D4vd is back in the headlines as his preliminary hearing continues in the case involving Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s death. A new testimony is shedding light on their alleged relationship. Officials also revealed text messages showing the two discussed pregnancy and abortion before her death.

RELATED: From Stardom To Handcuffs: Everything To Know About D4vd, The Singer Arrested In Connection To Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Death

Alleged Text Messages Reveal New Details About D4vd & Celeste Rivas Hernandez

During D4vd’s hearing on July 24, prosecutors reviewed January 2024 text messages exchanged between him and Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The messages reportedly showed the singer apologizing to Hernandez for “putting her through this” before Hernandez replied, “it’s okay.” Celeste then added, “neither of us are capable of watching and taking care of the baby. It’s for the best no?” D4vd allegedly apologized again before asking whether the pregnancy involved him, to which Celeste replied, “of course its yours.” 

Prosecutors Argue David & Celeste’s History Fueled The Alleged Murder

Furthermore, prosecutors detailed D4vd and Hernandez’s alleged relationship and presented graphic sexual images they said showed the two together. Authorities reportedly found the images on the musician’s iPhone after searching his home in September 2025. Prosecutors allege D4vd had a sexual relationship with Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18. They argue that their history played a role in her death after she threatened to expose their relationship.

D4vd Maintains His Innocence As Case Moves Forward

Investigators launched their case against D4vd in September 2025 after Los Angeles police found human remains in a Tesla registered to him at a Hollywood tow yard. Officers responded to reports of a foul odor coming from the impounded vehicle and later identified the victim as Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing since April 2024.

Then in April 2026 D4vd was arrested in Hollywood, California. Authorities charged him with lewd and lascivious acts involving a person under 14 years old, mutilation of a human body, and first-degree murder in Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s death. Prosecutors also added special-circumstance allegations, claiming he acted with financial motives, waited to commit the crime, and killed a witness tied to an investigation. Despite the allegations, he pleaded not guilty to Hernandez’s murder in April of this year.

RELATED: Prosecutors In D4vd Case Detail Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s Final Hours, Allege Chainsaw Used On Remains (VIDEO)

Taylor Frankie Paul is insisting there’s no reason she should stop posting on social media amid her ongoing legal issues.

In an Instagram post shared on Friday, July 24, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 32, clapped back at criticism.

The post featured a green screen background of a city on fire while Taylor fixed her hair.

“My life plus people outraged I’m still online,” one piece of text overlaying the clip read. She then added, “Me: how I do my claw clip.”

To accompany the video, Taylor used audio from an unknown user’s social media video, where the poster was critical of the reality TV star.

“Who is still rocking with Taylor Frankie Paul? And are they just scared of her?” the voice said. “Because I would be. I’m afraid of just posting this video that she’s going to come in my comments.”

Referencing the audio in the post’s caption, Taylor wrote, “Not sure what there is to be scared of.. [All] I do is cry and I’m just trying to live life through crisis with my hair tips.”

Taylo also shared a post via her Instagram Story later on Friday that detailed her “highlights this week.” According to Paul, these included, “trauma therapy,” “PCIT therapy,” “call with my coach”  and “kisses” from her children.

The axed Bachelorette is facing ongoing custody battles with her exes Tate Paul and Dakota Mortensen. (The reality star shares kids Indy, 8, and Ocean, 6, with Tate and son Ever, 2, with Mortensen.)

Earlier this week, Taylor  reflected on dealing with “haters” as she grappled with controversy.

Posting via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, July 21, Taylor claimed “hate is a sign of growth. If you don’t have haters, you’re not doing s***. The more support and growth that builds, unfortunately, so does the noise.”

Taylor added that she’s “learned over time their hate, opinions, projections, judgments, assumptions are none of my business.”

