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Mark Wahlberg is thrilled to be returning for the sequel to 'The Family Plan'.The 2023 Apple Original Films action-comedy was a huge hit for streaming service Apple+ and Mark can't wait to reprise his role as former covert assassin Dan Morgan alongside his on-screen wife Michelle Monaghan (Jessica Morgan) as the Morgan family embark on a festive vacation to Europe that doesn't go quite to plan.Mark said in a statement issued to Deadline: “I am beyond excited to step back into the shoes of Dan Morgan again alongside my brilliant co-stars, and with Simon and David returning. Making ‘The Family Plan,’ and seeing it become an instant success with global audiences in the way that it did, has been incredibly rewarding. We can’t wait to collaborate with our partners at Apple and Skydance again on this next chapter for the Morgan family as their European holiday inevitably goes awry.

Hollywood is known for its fair share of friendships and iconic relationships. However, at the same time, it has some outlined rivalries as well, that have led to a range of unique situations over the years. That also once seemed to be the case with Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow, two ladies who have made an impact on the industry in their own ways.

Jennifer Lopez in a still from Atlas | image: Netflix

However, according to a 1998 interview with Lopez herself, the singer/actress thought that Paltrow’s claim to fame was not her own talent, but rather the celebrities that she hung out with. Of course, the comments failed to age well, considering Paltrow has since become a global fashion icon and conservationist, has a $250 million empire, and is also well-regarded for her work in the MCU.

Jennifer Lopez once claimed Gwyneth Paltrow is only famous due to her...

Mark Wahlberg was initially "terrified" of starring in 'Boogie Nights'.The 53-year-old actor played adult film star Dirk Diggler in 1997 period drama, but Mark was initially hesitant about making the film because he wanted to distance himself from his Calvin Klein modelling career.The Hollywood star told Variety: "I was terrified because it was like, the pitch was tough. "It’s like Ted, a guy and a teddy bear smoking weed. That doesn’t sound very appealing, right? Or a porn star. I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t want to do that.’ I had just come from Calvin Klein and all that stuff. I was trying to get away from all that."'Showgirls' had just come out. That movie was not successful. I had never met [director Paul Thomas Anderson]. "I didn’t see 'Hard Eight', but everybody was telling me how amazing it was, so I read 25 or 30 pages of it,...

1996’s Twister had one heck of a cast of ‘90s and ‘80s faces. There was Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton and Alan Ruck and Cary Elwes and Jami Gertz. And then there was one who stole every scene he was in: Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman had been in a handful of movies prior – with notable performances in Scent of a Woman and Nobody’s Fool – but he was still waiting for his break. This undoubtedly came with Twister, which director Jan de Bont remembers as giving him the gift of working with Hoffman.

Speaking with IndieWire, de Bont recalled Hoffman – who wasn’t yet 30 at the time – being more of a force on Twister than his demeanor suggested. “Way before he became a big star. And I’m so happy that I was able to work with him. He’s a magical actor because, if you see him, he’s a...

The American Pavilion is expanding its AmPav student intensive program to the South by Southwest festival in Sydney, Australia.

The AmPav SXSW-Sydney student program, taking place Oct. 13-21, will examine the future of tech, innovation, gaming, screens and music, said Michael Bremer, senior director of student programs for The American Pavilion.

“The American Pavilion Worldwide Student Program is designed to provide the next generation of entertainment industry professionals with real-world educational and career enhancing experiences,” Bremer said Monday in making the announcement. “Our extension to SXSW in Sydney greatly reinforces how today’s students are poised to be tomorrow’s leaders across multiple global entertainment platforms and countries. It’s a testament to the program that many of its esteemed alumni are now respected directors, producers, writers, agents, managers and lawyers as well as marketing, creative, production and business executives.”

The SXSW-Sydney Intensive program is tailored specifically for university...

There are stories of coincidence and chance, of intersections and strange things told, and which is which and who only knows? And we generally say, ‘Well, if that was in a movie, I wouldn’t believe it.’ Well, believe it, because all of what follows actually happened during the making of Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film Magnolia.

A film and production of gambles, absurdities, forgiveness, and reckonings, Magnolia evolved from what would be the final shot of the film – a smile, a symbol of hope in a world of misery, lost drive and…frogs – into one of the most divisive, memorable and best films of the century.

So, let’s get our buzzers ready and wise up as we find out: What happened to this movie?!

Magnolia has its origins in the post-production of Boogie Nights, with Paul Thomas Anderson looking into going down to the “intimate and small scale” of his 1996 debut,...

