Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 60

Warner Bros. Lets AKIRA Live-Action Rights Lapse

Warner Bros. has had the live-action film rights to Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark cyberpunk manga and anime since 2002. In that time, filmmakers as varied and diverse as Stephen Norrington, Albert Hughes, Jaume Collet-Serra, and most recently Taika Waititi had their name attached. Christopher Nolan was even rumored for a hot minute. But in that entire span of time, nothing ever made it to casting, much less production. And now WB’s time with the property hath ended. According to Deadline, the Bros. have let the rights lapse, with manga publisher Kodansha getting them back.Toho

Akira was a landmark anime film in 1988. Otomo wrote and directed the movie based on the first several chapters of his massive (and actually quite different) manga epic. Famously, it was the most expensive animated film Japan ever produced, with one cell of animation for every frame in the movie. That’s 24 frames per second, ya know. As such, it’s one of the smoothest and most expressive animated films of all time. Not to mention, its cyberpunk-meets-splatterpunk Neo-Tokyo has become the hallmark of futuristic hellhole cities. The aesthetic is everywhere. It’s a movie a think everyone should watch once a year for religious purposes.

That’s also a lot of baggage to bring to a live-action adaptation, especially from an American studio. The infamous Ghost in the Shell movie, based on the other pillar of cyberpunk anime, tanked at the box office and faced major backlash because of whitewashing the lead so Scarlett Johansson could play her. It was an expensive movie that flopped like Luguentz Dort in game seven of the NBA Finals. With such fresh stank still on an American anime adaptation, especially one so similar, no wonder WB felt like they could just let it go.

But Akira is still name people know and that makes it attractive to other studios. Deadline says the property has a bidding war from studios wanting to try their hand. It doesn’t say which studios or how much they’re bidding. If Akira does ever become a big-screen, live-action movie, we certainly hope they manage not to piss off the fan base. Or maybe just leave well enough alone.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

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NASA+ Streaming Service Is Coming to Netflix This Summer

Everyone has a streaming service these days. From Max to Peacock, there are a zillion services to sign up for and just as many things to watch. And streaming services are almost constantly in the news for price hikes and new restrictions, like ad-supported tiers. But we never thought we’d see the day where there is a NASA streaming service. Readers, that day is coming really soon. NASA announced that it will launch a streaming service called NASA+ this summer.

Unlike many other streaming services, NASA+ will be free of cost and ads, which is awesome because we love to not spend money. But, if you’re already shelling out cash for Netflix, you will be able to get NASA+ there, too!

NASAWhat Kind of Content Will Be on NASA+?

That’s a great question. NASA+ will offer live event coverage (think rocket launches) as well as original video series. No, there will not be alien talk shows nor a continuous loop of Beyoncé’s “Alien Superstar” playing. (Although we would love both of those things.) We don’t know any specifics about its upcoming content but the government agency is pretty stoked about this new offering.

“We’re putting space on demand and at your fingertips with NASA’s new streaming platform,” said Marc Etkind, associate administrator at NASA. “Transforming our digital presence will help us better tell the stories of how NASA explores the unknown in air and space, inspires through discovery, and innovates for the benefit of humanity.”

It is all a part of NASA’s revamping strategy, which will include a fresh look to its website as well as the official app. 

How Can I Get NASA+ and What Is Its Release Date? 

NASA+ will be available in the NASA app (on iOS and Android) as well as Netflix and on the internet. NASA’s new streaming service is set to arrive sometime in summer 2025, which is basically any day now.

Originally published August 2, 2023.

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Jonathan Bailey Joins Orchestra to Record JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH Soundtrack

Actor Jonathan Bailey has seen his star on the rise, thanks to a memorable performance in Wicked, Bridgerton, and soon, in Jurassic World: Rebirth. But he didn’t just act in the film. As it turns out, Jonathan Bailey was also playing in the orchestra for the recording of Jurassic World: Rebirth‘s soundtrack. When he was a teenager, Bailey played in an orchestra, and he retains a love for playing the clarinet. So he asked Rebirth director Gareth Edwards to let him sit in on the recording, and eventually, even play an instrument with the orchestra while they recorded. You can watch this video of an emotional Jonathan Bailey recording the Jurassic World: Rebirth score down below:

At first, Jonathan Bailey was content to sit in the back and not really stand out among the other musicians in the orchestra. But Jurassic World: Rebirth composer, the Oscar-nominated Alexandre Desplat, actually asked Bailey to do a clarinet solo during the soundtrack recording. And not just any solo, it plays over a scene of Bailey’s where his scientist character touches a living dinosaur for the very first time. Understandably, Bailey became overcome with emotion at getting to help create Jurassic World: Rebirth‘s soundtrack. Especially as the piece of music contains elements of John Williams’ original and iconic Jurassic Park score. We’re sure this is going to be a career highlight that will be next to impossible to top for him.

Universal Pictures

Along with Jonathan Bailey, Jurassic World: Rebirth also stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Rupert Friend. The film is directed by Rogue One and Godzilla director Gareth Edwards. The story takes place five years after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, and looks to recreate the vibes of the original 1993 Steven Spielberg classic. The writer of the original Jurassic Park, David Koepp, even returned after thirty years to write the screenplay.

Universal Pictures

Jurassic World: Rebirth arrives in theaters everywhere on July 2. Make sure to keep an ear out for Jonathan Bailey and his clarinet solo in the soundtrack when you head to Jurassic World: Rebirth yourself.

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FABULOSO! Invites You to Feel Something Real with Its Gorgeous Seasons of Dance

Let’s face it… Existence has been a complicated prospect of late. Between the world catching fire and the smaller griefs and heartbreaks we still have to contend with every day, gasping onto meaning and connection seems than ever. And if these are all too relatable sentiments, we have a welcome balm to offer you, a small escape to help you feel less alone. And that is the incredible first season of Fabuloso!, titled “Alone Together.” Whether you’ve been feeling too much of late and struggling to contend with it, or conversely feeling totally empty and looking for a way to reconnect, the beautiful movements and stories that Fabuloso! tells through its episodes of dance are here to help. Trust me, the emotional catharsis is real.

Fabuloso! introduces its first “season” of dance with the following quote. “I’ve never been good at spotting my stains. My mom taught me how. But every time a pen leaks, I still call one of my sisters to help me fix the inky black blotch.” And then offers, “Let us clean your stains.” And that is exactly what Fabuloso! does if you let yourself immerse in the beautiful work created by its talented artists. It’s like calling your family to help you clean a stain, but instead it’s calling on a vulnerable outpouring of emotion made palpable through dance and video so that you, too, can access your feelings through it, positive and negative, and let yourself be seen.

But what exactly is Fabuloso!? Fabuloso! creators Steven Bangerter and Mio Ishikawa explain that Fabuloso! is a collaborative entity that focuses on “site-sympathetic choreography, which is dance that sympathizes with the location while prioritizing a human state.” Fabuloso! has kicked off its projects with what it terms its season one, titled “Alone Together,” which features several episodes of dance devoted to the idea. And personally, we love the concept of creating and sharing seasons of dance that tell a story in the way that seasons of TV do. Dance is every bit as visual and storytelling of a medium as any other kind, and arguably one of the most emotionally evocative ones of all.

Bangerter and Ishikawa share on their Patreon, which you should definitely join, that “Everything in season one is about aloneness and togetherness, and being alone together. The music and lyrics all speak the same language.” And the movement and dancing sure do as well. The notion of videos threaded together by a theme will be happening in every season of Fabuloso!, with each theme representing one season. Of course, past seasons will continue to inform creations to come. And if “Alone Together” is any indication, they’ll all be executed to great perfection.

What struck me as I watched the incredible videos of “Alone Together” was just how perfectly they evoke that ephemeral pain in your chest, both harrowing and beautiful, that occurs when you taste the bittersweet pain of loss. There’s true grief in them, but also a vision of joy because, often, grief implies that there was also the existence of something beautiful not too long ago. And although only you alone can experience the emotions you hold, there’s a healing nature to seeing the essence of them reflected back to you through Fabuloso!‘s creations, the true gift of knowing you’re not alone in feeling this kind of feeling. Truly, these videos remind you that you are alone, together.

And, in fact, capturing these kind of states is baked right into the title of Fabuloso! Bangerter shares, “Fabuloso! is a great name. That’s the cleaner they used at Sleep No More and Life and Trust, and there’s something about smell that’s really evocative. The concept of smells, how they help your brain register memories, but it’s fleeting, then they go away, it’s magical. I’ve always been interested in how smells do that. And Sleep No More had such a distinct smell, as did Life and Trust, that now whenever I smell things, it’s just this instant nostalgia and joy and sadness all wrapped up in one, and it’s just really beautiful.”

And that instant evocation of such convoluted sensations is exactly what Fabuloso! accomplishes so gracefully in its first season of dance videos. Or as Bangerter calls them, “Little blurps of video that are little whiffs of memories” that surface, “and then they go away.” For a short and sweet time, Fabuloso! helps complicated bursts of feeling rise to the surface. Among other fluttering notes, “Alone Together” evoked in me loss, joy, grief, community, the fragile beauty of just sitting with someone you love, levity, a search for something or someone missing, loneliness, and light. But just as the bittersweet ache took over, the video ended, keeping me there for just the right amount of time.

Fabuloso!

The videos and work created by Fabuloso! are also so clearly steeped in great love and passion. For those not aware, Sleep No More and Life and Trust, mentioned above, were two incredible immersive theater performances in NYC. Fabuloso! creators Bangerter and Ishikawa performed in both together, alongside many of the incredible dancers that feature in Fabuloso!‘s projects. The recent loss of both these shows hit the community of performers who created them and the fans who loved them incredibly hard. But through Fabuloso!, Bangerter and Ishikawa hope to keep both the spirit of exploration the shows offered and the gorgeous community they manifested alive.

RELATED ARTICLE

Long Live LIFE AND TRUST—A Beautiful Immersive Theater Performance We Loved and Lost

The creators reveal that it was Ishikawa who came up with the idea, noting especially that they wanted to keep performing with the casts they adore. They were out of a job, but didn’t want to stop working together, didn’t want to stop learning and researching from people who could help them grow and evolve. And “Alone Together” is only the beginning.

For one, season two of Fabuloso! is coming, although we don’t yet know its theme. In it, Bangerter and Ishikawa aim to continue to collaborate with familiar faces to Sleep No More and Life and Trust fans, as well as create more involved stories with even greater depth (if that’s even possible, considering how exquisite Fabuloso! season one is). They also tease other projects on the horizon, including dance films, live performances, and work with artists in other disciplines.

To conclude, Ishikawa shares, “We wanted to work with people we loved and be interested in what we do. Sleep No More ended. Life and Trust ended. But our research should never end. I thought it was right to start something.” And ultimately, the results could not be more right or more meaningful.

To support and learn more about Fabuloso!, make sure to support them on Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/c/povofabuloso, and follow them on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/povofabuloso/. You can check out the entirety of season one, “Alone Together,” in order, below.

If you’d like to follow the fabulous creators and dancers featured in the videos, here they are as well: Steve Bangerter, Mio Ishikawa, Madison Olandt, Babou Sanneh, Spencer William Grossman, Hannah Straney, Ny, Lenin Fernandez Jr, Ryan VanCompernolle, and Noah Wang.

“To the povo fabuloso!” (Fabulous people!)

Fabuloso! Season 1: Alone TogetherFabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 1, Pt. 1

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 1 Pt. 2

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 2

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 3

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 4

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 5

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 6

Fabuloso! Season 1—Alone Together: Vol. 7

Side Quest

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New Coca-Cola STAR WARS Commercial Celebrates The Fans

If you were around when Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace came out, you probably remember the Pepsi promotion with the character’s face on a series of collectible cans. Someone out there probably still prizes their can of Mountain Dew with Naboo pilot Ric Olie on it. Over 25 years later, Pepsi’s rival Coca-Cola is looking to outdo that nostalgic promotion of yesteryear. This summer, they will release a new Star Wars collaboration featuring over 30 characters from the entire saga. And along with the promotion comes a truly epic new commercial, which you can view down below:

The commercial showcases a packed movie theater showing a Star Wars movie marathon, starting with A New Hope. Dozens of fans dressed as their favorite characters populate the theater, reenacting iconic moments from the films. After we see familiar aliens in the lobby (with the classic John Williams cantina music playing), we see fans recreating the battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the romantic moment between Han and Leia from Return of the Jedi. Also, we see Rey and Kylo Ren using the Force to fight over a Coke bottle. Just like they did with a lightsaber in The Last Jedi. One guy even shows up as the Death Star itself. But our favorite detail is the sound of the Wilhelm Scream, which we hear in every Star Wars film.

