Q: Why is “Zootopia” sometimes called “Zootropolis”? Is it like the Harry Potter issue between “Philosopher’s Stone” and “Sorcerer’s Stone”? A: It wasn’t even that artistic.
The story goes that the first Harry Potter book’s title was changed from “Philosopher’s Stone” in the U.K. to “Sorcerer’s Stone” in the U.S. because its American publisher thought that the word “philosopher” wasn’t “magical” enough.
Whereas Disney’s 2016 animated comedy “Zootopia” was renamed “Zootropolis” in the U.K. and elsewhere, reportedly for trademark purposes.
An official Disney statement said the title was changed “to merely allow the film to have a unique title that works for U.K. audiences.”
Q: What is Ving Rhames doing lately? I feel like I haven’t seen him for a while.
A: Ving Rhames (“Mission: Impossible,” 1996) has settled into a pretty amazing career groove.
Essentially, he appears in one the biggest movies of the year every few years and then fills the time between with interesting indie projects.
Those big movies are generally sequels to 1996’s “Mission: Impossible.”
He plays computer hacker Luther Stickell in the series, and is in fact the only actor to appear in all eight films besides their main star, Tom Cruise (“Top Gun,”
1986). All of them have been blockbusters.
In between, he does more scrappy, street-level projects, and his most recent role falls into this category. He’s part of the ensemble cast of “Dope Thief,” a gritty new Apple TV+ drama series about two low-level criminals — played by Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta”) and Wagner Moura (“Narcos”) — who stumble into a major narcotics operation. It’s just now finishing up its first season, with no word so far on a second.
Rhames also just finished an even more ambitious and offbeat project — “Uppercut,” an indie film released in two versions: “still” and “sparkling.” Both are about a young female boxer (Luise Grossmann, “What Costs Your Fear,”
2021) who trains under an aging, disillusioned coach (Rhames).
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