Chicago – You’ll never hear a better speech about the actor’s gratitude for his hometown than John C. Reilly’s proclamation at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival’s Summer Gala on June 1st, 2024. He brought the house down with emotional and passionate words about his journey that began in the Windy City.

With an astonishing range of roles already under his belt, John C. Reilly has played an eclectic host of rich characters to great effect over the years, from seedy ne’er-do-wells to lovable and good-natured schlepps. The fifth of six children, John Christopher Reilly was born in Chicago, and was brought up on Chicago’s Southwest Side. On the amateur stage from age eight, Reilly trained at the Goodman School of Drama and eventually became a member of Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theatre.

John C. Reilly at the 2024 60th Ciff Summer Gala

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.

The worst thing that could have happened to the film community did on February 2, 2014: Philip Seymour Hoffman, the great actor who transcended every project he graced, died alone of a drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment. Everyone remembers where they were when the news broke. His death was a shock to the system of all his collaborators and everyone in the creative community, but he left behind an Oscar-winning, untouchable body of work that, whenever revisited, gives the consistent feeling that he’s still among us.

Though Hoffman won his Academy Award for his etched-in-stone portrayal of a great American writer in “Capote,” Bennett Miller’s film is hardly the best work he ever did. The mid-’90s saw Hoffman begin a too-short of a lifelong collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, working together on films like “Hard Eight,” “Boogie Nights,” and “Magnolia” before playing a charismatic cult leader who...

Ridley Scott‘s wildly ambitious “Napoleon” might be the director’s last word on its subject, but it’s not the first time he tackled both the glory and the absurdity of the Napoleonic era. One could say that “Napoleon” has been 46 years in the making, since Scott first began thinking about and researching the French emperor during the making of his debut feature, “The Duellists,” in 1977. That film tells the story of two officers (Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel) in Napoleon’s army who engage in an obsessive ritual of duels that goes on for so long that they ultimately forget what even started the grievance; in its setting, visual style, and themes, it’s an exceptionally well-realized template for most of the Ridley Scott epics that would follow — and he shot this historical extravaganza on a budget of around $800,000.

By the time Scott made “The Duellists,” he had...

Paul Thomas Anderson’s longtime costume designer (Hard Eight; Boogie Nights; Magnolia; Punch-Drunk Love; There Will Be Blood; The Master; Inherent Vice; Phantom Thread; Licorice Pizza) Mark Bridges on Bradley Cooper’s Maestro: “It was very important to me to keep the audience in tune with the passage of time.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At the press conference for Bradley Cooper’s Maestro (Spotlight Gala selection of the 61st New York Film Festival), starring Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and Carey Mulligan as his wife Felicia with their three children Jamie (Maya Hawke), Alexander (Sam Nivola), and Nina (Alexa Swinton), were producer Kristie Macosko Krieger, screenwriter Josh Singer (Oscar win with Tom McCarthy for Spotlight), Jamie Bernstein (daughter of Leonard Bernstein), costume designer Mark Bridges (Oscar wins for Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread), prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro, production designer Kevin Thompson, production sound mixer Steve Morrow,...

Two decades after winning the 1981 Best Director Oscar for “Ordinary People,” Robert Redford was given an honorary Academy Award for being an “inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.” He was partly chosen for this tribute because of his work as the founder and president of the Sundance Institute, which has fostered the growth of emerging creatives for over 40 years. Now, one of his original Sundance colleagues, founding senior director Michelle Satter, has been named the next recipient of the academy’s prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Along with Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, and Carol Littleton, Satter is set to be recognized at the upcoming 14th annual Governors Awards. In a press statement, academy president Janet Yang referred to Satter as “a pillar of the independent film community” and said she “has played a vital role in the careers of countless filmmakers around the world.” She is the 10th woman to achieve the Hersholt honor,...

The Academy Board of Governors voted to present Academy Honorary Awards to Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and editor Carol Littleton and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter. They will accept the four Oscars at the Academy’s 14th Governors Awards event on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” said Academy President Janet Yang in a statement. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humor, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment. Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her. A...

If you’re looking for something new to watch on Amazon Prime Video, you’ve come to the right place. May brings a couple of high-profile 2022 releases to the streaming service for the first time, as well as the streaming debut of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s feel-good sports story “Air,” which opened exclusively in theaters earlier this year. Whether you’re looking for an auteur-driven drama, whimsical comedy or a full-on Western, there’s truly something for everyone in our curated list of the best films newly streaming this month.

Check out some of the best new movies to stream on Amazon Prime Video in May below.

