CinemaCon: Universal Studios Presentation Recap

On Wednesday morning, Universal Studios kicked off the day at CinemaCon with a presentation showcasing their upcoming films.

Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish took the stage to kick things off by introducing the man behind Illumination, Chris Meledandri. He starts with news about Secret Life of Pets 2: Tiffany Haddish joins the cast, along with Patton Oswald and Harrison Ford.

Meladanari turns to The Grinch. It’s “gonna light up the hearts” of moviegoers around the world this holiday season. He introduces a brand new trailer for The Grinch.

The Grinch sits playing a piano as memories flash by of him in n orphanage, missing out on Christmas. Present day, he lives with a friendly dog, who he shuns. Cumberbatch’s voice rules it is embarrassing to get beaten by a dog in chess, so he distracts it with a toy and manipulates the board to beat him. His attention shifts to the commotion caused by Christmas gifts and decorations being brought to town, so he decides to do evil things.

Jim Orr, President Domestic Theatrical Distribution at Universal, takes the stage. He notes that 2017 was the studio’s most profitable year ever. Orr introduces Universal’s President & Chief Distribution Officer, Peter Levinsohn.

Damian Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, and Claire Foy take the stage to discuss their upcoming First Man film. They introduce the first look at the upcoming Lance Armstrong film.

The trailer sees Neil Armstrong singing to his daughter. He has a romantic evening with his wife. Later, he looks to the sky, studies, and visits a grave. A narrator explains that people fear dark and the unknown but rules humans are capable of greatness through those fears. The pace quickens as people question Neil Armsrong claiming he can be a man on the moon. Neil’s family questions him and whether he will return. He makes the decision to go for it. Chaotic tests flash by. Neil is pushed to the limits. He ultimately arrives on the moon and takes his first steps.

The House with a Clock in its Walls is next. Jack Black, Eli Roght, and Kate Blanchett take the stage. Black and Winslett joke about Roth putting them in a movie with no horrifying death or violence. As it turns out, this was always the type of movie Roth wanted to make. They introduce a trailer.

Using classic logos for Universal and Amblin entertainment, the trailer begins. In it, a young boy enters the house as music and clocks ticking intensifies. Strange things happen in the house, like glass art shifting, walls changing its paint, and dolls moving. There is a clock in this house who Jack Black’s character (who has an intriguing chinstrapdoesn’t know what it does other than it being “horrible.” The boy figures Black’s character is a warlock. Creepy action sequences cut by, including a pumpkin rising up behind someone on its vine, and vibrant monsters emerge from different corners of the house. It’s a fun, scary, and mysterious adventure.

Jason Blum takes the stage to discuss The First Purge. “It’s nice for audiences to have an alternative to the classic super heroes,” Blum said. “Being scared is the best reason to go to the movies.” Each Purge movie comments on reality. Director Gerard McMurray introduces the trailer.

Next is Halloween, and Blum introduces Jamie Lee Curtis. “I first played Lori Strode when I was 19-years-old,” Curtis said. “We had no money when we made Halloween. Even the Michael Myers mask was originally a William Shatner costume mask picked up at a local store…What they created would come to stand as an unyielding, sustaining influence in the canon of horror…It is still terrifying in its simplicity. So, now, as 59-year-old woman, when they came to me…I heard what they were thinking and I immediately said yes. Except for Star Wars, I can’t think of another movie where the same actor is playing the same part 40 years later! And that, in and of itself, is worth celebrating!…So, John Carpenter is back as a producer and a creative godfather in the film. Jason Blum, the king of the genre, has enthusiasm like a virus. I mean, like a good virus, not the piece of s— Virus I made in the 90’s. …This movie is hella scary! I just used a young person word and I’m almost 60!…It is hella scary and they included this wonderful modern trope of true crime documentaries that we’re all watching on our streaming channels, who return to Haddonfield, to pair with Lori, her adult daughter, her teenage granddaighter, on Halloween night night, 40 years later. It’s old school meets new school…Lori is turned into a warrior…and it’s gonna scare the living s— out of all of you!”

She introduces the first footage from Halloween.

In the footage, filmmakers are “here to investigate” the events of Halloween in 1978. They approach Michael Myers in prison. They show him hi mask and very prisoner around starts lashing out. The teenage granddaughter’s friends discuss Lori, each has a version of the true story which happened years later. Lori tells a police officer she has prayed the Michael Myers would escape, so she could kill him. She has a dumby which she uses for target practice. The prison bus has crashed and Michael Myers has escaped. He approaches a woman in a gas station and drops bloody teeth of the stall. He puts his mask on. The Halloween classic music begins as he goes through a town on Halloween night, with real weapons. Lori rushes the kids to go home, shoots at him through a window, and it was only a reflection. Chaos ensues. Lori tells the filmmakers they should believe in the boogeyman. Later, a babysitter tries to close a closet door for a kid, and it won’t close. It bursts open and Michael Myers is there with a knife.

Next, Kevin Hart takes the stage to discuss Night School, who he stars with alongside Tiffany Haddish. Haddish takes the stage, along with Night School producer Will Packer.