Advertisement

Related: Taylor Frankie Paul Responds to Advice to ‘Get Off’ Her Phone Amid Drama

Taylor Frankie Paul has a message for any fans that think she should take a social media break in light of her Bachelorette scandal. “‘Taylor Frankie Paul Get Off Your Phone Challenge,’” a TikTok user said in a Saturday, March 21, video. “Why are you commenting back to people and reposting TikToks? Her world literally […]

She concluded, “That’s for them to figure out. It can get heavy at times. You’ve shown me grace through scrutiny, so remember to allow that for yourself too. I got you. He’s got you. Now go cry … it always helps. I’ll be doing the same.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

After taking a plea deal in a 2023 domestic violence case, Taylor was involved in a separate altercation with Mortensen that was investigated by Utah’s Draper City Police Department in February. Both parties publicly denied each other’s domestic violence allegations. (Amid the investigation, Taylor’s season of The Bachelorette was pulled from ABC’s spring schedule.)

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office later declined to file criminal charges against Taylor in April.

Mortensen was then awarded temporary custody of Ever, with Taylor restricted to eight-hour weekly supervised visitation. A judge subsequently signed orders of protection for Mortensen and Taylor, requiring them to stay 100 feet apart for a period of three years. (Their custody agreement was changed earlier this month to allow Taylor more unsupervised time with Ever, while Mortensen was given longer weekends.)

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 1 minute ago

The iconic deaf actress who starred in Godzilla vs Kong has tragically died. Kaylee Hottle had just gotten her start in Hollywood when her life was cut short due to a car accident. The deaf actress was one of three occupants in the car that crashed in Frederick County, Maryland. Her cause of death was released by the county as blunt force injuries, and she was the only fatality in what is being reported as a high-speed accident. The other passenger refused treatment at the scene while the driver received treatment at a local hospital for non-serious injuries.

A Young Talent Destined For Greatness

Hottle got her start in the movie Godzilla vs Kong in 2021, when she played the beloved deaf character, Jia. Her connection to Kong and sign language gave a unique take on a character’s relationship to otherwise unknowable beings. She reprised her role in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Between the two Godzilla feature films, she was in a single episode of Magnum P.I. Her final credit is still in post-production at the time of her passing.

Her father’s touching tribute to his daughter was in a sign language message that he posted to Facebook, where he called her a kind and loving young woman. Other Hollywood stars, like Millie Bobby Brown. posted on social media condolences at her passing and their love of the young actress.

As Jia in the Godzilla movies, she had memorable scenes, including when she held up a handmade doll of the great ape to calm Kong down. Being deaf herself, the role clearly resonated with Hottle in the ways she interacted with the rest of the cast in the movie. They would not have been able to get those subtle non-verbal cues that a non-deaf person would have been ignorant of.

So soon after losing the iconic Sam Neill due to sudden illness, and now, just two weeks later, losing a beautiful and vibrant young actress to a car accident, the entertainment world is still reeling. The fact that they will both be in the upcoming Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is a bittersweet reminder that age is no boundary to death, as it comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

Godzilla has been around for decades, and even though her role in it was short-lived, Kaylee Hottle has left her mark on fans and other stars. Take a few hours and watch a movie that resonates with you, something that you may have shared with another. Reconnect with that moment in time, because her death, while deeply tragic, only illustrates that we don’t have forever, so enjoy it while it is here.

Remember Kaylee Hottle in Godzilla vs Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, or next year in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.

Jason Sudeikis is going to be back on the “Ted Lasso” set like he never left.

The actor who almost parted ways with the TV series and almost turned down a massive payment has shared the reason why he chose to return to the show. This comes after his co-star, Hannah Waddingham, called him out for his behavior with impromptu script changes.

Jason Sudeikis previously let fans in on a little secret about what to expect in the coming season. The fourth season of “Ted Lasso,” which premieres next month, has fans filled with anticipation about what will hit the screens.

5

Sudeikis revealed that from the get-go, his plan for the series involved shooting for three seasons and then calling it a wrap. This decision was not tied to his pay from “Ted Lasso”; that is why he was prepared to still walk away despite earning $1 million per episode by season 3.

There were provisions to let the actor walk away with “significantly more [pay] if he agreed to continue,” but he reportedly wasn’t eager to just keep going. In his mind, there was no way forward for his character, judging from the season 3 finale.

