Deadline had the exclusive late yesterday - Benny Safdie’s new film, and his second collaboration with Dwayne Johnson, a film called Lizard Music, will be released on December 25, 2027. So they’re aiming for next year’s holiday box office with a movie that has classic holiday themes.

A lonely boy sets off on an adventure, joined by a kind old stranger, called The Chicken Man (Dwayne Johnson) and his pet chicken, and they all become best friends as they discover magical secret destinations as they follow the music of lizards. The hope for this project is that they can find exactly the right balance of tropes with fresh ideas and world-building that will play well during the season.

And, once again, per Deadline, this character is being hyped as “another transformative role” for The Rock who’s had an erratic couple of years, by his standards. He was praised for his performance in The Smashing Machine a year ago even though, ultimately it didn’t result in an Oscar nomination, but then live action Moana seriously underperformed at the box office this summer. He does have a new Jumanji coming this Christmas though and, well, you never want to count out Jack Black. 

Lizard Music will be live action and CGI with what sounds like a healthy budget and a strong supporting cast: Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi, Regina Hall, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams, Andrew Dice Clay, and David Krumholtz. But it’s also up against some heavyweights. Avengers: Secret Wars is a holiday 2027 box office release. And there’s also a new Lord of the Rings film coming at that time. Will be interesting to see if Benny and Dwayne can deliver.

But it does make sense why they chose to announce the release date because The Rock was seen on set in New York in costume today as The Chicken Man. Evidently this particular old man wears earrings – and nothing about a costume is an accident so now I need to know about what these accessories tell us about this character.

Last night The Rock was all in his feels being in New York. There are a lot of professional memories for him in the city, especially from wrestling. But he’s never starred in a movie that was shot in New York.

What else happened today…

Jenna Ortega is wearing a real cool dress here, she looks gorgeous in it, but I agree with the Fug Girls that the shoe choice is unimaginative. (Go Fug Yourself)

I am waiting a few weeks before watching the Norm McDonald documentary because I cannot handle it right now with this f-cking flu. Late November seems like a good time for it, like during the pre-holiday blues when you need a feel-good cry. (Pajiba)

Yesterday the story was that Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein went to a party together and now the story is that they’re casually dating. This seems like wishful thinking and kinda throwing something out there to see if it sticks … and I’m not mad at it for a change. Let us will them into existence! (Celebitchy)

Let’s move the conversation over to sports for a couple of reasons – first the Jalen Hurts situation, which was alllll over my timeline yesterday and I don’t even follow the NFL. My reaction is the same as so many others: it is f-cking CRAZY to me that he was cleared to play in London… after not sleeping! And yes, my questions are the same too: how is it that this was allowed to happen? Why was his health not prioritised? We’re talking about blood clots and potentially fatal outcomes! Andre Gee gets right to the point: “Are NFL players cattle?” (The Guardian)

The other sports reason is that today is the start of the 2026/27 NBA season. Basketball is back and that too is all over my timeline. Michael Pina is here with the bold predictions. (The Ringer)

And ESPN is here with the NBA x MCU crossover. A new promo was just released that casts the league’s players as the Avengers which is a cross collaboration with Avengers: Doomsday. Of course this is all in the family because ESPN is Disney but I love ball and I love Avengers so this hit me in all the right places except… I’m from Toronto so there’s not enough Shai and not enough Raptors.

Every year, though, at the start of the NBA season, we get a revival of a classic. I’ve seen this so many times today and I’ve seen it so many times over the years and I will never, ever not laugh. It’s so stupid and it’s so funny.

But also respect must be paid to the OG.

And finally, just to get even more sports in here, and to bring it back to Toronto, and Canada really, has it really been a year? Congratulations to the Brewers and the Rays, two teams who are seeking their first World Series title. And to the rest of us outside of LA who don’t have to see the Dodgers do it again – I said what I said!

Let’s savour the baseball because… who knows how long it’ll be before we get more baseball. And on that bittersweet note, this happened a year ago today, SOBBBBBB I miss them so much.

Dwayne Johnson and Benny Safdie on the set of Lizard Music in New York, October 20, 2026

Photo credits: T.JACKSON/The Hapa Blonde/Backgrid

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