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The horror movie »Evil Dead Rise« celebrated a hugely successful premiere at the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas last week, where it was celebrated frenetically. There was only one minor incident involving an audience member who felt the need to insult the film. You can find clips of the embarrassing situation on Twitter, but let's not give such morons a stage. More worthwhile is an interview with writer & director Lee Cronin, horror icon Sam Raimi, cult legend "Ash" Bruce Campbell and »Evil Dead Rise« stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland, which you can check out here:
https://youtu.be/jx7dhCqRfHw

The Rotten Tomatoes score is currently at a fresh 95% and the IMDb rating is at a whopping 9 out of 10 points. Surely the values will go down a bit over time, but for us they are increasing our anticipation very quickly. We will definitely be in the cinema on April 27th - you, too?

The drama anthology series »Extrapolations« starts today on the streaming platform Apple TV+.

Over 8 episodes, the show tells several interconnected stories from three decades of the 21st century. The characters fight for survival on an earth plagued by man-made climate change. The series explores the personal and global impact of this struggle on work, family and faith. It may sound pretty dark and dystopian at first, but according to the cast, »Extrapolations« also has light and hopeful moments. If you want to know more about the background, you can watch the "Inside Look" of the series here:
https://youtu.be/z8fuDu0rPv4

The cast is definitely promising: Marion Cotillard, Tobey Maguire, Forest Whitaker, Kit Harington, Edward Norton and Meryl Streep and many more are on board.

Here's the trailer:
https://youtu.be/2QP-xrG0kZk

Are you going to put »Extrapolations« on your watchlist?

Captain Sparklefingers and his super siblings are back in cinemas! »Shazam! Fury of the Gods«, the second part of the series, is starting on the big screen.

After Billy Batson and his foster family have fought Dr Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins in the first film, in the sequel they must now take on the daughters of the god Atlas in order to save the world from destruction. In addition to plenty of action and humor, we can also look forward to a few new faces: Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, among others, appear as antagonists. In case you need a little appetizer:
https://youtu.be/AIc671o9yCI

So, are you excited for the film?

A TV series about the coach of a second tier English football club? No thank you, that's just not really our thing. That's what we thought when we first heard about the Apple TV+ original »Ted Lasso« in 2020. When we started hearing more and more euphoric reviews of the series and it brought home a lot of Emmys, Golden Globes and other awards, we got curious and decided to take a look. It actually took us less than five minutes to fall in love with the show.

Today the feel-good series from the creators of Scrubs finally enters its third season and we already have a permanent grin on our faces. If you don't know »Ted Lasso« yet, be sure to watch it! The Apple TV+ subscription is worth it for that alone.

A few years ago, it was announced that Disney would remake its animated classic »The Little Mermaid« as a live-action adaptation. And now the time has come: The film is scheduled to hit cinemas in late May. After a teaser several months ago, the studio recently released the first official trailer. And while the premise is pretty much based on the 1989 original, one thing is also apparent: like many previous remakes of Disney's animated hits, the picture lacks the charm and magic of its predecessor and the realistically animated animals seem strangely out of place. You can see for yourself here:
https://youtu.be/kpGo2_d3oYE

If any of the S.P.A.C.E crew had small square eyes this morning, it was because they watched the 95th Academy Awards live on TV last night and didn't get to bed until around 5am.

The evening was hosted well by Jimmy Kimmel (even if not every gag landed). The event was less political than in the years before and there was a strong emphasis on honoring Oscar traditions, although this time the red carpet was champagne colored. And once again, all award winners were honored during the event, after the technical Oscars had previously been divested to streamline the program.

The big winner of the evening was EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, which had been nominated eleven times and won seven Oscars, including »Best film« and »Best director«, as well as »Best original screenplay« and »Best editing«. There were also supporting actor awards for Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Michelle Yeoh won »Best Actress«. »Best Actor« went to Brendan Fraser for his role in THE WHALE.

