From Woody Harrelson to Paul Mescal, from Vijay Babu to Ragini Dwivedi and more

Welcome to your daily dose of entertainment news on OTTplay, i'm your host Nikhil. Let's look at the top stories.

Woody Harrelson joins the cast of Project Artemis

The three-time Oscar-nominated actor Woody Harrelson is the latest addition to the cast of the forthcoming Apple Original film Project Artemis. Further details on his role are yet to be revealed. The 60s space race film also features Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson and Magic Mike star Channing Tatum in leading roles.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is set to star in the upcoming thriller Wildfire

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez from Pose is set to play one of the leads in the film Wildfire. Written by Chaya Doswell, the plot revolves around a seven-year-old child named Lu who comes from an abusive home who inadvertently triggers a wildfire. Rodriguez, who’s best known for her turn in the Primetime Emmy-winning series Pose, will play a trans woman called Merribelle who shares a special bond with Lu in the film.

Avatar: The Way of Water will screen in China for 30 more days

After breaking multiple box office records across the world, it seems like Avatar: The Way of Water has surely performed beyond expectations. Unfortunately, the film was released during the new COVID-19 wave in China. This naturally affected the film's success considering the zero tolerance Covid restrictions enforced across the country. But new reports claim that government regulators have now allowed Disney to screen the film in Chinese theatres for 30 more days. Where there’s a will, there’s a way – the way of water, in this case.

Paul Mescal is set to star in Richard Linklater's Merrily We Roll Along

Richard Linklater is famously known for shooting films in real-time. His award-winning film Boyhood which was filmed in the span of 12 years is a testament to this theory. Currently, he is using the same process for his project Merrily We Roll Along, an adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along which spans twenty years. Unsurprisingly, Linklater plans to follow the same timeline for this film as well. The film stars Paul Mescal who will replace Blake Jenner as the lead.

The Walking Dead franchise is set to continue into the year 2024

The release date has been set for the next four shows in The Walking Dead universe. The next season of Fear the Walking Dead will premiere on May 14. It will be followed by the next project The Walking Dead: Dead City starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan. The year will end with The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon series. Finally, Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira’s series will debut in 2024.

The censored version of Kuttey has replaced curse words with more curse words

The censored copy of Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming film Kuttey makes us curious about the tools used by the CBFC to rate films. The changes recommended by the CBFC include replacing various cuss words with other cuss words. So MC is replaced by BC, BC is replaced by….you get the drift. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu, Arjun Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Radhika Madan, Kumud Mishra and Shardul Bhardwaj in prominent roles and is slated to release in theatres on January 13, 2023.

Vijay Babu’s production house backs a film on stray dogs

VFX has come a long way in Indian Cinema in recent years, but the makers of the upcoming Malayalam film Valatty: Tale of Tails are opting for a different approach for their new film. The film is a love story involving canines, and the experimental film is about the lives of adopted dogs. Real-life trained dogs are used for the filming process instead of VFX. The film is being produced by controversial actor Vijay Babu’s production house. The director Devan revealed that the film is his dream project.

Ragini Dwivedi is set to make her Bollywood debut

Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi has wrapped up 2022 on a high note. She recently completed her first schedule for her debut Bollywood film in London titled Walker House. She has been working in several films over the last year and six of them will be released in 2023. Her first Bollywood film happens to be a supernatural thriller which stars Parambrata Chatterjee as a cop. The film is largely shot across Britain, including Heathrow and Chester in England, and in the northern regions of Wales.

Well that's the Sizzling Samachar episode for today, until the next one it's your host Nikhil signing out.

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• Written by Sneha Singh