“Air”

Have you ever wondered how Nike secured the rights to Michael Jordan’s likeness and created the unstoppable Air Jordan brand? Well, even if you haven’t, here’s a movie that explains it anyway. Matt Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro,...

U.S. actor John C. Reilly will serve as president of the jury of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival. “Salem,” directed by Jean-Bernard Marlin, has been added to the lineup.

The other members of the jury will be French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actor Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou, and Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne.

The Un Certain Regard section showcases art and discovery films by young auteurs.

In a statement, Reilly said: “I have had so many life changing moments at the Festival de Cannes (from my miraculous first trip with Paul Thomas Anderson to celebrating my 50th birthday from the Palais stage!) so to be chosen as the president of Un Certain Regard jury is truly such an incredible honor.”

Reilly’s movie credits include Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Hard Eight” (1996), “Boogie Nights” (1997), and “Magnolia” (1999), Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line...

John C. Reilly will preside over the Un Certain Regard Jury at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, running May 16-27.

He will be joined by French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actress Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou and Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne.

“I have had so many life changing moments at the Festival de Cannes, from my miraculous first trip with Paul Thomas Anderson to celebrating my 50th birthday from the Palais stage! So to be chosen as the President of Un Certain Regard Jury is truly such an incredible honor,” said Reilly.

“Many of the films I have been lucky to appear in have been selected by the Festival over these many years and nothing feels as special as being invited to this amazing annual gathering of the very best cinema has to offer the world. I look forward to helping launch another generation of...

Some noteworthy new releases, a bevy of library titles and the complete series of “Freaks and Geeks” are among the new additions to Amazon Prime Video this month. May will see the streaming availability of the 2022 films “She Said,” “Violent Night” and “Till” on Prime Video, while the beloved (and short-lived) TV series “Freaks and Geeks” will be streaming on Amazon starting May 4.

We’ve also included everything new to Freevee, which includes the first three “John Wick” movies, “Scarface” and “The Usual Suspects.”

Check out the complete list of everything new on Amazon Prime Video in May 2023 below.

Also Read:

The 41 Best Movies on Amazon Prime (April 2023)

Arriving May 1

MasterChef Mexico S1-4 (2015)

A Beautiful Mind (2002)

Amistad (1997)

Babe (1995)

Babe: Pig In The City (1998)

Babel (2006)

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)

Biker Boyz (2003)

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Blue Crush (2002)

Blue Crush 2 (2011)

Bound (1996)

Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason (2004)

Bridget Jones’s Baby...

With its list of new releases for May 2023, Amazon Prime Video is increasing its global reach.

The streamer’s biggest original offering this month is a German series. Hohlbeins’ – The Gryphon, based on the works of Wolfgang Holhlbein, will present a sprawling fantasy tale about three teens discovering a fantastical world called The Black Tower where “the Gryphon, a world-devouring monster, mercilessly subjugates all living creatures.”

The only other original title of note in May is Freevee comedy Primo on the 19th. Written by author and journalist Shea Serrano and produced by Michael Schur (The Good Place), this coming-of-age series will follow a teenager balancing “college aspirations, societal expectations, and a hectic home life on the south side of San Antonio.”

And that’s pretty much it for Amazon Originals this month! Thankfully, there is a huge influx of library content to keep Prime Video subscribers entertained. May 4 sees the...

Clockwise from left: The Rundown (Screenshot: Universal Pictures/YouTube), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure(Screenshot: Orion Pictures/YouTube), Howard The Duck (Screenshot: Universal Pictures)Graphic: The A.V. Club

As we all welcome the move to warmer weather, Prime Video has a great lineup in May to try and keep you indoors.

Apple TV+ is staying in the Julianne Moore business, and the streamer is adding even more major talent to join her. After teaming with indie studio A24 to release the neo-noir, film "Sharper" earlier this year (featuring Moore in the lead role), Apple is looking to expand their modest slate of original films with another highly-anticipated project.

Variety reports that Apple has cast Moore and rapidly rising star Sydney Sweeney (seen below in "Euphoria") in a new feature film project titled "Echo Valley." On the other side of the camera, the story comes from "Mare of Easttown" writer, producer, and creator Brad Ingelsby, and like the HBO Max series, it's set in Pennsylvania. The movie will follow Moore's character named Kate Garrett, described as "a woman reeling from a personal tragedy who spends her days boarding and training horses on the secluded and picturesque Echo Valley Farm." Sweeney will play...

DC Comics' "Action Comics" #1053, has pre-sold out before its April 2023 release, thanks in part to the fresh 'Sydney Sweeney' look of superhero 'Power Girl', by illustrator Will Jack:

"..no livin' thing's supposed to have power like this. No matter how blue your eyes or pretty your face.

