👋 Your watchlist just got better — here’s what to watch this week…

• 🎥 Thunderbolts* | 5.2

• 🎥 The Surfer | 5.2

• 🎥 Rust | 5.2

Read time: 2 minutes | 626 words

TRENDING

• 🎬 First trailer for John Wick documentary Wick Is Pain drops, exploring intense behind-the-scenes training, releasing May 9.

• 🔪 First teaser for Dexter: Resurrection drops, premiering July 11 on Paramount+ (yes, Michael C. Hall returns).

• 🌈 Edgar Wright explains how he color-coded characters in Baby Driver to visually mark their personalities and allegiances.

• 🎥 Guy Ritchie officially set to direct Road House 2, continuing the high-octane brawling franchise with his signature gritty style.

• 🎯 Christopher Nolan explains how he simplified a deleted Dark Knight scene, editing it down following his "less is more" principle.

• 🎮 MoviePass returns with fantasy sports league for movies, where users draft actors, directors and films to compete.

• ⛈️ Sean Baker's improvised genius saved The Florida Project $25,000 when rainstorm shuttered outdoor shoot — here’s the story.

TOGETHER WITH BUZZTOWN

What does it mean to write for actors?

A few weeks ago, we had actor Keith Harris (The Walking Dead, Dopesick) come teach out screenwriters how to write for actors. 

Coincidentally, this mindset is what Matt Damon and Ben Affleck credit for the success of Good Will Hunting.

After you watch the video above, make sure to download Keith’s guide right here.

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FEATURE 

🎭 Thunderbolts*: Marvel’s A24 Makeover

$180 million budget. Fewer VFX shots. More practical stunts. Welcome to Marvel's A24 experiment (read our past article about A24’s triumphant rise, here).

In 2024, Marvel Studios faced its reckoning. Superhero fatigue wasn't just media hysteria—audience scores plummeted, box office returns shrank, and the Volume (their massive LED stage) had become a creative prison.

Thunderbolts* arrived as Marvel's most radical experiment: an indie sensibility wearing superhero skin.

Florence Pugh nailed it:

THE A24 PLAYBOOK

Marvel's marketing department executed a brilliantly shameless pivot. Their trailer boasted:

• "THE WRITERS & DIRECTOR OF BEEF"

• "THE CINEMATOGRAPHER OF THE GREEN KNIGHT"

• "THE PRODUCTION DESIGNER OF HEREDITARY"

• "THE COMPOSERS OF EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE"

A24's response? A meme of Maddy from "Euphoria" asking, "Wait, is this f—ing play about us?"

But behind the marketing stunt lay revolutionary filmmaking choices.

PRACTICAL IS THE NEW PREMIUM

"When you're watching a truck blow up, it's a truck blown up. It's not CGI", Sebastian Stan revealed. "Marvel really wanted this to have its own- there were many things in the movie that were actually done practically"

The Winter Soldier star explained: "...people are just smart. I think audiences just, they know."

THE ASTERISK CODE

In the trailer, Red Guardian exclaims: "We are the Thunderbolts"

Bucky's reply? "Can't call ourselves that"

The team's rejection of their own name became the film's spiritual core. Marvel's international poster reveals the joke: "The Avengers Are Not Available."

The asterisk represents Marvel's willingness to admit imperfection—to say "subject to change" about their entire formula.

WHY PRACTICAL WINS

Three key advantages:

1. Actor Performance - Real explosions generate authentic reactions

2. Audience Connection - "These characters actually in real settings goes a long way"

3. Time Efficiency - Shorter post-production schedules

David Harbour called it "the best experience he's ever had making a movie."

THE FORMULA SHIFT

Critics praised Thunderbolts* as "a breath of fresh air" that "keeps that classic Marvel DNA while examining what it looks like when your fight is against yourself."

The lesson? Sometimes moving backward—to practical filmmaking roots—propels the industry forward.

In the end, Thunderbolts* achieved what seemed impossible: making Marvel feel indie without losing blockbuster appeal. When the Avengers aren't available, sometimes you discover who you are.

PUNCHLINES