News

Next week’s hyper-contentious election and its face-off between virulently opposed camps has cast a fearful pall over our culture, creating an atmosphere where political terrors are outdoing the movie versions. Why hasn’t someone made a slasher pic about volunteers canvassing door-to-door at dusk?

This uneasy vibe has foregrounded an uncomfortable truth about horror films: how they often come with subtle political messages that are not always subtle enough to obscure which way they might vote in November. (To be clear, films cannot cast votes in a presidential election.) For example, you could easily argue that one of the most blatantly Republican horror movies was The Exorcist, along with the entire satanic-possession genre. In William Friedkin’s 1972 original, science and modern medicine are completely powerless to dent the demon who has possessed the innocent victim, leaving it up to the patriarchal Catholic Church to take on Pazuzu (and forge...

Early in director Laurent Bouzereau’s “Music by John Williams” documentary (streaming November 1 on Disney+), Steven Spielberg explains that he was worried about the demise of orchestral film scoring in the early ’70s while embarking on his directing career. He was determined that this emotionally stirring, if anachronistic, format would not die on his watch, so he hired John Williams to score his first theatrical feature, “The Sugarland Express” (1974).

Williams (who caught the director’s attention in 1969 with “The Reivers”) surprised Spielberg with an intimate harmonica solo (played by Toots Thielmans) that helped elevate the movie in a way he didn’t expect. Thus began the greatest director-composer collaboration in the history of movies, with Spielberg making 29 films with Williams and admitting that the composer has been indispensable to each and every one of them.

But it was their second film together, “Jaws” (1975), that propelled their careers. With two unforgettable...

From It To The Exorcist – Top 5 Highest-Grossing Horror Films Of All Time (Photo Credit – Netflix)

Halloween is here and calls for hair-raising horror flicks with your loved ones. There are tons of horror movies, but not all of them impress the fans enough to bring in great collections at the box office globally. From It to The Nun, today we are here with the top 5 highest-grossing horror movies for you to watch in your Hollywood horror movie marathon. Scroll below for more.

Several movies have become franchises with spin-offs, sequels, and prequels. The Conjuring is one of them, and a new film is in development. Besides supernatural horror, there are slasher films like the Scream franchise and Alien invasion movies. This year, the genre did well at the theatres.

The films include Alien: Romulus, A Quiet Place: Day One, Longlegs, and most recently, Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 were also released.

Steven Spielberg, Yo-Yo Ma and Chris Martin contribute to this fascinating if fleeting glimpse into a remarkable career that also encompasses Jaws, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter

Seventeen thousand people in the Hollywood Bowl cheer as an unremarkable-looking man in a white jacket with a neat grey beard and bright blue eyes walks on stage. John Williams raises his baton and the Los Angeles Philharmonic begin the theme for Star Wars’s Imperial March. Thousands of lightsabers beat time along with him. The atmosphere crackles.

Williams’s music is part of our collective psyche. Superman, Harry Potter, Et, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List – how many other films are so instantly recognisable from a few notes of their soundtracks? Laurent Bouzereau’s documentary celebrates the legendary film composer, now 92. The music, with its lush orchestral richness and unashamed emotion, is front and centre. Musicians Chris Martin and Yo-Yo Ma and directors including George Lucas,...

Hammer: Heroes, Legends, and Monsters is set to offer a unique tribute to legendary actor Peter Cushing, best known for his roles as Grand Moff Tarkin in George Lucas’ Star Wars. Having played roles like Van Helsing and Baron Frankenstein in Hammer Films’ Dracula and Frankenstein series, the documentary is set to deliver a special treat for fans and audiences.

Peter Cushing || Credit: Columbia Pictures

Charles Dance, Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones, will be narrating this documentary, which is produced by Deep Fusion Films, a company specializing in the use of artificial intelligence in film. While this might be a novel approach to documentary filmmaking, the creative film space is not devoid of the use of artificial intelligence, having done so in films like Rogue One and shows like The Mandalorian.

This ain’t Peter Cushing’s first rodeo with AI Cushing as Tarkin in Star Wars: Rogue One,...

Is Eleven closely connected to the Demogorgon? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

What if Eleven isn’t just the girl with superpowers but tied to the Demogorgon in ways that would make even the Upside Down dizzy? Yeah, it sounds bonkers, but stick with me. The Demogorgon, aka “the Monster,” strutted into Hawkins, Indiana, in November 1983, flipping the script on small-town life faster than you can say “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Let’s rewind: when Eleven—a little girl with psychokinetic skills sharper than a Demogorgon’s teeth—tapped into her powers, she unknowingly cracked open the door to the terrifying Upside Down. Talk about a bad hair day! During her time at Hawkins National Laboratory, Eleven’s psychic shenanigans sent a ripple through dimensions, making her the unintentional matchmaker for a gruesome romance between her world and the demonic Demogorgon.

Eleven’s Upside-Down Connection

So, picture this: Eleven is chilling in a sensory deprivation tank,...

Oliver Stone has rewatched all four Jaws films – but it’s 1987’s Jaws: The Revenge that he’s keen to defend.

There aren’t too many people willing to stand up and take one for the team where 1987’s Jaws: The Revenge is concerned, but you can now count multiple Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone among them.

To this point, the most talked-about part of the fourth and thus-far final Jaws movie is Michael Caine’s oft-told story. It’s the one where he revealed that he’d never seen the film itself, but he had very much seen and enjoyed the house that it paid for.

Oliver Stone has been active on his Facebook page of late, with pages of thoughts on assorted movies. And he’s told how over the summer, he treated himself to a viewing of all four Jaws films. “In my shark fever, I particularly enjoyed...

Stars: Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn, Robert Carradine, Scott Walker, Peter Hooten | Written by Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Donati | Directed by Michael Anderson

Orca: The Killer Whale, directed by Michael Anderson and released in 1977, is a unique and polarizing entry in the animal horror genre. Riding the wave of killer animal thrillers that followed the massive success of Jaws (1975), Orca seeks to differentiate itself by focusing on one of the ocean’s most intelligent creatures, the killer whale. Despite its potential, the film never quite rises to the heights it aspires to, blending melodrama with ecological themes in ways that often clash.

The story revolves around Captain Nolan (Richard Harris), a fisherman who becomes obsessed with capturing a killer whale for profit. When his attempt to trap a male orca results in the death of its pregnant mate and unborn calf, the whale seeks revenge in...

Getting a film made is far easier said than done. That's why most Hollywood movies are based on pre-existing material -- both to try and speed up the process of generating a story itself, and to have some assurance that there's an audience for the story. This mentality has led to truly original movies becoming something of a rarity. Truth is, Hollywood has always looked to existing IP (intellectual property).What's new about today's situation is that the IP they're generally tapping tends to be of a short-form or experiential variety: either remakes, reboots, and legacy sequels to older movies, or TV shows, comic books, and video games.

In the early decades of cinema, however, the main source for adaptations was literature. Where comics, games, TV and other movies are all visual mediums and come pre-loaded with their own imagery, books are a covenant between the author and reader's imagination,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

"Jaws" is a movie that needs no introduction, made by a director who similarly needs no introduction. Steven Spielberg is one of the most well-known, respected, and popular directors in cinema history. When all's said and done, he may be considered the best to ever do it. Even so, against his incredible body of work which includes classics like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Schindler's List," his major studio debut about a killer shark terrorizing a small town remains one of his finest hours. Even though he was green as a filmmaker, he was ambitious. Case in point, he broke an unwritten Hollywood rule in making his 1975 classic.

In a 2006 interview with the Directors Guild of America, Spielberg reflected on the making of "Jaws," which was famously plagued with issues. The shark, affectionately referred to as "Bruce," was breaking all the time.

Ranker is a popular place on the Internet where people can rank whatever they want, however, they want, and whenever they want. This is always a fan-focused ranking system, and it is never officially tied to the people behind the projects in question.

Recently, a large survey was organized on Ranker, whose goal was to determine the best horror films of all time. The list includes more than 400 titles, but in our report, we have decided to list the top ten films from the site to provide you with better insight, combined with our original comments and opinions, which will add flavor to the whole report.

Of course, since this is indeed an important list, we have decided to report on it, so we are going to bring you the results by listing the top 10 movies on this list, from 10th to first place. We hope you’ll enjoy it!

Some audiences might have first spotted Matt Damon during a notable dinner scene in Donald Petrie's hit 1988 drama "Mystic Pizza." Thereafter, Damon turned up as an extra in "Field of Dreams" and as one of the many handsome students in the 1992 boarding school thriller "School Ties," both of them with his longtime friend and collaborator Ben Affleck. Damon went on to score some considerable screen time in Edward Zwick's "Courage Under Fire" before delivering his first lead performance in 1997 in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rainmaker." That same year, Damon and Affleck became acclaimed Academy darlings for writing and starring in Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting." The pair won Oscars for their screenplay and have both been major Hollywood players since.

Damon, having gained the clout to be picky and the fame to be noticed, thereafter became attracted to projects by established directors. After having alreayd...

Richard Dreyfuss is the Oscar-winning actor who has been an integral part of so many American films that are now considered classics. His career really took off in the 1970s with “Jaws,” “American Graffiti” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” by being a key collaborator on a number of films directed by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Dreyfuss has proven himself adept in his wide range of characters — from a music teacher to a blood-thirsty gangster, and from an aspiring actor to an obnoxious oceanographer. The result has been a Best Actor Academy Award for “The Goodbye Girl” with an additional nomination for “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” plus a Golden Globe victory with three additional Globe nominations.

Take a tour of our photo gallery ranking his 12 greatest films from worst to best..

It begins with Jaws. Of course it begins with Jaws. Has any composer in history utilised two simple notes — an alternating pattern between E and F — so effectively? So iconically? It feels obvious to begin a documentary entitled Music By John Williams with perhaps his most famous work, but it also feels like there would be no other way to begin.

This film comes from Laurent Bouzereau, a prolific author and documentarian who has made making-of films for Steven Spielberg for decades, and has written at least three books on the filmmaker, including last year’s Spielberg: The First Ten Years. Bouzereau has even made a documentary on Williams before — 2017’s TV film Steven Spielberg & John Williams: The Adventure Continues. So, there is certainly a sense of well-trodden ground here, and it’s a fairly cosy portrait between regular collaborators, rather than a probing journalistic inquiry.

Does an excellent job of capturing his importance.

Plot: From his early days as a jazz pianist to his 54 Oscar® nominations and five wins, the documentary takes an in-depth look at Williams’ countless contributions to film including many iconic franchises, as well as his music for the concert stage and his impact on popular culture. The film features interviews with artists and filmmakers whose lives have been touched by his timeless music.

Review: There is no one like John Williams. From Star Wars to Superman to Jurassic Park to Harry Potter and beyond, Williams has left an indelible mark on the landscape of cinema and music in general. In his nineties, John Williams became synonymous with movie soundtracks thanks to his collaborations with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and several other filmmakers and film franchises. The new documentary Music By John Williams, directed by the composer’s longtime friend and documentarian Laurent Bouzereau, is an ode to Williams’ creative...

At the premiere of Disney+ doc Music by John Williams on opening night of AFI Fest on Wednesday, Steven Spielberg took some time to reflect on his longtime collaboration with the legendary composer.

The duo have worked on nearly 30 films together, including Jaws, E.T., Schindler’s List and the Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones franchises. Spielberg serves as producer on the new Williams documentary and inside the Los Angeles screening, recalled how for several years the two would host fundraiser concerts for orchestras around the country. The filmmaker would play a scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with no music first, joking the four-minute scene would feel like 14 minutes. And then the scene would replay with Williams leading an orchestra, making the four minutes feel like 90 seconds.

“That is the miracle of film scoring and that is the consistent miracle of John Williams, what he has brought to all...

Horror, much like comedy, is subjective. But even keeping that in mind, it’s hard to be prepared for The Roots’ James Poyser’s favorite scary movie. Jimmy Fallon was blindsided by the keyboardist’s pick on the latest episode of “The Tonight Show.”

In honor of spooky season, Fallon noted that a new survey found 84% of people watch scary movies around Halloween. “Personally, my favorite is the original ‘Halloween,'” Fallon shared. He then asked the members of “The Tonight Show” house band what their favorite scary movies are.

Most were expected. Black Thought listed “Paranormal Activity,” saying “that one really got me.” Questlove mentioned “Jaws” because “that shark messed me up.” Then it was James Poyser’s turn.

“The scariest movie I’ve ever seen has to be ‘The Notebook,'” he confidently said as the studio audience laughed. The crowd and Fallon may have been giggling, but...

For over seven decades, John Williams has been crafting some of the most memorable melodies in cinema history. From the ominous two-note teaser of danger in Jaws to the soaring theme of adventure and wonder in Star Wars, Williams’ music has accentuated emotions in iconic movies and become ingrained in our collective experience. At 92, with five Oscars and an unprecedented 52 nominations, Williams is widely considered the most successful film composer of all time.

The documentary Music by John Williams, directed by Laurent Bouzereau, shares insights into the celebrated career of this prolific artist. Through interviews with Williams himself, as well as directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, musicians Williams has collaborated with, and others, the film explores the maestro’s journey.

Natural talent and perseverance led Williams from piano sessions in Los Angeles to scoring early television and films. However, it was his partnerships with Spielberg and Lucas that launched...

From the deep, quickening heartbeat of “Jaws” to the astral opening blast of “Star Wars,” the music of John Williams not only earns its place among the most iconic film scores of all time, but it also proves memorable enough to carry with us out of the cinema. So effective are his themes that to hum just a few notes of a Williams score is to be caught up in the same emotions you felt gazing up at the big screen in the first place, watching Superman take flight over Manhattan or Elliott and E.T. bicycle across the moon.

At age 92, the maestro has received no shortage of accolades — from institutions, admirers and his peers in the Academy — and yet, Williams has long resisted requests to turn the cameras around on him. “Music by John Williams” does just that, featuring extensive interviews with the composer, plus glowing endorsements from...

There were great cinema composers before John Williams and there will be great composers after him. And yet, through his seven-decade career, he towers over everyone else. His music is not only iconic, but the movies we revere as classics wouldn’t have acquired such legendary status if not for his scores.

“Jaws” without John Williams isn’t “Jaws.” “Star Wars” without John Williams isn’t “Star Wars.” Although he only handles the music, the composer has left such a mark on cinema history that he makes a case as co-author of some of Hollywood’s biggest triumphs.

Director Laurent Bouzerau gives the full spotlight to the composer in the new documentary, “Music by John Williams.” Bouzerau is fully comfortable in his mode as celebrating Williams and his legacy, which is fine. I’m not sure I was looking for someone to “rip the lid off” the subject, and while...

Few people are more integral to film culture than John Williams. The famed composer not only crafted dozens of the most iconic soundtracks of the last fifty years but also some of the most memorable music in human history. Music By John Williams, a new documentary about the man and his career, tracks his incredible journey. The impact of the sounds he crafted remains impossible to quantify. Combining the beautiful footage of Williams’ filmography with present-day interviews, director Laurent Bouzereau provides a loving tribute to the man.

Related “I just couldn’t stop laughing”: John Williams’ Devotion to Star Wars Proves Why He’s the Greatest Composer Alive Music By John Williams follows his historic career.

Like most biographical documentaries, Music By John Williams does not attempt to present a new narrative around his career. Instead, Bouzereau takes us step by step through his career. After showing promise as a young musician and pianist,...

The AFI Fest opened Wednesday night back at its home, the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and runs through Sunday, highlighted by world premieres of awaited new films from past American Film Institute Life Achievement Award honorees including Tom Hanks with his new film, Here, on Friday, and Clint Eastwood with his latest, Juror #2, on Sunday (among a host of prime Oscar contenders and international films). But the fest kicked off with yet another AFI honoree, legendary movie composer and musician John Williams, who is the subject of an exceptionally well-conceived and executed documentary on his remarkable career.

This is a legacy that includes more highlights and statistics and achievements than perhaps any other motion picture composer in history, although the shy and not self-laudatory musician would probably give you an argument on that, preferring to highlight those legends that preceded his glory decades that have run through the ‘50s all to way to now,...

As one of the greatest film composers of our time, John Williams had already made a name for himself before young filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg began plans to revolutionize cinema.

According to Variety, it took their "wild energy and wild ideas" to inspire Williams, who lost his wife at the peak of his career. In a new Disney+ documentary called Music by John Williams, Williams shared the ups and downs of his storied career with filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau. At the age of 92, John Williams has attained the status of a living legend, but there was a point a few decades ago when he found himself grappling with the loss of his wife, singer and actress Barbara Ruick, at just 41 years old.

Star Wars: A New Hope. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Image Credit: StarWars.com

Williams found himself raising three teenagers alone. Although he continued working to put food on the table,...

A new study sheds light on horror movie viewing habits in America. Research commissioned by the production company Blumhouse surveyed 3,000 people about their horror film consumption. The results showed that many people watch horror movies regularly, not just around Halloween.

In fact, 44% of those surveyed identified as dedicated horror fans who watch scary movies throughout the year. Only 6% limit their viewing to Halloween season. The research also found that appreciation for the genre has grown more sophisticated over time. 45% believe horror films have improved in quality since first becoming mainstream. Respondents cited better production values, special effects, and storytelling compared to earlier films.

The study provides insights into how lifelong fandom often begins. More than half of participants started watching horror movies before age 12. Family also plays a big role, especially for younger viewers. 42% of millennials and 30% of Gen Z said family introduced them to horror films as kids. Classics like “Halloween,...

Through a survey of 3,000 Americans, Blumhouse has released a study revealing the viewing habits of horror fans as well as their favorite films and subgenres.

Of those surveyed, 44% identified as die-hard horror fans, consuming the genre all year round, while only 6% wait until Halloween to throw on their favorite scary movie.

45% of respondents feel horror movies have improved since their introduction into the mainstream film market. Of that 45%, 49% said the improvements stem from better production quality, 44% said the improvements are due to advanced technology and special effects and 39% acredited more original and creative concepts.

As for when horror fans first fell in love with the genre, 52% started watching scary movies before age 12. 42% of Millennials and 30% of Gen Z participants said they first got into horror after being introduced to the genre by a family member.

The most cited first horror movies watched were “Halloween,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “The Exorcist,...

Steven Spielberg has been able to call his shot for the vast majority of his career. Ever since he directed "Jaws" in 1975, which was then the highest grossing movie of all time (a record it held for two whole years until the arrival of George Lucas' "Star Wars"), Spielberg hasn't had to work too terribly hard to secure the budgets, talent, and whatever other resources he needs to make whatever it is he wants to make. So it's fair to say that his filmmaking process is radically different than just about everyone else's — Christopher Nolan is probably the only other director who gets to play in Hollywood's sandbox with this kind of financial and creative freedom nowadays.

So while Spielberg possesses a wealth of information when it comes to filmmaking craft, it's important to note that his pointers on how to get a film made in 2024, and what to prioritize,...

The creation of a monster In July, 1984 the Motion Picture Association of America created a beast which would destroy the quality of films for decades to come. The beast was a new rating, called PG-13. But before I get into my hatred for this rating, let me explain some history behind the rating as a whole. Before July, 1984, the MPAA had been having problems with their overly broad ratings scale and determining which movies should be rated PG or R. This is illustrated by Stephen Spielberg’s horrifying blockbuster ‘Jaws’ receiving a PG rating when there are quite a few brutal death scenes and brutal shots throughout the film. The MPAA needed some kind of middle ground between what was rated R and what was rated PG. They were receiving too much criticism from parents and others all over the globe who were unhappy with the movie that was shown...

Russell Crowe makes everything look cool, including riding around in a Vespa in a priest outfit, as seen in the immensely enjoyable (and funny!) "The Pope's Exorcist." Before exorcising demons on the big screen, Crowe embraced the aura of a vengeful killer in the 2020 action thriller "Unhinged," where he is more than happy to indulge in some violent road rage and set people's houses on fire. Turns out, Derrick Borte's "Unhinged" is making some big waves on Netflix's U.S. streaming charts, where the Crowe-starrer is currently occupying the #2 spot on the Top 10 Movies chart this week (via FlixPatrol). The premise and tone are as pulpy as they get, but Crowe emerges as a highly entertaining villain whose shenanigans live up to the title of Borte's film.

The screenplay for "Unhinged" was written by Carl Ellsworth of "Red Eye" fame, but Crowe previously told Screen Rant that it...

Not Him, a short film directed by Sarah Young has made a huge splash at the festival circuit. While Young’s film puts the extremely sensitive subject of domestic violence in focus, it approaches the story with an exciting, genre-film making style. The result of that is a very entertaining short film start to finish, which is also very relevant if we go by the context. We sat down with director Young and had quite a chat about how she conceived the film, what inspired her and her future plans about turning Not Him into a full-length feature. Here’s what she shared with us.

Congratulations on making ‘Not Him.‘ Can you tell me how you conceived the film? What was the motivation behind it?

Thank you! I have been a director for a long time but with Not Him, it was my first time when I decided to direct my own script.

The best kinds of cameos are ones that are totally unexpected, sandwiched between innocuous scenes or poised in the background as a blink-and-you'll-miss-it tidbit. Directors often make brief appearances in their own films, where some, like Alfred Hitchcock, feature in a chunk of their filmography (including showing up as a telephone operator in "The Lodger" and walking on the road with a trumpet case in "Vertigo"). Like Hitchcock, a handful of directors can be glimpsed in their own work — from Martin Scorsese to Peter Jackson — and they generally play smaller roles, except for some characters that gain prominence for storytelling or budgetary purposes.

Others, like Steven Spielberg, make quick cameos in films directed by their peers, such as his appearance as a man in an electric wheelchair in "Gremlins" or an alien gracing a TV monitor in "Men in Black." This, obviously, also extended to his own directorial efforts. For instance,...

A film historian might argue that the modern notion of the "blockbuster" wasn't born until 1975. It was that year that Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" was booked to open in hundreds of theaters simultaneously, a practice that was still uncommon at the time. In so doing, "Jaws" essentially created the "opening weekend," a notion that Hollywood is still enamored of to this day. Additionally, "Jaws" ramped up the marketing blitz, flooding advertising spaces with the "Jaws" logo. Giant commercial entertainments haven't been the same since. "Jaws" kicked the door down.

Of course, two years before, "The Exorcist" had already helped get that door unlocked. It wasn't opened as widely as "Jaws," but "The Exorcist" had staying power. It opened the day after Christmas in 1973, and ran in theaters continuously for 105 straight weeks. It has the biggest Christmas opening weekend of all time, only beaten by "Titanic" 34 years later. The world, it seemed,...

The Lumière Film Festival’s International Classic Film Market (Mifc) marks its 12th edition with a wide-ranging program that examines the latest restorations from NBCUniversal and leading French distributors and tackles some of the heritage cinema sector’s most pressing issues.

Running Oct. 15-18, the Mifc this year explores opportunities for the DVD and Blu-ray market and movie theaters, the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI), the impact of Jean-Jacques Annaud’s 1986 classic “The Name of the Rose” and the heritage sector of Lithuania, this year’s country of honor.

Speaking to Variety, Gérald Duchaussoy, who oversees programming and coordination at the Mifc, said it was particularly important to look at the U.S. market to identify trends in the sector, both among streaming platforms and movie theaters.

Duchaussoy will moderate a discussion with Cassandra Moore, vice president of mastering and archive at NBCUniversal.

“It was very important for us...

European powerhouse Studiocanal has dropped a first clip and poster of its new doc “Becoming Hitchcock – The Legacy of Blackmail” by L.A.-based filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau.

The doc feature will have its world premiere at the Lumière classic film festival in France’s Lyon on Oct. 18.

Based entirely on archive material, the film explores the famous Hitchcock touch, through the making of one of his benchmark films, “Blackmail,” released in 1929 at the dawn of the Talkies.

Often referred to as the first British sound feature film, the film also exists in a silent version. Several sequences were reshot for the sound version.

By comparing the two, Bouzereau creates a novel way of exploring Hitchcock’s trademark themes such as murder, suspense, food and sexuality, providing a taste of what was to come in masterpieces like “Psycho,” “North by Northwest” and “The Birds” 30 years later.

“I wanted to mention the...

Dallas isn’t just one of the most populated Texas cities and home to a thriving diverse populace — it’s also now a massive theatrical moviegoing hub. According to ComScore, Dallas-Fort Worth was the third-biggest market in America in 2023, only behind Los Angeles and New York City. This former trading post helped deliver over $271 million the year of Barbenheimer, or 3% of the entire domestic box office market.

The history of this market’s movie theaters stretches back to the 1910s. This is when locations like The Washington Theatre and the Grand Central Theatre dazzled patrons. Dfw has always housed passionate moviegoers, so it’s no wonder it wormed its way into key parts of cinema history. Most notably, Dallas housed a legendarily successful test screening for “Jaws.” However, it would’ve been unthinkable for Dfw to become a go-to moviegoing destination. After all, until 1993, Dallas housed the last local film censorship board in America.

Picture this: A big-name actor strolls on stage to intro a screening of one of his classic flicks. So far, so good. But hold up – he’s rocking a dress? Wild. The crowd’s eating it up, but then some stagehands rush in to yank it off him. He doesn’t put up much of a fight, but the audience is not having it – they’re booing like crazy. It turns out that the dress was part of the gag all along, but maybe not the awkward strip show. Little did they know, this wacky moment was just a warm-up for what was coming: Richard Dreyfuss going off about kids changing genders, the parents that push them into it, women in Hollywood (including a dig at his old co-star Barbra Streisand), and the whole #MeToo thing. Talk about a plot twist.

Was this just another celeb crash-and-burn, Hollywood chewing up and spitting out another star?...

Note: This article was originally published in October 2020, and has been updated to include Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022).

With Run The Series, The A.V. Club examines film franchises, studying how they change and evolve with each new installment.

A truly successful horror movie will take an ordinary object or everyday activity...

A couple of months ago, Jaws 3D (as well as Jaws: The Revenge) was released on 4K Ultra HD, but the release came under fire because it appears that some fairly aggressive AI was used to help restore the movie. Owing to the 3D process used to film the movie—which divided a 35mm film frame in half along the middle—Jaws 3D has never been the best-looking movie on home media. The film has always had a great deal of grain and some frame distortion, but the AI processing has smoothed things over just a little too much, as well as turning the background characters into rather horrifying creatures. We dig into the 4K release in the video embedded above, and you can also see some images of the AI upscales in the embeds below:

If these screen grabs from reddit are true, then the Jaws 3 and 4K Uhd's are just AI upscales.

New Zealand-based sales company Black Mandala has picked up all international rights to “Lake Jesup: Bonecrusher’s Revenge,” a now-completed creature feature set in the most-alligator-infested lake in the U.S.

In 2003, Lake Jesup became the setting for real-life horror story when a huge alligator, known as Bonecrusher, escaped captivity at an animal theme park Gator Galaxy and started killing people in the lake. As the body count increased it became clear that stopping the monster would require a massive hunting effort.