“That wasn’t a negotiation tactic,”  the actor said of his plans not to return for the fourth season despite the huge paycheck. “The story was told. Ted went home [to Kansas City] to be with his son. I wasn’t going to have Ted uproot their life to justify the money truck. It made no sense to me.”  Sudeikis explained during his interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The Actor Says ‘Ted Lasso’ ‘Saved’ Him

5

The TV personality changed his mind about coming back to the series when he realized how much of an impact the show and his character had on the fans. To Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso” was not just another project.

When fans would reportedly tell him that the series had saved them, Sudeikis’ usual reply was, “It saved me, too,” and he meant it. “It is infectious to play a character who sees the best in people and isn’t mad at the world for all its foibles and bullies and shadows,”  the actor further explained.

Sudeikis admitted that he needed the show as much as his viewers needed him back on the screen. In case you didn’t know, the actor plays a bubbly American football coach on “Ted Lasso” who was hired to manage a British soccer team despite having no experience with the sport.

Jason Sudeikis Revealed A Major Shocker For The Upcoming Season

5

After it was officially confirmed that the comedy-drama TV series had been renewed for a fourth season, Sudeikis shared that his character might surprise fans with a new move in the coming season.

“We’re writing season 4 now,” adding, “That’s the official word, yeah. Ted’s coaching a women’s team,” the TV personality disclosed on a podcast a few months ago. Though Sudeikis remained tight-lipped on further details, fans are filled with anticipation to see how this new shift would play out, considering where they left off in season 3.

The Blast shared that fans are filled with questions about whether his character would officially say goodbye to English football and start the season on a new path. The “Horrible Bosses” star did not provide any further clarity to calm the expectations, so it remains unclear if Ted would be leaving AFC Richmond for good.

Hannah Waddingham Called Her Co-Star Out For ‘Last Minute Changes’

5

Waddingham plays AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton on the hit Apple TV+ series. Recently, she stated that one of the challenges they have on set is tied to the last-minute changes Sudeikis often makes to the scripts.

She noted that he had the habit of reworking dialogue in the moment, and this often kept the other actors on their toes. With that boy, you’ve got to roll with the punches. He and I have an ongoing love-hate relationship that he changes it last minute,” Waddingham explained.

The Blast reported that despite this hiccup, the members of the cast have a good relationship and speak regularly behind the scenes. During the same conversation, the “Sex Education” alum addressed the pressing question about whether or not there would be a romantic spin on Ted and Rebecca’s relationship.

Waddingham noted that Ted and Rebecca are “undoubtedly soulmates”; however, the show may or may not choose to explore that avenue for the characters.

Jason Sudeikis Was ‘Scared’ By  Overzealous Fans 

5

Nearly two years ago, the Emmy-winning actor expressed that he was scared by fans who waited to get autographs from him for hours. According to previous reports, up to 20 people waited outside The Dynasty Typewriter Comedy Club in Los Angeles from around 6:30 p.m when he arrived till 9:30 p.m when he was seen exiting the club.

The Blast shared that Sudeikis was met with fans who flooded him seeking to have their items signed. After signing one or two autographs and seeing the clamoring crowd, the actor started heading to his car, refusing to sign any more autographs.

In footage uploaded about the incident, Sudeikis could be heard saying, “Guys, please, stop, stop, I’m not going to sign anything. I literally have to go!” as they chased him down the street.

“I’m sorry, that was a lot; that scared the sh-t out of me. For real, I’m just a human being. Please, I’m going home – good night,”  the TV star added before getting into his car.

Is Jason Sudeikis’ reason to return to “Ted Lasso” one that others will resonate with?

By Joshua Tyler
| Updated 24 seconds ago

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds beamed in for a fourth season this week, and avoided the jokey premises that hamstrung the previous season, for at least one episode. Instead, in this first episode titled “Valles Marineris,” it took on the hot topic of mass migration by sending the Enterprise back in time to deal with the consequences of an invasive species sucking up resources.

The Enterprise arrives 65 million years in the past to find an extra planet in our solar system. It’s ruled by a race of intelligent insects who use mass migration to invade planets. That extra planet and its inhabitants aren’t the only surprise. The planet Mars is not a dead world in the past. It’s vibrant, alive, and run by technologically advanced Martians.

Meanwhile, Earth is still a place of volcanoes and dinosaurs. At one point, the Enterprise’s genetically enhanced security chief saves the day by punching a velociraptor.