The German contribution ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT didn’t disappoint either. The Netflix film was nominated a whopping nine times and brought four of the golden boys to Germany, including »Best international film«. It is only the fourth time that a German production has been awarded this prize. The film also received Oscars for »Best cinematography«, »Best production design« and »Best original score«.

The »Best Animated Film« was GUILLERMO DEL TOROS PINOCCHIO. As expected, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER was awarded for the »Best visual effects«. For the »Best Original Song«, the Oscar went to India for the first time. The song “Naatu Naatu” from RRR was performed with an energetic, rousing dance number. Somewhat surprising was the award for WOMEN TALKING for the »Best adapted screenplay«. The Oscar for »Best costume design« went to BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. And THE WHALE received its second award of the night in the »Best makeup and hairstyling« category. The »Best sound« Oscar went to TOP GUN: MAVERICK.

Some films that were nominated several times went away completely empty-handed. Neither THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, ELVIS, THE FABELMANS, TÁR, BABYLON, THE BATMAN nor TRIANGLE OF SADNESS received one of the precious awards. Of course we would have given many a prize, whether it's acting awards for Cate Blanchett, Austin Butler or Colin Farrell or the director's Oscar for Steven Spielberg, who has been nominated again and again for six decades.

But in the end, as always, there can only be one! And so we are happy about the landslide victory of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and of course about the four German Oscars for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

Here you can find an overview of all winners and nominees:
https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2023
 

Every year on March 10th, the entire franchise of the Italian plumber is celebrated with the MAR10 DAY! Originally brought to life by fans, it was then also adopted by Nintendo a few years ago, who have since come up with many Mario-related specials every year for the holiday.

To ring in the day properly, Illumination has now also released the final trailer for »The Super Mario Bros. Movie«, which again promises lots of action and humor. Both this and the first trailer, which was released at the end of last year, and the charming Mario and Luigi plumbing commercial get us in the mood for the film that the animation studio has created in cooperation with Nintendo.

Fans of the franchise will have to wait a little longer before they can experience the adventures of Mario and his allies Princess Peach and Toad as they battle the villain Bowser and his henchmen on screen. The film starts in cinemas in April. Here you can watch the final trailer:
https://youtu.be/RjNcTBXTk4I 

For today we wish you a nice MARIO DAY!

Thursday is cinema day! At the moment there are three exciting new releases.

In »65« Adam Driver plays an astronaut who is stranded on a prehistoric Earth and has to contend with dinosaurs. Let's see what this film can do. In any case, it will be better than »Jurassic World Dominion«. But well, that doesn't take much.

Scream VI takes the action to the Big Apple and sees Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera and Courteney Cox encounter a Ghostface that promises to be very different. We're missing Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott a bit, but the trailers definitely make us want to see part VI. Looking at the rating, the film seems to be pretty bloody. Our visit to the cinema will show whether the creators have come up with something new or whether they are just re-heating their own franchise soup.

Probably the most important new start of the week is the strongly autobiographical »The Fabelmans« by the legendary director Steven Spielberg. Spielberg takes us with him on his journey back to his own childhood and of course it's also about his love for cinema. The film is being considered an Oscar candidate and we’re looking forward to this very personal look back and are curious to see what light the film will shed on other Spielberg works. The film is also the last collaboration with John Williams, who provided the soundtrack to many Spielberg films. Like the films themselves, his tracks for »Jaws« and »Indiana Jones« have become classics. The 91-year-old has announced that he will be putting down the batons after the Fabelmans. Thank you for the music, John!

The still young streaming provider Paramount+ already has a couple of hits in its program that increase its attractiveness. In addition to the »Star Trek« series, productions such as the mystery series »From«, the mystery horror drama »Yellowjackets« and of course the western drama »Yellowstone« and its prequels »1923« and »1883« deserve attention. Another highlight penned by show creator Taylor Sheridan will start on March 19 and is about to conquer the hearts of series fans. We're talking about »Tulsa King« with Sylvester Stallone in his first leading role in a TV show!

After serving 25 years in prison, Mafioso Dwight 'The General' Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to expand his employer's criminal operations. However, the General quickly discovers that his mob family has other interests and slowly builds a crew of unlikely characters to create a new criminal empire.

You can watch the trailer here:
https://youtu.be/aaQSScwZPbA

With pithy one-liners as the out-of-time mobster, Stallone is as charismatic as he is intriguing, dressing his fish-out-of-water role with incredible presence and a great sense of self-mockery. A clear case for our watch list!

DEAD RINGERS is the name of a lesser known but in fan circles nevertheless highly appreciated Cronenberg film. The 1988 horror drama about identical twins and gynecologists and their psychological abnormalities brought many a viewer to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

This classic, based on a novel by Jack Geasland and Bari Wood, we can soon experience as a new interpretation in a 6-part mini-series. In the new version, the male twins are replaced by female counterparts. Here we will see Rachel Weisz ((»The Lobster«, »The Constant Gardener«) in a double role.  

A few days ago, the first teaser saw the light of day. It is not very informative, but at least gives us a brief glimpse of a feature that was already the focus of the original: the relationship between the identical twins, their very different personalities and the negative dynamics that develop as a result.

You can stream DEAD RINGERS on Prime Video starting April 21st - and here's the teaser:
https://youtu.be/smRrEqRShsc

Yesterday, Paramount released the first trailer for the new Ninja Turtles movie TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM. At the moment, nothing more is known about the story than the basic framework: The Turtles and their friend April O'Neil against the bad guys. A look at the voice cast at least shows that they obviously tried to include as many known antagonists of the Turtles as possible. Among them are Baxter Stockman, Bebop and Rocksteady. If you can trust the official voice list, then both arch-enemy Shredder and good old homie Casey Jones are missing. 

Even if the film seems to be aimed at a (very?) young audience, the art style of the animation will certainly thrill older Turtles fans. It was significantly influenced by the sketches that director Jeff Rowe made in his teenage years.

Starting in August, you can experience TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM in the cinema. Of course, we are also excited about which new collectibles might be available for the theatrical release. Because let's be honest: Nobody’s opposed to an extra portion of Cowabunga in their showcase ;) 

For cool TMNT collectibles click here: 
https://www.space-figuren.de/Series/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles:::4682_4936.html?language=en

Here you can find the trailer: 
https://youtu.be/eFpl4nG3bj8

100 years Disney! Of course, the mouse company was allowed to celebrate itself and transform an in-house theme park attraction into a movie. Even if they already did it in the case of »Haunted Mansion« exactly 20 years ago. But after 100 years it's okay to repeat yourself and adapt all of the beloved cartoon classics into live-action films that are not always quite so lovable, but always politically correct.

After all, »Haunted Mansion« has a top-class cast with Jamie Lee Curtis, Rosario Dawson, Winona Ryder, Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield and Danny DeVito. Maybe it will be good, but we are a bit skeptical about the trailer and the whole thing looks a bit too much like a family film from the drawing board.

Guillermo del Toro was originally meant to direct the film, but Disney feared it would be too dark and not family friendly. Too bad - the del Toro version would have actually interested us more. Here's the trailer:
https://youtu.be/gartMjonTXc

The IRON STUDIOS Inside Day in February was all about Brazilian Carnival. But don't worry: The Collectibles forge had more to offer than flat jokes and funny costumes. Collectors were able to catch many glimpses of upcoming high quality pieces. We have compiled a small overview of the highlights of the show for you.


Mando's N-1 Starfighter: This statue was presented to the world public for the first time at CCXP 2022 and is the first spaceship that was realized by IRON STUDIOS. And judging by the first impressions, the Brazilians have also mastered this art. The statue is expected to come in 1/20 format.

