Priscilla Presley Makes First Red Carpet Appearance Since Daughter Lisa Marie’s Death
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Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.
Everyone loves a good boxing movie!
While it is 1976’s Academy Award winning ‘Rocky‘ that is now considered the gold standard in boxing movies, there have been many great ones over the years including Martin Scorsese‘s ‘Raging Bull,’ the Oscar-winning Muhammad Ali documentary ‘When We Were Kings,’ as well as the biopic ‘Ali‘ starring Will Smith.
Not to mention the long running ‘Rocky’ franchise which has produced six ‘Rocky’ movies and three ‘Creed‘ spinoffs, including the latest, ‘Creed III,’ which is the first movie in the series to not feature Sylvester Stallone, but was directed by star Michael B. Jordan and opens in theaters on March 3rd.
In honor of ‘Creed III’s release, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best boxing movies of all time, including ‘Creed III.’
Let’s begin!
MGM Distribution Co.
His Wife (Talia Shire) is dead and his Son (Milo Ventimiglia) hates him but this old man still has fight in him! When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) retaliates by challenging Rocky to a nationally televised, 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who’s faster, stronger, and thirty years his junior.
“It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
68
1 hr 41 minDec 20th, 2006
A pair of aging boxing rivals (Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro) are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout — 30 years after their last match.
“Stallone vs DeNiro”
61
1 hr 53 minDec 25th, 2013
The more you love, the harder you fight. The world looks at Billy Flynn (Jon Voight) and sees a has-been who seemingly never was, an ex-boxing champion slammed to the mat years ago by booze and gambling. But Billy’s son TJ (Ricky Schroder) sees what the world doesn’t. He knows what his flawed but loving father is, was and always will be – The Champ.
“The most poignant love-triangle of all – a father, his son, and the woman who came between them.”
70
2 hr 1 minJul 10th, 1979
The inspirational story of World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza (Miles Teller), who after a near fatal car crash, which left him not knowing if he’d ever walk again, made one of sports most incredible comebacks.
“This is what the greatest comeback in sports history looks like”
68
1 hr 56 minNov 18th, 2016
After Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian (Talia Shire) but can’t put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the “Master of Disaster” and the “Italian Stallion” are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.
“Once he fought for a dream. Now he’s fighting for love!”
72
1 hr 59 minJun 15th, 1979
Warner Bros. Pictures
Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) isn’t prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) to enter his life. But Maggie’s determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.
“Beyond his silence, there is a past. Beyond her dreams, there is a feeling. Beyond hope, there is a memory. Beyond their journey, there is a love.”
80
2 hr 12 minJan 28th, 2005
Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a washed-up fighter who retired from the ring when robots took over the sport. After his robot is trashed, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) to rebuild and train an unlikely contender.
“If you get one shot, make it real.”
69
2 hr 7 minOct 6th, 2011
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) who, in the 1920s following his retirement, makes a surprise comeback in order to get him and his family out of a socially poor state.
“One man’s extraordinary fight to save the family he loved.”
75
2 hr 24 minJun 2nd, 2005
Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight against an opponent with ties to his family’s past, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is up against the challenge of his life.
“There’s More to Lose than a Title”
70
2 hr 10 minNov 21st, 2018
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn (Daniel Day-Lewis) is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill (Emily Watson). Fourteen years later, Danny is released from prison and returns to his old working class neighborhood to resume his life as a boxer.
“Love is always worth fighting for.”
67
1 hr 54 minDec 31st, 1997
Sony Pictures Releasing
In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay (Will Smith). Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self-confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. Yet at the top of his game, both Ali’s personal and professional lives face the ultimate test.
“Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”
68
2 hr 37 minDec 10th, 2001
Now the world champion, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is living in luxury and only fighting opponents who pose no threat to him in the ring, until Clubber Lang (Mr. T) challenges him to a bout. After taking a pounding from Lang, the humbled champ turns to former bitter rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) for a rematch with Lang.
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damien Anderson (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damien – a fighter who has nothing to lose.
“You can’t run from your past.”
72
1 hr 56 minMar 3rd, 2023
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damien Anderson,… Read the Plot
Boxer “Irish” Micky Ward’s (Mark Wahlberg) unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His ‘Rocky’-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky (Christian Bale), a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO’d by drugs and crime.
“Every dream deserves a fighting chance.”
74
1 hr 56 minDec 17th, 2010
Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.
“Get ready for the next world war.”
71
1 hr 31 minNov 21st, 1985
The Weinstein Company
Billy “The Great” Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife (Rachel McAdams) and daughter (Oona Laurence), and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a former fighter who trains the city’s toughest amateur boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.
“Believe in Hope.”
74
2 hr 3 minJul 24th, 2015
The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
“Your legacy is more than a name”
74
2 hr 13 minNov 25th, 2015
It’s 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the “Rumble in the Jungle” is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America’s top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
“The untold story of the Rumble in the Jungle.”
77
1 hr 29 minOct 25th, 1996
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro), whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
80
2 hr 9 minNov 14th, 1980
United Artists
When world heavyweight boxing champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wants to give an unknown fighter a shot at the title as a publicity stunt, his handlers choose palooka Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), an uneducated collector for a Philadelphia loan shark. Rocky teams up with trainer Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) to make the most of this once in a lifetime break.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.Everyone loves a good
Final Oscar voting has now ended for the upcoming 95th ceremony.
Speaking with dozens of voters over the past few days, it’s nearly impossible to gauge the outcomes based on over 9,600 eligible voting members, who all have eclectic tastes and no apparent rhyme or reason for selecting specific films and performances.
There are quite a few categories that are seemingly open for a surprise.
Here are seven questions gathered from observations from discussions with voters and seven anonymous ballots from the AMPAS members before the voting deadline.
It should be noted that these are my observations and trends, not my official final predictions.
How many Oscars are “too much” for “Everything Everywhere All at Once?”
A24’s multiverse comedy has cleaned up with the major guilds, winning DGA, PGA, SAG and WGA, the first film to do so since “Argo” (2012). In addition, no film has lost the best picture after winning all four. However, with 11 nominations, there’s an active debate regarding how many categories it can win, ranging from as low as three to upwards of eight.
In this new era of preferential ballots, international and younger Academy members have shown to exercise a “spread the love” mentality, resisting the urge to go down the line for a movie in every category it’s nominated. This is demonstrated by only two best picture winners since 2009 taking home five or more statuettes. A helpful tool I’ve used is “traveling down the ballot” — reviewing the order in which an Academy member vote in the categories.
The order is: best picture, actor, supporting actor, actress, supporting actress, animated feature, cinematography, costume design, directing, documentary feature, documentary short, film editing, international feature, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, production design, animated short, live action short, sound, visual effects, adapted screenplay and original screenplay.
If you are an “Everything Everywhere” stan, as the first anonymous Oscar voter I spoke to this season was, they cast their ballots for best picture, director, and screenplay, along with Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. However, a supporting actress from a different fim, Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), received their vote when they arrived in the category, not Jamie Lee Curtis or Stephanie Hsu.
And then there’s the editing race, which seems down to Paul Rogers’ BAFTA, CCA and ACE-winning work on “Everything” and Eddie Hamilton’s high-flying pace of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Voter #1 (Male, a technical branch member)
Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once (1), All Quiet on the Western Front (2), The Banshees of Inisherin (3), Triangle of Sadness (4), Top Gun: Maverick (5)
Director: The Daniels
Actor: Austin Butler
Actress: Michelle Yeoh
Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan
Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett
Original Screenplay: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Adapted Screenplay: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Animated Feature: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Production Design: All Quiet on the Western Front
Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western Front
Costume Design: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Film Editing: Top Gun: Maverick
Makeup and Hairstyling: All Quiet on the Western Front
Sound: All Quiet on the Western Front
Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water
Original Score: The Fabelmans
Original Song: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Documentary Feature: Navalny
International Feature: All Quiet on the Western Front
Animated Short: “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
Documentary Short: How Do You Measure a Year?
Live Action Short: The Red Suitcase
“The Fabelmans”
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
What categories must you watch throughout the night to tell you what will happen in the best picture race?
Every viable best picture contender could seemingly win one or two categories, which would cause an update in the presumed “Everything Everywhere” sweep. Essentially, if the films below win these categories, it could be cause for concern for A24 and point to a potential upset.
Voter #2 (Female, Writers Branch)
Best Picture: Women Talking (1), Tár (2), Top Gun: Maverick (3), Everything Everywhere All at Once (4), Elvis (5), The Fabelmans (6), Avatar: The Way of Water (7), The Banshees of Inisherin (8), All Quiet on the Western Front (9), Triangle of Sadness (10)
Director: Todd Field
Actor: Bill Nighy
Actress: Cate Blanchett
Supporting Actor: Brian Tyree Henry
Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon
Original Screenplay: Tár
Adapted Screenplay: Women Talking
Animated Feature: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Production Design: The Fabelmans
Cinematography: Elvis
Costume Design: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Film Editing: Tár
Makeup and Hairstyling: The Batman
Sound: Top Gun: Maverick
Visual Effects: Top Gun: Maverick
Original Score: Babylon
Original Song: RRR
Documentary Feature: Fire of Love
International Feature: Argentina, 1985
Animated Short: My Year of Dicks
Documentary Short: Abstain
Live Action Short: Abstain
Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer on the set of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Scott Garfield
Could “Top Gun: Maverick” pull off the impossible?
The road to best picture isn’t only resting in the No. 1 and No. 2 votes a movie receives. It also includes which movies are eliminated during the tabulation. To win best picture, a film must secure 50% plus one of the total ballots cast.
While we’ll never know the actual vote tallies, many assume “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and “Women Talking” will be among the first movies eliminated. However, depending on how many first-place votes both “Everything” and “Maverick” secure, “Elvis” or “The Fabelmans” could hold the key to what would be one of the biggest upsets in Oscars history, more significant than “Moonlight” winning over “La La Land” (2016).
Voter #3 (Producers Branch)
Best Picture: Top Gun: Maverick (1), Avatar: The Way of Water (2), Everything Everywhere All at Once (3), Elvis (4), The Banshees of Inisherin (5)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Actor: Colin Farrell
Actress: Cate Blanchett
Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan
Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis
Original Screenplay: The Banshees of Inisherin
Adapted Screenplay: All Quiet on the Western Front
Animated Feature: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Production Design: Babylon
Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western Front
Costume Design: Babylon
Film Editing: Top Gun: Maverick
Makeup and Hairstyling: The Batman
Sound: All Quiet on the Western Front
Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water
Original Score: All Quiet on the Western Front
Original Song: Top Gun: Maverick
Documentary Feature: Abstain
International Feature: All Quiet on the Western Front
Animated Short: Abstain
Documentary Short: Abstain
Live Action Short: Abstain
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
Can Colin Farrell become a feckin’ Oscar winner?
With BAFTA and Golden Globes going with Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Critics Choice and SAG choosing Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), on the surface, the race has narrowed to one of the two men walking with the statuette. But, interestingly, Farrell has also come up in multiple conversations, with members sharing they voted for the Irish veteran.
A Farrell triumph would be unprecedented, since he has only a Golden Globe for lead actor (comedy) on his side. In the era of the four televised awards ceremonies, no comedy actor has pulled off an Oscar win with the sole help of a Globe. That explains Leonardo DiCaprio’s loss for “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). In fact, the last lead actor winner with only a Globe on either genre side was Sean Penn in “Mystic River” (2003).
Voter #4 (Music Branch)
Best Picture: The Fabelmans (1), The Banshees of Inisherin (2), Everything Everywhere All at Once (3), Women Talking (4)
Director: The Daniels
Actor: Brendan Fraser
Actress: Michelle Yeoh
Supporting Actor: Judd Hirsch
Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon
Original Screenplay: The Banshees of Inisherin
Adapted Screenplay: Women Talking
Animated Feature: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Production Design: The Fabelmans
Cinematography: Empire of Light
Costume Design: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Film Editing: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Makeup and Hairstyling: The Whale
Sound: The Batman
Visual Effects: Abstain
Original Score: The Banshees of Inisherin
Original Song: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Documentary Feature: A House Made of Splinters
International Feature: Close
Animated Short: Abstain
Documentary Short: Abstain
Live Action Short: Abstain
Bill Nighy in “Living”
Sony Pictures Classics
Could “Living” become the new “Gods and Monsters” and “Sling Blade”?
Adapted screenplay has been whittled down to “All Quiet on the Western Front” or “Women Talking.” Nevertheless, it was surprising to hear how many members were checking the box for Sony Pictures Classics’ “Living,” the remake of Akira Kirosawa’s “Ikiru.” It’s the only nominated movie with an acting nomination (Bill Nighy in best actor).
Pundits have often seen the screenplay prizes as a consolation for a movie that isn’t winning best picture. Look at wins for “Jojo Rabbit” (2019), “BlacKkKlansman” (2018), “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) and “The Imitation Game” (2014). However, films rarely win screenplay without an acting nom unless it’s winning best picture. That was seen with “Gods and Monsters” (1998) winning over “The Thin Red Line” and “Sling Blade” (1996) besting best picture winner “The English Patient,” so there’s precedent for such an upset.
Voter #5 (Male, Producers Branch)
Best Picture: Tár
Director: Todd Field
Actor: Paul Mescal
Actress: Michelle Yeoh
Supporting Actor: Barry Keoghan
Supporting Actress: Stephanie Hsu
Original Screenplay: Tár
Adapted Screenplay: Living
Animated Feature: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Production Design: Elvis
Cinematography: Tár
Costume Design: Babylon
Film Editing: Tár
Makeup and Hairstyling: Abstain
Sound: Abstain
Visual Effects: Abstain
Original Score: Abstain
Original Song: Abstain
Documentary Feature: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
International Feature: EO
Animated Short: Ice Merchants
Documentary Short: Haulout
Live Action Short: The Red Suitcase
Netflix
How many Oscars will “All Quiet on the Western Front” win?
Netflix is bullish on the chances of “All Quiet on the Western Front” coming off seven BAFTA wins. Some are tracking it to walk away with as few as one for best international feature, and up to six including multiple tech categories, with some even suggesting that best picture is on the table. While it’s respected in the circles I’ve come across, for a movie that would be the first to win without any of the four prominent guild mentions would genuinely break the statistical towers of awards punditry.
Some tech categories are very much up for grabs, but winning the Academy’s top prize seems more like a pipe dream.
Voter #6 (Female, Editors Branch)
Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front (1), Tár (2), Triangle of Sadness (3)
Director: Ruben Östlund
Actor: Austin Butler
Actress: Cate Blanchett
Supporting Actor: Brendan Gleeson
Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon
Original Screenplay: Tár
Adapted Screenplay: Living
Animated Feature: The Sea Beast
The race for original score seems down to the two veterans — John Williams and Carter Burwell?
In one corner, you have John Williams, the oldest nominee of a competitive Oscar in history, coming to bat with another Spielberg joint, “The Fablemans.” With five Oscar wins, with the last coming over 30 years ago, there’s a groundswell of support for the composer to take one more home. Of course, he would be the oldest winner in history in any category.
In the other corner, Carter Burwell, the New York-born composer of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” who, despite a stunning filmography, has only landed two previous Oscar noms — “Carol” (2015) and “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017). With the snubs of Alexandre Desplat (“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”) and Hildur Guðnadóttir (“Tár” and “Women Talking”), that’s presented a more fluid race where Justin Hurwitz (“Babylon”) won the Globe and Volker Bertelmann (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) won BAFTA. It’s a nail-biter.
Voter #7 (Directors Branch)
Best Picture: Elvis
Director: Steven Spielberg
Actor: Austin Butler
Actress: Michelle Williams
Supporting Actor: Barry Keoghan
Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis
Original Screenplay: The Fabelmans
Adapted Screenplay: All Quiet on the Western Front
Animated Feature: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Production Design: All Quiet on the Western Front
Cinematography: Empire of Light
Costume Design: Babylon
Film Editing: Elvis
Makeup and Hairstyling: Elvis
Sound: Top Gun: Maverick
Visual Effects: All Quiet on the Western Front
Original Score: All Quiet on the Western Front
Original Song: Abstain
Documentary Feature: Abstain
International Feature: All Quiet on the Western Front
Animated Short: Abstain
Documentary Short: Abstain
Live Action Short: Abstain
The final Awards Circuit Column will go up on Wednesday, with the individual categories being updated on Thursday.
Happy Oscars pool!
Final Oscar voting has now ended for
On Sunday evening, thousands of fans poured into Rochester, New York’s Main Street Armory for a concert set to be headlined by GloRilla, one of hip-hop’s fastest rising stars. Among them were 28-year-old Tamira De Jesus, who had heard mixed reviews about the venue in the past – claims that suggested that it should have been shut down long ago and more sinister accusations that it was a death trap. But once inside the venue, her experience at first clashed against rumors that had often popped up throughout the live music community in the area.
It was only after the show had ended around 11 p.m. and the buzzing audience made its way to the exits that De Jesus understood why the venue had its reputation. “I didn’t see anything but the whole crowd pushing everyone towards the bathroom like a wave pool,” she tells Rolling Stone, recalling that multiple doors were blocked off by security and police following a rumored physical altercation outside of the venue. “People [began] to fall over and get stepped on.” With even fewer points of exit, the crowd erupted into hysteria.
On Monday, Rochester Police Department reported that the crowd surge was believed to be the result of unfounded claims of gunfire inside the venue. The chaotic incident left two women – Brandy Miller, 35, and Rhondesia Belton, 33 – dead, another hospitalized in critical condition, and seven additional people injured. Police Chief David M. Smith shared that no evidence was found to support the shooting claims. An investigation into several possible causes, including “possibly crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and other contributing factors,” remains ongoing.
“I was literally being suffocated while trying to help people on the ground stand up. I was terrified and all I could think is that they gotta let the crowd out into the street because they was not going to stop,” De Jesus says. “I Iiterally screamed to tell people to stop pushing and to help the people on the ground stand up. I heard a man literally say, ‘Fuck them, Step on them.’ It was the most inhumane thing I have seen in my whole life and I am still having anxiety.”
Despite eight Rochester police officers being stationed directly outside, “the venue was not prepared to handle an incident of this magnitude at all,” De Jesus says. The panic of the crowd paired with the lack of direction and communication from venue employees proved to be a dangerous combination as thousands of bodies pressed against each other in search of an exit.
Online reviews for the venue often specifically call out a deficiency in proper security practices both at the door and inside of the venue. “The staff from the Armory was pushing us back into the Armory, but we were yelling that they couldn’t do that because everyone in the back would not stop pushing,” De Jesus recalls. “They were trying to keep a huge crowd inside somewhere that no one could hear them instead of trying to keep a crowd [out] that is pushing and having no regard or sense of community at all.”
A rep for the venue did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. It’s unclear which of the three security companies the venue uses was employed that night, but reps for the companies — Brown Brothers Security, Blackhawk Training Academy and Enterprise Security Consulting and Training — did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
A number of patrons did attempt to assist one another, locking arms with others to maintain balance and moving towards safety together. “I could not just step on nobody; I literally saved two people lives,” one attendee, Bennie Redfield, wrote on Facebook. “I pulled them up off that ground while trying to control the crowd around me. The one girl gave me the biggest hug ever and thanked me for saving her from the crowd of people stepping on her.”
Still, there was only so much individual people could do while attempting to manage mayhem born from failings in security and management. “There was one girl that was absolutely lifeless. I wasn’t able to help her because she wasn’t moving and I was too scared to touch her,” Redfield wrote, adding: “Last night was traumatizing. I just keep seeing all the people that were trampled.”
Another Facebook user using a pseudonym described being in the middle of the crowd. “I felt all the air leaving my lungs, my whole body hurt. To be screaming for help and have people step on you and climb over you was so fucking scary,” she wrote. “I just kept thinking about my kids and how I didn’t want them to grow up without me.” Among the two deceased victims was a fellow mother, Belton, who is survived by a young son.
De Jesus estimates that she was in the midst of the crush for no longer than 15 minutes, though “it felt like forever.” When she stepped outside, she was washed over with ease, but it was eerie. “The moment of relief was as soon as I hit the stairs and seen people just standing around watching like nothing was happening and like they didn’t see us being pushed back inside of a place with no exit and nowhere to run,” she says.
“This is a tragedy of epic proportions,” Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said at a news conference on Monday. “It’s something that all of us who love concerts worry about. When you go to a concert you do not expect to be trampled. Your loved ones expect you to be able to come home and talk about the experience you had at that great concert.”
On Sunday evening, thousands of fans
My screenwriting influences don’t follow the norm. I’ve worked with story for just about my entire life. I didn’t attend film school either. Before I worked at Raindance I worked on over sixty different jobs – everything from a debt collector to estate salesman to project manager on the Canada Space Arm project. I also had a three year stint on something called the Gnosis Medical Systems project in Toronto – an advanced non-invasive health project that was too far ahead of it’s time to succeed, although the TENS pain control machine now available on the NHS was an outcome of the research we did.
In each of these jobs it was my use of story that brought me success. And so too with Raindance. If you look at my bio at the bottom of this page you will see that I have tried to tell the story of why I Raindance.
Over time I have honed these storytelling skills in a way that is unique to me and my experiences. I’d like to share the three key screenplay influences that have shaped my views on screenwriting and my ability to tell stories.
Evangelical or what? I grew up in rural Ontario. My parents were Gentle People – the horse and buggy Amish-Mennonite people – although the horses were sold when I was really young.
After harvest in the summer my folks would put up big tents that would seat a hundred people or more. These tents became the venue of all day hell-fire and brimstone evangelical prayer meetings. My dad was a lay preacher and he’d get up and tell stories so vividly I thought I was there. He made them so real I came home after one session screaming “We’ve got to get Daniel. He’s trapped in the lions’ cave. Quick or he’s going to get killed!”
Of course, creating emotion is one of the key tricks of storytelling, and a trick I was going to get a lot better at. I’ll never forget the tent meetings and the energy rocking around the tent.
My dad gave up farming and took us three kids and my mum inland from Mogadiscio a hundred kilometres to a tiny hamlet called Mahaddei Wen. I don’t know if it’s still there or not, but my memory of the stories told are as strong now as the days I first heard them.
On special evenings just as the sun was setting my dad would take me to the village. In the centre they built a fire and the men folk would sit around the fire sipping sweet Somali tea. The elder, the one with the beard would start by saying “I’m telling a story. But actually it’s a true story. My father told me and his father before him all the way back to the prophets Mohammed and Abraham, so I know it to be true”.
The others would murmur consent and the story would begin, often long into the night. If the elder made a mistake the others would correct him and his story would have been passed down generation by generation literally unchanged. A bit like Homer’s Illiad.
What I learned from those nights on the Ogaden desert was that storytelling is as old as the hills. And a good story never ages. Those stories I heard sounded like they were happening to someone a few weeks ago. It was only as the story unfolded that I realised they were stories from 800 years ago.
I started Raindance filmmaking classes in April 1992. It was another 18 months before I started the Raindance Film Festival. I brought to London the so-called gurus of filmmaking. First was Dov S-S Simens followed by Michael Hague, Syd Field, Ron Suppa, John Truby, and then just twice, an American clairvoyant and spiritualist Viki King. Her book How To Write A Movie in 21 Days had just come out. Based on her Inner Movie Method, the book has become a film industry standard text.
I was intrigued by King’s step-by-step, handholding, practical advice on actually writing your screenplay day-by-day, from idea to finished product. Not only that, Viki came to Raindance with a wealth of experience writing for American TV shows and consulting for serious screenwriters sequestered behind Hollywood’s closed doors. Her writing and her class had a truth, a conviction and passion of one who had walked the creative road many times before. A bit like the Somali storytellers of old.
I haven’t read her book or heard her speak for twenty years, but I do remember two key points:
– firstly her creative approach basically says there is no such thing as a mistake
– secondly her structural approach expands on the 3 act structure paradigm touted by so many others.
Viki takes the 3 act structure used by Syd Field and adds 5 more key moments she argues a story needs in order to succeed.
Page 1 – like Field – establish the time, place and setting
Page 3 – King argues we need to know about the theme of the story
Page 10 – King says that by page ten we need to see the main character embark on a goal
Page 30 – like Field – the first big turning point where the protagonist tries and fails to get their goal
Page 45 – King established a metamorphosis scene where the protagonist has an enlightenment
Page 60 – like Field – the so-called moment of no return
Page 75 – King highlights a key moment where the protagonist is the furthest from their goal. Christopher Vogler calls this the visit to the underworld
Page 90 – like Field – the climax
No one says this better than Viki King. Right now her book is available on Amazon for a tenner. Get it. It’s an inspirational read.
How To Write A Movie in 21 Days
Have you read Viki King’s book? Have you a thought or comment ? You can share in the comments box below. And what are your screenwriting influences?
My screenwriting influences don’t follow the norm.
Thailand’s lese-majeste law, which forbids insult of the monarchy, is among the world’s strictest.
Thailand's lese-majeste law, which forbids insult of
Although Charlie Sheen grew up in a family of celebrated actors, he wasn’t always “winning!”
The New York City native (real name Carlos Estévez) started acting as a child, making an uncredited appearance in his father Martin Sheen’s 1974 made-for-TV movie The Execution of Private Slovik. Charlie did not make his own foray onto the big screen, however, until 10 years later when he had a small role in Red Dawn opposite Hollywood heavyweights such as Patrick Swayze and Lea Thompson. His first major part followed in 1986 with the war film Platoon.
Charlie continued to star in box office hits including Wall Street (with dad Martin) and Major League through the ‘80s and ‘90s and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. His biggest break, though, came in 2003 when he was cast as Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men. He starred in the CBS sitcom alongside Jon Cryer for eight seasons before being fired in 2011 for making derogatory comments about the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre. At the time, Charlie had been struggling with drug and alcohol abuse and gave a series of infamous interviews in which he ranted about “tiger blood” and boasted about “winning” in life.
After being roasted on Comedy Central later in 2011, Charlie made his return to the small screen. He starred in the TV adaptation of Jack Nicholson’s movie Anger Management, which aired on FX from 2012 to 2014.
While Charlie’s career has slowed down in recent years, his personal life and relationships continue to make headlines. He was married to Donna Peele from 1995 to 1996, Denise Richards from 2002 to 2006 and Brooke Mueller from 2008 to 2011. He has five children: Cassandra with high school sweetheart Paula Profit, Sam and Lola with Richards and twins Bob and Max with Mueller. He is also a grandfather to Cassandra’s daughter, Luna.
In 2015, Charlie announced that he was HIV positive and had been diagnosed approximately four years prior. While focusing on his health, he also gave up one of his past vices, alcohol, in 2017.
“I made some changes to give myself a shot to do some cool things professionally,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in 2019. “And I’m proud of finally being consistent. And reliable. And noble.”
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Scroll through the gallery below to see Charlie through the years!
Although Charlie Sheen grew up in a
YouTube is finally getting rid of a “legacy” feature that has most likely been annoying users for quite some time now.
According to the official YouTube forum post and reported on by Ars Technica, YouTube will finally be retiring the overlay ad starting on April 6, 2023. The overlay ads, or ‘legacy ad format’ as the post refers to the feature as, “will no longer appear on YouTube videos or as an available ad format when you turn on ads in YouTube Studio.”
The post details that the banner ads were only available on desktop mode and that they were “disruptive for viewers.” YouTube believes that this removal will have a limited impact on most Creators as “engagement shifts to other ad formats.” This makes sense since Creators only make money off overlay ads if the viewer clicks on them, and most likely a very small percentage actually did so.
This is a great move from YouTube, not only because these ads are in fact disruptive since they blocked a portion of the screen but also because this marks the first time YouTube actually removed a type of ad.
It shows that the media giant is willing to pay attention to what viewers want and preemptively act on that. And this leaves it open for YouTube to reevaluate other ad types or even ad length and decide whether to pull back on those as well. For example, it could analyze what kinds of ads viewers tend to hit the Skip button on – which is an important metric since Creators don’t get paid for ads on their videos if the viewer skips it – and then do away with that ad type.
Regardless, aggressively anti-consumer features should always be retired. It would be nice if they weren’t introduced in the first place, but might be too much to ask of a corporation.
YouTube is finally getting rid of a
EXCLUSIVE: In the 1980s America was gripped by “Satanic Panic,” a fear that devil-worshipping cretins were engaged in secret ritualistic abuse and child sacrifice.
These fanciful and irrational notions didn’t come out of nowhere. The documentary Satan Wants You, premiering at the SXSW Film Festival this Saturday, explores the origins of a cultural delusion that wound up harming a lot of innocent people. Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams directed the film, which is programmed in the festival’s Documentary Spotlight section.
Satanic Panic “was ignited by Michelle Remembers, a lurid memoir by psychiatrist Larry Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith. Supported by the Catholic Church, the bestselling book relied on recovered-memory therapy to uncover Michelle’s childhood abduction by baby-stealing Satanists,” according to a description of the film. “Amplified by law enforcement and America’s Daytime TV boom, Satanic rumors spread through panic-stricken communities across the world, leaving a wave of destruction and wrongful convictions in their wake. This film digs deep into the roots of moral panics and cult conspiracies, showing how these events still affect and distort our reality today.”
Oprah was among the daytime TV shows in that era that tackled the supposed wave of Satanism, with Oprah Winfrey confidently informing her viewers, “There are thousands of men and women who are secretly worshipping the Devil.”
As explored in the documentary, the relationship between Pazder and Smith — authors of Michelle Remembers — began as doctor and patient but they later married.
Directors Sean Horlor (L) and Steve J. Adams
Courtesy of Grady Mitchell
“What surprised us most when we started the film was the number of experts—police officers, journalists, sociologists, podcasters—who believed the Pazders and their book were responsible for igniting the Satanic Panic of the ‘80s and ‘90s, yet no one had ever explored this story in a documentary format,” Horlor and Adams write in a director’s statement. “This is the very first time that Michelle’s sister, Larry’s ex-wife, and Larry’s daughter have gone on the record to tell their side of this story. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine all these stories together to reveal the true origins of the Satanic Panic, and show how they connect to the Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracies of today.”
The directors continue, “This film is also ground-breaking for another reason. In our final month of production, an anonymous source sent us one of Michelle and Larry’s original therapy tapes from 1976. This is one-of-a-kind archive material that has never been heard by anyone but Michelle and Larry and the transcribers who worked on their book. It has eluded countless investigators across the past four decades and SXSW audiences will be the very first people to listen to Michelle’s first-hand rememberings in Satan Wants You.”
Horlor and Adams write, direct and executive produce Satan Wants You. Producers are Michael Grand and Melissa James. The editor is Graham Kew and the cinematographer is Blake Davey. Satan Wants You is an acquisition title at SXSW. Cargo Film and Releasing is handling sales.
Watch the trailer for Satan Wants You above.
EXCLUSIVE: In the 1980s America was gripped
Nearly two months after the sudden death of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, on Jan. 12., Priscilla Presley made her first public appearance on Tuesday for a special screening and conversation around her new Netflix series Agent Elvis.
Presley, who co-created and voices herself in the adult animated comedy, took part in a Q&A alongside fellow co-creator John Eddie and showrunner Mike Arnold at Netflix’s Tudum Theater. The series, which sees Matthew McConaughey take over as the King of Rock and Roll, also features a voice cast of Kaitlin Olson, Johnny Knoxville, Niecy Nash, Tom Kenny and Don Cheadle. It follows Elvis as he is inducted into a secret government spy program to battle dark forces threatening America.
Eddie said the show was inspired by the famous photo of Elvis with Richard Nixon, where he offered his services to be a DEA agent, as well as speeches he made about dreaming of being a comic book hero.
“That was why we made it, as opposed to doing a live-action thing or something, we specifically want to do animated,” Eddie explained, and “also because, all due respect, Austin Butler did an amazing job and other people have done. I’ve been a big Elvis fan since I was a little kid and even as great as anybody does it, they can never capture Elvis’ [appearance]. He was such a beautiful man, he’s just crazy, and so we thought maybe through animation” that similarity would be possible.
Presley said she wanted to do the show as a way of “introducing Elvis to the youth today, wondering why he was so famous and to see him as a hero.”
“I know that this is a dream come true for Elvis because this is really what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a federal agent, and for me, I’ve always wanted to give Elvis what he wanted and never really quite made it,” she continued. “He was a beautiful human being and a very talented human being, and I want kids to see who he really was in this because he really was, he wanted to be an agent. And now he is.”
Presley also explained that McConaughey was the right choice to play the rock star because “he’s got a great voice, a great voice. He’s got that Southern voice and deep voice.” They discussed other actors but kept coming back to him for his Southern drawl, which Presley said Elvis had “when he would get back to Memphis. He’d pick it all up at once. Back here in California, he tried to talk Californian.”
The show, which comes from Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures TV and Authentic Brands Group, also pulls from real moments of Elvis’ life, like his pet chimpanzee Scatter who is featured in the series.
“Scatter did all those things. Scatter escaped. Scatter went into Bel Air and people’s windows and scared them to death. The police [came] in on Scatter all the time because he would escape,” Presley remembered. “I was there when that happened. We had a place in Bel Air, and yeah, he escaped a lot. And the neighbors just wanted us to get rid of him.”
Agent Elvis starts streaming on Netflix March 17.
Nearly two months after the sudden death
For anyone holding on to some latent hope that Idris Elba will be the next James Bond, I have some bad news: “ Luther: The Fallen Sun ” puts (another) nail in that very firmly sealed coffin. In one of the rare moments of levity in the sinister film, the embattled detective John Luther sits down at a chic bar and tells the bartender it’s been a long day (an understatement).
“I would say a long day calls for a martini,” the bartender says.
Luther’s response? “No.” He’ll take some water, and, “if it makes you happy you can make it fizzy.”
This was not an accidental moment, “Luther” creator Neill Cross has said. Elba even wondered if it was a bit too cheeky. But it’s worth remembering that Elba doesn’t need Bond. He’s already got a moody, tortured bachelor with a talent for hunting bad guys. And Luther belongs exclusively to him.
In this outing, written by Cross and directed by Jamie Payne, Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) John Luther finds himself imprisoned for his unconventional methods at work and haunted by the unsolved missing person case that opens the film and sets its macabre tone. His imprisonment and the missing teen are related — the work of a wealthy villain David Robey (Andy Serkis) who film introduces to the audience as such in the first few moments.
Serkis’ character is a kind of gentleman psychopath, with his blown out James Spader in “Pretty in Pink” coif and maniacal smile. He’s one of those villains for whom chaos, misery and gore are the point. David Robey is methodical, patient and unsparing — he’ll even go so far as to befriend the families of his victims after the fact.
At the start, the film takes on a kind of David Fincher vibe, with echoes of “Seven” and “Zodiac” crossed with some of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” Unfortunately it takes the conceit to such absurd lengths by the end that the premise takes on an unintentional silliness. That’s not even counting the brawls between Elba and Serkis, whose sizes could not be more mismatched.
But the good news is that it’s a pretty fun, tense ride up until that point with some stunning shots of London at night. Elba slips back into Luther like no time has passed, though he has taken on some superhero-adjacent talents here, evident in his escape from jail — a sequence that is somehow both violent and cartoonish. It’s not an easy or straightforward role, but Elba makes it look so. This is a guy who is so devoted to his former job that he’ll risk death to break out of prison and get right back to work trying to solve the case, knowing well that he’s also being hunted by his replacement, DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo, not to be trifled with).
Odette does not want to collaborate with Luther and even enlists his old boss Martin (Dermot Crowley, a comforting presence) to help figure out how to find him. This resistance starts to get a tad redundant and futile, especially since it’s quite obvious that eventually they’ll figure out a way to collaborate and perhaps could have saved some lives had they done so earlier. And at times, you just kind of wish Luther could take a vacation — it can be exhausting watching his relentless pursuit, but there’s little room for boredom in a movie that never lets its protagonist take a breath.
And then of course there’s the ludicrous theatrics of Robey’s ultimate plan, which hinges on the assumption that would be serial killers and snuff-porn fetishists are everywhere just waiting for a twisted mind to live-stream gruesome murders. As if going by some bad guy checkbook, this “Saw”-like game show also takes place in a hidden lair in the snowy north.
But even though it may go over-the-top at the end, Elba keeps you interested.
You needn’t have watched all five seasons of “Luther” to take a chance on “Luther: The Fallen Sun.“ But there’s also a chance that you may find yourself wanting to afterwards.
“Luther: The Fallen Sun,” a Netflix release streaming Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “disturbing/violent content, language and some sexual material.” Running time: 129 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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MPA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
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For anyone holding on to some latent
Yash Raj Films’ 2018 hit “Sui Dhaaga: Made in India” will release in China on March 31.
Starring Bollywood A-listers Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, the film follows an unemployed small-town man who defies all odds and naysayers and revives his family’s garment business. The film’s plot is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy that Indians should be self-dependent to achieve their goals. Dhawan plays a tailor, while Sharma plays an embroiderer in the film who, as husband and wife, team to fulfil their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs.
The film is directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films. The trio previously collaborated on the hit “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” (2015).
Sharma said: “Indian youth are dream-chasers and if we look at China, they are also the same. So, I feel our simple, feel-good love story of two aspiring entrepreneurs will connect with people in that country. I’m eager to see the reaction in China. Historically, they have loved uplifting stories about human emotions and rooted for underdogs to win the day. I’m hopeful they will love the theme of how self-reliance can aid people to achieve their goals.”
Nelson D’Souza, VP, international distribution, Yash Raj Films, added: “The film touched the hearts of people when it released in India and given its universal theme of how every human being should be self-reliant to fulfil their dreams, it should resonate in China too. We are hopeful that our film with its strong core values will appeal to audiences in China who have historically connected with stories that celebrate the undying human spirit.”
Yash Raj Films’ 2018 hit “Sui Dhaaga:
By Siya Patel
Get ready for Marvel’s next big superhero, Kamala Khan! After Marvel’s spooky and dark MoonKnight, Ms. Marvel will definitely add some brightness and color to the MCU. Ms. Marvel is streaming on Disney+ and is the first Pakistani-American superhero in the MCU! Not only is this huge for Marvel, it’s also huge for the South-Asian community because of the representation that we’ll receive! But before watching Ms. Marvel, there are a few things you should know. Here’s everything you need to know before watching Ms. Marvel!
Who Is Ms. Marvel?
Growing up in Jersey City, Kamala Khan always admired super-heroes like Captain Marvel, “never dreaming she’d have the opportunity to join her role models in safeguarding society from the forces of evil.” (via Marvel.com) After discovering her ability to elongate her limbs and alter her appearance, she decided to take the name of “Ms. Marvel”, following the legacy of Captain Marvel, and became a superhero. With the ability to shapeshift, Ms. Marvel is determined to use her powers to make the world a better place.
Inhuman Influence
“When Black Bolt of the Inhumans released the Terrigen Mist into Earth’s atmosphere, transforming and empowering several latent members of the super-powered race, even the silent monarch could not have guessed the effect his actions would have on teenager Kamala Khan—or in turn, how Kamala would affect the world around her.” (via Marvel.com) Though Kamala’s origin story is connected to the Inhumans in the comics, she seems to rely on Nega Bands for her powers. According to Sideshow’s “What to Know Before Ms. Marvel,” “Nega-Bands are ancient relics of the Kree empire (Inhumans sprung from Kree experiments) that grant the wearer incredible abilities” Additionally, based on the trailers, it’s likely that Kamala will retain her bioluminescence, almost identical to Captain Marvel.
Because the Inhumans don’t exist in the 616 Marvel Universe (as we now know because of Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), and will most likely not be introduced into the MCU.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Kevin Feige says: “We adapt the comics; it’s not an exact translation. [Kamala] came about in a very specific time within the comic-book continuity. She is now coming into a very specific time within the MCU continuity. And those two things didn’t match… What we will learn about where those powers come from, and how they come about, is specific to the MCU. You will see great comic splash panels in some of our action sequences. If you want big, giant hands and arms, well they’re here in spirit, if not in stretchy, plastic-type ways.”
Bruno Carrelli
Serving as the Italian-American genius and the best friend of Kamala Khan, Bruno Carrelli uses his skills in science and technology to help Kamala Khan fight crime. According to his character bio at Marvel.com, Bruno “designs and builds all kinds of technology, including a device that senses extraterrestrial activity, a miniature nuclear power generator, and his own hovercraft.” In the Ms. Marvel comics, Bruno also serves as a potential love interest for Kamala. Bruno helps keep Kamala’s alter-ego secret from her parents Yusuf and Muneeba “Ammi” Khan, and their constant closeness results in a change in their friendship.
No matter how her story evolves, Ms. Marvel will allow the stories and struggles of the South-Asain community to be seen and heard, emphasizing the first ever South-Asian representation in the MCU. Marvel’s first South-Asian superhero, Kamala Khan, will debut June 8th, checking off yet another project for Marvel’s phase four. Ms. Marvel, is something that I think the whole South-Asian community is ecstatic to see because we are finally able to see someone who looks like us on screen. Kamala Khan will open a window for the stories of South-Asians to be heard and will ultimately, change the MCU forever.
Hi! My name is Siya Patel and I’m a 16 year old writer for FANgirl Blog! I love the MCU, watching sitcoms, and music!”
Hi! My name is Siya Patel and I’m a 16 year old writer for FANgirl Blog! I love the MCU, watching sitcoms, and music!
By Siya Patel Get ready
Movies have the ability to touch the lives of audiences. They can move us, make us feel things, and provoke deep thoughts about the world around us. At least, some movies can do that. There are other kinds of films that only present the appearance of being meaningful or thought-provoking, but fall apart when you take a closer look at what they are trying to say.
Over the years, Hollywood has presented the world with a number of such movies that seem clever. But that is only a mirage, hiding themes and storylines that are actually mediocre, or sometimes just straight-up dumb. Let’s take a look at some movies that fans will insist are full of rich depth of storytelling, but in reality, are anything but.
The Matrix was a groundbreaking action film that combined exhilarating action set pieces with a genuinely engrossing fictional reality. The movie explores a world where humanity has been overtaken by sentient AI machines. All of humanity has been captured and placed in suspended animation, dreaming a collective, eternal dream while plugged into a virtual reality called the Matrix. After the runaway success of the first Matrix movie, its sequels tried to double down on the philosophical side of the story.
What had been a few vague but deep-sounding conversations and references in the first movie were expanded upon, as the franchise tried and failed to find something meaningful to say about the human condition and the future of technology.
The Matrix Reloaded is the worst offender in this regard. The best example of the franchise’s attempts at finding depth where there is none is on full display in the scene with the Architect. The character rambles on for several confusing minutes about existence and free will with a bunch of clever-sounding words that have no real effect on the protagonist’s actions or the film as a whole, and sometimes contradict the references to Baudrillard in the first film.
The Alien franchise is one of the best sci-fi franchises Hollywood has ever made. Fans were excited when filmmaker Ridley Scott announced he was going to make Prometheus, a prequel that promised to provide answers to burning questions about the origin of the Xenomorphs, their relation to humanity, and the mysterious race called the Engineers that connect the two species.
Unfortunately, Prometheus does a poor job of explaining any of that. In addition, the film is saddled with bad storytelling choices. Most of the main characters perform actions that seem very dumb to move the plot forward, like trained scientists interacting with alien environments and animals without any sort of protection, or scenes with straight-up no explanations provided, like why the Engineers created humanity, why they decided to exterminate them, or why that one Engineer suddenly started attacking the human crew after being awakened.
The early 2000s were a good time to be M. Night Shyamalan. The filmmaker was hot off the breakout success of The Sixth Sense, followed by the underrated, star-studded Unbreakable. Then came 2002’s Signs, where Shyamalan told the story of a family living on a farm who all must contend with otherworldly visitors. The movie deals with many themes including questions about faith, family, and deep-state paranoia regarding the existence of aliens.
Unfortunately, few of those themes get the attention they deserve as Shyamalan tries to wring a sci-fi-thriller tale out of a basic premise that gets stretched very thin by the end of the movie. It doesn’t help that the film takes itself way too seriously despite being the kind of story that ends with a fistfight between one of the lead characters and an alien who presumably traveled millions of light years to visit Earth, yet apparently forgot to pack a space gun for the trip in case they meet with any local hostiles (and failed to investigate the planet and realize it was mostly water).
Dan Brown is a best-selling author who shot to fame with The Da Vinci Code, a thriller novel that sent shock waves around the world with its racy mystery surrounding a possible descendant of Jesus Christ being hunted down by the Church. Naturally Hollywood wanted to get in on the action, and soon the film version of The Da Vinci Code was made starring Tom Hanks as the adventuring symbologist (which isn’t even a profession; maybe Brown meant semiotician), Robert Langdon.
Unfortunately, both the movie and the novel it is based on suffer from the same problem of seeming clever and plausible at first, but not holding up to scrutiny. Despite Brown claiming that all the real-world facts mentioned in his book are accurate, plenty of scholars have shown the many liberties he took while writing his story. Even Tom Hanks admitted in later interviews that The Da Vinci Code and its sequel films based on other Dan Brown novels were not meant to be very deep or true-to-life, and are, “about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage.”
Christopher Nolan has established a reputation as the thinking man’s blockbuster filmmaker. Nolan excels at creating complex, non-linear narratives that confuse and fascinate audiences in equal measure. But the filmmaker took this conceit a few steps too far with Tenet, a movie about a war being fought simultaneously in the present and the future, with timelines converging at a certain point thanks to the ability to move backward in time through a process called “Inversion.” If all of that sounds preposterous, watching the movie will hardly make it more comprehensible.
Tenet is very puzzlingly made. Many important expositional moments in Nolan’s film have blaring music playing over them, so you struggle to understand what anyone is saying. Character motivations are murky at best, like why a future army wants to destroy the present world when this will result in the destruction of the future as well, or why the Protagonist is willing to risk destroying the world to save a woman he met a few days ago. As far as the rules of inversion that are central to the plot of the story are concerned, they have little to do with real-world physics and are so confusing that at one point a character simply tells the protagonist (and the audience), “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.”
What if Danny Ocean and his team of expert conmen from Ocean’s Eleven were a bunch of street magicians? That is the question Now You See Me dares to ask. The answer is told in a surprisingly fun and breezy movie that combines classic heist movie tropes with a heaping dose of magic tricks borrowed from some of the most talented illusionists in the world.
Unfortunately, the movie also follows the rules of magic in its narrative style by being all flashy spectacle with little substance. Individual plot points are more concerned with entertaining the audience with twists than explaining how those twists were even possible. The central mystery of the movie is also underwhelming, as the story ends with no explanation given as to the nature of the secret society of The Eye that was orchestrating the events of the film from the start.
As an Oscar-winning superhero movie, Joker is often held up as an example of a “serious” and “adult” film that shows how to elevate the genre above CGI explosions and men in tights bashing each other around. But just because Joker is unlike any other mainstream superhero movie does not make it more intelligent or meaningful. In fact, there is little in the movie that has not been done before or better (the film seems to even realize this with its references to the still relevant The King of Comedy).
The central message of the movie has also come under a lot of criticism. The idea Joker suggests is that mentally ill people who are abandoned by society are at risk of turning violent at any moment. This is a message that has been decried by real-world psychiatrists since it adds to the alienation of real people suffering from mental illnesses.
The first Knives Out was an entertaining riff on classic Agatha Christie novels revolving around a murder and the many suspects. Expectations were high for the sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Unfortunately, writer and director Rian Johnson does not seem to care much for the rules of mystery fiction, with the film being heavy on misdirection, but light on an actual mystery.
Glass Onion lays all its cards on the table considerably before the climax of the story. This means there is little detection for lead character detective Benoit Blanc to perform, so for the most part he simply watches along with the audience while the story unfolds in a series of expository scenes. There is a greater emphasis on comedy and interpersonal drama than on catching the killer and making sure he gets brought to justice, making the movie feel more like a parody of a whodunit rather than an actual whodunit story.
Zack Snyder is the most divisive superhero movie director ever. He has a passionate contingent of fans ready to defend his work against an army of detractors in an epic battle for the ages. Kind of like what Snyder’s 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was supposed to be. The movie was met with deeply divisive reactions for its portrayal of a Batman who kills, fighting a Superman who doesn’t say much of anything.
There are many baffling creative decisions to be found in the movie, like the infamous “Save Martha” moment that has been discussed endlessly online, or the baffling depiction of Lex Luthor as a wannabe Mark Zuckerberg, who makes strange noises when he wants to appear threatening. Despite trying to appear deep and thoughtful by having references to classic literature, musings on man vs god philosophical arguments, and gritty depictions of PTSD, Batman v Superman ends up being less than the sum of its parts with a muddled storyline and puzzling character motivations.
The cast of Don’t Look Up reads like a who’s who of Hollywood’s crème de la crème, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and Jonah Hill. Naturally, fans were excited to see what kind of ground-breaking story would convince so many talented actors to sign on the dotted line. When a giant asteroid appears to be headed straight to Earth, a group of scientists attempts to rally America’s politicians to tak9e steps to destroy it before the asteroid wipes out all life on the planet.
While Don’t Look Up features great performances and a couple moments of satirical excellence, it is also extremely heavy-handed with its messaging and a bit too one-note with regard to its social commentary. It is hard to take seriously the thinly-disguised warnings the movie poses about mankind’s failure to fight climate change when the characters are so outrageously stupid or oblivious that they become caricatures. In the end, Don’t Look Upfails to work properly either as a full-on satire or an effective warning against humanity’s failings because it tries to do too many things at once.
Movies have the ability to touch
Better hardware and a handful of exclusive games make it an obvious winner, at least for now.
Skeptics might hold off on the PSVR 2 because of its current library of games, but the truth is it’s only just getting started. Right now the majority of games coming out for PSVR 2 are ports of existing VR games, but the few you cannot get on the Quest 2 are well worth the investment if you’re interested in VR. Resident Evil Village is an amazing VR experience, and one that’s only on PSVR 2 right now. Some of the games you might’ve already played on Quest 2 are further enhanced thanks to PSVR 2’s OLED display and PS5’s hardware.
PlayStation has major plans for the PSVR 2 and I’m sure game devs will take advantage of its capabilities. So if you’re passionate about VR, or are just plain curious about how far virtual reality has come, PSVR 2 is the best experience. PlayStation has single-handedly made me excited about the future of games in VR, and I’ll be slipping on the headset every time a new release comes out.
Better hardware and a handful of exclusive
Tunisian Murder Mystery ‘Ashkal’ Triumphs At FESPACO
Tunisian director Youssef Chebbi’s investigative thriller Ashkal has won the top prize at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO). The festival, which ran from February 25 to March 4, unfolds every two years in Burkina Faso’s capital of Ouagadougou and is regarded as Africa’s equivalent of Cannes. Chebbi’s murder mystery revolves around a series of killings at a construction site on the outskirts of the Tunisian capital of Tunis. The film world premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and then played a raft of other festivals including Toronto and London. The FESPACO jury head, producer Dora Bouchoucha, praised the film’s pairing of a strong aesthetic with a politically tuned-in storyline. Burkinabe filmmaker Apolline Traore won the Silver Stallion for Sira, about a woman kidnapped by Jihadists, and Kenyan director Angela Wamai took home the Bronze Stallion for Shimoni, about a schoolteacher rebuilding his life in his remote village after a harsh stint in jail.
‘Il Boemo’ Sweeps Czech Lion Awards
Petr Václav’s period biopic Il Boemo has swept the boards at the 30th annual Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) Czech Lion Awards, winning best film, director, sound, make-up, hairstyling, costume design and set design. Based on the life of 18th Century composer Josef Myslivecek, the biopic world premiered in Competition in San Sebastian. Other top winners included Vojtěch Mašek’s mystery drama Arved which won best screenplay, actor (Michal Kern) and music. Klára Melíšková won best actress for her performance in the mini-series Suspicion.
Berlinale Forum Appoints New Head
Writer and curator Barbara Wurm has been announced as the new head of the Berlinale’s Forum section, exploring cinema and its intersection with visual arts, theatre, performance, music and the media. Anna Hoffmann stays in place as section and programme manager. Uli Ziemons and Ala Younis will continue to be responsible for Forum Expanded. Wurm, who is an expert on Eastern European cinema, takes up the post on August 1. She was previously a member of the Berlinale selection committee and has also worked with goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film and DOK Leipzig. Forum has been part of the Berlinale since 1971 and is independently curated and run by Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art. The institution said of Wurm’s appointment: “Her previous focus on Eastern Europe has sharpened her view of cinema as a transnational cultural and political practice that reaches far beyond national borders.”
BBC Lands 40 RTS Programme Award Noms
The BBC has landed 40 nominations for the upcoming Royal Television Society Programme Awards. Channel 4 is next with 20, ITV has 11 and Sky gets 9. BBC comedy Am I Being Unreasonable? received for nods, with Lenny Rush nominated for both the Breakthrough and Comedy Performance Male awards, and Daisy May Cooper for Comedy Performance Female. The Traitors is nominated in the Entertainment category, with presenter Claudia Winkleman up for the Entertainment Performance gong. Two new categories Supporting Actor Male and Supporting Actor Female will feature the likes of Ambika Mod (This Is Going to Hurt), Saffron Hocking (Top Boy), Adelayo Adedayo(The Responder) and Adeel Akhtar (Sherwood). The event will be held on March 28 at London’s JW Marriott Grosvenor House.
‘My House’: Nick Norman-Butler’s Drama Film Launches
EXCLUSIVE: Finite Films & TV has launched its latest film, My House, today on Apple TV, iTunes and Amazon Prime sell-through stores in the U.S. The film, from Nick Norman-Butler, follows 17-year-old Carla who lives in hiding with her tyrannical father after the death of her mother. A visiting stranger inspires her to investigate the details of her life and she realizes the biggest danger might be at home. UK-based Finite is behind films such as Everything I Ever Wanted To Tell My Daughter About Men, Good Grief and The Trouble With Jessica.
Tunisian Murder Mystery ‘Ashkal’ Triumphs At FESPACO Tunisian
Behind-the-scenes photos from the set of HBO Max’s “The Batman” spin-off series “The Penguin” have popped up online and showcase a first look at Cristin Milioti in an all-white costume as Carmine Falcone’s daughter Sofia Falcone.
Also seen is Colin Farrell once again under pounds of make-up as Oswald Cobblepot who can be seen in his full look here along with driving a purple sports car. Combined with his purple suit jacket the other day, the character’s affinity for that color is on full display.
The eight-episode series takes place shortly after the events of “The Batman”. Filming on the series began this week in New York and will run through the next few months, wrapping a while before shooting begins on “The Batman” sequel in November.
Taking place within days to weeks after the first film’s end with the death of Carmine Falcone (Jon Turturro) and parts of Gotham City still somewhat flooded. A fight for control of Gotham’s underworld is underway as The Penguin, Sofia, and arrested mob boss Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) battle for control.
Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Deirdre O’Connell co-star in the project with Craig Zobel (“Mare of Easttown”) directing the first two episodes and executive producing.
Whether Robert Pattinson will make an appearance as Bruce Wayne/Batman isn’t clear. Lauren LeFranc is penning the series and will serve as showrunner. Farrell, LeFranc, Dylan Clark, Matt Reeves, Daniel Pipski, Adam Kassanand, and Rafi Crohn executive produce.
Colin Farrell on the set of ‘The Penguin’ series, a spin-off of ‘The Batman’
Oz with his car
March 6, 2023#ColinFarrell #ThePenguin pic.twitter.com/CO66IN5wDb— Colin Farrell Updates Fan Page (@CFarrellUpdates) March 7, 2023
FIRST LOOK at Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone in #ThePenguin series! pic.twitter.com/eOpFnyzILG
— The Batman Film News ? (@TheBatmanFilm_) March 7, 2023
Colin Farrell on the set of ‘The Penguin’ series, a spin-off of ‘The Batman’
Colin Farrell as Oz
March 6, 2023#ColinFarrell #ThePenguin pic.twitter.com/FRXdehV37p— Colin Farrell Updates Fan Page (@CFarrellUpdates) March 7, 2023
On Tuesday, several leading politicians harshly criticized Fox News star Tucker Carlson for a series of false claims he made about the Jan. 6 attack the day before. But surprisingly, the criticism didn’t just come from Democrats — several leading Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, also spoke out against him.
And on Tuesday’s episode of Carlson’s Fox News show, which to remind you, the New York Times once described as “what may be the most racist show in the history of cable news,” he was clearly angry, even if he presented a big, sarcastic grin while talking about it.
But Carlson presented a hostile message: Republicans and Democrats in congress are, he said, essentially conspiring with each other against the American people — and he urged his viewers to “keep a list” of the Republicans in particular who act like this.
You can watch the whole clip at the top of the page (courtesy of @Acyn on Twitter), but before we go on, a little context. On Monday’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson made numerous false statements about Jan. 6, including the deceptive use of selectively edited footage to advance the lie that the attack was a peaceful event. Carlson also repeated the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
Those comments are what prompted rare criticism from Republicans, including Mitch McConnell. And as we said, Carlson was clearly upset about it.
After noting statements by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Carlson said, “Schumer was joined in this outrage by the Senate Minority Leader, and that would be a Republican, Mitch McConnell. And they were joined by a cascade of other Republicans, Tom Tillis from North Carolina, Mitt Romney from Utah, all sharing the same outrage.”
“And from this, we learn 2 things. 1) Getting close to what they really care about, and you have to ask yourself ‘why? Why is it so important that they would degrade themselves by telling such obvious lies and calling for censorship?” Carlson said.
“Why? What are they trying to protect? That might be worth exploring,” Carlson continued. “And we plan to.”
“And the second thing we learned from this is that they’re on the same side,” Carlson said, meaning Democratic politicians and Republican politicians.
“The Senate majority leader joins the Senate minority leader. Tom Tillis, Mitt Romney,” Carlson added with a performative snicker, “they’re all on the same side. So it’s actually not about left and right. It’s not about Republican and Democrat. Here you have people with shared interests.”
Carlson then proceeded to describe what he sees as those “shared interests”: “The open borders people. The people like Mitch McConnell, living in splendor on Chinese money. The people who, underneath it all, have everything in common, are all aligned, against everyone else.”
“And that would include almost all news organizations in this country as well,” Carlson said, a sentiment that presumably doesn’t include his own employer.
“And so if you’re watching this at home it would be kind of interesting to keep a list. Because one thing we learned today is that they’re all in agreement with each other. They kind of outed themselves. They sort of showed their membership cards in whatever club this is to the public.”
“So keep a list. If you want to know who’s actually aligned, despite the illusion of partisanship, We found out today,” he added.
Interestingly, while Carlson devoted a considerable portion of his shows this week to repeating lies about the Jan. 6 attack and appearing to agree with the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, documents released from the ongoing defamation suit filed by Dominion against Fox News tell a very different story.
For instance, on Jan. 4, 2021, Carlson told someone in a text that he hated Donald Trump “Passionately.” Other communications include Carlson acknowledging to other Fox News personalities that he didn’t believe Trump’s claims that the election was stolen.
On Tuesday, several leading politicians harshly criticized
Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for the March 7 episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star, “Tommy Dearest.” Proceed with caution if you’re not caught up!
9-1-1: Lone Star fans were caught off guard when fan-favorite firefighter Marjan chose to resign rather than compromise her integrity over a frivolous lawsuit filed against her. But despite how shocked and upset her fellow first responders were (as well as the viewers), there was probably nobody affected more than her best friend Paul Strickland. Complicating matters even more was the fact that Paul realized he had a history with Asha, the HR representative overseeing Marjan’s situation, and after that potential relationship hit a roadblock in “Tommy Dearest,” actor Brian Michael Smith opened up about how Marjan’s absence played into it.
Things seemed to be going great between Paul and Asha (Amanda Payton), and he was so smitten that his colleagues were immediately able to sniff out the relationship potential. When Asha brought up their past, however — they attended grade school together in Chicago, before Paul transitioned — he put his walls back up. Brian Michael Smith explained to TV Insider that Marjan would have been the person he turned to in such a circumstance, so her absence only added to what his character was going through. He said:
There are other people in the firehouse he has friendships with, but the person he confides in the most is Marjan. He was struggling with A, she’s literally not there to help him navigate this. But then B, feeling a sense of betrayal for the feelings he’s developing for the person who is at the cause of why Marjan is having the existential crisis that put her on the road in the first place.
No matter how undeniable Paul’s attraction to Asha was, that didn’t change the fact that she was directly related to the reason that Marjan was no longer around for him to talk to. (He’d mentioned earlier that Marjan’s cell service was spotty, as she was apparently riding Owen’s motorcycle through the desert, so even a phone call wasn’t really possible.)
To be fair, Asha had given her official opinion that Marjan shouldn’t be forced to take further action with people who were obviously just trying to use her social media following for their own financial gain, and it was her bosses at the Austin Fire Department who didn’t want to continue the fight in court, so Paul really shouldn’t feel bad about getting involved in a relationship.
In the end, it was Owen (Rob Lowe) who stepped in to counsel Paul, and while he’s no Marjan, Brian Michael Smith agreed that “Cap” is an important figure in Paul’s life. The actor said:
It was cool to see the Cap take on this role in Paul’s life. He typically confides in Marjan, but to know he has this man in his life who could also offer him some guidance for this rough spot in a way that was non-judgmental and also really helpful was really cool. I think one of the reasons why Paul ended up coming down to Austin was because of how personal and available Cap was, even helping him navigate through skincare and stuff like that, feeling like he’s always going to treat him the man that he is. It’s good to see this come back full circle in Season 4.
It is nice to see Paul dating, and there’s got to be a certain amount of relief in finding a connection with someone who already knows his past. I’m excited to see where the relationship goes, even if Marjan won’t be around to help him navigate it. Speaking of Marjan, it looks like she’s going to make an appearance in next week’s episode, “Control Freaks,” according to the preview:
It turns out we didn’t have to wait that long at all to see Marjan again. 9-1-1: Lone Star will be back at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 14, on Fox, and if you need to catch up, all episodes so far are available to stream with a Hulu subscription. Be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon.
Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for
We keep updating these predictions through the awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks. Final voting is March 2 through 7, 2023. The 95th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 12 and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT.
See our initial thoughts for what to expect at the 95th Academy Awards here.
This year’s Best Actor race has been one for the books. It’s not often that we get three nominees on somewhat equal footing going into final voting. It’s even rarer to have the category consist completely of first-time nominees (the last time it happened was 1935). As Oscar night nears, one actor stands out as the likeliest winner, but it’d be unwise to suggest anyone is a lock.
While California-born “Elvis” star Austin Butler did not win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, he did grab the Drama Golden Globe, and even more miraculously, the BAFTA Award. Both wins indicate strong international support, plus the Warner Bros. film is a Best Picture nominee and will likely win some craft Oscars, so the young star likely has the edge over rival Brendan Fraser, even if Butler is likely to be back for seconds and thirds at the Oscar and this is likely Fraser’s last banquet.
While the teary-eyed Canadian star’s comeback story has dominated the awards news cycle and he took home the Critics Choice and the SAG Award for Best Actor (which means considerable support from the dominant Academy Actors branch), Darren Aronofsky’s film was divisive. “The Whale” earned three Oscar nominations including Fraser, Best Supporting Actress for Hong Chau, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley. The advantage in the Best Actor race goes to a film with a Best Picture nomination, which “The Whale” lacks.
Finally Butler and Fraser are in a duel over degree of difficulty. Both gave their all. One subsumed himself to become Elvis Presley, singing as the young Elvis, and aging into the late phases of the King of Rock and Roll. The other believably, with the use of prosthetics, transformed into a morbidly obese man.
Which leaves one-time frontrunner Colin Farrell just acting, without props, a slightly dim Irish fellow who doesn’t understand why his best friend (Brendan Gleeson) is cutting off their long friendship. Farrell started off strong, won the Comedy Golden Globe, and seemed poised to take the BAFTA, if not SAG. By losing both, he lost valuable momentum, even though “Banshees,” with nine nominations including Picture, is a popular favorite.
A three way race means that anything can happen.
The BAFTAs would have been the place for veteran Bill Nighy to pull an upset for his poignant performance as a dying man in “Living.” And for 27-year-old rising Irish star Paul Mescal, just landing the fifth-slot nomination for British micro-indie “Aftersun” was the win. He’ll be back.
Nominees are listed below in order of likelihood they will win.
Contenders:
Austin Butler (“Elvis”)
Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”)
Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
Bill Nighy (“Living”)
Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”)
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It is rare for the Best Actor
Cinema is an art form that is continually growing, adapting, and inspiring. Classic films have become iconic, since their inception, with stories, characters, and techniques that are remembered and reinterpreted in modern cinema. This appreciation for the classics enables filmmakers to create stories of beauty, adventure, and emotion while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of storytelling and technology. The modern cinema landscape is brimming with films that have taken great storylines and given them a new life, producing unique experiences that honor the past while also looking forward.
One example of this is “The Good Thief,” a 2002 film shot in Nice and Monaco and featuring Nick Nolte as Bob Montagnet, a retired thief with a passion for gambling. In the film, Bob attempts to rob a Monte Carlo casino as his final mission.
The plot of the film was actually inspired by the classic 1956 French film “Bob le Flambeur” (“Bob the Gambler” sometimes referred to as “Bob the High Roller”). This movie was based on a novel by Georges Simenon. It was shot on location at French Casinos in both Paris and Deauville and also served as an inspiration for other highly popular gambling-themed movies released years later. This list includes the iconic “Ocean’s Eleven” series with both the 1960 and the 2001 versions, as well as “Hard Eight” by filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.
The film, which is recognized as a precursor to the French New Wave and film noir genres, follows the story of Bob, a gambler living alone in the Montmartre district of Paris. Despite being an ex-convict and bank robber, he is well-liked by the local community and has managed to stay out of trouble for two decades. He has even formed a friendship with a police commissioner whom he once saved from danger.
One day, Bob learns of an opportunity to steal a share of 800 million French francs from a casino safe in Deaville during an important horse racing event. In order to carry out the heist, he must team up with his safecracker friend, Roger, and convince his new associate, McKimmie, to finance the operation. Bob assembles a team to carry out the robbery, but things take a dramatic turn when he becomes distracted by the allure of gambling.
Despite promising Roger that he would not gamble until after the heist, Bob succumbs to temptation and begins playing roulette and baccarat (the French “chemin de fer” version). He experiences an unprecedented winning streak and loses track of time. When he realizes that it is almost 5 am, the time of the heist, he attempts to cash in his chips and leave the casino.
However, as he hurries to exit, the police arrive and confront his heist team.
A shootout ensues, and Bob is apprehended, facing a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Roger tells him that he might be acquitted with the help of a good lawyer, which prompts Bob to consider suing for damages. Thus, the film portrays the downfall of a once-reformed ex-convict and the consequences of giving in to temptation.
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, the heist movie starred Roger Duchesne in the lead role of Bob. It was highly acclaimed for paying tribute to American gangster films while also marking a seamless transition to the emerging French New Wave of cinema. Upon its re-release in American theaters in 2001 by Rialto Pictures, Melville’s fourth feature film received rave reviews. American film critic, journalist, screenwriter, historian, and author Roger Ebert included “Bob le Flambeur” in his prestigious Great Movies list in 2003, which serves as a guide to the most significant films in the history of cinema.
Cinema is an art form that is
Joseph Zucchero, the founder of the beef sandwich shop that inspired FX’s popular drama series “The Bear,” has died at age 69, according to his son, Christopher Zucchoro.
Zucchero was the founder of one of Chicago’s most famous staples, “Mr Beef.” The restaurant was founded in 1979, with its menu serving up Italian beef, Italian sausage, hamburgers and more. His son shared with followers in an Instagram post that his father died just two weeks after celebrating his birthday in February.
“A part of me, my family, and Mr. Beef died today. I was incredibly lucky to be this man’s son. I know this,” said Chris, who co-owns the restaurant with his father. Zucchero unexpectedly died on March 1 at Rush Medical Center while undergoing cancer treatment.
“Most don’t even get to know their dads,” Zucchero continued. “I lived every waking moment of my life with him in some kind of capacity. If there truly is a Heaven, I hope you’re there Dad. And I hope I get to see you again. Joesph Zachary Zucchero February 21st 1954-March 1st 2023.”
“Mr. Beef” is nestled on Orleans street in Chicago, Zucchero’s hometown. He was born and raised on the city’s Northwest Side before moving to Park Ridge in the late ‘70s. Elevating from a citywide favorite to a national must-visit eatery, “Mr. Beef” inspired what is now one of FX’s most popular shows, “The Bear,” much of which was filmed on-location at the restaurant.
The drama series, which stars Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas, was picked up for a second season in July 2022.
In the beginning of his career, Zucchero worked as a butcher at Dominick’s Finer Foods before opening his beef stand. He is survived by his wife, his two children and three dogs.
Joseph Zucchero, the founder of the beef
YouTube will ease its restrictions on swearing in videos after an update it rolled out in November sparked backlash from several creators, and the company will be reviewing videos that had their monetization affected by the policy. In a video uploaded to the Creator Insider channel, the company says it reviewed the data on how the new rules were enforced and found that they “resulted in a stricter approach than we intended.” The update means that creators will still be able to make at least some money on videos, even if there’s mild swearing up front, though the restrictions remain confusing and don’t fully revert to the older rules.
As a recap, late last year, the company changed its advertiser-friendly content guidelines to say that if a video contained swearing within the first 15 seconds, it may be demonetized — that is, the platform wouldn’t run ads on it, severely limiting the creator’s ability to earn revenue. A creator could also get dinged if they used a lot of profanity throughout the video (exactly how much wasn’t clear), and the change was retroactive. Videos that were made under the old rules that explicitly permitted swearing were suddenly no longer advertiser-friendly.
The new rules aren’t completely walking back those changes, but the company is making some tweaks like it promised to do in January. For example, the new update makes it so that creators will still be eligible for some ads if they use “stronger profanity” within the first seven seconds of a video, whereas ads would’ve been turned off entirely before. The company also says that “video content using profanity, moderate or strong, after the first seven seconds will now be eligible for monetization, unless used repetitively throughout the majority of the video.” Again, the last update made it so those videos wouldn’t receive any monetization.
There is definitely still some vagueness here. Creators have pointed out that it’s not clear what YouTube means when it says that they can’t use swearing in the “majority of the video.” However, it may help that YouTube is no longer treating all profanity the same. The November update basically flattened the hierarchy; calling someone an “ass” was just as bad as calling them a “motherfucker.” Now, words like “bitch,” “douchebag,” “asshole,” and “shit” are all considered “moderate” profanity, while words like “fuck” are “stronger profanity.” (Slurs and derogatory terms are covered by a separate set of rules.)
The company is also making some other clarifications; swearing in background music, backing tracks, and intro or outro music won’t get you demonetized, but profanity in thumbnails will, though the company says this was the case even before the November update.
YouTube says that these changes go into effect on March 7th and that, by March 10th, it will have “re-reviewed” videos that received limited advertising because of the November update. Videos that were demonetized entirely will also be reviewed, according to Michael Aciman, a Google spokesperson.
In its Creator Insider video, YouTube explains why it applied the November change retroactively, changing the monetization status of videos that were totally fine under past guidelines. The TL;DR is that the content is still receiving new advertisements — if you click on a video from a creator’s backlog, you’ll still be served an ad from current campaigns.
The company also addresses the complaints from some creators that it didn’t properly communicate the changes in November. The company says that there’ll be a notification about Tuesday’s changes in the Creator Studio, the dashboard where YouTubers upload and edit videos and view analytics and other data.
The reactions to the announcement have been mixed. Twitter commentators have called it both a “major dub” (as in “w,” meaning “win”) and a “Common YouTube L” (as in “loss”). SungWon Cho, who goes by ProZD on YouTube and was a vocal critic of the November update, told The Verge, “The changes are better in theory, but I won’t be able to know for sure until I see that they actually work as promised.”
YouTube will ease its restrictions on swearing
The 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards made quite a splash for Nickelodeon.
Saturday’s simulcast drew 3.1M viewers across linear and digital platforms, which is up 40% over last year, according to Nickelodeon. On cable alone, the telecast gathered an audience of 637,000, which ranked as the top cable telecast among kids 2-11, kids 6-11, and tweens 9-14.
The awards show also drove its fair share of co-viewing. It was the highest co-viewed Kids’ Choice Awards since 2017, with 54% of adults 18-49 (which is the key entertainment programming demo among advertisers) watching with kids 2-11.
Saturday’s show marked the biggest live production of the show in three years, and it ranked as the most social Kids & Family telecast year to date.
Across social platforms, Kids Choice Awards content has driven nearly 180M views and 25M engagements across owned, talent & influencer posts. More than 102M votes were cast globally across this year’s categories, according to Nickelodeon.
Hosted by Nate Burleson and Charli D’Amelio, who also was named Favorite Female Creator, the show aired live on Nick from L.A’s Microsoft Theater. Highlights included Awkwafina and Halle Bailey sliming their The Little Mermaid co-star Melissa McCarthy in a dunk tank filled with over 1,500 gallons of Slime, and a performance of “California Breeze,” by Lil Baby, from his chart-topping third studio album, It’s Only Me, joined by his kids.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was named Favorite Movie at the 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards tonight. Other big winners include Wednesday as Favorite Family TV Show, and its star Jenna Ortega as Favorite Female TV Star (Family), along with kid-fave SpongeBob Squarepants as Favorite Animated Show and Stranger Things alum Millie Brown Brown, who scored the Favorite Movie Actress award for Enola Holmes, and Enola Holmes 2. The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder landed the top Favorite Kids TV Show honor. See the full list here.
The 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards made quite a splash
Edward then said the rest of the chemistry reads throughout the next week “went just as badly.” And that she read with a ton of actors, including Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. But that, “Julia found fault with all of them: one was stiff, another wasn’t romantic, and so on.”
Sarah Ferguson ‘set to hand out gong at Oscars due to friendship with Elvis Presley’s family’
Sarah Ferguson ‘set to hand out gong
Nicolas Cage is no stranger to superhero films. The veteran actor first entered the comic book world in 2007 when he starred as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider.
The pre-MCU Marvel film was full of action, and Cage’s (somewhat campy) performance was well received. The film even did well enough to spawn the sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, in 2012.
Photo: Marvel
When that movie flopped, however, Cage stated he was done playing Ghost Rider.
Cage’s more recent foray into Marvel’s lore still existed outside of the MCU. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Cage voiced Spider-Man Noir, a black-and-white version of the hero from the 1930s. Cage’s performance, and the film in general, were lauded by critics.
Photo: Marvel
The actor’s past experience working with Marvel has led many to wonder if he could find himself joining the MCU at some point.
When receiving the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award at the Miami Film Festival, however, the actor didn’t seem thrilled with the current state of superhero movies.
Photo: Jun Sato/Contributor/Getty Images
“I’ve gotta be nice about Marvel movies, because I named myself after a Stan Lee character named Luke Cage. What am I going to do, put Marvel movies down? Stan Lee is my surrealistic father. He named me,” he said when asked about the state of superhero movies today.
“I understand what the frustration is. I get it. But I think there’s plenty of room for everybody. I’m seeing movies like ‘Tár.’ I’m seeing all kinds of artistic and independently driven movies. I think there’s plenty of room for everybody.”
Source: slashfilm.com
While Cage took a diplomatic approach in his response, he clearly wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of joining the MCU.
In fact, when asked more directly if he wanted to join the ever-expanding universe, Cage was blunt.
Photo: Variety
“I don’t need to be in the MCU, I’m Nic Cage.”
So there you have it, it doesn’t sound like Marvel fans can expect to see Nicolas Cage suiting up anytime soon.
Image: Marvel.com
Nevertheless, a reappearance of Cage’s Ghost Rider during Secret Wars would be just the plot device needed to add the legendary actor into the fold. I guess we will have to wait and see.
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Nicolas Cage is
If you’re a hardcore Disney Parks fan, then you know that one of the perks of going to Disneyland and Disney World is the ability to get a delicious, soft-serve Dole Whip. Usually, they are sold in Adventureland, adjacent to the Enchanted Tiki Room. There’s nothing like seeking refuge in the Tiki Room on a hot summer day with a delicious and cool Pineapple Dole Whip treat. Until now, you could only get a Dole Whip in the Disney Parks. But according to a report from Fortune, Dole Whip is coming to grocery store freezer aisles sometime in 2023.
Dole is whipping out (forgive us) some 11 new products, all revealed at Natural Products Expo West. These include products that include juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls, Dole Good Crunch, Dole Wiggles Fruit Juice Gels, and The Secret Nature of Fruit Chews and Probiotic Sodas. But the one everyone is excited about, without a doubt, is the Dole Whip. Since it has only been available in the theme parks since 1984, tons of folks who don’t live in a state with a Disney park can finally see what the big deal is all about.
Of course, this means that the Disney Parks might replace the classic Dole Whip with something new. Or perhaps a flavor of Dole Whip that will only be available there. They will likely want something tasty you can get at Disneyland and Disney World, and only there. Exclusivity is the name of the game. Of course, churros are available everywhere, but no one makes them quite like Disney Parks do. So who knows. As for when the grocery store Dole Whips will become available, all we know is sometime this year. As for having your very own Tiki Room to go with it, you’re just going to have to get creative.
If you’re a hardcore Disney
The Federal Trade Commission is stepping up its investigation into some of Twitter’s most controversial decisions since Elon Musk took over the company last fall. That includes the company’s mass layoffs and the launch of Twitter Blue, as well as the company’s dealings with journalists involved with the so-called “Twitter Files,” according to a in The Wall Street Journal.
At issue, is Twitter’s 2022 with the FTC over its use of “deceptive” ad targeting. Along with a $150 million fine, the company at the time agreed to a “comprehensive privacy and information security program,” as well as other strict measures meant to protect users’ privacy. But there’s been widespread concern from lawmakers and others that Twitter has not adhered to those requirements under Musk’s leadership.
Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that the FTC has sent at least a dozen letters to Twitter since last fall in an effort to get more information about the company’s handling of layoffs, Twitter Blue, the “Twitter Files” and other issues. The agency is also reportedly trying to depose Musk as part of the inquiry. The House Judiciary Committee also released a report about the FTC’s inquiries to Twitter.
The report isn’t the first suggestion that Twitter may have run afoul of the regulator since Musk’s takeover. The FTC previously said it had following the departures of key privacy and security executives. Lawmakers and others have also raised concerns about the hasty rollout of Twitter Blue, which launched without a proper privacy or security review, a requirement of Twitter’s FTC settlement.
Likewise, as Bloomberg pointed out the settlement also requires Twitter to limit internal access to Twitter users’ data. Security experts have questioned whether Musk’s decision to hand over reams of internal documents and grant journalists access tocould violate its obligations with the FTC.
In Musk called the FTC’s actions “a shameful case of weaponization of a government agency for political purposes and suppression of the truth.” Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee also the agency’s investigation as “harassment.”
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The Federal Trade Commission is stepping up
Under intermittently overcast skies on a late-wintry afternoon that thankfully warmed up once guests arrived for the pre-ceremony cocktail reception, the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards returned to the beaches of Santa Monica. Inside the giant white tent adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier, we were there to honor the crème de la crème of independent films made under Fi’s $30M budget cap.
With Fi’s Artist Development celebrating its 30-year anniversary, one of the networking tents was dedicated to spotlighting success stories birthed from Film Independent’s various programs, including the Directing Lab, Project Involve, Fast Track, Documentary Lab, Global Media Makers and many more.
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey was back with several stations (“Yay!” to open bars) along the converted parking lot on the pier. And for guests who needed some caffeine to power through the exhilarating hours to follow, there was a coffee station dishing out killer lattes and mochas decorated with the #SpiritAwards logo on the foam. Prior to this year, the most Spirit Award trophies that any film had walked away with were six, and the few films to have that honor are: Moonlight, Sideways and Pulp Fiction.
But this year, not unsurprisingly, the undefeated award season juggernaut that has swept all the awards in its path all season—the absurdist sci-fi dramedy Everything Everywhere All At Once—had taken home a grand total of seven prizes by the time the 2.5-hour ceremony was over, including Best Feature.
But first, let’s get to first-time Spirit Awards host Hasan Minhaj’s monologue, that dished out his brand of hilarious and unflinchingly blistering observations on just about every facet of life; this time, his attention is laser-focused on indie filmmaking.
The Daily Show alum first took aim at this year’s lack of a broadcast partner for these Spirit Awards, which was streamed live on IMDb’s YouTube and across other social platforms, including Film Independent’s own YouTube channel and Twitter.
“We’re doing this super independent—we literally don’t have distribution,” the two-time Peabody Award-winning comedian deadpanned. Elaborating on the former broadcast partner, he added: “Let me reiterate how bad this is: the Independent Film Channel did not want the Independent Film Awards!”
Poking fun at the famously low-key Spirit Awards, Minhaj continued: “When you all told your parents you wanted to move to L.A. to make it, this is their worst nightmare—they were afraid you would end up in a tent with a brown man with a webcam!”
This year’s Spirit Awards is one of the few awards shows stateside that have embraced gender-neutral acting categories. For his part, Minhaj is thrilled about this trend: “For the first time in history, all the men will know how all the women feel when they find out they are competing against [Best Lead Performance nominee for Tár] Cate Blanchett.”
The first presenter of the afternoon—Best Lead Performance nominee for Emily the Criminal, Aubrey Plaza—also joined in on the jokes about this year’s lack of broadcast partnership. In fact, she thinks we should up the ante next year. “That’s right. Next year, no cameras! No crew! And the award itself is a dixie cup with broken glass that we should all take a sip from!”
The first award of the afternoon—Best Supporting Performance—went to Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Ke Huy Quan, who thanks directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert and the producers for making it so that everyone in the production felt equally important. “In that spirit, I want to show my love for our crew members. I wish to name all of them but today, given that we don’t have the luxury of time, I want to mention a few names. I want to thank Jenny Choi, Logan Laskarzewski, and Connor Mutter and all of our production assistants.”
Backstage, Quan revealed that when he had stepped away from acting for a few years, he went to film school, which—along with having worked as an A.D., boom operator, and other crew on set—opened up his perspective about what it truly takes to make any film. “Before when I went on set, I only saw my fellow actors, director, producers. But now when I walk on set, I see everybody, the production assistants, that’s why I wanted to thank them today. They are the unsung heroes of our movies.”
A nominee this year for doc series We Need to Talk About Cosby, W. Kamau Bell presented the Best Documentary prize to All the Beauty and Bloodshed, which centers on photographer and activist Nan Goldin’s efforts to hold the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma accountable for the opioid crisis in this country.
Grateful for the opportunity to make such an impactful film, director Laura Poitras thanked the creative community as a whole: “The great artist and writer David Wojnarowicz talked about the concept of pre-invented existence, which is the world that we were born into. What every artist in this room does is to reject that existence and make a different world. So, thank you.”
Accepting the Best International Film for Pakistan’s transgender love story Joyland, director Saim Sadiq was especially grateful for all the people who backed the film, including British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed and Pakistani female education activist, Malala Yousafzai.
“To support a film from Pakistan that’s in Urdu and Punjabi that talks about what this film talks about. It was easy for me to say I want to make the film, but perhaps pretty hard for them to put their might behind it. They deserve so much credit for it.” Backstage, he also imparted the notion that “if a film isn’t divisive, it probably wasn’t saying much.”
After Ayo Edebiri won the Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for her role in The Bear, the FX networks dramedy series went on to score the Best New Scripted Series prize. The Bear team was especially grateful for the Chicago culinary community. “Thank you to the entire restaurant community, we wouldn’t be able to do this without you. [Thank you to the] front of house, back of house, all the chefs, the restaurateurs.”
Winning the Best First Screenplay prize for Emily The Criminal, writer-director John Patton Ford gave a special shoutout to lead Plaza for taking a chance on him. “Aubrey Plaza could’ve done whatever she wanted to do. Instead, she spent 20 days in August in 100-degree heat making this insane movie for zero money with some rando. And it’s character like that that is the entire reason that independent movies exist. So, thank you!”
After accepting the Best Editing prize for Everything Everywhere All At Once, editor Paul Rogers came backstage to credit his assistant editor Zekun Mao, who was instrumental in helping him keep track of everything in the wide-ranging metaverse-centric story. Working on the film one week into the COVID-19 lockdown with a two-year-old son, he was grateful that the Daniels fostered an environment that was conducive to worklife balance.
“It’s an incredible thing when the people you work with want to make a better place, instead of just getting something across the finish line.”
Working on the film during a time of collective isolation, tension, nihilism, cynicism, and longing in 2020 helped make it what it became. “This film is all about that stuff. So, this film sort of helped us redirect the nihilism as a weapon for good and hope.”
Director Nikyatu Jusu won the Someone to Watch Award, now in its 29th year, for her work on the psychological horror Nanny. Backstage, she went into why she loves working in the horror space: “Horror is a conduit to the truth in the way that other genres don’t allow you to tell truths. We’re all navigating the monsters within us and the monsters in society, so I love staying in this genre and staying true to humanity.”
When asked what she thinks about where inclusion efforts are as it relates to the awards landscape, Jusu would prefer not to focus on “which minoritized group white people choose each year as their favorite. We need to think about sustained change as opposed to who’s let in when. But I’m very excited for the people who got the platform this year.”
Created in 2008 in honor of iconic director Robert Altman, the 15th annual Robert Altman Award was presented by Spirit Awards alum Marisa Tomei to the ensemble cast of Women Talking, a film also nominated in three other categories: Best Feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Casting Director John Buchan took to the stage first to thank Film Independent for including casting directors in this award. Before thanking novelist Miriam Toews for her “searing bullet of a novel,” writer-director Sarah Polley was especially moved by her cast for working immaculately together: “Watching the way this group of people supported and helped each other and worked as a collective changed my feeling about the world and what we’re capable of as human beings.”
With the budget cap increased from $500,000 to $1,000,000 this year, the John Cassavetes Award went to The Cathedral, which writer-director Ricky D’Ambrose and producer Graham Swon made with just $200,000. Recalling the first film he made with D’Ambrose several years ago for only $27,000, Swon dedicated the award to “everybody who is making a movie right now for under $200,000. Keep making them!”
Aside from Quan and Rogers above, Everything Everywhere All At Once also went on to nab the prize Directing, Writing, Best Lead Performance for Michelle Yeoh, and Best Breakthrough Performance for Stephanie Hsu, culminating in the Best Feature trophy.
Co-director and producer Kwan praises the scrappy nature of independent filmmaking as a strength because that makes it easier to be flexible and nimble in an industry fraught with constant change, whether it be the streaming vs. theatrical battle, pay inequities, or tough working environments that are often not family-friendly. “What we do here flows upstream to the rest of the industry. We have a special power.”
Kwan also acknowledges the sense of uncertainty and identity crisis permeating the indie space these days. But he offers a way to reframe the crisis.
When things are turbulent, “it is the best time to plant seeds. It is our job not just to adapt to the future but also to actively dream up what kind of future we want to rewrite, what kind of future we want to be working in. How can we make a movie set more human-friendly? Can we get to net zero on a film set? I don’t know, but let’s dream big! This is our time to do it.”
For more on this year’s Spirit Awards, check out the complete list of winners and revisit your favorite #SpiritAwards moments on YouTube.
(Header: The team behind Everything Everywhere All At Once after winning a record seven Spirit Awards prizes.)
With less than six weeks before trial is set to begin for Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, Fox News on Tuesday released several hundred pages of documents – including redacted depositions of its hosts and leaders – in support of a lengthy email outlining how the besieged network plans to defend its coverage of the 2020 election.
The PDF hurricane is the latest public salvo in Dominion vs. Fox, as both sides have now filed lengthy and thoroughly argued motions for summary judgment. A Delaware judge will rule later this month on those arguments, but a First Amendment case this complex and high-stakes is all but certain to wind up with a jury – unless Fox bucks legal experts’ expectations with some kind of settlement.
This story is developing …
With less than six weeks before trial
Netflix entered into the realm of live television over the weekend with “Selective Outrage,” a Chris Rock comedy special that streamed live on the service Saturday night. And after much hype — as well as controversy over some of Rock’s material — the special appears to have found the audience that the streamer was hoping for.
On Netflix’s latest weekly chart of the top 10 most-watched shows in the United States, “Selective Outrage” ranks No. 7; Netflix did not offer any specific data on the special’s viewership numbers. Although No. 7 for a highly-hyped event might sound a bit of a letdown, the chart tracks viewing over the week of February 27 to March 5. Rock’s special debuted via livestream on 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET on March 4, meaning it managed to crack the list with a little over a day of viewing. In addition, Netflix measures viewership for their lists via hours watched, which heavily favors longer shows; as a comedy special, “Selective Outrage’s” total runtime amounts to a little over an hour.
Netflix did not release specific viewership numbers for “Selective Outrage” in advance. The streamer also did not state if the pre- and after- shows exclusive to the live “Selective Outrage” debut were counted towards its viewership totals.
“Selective Outrage” was announced by Netflix last November, as the streamer’s first ever live broadcast. Rock performed his set at Baltimore, Maryland’s Hippodrome Theatre, with the show appearing like any Netflix title available to be watched on the streamer’s interface. The pre-show and after-show were hosted at Los Angeles’ Comedy Store, with Ronny Chieng presenting the pre-show and David Spade and Dana Carvey presenting the after-show; Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Hart, Matthew McConaughey, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman, Tracy Morgan, Wanda Sykes, and Woody Harrelson, JB Smoove, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made appearances as special guests.
Despite attracting plenty of audience members, “Selective Outrage” received mixed reactions upon its premiere; IndieWire TV critic Ben Travers gave it a “C-” rating and wrote that the special “was in no way built to last. Half the jokes were obsolete before he finished saying them” and that its material “felt like top-of-mind observations, uninterested in deeper scrutiny or even overall cohesiveness.” The special also provoked reactions for some of Rock’s jokes at Smith over the much-talked about Oscars slap, which included claiming that he watched the star’s slavery drama “Emancipation” “just to see him get whooped.”
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The live comedy special ranks No. 7
With the release of Scream VI right around the corner, we thought it’d be fun to look back on Wes Craven’s fantastic Scream series.
It’s a franchise that shows no signs of slowing down, so if you’re new to the franchise or looking to sharpen your knowledge on this long-running series, take a gander at the Scream movies ranked below and then let us know which Scream movie gets your adrenaline pumping.
There was a point in Scream 4 where I was ready to proclaim the third sequel as the best of the bunch — and a killer piece of cinema that adroitly uses modern media as its ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, Wes Craven and returning writer Kevin Williamson opt for a happy ending that allows the original cast to live to see another day.
Really, the pic should have ended with Emma Roberts’ deranged killer, Jill Roberts, riding off into the sunset as a twisted version of Sidney Prescott after manipulating the news media to craft her own fabricated hero journey. Imagine the ramifications of her actions in sequels — would she be haunted by the murders she committed? Would she regret positioning herself as a target for future Ghostface villains? Would she eventually come clean with her morbid tale?
Scream 4 needed a shocking ending to justify its existence. Alas, despite some great kills and fine performances from the likes of Hayden Panettiere and Rory Culkin, the fourth entry is little more than another chapter in a franchise stuck on autopilot.
Surprisingly, Scream, the requel, manages to shock and awe without bringing much new to the table aside from a more somber tone. While the kills are meaner and nastier than ever, the jokes are less common; even Dewey, our resident goofball, swaps the twinkle in his eye with a wearier gaze that somehow makes the character less interesting.
More criminally, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick bring Sidney back for more Ghostface mayhem but give her absolutely nothing to do. The character feels shoehorned into the plot because somebody somewhere didn’t think audiences would turn up for more Scream unless they saw Neve Campbell on the poster. To be fair, the talented actress does what she can with what amounts to an oversized cameo, but can’t overcome the script limitations. Her showdown with this iteration of Ghostface feels even more obligatory than the last one, which sullies the character’s journey in the original trilogy.
Negativity aside, Scream 2022 still offers enough blood and guts mayhem to warrant your attention. The young cast, led by Melissa Barrera (as Billy Loomis’ daughter), Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid, handle the material well, and the script does at least sneak in a few new ideas that merit enthusiasm for the sequel. At this point, there’s only so much more you can do with this franchise, and credit to all involved for at least crafting a plausible reason for Ghostface to kill again.
Wes Craven’s original shocker still delights as a clever slice of 90s pop culture, but too often looks and feels like a made-for-TV thriller starring incredibly attractive 20-year-olds as high schoolers. The action is clunky, Craven’s direction surprisingly erratic; while the cinematography coats the horror in warm hues better suited for a romantic comedy.
In other words, you can tell no one involved had any idea how successful Scream would ultimately become. And yet, much of that success lies in Kevin Williamson’s clever screenplay (and that terrific opening scene featuring Drew Barrymore), which pokes fun at the slasher genre without deviating too far from the formula. At one point, two characters literally scream at a security monitor as though they were watching Halloween. It’s pretty great.
Still, after my latest rewatch, I found myself underwhelmed by Scream’s overall design, its one-note characters, and the overlong finale. I still respect the original for its novelty but feel like parts two and three executed the Scream concept far better.
I’m not placing Scream 3 up here just to drum up controversy. I think this is a remarkably well-made slasher film that somehow manages to reconfigure the Scream formula into something, ah, essential. Sure, you get the usual assortment of grisly kills and shocking twists and turns, but Wes Craven and screenwriter Ehren Kruger aim a little higher with their threequel and take a stab at Hollywood’s seedy underbelly; exploring a world oozing with sleazy producers who spend far too much time preying upon young actresses itching for stardom. Somehow this all connects to Sidney, the results of which might surprise you.
Also, where the first two films were very much products of the late 90s, Scream 3 feels more timeless with less focus on tongue-in-cheek meta-commentary and more emphasis on character and story. There’s also the welcome addition of Parker Posey, who absolutely nails her Gale Weathers-worshipping character and delivers a scene-stealing performance that makes you wish she stuck around a little longer.
I’ve only seen Scream 3 a handful of times, but each viewing always leaves me satisfied. I also think Sidney’s arc should have stopped here, as the pic gives her much-needed closure. Ditto for Dewey and Gale, who enjoy their own happily ever after far away from Ghostface’s nonstop reign of terror.
Alas, the powers that be couldn’t resist and just had to dust off our rag-tag team for more sequels that undermine their personal journeys.
Where Scream was a novel cinematic exercise that somehow turned into an entertaining movie, Scream 2 takes the established concept and absolutely knocks it out of the park. With a bigger budget at his disposal, Wes Craven delivers a bolder, bloodier, and more stylish sequel replete with shocking revelations, gruesome kills, and a dazzling array of suspense that keeps you clinging to the edge of your seat from start to finish.
This is the movie Scream wanted to be.
Everyone brings their A-game, notably Neve Campbell, who adds more pathos to Sidney, turning her from a run-of-the-mill scream queen into an actual human being. Courtney Cox and David Arquette execute the Gale/Dewey romance with aplomb, while newcomers Sarah Michelle Gellar, Timothy Olyphant, and Jerry O’Connell leave an impact in smaller supporting roles.
Yeah, the third act again goes on a little too long and the big reveal causes more eye rolls than gasps, but Scream 2 moves along with such confidence and cheeky self-awareness that it’s easy to overlook its flaws. From the terrific opening scene with Jada Pickett and Omar Epps to the wild confrontation with Ghostface during the climax, Scream 2 dazzles with its whip-smart dialogue and oh-so-clever jabs at pop culture (particularly sequels). It’s a riot.
With the release of Scream VI right
The Writers Guild of America announced in a memo on Tuesday that its members have overwhelmingly approved the pattern of demands set forth by leadership for its upcoming contract negotiation talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, setting the stage for negotiations to begin on March 20.
98.4% of the 5,643 votes were in favor of approving the pattern of demands, with only 90 votes against. For comparison, in 2020, 3,336 members voted, with 90.7% (3,028) voting yes and 9.3% (308) voting no.
In recent weeks, the WGA has held membership meetings to gather input on priorities for the upcoming talks. As expected, the topic of streaming residuals and wages was raised as a primary issue, as the guild is expected to push for a payment scale reflective of the industry-wide shift to streaming services since the last Writers Guild strike in 2007-08.
Another issue included in the pattern of demands is the use of “mini-rooms,” where writer teams meet to plan episodes and write scripts before production begins or even before a project is officially picked up by a studio. Writers have accused studios of using mini-rooms to get writers to work for lower wages, leading the guild to publish a blog post encouraging members to be diligent in negotiating their pay and insisting that they be paid the same quote as for a traditional writers room session.
Other points in the pattern of demands include consistent pay for writers through all stages of the production process, expansion of minimum wage guarantees to accommodate for the expected shift of late-night comedy shows from over-the-top television to streaming, and regulation of writing material created by artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT.
The upcoming talks come in the midst of a radically changed climate for the entertainment industry than seen during the last round of contract negotiations in 2020, when studios were pushing to launch new streaming services in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, those studios are dialing back their investment in streaming as billions of dollars in film and TV projects have been cut or removed from streaming services and media stocks have tumbled. Despite this downturn, the WGA hinted at its approach to this round of talks in a blog post that reflected on the 2007-08 writers’ strike.
“Despite their pattern of catastrophic predictions, the studios have successfully monetized every major modern technological advancement to not only stay afloat but thrive,” the WGA said. “Along the way, they made vague promises that key players like writers would get their fair share at some point. If history has taught nothing else, it has shown that with each new technological advancement within the industry, the real risk is that writers, and other talent, will not receive equitable compensation for the reuse of their work.”
The Writers Guild of America announced in
April 2022: SNL addresses the incident when Jerrod Carmichael hosts. In his opening monologue he referred to how the moment completely took over the cultural conversation, and then in a sketch he played a seat filler whose moment with his idol was ruined by the outburst. On Weekend Update, Michael Che also noted that since the Smiths have decided to reveal so much about their personal lives, it’s understandable that Rock would have missed Jada’s condition.
Will Smith resigns from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which means that he no longer votes on Oscars. However, he gets to keep his and can still be nominated—and next decade, he can attend future ceremonies. After an investigation, the board of directors banned him from the ceremony for 10 years.
Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk acknowledges the incident and says the family was focusing on healing and would address the issue at a later date.
June 2022: A couple months later, Jada hosts an episode about alopecia and said to viewers in a solo statement, “Now about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have the opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile….The state of the world today? We need ’em both.”
July 2022: Smith issues another apology, this one on video, and answered questions from fans about the incident. The five-minute video, titled “It’s been a minute…,” opened with a message for fans: “Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work….”
The video, posted to YouTube, includes another apology to Rock, as well as to Rock’s mother, who had given an interview after the Slap went down. Smith also emphasized that Jada was in no way involved in the incident.
April 2022: SNL addresses the incident when
In “Narrow Path to Happiness,” Hungarian director Kata Oláh follows a young gay Romani couple from a remote village in Hungary whose dream it is to make a musical based on their lives. Just as the Hungarian government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and hostile toward LGBTQ+ people, they move to the capital. The film played in the International Competition at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival this week.
The younger protagonist, Lénárd Váradi, who was 16 years old at the time, reached out to the National Film Institute in Hungary, asking for contacts and looking for a producer who would help them apply for a script development grant. Oláh, who also edited the film, says she couldn’t believe it. “I thought somebody was joking! It cannot be real! So, I said, ‘Sure, let’s meet.’ And then, we met and I fell in love with them and said: ‘You know, it doesn’t work like that; we can’t just apply for a script grant. But I will start to follow you and I will make a documentary about how you are trying to achieve your dream.”
At first, as nobody could agree on the title, the working title was “What Will the Title Be?” but Oláh says that after Lénárd and Gergo produced their song called ‘Looking for Happiness,’ she realized that it had to be part of the title “because they are searching for happiness, and it’s a very narrow path.”
The film is the first of its kind: a gay-themed intersectional documentary that bridges two worlds to come out of Hungary. “It was a very difficult and long journey to make this film because we could not get any financing here in Hungary due to the film’s sensitive topic. It was important for us to concentrate on the boys going after their dream as we didn’t want to make a kind of film about Romani people that we’ve already seen so many times.”
She adds: “So, it was finally made with a very small budget. We are a family production company. I work with my husband, Sándor Csukás, who is a well-established cinematographer in Hungary. He’s mainly doing fiction, but we are both passionate about documentaries, so whenever he has time, we work together. My daughter is my producer and I have a son who also helped a lot in the production of this film. So, literally, the whole filming was done by us, the family, which I think was also very important for building the trust with our protagonists. In terms of financing, we received some help here and there, and then Marc Smolowitz, an American independent producer, joined us and we raised some money in the U.S. and that’s how we could compete the film.”
The two protagonists represent populations in Hungary who are actively persecuted due to their sexuality, race or ethnicity. “I feel that, as a director, it is part of my responsibility to bring this film to these communities and open up conversations about topics that the film touches and that are often taboo. Of course, always with the support of great professionals,” she tells Variety.
Oláh hopes that by showing the film to Hungarian audiences, the film will have an impact on the government and society in Hungary, where same sex marriage is constitutionally forbidden and same sex couples are prevented from adopting, especially because in June 2021, a bill was submitted to Parliament to ban all products, advertising, and media featuring gay or transgender people from those under the age of 18, thus removing the appearance of LGBTQ+ people in public service advertisements or school programs.
“We are working closely with a Roma foundation and our common goal is to put together an impact campaign and distribute the film in Hungary, as our intention is to show it and talk about it openly.”
The producers are Borbála Csukás for Makabor Studio and Smolowitz for 13th Gen.
In “Narrow Path to Happiness,” Hungarian director
A new high school opening this fall will feature a first-of-its-kind learning model for Nova Scotia, by offering students self-directed learning.
The yet-to-be-named school on Broad Street in Bedford, a suburban community in Halifax, will give students more authority over how they complete their curriculum.
Tyler Schmeisser will be heading to Grade 10 at the new school September, and is looking forward to focusing more on math.
“If I was maybe behind on a subject and ahead on another, I could take more time on the subject I was behind in rather than having to do something I’m way ahead on,” he said.
The school’s principal, Sean MacDonald, has been researching self-directed learning for two years by visiting schools in Ontario and British Columbia.
He said it’s a chance to “do something different” in Nova Scotia. Students will have two-thirds of their time at school as “set class time,” while another third of their time will be open for them to “determine what they need to work on.”
“Their teachers also have flexible time, which means that their teachers are available to them if they need them,” MacDonald said.
Students will start out working with a teacher adviser, who will help them map out their day when outside the classroom.
MacDonald said the challenge will be to ensure procrastination doesn’t get in the way, which is why the role of the teacher advisor is so vital.
“They’ll follow a group of students for the three years that they’re there,” he said.
“They’ll become the main point of contact for their student in terms of navigating what they need, maybe kind of advocating for them with teachers in terms of stuff they need. And then also the main contact between home and school.”
MacDonald acknowledged the first couple years won’t be “perfect,” but said potential success would likely play a role in determining if the model is expanded to other schools.
The two Broad Street schools come after years of planning amid exponential growth in the area. The high school, as well as a pre-primary to Grade 8 school, will open this September.
Boundary lines for the schools were finalized after a two-month long virtual town hall. Both the proposed boundaries and the final ones sparked frustration among some parents over who was included and excluded.
All Grade 9 students currently attending Rocky Lake Junior High and Madeline Symonds Middle School will get to choose which high school they would like to attend for the next school year — either Broad Street School or Charles P. Allen High School.
For Tyler, the choice to go to Broad Street was obvious.
“Right away, it caught my ear and I just thought it would be a different way to learn and it could be kind of cool to have a choice of what to do,” he said.
His father, Kyle, hopes the school new model will be a good fit.
“Hopefully (he’ll) really gain the skills that he needs to be able to have success at the next stage, whether it be community college or university or whatever he decides,” he said.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
A new high school opening this fall
Diane Kruger showed off her figure at the Miu Miu Fall Winter 2023 during Paris Fashion Week.
Diane Kruger showed off her figure at
Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in a debt-laden $44 billion deal a little over four months ago, said advertising revenue has dropped as much as 50% since he took over.
But the mega-billionaire tech mogul said a few large advertisers have continued to spend with Twitter, and he specifically called out — and thanked — Disney and Apple as remaining two of the biggest marketers on the social network, speaking Tuesday at the 2023 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco.
According to Musk, Twitter is improving its ability to serve timely and relevant ads. He said he recently was speaking with David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, who asked Musk why Twitter couldn’t put an ad with the trailer for HBO hit show “The White Lotus” next to every tweet that mentions “White Lotus.” Musk responded affirmatively, describing it as basic keyword-based ad buys that Twitter is now selling: “It’s just Google AdWords but applied to tweets.”
Musk painted a dire picture of Twitter’s finances. He said with the drop in ad revenue and the additional debt payments Twitter needs to make (on the roughly $12.5 billion in debt Musk needed to close the transaction), the company was on pace to go bankrupt in four months. The situation required “immediate and drastic action,” Musk said.
In addition to reducing Twitter’s headcount by more than 70%, from 7,500 to below 2,000, the company has consolidated into two data centers (down from three) to reduce cloud expenditures. All told, Twitter has reduced its annualized burn rate (excluding $1.5 billion in debt payments) to about $1.5 billion, down from $4.5 billion previously, while also executing “the fastest product evolution in Twitter’s history,” Musk said.
“There have been a few bumps in the road, but this is to be expected,” Musk said. “Now we have the opportunity to grow [Twitter] into something spectacular.” He added, “I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but I think we have a shot at being cash flow positive in the second quarter.”
Musk said Twitter has a lot of room to improve the way it monetizes time spent on the platform. On a daily basis, Twitter generates 130 million hours of attention from “the smartest people on Earth,” he claimed; currently, however, the company earns just 5-6 cents of ad revenue per hour of that time.
Musk said his goal for Twitter is to be the most timely and accurate source of truth available, “however unpleasant it might be.” A self-described “free speech absolutist” — who has reinstated the accounts of many accounts Twitter previously banned for violating its policies, including Donald Trump’s — Musk reiterated that he sees Twitter as an important vehicle to ensure free speech. “If we don’t have a strong foundation for free speech, I fear for the future of our civilization,” he said.
Today, “the media controls the narrative,” he said, while on Twitter “the public can control the narrative. And that’s a really big deal,” describing the social network as being a “forum for citizen journalism.”
Musk also joked about Twitter’s lack of a PR department. “The right thing for PR departments is propaganda,” he said, musing, “I think maybe we need a VP of propoganda, it would be more honest. Also a VP of witchcraft.”
On Monday, Twitter experienced a widespread technical problem that produced an error if users tried to click on links to third-party websites. Musk addressed the glitch briefly: “What was supposed to be a small change to 1% of the Twitter user base ended up being a catastrophic change to 100% of the Twitter user base.”
During the Morgan Stanley talk, Musk also spoke about developments at electric vehicle maker Tesla and SpaceX, both of which he leads as CEO, and reiterated his belief that humans could one day colonize Mars.
Separately, word emerged Tuesday that Endeavor, led by CEO Ari Emanuel, had made a small investment in Twitter in mid-January. The size of the investment wasn’t available but a source said it was not material to Endeavor’s business.
Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in a
Walt Disney Imagineering, the secretive unit responsible for Disney theme parks, cruise ships and shopping experiences, has reclaimed one of its own: Bruce Vaughn, who left the company in 2016, will return to Disney.
Vaughn will be installed as chief creative officer, working alongside Barbara Bouza, president of Walt Disney Imagineering. They will both report in to Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (known internally as DPEP).
“Together, Bruce and Barbara will partner closely to connect visionary creative thinking with project opportunities and flawless execution and delivery,” D’Amaro said in a memo to staff. “With significant developments under way and more on the horizon, this dedicated focus toward creativity and innovation will help us deliver next-level experiences well into the future. To best accomplish this, they will be working together to swiftly identify the most effective way to structure Imagineering.”
Vaughn joined Walt Disney Imagineering in the early 1990s. At the time Vaughn was working for Associates & Ferren, led by his mentor Bran Ferran, a special effects house who worked on “Star Trek V,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables.” At the time, Associates & Ferren were helping WDI on a new attraction for the Florida parks – The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror. The work must have been pretty phenomenal, because Disney (at the time led by Michael Eisner and Frank Wells) bought them outright.
From there, Vaughn rose in the ranks. As D’Amaro described in his memo, Vaughn spent “two decades in leadership roles including with WDI R&D,” the highly technical, even-more-secretive group that was established by Wells around the same time that Disney purchased Vaughn’s old company. For nine years Vaughn served as chief creative executive, eventually leaving in 2016 after overseeing ambitious projects like the Shanghai Disneyland resort and the overhaul of Disney California Adventure, including the construction of Carsland.
In 2016 Vaughn WDI left to become CEO of virtual reality start-up Dreamscape and in 2021 joined another WDI vet Catherine Powell at Airbnb as part of an initiative to develop more “immersive” experiences.
Vaughn’s re-hiring comes at a time when WDI is in desperate need of seasoned creative talent and those with what has been described to us as “institutional knowledge” of how the unit, originally formed by Walt Disney himself, can operate in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
During the pandemic, WDI suffered major layoffs and a wave of “retirements” from key staff. Most of the most talented, most readily identifiable Imagineers are no longer at the company and those that have stayed are being forced to relocate to Lake Nona, Florida, away from the Imagineering headquarters in Glendale, California, down the street from the corporate headquarters in Burbank.
Universal is planning to open a huge, cutting-edge and wildly ambitious new park called Epic Universe in Orlando in 2025, just down the street from Disney’s vacation kingdom, with two more standalone experiences planned for the future – one family-friendly park in Frisco, Texas, and another horror-themed experience in Las Vegas, Nevada. Disney needs some firepower and rehiring Vaughn seems like a good idea. Not only does he have the institutional knowledge of how the building works but he could also sway other ex-Imagineers to return.
Vaughn starts on March 20.
Walt Disney Imagineering, the secretive unit responsible
Following its March 4 live debut, Chris Rock’s “Selective Outrage” standup special opened to promising figures as Netflix’s first jump into live content. During the Feb. 27-March 5 viewing window, the special managed to land on the Netflix Top 10 US chart on the English-language TV list at No. 7 despite a small window of availability. (Because the show aired late on Saturday night, only the first day and a few hours of viewing were counted during this week’s window.)
Live from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, Rock’s first standup show following the infamous 2022 Oscar’s slap was one of several live offerings on Saturday as Netflix accompanied it with pre- and post-show coverage featuring appearances from Ronnie Chieng, Leslie Jones, Deon Cole and Arsenio Hall, among others, as well as appearances and commentary from Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes. The special first debuted in the US, and hasn’t been counted on Netflix’s global charts yet.
In other TV news, Season 3 of “Outer Banks” sat atop the English TV List for the second week in a row with 99 million hours viewed. Seasons 1 and 2 also remained on the list with 34 million hours viewed and 27.7 million hours viewed, respectively.
Also joining the list this week is Season 2 of the steamy drama “Sex/Life” at No. 2 with 43.9 million hours viewed. The freshman season of the series also returned to the list at No. 8 with 19.6 million hours
On the unscripted side, “Perfect Match,” (42.7 million hours viewed), “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” (33.4 million hours viewed), Season 5 of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” (26.2 million hours viewed) all returned to the list taking the third, fifth, and seventh place, respectively. Addtitionally, “Next In Fashion” Season 2 starring supermodel Gigi Hadid and designer Tan France just barely clawed its way onto the list at No. 10 following its March 3 premiere with 16.2 million hours viewed.
“We Have a Ghost” continued to lead the English Films List with 42.62 million hours viewed and appeared in the Top 10 in 93 countries. Meanwhile, “The Strays,” a new addition which debuted Feb. 22 had 14.57 million hours viewed. “Your Place or Mine” held on strong with 7.5 million hours viewed.
See Netflix’s Top 10 lists for the week of Feb. 27-March 5 below, beginning with English-language series and followed by non-English-language TV shows, English-language movies and then non-English-language movies.
Following its March 4 live debut, Chris
Last Updated: April 16, 2020, 11:48 IST
Love Wedding Repeat
Director: Dean Craig
Cast: Sam Claflin, Olivia Munn
Based on the French film Plan De Table, Dean Craig’s Love Wedding Repeat on Netflix starts off with all the flair and promise of an enjoyable love story between Jack (Sam Claflin) and his sister’s friend Dina (Olivia Munn).
With the hint of an attempt to channel the cult film, Four Weddings & A Funeral, the opening scene has the two protagonists saying a reluctant goodbye after a chance weekend together. Just when it feels like Jack will express a romantic interest in Dina, fate interrupts and matters take a different turn.
Life moves on and Jack and Dina meet a couple of years later at Jack’s sister Hayley’s (Eleanor Tomlinson) wedding. Finally, the stage seems set for their love story to take off what with the romantic setting of the wedding in Italy.
In attendance are motley characters including a mothballed middle-aged man in a Scottish Kilt (Tim Key) and a glamorous Italian film director to add some colour to the romantic wedding.
As a precursor to what’s in store, a narrator’s voice tells you that the outcome of everything is dependent on the seating plan at the lunch table where Jack intends to rekindle the romantic flame between him and Dina. However, the guest list on the said table is explosive, to say the least- with Jack’s ex-girlfriend Amanda (Freida Pinto) seated along with her fiancé Chaz (Allan Mustafa). To add to the confusion there is a last-minute entry of Marc (Jack Farthing) Hayley’s coked-up school flame, obsessed with her also assigned to the same table. Marc intends to put a spanner in the wedding works and Jack has been assigned by Hayley to ensure that he makes no trouble.
So far, Craig’s screenplay lends veracity to the omniscient narrator’s aforementioned brief quite well. But going further, despite the comic ingredients all being in place, the proceedings feel quite labored. And the humor is way too subtle for the madcap set up.
A lovable lead pair and sundry quirky side-characters are key to the success of a romantic comedy. Love Wedding Repeat, unfortunately, does not tick against that box. The lead pair despite their good looks lacks chemistry and neither of the two entirely win you over. If anything it is the goofy oddball side-characters like Joel Fry’s ball-of-nerves Bryan or Aisling Bea’s foot-in-the-mouth Rebbeca who get your attention. Even Freida Pinto as Amanda makes more of an impact than the leading lady. Unfortunately, with a lackluster script, even the potential of the supporting cast is never fully exploited.
Another weak link is the Groundhog-Day-like treatment of the film. The renewed outcome when the seating plan at the table is changed, as dictated by the oracle’s voice, seems to add to the confusion. The viewer is left wondering as to how the characters retrace their steps back from an initial unfortunate ending. What is the narrator really saying? Has the choice been made for the protagonists by chance or the hand of God? Or has the changed outcome just been thrown in to prolong the film and give it a happy ending?
Quite like the romantic fate of its protagonists, Love Wedding Repeat is riddled with too many missed opportunities, preventing the audiences from falling in love with the film.
Rating 2.5/5
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Last Updated: April 16, 2020, 11:48 ISTLove
Rachael Ray’s ending her longtime talk show after more than a decade, but food content will still be her meat and potatoes.
CBS announced Friday that the “30 Minute Meals” star will conclude her self-titled talk show after its current 17th season.
“In my more than 20 plus years in television I have had 17 wonderful seasons working in daytime television with ‘Rachael,’” she said in a press release. “However I’ve made the decision that’s it’s time for me to move on to the next exciting chapter in my broadcast career.”
Ray’s announcement came hours after Deadline revealed Friday that the Food Network personality would launch Free Food Studios, a production company.
According to its website, Free Food Studios will focus on “original content in the food space.” In Friday’s announcement, Ray said her “passions have evolved” to a platform she says is “unencumbered by the traditional rules of distribution.”
Ray said she also intends to “develop new and upcoming epicurean talent.”
The cooking guru‘s daytime show debuted on Sept. 18, 2006. In its 17 years on air, “Rachael Ray” earned more than 30 Daytime Emmy nominations, and won outstanding talk show three times.
CBS has not yet revealed when the final episode of Ray’s show will air, but the longtime television host gave her fans something to look forward to.
“We still have more new shows this year and more smiles yet to come,” she captioned an Instagram photo on Tuesday. The pic was of Ray embracing husband and singer John Cusimano.
Ray’s announcement comes a month after CBS announced that Dr. Phil McGraw is also ending his daytime TV run.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw, 72, said in the statement. “With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I’m moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do.”
Rachael Ray’s ending her longtime talk show
Dave fires 10 more random questions at Eric! This time he has to choose between two of Marvel’s biggest creators, how to pronounce strange villain names, comics he regrets parting with, punchable bad guys, how to emulate Robocop and more!
PLAY EPISODE: Comics Speakeasy X – 10 More Random Questions
Dave fires 10 more random questions at
After a set video from Joker: Folie à Deux revealed that Joaquin Phoenix was running from two other Jokers; are they delusions or multiverse-related?
Joker: Folie à Deux is going to feature multiple versions of the Clown Prince of Crime, which was revealed recently by a set video with star Joaquin Phoenix. They could be appearing in the movie as delusions from Arthur Fleck’s wandering mind or as the Joker gets mixed in with DC’s multiverse, which will be opened up by this year’s The Flash. Joker: Folie à Deux is a sequel to 2019’s Joker, which ended up its run in theaters as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, with over $1 billion. Now, 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux aims to go even further than the original.
A recent Joker 2 set video showed Phoenix’s character running away from two past versions of himself, which included one Arthur Fleck dressed in his Joker outfit from the original movie.
The scene is very interesting, as it can likely play out in two very different ways. Joker introduced the concept of Arthur being an unreliable narrator, which could be tied to the sudden appearance of multiple Jokers, or maybe DC really is embracing the multiverse across its different properties. One huge detail from the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux helps to understand how the multiple Jokers can factor into the story.
Joker: Folie à Deux could be pulling a page from the original movie when it comes to the presence of the multiple Jokers seen in the set video. Joker 2 can answer the mystery of just how far Arthur changes reality in his mind to fit what he wants after the character had an entire relationship with a woman in the first movie, which was then shockingly revealed to not be true at all, rather happening completely inside Arthur’s mind. Lady Gaga’s role as Harley Quinn in the sequel, allied to at least part of the story taking place at Arkham Asylum, should enhance Arthur’s delusions from the original.
Another important factor that points to Joker: Folie à Deux‘s multiple Jokers being constructs of Arthur’s mind is that the sequel has been revealed to be a musical. Joker 2 can continue the bathroom dancing scene from the original, a turning point for Arthur’s transformation into the Joker, with a full-blown adventure through the character’s psyche. Joker: Folie à Deux being a musical allows the movie to have larger-than-life sequences, escaping reality and allowing audiences to see what goes on in Arthur’s mind. That theme is likely behind the presence of multiple Jokers as Arthur tries to wrestle with his own identity in the movie.
If the multiple Jokers set to appear in Joker: Folie à Deux are indeed real, then there might be some sort of multiverse plot involved in the movie. 2023’s The Flash is going to present a multiverse story that unites different characters from all over the DC Universe. The Flash movie includes multiple Batman actors, Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, reprising their roles. That opens up the precedent for Phoenix’s multiple Jokers to be real, although that is unlikely, as Joker: Folie à Deux has been said to be an Elseworlds story — contained to its own universe — which means Arthur’s delusions are probably why the multiple Jokers appear.
After a set video from Joker: Folie
Take-Two has reportedly laid off staff at several divisions including its indie publishing label Private Division.
The Rockstar and 2K Games owner announced last month that was planning some layoffs as part of a $50 million “cost reduction program”.
And according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, the cuts have today hit staff at Private Division and other Take-Two business units.
Private Division is the publisher of titles including the Kerbal Space Program franchise, The Outer Worlds and OlliOlli World. It also has unannounced projects in development with Moon Studios, Evening Star and Yellow Brick Games.
In a statement, Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis said the cuts “will better align our organization with our long-term priorities” and claimed that the impact on dev teams is “minimal.”
The company said last month that the cost reduction program would include “personnel, processes, infrastructure, and other areas, and will primarily focus on corporate and publishing functions”.
And in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the publisher wasn’t planning a “broad-based reduction” in its workforce.
“We continue to support and build our development teams, and where we have overhead, we have to be very diligent about looking at the overhead,” he said.
“We don’t expect any kind of broad-based reduction in force. We are going department by department and trying to drive efficiency.”
Take-Two has reportedly laid off staff at
Adapting a book or a play into a film or TV show can be an exciting opportunity for filmmakers and producers. However, before the cameras start rolling, the first step is to secure exclusive rights to the source material through an option agreement.
Optioning a book or an article involves negotiating with the author or the publisher for the exclusive right to adapt their work into a visual medium.
This process can be complex and requires careful attention to legal details. In this article, we will discuss the general steps involved in optioning a book or an article and provide some helpful tips to navigate the process successfully.
Let’s dive in together.
Optioning a book or article involves obtaining the exclusive right to adapt the work into a film or television show for a specified period of time. Here are the general steps to option a book or article:
Identify the book or article: Find a book or article that you would like to adapt into a film or television show. Make sure to research the author, the publisher, and any previous adaptations or optioning deals.
Contact the rights holder: Contact the rights holder, which is usually the author or publisher, to express your interest in optioning the book or article. Provide a brief overview of your project and why you think their work would be a good fit.
Negotiate the terms: Negotiate the terms of the option agreement, including the length of the option period, the amount of money to be paid for the option, and any other specific terms or conditions.
Draft the option agreement: Hire an attorney to draft the option agreement, which should include the specific terms and conditions of the option, as well as the payment terms.
Execute the option agreement: Once the option agreement has been drafted and reviewed by all parties involved, execute the agreement by signing and exchanging copies.
Develop the project: During the option period, develop the project, which may involve writing a screenplay, pitching to producers, and securing financing.
Exercise the option: If the project is successful and the option period is coming to an end, exercise the option by paying the agreed-upon amount to the rights holder and obtaining the rights to adapt the book or article into a film or television show.
It’s important to note that the process of optioning a book or article can be complex, so it’s recommended to work with experienced professionals, such as entertainment attorneys or literary agents, to ensure that all legal requirements are met and the process goes smoothly.
Optioning a book or an article to adapt into a film or TV show is an intricate process that requires careful consideration and attention to detail.
By following the general steps outlined in this article and seeking the assistance of experienced professionals, you can successfully navigate the optioning process and secure exclusive rights to the source material.
Remember, optioning a book or an article is just the first step in the complex journey of adapting a story into a visual medium. But with determination and a solid plan, you can bring your vision to life on the big or small screen.
Time to get to work.
What's the best way to option
The annual “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World” examined the top-grossing films of 2022 and, boy, do we still have some catching up to do.
Unveiled just in time for International Women’s Day (March 8), the study led by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen found that there was a 2 percent jump in female protagonist characters from 2021, with women additionally accounting for 37 percent of all speaking roles last year. Yet still, 80 percent of films featured more male than female characters. Only 11 percent of films had more female than male characters, and 9 percent of films featured equal numbers of female and male characters.
The key to more women’s stories on screen? Unsurprisingly, it’s more women behind the camera.
Across the findings of a content analysis of over 2,100 characters appearing in films in 2022, films with at least one woman director and/or writer were more likely than films with no women in these roles to feature higher percentages of females as protagonists, in major roles, and as speaking characters. The specific results showed that women comprised 56 percent of protagonists in female filmmakers’ projects, compared to just 23 percent of female protagonists in male-dominated films.
For the purposes of the study, “protagonists” are defined as the characters from whose perspective the story is told. Major characters appear in more than one scene and are instrumental to the narrative of the story. Speaking characters include all major and minor characters. Movies highlighted as complex representations of women from the past year included “The Woman King,” “Women Talking,” “Smile,” “Scream 5,” “Don’t Worry Darling,” and more. But the percentage of female characters increased only slightly from 2021.
As “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World” found, in 2022, females accounted for 33 percent of sole protagonists, up two percentage points from 31 percent in 2021. The percentage of women in speaking roles increased by three percentage points, from 34 percent in 2021 to 37 percent in 2022. And the number of women-centric comedies is dwindling at just 3 percent, while women thrive in horror.
But what are the types of women being shown onscreen?
Female characters are still staggeringly younger than their male counterparts, “diminishing in alarming numbers around the age of 40,” as the study found.
“When the majority of female characters remain under 40, they are less likely to hold positions of great personal and/or professional power,” the study analyzed.
As for racial representation, in 2022, 64.2 percent of female characters in speaking roles were white (up from 60.6 percent in 2021), 18.0 percent were Black (down from 19.3 percent in 2021), 6.9 percent were Latina (down from 9.5 percent in 2021), 8.1 percent were Asian or Asian American (down from 8.4 percent in 2021), and zero were Native American (down from 0.3% in 2021). The one non-binary character from a top-grossing film last year was white, according to the study, while 67 percent of transgender characters were Black and 33 percent were white.
Such characters are also less likely to have work-related goals in the plot; instead, the collective focus is on personal life-related goals, such as dating.
As for genre films, female protagonists were most likely to appear in horror features (43 percent), followed by dramas (37 percent), action features (10 percent), animated features (3 percent), comedies (3 percent), and features in other genres (3 percent). Is it truly the death of the female-led comedy?
Male protagonists were most likely to appear in action features (30 percent), followed by dramas (23 percent), comedies (19 percent), animated features (19 percent), science fiction features (4 percent), and horror features (4 percent).
The “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World” study has monitored portrayals of girls and women in the top 100 domestic-grossing films since 2002. It is the longest-running and most comprehensive study of women’s representation in film available. Overall, this project has considered the representation of over 27,000 characters appearing in more than 1,200 films over the last two decades.
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The annual "It's a Man's (Celluloid) World"
Writer-director Nancy Meyers—the Steven Spielberg of rom-coms—is gearing up to make her first film since 2015. Responsible for modern classics such as The Parent Trap, The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give, and It’s Complicated, it’s safe to say that when Meyers’s name is attached to a project, you know it’s going to be funny, moving, and filled with gorgeous interior design.
The Netflix-backed film is still under wraps for the most part—it doesn’t have a title or a projected release date yet, although production is expected to begin in May 2023 in Los Angeles. But the streaming service has dropped subtle hints of what’s to come. Here’s everything we know about the forthcoming romantic comedy.
Who’s in it?
No one has formally signed on to star in the movie, which has been described as an ensemble comedy. That said, the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Owen Wilson, and Michael Fassbender are in talks.
It’s semi-autobiographical.
A loose plot summary for the film has been circulating: “A talented young writer/director and brilliant young producer get off to a fantastic Hollywood start: meeting, quickly falling in love, and creating successful films together. Soon enough, the romance fades and the two call it quits, but when another great career opportunity arises, they find themselves teamed up on a new project with high stakes and two emotionally volatile stars that may test their limits…”
“Hollywood exes” with lingering chemistry who are forced to reunite sounds an awful lot like Meyers’s relationship with her ex-husband, filmmaker Charles Shyer. In a submission to The New York Times‘ “Modern Love” column, Meyers admitted to basing Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin’s dynamic in It’s Complicated on her relationship with Shyer.
The deal evolved out of another project.
In 2020, Meyers teamed up with Netflix to release Father of the Bride Part 3 (ish), a short film released exclusively on the streaming service’s social media accounts. Made to generate money for World Central Kitchen at the height of the pandemic, the project blended original cast members from Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II with new faces like Robert De Niro, Florence Pugh, and Ben Platt. According to Deadline, having developed a relationship with Netflix film chief Scott Stuber through that collaboration, Meyers subsequently pitched him an idea for a feature-length film.
Writer-director Nancy Meyers—the Steven Spielberg of rom-coms—is