The insectoids intentionally crashed a ship into Mars and “fed” on their world. Then the Martian commander hammers the situation home by saying, “That’s why your discussions of cultures, of science, although kind and hopeful, are not relevant.”

When Pike says, “There may be other ways to deal with them,” the Martian commander responds by pointing out that many thought the same on her world. “As they talked, we died,” she says. The Martians were only able to stop the insects by ripping a hole in their own planet, killing all the invading settlers and also two million of their own people. 

On Earth, Enterprise’s crew discovers a crashed insectoid colony ship. Everyone aboard was killed, but our heroes learn the insects were trying to land and feed on Earth, presumably to do the same thing they did to Mars. The Enterprise away team voices sympathy for the dead creatures, with Lieutenant Ortegas voicing, “They may be different from us, but they wanted to survive too.” Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Noonien-Singh acknowledges the reality of the situation, “If they were settlers, I’m not sure if I should feel sad or relieved.”

Captain Pike quickly realizes the truth. If this insectoid race is allowed to send “settlers” to Earth, humanity’s future home planet, they’ll suck up all the resources and wipe out our entire future. To save the human race from dangerous mass migration, Pike allows the Martians to blow up the insectoid planet and genocide the race of resource-consuming migrants. 

The parallels to the real world are hard to miss. The episode goes out of its way to portray the insectoids not so much as invading armies but as migrants whose unwanted arrival consumes resources. The Martians deliberately refer to them as feeding on their planet, to hit home the point that the main issue is their resource consumption. The crashed ship on Earth is referred to as a ship of settlers, not soldiers. 

Mars has already been devastated by the process, and Earth is next. Stripped of the science-fiction setting, the episode clearly explores questions of mass migration, resource competition, demographic change, and whether a civilization has the right to prevent an influx it believes threatens its long-term survival. 

“Valles Marineris” was written by Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers. It’s worth noting that Myers wrote some of the best and most thoughtful episodes in the show’s first season and none of the worst episodes of its subsequent seasons. He was also a driving force behind the gone-but-not-forgotten spy series Chuck from the 2010s and the 2016 show The Magicians.

In telling this story, Strange New Worlds did what Star Trek has always done, and what the best science fiction usually does, by engaging with a real-world problem and clearly restating it in a way that lets the audience reason out the best response.

Reasoncraft Is Honest Persuasion

This approach, while persuasive, is not propaganda, which is dishonest persuasion done through manipulation. There’s nothing dishonest in what Strange New Worlds is doing. It’s persuasion through logical thinking. There’s never really been a clear word for this type of up-front screenwashing before, so I’ve come up with one. 

This is Reasoncraft. Reasoncraft is persuasion through openly stated reasons and honest exploration, rather than manipulation.

Even at its lowest point, Star Trek has always stuck with reasoncraft as its form of persuasion. It’s fundamental to the franchise, and it’s part of why shows like Starfleet Academy are so bad.

Reasoncraft Results In Bad Writing For Bad Ideas, And Good Writing For Good Ideas

When a piece of entertainment uses reasoncraft to make good arguments, the result is often good writing. When reasoncraft is used to make bad arguments, the result is bad writing that makes no sense. 

This turned Starfleet Academy into one of the worst shows in television history. It’s also why the previous Strange New Worlds season was so reviled. The stories they told in season 3 were nonsense because the arguments they were making were also nonsense. This season 4 episode of Strange New Worlds, while not perfect, is at least a step up from those season 3 lows. It’s a step up because it takes on hard questions, considers them honestly, and then follows those honest answers to their logical, unflinching conclusion.

Reasoncraft is also why a show like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is so good. Because when that series tackled a complex issue and used reasoncraft, they followed it through to its logical conclusion, even if that conclusion didn’t always fit with their personal ideology. That willingness to follow the story where reason takes it, even if that conflicts with the beliefs of the show’s writers, is something modern Star Trek has often been unwilling to do.

It’s why people with bad ideas resort to propaganda. Dishonesty is the only way to screenwash others into believing something stupid without also creating an entertainment product that plays out like something written on the side of a bathtub with a water crayon.

