HBO Max Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of ‘The Wire’

Fresh on the heels of the finale of We Own This City, HBO is commemorating David Simon’s original and uncompromising look into corruption and policing in Baltimore, The Wire, two decades after it transformed the television landscape forever.

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Tyla Talks Task Force X: An Interview with Storm Reid of ‘The Suicide Squad’

The Suicide Squad is my favorite movie of the year so far. James Gunn’s tribute to the pulpy demented works of John Ostrander’s DC run in the ’80s is bloody, bold, and brilliantly surreal. And none of it would be possible if it wasn’t for a stolen Style Watch!

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‘The Suicide Squad’ and the Funniest. Press. Conference. Ever!

Oh boy. Buckle up nerds! The Suicide Squad is coming! I’m not talking about the movie, by the way. I’m talking about the most insane and hilarious group of people I’ve ever seen at a press conference.

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‘The Suicide Squad’ Set Visit: It’s Harley Quinn’s Multiverse, We’re Just Living and Dying In It

In late 2019, which seems a whole world ago, The Nerds Of Color were invited to Atlanta, GA to visit the set of The Suicide Squad, which premieres on HBO Max and in theaters this Friday, August 6. Early reviews of the sequel/not-a-sequel are already out, and here’s a few more things we learned from the set visit about the “shitty supervillain” war caper film, based on the DC Comics.

SPOILERS FOLLOW! Also, possibly, opinions.

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NOC Review: ‘The Suicide Squad’ is Pure Comic Book Punk Rock

You’ll have to forgive me for geeking out just a bit here. But I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this insane movie twice now, and I still want more. I cannot begin to describe to you all how much I enjoyed this movie the first time, and even how much more I enjoyed it the second time around. The Suicide Squad is James Gunn off the leash! And I think comic book movies will be better for it!

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Squad Goals with ‘The Suicide Squad’ Director James Gunn

Man, I love this gig!

It’s not every day you’re afforded the opportunity to chat with one of your favorite filmmakers. And this past week, I got that chance! The Nerds of Color, along with other media outlets, was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the one and only James Gunn — Director of Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming The Suicide Squad!

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Squad Up with a New Trailer for ‘The Suicide Squad’

We got a new trailer for The Suicide Squad coming in hot, people! Apparently there was some confusion and the entire thing “leaked” today, causing mass chaos on Twitter. But now director James Gunn, himself, has just tweeted it out, so it’s now out in the open, you can now see everything Laura Sirikul described in her article for yourselves. It’s definitely your mission to watch it all and enjoy with a big-ass smile on your face, like I did! 😀

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There’s, Apparently, a New ‘Suicide Squad’ Trailer?

Fans of the upcoming Suicide Squad film — myself included — may have noticed some footage going around on the internet this morning. It looks to be a new trailer for the James Gunn-directed reboot The Suicide Squad.

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New Details and Image from ‘The Suicide Squad’ Explode Online

We’re inching closer to the release of James Gunn’s high octane film, The Suicide Squad! And in a recent interview, Gunn spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what we can expect about the film, and revealed a new image through the publication, but also revealed a few tidbits of information from recent tweets including:

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‘The Suicide Squad’ Trailer Brings in the Big “Gunns”

James Gunn is back baby! And this time, he’s bringing us a new Squad! That’s right! The Guardians of the Galaxy director is aiming to unify all of comic book fandom by introducing us to his unique vision of The Suicide Squad! And let me tell you, this trailer has got me feeling all sorts of tingly excitement inside!

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DC FanDome: Enter ‘The Suicide Squad’

Oh man, the anticipation is killing me! Today during DC FanDome, James Gunn and the full cast of The Suicide Squad, including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Alice Braga, John Cena, Viola Davis, and more took to the internet to share some awesome announcements and fun for fans across the world, who have been waiting on pins and needles for the eagerly awaited follow-up. And my god. I think they may have just won the whole DC FanDome experience!

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Will Deadshot Dead Idris Elba’s Career?

Idris Elba will replace Will Smith in the James Gunn-helmed Suicide Squad, dropping in 2021. For some reason, to me, this feels like the death knell for Elba to be the monstrous movie star we all know he deserves to be. Don’t @ me, but Elba isn’t where he should and could be. He’s made some career missteps (way more in film and music than on television), but I don’t think this is why he’s bubbled for so long, instead of popping.

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Finding Dory, Disability Culture, and Collective Access

Originally posted at Disability Visibility Project

On June 25, I saw Finding Dory after reading many positive reviews and recommendations from my disabled friends. I wasn’t disappointed. There was so much to unpack and process when I got home that I decided to write this review/essay.

