haley, Mann and Sokola did so. ___ Associated Press journalists Joseph B. Frederick and Ted Shaffrey contributed.
New York Times
34 minutes ago
- New York Times
Like His Music, Brian Wilson's Style Was Deceptively Complex
The band name was a fluke. Looking to cash in on the burgeoning surf culture in the United States, the record executive who first brought Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine together on the obscure Candix Records label in Southern California wanted to call the assembled musicians 'The Surfers.'' But another group, as it happened, had already claimed the name. And then there was an additional problem: only one of the band members, Dennis Wilson, actively surfed. And so, as Brian Wilson — the architect of the band's sound and image, whose death, at 82, was announced by his family on Wednesday — tweeted back in 2018, the promoter Russ Regan 'changed our name to the Beach Boys.' He added that the group members themselves found out only after they saw their first records pressed. Originally, the band had another name. It was one that speaks not only to the aural backdrop the Beach Boys provided for generations but also to their enduring influence on global style. As teenagers in the late 1950s and early '60s, the band had styled itself the Pendletones. It was a homage to what was then, and in some ways still is, an unofficial uniform of Southern California surfers: swim trunks or notch pocket khakis or white jeans, and a blazing white, ringspun cotton T-shirt worn under a sturdy woolen overshirt. The shirts the Pendletones wore were produced by the family-owned company, Pendleton Woolen Mills of Portland, Ore., and had been in production since 1924. The shirts were embraced by surfers for their over-the-top durability and the easy way they bridged the intersection between work and leisure wear. The blue and gray block plaid, which Pendleton would later rename as the 'Original Surf Plaid,'' was worn by every member of the Beach Boys on the cover of their debut album, 'Surfin' Safari.' It was a look that, novel then, has since been quoted in some form by men's wear designers from Hedi Slimane to Eli Russell Linnetz and Ralph Lauren. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