Streamer Rakai has social media in stitches after a live reaction to his latest haircut took an unexpected turn. What started as frustration over his lineup quickly escalated when the 17-year-old called 911, to report his barber for a bad haircut.

Related: Social Media Weighs In After Rakai Reveals Why He Wasn’t Allowed To Walk At High School Graduation (PHOTO + VIDEO)

Rakai Says His Barber Left Him “Bald”

Rakai recently went live to show viewers his fresh haircut, but it didn’t take long for fans to realize he wasn’t happy with the results. While examining his lineup on stream, Rakai pointed out that he believed his hairline appeared slanted. He then showed viewers both sides of his head. While he seemed satisfied with the right side, he turned to the left side and repeatedly shouted, “Bald!” while reacting to what he believed was a pushed-back hairline. Rakai also pointed to the lighter skin along his forehead, claiming he and viewers could see where his lineup was originally supposed to begin before the haircut.

Police Call Gave Rakai A Reality Check

Rakai took things a step further by calling 911 on his barber while live on stream. However, the dispatcher wasn’t having it, immediately asking whether the call was “a joke” and whether the streamer needed the fire department or medical services. Rakai responded by saying he wanted to sue his barber before ending the call. Shortly afterward, the dispatcher called Rakai back and warned him that calling 911 for a non-emergency and then hanging up could have consequences. Stumbling over his words, Rakai quickly apologized, explaining that he thought calling 911 was the only way he could sue his barber.

Social Media Reacts

The viral clip quickly sparked thousands of reactions in The Shade Room Teens comment section, with many social media users joking about both Rakai’s haircut and his decision to call 911.

Instagram user @biancaisking wrote, “😂😂😂😂😂😂”

Another Instagram user @cuddie_powell wrote, “why did his barber do that bs 😭😭😭😂😂”

While Instagram user @ciaafromig wrote, “Can we talk about why he called the police 😭😭 I’m in tears lmao”

Instagram user @badgaldeme wrote, “Normally I would be mad he called 911 buttttt that haircut low-key needed police involvement”

Another Instagram user @siannalynnn wrote, “barber must’ve had his eyes closed”

While Instagram user @ittybitty_.natt wrote, “All he have to do is keep his head tilted a little bit 😂”

Instagram user @nevaehnevaeh__ wrote, “They need to charge a fee when people play on the police phone”

Another Instagram user @luuvlyy._ wrote, “Yoo this is hilarious 😂 I’m upset for him”

While Instagram user @koreemoore_ wrote, “Wardrobe said his sh** look like “🤪” 😭😭😭

Related: Boo’d Up? Social Media Reacts After Rakai Shares Cozy TikTok Showing Him In Matching Pajamas With Yona Royale (VIDEOS)

Dakota Mortensen and Shinia Powell fueled dating rumors after being spotted together at a baseball game.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 33, was photographed with Shinia on Thursday, July 23, at The Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan, Utah.

In the pictures, obtained by TMZ, Dakota was seen with his hand on Shinia’s back as they watched the game from the lawn. In a separate snap, Dakota was cozying up to Shinia as she lounged on a blanket in the grass.

The pair were both wearing cream-colored baseball hats in the snaps. Dakota donned a black T-shirt and khaki pants while Shinia wore jean shorts, high-top sneakers and a silky top.

Related: Is Miranda Still Friends With Shinia After Secretly Sleeping With Dakota?

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Miranda McWhorter is breaking down where she stands with Shinia Powell after her friend slept with Taylor Frankie Paul’s ex Dakota Mortensen. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 4. “I think the Taylor and Dakota of it all was definitely a […]

She documented the outing via social media on Thursday, sharing a picture with two of her friends — but didn’t include Dakota in her recap.

Dakota and Shinia’s outing comes after multiple outlets reported earlier this month that the pair are dating amid Dakota’s ongoing custody battle with ex Taylor Frankie Paul.

After months of speculation, People reported on Wednesday, July 22, that Dakota and Shinia’s “close friendship” grew “into something more” amid his ups and downs with Taylor, 32, whom he dated from 2022 to 2025. (The exes share a 2-year-old son, Ever, whom they welcomed in March 2024.)

