hollywood q&a
Late laughs
By Adam Thomlison
TV Media
A Little Late With
Lilly Singh
Q: Is the new “Jumanji”
movie the third movie in
the series, or the fourth? I
heard someone say it was
the fourth but I only know of
three.
A: Anyone saying that “Ju-
manji: The Next Level” is the
third “Jumanji” movie is making
the understandable mistake
of forgetting about “Zathura:
A Space Adventure.” And to be
fair, the director of “Zathura”
made a point of forgetting about
“Jumanji.”
Both “Jumanji” (1995) and
“Zathura” (2005) were based
on children’s books written by
Chris Van Allsburg. The “Za-
thura” book was a direct sequel
— the “Jumanji” book ends by
introducing the main “Zathura”
characters. The “Zathura” book
starts with those characters in-
tending to play the same board
game from the first book, but
underneath that board they find
a second game, called Zathura.
All that continuity is stripped
from the movies. Their only com-
monality is that both movies are
about board games that trans-
form the world around them as
they’re played.
Jon Favreau, who directed the
film “Zathura,” said in an inter-
view with the Los Angeles Daily
News that he thought 1995’s
“Jumanji” was “too compli-
cated” and “went down a lot of
dead ends,” and he didn’t want
people to link his movie to that
one.
But the studio disagreed, and
so the poster for “Zathura” said
that it existed in the same uni-
verse as “Jumanji.”
Therefore, “Jumanji: The Next
Level” is, in fact, the fourth mov-
ie in the series and it, at least,
maintained a definite link to its
predecessor, 2017’s “Jumanji:
Welcome to the Jungle.”
Not only did they not wait
another decade between se-
quels this time, but they also
kept the same characters and
even actors, with Dwayne John-
son (“Ballers”), Karen Gillan
(“Avengers: Endgame,” 2019),
Jack Black (“The Brink”) and
Kevin Hart (“Ride Along,” 2014
reprising their roles.
If you haven’t seen “Zathu-
ra,” it’s worth a watch. At least,
You can tell
how old
someone is
just by asking
them what their
first gaming system was.
Mine was the original
Nintendo, my older sister
had an Atari, and my
parents had the one where
you’re in a car going as fast
as you can while a hundred
other cars drive towards
you and you’re constantly
swerving to avoid hitting
pedestrians. It was called
“driving in India.”
12 | Screentime
Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan in “Jumanji: The
Next Level”
according to DenofGeek.com it
by meaningful glances at the
is — they admitted it was “easy
Christmas party and the fact
to forget” about this entry in the that Bill carries a photo of the
franchise, but called it “a terrific
two of them together, and so it’s
movie worthy of reappraisal.”
only at the end, with that tear,
that the idea is confirmed.
Q: Can you explain the end
At least, that’s as close to
of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” “confirmed” as anything is in
for me? Why did [spoiler] kill
this movie.
[other spoiler]?
A: Sorry for tinkering with
Q: Did Tom Hanks and
your question (get it?), but I had
Colin Hanks ever share the
to protect anyone who hasn’t
screen together?
yet seen the movie or read the
A: Yes, but less often than you
book. So, if you haven’t and you
might think.
plan to, read no further.
Actor Colin Hanks and his
If you have seen the movie
super-megastar dad Tom have
and still don’t understand the
acted in a grand total of two
end, you’re probably not alone.
movies together, though they’ve
The two best words to describe
been on the same set a number
2011’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier
of other times.
Spy” would be “complex” and
On screen, they’ve only
“subtle.” It’s not surprising that
worked together on 2008’s “The
a Cold War-era spy drama would Great Buck Howard,” in which
be complex, but you could argue they also play father and son,
that the intricate political plot-
and in Tom’s weird 1996 comedy
ting and conspiracy in the film
passion project “That Thing You
are only excuses for a rich char-
Do!”
acter study, all of which is com-
They came close to acting
municated almost wordlessly.
together in another of Tom’s
And so at the end, Jim Prideaux
passion projects, the hit minise-
(Mark Strong, “Temple”) kills
ries “Band of Brothers,” which
Bill Haydon (Colin Firth, “The
he produced and occasionally
King’s Speech,” 2010) as much
directed. Both Hankses acted in
for personal reasons as political
episodes of the series, but never
ones.
the same ones.