“This movie is set on future eath. A wild ride with a very human story at its heart. It’s still a work in progress…we wanted to share with you now, a sneak peak, of what is coming to screens in December.”

A futuristic earth sees London with taller buildings but a desolate surrounding. It is, in fact, a ship, sailing across the ocean. A group of rebellious looking survivors are captured by another ship. The leader of the rogue ship stabs the leader of this more well-established group and runs away. A scar is revealed on her face before she falls through a pit. She encourages a man to ask the leader why he murdered her mother, so the leader kicks the the man down with her. The journey sprawls an abandoned earth, Extravagantly designed ships, made from what’s left of the world, help find her. This girl’s mother said, before dying, she is capable of stopping Valentine. The world has massive walls, massive and interestingly shaped buildings, fantastical ships and settings, and uniquely designed weapons. The visual effects are far from complete but the world looks completely immersive.

The cast of Glass take the stage. Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Sarah Paulson and M. Night Shamylan,

“In Spilt, I created the origin story for an anarchist that could be good or could be bad,” Shamylan said. “The worlds of Unbreakable and Split finally collide in glass.”

“What i these real life super heroes and super villains are somehow locked up tgooether?” Paulson asks. “What could go wrong?”

Shamylan calls it, “the first truly grounded comic book movie.”

The introduce the first look.

“It’s amazing to meet, it is simply extraordinary,” a woman says. She is Doctor Ellie Staple. Her work surrounds a specific type of a delusion of grandeur. She specializes in those individuals who believe they are super heroes. McAvoy, Glass, and Dunn are watching her skeptically. Glass looks down at a comic. David Dunn is seen on the train years ago. He has a vision when he touches people and beleives he’s a super hero. McAvoy’s many personalities come out. He has cheerleaders captive and promises the beast is coming. Glass rules, “Any yet it is true. My bones break easily, I have 94 breaks in my life.” The doctor, however, points out how smart he is. Glass points out they don’t die with bullets and can bend steel. Comics flash by. A comic book store. Glass wants to meet the beast, and he thinks the bad guys are teaming up within him. The beast throws someone, runs through a field, and roars. “First name, mister,” Glass says. “Last name, glass.”

Next up, Dreamworks will focus on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. A trailer plays, showing that Toothless will meet another Fury dragon, and she will become his girlfriend. The dragons, however, will be hunted, and the humans have to protect them from evil threats.

Rawson Thurber takes the stage to discuss his upcoming Skyscraper movie, calling it, “A love letter to the action movies I grew up watching.” He thanks the theater owners in attendance. The Rock couldn’t make it but he sent a video.

“It’s so great to see everybody’s faces even though I can’t see you,” Johnson said. “I am on baby duty right now and I just had my third baby daughter Tiana Gia Johnson, we are so excited and so blessed…It’s that thing that I’m going through called no sleep. I’m on team no sleep…It’s an original story. It’s not based off of a video game or a ride or a video game or a sequel…I make them and they do quite well…but this is an original story that we’re all very proud of and Rawson is a rare writer/director on these projects…We wanted to create not only a movie for the global audience but also an experience…Audiences around the world would remember for the rest of their lives.” After the video from Johnson, Thurber introduces the trailer.

After the trailer, Universal chairman Donna Langley takes the stage. She thanks the theater owners to thank them for a strong 2017 and in advance for 2018.

Jurassic World is next, bringing Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard to the stage. Pratt promises this is “as epic” and “intense” as any Jurassic movie and actually has “more dinosaurs” in one single moment that any entire Jurassic movie before it.

The movie is “set four years after the park was destroyed,” Howard sai. There is “a volcano is about to explode” she adds, and “the question is whether to save the dinosaurs we created.”

Footage begins. A ship is underwater, lighting its own way, and coming upn a gate. It is Isla Nublar. The man aboard the ship tries to ease his co-captain, claiming anything in here would be “dead by now.” They find the Indominous Rex’s bones.Using their ship, they cut the bones apart and send them to the surface. On land, a man orders them to leave as he has to close the gates. As the back up, they come across a giant eye ball, and end up swallowed whole. Their signal is lost and the gate is closed. A helicopter pilot sees something moving toward the man radioing them. They try to alert him but he ends up coming face to face with a T-Rex. The helicopter takes off and leaves him behind but they throw him a ladder. Just in time, he gets a hold of it, but so does the T-Rex. The men think they’re free when the ladder breaks but a mosasaur leaps from the water and eats him.

A flashback sees Owen training baby Blue.

Claire is approached by a man looking to make a rescue op ion the island. As Owen calms Blue, she is hit with a tranquilizer by mercenaries. It was all a lie. The men are trying to make the dinosaurs into weapons and sell them at auctions. Owen is on a mission to get his dinosaurs back. Flashes of action zip by, including some volcanic magma, and it all leads to Own being trapped in a truck with a T-Rex. It all goes back to trying to save the dinos on the island and Jeff Goldblum telling a court that this is Jurassic World now because these creatures will survive humans.

The final movie is Mama Mia: Here We Go Again. Amanda Seyfriend explains that it goes back in time to see her character’s mother meet her possible fathers. A trailer for the movie plays to conclude the presentation.