The film revolves around the 13-day hunt and the persistent terror caused by a vicious, trained and angry predator. The expert hunter Bubba Coggins develops a strategy to neutralize the beast. But as he does so he realizes that both he and Bonecrusher have been wronged by the greedy park owner Angus Sullivan. Bubba is required to face up to his demons and ask how far he is willing...

“I’ve got the beginning of a very good footprint,” says director Ridley Scott as he reveals that a percentage of Gladiator 3’s script has already been written.

Ridley Scott is going full tilt at making Gladiator 3 happen and it’s a wonderful thing to see. It’s obvious to the world at large that any chance of a third film happening will depend on the fortunes of the soon-to-release Gladiator 2, starring Paul Mescal as the titular warrior. However, rather than play coy and wait and see how the film performs, Sir Ridley has abandoned all caution and announced not only that he wants to make the film, but that it’s already being written.

“I’ve already got eight pages,” Scott told Total Film “I’ve got the beginning of a very good footprint.” When asked if he could offer any details as to the direction of the story,...

Gabriel Labelle was under strict instructions from Saturday Night director Jason Reitman: No talking to Lorne Michaels before playing him in the movie. “I wanted to meet everyone and interview everyone,” Labelle told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. But “Jason wanted us to do as minimum work as possible. He didn’t want direct re-creations of these cast members and of these people.”

Okay, fine. Labelle wouldn’t talk to Michaels. But Reitman didn’t say he couldn’t talk to Steven Spielberg. And if you don’t think such a conversation would be useful, you’d be wrong.

Labelle was on the Universal lot doing costume fittings when he stopped by the Amblin office to see his Fabelmans director. “I just walk into his office, and it was good to see him,” Labelle said. “And as soon as I sit down, he’s like, ‘So this is...

Lather up in insect repellent and don’t forget the flamethrower – Scottish indie horror-comedy Midgies has a proof of concept trailer, and is looking for funding. More below:

Anyone planning a hiking holiday in the highlands might want to check out a new film trailer first. What started as a joke on social media has now developed into a full three-minute trailer, shot over two days around Glasgow and Loch Lomond, with the hope of gauging interest for a full film.

Well, consider our interest gauged: this looks great.

Check out the Midgies trailer below:

Envisioned by writer Barry Hutchison and director Alessio Avezzano (Isleanders), the finished film will follow a mother and daughter duo on a road trip through the Scottish highlands, which all goes a bit wrong when they encounter a swarm of mutant midges. Classic horror and comedy flicks like Jaws, The Host, Predator, and Shaun Of...

Steven Spielberg, even with his legendary career, once admitted he had one big regret about his 1985 classic, The Color Purple. Back then, he was at the top of his game, but there was one bold creative choice he felt too shy to execute. It’s wild to think that even Spielberg—master of the blockbuster—hesitated on something that could’ve made this film even more groundbreaking.

Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg | Image credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

Looking back, he owned up to this missed opportunity, showing that even icons second-guess their choices. Curious what he held back on? Let’s just say it was something that could’ve turned the film’s emotional power up to a whole new level. Spielberg’s honesty about it still hits deep today.

Steven Spielberg’s Regret: Softening The Color Purple’s Bold Moments for a PG-13 Rating...

Odd though it may seem, part of the reason "Jurassic Park" endures as a blockbuster classic is surely due to its horror elements. Like director Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," the 1993 movie gets downright hair-raising at times — an experience made all the more visceral by the fact there are two young children enduring the ordeal.

Alongside Drs. Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm, and Ellie Sattler, John Hammond's (Richard Attenborough) grandchildren find themselves stranded on Isla Nubar after the power goes down and several ravenous dinos are set free. Tim and Lex Murphy (Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards) provided a proxy for kids everywhere, putting young imaginations straight into the heart of the film and making the terrifying set-pieces all the more effective as a result.

Since the 1993 classic debuted, the "Jurassic Park" franchise has continued, remaining a popular saga even some 30 years after Spielberg's original bowed. However, while several of...

Steven Spielberg has always had an eye for the extraordinary. Normalcy surrounding the everyday facets of life was not intriguing enough for the director, even as a bright-eyed 20-something-year-old filmmaker. For him, only stories that defied imagination and completely transported the audience to a land of impossibilities interested him enough to make it into a movie.

The Sugarland Express [Credit: Universal Pictures]

From Spielberg’s bottomless curiosity was born films like Jaws, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jurassic Park. But it was also his need to unearth the mysteries of mankind that led Spielberg to tell stories based on true experiences, namely Schindler’s List, Catch Me If You Can, Empire of the Sun, Band of Brothers, and most importantly, The Sugarland Express – his feature directorial debut.

Steven Spielberg‘s Grand Hollywood Debut The Sugarland Express [Credit: Universal Pictures]

Even as a new kid on the block, Steven Spielberg showed enough chutzpah,...

