The Next Marvel Movie, to Be Shot with Imax Cameras, Is Really a TV Show

Synchronicity between theatrical releases and broadcast television will get a little closer next September, when a superhero movie based on Marvel characters The Inhumans, filmed entirely with Imax digital cameras, opens worldwide in Imax cinemas for a two-week engagement. But that movie is really the first two episodes of a new ABC TV series, Marvel's The Inhumans, which will later move to the small screen with "additional exclusive content" available only on TV. In the announcment, ABC, Imax and Marvel Television say it's the first-ever "cross-platform marketing launch" for a TV show. [Marvel.com]

AMC Networks Takes a Minority Stake in Funny or Die

A new investment by AMC Networks in Funny or Die will bolster the relationship between the latter and AMC's IFC channel. It's just the latest example of traditional media investing in digital brands. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Criterion Says FilmStruck Is More Than a Streaming Service

Criterion Collection President Peter Becker sheds some light on the ambitions of FilmStruck, the new streaming partnership between Turner Classic Movies and Criterion. He says the service aims to feature more recent titles that Criterion is unable to license on disc, to offer new "extras" that advance film scholarship on a continuous basis, and to showcase film culture across the country, rather than just on the coasts. [Filmmaker]

HBO (Finally) Orders Another Season of Westworld

Westworld

HBO is re-upping with three of its newest shows: Divorce, Insecure, and its big Sunday-night anchor Westworld. The only surprise about the Westworld renewal was that it took a while — despite strong ratings, the show was seven episodes in before HBO publicly committed to the second season. It's not expected to return until 2018, leaving plenty of room for Game of Thrones sure-to-be-big return in 2017. In an interview with EW, HBO's Casey Bloys also commented on a rumored Game of Thrones prequel, True Detective season 3, the Deadwood movie, and Jon Stewart's new animation studio. [Entertainment Weekly]

A Walk of Fame Star for the Late Toshiro Mifune

It took a while — and seems to have been little-noted in the U.S. press — but legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune (best-known for Akira Kurosawa films including Seven Samurai, Rashomon) finally got a star on the Walk of Fame this week. The ceremony, held in Hollywood on Monday, came just a few weeks before the U.S. release of the documentary Mifune: The Last Sumarai. Mifune died in Tokyo in 1997. [Japan Times]