Now You Know

Now You Know - Top 5 exciting facts in Avatar 2 - Episode 71

Now You Know - Avatar: The Way of Water

Nearly 13 years after the release of James Cameron’s Avatar, the most commercially successful film of all time, the highly anticipated sequel has finally received its first look with a teaser trailer. Titled, Avatar: The Way of Water, the film will further explore the world of Pandora and its inhabitants. The original cast of Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang will return for the sequel and will be joined by new cast members, Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel, and Michelle Yeoh. Here are five exciting facts about the upcoming film which is set to release on 16th December this year. Let's dive in.

1. The new film, as the title suggests, will explore the marine life of Pandora, expanding from the flora and fauna shown in the first film. The new trailer confirms this with stunning visuals of underwater exploration. In fact, director James Cameron is a massive fan of underwater exploration and he is the first person to travel solo 7 miles into the depths of Mariana Trench.
2. In addition to underwater exploration, the film will also feature the levitating mountains called the Hallelujah mountains, where the mountains are suspended in the air as a result of magnetic currents. The trailer also showcases more scenic geological locations created as a result of these magnetic currents.
3. The movie will feature marine life some of which debuted in Disney World's Avatar Flight of Passage ride dedicated to the Avatar franchise. 
4. At the end of the first film the human beings, who are alien colonizers, are sent back to their dying planet. But the new trailer reveals that humans are back on Pandora with all of the military and industrial might. 
5. The film will be set 10 years after the events of the first film, focusing on the lead characters Jake and Neytiri, and their family. Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang will also return but in new avatars. Weaver will play an undisclosed new character. Whereas Lang, who was previously killed at the end of the first film appears to have turned into a native Na'vi of Pandora, based on the trailer. 

Well, that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today, Until the next episode, it's your host Nikhil signing out. 

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by - Ryan Gomez

Now You Know - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Welcome to another episode of OTTplay Now You Know, I'm your host Nikhil.

Benedict Cumberbatch is set to return as the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange in the sequel to the 2016 film, Doctor Strange. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film will explore the multiverse and will feature elements of sci-fi and horror. Before you book your tickets for the film's premiere this weekend, here are some lesser-known facts about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Let's get going.

1. Director Sam Raimi has included references to Doctor Strange in one of his previous Marvel films. In the 2004 film Spider-Man 2, starring Tobey Maguire, the fast-food pizza joint where Peter Parker works and the billboard with Mary Jane picture is on Bleecker Street. This is the exact location of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Santorum. In fact, in the same film, J. Jonah Jameson, the editor-in-chief of the fictional Daily Bugle rebuked the suggestion that the villainous Doctor Otto Octavious be called Doctor Strange, to which Jameson retorted "But it's taken!"
2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be categorized in the horror genre. The rest of the 27 films released so far as part of the interconnected universe have been classified as sci-fi, action, comedy, or fantasy.
3. Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Doctor Strange film, was initially set to direct the sequel as well but exited the project due to creative differences. His original pitch for the film would’ve included Namor, a character that inspired the creation of DC’s Aquaman. The film would’ve also included the Defenders, the team of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.
4. Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead franchise and a longtime collaborator of Sam Raimi, said “Linoleum" when asked if he would be making an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He even posted a fake script on social media on April Fools Day 2021, which were in fact lines from the first Doctor Strange film and the 1981 film The Evil Dead. 
5. The film title, Multiverse of Madness,  is inspired by P. Lovecraft's horror novel At the Mountains of Madness. It is also a homage to Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee's use of alliteration in naming his iconic characters such as Stephen Strange, Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, and Susan Storm.
6. The film was unable to use the name of Shuma-Gorath, for the one-eyed tentacle monster. Even though it is used in the comics, a copyright issue meant that the film had to use the name Gargantos. This is because the phrase was originally coined by Robert E Howard in his short story The Curse of the Golden Skull.

Well, that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today, until the next episode it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by - Ryan Gomez

HBO’s hit comedy-action series, Barry, has returned for a third season. Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in India, the TV show is about a hitman named Barry who gets involved in LA’s theatre and art circle. Bill Hader essays the role of the titular character, and the SNL alum’s performances received plaudits, as did the series, winning several accolades over the past few years.  Let's get into some lesser-known trivia from the series. Let's begin.