"But war rages on between the 'Metropolis' men of steel- 'Superman' and 'Metallo'. As Metallo's new body continues to evolve in unexpected and nightmarish ways- the voice of his operating system has been changing too- testing the limits of his sanity.

"Finally- when his alien tech takes on a life of its own and infects the most violent members of the 'Blue Earth' movement- the resultant abominations target Superman’s greatest strength and greatest weakness: his family!..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Eight years after co-starring on the TBS sitcom Ground Floor, Briga Heelan and Skylar Astin are set to reunite in an upcoming episode of CBS’ So Help Me Todd, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Heelan will guest-star as Amy, a juror (and former Rose Festival Queen) in the show’s March 30 episode (9/8c), appropriately titled “Twelve Worried Persons.”

More from TVLineThe Good Wife Spinoff Elsbeth Adds Wendell Pierce and Carra PattersonWill Young Sheldon Follow Big Bang's Lead With New Baby? Plus, EP Explains Georgie and Mandy's Daughter's NameYoung Sheldon Just Torpedoed Mary and George's Marriage -- Will Big Bang Lore Determine What Happens Next?...

As the 73rd Berlin Film Festival rolls into its first weekend, one of the buzziest titles on the ground is the taut political thriller Reality, starring Euphoria and White Lotus breakout Sydney Sweeney.

The film debuted in the festival’s sidebar Panorama section Saturday evening and has since received widespread acclaim from critics and the wider festival crowd. In Deadline’s review, Damon Wise described the pic as an “astonishingly effective docu-drama hybrid.”

The story follows the real-life U.S. whistleblower Reality Winner, a former intelligence officer who was given the longest prison sentence ever imposed for the unauthorized release of classified material (five years and three months). Winner had passed documents to the media in 2018 about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.

Sweeney portrays Winner in the film from director Tina Satter, who adapted the screenplay with James Paul Dallas from her own 2021 Broadway play Is This A Room.

After launching an AI-powered Bing search engine earlier this month, Microsoft introduced an update designed to improve its conservations with humanlike responses, the Washington Post reported.

The new Bing integrates a new version of AI first debuted by OpenAI, the company behind the popular chat bot ChatGPT. However, while users may have expected a peppy, Alexa-like helper, the Post found that Microsoft’s new AI can be mercurial and refers to itself as “Sydney.”

After the company introduced the new update aimed at making the bot more adept at long-running conversations,...

Jack Harlow is making his film debut in the remake of White Men Can’t Jump and he’s starring alongside Sinqua Walls. Watch the full preview in the video posted above!

A teaser for the upcoming movie dropped and shows the banter between Harlow’s Jeremy and Walls’ Kamal. In the preview, the stars of the film argue about who is the best living film director.

“I am like the P.T. Anderson of basketball psychological warfare,” Jeremy says with Kamal drawing a blank as to who he was.

Jeremy adds, “Our greatest living director,” to which Kamal fires back and says, “Spike Lee is our greatest living director.”

“Spike Lee is not even a good Knicks fan,” Jeremy retaliates.

“I knew this was a mistake,” Kamal adds.

Jeremy was referring to Paul Thomas Anderson, the film director behind Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and Licorice Pizza,...

“First of all, if you say ‘Black women,’ and you say, ‘honoring Black women,’ I’m gonna try to be there,” says actress Elise Neal while attending the Black Women In Media Pre-Grammy Celebration at Mg Studio on February 3. “If you’re honoring us we need to really show support to our women.” Watch Gold Derby associate editor Latasha Ford‘s red carpet interview with Neal above.

Neal can currently be seen as Sydney Johnson on the BET+ original series “The Black Hamptons.” It follows the brewing feud between the Brittons and Johnsons, where the difference between old and new money is very apparent. The show was recently nominated for Best TV Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special at the NAACP Awards.

See over 200 interviews with 2023 awards contenders

“It’s always fun for me to do characters that you’re not expecting,” Neal explains. “I’ve done a lot of moms.

In the midst of the 1997 fall movie season, “Boogie Nights” came out of nowhere to be one of the most acclaimed and talked-about films of the year. The biggest name in its ensemble cast was Burt Reynolds, who hadn’t been in a hit film or television series in years. The movie was directed by the virtually unknown Paul Thomas Anderson, whose sole credit “Hard Eight” had been essentially dumped into theaters the previous February. And a narrative about the rise and fall of a porn start that ran a long two-and-a-half hours didn’t exactly seem like a slam dunk production for critics or at the box office.

However, the film premiered to a wave of enthusiasm at the Toronto Film Festival and critical raves upon its limited release in October 1997. And the rest is now history. Read on for our appreciation of the “Boogie Nights” 25th anniversary.

At the time,...

Who knows what’s next for P.T. Anderson? Given the director’s work rate, it’s safe to expect his follow-up to “Licorice Pizza” won’t head into production for another couple of years at least. But when it happens, could it involve a reunion between him and composer Jon Brion? Jonny Greenwood has made the music for each of Anderson’s last five films, but before that Brion did work on three: Anderson’s 1996 debut “Hard Eight,” 1999’s “Magnolia,” and 2002’s “Punch Drunk Love.”

Read More: Paul Thomas Anderson Says Leonardo DiCaprio Was Offered ‘Boogie Nights’ But Turned It Down To Make ‘Titanic’

So, who’s to say Brion couldn’t work with the filmmaker again, even though the last time was two decades ago?

Continue reading Don’t Count Out A Reunion Between Paul Thomas Anderson & Composer Jon Brion at The Playlist.

The trailer for season 2 of the award-winning HBO series from Mike White has just premiered. The second season takes place in a Sicilian resort and “follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.” Mike White, the creator, writer and director of the show returns and also produces the series alongside David Bernad and Mark Kamine.

The first season was set in Hawaii and featured a different ensemble of actors including Steve Zahn, Connie Britton, Alexandra Daddario and Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeny. The first installment also garnered 20 Emmy nominations, 10 of which the show had won, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, the most wins of any program for the year. Season 2 sports a new ensemble including F. Murray Abraham, Jennifer Coolidge, Adam Dimarco, Beatrice Grannò, Meghann Fahy, Jon Gries, Tom Hollander, Sabrina Impacciatore, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, Will Sharpe, Simona Tabasco,...

Saturday Night Live’s Season 48 opener was all about change.

The show introduced a new logo, a retro vibe that marked its first new look in eight years, and a cast size that was more reminiscent of classic seasons than the recent bloated pandemic years.

The departures of Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat and Aristotle Athari has led to one of the series biggest transitions for the NBC show in over 20 years.

Related Story 'SNL' Cold Open Successfully Goes Full Meta With Some Donald Trump, Jon Hamm, Shaun White & Self-Deprecation Galore In Season 48 Premiere Related Story 'SNL's Weekend Update Tackles Sydney Sweeney Family Saga & Herschel Walker Controversies Related Story 'SNL': Miles Teller Used To Re-Create Cheri Oteri's Spartan Cheerleader Role In Classic Will Ferrell Sketches

But the move means that there are now more opportunities for the newer members, which includes fresh faces Marcello Hernández,...

Miles Teller made his childhood dreams come true as the host of Saturday Night Live.

In the Season 48 opener, the Top Gun: Maverick star revealed that as a kid he and his sister would re-create sketches at home including Will Ferrell’s classic Spartans Cheerleaders skit.

However, Teller, as an 8-year-old, didn’t play Ferrell’s character but rather that of Cheri Oteri’s because he “had the frame for it,” while his older sister took on Ferrell’s role.

Related Story ‘Saturday Night Live’ Shakes Up Season 48 With New Look & Focus On Fresh Faces As Show Addresses Biggest Cast Turnover In Years Related Story 'SNL's Weekend Update Tackles Sydney Sweeney Family Saga & Herschel Walker Controversies Related Story 'SNL' Cold Open Successfully Goes Full Meta With Some Donald Trump, Jon Hamm, Shaun White & Self-Deprecation Galore In Season 48 Premiere

“I’m so honored to be here. Growing up, me and my...

Amazon Prime Video’s Luxe Listings Sydney returns for Season 3 with more rivalry, higher stakes and multi-million-dollar deals in one of the most competitive and cutthroat real estate markets in the world. The six-part Australian Amazon Original reality series follows elite agents Gavin Rubinstein, D’Leanne Lewis, Simon Cohen and Monika Tu. This season, Gavin and Simon will be vying for […]

The post ‘Luxe Listings Sydney’ (Season 3 First Look) appeared first on If Magazine.

Click here to read the full article.

After a “for your consideration” season that somehow seems to have lasted longer than the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (too soon!), the 2022 Emmys are finally here.

Nominees, Hollywood power brokers and frightened publicists once again gathered inside Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, a first since 2019, but we commoners vowed to watch all the action and inevitable Don’t Worry Darling jokes unfold on the medium du jour — using the cable subscriptions we absolutely pay for ourselves and not the log-ins we’ve stolen from our parents.

The last time the TV industry set aside an evening to congratulate itself, Ted Lasso, The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit were the big winners. But a lot has changed in a year. Quinta Brunson gifted ABC with Abbott Elementary, the first broadcast series to stand a fighting chance at major recognition in almost a decade. The Crown entered its royal hiatus,...

Paul Thomas Anderson is a filmmaking prodigy. His second film, "Boogie Nights," is a triumph in the same vein as "Citizen Kane" or "Jaws," a work made by a young artist with the confidence and skill of a much older one (PTA was 26 when he directed it). However, just because Anderson makes filmmaking look easy doesn't mean it always is. According to the man himself, one of his more challenging projects was "Punch-Drunk Love."

Instead of an ensemble like "Boogie Nights" or "Magnolia," "Punch-Drunk Love" zeroed in on a single character, much like Anderson's debut feature, "Hard Eight." While his more recent films have epic, multi-hour running times, "Punch-Drunk Love" runs a tight 95 minutes. It was also his first movie unconcerned with father-son relationships; instead, the film is a love story.

Why did he make such a big left turn? According to Anderson, "I felt like I'd become pretty good...

Two past winners, both considered upsets in their respective victories, are back to square off against four veteran stars looking for their first win in the Lead Actress In A Drama Series category. Three of the nominees are on their last chance for their popular series but, with no one from last year mucking things up, this race looks too close to call, a real free-for-all that just might result in a major twist.

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Comer nailed a win on her first try with this richly-drawn character. And like Jeremy Strong, she did it against her better-known and much Emmy-nominated co-star, Sandra Oh. Her win in 2019 did prove voters really watched the show, and she is now back in contention for the same part for the third and final time, once again facing her co-star. The finale was wild so you can bet voters were watching, but...

Prime Video has no shortage of shows or movies arriving in September. The biggest new show on the block for Amazon Studios is “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” which is a prequel based on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien that’s set thousands of years before the events of “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings.” Several new 2022 films will be available on the streamer as well: including Channing Tatum’s “Dog,” Michael Bay’s “Ambulance,” Zac Efron’s “Firestarter,” Dylan O’Brien’s “The Outfit,” and more.

Noteworthy library titles arriving this month include “Fight Club” (1999), “Legally Blonde” (2001) and “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991).

Here’s everything new on Amazon Prime Video and Freevee in September.

Also Read:

Here’s What’s Leaving Netflix in September 2022 September 1

American Ninja Warriors S12-13 (2022)

Friday Night Lights S1-5 (2007)

Texicanas (2019)

Wags Miami S1-2 (2022)

21 Grams (2004)

23:59 (2011)

A Family Thing...

With its list of new releases for September 2022, Prime Video is finally unveiling the most anticipated (and expensive) series in the streamer’s history.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will arrive to Prime Video’s servers on Sept. 2, 2022. This Lord of the Rings prequel, set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age, is in many ways the kind of TV property that Prime Video must have always wanted. It’s certainly the TV property most fitting with the company’s largesse and riches. The Rings of Power will cover the creation of the titular rings and many important events from Tolkien’s lore (condensed into a more TV-appropriate timeframe).

Middle-earth is going to be the happening spot on Amazon and the streaming world at large this month, but Prime Video does have a handful of other originals for the fantasy-phobic. Flight/Risk, a documentary about the Boeing 737 Max design disasters,...

Parkland Pictures, Bankside Films and WME handle international sales on four awarded features.

Screen Australia has selected four features to receive production funding in its latest round of awards including a 1930s-set romantic comedy inspired by Australia’s first female commercial pilot.

The titles are Little Bird, directed by Darren Ashton; Samuel Van Grinsven’s thriller Went Up The Hill; Jon Bell’s psychological horror The Moogai; and Marcelle Lunam’s romantic comedy Addition.

The government agency has approved 8.2m (AU12m) to be shared among the features as well as three TV dramas and two children’s projects.

UK-based...

Echoes has emerged as Netflix’s latest hit series – despite its poor ratings.

Released on 19 August, the dark thriller series follows identical twin sisters Leni and Gina (both played by Michelle Monaghan) who decide to swap lives. When one of the siblings goes missing, however, a mystery begins to unravel.

The show also stars Matt Bomer, Karen Robinson, and Daniel Sunjata.

Echoes has finally dethroned Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman as number one on the streaming giant. The comic book adaptation starring Tom Sturridge occupied the top spot for four consecutive weeks.

