LIFE USA TODAY❚ FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019❚ 5B
families around the world are suffering
under. Whether you are afraid of peo-
ple coming to your community or
afraid of how you’re going to be re-
ceived when you get to a community,
we’re looking at all of it.”
Philo has an affinity for the immi-
grant fae folk, having seen them suffer
firsthand in the war, and he feels pro-
tective toward them and others living
in dangerous circumstances.
“He’s is a tortured man, riddled with
the pain of his past, but he ultimately
displays love and empathy in his inter-
actions with all the beings on Carnival
Row,” Bloom says. “He is a light to
those beings, a safe space.”
Philo also has a deeply personal af-
fection through his past relationship
with Vignette, who feels betrayed by
the lover she thought was dead when
they meet again in The Burgue.
Their complicated interaction sug-
gests “an interracial relationship, the
idea of a Burguish man getting togeth-
er with a fae girl. It’s poked at and
made fun of, but we explore the beauty
and the humanity and the heart of a
real connection between these two
people and the tragedy of the way the
world throws itself at them,” he says.
For all the sadness and misery,
there also are scenes of visual beauty
and elements of sex, romance and
love. “The subject matter is so serious
and very real. It’s death and and vio-
lence. So, if you miss the sexy element,
then where’s the light at all?” Delev-
ingne says. “And ... it’s very necessary
to the story lines. It’s an important ele-
ment.”
It also can be eye-catching and even
a bit funny, as when winged faerie
women working in a hotel brothel liter-
ally take sex to new heights.Bloom
Continued from Page 4Bstar Sophie Turner could save the film.
USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt wrote the lat-
est installment “finishes off the X-Men
movie saga in frustratingly middling
fashion.”
Winner: Keanu Reeves
Reeves made magic happen every-
where this summer. From “John Wick 3”
to Netflix’s “Always Be My Maybe” to
“Toy Story 4,” the 54-year-old’s viral
success helped officially push “Matrix
4” to a green light. Much of this can be
credited to how deep Reeves goes into
his characters (even the animated
ones).
Before the actor signed on to play
overly serious toy Duke Caboom in “Toy
Story 4,” “he would ask these really deep
character questions, and you couldn’t
ignore them,” director Josh Cooley told
USA TODAY. “It really did force us to dig
deeper into this character that we
thought was more of a gag.”
Loser: So many critical favorites
Despite a clamor for more original
films, audiences failed to buy tickets to
see them at the cineplex. “Booksmart,”
“Late Night,” “The Farewell” and “Long
Shot” were among critics’ favorites this
summer, but none impressed at the box
office. Stars have started getting more
outspoken, particularly as ticket buyers
choose to sit out diverse or women-di-
rected fare. “You can’t say ‘I’m for it, too’
and then only go see male, caped
movies,” Melissa McCarthy, whose orig-
inal drama “The Kitchen” was among
films that came and went quietly this
summer, told USA TODAY. “It’s a weird
epidemic. I’m not against (those
movies), but everybody’s gotta put their
money where their mouth is.”
Winner: Brad PittPitt is walking into fall with a spring
in his step thanks to Quentin Taranti-
no’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,”
which made $123 million at the box of-
fice and got pundits debating Pitt’s Os-
car odds for playing an aging (yet still
very ripped) Hollywood stuntman op-
posite Leonardo DiCaprio. Next up, the
star will open his space drama “Ad As-
tra” at the Venice Film Festival.Loser: So many sequels, from
‘Shaft’ to ‘Godzilla’Not even Samuel L. Jackson reprising
his role from nearly 20 years ago could
save his “Shaft” reboot, which pulled in
just $21 million and had a dismal 32%
positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Se-
quel-itis also hit “Angry Birds 2,” “Secret
Life of Pets 2,” “Men in Black: Interna-
tional” and “Godzilla: King of Monsters.”Winner: All the AvengersNothing dominated this summer
like “Avengers: Endgame” (not even a
nearly three-hour run time), which
had fans lining up to see the super-
hero-stuffed finale multiple times.
Banking $2.796 billion worldwide,
“Avengers: Endgame” became the
highest-grossing movie ever, surpass-
ing the all-time record of “Avatar,” not
accounting for inflation.
And it’s only the beginning.
At Comic-Con, Marvel Studios re-
vealed plans for Phase 4 of its Marvel
Cinematic Universe, which will kick
off 2020 with a standalone Black Wid-
ow film and “The Eternals,” which in-
cludes Angelina Jolie in its cast. With a
$1.1 billion haul worldwide, Spider-
Man also did pretty great “Far From
Home,” even if his parents might be
getting divorced now.Movies
Continued from Page 4B
“The Secret Life of Pets 2” featured Daisy (Tiffany Haddish), Chloe (Lake Bell)
and Snowball (Kevin Hart). Yet fans stayed away. ILLUMINATION AND UNIVERSAL
PICTURESLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. –
Immersive is the word used over and
over to describe Disney’s Star Wars:
Galaxy’s Edge.
