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The Christmas Chronicles Doesn’t Understand Why it Exists

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If you’re making a movie ambitious enough to have Kurt Russell as Santa Claus then make the movie about Kurt Russell as Santa Claus. In theory the idea is pure genius and Russell is a big enough star that people of all backgrounds will watch just to see how it turns out. It turns out it’s a dud.

I have the feeling that The Christmas Chronicles started out as a very different movie. From the get-go it has all the tropes of a Lifetime Christmas movie. There’s a happy, middle-class family with the usual set of hyper-realistic drama. This family isn’t just having normal troubles; one of their children is stealing cars with his friends because he misses his father. Things like that which are just absurd enough to suspend your disbelief.

But Kurt Russell is Santa Claus! Unfortunately he doesn’t even show up until a half-hour into the movie. When he does though, the whole tone changes and the movie becomes infinitely better. That’s probably because Russell is acting on a level light years ahead of the rest of the cast. It’s not that their bad actors either, but they performing a made for TV movie while Russell is making another memorable character. There’s a huge difference.

Even once Russell’s Santa shows up it’s still not enough to get the movie back on track. The story keeps finding ways to get rid of him for long stretches of time, which makes no sense. A little tweaking would have made all the difference. Simply make the whole movie from Russell’s perspective and everything changes. The audience wants to know about him, not these cookie cutter family drama types.

There are hints that Russell inhabits a very unique world. His sleigh is filled with all kinds of gadgets and he seems to follow a very strict set of rules. More than that he has a pretty solid worldview and isn’t afraid to guilt the kids for ruining Christmas for half the globe. I want to see that movie. Imagine Tim Allen’s Santa Claus rebooted with Kurt Russell. That’s one that would get watched over and over again.

Instead the audience gets this mostly by-the-book story with one truly compelling character. It’s just not enough to sustain multiple viewings, I struggled with the first one. Still, there are ways to get it back on track. Do a sequel following only Russell and you’re golden. He’s a talented enough actor that he can make anything watchable. The fact that he was willing to even do this movie says volumes. Let’s hope he’s willing to do more VOD things in the future because it really does let him spread his wings a bit.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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