Lucasfilm/Coca-Cola

This 2-minute commercial arrives filled with so many details from the galaxy far, far away, it’s worth multiple viewings. We didn’t even notice that a Tusken Raider was sitting in the theater on first watch. Although the conversation around Star Wars as a franchise can sometimes become toxic and unrelenting these days, this Coke ad does remind us of the pure joy that comes with being a Star Wars fan, and with celebrating George Lucas’ eternal story.

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TINY CHEF Needs Fan Help to Survive After Abrupt Cancelation

The series Tiny Chef on Nickelodeon is sadly coming to an end. Starting in 2022, the stop-motion animated series was centered on a chef made of felt. As the name suggests, this chef is indeed very tiny. Tiny Chef spends his time cooking different dishes out of his tree-stump home. (Hey, it’s not weird, remember that sponge that lived in a pineapple?) Tiny Chef‘s friends include a robot named Olly, a snail named Henry, and the caterpillar Ruby. After three seasons, Nickelodeon abruptly canceled the show this month. So the creators made a video of Tiny Chef getting the devastating phone call, which went viral on social media. It even got 100 million views on X.

You can watch the heartbreaking video of Tiny Chef getting the news below. Just try to keep it together while watching it.

Tiny Chef started out as a sketch show on social media before moving on to the big time on Nickelodeon. It eventually won two Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, and had famous guest stars like Kristen Bell, Tony Hawk, and Alan Cumming. The show’s creators are now asking fans for help via crowdfunding, hoping to keep the show going on the internet or elsewhere. They were gracious to the network, but wrote that “Chef wouldn’t want anyone to blame his friends over there, he’s just deeply sad he doesn’t get to continue hosting a show he adores.” The fans, as it turns out, are also deeply sad.

Nickelodeon

So why did they cancel Tiny Chef if the series won an Emmy? Well, many believe it’s been caught up in the current chaos of the potential Skydance/Paramount merger. Many believe this is why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is also prematurely ending, despite its popularity. We just hope the little guy and his friends find a new home. There’s got to be a place somewhere for delightfully weird and wholesome content like this, right?

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Nicholas Hoult and David Corenswet on Both Auditioning to Play Superman

It’s the Superman x Star Wars crossover we never knew we needed. Well, sort of. Andor star Diego Luna was the guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and he had two very special guests, Superman’s David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult. During the interview, the trio bonded over the fact that they all started out as child actors, among other things. But things got interesting when Hoult revealed he originally auditioned to play the Man of Steel himself. But when he saw Corenswet at the same audition, he knew that guy was simply born to play Kal-El. (Just look at him, we would have thought the same thing!)

You can watch the full Jimmy Kimmel Live! Interview below:

Nicholas Hoult shouldn’t have worried, of course. He clearly impressed director James Gunn enough that he got the role of the villainous Lex Luthor. And as Diego Luna joked, maybe he brought some of that resentment about not being Superman to the part. After all, not being able to be Superman is a key component of Lex’s character, both in comics and film.

As for Corenswet, he mentioned that he still hasn’t seen the movie, despite being the titular star. He wants to preserve watching Superman at the premiere, so he can experience it for the first time with an audience. We actually can’t blame him there. Corenswet is an enormous Star Wars fan, as you can see in the video above. so we’re a bit surprised he didn’t talk to Diego Luna about the greatness of Andor. If Superman becomes the hit we think it will be, we have a strong suspicion there will be a lightsaber at some point in David Corenswet’s future. At the very least, let the man pilot an X-Wing!

Jimmy Kimmel Live!/ABC

Superman arrives in theaters on July 11.

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THE WITCHER’s Andrzej Sapkowski Takes a Shot At (But Also Defends) George R.R. Martin Over THE WINDS OF WINTER

At this point I want George R.R. Martin to finish The Winds of Winter less so I can read it and more so I can stop hearing about how he’ll never finish it. I know he’s just as frustrated about the state of his sixth A Song of Ice and Fire novel. He recently got mad online about people who won’t stop bringing it up. But I’m not sure how he’s going to feel about recent comments from another well-known fantasy author. The Witcher‘s Andrzej Sapkowski threw shade at Martin for not completing his book, yet he also defended Martin for why he might be struggling to finish it.Netflix

At this year’s Opole Book Festival in Poland, Sapkowski took a little bit of a shot at his fellow author who very famously hasn’t finished The Winds of Winter after many, many, many years. His comments (which we first heard about at Collider) came while Sapkowski discussed writing more books in his series. He recently published his ninth installment and plans to write more. Here’s what he said about actually doing that:

If anyone in the audience asks that kind of question, I’ll tell you right now: I will write something else. Relax. No need to fear. And unlike George R. R. Martin, whom, by the way, I know personally, when I say I’ll write something, I will.

CBS

Forget posters online. GRRM is now catching strays all the way from Poland. But Sapkowski wasn’t there to bury his fellow fantasy author. He also tossed in a pretty big defense for why Martin might be struggling to complete his seminal series. The Witcher writer said he “totally” understands what the problem might be. He says it’s because Game of Thrones finished telling Martin’s story before he had the chance. And in his shoes Sapkowski says he might very well be in the same boat.

Because if someone had pulled a stunt like that on me, filming a series based on my books, and then getting ahead of what I intended to write, I’d also be wondering whether there’s any point in writing anymore. If it’s already been done, right? Makes no sense. It’s nice when they adapt your work, that’s the author’s bloody right, but to adapt what doesn’t exist yet, to extrapolate like that? That’s just indecent.

HBO

“Indecent” is a very interesting, loaded word. And that’s a pretty reasonable point of view that has extra merit coming from a fewllo, successful author. But……..siiiiiighhhh……..I do have to defend David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for a second. No, not for how they finished Game of Thrones. (I would rather become a White Walker than do that.) I have to defend them because they didn’t plan to get ahead of Martin. A long time ago, he was confident he could finish writing his books before the show caught up to him.

That…..that did not happen. It might never happen. And boy do I wish it would. At least then we could stop talking about if he ever will.

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SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Dashing to Tabletops with New MAGIC: THE GATHERING Secret Lair Drop

Everyone’s favorite video game speedster is about to make a mad dash to tabletops. Sonic the Hedgehog is getting three Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair drops.Sega/Wizards of the Coast

Magic: The Gathering‘s Secret Lair collections are not-so-secretly home to some of the best pop culture crossovers. The limited edition sets turn beloved brands and characters, no matter how seemingly unlikely, into playable Magic cards. Past drops have included SpongeBob Squarepants, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Deadpool just to name a few. Now Sega’s iconic speedster Sonic the Hedgehog is getting in on the fun.

The Blue Blur is getting three different sets, all with original art. Variety shared the first. Here’s the official description for the Secret Lair x Sonic: Friends & Foes collection:

This drop features seven new designs that bring the amazing Sonic the Hedgehog characters to life. Wizards of the Coast paired the new card designs with original art, including some from fan-favorite Sonic artists doing their first-ever work for Magic: The Gathering cards.

Obviously the set’s namesake gets his own card. The other memorable characters from the franchise joining him include: Shadow the Hedgehog, Tails, Super State, Dr. Eggman, Amy Rose, and Knuckles.