The huge popularity of Echoes is somewhat surprising given that the show has a 29 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The seven-episode series has also received terrible reviews from critics.

The Guardian’s Arian Horton wrote that Echoes “limply tries several different lanes” for its mystery in a two-star review. Likewise, the Financial Times called it a “hammy box-ticking exercise”.

Meanwhile,...

It's that time of the month when I have to deliver the unfortunate news that a collection of your favorite movies and television shows are leaving Netflix. I'm including the holdovers currently sitting in your watchlist that you swore you would watch eight months ago. If you haven't already, you best get to it because at the end of September, the streaming behemoth is going to eliminate the choice for you.

Every streaming service goes through this process every month and Netflix is no different. Licenses for all of these projects expire, which leaves the streamer no choice but to purge it from the site. It happens! Netflix can be home to its own share of bad press, but at least the movies and television shows leaving the platform don't come directly from their own catalog of original titles, unlike some folks. Here are a few that you may want...

When it comes to turning Emmy nominations into Emmy wins, Julia Garner is so far batting a thousand. The actor was nominated in 2019 and 2020 in the supporting actress in a drama series category for “Ozark” — and she won both times.

Now, Garner has doubled her Emmy nominations tally to four, picking up another supporting actress nod for the final season of “Ozark” and also landing one for her “Inventing Anna” role, as lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie.

Given her “Ozark” success, that nomination wasn’t a shock. But the success of “Inventing Anna” at the Emmys — including in the key limited or anthology series category — was a bit of a surprise, especially given the expectation that another Netflix series, “Maid,” would make the cut.

Yet in hindsight, it shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. By now it’s clear that Julia Garner should...

We're revisiting the 1997 film year in the lead up to the next Supporting Actress Smackdown. As always Nick Taylor will suggest a few alternates to Oscar's ballot.

I’m betting that we have some thoughts about Ms. Goop. Some of these thoughts might be compartmentalized to certain aspects of her career, while others bleed over into a general patina of how one perceives her. We (the writer of this article) won’t and frankly don’t have the time to get into the grifter empire, the nepotism, her instrumentality amongst the many journalists and witnesses who helped to bring down Harvey Weinstein, Bosco’s awful 'Snatch Game', the lazy potshots from Knives Out, or her advice to combat the symptoms of Long Covid using a keto diet as she is currently doing, but know that these thoughts are in the back of our mind at all times when the subject...

Among the pandemic’s many side effects, it created a unique capacity to force even the most august institutions to experience identity crises and growing pains. And in the film industry, perhaps no organization has felt this syndrome more acutely than the Sundance Institute.

“We have to look back at how do we sustain Sundance, for the future,” Michelle Satter, director of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, told me. “We’re in a moment of stepping back and making tough decisions. You have to prioritize, and build back.”

After longtime festival director John Cooper left in 2020, Sundance veteran Tabitha Jackson took over; she stepped down June 7 and the festival now seeks a new leader. Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam left in 2021; Joana Vicente, who helped guide the Toronto International Film Festival during the pandemic, is now tasked with putting Sundance on its feet. Two years of a virtual Sundance...

In Episode 7 of “Euphoria” Season 2, titled “The Theater and its Double” (a canny nod to Antonin Artaud’s theory concerning the relationship between performers and their audience), viewers were finally treated to Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) autobiographical magnum opus. “Our Life,” a stage production seemingly produced with the budget of a Tony-winning musical, was a fanciful retelling of her adolescence, including characters based on her sister, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), and best friend, Rue (Zendaya). But like any great theatrical impresario, she saved the best for last.

Lexi treated her high school crowd to a full-blown musical number set in an all-male gym, in which Ethan (Austin Abrams) — embodying a full-bro version of East Highland’s resident tortured jock, Nate (Jacob Elordi) — performs a full-out sexual rock ballet to Bonnie Tyler’s iconic “Holding Out for a Hero.” The production came complete with a hunky male ensemble, lots of well-placed squirting water bottles,...

Belgian drama previously won a Grand Prix at Cannes.

Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s Close won the top prize at the Sydney Film Festival on Sunday evening (June 19), adding to the Grand Prix it picked up at Cannes last month.

Accepting the Sydney Film Prize via video message, Dhont said that he was “incredibly proud and incredibly happy”, adding that he hoped the audience enjoyed the film and that it meant something to them. The award includes a cash prize of 42,000.

“This film displayed a mastery of restraint, subtle handling of story, astute observations and delicate attention to finer details,...