Funko Fusion has hit the shelves and digital storefronts as a celebration of a mass of different IPs. Developed by 1010 Games, led by two of the original guys behind Traveller’s Tales’ Lego Games, Funko Fusion’s more than what the Lego games aimed to be, aimed at pleasing fans of the franchises old and new alike.

I was lucky enough to discuss the game, the future of the franchise and what we can expect, and much more with Arthur Parsons, game director and driving visionary of Funko Fusion at Gamescom 2024.

[Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity]

Funko Fusion is More Than a Lego-Reskin First of all, thanks for your time! Would you mind explaining who you are and what the studio is working on?

So, I’m Arthur Parsons, and Funko Fusion is 22 different IP brought together in basically a celebration of fandom. I don’t know if you know the history of the studio,...

Yes, even though we’re a few weeks into Fall the box office is still ruled by kid-friendly flicks about CGI-animated robots (top two on the charts last weekend). And this new release hopes to follow, though it’s actually a “kid-flick” about a group of teens starring a pack of young thespians (and a couple of older vets too). Plus they’re embarking on an adventure just perfect for spooky October (and no they don’t have a big cowardly pooch). Now the Little Rascals (or Our gang) trekked through many haunted abodes, but that theme didn’t really invade features until the 1980s with The Goonies and those underdogs in The Monster Squad (a cult fave). In the last couple of years, the Ghostbusters have included several youngsters, but there are no “proto-packs” around for the minors trying to survive a Monster Summer.

After a bone-chilling prologue, the...

Disney has released the trailer for the upcoming Music by John Williams documentary that offers a long-overdue focus on the legendary composer! Check it out!

In the world of movie soundtrack composers, there are two categories: John Williams and everyone else. His early works showed his skills, such as The Towering Inferno, Valley of the Dolls, The Cowboys, and Fiddler on the Roof, which won him his first Oscar. It was in 1974 that Williams first worked with director Steven Spielberg on The Sugarland Express, beginning an amazing partnership.

A year later, they combined forces on Jaws, the mega-blockbuster hit that earned Williams a second Oscar and launched him to fame. Since then, Williams has crafted some of the most iconic movie music of all time: Star Wars, the Indiana Jones trilogy, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Superman, Home Alone and the first three Harry Potter films.

A while back, C​ocaine Bear surprised everyone with its box office haul. For fans of animal attack movies, this is not a shock. People love animal attack films and can’t get enough of them. I’m not sure if it’s the man vs. nature theme of the films, the animals themselves getting revenge on humans, or just the all-around fun these films bring. No matter what, they are enjoyable for audiences in theaters. T​here has been a long history of animals attacking humans on film. Some films that are classified as ‘classic’ cinema fall into the animal attack category. We can always use more movies of animals rampaging through humans on the big screen. What are some of the best animal attack movies?

G​rizzly (1976)

S​ince bears seem to be on everyone’s brain this weekend; then we might as well start with this classic.

In the early 1970s, a miracle discovery forever shifted the momentum of the entertainment industry. The discovery pertained to the script of Good Times, the sitcom based on an African-American family living in a public housing project in a poor black neighborhood in Chicago.

Good Times [Credit: CBS]

But before John Amos, Jimmy Walker, and Esther Rolle could lift the series into the upper echelons of legacy television, the world already rushed to bestow that honor on Good Times. The sitcom soon became a revolutionary symbol of Black television, helping break the racial barrier and the stereotypical assignment of Black actors in mere supporting character roles.

As the world now mourns John Amos’s tragic passing, the fans look back at the historic presence of the actor in one of his most impressive works in TV.

All in the Family Spin-off Leaves a Mark in Hollywood Good Times feat. John Amos...

John Williams has composed some of the greatest pieces of music in the history of cinema. From Jaws to Star Wars to Indiana Jones, his multiple collaborations with other Hollywood legends like Steven Spielberg have resulted in a plethora of instantly recognizable pieces of music that have inspired generations of filmmakers, writers, and actors.

Williams’ career in the movie business has spanned over fifty years, netting him several Emmy, BAFTA, and Academy Awards. To celebrate the maestro’s monumental achievements, The Walt Disney Company has commissioned a new documentary that will premiere very soon on Disney+.

“Music by John Williams”, directed by Laurent Bouzereau and produced in part by Spielberg, will feature “…interviews with Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Kate Capshaw, Gustavo Dudamel, J.J. Abrams, Chris Martin, Ron Howard, Chris Columbus, George Lucas, Itzhak Perlman, Lawrence Kasdan, Yo-Yo Ma, Ke Huy Quan, James Mangold, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Thomas Newman,...