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Why Can’t the Next Bond be #AsianBond?

Yesterday, the movie world was shocked (not really) to learn Daniel Craig had turned down a small fortune to return to the big screen as James Bond, leaving a 007-sized hole for the franchise. Of course, the most obvious successor to the Aston Martin is Idris Elba, preferably in a Christopher Nolan-directed 007. Unfortunately, he’s “too street” to be considered, whatever that means. (We know what that means). So why not give an Asian actor a license to kill? Thus, #AsianBond was born on twitter. It’s not like there isn’t a plethora of Asian Brits who could take the role. In fact, I came up with nine. The only caveat is that they all hail from the UK, so sorry John Cho.

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Through the Looking Glass of Zootopia

>Warning: SPOILERS GALORE AHEAD<<

Nothing screams a happy children’s film more than adorably animated fluffy animals, bright vivid colors, and the powerhouse “Disney” emblazoned all over it. Filled to the brim with an elaborately built world that definitely needs more than one viewing to take in — including a training sequence reminiscent of Mulan’s and pop culture references (the nod to Breaking Bad will solicit a smile even from the biggest curmudgeon), Zootopia has everything an audience expects and more. But it is far more than adults these days will credit an animated “children’s” movie to be.

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Dark Dude, Dark Tower

Another casting announcement, another collective nerdy white boy meltdown. This time, they are directing their ire towards the rumblings that Idris Elba is “the frontrunner” for Roland Deschain in the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s brilliant (well, except for books 5 and 6) The Dark Tower series. I won’t go into why I love the series or what it is about, but for those of you who are unfamiliar or want to know more, click here. Needless to say it is Stephen King, so the series is a masterwork of imagination, storytelling, and world building. I think folks were fancasting this series in the early ’80s, with Clint Eastwood being the near unanimous choice for Deschain. Back in the day, the choice was spot on. Hell, even King alluded to it. The only clear choice for Deschain is Viggo Mortensen, not Elba.

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Too Street? No, Idris Elba is Too Big for Bond

Over the past several weeks, there has been quite a lot of net-chatter about Idris Elba’s suitability for stepping into the role of James Bond. Former Bond, Roger Moore — who, arguably, starred in some of the worst films in the franchise — was against against it; other folks were for it, and current keeper of the literary portion of the franchise, Anthony Horowitz, stated that he felt Elba was “too street” and that Adrian Lester would be a more appropriate Bond.

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Luther Remake Stalls: What Happened to Colorblind Casting?

by Marc Bernardin | Originally posted at Playboy.com

Fox wants to bring the BBC’s award-winning, frankly awesome detective thriller Luther to the U.S., but they’ve got a problem: Finding an American Idris Elba — who brought a ruthless intelligence and rugged sexuality to the role of haunted detective chief inspector John Luther — has proved too daunting a task. So, according to The Hollywood Reporter, they’ve put their remake on hold — after, apparently, entertaining the thought of Marlon Wayans as the lead.

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What if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Chooses Shazam?

by William Evans | Originally posted at Black Nerd Problems

Yes, my people, it is I, he who typically slams everything the DCU does with its movie franchises. But look, if this all but confirmed news that Dwayne Johnson will portray Shazam comes to fruition: I like this one. I really, really like this one. If we’re being 100% honest, I think the actor formerly known as the wrestler known as The Rock would be a great Black Adam. Besides the comically-not-really-him-CGI depiction in The Mummy Returns, have we really had Johnson play a villain?

If the news is to be believed, Johnson hasn’t decided which character he’ll portray, but the smart money is on Shazam, and I can’t blame him. As far as franchising, being a good guy on the Justice League is going to afford you many more opportunities in the franchise than a villain who might appear in one flick. But I digress. For the first time since Zack Snyder started signing off on costume designs, I actually like a casting choice for this Justice League universe without having to have seventeen think-pieces to convince me of it. Johnson has proven he can be heroic, goofy, lighthearted, and certainly looks the part of being a “superman-ish” hero.

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Is a Black Panther Movie Coming Soon?

It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been pretty lilly-white since its inception. Aside from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Don Cheadle as War Machine, the Marvel films heretofore have not featured very many heroes of color. That’s why so many Nerds of Color — including our very own Shawn Taylor whose advice on “How Not to Screw Up a Black Panther Film” is must reading, by the way — have been clamoring for a live action Black Panther for so long. Well, the rumor mill went into overdrive this week when Latino Review’s El Mayimbe sent out the following tweet:

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