MBJ and Austin Butler: Miami Vice … manifested!
– 3 min read
Let’s start with Michael B Jordan because he pretty much went underground after winning the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Sinners but resurfaced last week at CinemaCon during the Amazon presentation to promote his version of The Thomas Crown Affair. This is a project he’s been developing for a decade and he directed the movie, in addition to starring and producing.
A trailer for MBJ’s The Thomas Crown Affair was screened for exhibitors and media in Vegas before he showed up on stage alongside Adria Arjona. I was in New York last week for The Devil Wears Prada 2, talking to some peers who came directly from CinemaCon for the junket and those who saw the Thomas Crown footage were big hype on it – which also tracks with the overall reaction in the room. The trailer played really, really well… because it’s always been a slick, sexy story, and now MBJ has put his own spin on it. That includes taking his clothes off and showing off his body – this man understands the assignment, whoever wants to complain can exit the chat immediately. After all, Thomas Crown is a thief and a liar (said in the voice of Julia Roberts) and MBJ is also playing him as an enigmatic billionaire, cool as f-ck, who isn’t just stealing for kicks but in defiance of colonial cultural larceny. Per Variety, MBJ’s Thomas Crown is “retriev[ing] precious artifacts misappropriated, stolen or sold over the centuries from their rightful creators — not the 1% monsters who buy and trade history and human lives”. So this is Batman and Killmonger, with a dash of Danny Ocean, Michael B Jordan is giving us a popcorn movie that’s also a meditation on colonisation in the arts.
Speaking of popcorn movies…
It was confirmed yesterday that Joseph Kosinski’s dream cast for his Miami Vice movie has been secured - MBJ and Austin Butler have signed on to play Riccardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett. Joseph has been manifesting this for a long time and I recently manifested it when I posted about it three weeks ago, LOL. Because it’s been six months, or more, since the speculation started that Michael and Austin were in talks for the movie which is currently scheduled to open on August 7, 2027. As noted in my post, there’s time, but not a lot of time. My exact wording was, “the only answer is YES, everybody just say YES to this movie and let’s get going, ffs, we need this medicine”. Medicine is on the way. Now that the casting is in place, production will begin likely by summer, so that they can shoot and then get into post as soon as possible.
The last movie Joseph Kosinski directed was F1, nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. I still don’t agree with the nomination but the movie did look great, just like Top Gun: Maverick looked great. Miami Vice ’85, then, will also look great as it is expected that Joseph will shoot it in IMAX and also… well… Michael B Jordan + Austin Butler. You don’t even need the best film technology, their physicality will do most of the work, but the cameras will be the bonus.
It’s been 20 years since Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell, opened in theatres, eventually becoming a cult classic. That was a contemporary version, while the 2027 version will be set in the 80s, revisiting “the glamour and corruption of mid-’80s Miami”. Howww is it possible that the 80s were almost 50 years ago?! But also, trends go and come back around again, when you look back at the TV show from back then, since we’ve been seeing so much 80s in pop culture through fashion and also social media keeping it current, Crockett and Tubbs don’t seem like a relic at all. Will they include The Song in the new movie? They have to, right?!
MBJ and Austin Butler in pastels and linen, knit sweaters, white pants, no socks, and Ray-Bans… I’m f-cking ready. If they could be on set in costume, with photos, by my birthday in September that would be so appreciated. This is my next manifestation.
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