King Namor: The 1/10 statue is based on Namor's portrayal in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever". Particularly impressive is the Latin American-style feather decoration as well as the base, which was adorned with a shark and coral, among other things.

Iron Giant and Hogarth Hughes: This 1/20 statue was especially designed to emphasize the gigantic element of the metal man. On the one hand, this was accomplished by using miniature trees with the giant standing in the middle. On the other hand, there is little Hogarth, who has found his place in the palm of his great protector.

Rocksteady and Bebop: two of the most famous antagonists of the TMNT franchise find their realization in 1/10 format. Both characters have been implemented with a certain amount of mangy charm, without sacrificing their classic identification features. Both the old and the new generation of TMNT fans will have their bright joy with these statues!

She-Ra: For MOTU and 1/10 fans an absolute must-buy. She-Ra in a heroic pose under the observation of the cute owl Kowl.

Pope Ares: In addition to all the figures based on the works of Western franchises, we are pleased that IRON STUDIOS does not close itself off to the field of manga. The 1/10 statue shown in the show was a prototype worth seeing. We are already curious about the final product!

Coral: The first 1/10 statue from the in-house "Residiuum" universe got some nice updates. Among other things, the statue was decorated with a variety of different Boogie Bears. The overall product looks even more chaotic and colorful. It will be interesting to see in which version Coral will be released.

Mickey Fantasia: The deluxe version of this statue was already presented at the last CCXP. If you like it a bit more reduced, you can now also use the normal version presented here, which only depicts Mickey Mouse.


Want to watch the show yourself? Just click the following link:
https://youtu.be/eY-CvZob5T8

Here you can pre-order (most of) the statues:
https://www.space-figuren.de/products_pre.php?filter_id%5B0%5D=314&filter%5B0%5D%5B0%5D=40

This week, MGM and Warner Bros. are bringing »Creed III« to the cinema. Unfortunately, this time Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa is not on board. Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, the son of the deceased Apollo Creed, has taken over directing.

About the plot: After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed thrives in both his career and family life. But then his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) reappears. After his long prison sentence, he wants to prove that he deserves a chance in the ring. Due to their past, the clash between the former friends turns into more than just a fight. And so Adonis must put his future on the line to face off against Damian - a fighter who has nothing to lose.

In the opinion of most critics, the result is a pretty solid boxing film, but it doesn't quite come close to the two predecessors. As with »Ant-Man«, Jonathan Majors is receiving special recognition for his role as the antagonist. The man plays his part just great and refines this film as well.

Check out the trailer:
https://youtu.be/xTaIZo8OJYE

Straight through - never was this phrase more appropriate than in the short but impressive fight between Future Trunks and Mecha Frieza in Dragon Ball Z.

When Frieza landed on earth with his father to kill Son Goku and wipe out humanity, he was confronted by a young man with a sword. This young man was Trunks (son of Vegeta and Bulma), who cut through the self proclaimed Emperor of the Universe with one swipe before slicing him into small "bite-sized" pieces.

The manufacturer Tamashii Nations took this scene as a model and created the incredibly detailed and lovingly painted FiguartsZERO statue. Very high-quality and a great addition to any Dragon Ball Collection. Therefore - and because Tobi vehemently insisted - we made this statue our PRODUCT OF THE MONTH in March. At this point we would like to emphasize again: deservedly so (and no, there's no sword being held in front of us right now 😉)!

Of course we are mre than READY for the next adventure - as two years of waiting on the new season of »The Mandalorian« surely is enough 😅.

From today, Din Djarin and Grogu are taking us along their journey throughout the galaxy. Kicking off with the first episode »The Apostate«, of course on Disney+. So get on your armor, fire the converters and take off 🌌!