Actor who brought gravitas, daftness and darkness to character roles after being ‘discovered’ in his 60s

The sprawling ensemble dramas directed by Paul Thomas Anderson in the late 1990s were notable for the roles they offered veteran actors – most prominently Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights (1997) and Jason Robards in Magnolia (1999). Philip Baker Hall, who has died aged 90, brought his characteristic blend of gravitas, daftness and darkness to both of those films playing, respectively, Floyd Gondolli, who predicts the pornography industry’s shift from celluloid to video, and Jimmy Gator, an avuncular yet haunted gameshow host.

Hall’s film career received a much-needed boost when Anderson cast him in a rare leading role in Hard Eight (1996) as Sydney, a hardened gambler navigating his luckless protege (Philip Seymour Hoffman) around craps tables and one-armed bandits. With his pale eyes, grey hair and cool demeanour, Hall matched the film’s wintry Reno location.

Philip Baker Hall didn’t make his first film appearance until he was pushing 40, which seems appropriate somehow: The growling gravitas he brought to dramas and comedies alike speaks to a full life lived, and experiences cultivated, before ever stepping onto a set.

In Hall’s case, that life involved being born in Ohio, spending time in Germany as a translator for the U.S. Army, and then pursuing the craft of acting onstage in New York and later Los Angeles. By the time he made the leap to film and TV, he had the kind of gruff mien that got him cast as cops and old soldiers.

The role that put him on the map was a literal showcase: Robert Altman’s 1984 “Secret Honor” cast Hall as a disgraced, post-Watergate Richard Nixon, drinking and rambling as he looks back at his life, his career and his downfall. It’s an adaptation of a one-man play,...

Philip Baker Hall, the prolific character actor known for his roles in films like “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia” and shows such as “Seinfeld” and “Modern Family,” has died. He was 90.

Hall’s wife of nearly 40 years, Holly Wolfle Hall, confirmed the news to Associated Press, saying he died on Sunday in Glendale, Calif. surrounded by loved ones.

Hall had an impressive career of over six decades, holding roles in some of the most beloved movies and television of the modern era. His most memorable turns in film include playing the IRS Boss in “Say Anything,” Sydney in “Hard Eight,” Floyd Gondolli in “Boogie Nights,” Jimmy Gator in “Magnolia,” Jack Baylor in “Bruce Almighty,” Sherwood Morrill in “Zodiac” and a CIA director in “Argo.” When it came to TV, Hall gave over 200 guest performances, including as library cop Joe Bookman on “Seinfeld,” Sen. Matt Hunt on “The West Wing,” Dr. Morrison...

Philip Baker Hall, one of Hollywood’s mightiest character actors with roles in films like Magnolia, Hard Eight, and Secret Honor, died Sunday night. He was 90.

Hall’s death was announced on Twitter by his neighbor, Sam Farmer, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times. “My neighbor, friend, and one of the wisest, most talented and kindest people I’ve ever met, Philip Baker Hall, died peacefully last night,” Farmer wrote. “He was surrounded by loved ones. The world has an empty space in it.”

No cause of death was given.

Philip Baker Hall, who is known to Seinfeld fans as Lt. Bookman, the library detective, to Curb Your Enthusiasm fans as the ultra-serious Dr. Morrison and to movie fans as any in a long list of memorable characters in films such as Hard Eight, Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Dogville, The Insider, The Truman Show, Rush Hour and many more, has died, according to his friend and neighbor, the Los Angeles Times sportswriter Sam Farmer. He was 90.

Hall will be remembered by the legions of Seinfeld fans for playing one of the most popular one-off characters the show ever saw. He was Lt. Bookman, the library detective who tracked Jerry Seinfeld down for not returning a book the “joy boy” — as Bookman called him, among other things — had checked out in 1971. His diatribe about Seinfeld and his “good-time buddies” is chock-full of quotable lines that still tickle fans of the show.

Hollywood...

Philip Baker Hall, the prolific actor with credits in some of TV's biggest hits, has died.

He was 90 years old.

A cause of death has not been revealed, but the star suffered from emphysema.

“My neighbor, friend, and one of the wisest, most talented and kindest people I’ve ever met, Philip Baker Hall, died peacefully last night. He was surrounded by loved ones,” Hall’s friend and Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Farmer wrote on Twitter.

“The world has an empty space in it.”

Hall got his start in acting at age 30, with guest starring roles on series such as Good Times, Man From Atlantis, M*A*S*H, and Quincy Me.

The star had a series regular role on the short-lived ABC drama series Mariah, where he played James Malone.

The series aired from April-May 1987.

The actor also had roles on Family Ties, Falcon Crescent, and The Practice.

He also starred on the NYPD Blue sequel,...