Us has reached out to Dakota’s rep for comment.

The pair’s rumored romance has been raising even more eyebrows because Dakota previously received backlash from Taylor for hooking up with Shinia during season 4 of SLOMW. (Shinia, for her part, made her debut on the Hulu reality series as one of Miranda McWhorter’s best friends.)

“I do just want to say sorry for everything that I did. I know that caused a lot of problems,” Dakota told Taylor during a season 4 episode FaceTime. “I’m sorry for hooking up with Shinia. Was it dumb of me? Yes. Could I have picked someone else? Yes.”

Related: ‘Mormon Wives’ Stars Joke About ‘Cease and Desist’ for Dakota Amid Drama

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast is seemingly choosing sides amid Taylor Frankie Paul‘s most recent drama with ex Dakota Mortensen. Miranda McWhorter and Layla Taylor shared a TikTok on Tuesday, June 17, of themselves filming content before Dakota steps into the frame. The caption read, “When you run into your friend’s ex unexpectedly.” […]

Dakota, who has had a tumultuous on-off relationship with Taylor, said he understood Taylor’s stance since Shinia was entwined in their friendship group.

“I picked somebody that was obviously going to come with problems, and that was very s***y of me to do,” he added.

At the time, Shinia’s hookup with Dakota also caused problems for Miranda, 28, as she was put in the middle and felt forced to take sides between Shinia and Taylor.

Speculation surrounding Dakota and Shinia’s current romantic status comes as he and Taylor are battling over custody of their son.

Earlier this year, Dakota and Taylor were both granted restraining orders against each other after being previously involved in alleged domestic disputes. Dakota was granted temporary custody of their son in March amid their legal woes, but Taylor has since received more parenting time with Ever.

On July 13, Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) filed a petition asking a juvenile court to find that Taylor’s three children are being “abused, neglected, or dependent” while asking for protective supervision and the appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent the children. (Taylor also shares daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6, with ex-husband Tate Paul.)

Following the DCFS inquiry, Taylor released a statement in support of the organization stepping in.

“It was recently decided that the ongoing custody actions would be best suited for juvenile court, a common step for families engaged in highly contentious, complex custody matters,” she said in a statement to Us on July 16. “Taylor is not deterred by this transition; she welcomes the added structure and oversight it provides and looks forward to continuing her progress toward normalizing custody and becoming the healthiest version of herself.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Related: Taylor Frankie Paul Accuses Dakota of Secretly Meeting Up With Girls in Texts

Taylor Frankie Paul reportedly accused ex Dakota Mortensen of secretly meeting up with girls in explosive text messages from 2025. The ongoing custody case between the former couple took another dramatic turn on Friday, July 10, when TMZ published text messages that Paul, 32, reportedly sent Mortensen, 33, in February 2025. Per the outlet, Paul […]

The statement concluded, “Taylor remains fully committed to doing whatever is necessary to reach that goal and will not be swayed from it. Taylor appreciates the professionalism of DCFS and its representatives.”

Dakota and Tate then released a joint statement in response to Taylor’s remarks, telling Us that they are “deeply concerned that Taylor’s statement minimizes the gravity of the action filed by DCFS and her many underlying actions that prompted such.”

The duo’s attorney claimed in a July 17 statement that both Dakota and Tate “share the serious concern that the family court system, law enforcement, prosecutors, and child-welfare agencies need meaningful coordination necessary to understand the situation and act in a manner most likely to protect the children.”

Austin Abrams learned firsthand that going the extra mile for a movie can have consequences.

While filming the upcoming film Resident Evil, Abrams, 29, had a near-death experience, according to director Zach Cregger, when a “body-sized blood bag” almost took him out.

“It’s in the trailer momentarily, but [Austin is] running down the street, and there’s zombies on the roof of the buildings on either side, and they’re all leaping at him,” Cregger, 45, told reporters during a Q&A, SlashFilm reported on Thursday, July 23, of the explosive scene.

He explained that in the movie, Abrams’ Bryan, a medical courier, must fight for his life when a zombie apocalypse breaks out around him.

