Latest news with #JenniferConnelly
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Watch AI Trailer Of ‘The Last Of Us' Starring 1980s Era Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson in publicity shot for Lethal Weapon. (Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis via Getty Images) The 1987 versions of Mel Gibson and Jennifer Connelly play Joel and Ellie in a retro AI trailer reimagining The Last of Us as an HBO movie. The Last of Us, of course, is a big hit for HBO and its streaming service Max. The small screen adaptation of the blockbuster Naughty Dog video game kicked off in 2023 with a nine-episode season starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie and returned for its seven-episode second season on April 13. The Last of Us series follows the survivors of a global pandemic following an outbreak of the Cordyceps fungal infection that turns victims into zombie-like creatures. At the beginning of the series, Joel is tasked with smuggling Ellie, who is immune to the disease — outside of the quarantine zone in a future dilapidated United States. Season 2 of The Last of Us is set five years after the first and sees the tragic demise of Joel in an act of revenge by Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). In a new artificial intelligence-generated retro-style VHS trailer on YouTube posted over the weekend, content creator Multiverse of Movies reimagined version of The Last of Us as a 1987 movie release on HBO. In its description of the faux 1 minute and 24 second trailer, Multiverse of Movies notes, 'What if The Last of Us wasn't a modern prestige HBO series ... but a gritty, synth-drenched action drama from 1987 by HBO? 'Experience Joel and Ellie's journey like never before — in glorious VHS quality. Starring Mel Gibson, Jennifer Connelly, and Christopher Walken, this retro reimagining blends post-apocalyptic chaos with 80s-style action.' See The Last of Us '80s-style retro movie trailer below. While the AI trailer imagining a 1987 version of The Last of Us as an HBO movie is impressive enough with its rendering of Mel Gibson and Jennifer Connelly in the roles of Joel and Ellie, it also populates the post-apocalyptic landscape with the younger versions of several other major stars, circa the 1980s. The faux movie trailer of The Last of Us features characters from the first and second seasons of the series. The all-star lineup imagines Christopher Walken as David, Linda Hamilton as Abby, Sigourney Weaver as Tess, Patrick Swayze as Tommy, John Goodman as Bill, Kevin Kline as Frank and Angela Bassett as Marlene. Additionally, the AI trailer features Rae Dawn Chong as Maria, Glenn Close as Kathleen, Lisa Bonet as Riley, Denzel Washington as Henry, Emmanuel Lewis as Sam, Carl Weathers as Isaac and Jennifer Beals as Dina. Of course, if you want to see the actual screen version of The Last of Us, Season 1 and Season 2 of the series — through Episode 6 — are on HBO and streaming on Max. The season finale of The Last of Us premieres this Sunday, May 25.
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Completely different': Truth behind iconic Cannes pic
IN CANNES In 2022, with Tom Cruise's blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick about to hit screens and the painful impact of the pandemic still fresh, Hollywood had plenty of reasons to want to celebrate – and send a message that they were back in business. With anticipation for the long-awaited sequel reaching fever pitch ahead of its Cannes Film Festival premiere, the studio spent big bucks erecting a massive pilot helmet along the main boulevard which displayed scenes from the film. And as Cruise hit the red carpet at the iconic Grand Theatre Lumiere with co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller and Jon Hamm, eight fighter jets were bellowing red, white and blue smoke as they shot across the sky above. Three years on, and Cruise and his unstoppable press blitz are back on the French Riviera – this time, for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. He's once again been in top form, and critics are once again raving about his action-packed new movie. But when it comes to the PR and marketing stunts? Well, it's a bit of a different story. In fairness, there was a tuxedoed a cappella group performing outside the theatre ahead of Wednesday night's glitzy gala premiere, and an orchestra later playing the film's theme music. A screen was also set up outside The Carlton, one of the town's ritziest hotels, showing teasers. (Back in 2007, the same venue saw Jerry Seinfeld, dressed as a bee, literally zip-line from its rooftop to promote Bee Movie.) But for one of the most talked-about (and expensive) films premiering at the high-profile industry extravaganza, there's been little else in terms of buzzy promotions around the grounds of Cannes – let alone for the other films also having their debut. 'The main strip looks and feels completely different this year,' one executive film producer told 'I think it's reflective of the changes in the film industry … the global downturn has hit us just like everyone else, which means the films may be there, but the marketing budgets will have taken a big hit.' The film insider added: 'Even just a few years back, you could barely walk along the footpath on Boulevard de la Croisette [the main street] because of all the people crowding around the activations outside the main hotels.' Cannes has seen plenty of PR stunts, from the tacky to the gobsmacking – with particular incidents including when fake sharks were planted in the ocean behind Blake Lively during press for her 2016 horror flick In The Shallows and the time a producer enlisted three WWII-era tanks to help promote The Expendables 3 among the most memorable. One film sales agent told that while marketing budgets have been reduced, it's also the reality that high-profile advertising stunts aren't likely to hit their target audience at the film festival, where its largely industry representatives, not cinemagoers, who descend on the region. 'They're [studios] choosing not to spend the money here, where the audiences aren't based … It's smarter spending to reflect the state of the industry.'