Click To View Gallery Sega/Wizards of the Coast Sega/Wizards of the Coast Sega/Wizards of the Coast Sega/Wizards of the Coast Sega/Wizards of the Coast Sega/Wizards of the Coast Sega/Wizards of the Coast

The second set is titled Secret Lair x Sonic: Chasing Adventure. It “reimagines seven special Magic: The Gathering cards with a whole new spin,” like a Sol Ring to a charming new Treasure token. The set’s cards include:

Generous Gift Open the Armory Fabricate Deadly Dispute Unexpected Windfall Sol Ring Treasure token

The third drop, Secret Lair x Sonic: Turbo Gear “has a treasure trove of powerful artifacts in its vault” and his meant to pair with the Sonic Friends & Foes collection. It comes with seven cards as well:

The Reaver Cleaver as “Knuckles’s Gloves” Swiftfoot Boots as “Air Shoes” Myr Battlesphere as “Egg Hammer” Hammer of Nazahn as “Piko Piko Hammer” Lightning Greaves as “Power Sneakers” Weatherlight as “Tornado, Sonic’s Biplane” Myr token as “Egg Pawn”

Secret lair sets don’t stick around forever, though, and we expect a (ahem) a quick run on these. So don’t be slow when they launch on July 14. That’s when fans of both Sonic and Magic can grab each of the three sets. They’ll come as both regular cards ($29.99), and, if you want something shiny, in special foil editions ($39.99). Both options will be available at MagicSecretLair.com starting ing at 9 a.m. PT.

If you can pick up any gold coins before that day, even better.

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THAT VERY WITCH Explores the Duality of the Witch (and Women) in Movies and Our Lives

At Nerdist, we feel fascinated by the figure of “The Witch.” We’ve written at length about how the witch often calls to a very queer audience, her position as an othered character who breaks norms and threatens polite society with her monstrous childlessness and lack of desire to conform ringing an appealing bell. We’ve also meditated on how our pop-cultural landscape needs more witch-narratives centered on people of color in order to offer a more nuanced exploration of the character type, and especially given that witchcraft’s real-life history tends to stem from countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. And so, we are especially excited to hear about a new book that is diving into cinematic witches from yet another exciting perspective, the feminist movement.

That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film takes us DEEP into an exploration of how the portrayal of the witch in movies and the role and vision of women in America have gone hand in hand.

Luna Press Publishing

The official description of That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film by Payton McCarty-Simas shares of the book, “That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film explores the cyclical rise and fall of the cinematic witch in American culture and her relationship to feminist movements over time. Through historical analysis and dozens of case studies, Payton McCarty-Simas analyzes how the witch came to be understood as the ultimate cultural bogeywoman on the one hand and a classic feminist symbol of empowerment on the other.”

That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film examines some of the best-known witch movies ever in its pages, everything from Rosemary’s Baby to The Witches of Eastwick to The Witch. But this book also introduces its readers to many fun and less well-known witch movies in its well-researched pages, including oddball slashers like The Devonsville Terror and psychedelic freakouts like The Color Out of Space. So, if you’re looking to learn something and get a slew of witchy movies for your to-watch list, you’re in the right place.

A24

We also already feel obsessed with some of the kinds of witches we’ll get to meet in the book. The chapter headings of That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film tease categories such as the “Girlboss” Witch, the tragic Love Witch, and an era we can’t wait to explore, titled the “Bitchification of the Witch.” Is there a catchier chapter title than that? We don’t think so. We can tell just by these glimpses into the book that McCarty-Simas has a strong sense of humor and a writing style that invites us in as we sift through some major moments of history, pop culture, and witch lore.

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We Need More Stories About POC Witches

Ultimately, this witch-oriented book is “a deep dive that demonstrates how changes in cinematic portrayals of the witch over time reflect major shifts in how feminism is perceived politically and interpreted culturally in America. From the birth of the Second Wave to the Moral Majority, from the Satanic Panic to “post-feminism”, from #MeToo to the 2024 election, the witch can be found at the heart of the zeitgeist. What can we learn from her presence?”

The witch and women have always been deeply connected. At times, this connection has been a beautiful one, allowing women to find their independence and freedom, while at others it has been used as a rebuke, a character type used to censure women and villify them. Setting all of these visions into a historical context will no doubt help us to understand more about the journey of the witch in pop culture, but also about the ways women are perceived and exist in our actual lives.

RELATED ARTICLE

Why the Witch Calls to the Queer Audience

As fellow author Johanna Isaacson shares of the book, “That Very Witch is required reading for horror fans, feminists, witch connoisseurs, and really, all devotees of countercultural cinema and history.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film releases on July 22, 2025. You can pre-order it here and here as the perfect early Halloween gift to yourself.

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