Politically, Bill, an MI-6 secret
But for Hollywood power
agent, was selling secrets to the
players like the Hankses, there’s
Soviets, and one of those secrets more than one way to work
got Jim shot and tortured in
together. For example, Tom was
Hungary. Jim wanted revenge
a producer of the 2013 drama
against the traitor, and so shot
“Parkland,” which Colin ap-
him down with a sniper rifle. Fair peared in.
enough. But why the single tear
And, in the most adorable
running down his cheek as he
case, Colin was a production
pulls the trigger?
assistant on Tom’s smash-hit
Because, of course (except
historical drama “Apollo 13” in
not of course, because this is
1995, when he was just 18.
never said outright), Jim was
Have a question? Email us
in love with Bill, and had been
at questions@tvtabloid.com.
since they were at college to-
Please include your name and
gether. This is only ever hinted
town.
at in the course of the movie,
January 15, 2020 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Conan
HBO’s “The
Watchmen”
aired its
season finale
on Sunday.
Critics are saying the first
season ended so perfectly
the show should not be
renewed. Ladies and
gentlemen, that is exactly
the reason I’ve been on the
air for 26 years.
It’s been reported that in
the upcoming film version
of “Cats,” the editors
digitally removed an actor’s
penis. When asked about it,
the actor said, “I wish they
did it digitally!”
The Tonight Show
Starring
Jimmy
Fallon
something that long, it
ended with Voldemort
fighting Harry Potter.
Kids are now using money
apps instead of piggy
banks. It’s gonna get even
weirder when kids tell the
Tooth Fairy, “Just Venmo
me.”
A Russian spy ship was just
spotted sailing off the
coast of Florida. Trump
heard that and was like,
“That’s not a spy ship,
that’s my getaway vehicle.”
The Late Late Show
with James Corden
A man accused of stealing
a car showed up to his
court date in another
stolen car. The judge came
down pretty hard. He
sentenced the man to two
cameo roles in the next
two “Fast &
Furious”
sequels.
A study has
just come out
showing that, for
most people, a gluten-free
diet has zero health
benefits. According to the
study, it costs three times
as much to avoid eating
gluten — that’s a lot of
bread for not a lot of
bread.
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Leading up
to Christmas,
Target is staying
open extra late for
shoppers. While over at
Walmart, the windows are
still smashed from Black
Friday, so you can come
and go anytime.
The president surprised
everyone today by sending
a six-page letter to Nancy
Pelosi, the Speaker of the
House. This might be the
most deranged letter to
Santa ever. It is a long,
stupid, disingenuous and
incoherent defense, signed
by an angry
gorilla with a
Sharpie.
House Democrats put out a
658-page report that
details why Trump should
be impeached. Who is
gonna read 658 pages? The
last time Americans read
You know,
this is
actually an
interesting place to come
into work. Right outside
that door is the Hollywood
Walk of Fame, which is
overflowing with tourists
and people dressed as
superheroes. Today, I got
to see what Captain
Marvel would look like as
a chain-smoking old man
in a wig.
Last night in Washington
Nancy Pelosi roasted the
president’s chestnuts pretty
good.
Late Night
With Seth
Meyers
A whistle-
blower com-
plaint has been
filed accusing the
Mormon Church of stock-
piling $100 billion that
should have been given
to charities. “Wow, that’s
the worst thing a church
has ever done,” said the
Pope.
President Trump was
impeached today.
Though, I think it’s a
little like having a
raccoon in your garage
and poking it with a
broom. It’s still there, it’s
just mad now.
Weekend Update
I’m a little disappointed in
Trump. I knew he would
snap, but I thought it’d be
fun, like Tupac in ‘96. this is
more sad, like Britney in
‘07.
Singer Jason Derulo, who
plays Rum Tum Tugger in
the movie “Cats,” said
that filmmakers digitally
edited out his bulge.
Even stranger, they
edited it onto Dame Judi
Dench.
A man in California was
kicked off a JetBlue flight
after bringing his pet
possum on the plane.
While at Spirit Airlines,
that’s what falls down
when you need an oxygen
mask.