What? You really didn‘t know that our Tobi was a child star in Hollywood long before his stellar career at S.P.A.C.E?!? In this 🚀 ABGESPACED 🚀 episode we will enlighten you 😀!

https://youtu.be/0g-Tw01UQgs

Join him and Sven on their journey into the collectibles Labyrinth. Not only will you encounter Jareth the Goblin King, but you'll also come across Ant-Man, Super Mario, Eric Draven, David Hasselhoff and even Clint Eastwood, among others. Sounds exciting? Then have fun with your monthly dose of NEWS FROM THE FIGURE UNIVERSE!

From February 16th to 26th 2023, a wide audience gathered in Berlin for the 73rd International Film Festival - the BERLINALE 2023! For the first time in three years, the festival could take place again in attendance. In addition to all kinds of prominent guests from the film industry, there were also then thousands viewers.

During the eleven-day festival, visitors could choose between hundreds of films. As always, the program is quite varied. In addition to some political contributions, as well as a lot of art house and independent films, there was also something for horror fans: »Infinity Pool« and the Norwegian horror thriller »Talk to Me« were shown, among others. Animated film lovers also got their money's worth. To mark its 100th anniversary, Walt Disney Animation Studios is celebrating its beginnings with a collection of short films. Also, »Suzume« might be interesting for fans of anime.

And while many classics in this year's retrospective program on the theme YOUNG AT HEART – COMING OF AGE AT THE MOVIES were shown at the festival - from »Ferris Bueller's Day Off" to »Rebel Without a Cause«, »Rumble Fish« and »Muriel's Wedding« - one man was the main spot light: Steven Spielberg. The legendary director was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award ahead of the main awards ceremony on Saturday. And of course, to celebrate, some of his biggest films were played, including »E.T.«, »Jaws«, »Raiders of the Lost Ark« and his most recent film, »The Fabelmans«.

This year, rather surprisingly, the Golden Bear went to the French documentary »Sur l'Adamant«. The German film »Roter Himmel« by Christian Petzold received the Grand Jury Prize. The script prize also went to Germany. Angela Schanelec was honored for her Oedipus adaptation »Music«. The Silver Bear for Best Leading Role went to nine-year-old Sofía Otero in the film »20,000 Species of Bees«.

We remember: there was a real TikTok hype around M3GAN, the first horror film of our young year. And because the producers also wanted to sell tickets to the generation of braces, the film was shortened for an appropriate age rating. The much bloodier unrated version is now available digital and on Blu-ray / DVD - and there's a mega(n) funny trailer out:
https://youtu.be/gdl_vE7nW-E

The mean doll M3GAN in a Barbie styled commercial - just great, isn't it 😉? By the way, M3GAN would really make an excellent collectible, preferably a 1/6 figure 😆 ...

Today we would like to draw your attention to a video that Sideshow Collectibles have published on their YouTube channel. In it they give us a little inside look at the CLINT EASTWOOD LEGACY COLLECTION:
https://youtu.be/sNgUD02IcaA

In the video, not only do many of the involved Sideshow artists have their say and talk about their work and philosophy, but Clint Eastwood himself is also a guest at the Sideshow headquarters in Los Angeles! The grand old man of American cinema is visibly touched and impressed by his film-accurate 1:6 scale depictions.

So far, The Man With No Name from »The Good, The Bad and The Ugly«, Harry Callahan from »Dirty Harry« and The Preacher from »Pale Rider« have been released or announced in the Clint Eastwood Legacy Collection:
space-figuren.de/clint

But the line still continues! In the video we can already catch a first glimpse of »The Outlaw Josey Wales«. And that's not all, because the Sideshow team is already working on the first Premium Format figures in 1:4 scale!

Clint Eastwood's long career still provides material for numerous iconic screen legends from Bill Munny in »Unforgiven« to Walt Kowalski in »Gran Torino«. Or maybe something completely different, perhaps as astronaut Frank Corvin in »Space Cowboys« ...? All figures that we would be very happy about.

In which role would you like to see Clint Eastwood in his Legacy Collection or have him standing in your showcase?