While the film is based on the video game by the same name, Cregger said he wanted the scenes to feel as realistic as possible.

“We had to basically design this thing where he’s just running and bodies are just falling and detonating all around him. And I knew I didn’t want to do it with VFX because I feel like it would just look like VFX,” he recalled, referring to visual effects that are usually computer-generated. “So, I was like, ‘How do we do this where all these explosions are real?’”

Cregger noted he was able to avoid VFX by using choreography, staging and dropping 150 pound “blood bags” from cranes as Abrams ran take after take.

The director, however, said tragedy almost struck when one of the bags came extremely close to falling on the actor’s head.

“It would’ve killed him. If he had been one step to the right, he would’ve died,” Cregger revealed. “[The shot is] in the movie, so it’s f***ing worth it. I was pretty stunned.”

Cregger confessed that the blood bag situation wasn’t the only time Abrams was in danger on set.

In fact, he said that Abrams actually “split his head open in an elevator shaft” after a separate accident.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Cregger admitted that despite the obstacles along the way, the movie really came together and reminded him what he loves about the industry.

“That’s what’s so great about making movies is you have this scene, you have this amazing idea in your head, and then you just have all these people help you realize that idea and immortalize it on the screen,” he shared. “And there’s a real sense of teamwork and accomplishment. I’m very proud of this movie. I feel like I grew a lot making it, just as a filmmaker.”

Resident Evil hits theaters on Friday, September 18.

By Joshua Tyler & Chris Snellgrove | Published 52 seconds ago

There are plenty of post-apocalyptic movies out there, but most of them share the same problem: by the end, you feel just as hopelessly miserable as the characters onscreen. Far too many directors think the key to this genre is simply to give us scene after scene of bleak despair.

What audiences really want is a movie that uses a fictional future apocalypse as a lens to help us understand our present day.  In 2013, one sci-fi movie tried to do exactly that, and it enlisted the biggest movie star in Hollywood history to make it happen. 

It was directed by a man who is currently the hottest filmmaker in Hollywood, responsible for much of two of the industry’s most recent, big-money hits. The elements were there to make this an all-time great sci-fi movie, and nothing like that happened at all.

This is why Oblivion failed.

A Tom Cruise Movie Starring Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion as Jack Harper, a technician repairman of drones on Earth who begins to question his mission when he encounters a spaceship crash that throws his world upside down. It’s 2077, and Earth has been devastated by a war with an alien enemy known as the Scavs. Humanity won the war, but the planet was left mostly uninhabitable. Most survivors have relocated to Saturn’s moon Titan, while Jack Harper and his communications partner Victoria, played by Andrea Riseborough, remain stationed on Earth to maintain the drones protecting massive machines that harvest the planet’s remaining resources.

Jack’s memory has been wiped for security reasons, but he is troubled by recurring dreams of a woman he does not know. While investigating a crashed spacecraft, Jack discovers that the woman from his dreams is Julia, played by Olga Kurylenko, an astronaut who has been in suspended animation since before the war. Her arrival causes Jack to question everything he has been told about the Scavs, the mission, and his own identity.

When he made Oblivion, director Joseph Kosinski was coming off the modest success of Tron: Legacy, a movie that nearly everyone agreed worked only because of his visionary directing. He used the goodwill he’d built up there to get funding for a movie based on a concept he’d written out as a pseudo-graphic novel, called Oblivion. 

The work was a preview/pitch booklet with text and concept art. Kosinski had it handed out to attendees at the San Diego Comic-Con. That booklet ended up in the hands of Tom Cruise and got his attention. Cruise called Kosinski, and with Tom Cruise on board, getting funding became easy. 

Karl Gajdusek developed that pitch into a screenplay for the big screen, and then Michael Arndt was tasked with revising some of Kosinski’s and Gajdusek’s writing, using the pseudonym of “Michael deBruyn” as his writing credit for the film. William Monahan also got involved at some point, making his own changes to the script. If you’ve followed along with our Why It Failed series before, you should know that this much writing and rewriting is already a bad sign.

Disney stepped up to make the movie, inspired by Kosinski’s Tron: Legacy success, but then bailed when they wanted something closer to a PG version, even though the material worked better as a harder PG-13 post-apocalyptic action film. Universal, which had already been interested, ended up taking it on.

