1. Cannes Festival names its jury

The 2016 Cannes Film Festival now has itself a jury – nine good film-type people and true – ahead of the start of proceedings on May 11. Joining George Miller, who’ll be presiding over things in his role of Jury President, are familiar names like Donald Sutherland, Kirsten Dunst and Mads Mikkelsen as well as less familiar names like French writer/director Arnaud Desplechin, Italian actor/director Valeria Golino and Iranian producer Katayoon Shahabi. László Nemes and Vanessa Paradis complete the council of nine.

Running May 11 – 22, the 69th edition of the festival boasts a pretty imposing lineup; with Andrea Arnold, Xavier Dolan, Woody Allen, Ken Loach, Nicolas Winding-Refn and Pedro Almodóvar among those exhibiting new projects. Make sure to keep checking One Room With A View because our very own Nick Evan-Cook will be bringing you all the insight that’s fit to regurgitate from the streets and cineplexes of sunny France. And also because we produce really good stuff, in general.

2. We have our Lara (Croft)

OK, we’ll come out and say it: we really, really, really wanted to see Daisy Ridley as Lara Croft in the long-awaited Tomb Raider reboot. With a heavy heart we must report that the role has been snapped up by none other than Megan Fox. Ha. Only joking. Imagine that? No, news is in that The Danish Girl‘s Oscar-winning wonder Alicia Vikander is now set to don the infamous shorts as 90s gaming sensation Lara Croft.

While it’s disappointing that Daisy Ridley lost on a role she supposedly campaigned hard for, Alicia Vikander is absolutely a great alternative. With upcoming roles in Jason Bourne and The Light Between Oceans, Vikander’s plate is certainly full, but with her in the lead you can add Tomb Raider to the ever-growing list of films to get excited about.

3. Daisy Ridley eyes The Lost Wife

Alicia Vikander isn’t the only one whose schedule is set to match their rigorous work ethic. Between saving the galaxy in future instalments of the Star Wars saga – who knows if this will be the case, but it’s a fair guess that the galaxy will need saving somehow – Daisy Ridley is currently attached to an adaptation of Alyson Richman’s World War II novel The Lost Wife (via Variety).

Set predominantly in Prague during the Nazi occupation, The Lost Wife, which has been adapted by Marc Klein, follows two young lovers Lenka and Josef whose lives are shattered by the invasion. While nothing has yet been confirmed, this would be an exciting opportunity to see if Ridley has the potential for a more straightforwardly dramatic role.

Courtesy of: Disney.

4. X-men: Apocalypse trailer features shouting, hoarse men

There’s action and shouting aplenty in the third (and likely final) X-Men: Apocalypse trailer ahead of its release on May 18. If you’re spoiler shy, it might be an idea to give this one a wide berth but otherwise go nuts – there’s a whole lot of explosions and backstory, as well as the requisite nods and winks. Starring far too many people to actually list, Apocalypse sees Bryan Singer returning to the director’s chair and James McAvoy to the weird mutant-finding chair with the wire-strewn helmet.

5. A Shocker on Shock Street – Goosebumps 2 is go

Calling all creeps! Sony execs have reportedly given the go-ahead for Jack Black and director Rob Letterman to return for a Goosebumps sequel [via The Hollywood Reporter]. While it looked like middling reviews would put the original’s box office prospects into deep trouble – and despite modern kids protesting “you don’t scare me” – Goosebumps managed a respectable $148 million worldwide from a $58 million budget. So, with dozens of other stories in the series to draw from, R.L. Stine’s classic 90’s franchise could prove to be a reliable earner for Sony so long as they choose their source material correctly – come on, take a punt on Revenge Of The Lawn Gnomes. Still, if there’s one piece of advice Stine left for Sony, it’s be careful what you wish for… and stay out of the basement.

6. Alien: Covenant’s viral campaign kicks off

For all its glaring flaws, one thing that Prometheus really did nail was the marketing campaign. In fact the slow drip feed of stills, clips, and that fantastic trailer proved arguably greater than the film itself. While Prometheus is not without its fans and is by no means a bad film, its failings have diluted the expectation surrounding its follow-up Alien: Covenant.

Plot details are still scarce and, given the August 2017 release date, we are a long way from getting anything resembling a trailer, but the first image has been released…

Courtesy of: Fox.

7. Watership Down gets some leads

The upcoming remake of Watership Down is a curious project. Co-funded by BBC and Netflix, the four part blockbuster adaptation of Richard Adams’ classic 1972 novel has now seen James McAvoy and Sir Ben Kingsley join John Boyega, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Hoult, and Gemma Arterton, a veritable who’s who of the British film industry (via BBC).

Adams’ novel has previously been adapted into the notoriously traumatising 1978 film. Despite a knotty philosophical centre and graphic rabbit-on-rabbit violence throughout, the film remains a classic. Worryingly, the BBC have said that they plan to tone down the violence, therefore expect this to be a genuinely family friendly affair and not the haunting rite of passage that the earlier version remains. Still, one hell of a cast!

8. Lionsgate signs deal to distribute films via Steam

Lionsgate has agreed a deal to make its back catalogue available on Valve’s online gaming portal and dedicated time sink, Steam. Boasting upwards of 125 million registered accounts, Steam will soon allow users to purchase or rent films from Lionsgate’s back catalogue, including instalments from The Hunger Games and the Saw series. At the time of writing, however, the UK selection is limited to the Leprechaun franchise and such cinematic delights as Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland.

Though its virtual walls are adorned with well over 6000 games for sale, Steam has only recently started offering films – its selection generally restricted to video game-related material like Indie Game: the Movie. However, with the Lionsgate deal and the recent release of the Mad Max franchise on the platform, it looks like Valve could be making a serious move into the movie market.

9. Oliver Stone’s Snowden gets a trailer

At his best Oliver Stone is one of America’s great filmmakers. Admittedly, in the wake of films such as Savages, W., and Alexander its quite clear that the three time Oscar winner is not on a hot streak. Perhaps that is set to change with Snowden, a dramatic account of the infamous whistle-blower’s whistle-blowing. With a cast that includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Tom Wilkinson, Nic Cage and Rhys Ifans, this one is well worth keeping an eye on.

10. Disney realises this whole live action thing just might work

Having made themselves a little room in their schedule by moving Inhumans off the Marvel 3.0 slate, Disney have now gone ahead and scheduled themselves a whole bunch of live action movies [via Variety]. The stonking success of The Jungle Book (as well as Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella) has emboldened the House of Mouse to push forward with further live action retellings. As well as the previously-mooted Mary Poppins sequel, with the now-confirmed Emily Blunt starring, Disney is also planning Cruella, a 101 Dalmatians spinoff with Emma Stone and Tinker Bell with Reese Witherspoon. Plus Jon Favreau will be returning to direct a sequel to The Jungle Book and Angelina Jolie will be back for Maleficent 2.

Hell, this idea of non-animated animations is such a surefire thing that several are set to go up against some of the other studios’ big hitters, notably Sony’s animated Spiderman flick (21/12/18) and their reboot of Jumanji (28/7/17). The unconfirmed and almost certain to change calendar reads as follows:

Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) – 28/07/17

Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) – 6/4/18

Untitled Disney Live Action – on 3/8/18

Untitled Disney Live Action – 25/12/18

Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) – 20/12/19

• SON & EF