Florida’s new 14-acre land, which of-
ficially opens Thursday at Disney’s
Hollywood Studios, is that and so much
more. Disneyland opened a nearly iden-
tical version of the Star Wars land to
much fanfare May 31 in Anaheim, Cali-
fornia.
Members of the media got a behind-
the-scenes tour on Tuesday, reports
Florida Today, which is part of the USA
TODAY Network.
Once you make your way down a
winding pathway, past trees and tall
structures, you will forget that Slinky
Dog Dash, Muppet Vision 3D and Toy
Story Mania are steps away.
You are transported to a galaxy far,
far away, to the planet Batuu, where the
attention to detail is mind-boggling.
Guests will catch themselves scanning
the sky after hearing spaceships zipping
by and glancing back to check for Storm
Troopers after hearing a daunting call.
There are random buttons and knobs
begging to be pressed and turned in var-
ious locations.
“Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge redefines
what a Disney experience can be,” said
Scott Trowbridge, Star Wars portfolio
creative executive for Walt Disney
Imagineering. “It invites exploration
and discovery, where we can become
characters in the Star Wars galaxy. More
and more, our guests want to lean into
these stories, not just be spectators.
We’re giving them the opportunity to do
just that in this land, with a new level of
detail and immersion. This is an oppor-
tunity to play and engage with your
friends and family in a shared experi-
ence that will forge lifelong memories.”
You won’t find Mickey Mouse ears
(maybe a few very well hidden), hear
Disney songs or even be able to grab one
of those Mickey ice cream sandwiches.
“You won’t see those things because
we are actually on the planet of Batuu,”
said Cody Hampton, senior merchan-
diser. “We are living our own adventure.
We are inside the movies we see.”
The land includes two attraction, yet
only Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
is open now. The attraction allows
guests to take control of the fastest
hunk of junk in the galaxy, which mea-
sures more than 100 feet long. The ride
vehicle, which seats six, gives each
guest a job in controlling the Millen-
nium Falcon.
“The level of guest participation in
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is
different from anything we’ve done be-
fore,” said Asa Kalama, executive cre-
ative director. “You’re not merely a pas-
senger along for a ride, but rather the
protagonist of the adventure. The story
unfolds around you and responds to the
way you engage it.”
The second attraction, Star Wars:
Rise of the Resistance, opens in Florida
Dec. 5 and in California Jan. 17.
Media members also were given a
sneak peek inside the ride, but all cam-
eras had to be left outside and cell-phones were placed in gray sealed bags.
This will be a combination of differ-
ent attractions, including a trackless
ride vehicle that seats eight and has sev-
eral moments where riders are sure to
gasp. Be prepared to be met by nearly 50
stormtroopers staring you down and
armed with weapons. The end of the
ride is billed as a dramatic escape in a
pod that has a crash landing.
“It’s one of the most innovative and
immersive experiences we have ever at-
tempted in Walt Disney Imagineering,”
said Greg Johnson, senior project coor-
dinator. “The scale of it is absolutely
massive. It’s one of the largest show
buildings we have ever constructed for
an attraction at any Disney park.”
Guests will want to take their time
walking through the land, looking up,
down and all around, not to miss any of
the detail the Imagineers designed.
There are more than 7,000 props in the
land, including ancient-looking spires,
the tallest being more than 130 feet tall.Here are a few hidden gems.There are many elements represent-
ing different eras of the Star Wars uni-
verse. For example, there’s a mural on
the wall of Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiqui-
ties that depicts an ancient battle be-
tween the light and dark sides of theForce. Hondo Ohnaka, best known from
the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and
“Star Wars Rebels” animated television
series, gives guests their mission in Mil-
lennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
The land was designed with sight-
lines that evoke cinematic angles.
Guests begin with views of wide vistas,
then as they explore deeper, their field
of vision narrows into tighter spaces.
Imagineers tried to use pre-1980 materi-
als for props and decor to capture the
look and feel of the first “Star Wars”
films.
Aside from the sights, the sounds of
the land will enthrall guests. Composer
John Williams created an all-new suite
of themes especially for Star Wars: Gal-
axy’s Edge and its attractions.
“In designing the Star Wars universe,
we don’t consider it science fiction or
fantasy – we think of it more as a period
piece, and we look at it almost from a
documentary point of view,” said Doug
Chiang, vice president and executive
creative director of Lucasfilm. “Star
Wars design is grounded in reality, and
we’re creating a place that is believable,
authentic and real. Then we exaggerate
that reality and add in a distinct visual
vocabulary to turn the ordinary into
something extraordinary. For this land,
we wanted to create something fresh
and also timeless, just like our films.”THEME PARKS
Star Wars land puts fantasy in Fla.
Michelle Spitzer
Florida Today
USA TODAY NETWORK
The TIE Echelon is one of the many life-size ships you'll see in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.TIM WALTERS/FLORIDA TODAYOga's Cantina is a place to get unusual
eats inside Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
TIM WALTERS/FLORIDA TODAY