Olga Kurylenko came in alongside Jessica Chastain, Olivia Wilde, and Noomi Rapace to read for the role of Jack’s wife and crew member Julia. Chastain originally won the part and was contracted to start production until she was cast in 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty about the mission to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. Cruise let her out of her contract to do the historically important film, and Kurylenko was cast as Julia in place of Chastain.

The production’s biggest creative decision was that Kosinski did not want the movie to look like a standard green-screen sci-fi film. Coming off Tron: Legacy, he wanted Oblivion to feel more physical, more photographic, and more daylight-driven. He said the visual idea was “beauty in the desolation,” influenced by sci-fi artists Peter Elson and Chris Foss, whose work showed colorful daylight futures rather than only grim wastelands. 

Oblivion’s most famous and successful production trick was the Sky Tower. Instead of surrounding the movie’s glass house set with green screen, Kosinski built the set with real glass and surrounded it with a massive 270-degree projected sky. Pixomondo filmed sky footage from Haleakalā in Hawaii, then projected that imagery around the Baton Rouge set. The projection was not just background; it became the main light source for the actors and reflective surfaces. 

Because of that, Oblivion looks fantastic. Watching Cruise’s drone repairman blast through the wrecked-up wasteland of a post-alien-invasion New York City on a futuristic dirt bike, past the strewn carcasses of container ships and submarines, is spectacular. When he floats through the ruined world in his bubble ship, the special effects are crisp and clean and blend seamlessly with the frame. They’re so good you don’t notice them. 

The entire film reminds you of those IMAX movies you saw as a kid, where a helicopter-mounted camera sweeps around the rim of an active volcano or dives into the Grand Canyon. It’s amazing. 

Why Oblivion Failed

Oblivion looks like a huge hit. It wasn’t. 

It opened at number one in North America, then faded fast, finishing with about $89 million domestic and $286 million worldwide. That made it respectable, especially overseas, where Cruise still had serious drawing power. But respectable was the ceiling. 

Oblivion earned enough to avoid embarrassment, but not enough to be remembered. The movie was forgotten almost the second it left theaters.

Critics were mixed. Reviewers kept circling around the same complaint: Oblivion looked like a major event, but underneath all that polished design it felt assembled from better science fiction movies.

I’m not sure that’s fair. The big twists in the plot may have been done before, but they’re executed in a totally unique way. Oblivion has interesting ideas, interesting ideas worth exploring. 

In the end, that was not enough. Oblivion was caught in the worst possible middle ground. It was too expensive and polished to feel like a scrappy original discovery, but too familiar to feel like the next great science fiction event. 

The trailers sold mystery, Tom Cruise, and beautiful ruined-Earth imagery, but they never gave audiences a simple emotional hook beyond “Tom Cruise in another futuristic movie.”  That mattered because Oblivion arrived only eight years after War of the Worlds and two years after Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, with Cruise still viewed by many casual moviegoers more as a brand than a character actor. 

The movie also arrived when people were kind of burnt out on last man on Earth stories. They’d already seen WALL-E, Moon, The Matrix, and others. 

Oblivion was good-looking, competent, and easy to admire, but it did not give people enough reason to insist everyone else see it.

Overshadowed By Edge Of Tomorrow

A year later, Tom Cruise would release another mid-level, ambitious sci-fi movie called Edge of Tomorrow. Unlike Oblivion, that film gained massive critical acclaim and immediate cult status. 

Edge of Tomorrow love was, and is, so strong that it completely overshadowed people’s memory of Oblivion, and now, while everyone still talks about Edge of Tomorrow, it’s as if Oblivion never existed. That’s a shame, because Oblivion was a good, big-screen experience. The look of the movie is like nothing else you’ve ever seen, and while it’s still worth watching at home on television, there was something special about the way it looked, projected on a screen in a darkened theater.

Oblivion is a worthwhile sci-fi movie. If it were released today, it might get the credit it deserved, but back then, when moviegoers didn’t know how good they had it, Oblivion was easy to relegate to, well, oblivion.