1. Alec Berg, who created the TV show, was skeptical that an action-comedy TV show would be funny or even be well received. However, co-creator and leading man Bill Hader, a popular comedian, asked him "well, what if the hitman was me?". And the rest as they say is history.
2. Anthony Carrigan, who plays the role of NoHo Hank was supposed to be killed off after the pilot episode. But the creators decided to keep the character as Carrigan’s comedic turn endeared him to the cast and crew. 
3. Hader came up with the idea for the second season in the most unlikely of places -  while waiting in traffic on his way to a press event for season one. He pitched the idea to Alec Berg just minutes before the event commenced. 
4. Actress D'Arcy Carden, who plays Natalie, has known Bill Hader for several years. She has in fact worked for Hader as a nanny. 
5. A writer for another hit HBO series, Game of Thrones,  once complained to Hader that the tone of the first few episodes of Barry was really dark. A bemused Hader responded by asking  "you know you make Game of Thrones, right?.  Alluding to the fact that Game of Thrones has earned notoriety for its dark and depressing storylines. 
6. While actor Henry Winkler was filming his final scenes for the second season, he looked around to realize that the production was happening on exactly the same soundstage Happy Days was filmed forty years ago. Winkler had starred alongside Ron Howard in the hit 70s TV series for nearly a decade. Winkler took the crew of Barry down memory lane by identifying various parts of the set used in Happy Days. 

Well catch the new episodes of Barry streaming on Disney + Hotstar.

Thats the OTTplay Now You Know for today, until the next episode its your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by - Ryan Gomez

Now You Know -  Better Call Saul - Episode 68

Intro : 

Welcome to OTTplay Now You Know, one podcast that talks about lesser-known facts, trivia, and even anecdotes from popular films and shows. I'm your host Nikhil.

Vince Gilligan’s critically acclaimed series, Better Call Saul, a prequel to Gilligan’s magnum opus Breaking Bad has returned for its sixth and final season. Starring Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, and Jonathan Banks in lead roles, the series follows the story of criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill before he becomes the opportunistic Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad. Here are some lesser-known facts about the iconic series.

1. The first season of Better Call Saul is set in the year 2002, six years before the events of Breaking Bad. Creator Vince Gilligan wanted the show to run for six seasons, following Saul Goodman’s life six years before Breaking Bad, and seven years before he makes his first appearance in the franchise.
2. Vince Gilligan had originally planned to leave the series after setting up the first season and hand over the reins of the franchise to Peter Gould, however, he found it too fulfilling and decided to stay on. Which fans will admit, based on the outstanding quality of Better Call Saul, was ultimately the correct decision.
3. Rex Linn's character, Kevin Wachtell, owns a bank named Mesa Verde Bank and Trust. Coincidentally, Linn was a Vice President of a bank in real life before becoming an actor.
4. The numbers eight and two are significant in Better Call Saul. Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman made his first appearance in episode eight of season two of Breaking Bad. It is believed that it is not a coincidence that Better Call Saul premiered on February 8, which is 8/02 in the day/month format. 
5. The series is often revered for its attention to detail and its impeccable production quality. However, in season two a Kia Soul can be seen being driven on a street, a car that was released in 2007. But the scene takes place in the year 2003, four years before the car was launched. 
6. In season one, the titles of all the episodes bar one end with the letter ‘o’. The exception is the episode titled Alpine Shepherd Boy. In fact, it was originally called ‘Jello’, but as the word was trademark protected, the creators decided on an alternate title. 

Catch the new episodes of Better Call Saul exclusively on Netflix

Well, that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today until the next episode it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by Ryan Gomez

Now You Know - Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - Episode 67

The latest installment to the Harry Potter franchise is the third movie from the Fantastic Beasts films titled Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The film stars Eddie Redmayne in the lead as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, and Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald. Written by JK Rowling and Steve Kloves, the film is directed by David Yates, and the story follows Dumbledore, Newt and their allies as they attempt to thwart the dark wizard Grindelwald.  

Here are some lesser-known facts about the film.

1. Johnny Depp’s much-publicized court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard amidst allegations of domestic abuse led to him being fired from the movie after filming just one scene. However, if reports are to be believed he walked away with his full $16 million salary due to the ‘pay or play’ clause in his contract.  

2. Steve Kloves, the original Harry Potter screenwriter, returned after 10 years to help JK Rowling with the script, after the underwhelming reception of the previous film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.  

3. As a result of the global travel restrictions enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of production, the scenes set in Rio de Janeiro could not be shot on location. So the production was moved to Bhutan instead with stills from Rio used in post-production.  

4. The character of Abernathy, played by Kevin Guthrie, was cut from the script after Guthrie was found guilty in 2021 of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017.  

5. Three of the actresses, Claudia Kim, Victoria Yeates, and Alison Sudol, were pregnant by the time production resumed, after being delayed by the global pandemic. Scenes involving Alison Sudol’s character Queenie were either shot from behind or chest up, with the character always wearing black. While Victoria Yeates’s character Bunty is always seen wearing a large coat and is often seen sitting down in most scenes. However, Claudia Kim’s character Nagini, the human form of Voldermort’s snake from the Harry Potter storyline, was very far along into her pregnancy and was unable to travel from Korea, and therefore was unfortunately cut from the film.

6. Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Grindelwald in the film, is the fourth actor from the Hannibal franchise to appear in the Harry Potter films. Mikkelsen essayed the sadistic titular character in the acclaimed TV series Hannibal. The other three actors are Gary Oldman, who played Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films, Ralph Fiennes, who essayed the iconic Lord Voldermort, and Rhys Ifans, who played the role of Xenophilius Lovegood, the eccentric father of the fan-favorite character Luna Lovegood, have all played the main villains in various films from the Hannibal franchise  

Well that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today, until the next episode it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by - Ryan Gomez

Now You Know -  Moon Knight - Episode 66

Moon Knight, the new Disney+ Original series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become one of the most talked-about TV shows in the world. The series stars Oscar Issac as the titular hero who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder. He struggles between his two personas as Steven Grant, the mild-mannered Englishman, and Marc Spector, the American mercenary. His body is also used as a conduit by the Egyptian Moon God Khonsu to fight injustice through Moon Knight, a superhero with special abilities. So here are some trivia about this popular TV show.   

1. In an interview with the Empire magazine, Oscar Issac confessed that he invited his neighbor, the veteran actor Ethan Hawke, to join the cast. Hawke admitted that his co-star Issac convinced him to join, after understanding how committed and dedicated Issac was to the project. 
2. Moon Knight is the first MCU production since 2008’s Iron Man not featuring any previously established characters from the wider universe created by Marvel Studios.
3. Oscar Issac’s cockney accent for his Steven Grant persona was not originally part of the script. Issac decided against using a posh West London accent to give Stephen a working-class background. 
4. To prepare for the role and to fully immerse himself into it, Oscar Issac read a memoir by Robert B. Oxnam titled A Fractured Mind. The memoir details the struggles of the author, whose multiple personalities plagued him as a result of Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. 
5. Despite being an avid comic book fan and a comic book collector while growing up, Oscar Issac had never even heard of Moon Knight until he became involved with the Moon Knight TV series. 
6. Ethan Hawke has based his character, Arthur Harrow, on the infamous cult leader David Koresh, who founded the  Branch Davidians. Koresh was a central figure in the ‘Waco siege’ that resulted in the death of 76 people, including women, children, and Koresh himself.

Well that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today's episode, until the next podcast it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

This year’s Oscars would go down in history for several reasons, none more so than Will Smith’s altercation with an unsuspecting Chris Rock. On today’s Now You Know podcast we take a look at lesser-known facts and anecdotes about what goes on behind the scenes at the Oscars.

1. Seat fillers

The first one is about seat fillers. While Amy Schumer did bring this to everyone’s attention this year at the Oscars with a poorly placed joke at the expense of Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, there is quite a bit that people may not know about regarding seat fillers. Seat fillers are essentially people who fill in for actors, filmmakers, and anyone invited to the ceremony if they are required to leave their seats for a washroom break. Nearly 300 people are hired and they have to join a waiting list by submitting a CV along with a picture of the attire they would wear for the function. Seat fillers are usually friends or relatives of people who work for the ceremony or people invited to the event. 

Here’s another one you probably didn't know. There are two red carpets for the ceremony. One for the Hollywood A-listers closer to the cameras and reporters, and one for the other invitees closer to the fans and security personnel. 
 

If a host of an award-winner makes a glaring error on stage, like when La La Land was mistakenly declared the winner instead of Moonlight in 2017, they are usually covered up with humor and jokes to disguise the awkwardness. Similar to how Chris Rock steadied himself and joked after the infamous slap by Will Smith, in order to ease himself and the viewers. However, it is almost ironic that it was a joke that triggered the whole ‘slap gate’ incident.

Well that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today’s episode, until the next podcast its your host Nikhil signing out

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Written by - Ryan Gomez

Welcome to another episode of OTTplay Now You Know, one podcast that talks about trivia, lesser-known facts and even anecdotes of popular films and shows. I'm your host Nikhil.

Bahubali director S.S. Rajamouli’s next major release is the period drama RRR. The highly anticipated film starring, Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, and Ajay Devgn, is set to hit theaters on the 25th of March and will be available in several major regional languages. So here are some lesser-known facts and anecdotes on RRR. Lets begin

RRR is all set to hit the theaters on 25th March .

Well that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today’s episode, until the next podcast it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

Welcome to another episode of OTTplay Now You Know , one podcast that talks about lesser-known facts, trivia and even anecdotes from popular films and shows. I'm your host Nikhil.

Revered as one of the greatest films ever made, The Godfather, turns 50 on the 24th of March. Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Diane Keaton, the film redefined the crime genre and revolutionized conventional filmmaking. Director Francis Ford Coppola collaborated with Mario Puzo, the author of the original book, to create this iconic masterpiece.  

If you haven't watched this classic flick yet then do so streaming on AppleTV+, Google Play, Jio cinema and YouTube.

Well that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today’s episode , until the next podcast it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj ka dekhoge OTTplay se poocho