Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

 

VFX Breakdown of the Day

Disney’s reimagining of The Lion King is an animated feature made to look live-action. How’d they get the animals and their surrounding to look so real? This video from Insider showcases visual effects supervisor Elliot Newman of MPC Film as he discusses the magic behind the making of the new movie:

 

Training Session of the Day

Keanu Reeves pulls off some amazing stunts in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, performing a lot of the action himself. To prepare for the horse-riding sequence, the actor needed to go through some extensive equestrian training. Here’s a video from Lionsgate showing off his newly learned skills:

 

Actor in the Spotlight

The thriller Spider in the Web opens in limited release this weekend, featuring Sir Ben Kingsley in the lead role as an aging spy. For GQ, the Oscar-winning actor breaks down his career and discusses his most iconic roles, in such movies as Gandhi, Schindler’s List and Iron Man 3:

 

Fan Art of the Day

This weekend also see the release of the director’s cut of Midsommar, which has fans of Ari Aster’s sophomore feature excited. Here’s one devotee who celebrated the extended version with a painting of the horror movie’s main characters in their distinct appearances as “May Queen and Christian Bear”:

 

Alternate Casting of the Day

What if Tom Cruise played Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead of Robert Downey Jr.? The possibility is rumored to have almost happened, so Collider uses special effects and Cruise impersonator Evan Ferrante to show us what the character could have been like over the last decade, from Iron Man through Avengers: Endgame:

 

Reworked Trailer of the Day

Much of Avengers: Endgame is bleak, and of course the ending is rather sad, but the Marvel movie also has a lot of levity. Here’s a fan-made trailer by Mr. Krepshus that focuses on the fun and funny parts while incorporating songs from Quentin Tarantino’s latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:

 

Cosplay of the Day

Speaking of Avengers: Endgame, there’s sure to be a ton of Marvel heroes walking around at Dragon Con in Atlanta this weekend. But not everyone wants to be a good guy. Here’s a group cosplaying as the MCU sequel’s big bad, Thanos, and his cohorts Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight:

 

Plot Song of the Day

We’ve said it before and we will say it again: all horror movies deserve a plot song, even if they’re unofficial tracks and/or fan-made tunes. Here’s one for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Aaron Fraser-Nash and KingHenryTheEtch sung to the tune of Mark Ronson’s “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart”:

 

Backstory of the Day

We’re a week away from the release of It Chapter Two, meaning there are only a few days left to catch up with the original and any other background information that’ll benefit our appreciation of the sequel. Here’s some help from Zac Morris of CZsWorld specifically looking at the backstories of the characters Bill and Georgie:

 

Character in Close-Up

Of course, we also need a recap focused on the most important It character of all: Pennywise the Clown, otherwise known as the titular monster of the movie. Here’s a handy video from Birth.Movies.Death that explores the history of Pennywise, from his origins in the pages of Stephen King’s novel to the new sequel: