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Nearly two decades have passed since Supernatural first premiered, captivating audiences with its unique blend of horror, fantasy, and heartfelt storytelling. Over the years, the series has gone on from a regular fictional show about two guys from Kansas hunting ghosts, demons, ghouls, and everything in between, above and beyond to a TV show based on something more profound— themes of family, friendship, perseverance, love, and responsibility. Today, Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester are not just two fictional characters on the screens but rather cherished figures who hold a special place in the lives and hearts of millions of fans across the world.

Supernatural (2005-2020) | Credit: CW

Every time Dean stepped up for Sam, fans related to him as a sibling, family member, or friend who took on burdens they were never meant to carry, but they did so because of love. Every time Sam and Dean went through heaven...

Within the shadow-cursed lands of Baldur's Gate 3, there lies a ruined town once known as Reithwin. Before the area was cursed and plagued by shadow magic, Reithwin was a community much like any other, with a tavern, a temple, and a toll-house on the banks of the Chionthar river. But beneath the surface, all was not well in Reithwin, well before the area was blighted by its curse, and that was due to the presence of the Thorm family.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.

Much of the game's second act revolves around Myrkul's chosen, the general Ketheric Thorm, who seeks to take over the world in service of the god of necromancy, and plays a large role in the Absolute's plot. Ketheric and his family once held power over Reithwin from the nearby Moonrise Towers, and their story intertwines with Reithwin's quite a bit. Though the...

Quick Links The Sorcerer's Apprentice Has Interesting Original Elements The Cast of The Sorcerer's Apprentice Is More Appreciated Now The Sorcerer's Apprentice Is a Great Nostalgia Watch

The 2010 Disney movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice was released to little applause. Considered a mere cash grab trying to play on the success of the Harry Potter movies, the movie about a young magic user made it to #3 at the box office opening weekend but had little lasting cultural relevance.

However, the movie stands up well over time, and some of its flaws from the time of release now make it endearing. With its great cast, original elements, and, most importantly, sheer 2010s nostalgia, The Sorcerer's Apprentice may not be a masterpiece, but it certainly makes for an entertaining watch.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Has Interesting Original Elements

While The Sorcerer's Apprentice was criticized for being derivative, it actually has some great original aspects. The story begins rather typically,...

For Apc Studios, “The Eclipse,” an atmospheric, procedural mystery thriller set in a rural community on France’s Aubrac plateau, could well offer a winning formula for international buyers at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre and beyond.

The series turns on a mystery that originates during an evening eclipse when 17-year-old Luca accidentally shoots his girlfriend, Nour. When he leaves to seek help, the young girl disappears. Manue and Johanna, two local women cops, are dispatched on an investigation that will ultimately impact their own families.

Summing up the show, Apc states in its tagline: “An effective whodunit taking us to a never-seen-before, magnificent French countryside. The duo of female cops, mothers and friends, turn a small community inside out.”

Emmanuelle Guilbart, Apc’s joint CEO and founder, says the company picked up the six-part series “for many reasons,” mainly related to its pedigree. Namely, it was commissioned by...

Quick Links Where To Find The Moon Lantern How To Win The Battle At Last Light Inn How To Use The Moon Lantern

Many places in Baldur's Gate 3 are only possible to reach with the Moon Lantern, an item you can get and fix to help your party move through the Shadow Curse. Obtained from two different places, the Moon Lantern item prevents you and your allies from taking damage in cursed lands. Quests for your companions and the main story require you to repair the Lantern to travel to specific areas.

The Shadow Curse in Baldur's Gate 3 has two different layers, one shallow and another dense. Simple light sources from torches or the Daylight spell give your party enough room to travel through the first layer, but the second will demand the Moon Lantern. Without the item, you'd only be walking to your group's deaths by trying to investigate...

The upcoming Broadway reimagined revival of Romeo And Juliet starring Heartstopper‘s Kit Connor and West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler has extended its run by four weeks due to strong advance ticket sales.

Directed by Sam Gold and produced by Seaview, the revival, which features music by Grammy winner Jack Antonoff, begins previews at Circle in the Square Theatre on Thursday, September 26, and opens Thursday, October 24, and will now run through Sunday, February 16, 2025.

In announcing the extension, Seaview says the production broke the venue’s on-sale ticket day record when sales began in May. The extension is “due to astonishing advance demand.” Sales figures were not disclosed.

Hopeful ticket-buyers who have signed up on the show’s official website will have early access to tickets for the extension weeks beginning Wednesday, August 28. Tickets for the general public will be on sale beginning Thursday, August 29.

Billed as a Romeo And Juliet...

Freeing Nightsong in Baldur's Gate 3 can have long-term consequences for Shadowheart. Killing Nightsong in Baldur's Gate 3 has a few other effects, but it's generally not advisable. Allowing Balthazar to take Nightsong to Ketheric Thorm is also a possibility in the Shadowfell.

Freeing or killing Nightsong in Baldurs Gate 3 can be a daunting decision to make depending on how much information the player has gathered so far and how they want to proceed with the story. There are consequences for both actions, and there is even a third option to follow when going through that pivotal moment set in Act 2. Additionally, this is a decisive moment for players who want to romance Shadowheart in Baldurs Gate 3, so it is important to make the correct decision as this can stain the rest of the story.

This article contains massive spoilers for Act 2 of Baldurs Gate 3 and the long-term consequences that may take...

Quick Links How To Get The Shar's Spear of Evening Shar's Spear of Evening Stats & Abilities

In Baldur's Gate 3, the player can either help or sacrifice the Nightsong, Dame Aylin, but sacrificing her will result in players getting the Spear of Evening. Sparing her is the best choice in most playthroughs, as this will help Shadowheart toward the light and reward the player with Selne's Spear of Night. However, by sacrificing the Nightsong, you will instead earn Shar's Spear of Evening, one of the best weapons in the game. With Larian Studios working on a patch to bring new evil endings to the story, there isn't a better time to become the villain in Baldur's Gate 3.

To slay the Nightsong in Act II, you must complete The Gauntlet of Shar, located north of Moonrise Towers. The Nightsong can only be sacrificed by using the Spear of Night, which can be...

Totally Spies! season 7 is confirmed for 2024, with the French premiere on May 12. The original voice cast may be replaced for the new season, per Jennifer Hale's X post. Season 7 storyline details are still under wraps, but promise familiar elements.

Totally Spies! season 7 is the next installment of the French anime-inspired spy-fi series from creators Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel, and 2024 has seen some interesting news regarding release dates for the show. Despite being a French series, Totally Spies! debuted first in the United States in November 2001 on ABC Family. The series has had something of a complex distribution and release schedule since then. In the U.S., the show remained with ABC for one season before moving to Cartoon Network's animation lineup for seasons 2-5. The sixth season premiered on Universal Kids five years after season 5.

Totally Spies! The Movie came out between seasons 4 and 5, in 2009, and was...

Often hailed as one of the greatest filmmakers of this generation, David Lynch is a visionary director showcasing his bizarre and interesting vision in the world of cinema. His distinctive style features psychological depth and a spooky atmosphere that have captivated audiences for decades. These unique features are evident in Lynch’s 1997 erotic thriller, Lost Highway featuring Patricia Arquette.

David Lynch. Credits: Wikimedia Commons

The film was a David Lynch masterclass, where he effortlessly filled the audience with a sense of dread and uneasiness with every scene of the film. However, the actress had an eerie experience on the set of the film, where she had to do a n*de scene, but the men on Lynch’s crew were saying insensitive things about her, which all came to a halt when the director unleashed his fury on the crew.

David Lynch Was Fuming At His Crew For Their Demeaning Comments

With identity,...

Patricia Arquette didn’t lose sleep over her nude scenes from David Lynch’s 1997 psychological erotic thriller “Lost Highway.”

Arquette, who played two separate roles — 1) an adulterer cheating on her jazz-musician husband (Bill Pullman), and 2) a temptress seducing a mechanic (Balthazar Getty) — said during Series Mania (via Variety) that she found a strip scene in the film “terrifying.” Arquette credited Lynch for scolding crew members who made “gross” comments ahead of filming her nude sequences.

“I was so extremely modest: I would take a bath in the dark,” Arquette said. “The scene when my character had to strip was terrifying to me. Some of the guys were saying crude things and I told David, ‘I am not comfortable – they are saying gross things.’ He said, ‘You read the script.'”

As Arquette recalled, Lynch immediately switched to, “Wait, who said what?”

“When I came back, all these men were looking at their feet,...

The long wait is over: Patricia Arquette finally explained David Lynch’s “Lost Highway.” Kind of.

“I would ask David: ‘Am I playing two characters, am I playing a ghost?’ He would say: ‘What do you think, Patrish?’ It’s a woman looked at through the distorted view of a psychotic misogynist,” she said at Series Mania.

“He hates women, he doesn’t quite trust her, even though she is his wife. He kills her but can’t remember it, then he recreates himself as this virile young man and meets her again. And now, she actually wants to fuck him and she is in love with him. But even in this version, she is a dirty whore.”

“In this man’s mind, a woman is always the monster. No matter what. I thought about Jezebel and Salomé for this part, all these bad girls of the Bible.”

More explicit scenes in the cult classic,...

Finding and getting the Circle of Bones in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a process that can go a lot easier if you already know where you should be looking when searching for this piece of gear. The RPG by Larian Studios allows you to equip your characters and companions with several types of equipment, from weapons to body armor, all of which can grant them extra perks or sheer combat power. Most gears marked as Uncommon or with a higher rarity offer diverse abilities on top of the regular stat bonuses.

The Circle of Bones, specifically, is not one of the best helmets in Baldur’s Gate 3, but it is a solid and strong piece of headgear for certain types of builds that a lot of other helmets cannot actually help with. When equipped, this circlet allows the user to get Undead Ward, a passive skill that sees that all...

Freeing the pixie in Baldur's Gate 3 grants the party immunity to the Shadow Curse, providing a passive effect for protection. The Moonlantern can be obtained through combat or dialogue checks and is crucial for nullifying the Shadow Curse in the game's second act. Choosing to free the pixie or keep the Moonlantern has minor consequences, affecting a side quest in Baldur's Gate 3's third act.

Baldur's Gate 3 allows for player choice to drastically affect the outcome of the game's many quests and narratives, with many decisions also having a major impact on gameplay and companion approval. One seemingly important decision comes in the game's second act, once players have finally acquired a Moonlantern and discovered that a pixie is trapped inside. While the decision of whether to free the pixie is a tough one to make for first-time players, the solution can be relatively simple.

[Warning: The following article contains mild spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

In Baldur's Gate 3's Act...

For those looking to play a martial class in Baldur's Gate 3, finding the right weapon is critical. When the goal is to deal out massive damage as a fighter or barbarian, then it is hard to go wrong with a two-handed weapon. The two-handed weapon category covers a wide variety of weapon types, and with so many on offer in BG3, it's important to know where to find the best.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

Two-handed weapons use a character's Strength score, making them perfect for fighters, barbarians, and paladins to let them deal out the maximum damage at all times. As the two-handed weapon type covers such a large amount of weapons, including greatswords, mauls, and halberds, it is always a good idea to check a character's proficiencies before equipping any of BG3's companions with a weapon. Beyond their base damage, there are several two-handed weapons in BG3 that have some awesome enchantments,...

Baldur's Gate 3's Honour Mode adds Legendary Actions to boss encounters, making them even more challenging and requiring tactical thinking. Certain bosses in BG3 have powerful Legendary Actions that can turn the tide of battle, such as Balthazar's Spectral Aspect and Raphael's Soul Ascension. Players must carefully strategize and prepare before taking on tough boss fights in BG3's Honour Mode, as the wrong choice can lead to instant death.

Baldur's Gate 3's Honour Mode introduced a swath of changes to make its unique premise more challenging. One of these was giving some bosses in the game Legendary Actions, similar to bosses in Dungeons & Dragons. Of course, this has made several already difficult boss encounters much tougher now, as each has a special move that makes thinking tactically even more important.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

BG3's Honour Mode forces players to only have one save file, so each decision made carries more weight.

The evil path in Baldur's Gate 3 is limited due to the trajectory of the story, making it impossible to fully commit to the dark path. Joining forces with Ketheric Thorm, the leader of the Absolute's army, is not possible, as the encounter ultimately goes haywire and leads to a boss fight. While there are other options to serve the goals of the enemy, no major outcome in the game revolves around serving the Absolute.

Taking an evil approach is an interesting way to play through a Baldur's Gate 3 campaign, but one major limitation makes it impossible to fully commit to the dark path. Like in tabletop Dungeons & Dragons, helping NPCs out and having a positive effect on the world isn't necessary to progress the story, and it's not that hard to leave a trail of destruction in the wake of the party. While theft, murder, betrayal and more are frequently easy to employ,...

Making deals with devils or other creatures in Baldur's Gate 3 can have unexpected consequences, like debt collectors demanding payment. Some NPCs require payment, bribes, or threats to help the party, and scamming them can lead to consequences. Certain actions taken in Act 1 may lead to an unexpected encounter with Lump and his ogre comrades in Act 2.

In Baldur's Gate 3, making deals with devils is repeatedly emphasized to be a bad decision, and that the consequences can't be avoided. However, devils aren't the only creatures that the party can make deals with in BG3. And just like dealing with devils, dealing with other creatures can also have unexpected or surprising consequences, such as debt collectors showing up to demand payment from the party.

While some NPCs are willing to help the party without receiving anything in return, that isn't true in all cases. Some allies have to be bought, bribed, or threatened to receive their help,...

When anybody brings up John Constantine these days, the conversation always seems to revolve around either the blonde, trenchcoat-wearing character that is drawn within the world of DC Comics or the very similarly designed depiction that was featured on CW’s Legends of Tomorrow. Given the fact that this paranormal-centric persona is charismatically ruthless, anti-social, and violent (when need be), it’s not a surprise that this version is the one that pops up the most when searching online for the fictional entity. People just love a snarky anti-hero.

On the other hand, the original 2005 big-screen adaptation of Constantine created a division in comic book fans. Starring Keanu Reeves in the main role and directed by Francis Lawrence in his first outing in such a position, some praised the production behind the angst-filled angel versus demon movie while many lauded the goofiness of the spiritual spectacle, specifically pointing to the...

Baldur's Gate 3 features items that are used to summon creatures that act as familiars and help during combat. While some of these items are easy to miss, at least one is tied to who may be the most popular character in the game, or at least the most popular non-companion character in the game. He's beloved to the extent that calling him into battle with his summon item isn't worth risking his safety, even though he'd be dismissed and not killed.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

Summoning items in Baldur's Gate 3 are usually only able to be used in certain areas or once per a long or short rest. Additionally, most of these items aren't part of the main questlines. Instead, they require a bit of hunting to find, or in some cases, diplomacy in situations where it's easy to use violence and continue on. However, Baldur's Gate 3 rewards taking non-violent approaches more often than expected,...

The potential rescue of Duke Ravengard in Act 2 of Baldur's Gate 3 becomes increasingly uncertain as the story progresses. Duke Ravengard cannot be saved in Moonrise Towers, and players can only meet him after confronting Ketheric Thorm in the bowels of the Towers. Duke Ravengard's story continues in Act 3, offering players a better chance to influence his fate and divert the will of the Absolute. Searching for him in Moonrise Towers is futile.

One major concern in Act 2 of Baldur's Gate 3 is the potential rescue of Duke Ravengard, but the closer a party gets to the end of the story arc, the more unclear the possibility of saving him can become. The final stretch of Act 2 focuses on Moonrise Towers, the fortress of Ketheric Thorm where the duke is allegedly being held. Like most Baldur's Gate 3 locations, Moonrise has plenty to explore inside, but one secret that can be hard to...

Following the events of Fight Club, the Narrator and Marla continue their romance, but their union is, as might be expected, far from happily ever after. While the Fight Club movie adaptation and the original book end in different places, both ambiguously suggest that Marla and the Narrator will remain together after the conclusion.

Chuck Palahniuk remains true to those implications for the sequel comic series, Fight Club 2 – written by Palahniuk, with art from Cameron Stewart and David Mack, lettering by Nate Piekos, and color by Dave Stewart. The series opens by revealing that the Narrator, now calling himself Sebastian, and Marla have been married for nine years, and they have an adolescent son together. Naturally, they couldn't be more miserable.

A Decade Later, Marla Hates The Narrator More Than Ever

In Fight Club 2, Sebastian has been taking pills to stop him from becoming Tyler Durden again. The medication has...

Quick Links How to Reach the Gauntlet of Shar How to Unlock the Gauntlet of Shar Trials How to Beat the Gauntlet of Shar Trials

Only the most loyal followers of the darkness can complete the Gauntlet of Shar, a dungeon of sorts in Baldur's Gate 3 with trials designed to test those attempting to become powerful wielders of shadow. These tests range from magical traps to combat against your party that can be difficult to win. An important place for certain companions and the overall story, the Gauntlet of Shar is a place you'll have to face eventually.

This place of worship for Shar lies past the Last Light Inn, in the lands afflicted with the Shadow Curse in Baldur's Gate 3, which you must have a source of light to get through. Grabbing the Moonlight Lantern helps your party move through the deeper layers of the Curse to reach the Gauntlet.

“Peaches” by Jack Black from The Super Mario Bros. Movie has officially debuted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie continues to break records at the box office, recently becoming the highest-grossing video game adaptation. The film has also just earned one of its lead actors a new accolade of their own. A tweet posted to Billboard Charts’ official Twitter page shared the news: ‘Jack Black’s ‘Peaches,’ from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, debuts at No. 83 on this week’s Hot 100 chart.'”

Read more at Uproxx

Ari Aster’s latest film, Beau is Afraid, receives audience reactions only an Ari Aster movie can get.

“Beau is Afraid, Ari Aster’s surrealist epic about an anxious man trying to get home to visit his mother, came out in a limited release last week. Its wide release isn’t until this Friday, but audiences are...

Teenage FaceTime detectives, talking shells and a donkey: February is an eclectic, not to mention eccentric, month for cinema.

Throughout the year, there is a near-constant deluge of new releases arriving – on the big screen and small – and it’s hard to know which to prioritise. This new column will pick out the five best films for you to move to the top of your watch list each month.

In February, there are plenty of surefire blockbusters on the way – from acclaimed Puss in Boots sequel The Last Wish and new M Night Shyamalan thriller Knock at the Cabin (both 3 February), to Marvel’s wordily titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (17 February). Smaller indies, like Saint Omer, Blue Jean and Joyland, will also be arriving on the 3, 10 and 24 February, respectively.

Meanwhile, James Cameron will engage in a box office battle with himself after Avatar: The Way of Water became the...

James Corden has revealed that he once auditioned for a role in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

The Gavin & Stacey star had been vying for the role of hobbit Samwise Gamgee, which eventually went to Sean Astin.

Corden spoke about the experience during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz.

In a preview shared to Horowitz’s Instagram page, the host asked Corden how the audition went, prompting the Late Late Show host to respond: “Not good. Every single person in London auditioned for Lord of the Rings. Everybody!

“I auditioned for Samwise and I was sort of, I was doing it, Josh! I was doing the accent and everything.”

However, Corden explained that he had in fact made it past the first round of auditions – but ultimately missed out.

“Two of my other friends went in,” he recalled. “And then...

All the real cinephiles know that to find the best films in the world, one has to look beyond English-speaking cinema. "Parasite" brought some much-needed attention to non-English language cinema in America when it swept the Oscars in 2019, and the world has not stopped producing incredible films in the years since. Luckily for you, I watched dozens of the best films from around the world this year and picked out the cream of the crop so you didn't have to. I expanded my search beyond the festival circuit and found movies that excel in every genre, from action and adventure to slow-burning dramas, so there will be something in here for everyone.

The global cinema of 2022 is haunted by the pandemic. It is up close and personal and a little bit scatterbrained. It is actively commenting on the cinematic tropes of yesteryear and transforming them into a spectacle. It is...

"Supernatural" ran for a whopping 15 seasons, not including the prequel "The Winchesters," which follows a young John and Mary Winchester before the events of the original series. The show, which was actually originally intended to be about two journalists, spans over 300 episodes of brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) saving people, hunting things, and doing the family business, with a flannel shirt, a gruff voice, and a classic rock soundtrack. That's hundreds of hours of monsters, magic, laughter, tears, rage, and brotherly love. How do you even begin to narrow it down to the best episodes?

With such an expansive run, the show was bound to have some low points (let me just take this moment to say ... tetanus), but there are dozens of high points to choose from, too. When "Supernatural" is at its worst, it can be a chore to watch, with an endless carousel...

When it comes to movies by one-and-done directors, there is no greater achievement than Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter," one of the most singular American films ever made. Nowadays, we'd probably pitch it as somewhere between a pastoral fable and a proto-slasher, but when it was released in 1955 it was a vision so unique that neither critics nor audiences knew what to make of it. It became such a monstrous flop that Laughton never directed another film.

Thankfully, time has been extremely kind to "The Night of the Hunter," and Laughton's neglected masterpiece is now receiving the recognition it deserves. In this year's Sight and Sound Top 100 list of the greatest films of all time, it vaulted 38 places from 63rd in the 2012 edition to joint 25th alongside "Au Hasard Balthazar." It didn't even make the list in the previous decade's poll, so at this rate of critical reappraisal,...

John Waters officially unveiled his semi-annual list of top 10 films of the year, filled mostly with sex-laden dramas and yes, one Polish existential donkey movie.

Waters awarded the top honor of 2022 to François Ozon’s “Peter Von Kant,” calling the Rainer Werner Fassbinder-inspired feature “by far the best movie of the year” in a list shared with Artforum.

“Fassbinder’s classic lesbian melodrama is appropriated and remade as a gay Frenchman’s love letter to the original version,” Waters wrote. “Hilariously stilted, often overwrought, but always highly entertaining, this cock-eyed tribute will make you swoon when Hanna Schygulla finally makes an appearance and Isabelle Adjani soon follows. My God, it’s just plain Douglas Sirk perfect.”

Waters’ second pick, “Eo” by Jerzy Skolimowski, is another “tribute film” with Waters calling it “Bresson’s ‘Au Hasard Balthazar’ meets ‘Old Yeller.'”

“Can a donkey remember? Just ask Isabelle Huppert, who...

Stretching back through the show's run, the Supernatural mythos has come far from the Winchesters just expelling demons. In the first season, the existence of angels was only hinted at. Flash forward a few years and Sam and Dean encounter their first descendant of Heaven, Castiel, whose true form is said to be as large as the Chrysler Building. Since season 4, angels have become routine fare for the Winchesters, although the celestial entities often far exceed the duo's typical foes in pure strength.

At the top of the heap are the archangels, the first four supreme creations of God, brought into existence briefly after the beginning of existence itself. After that, various tiers of power divide the guardians of Heaven, categorizing them into such classes as Seraphim, Cherubs, Grigori, and the dreaded Nephilim. Sometime after the creation of mankind, God asked his angels to become the protective watchers of Earth,...

Polish maestro Jerzy Skolimowski calls Eo, winner of the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize and just this week the Best Foreign Film award from the New York Film Critics Circle, “practically a road movie” whose POVs from the titular donkey “were the most effective element of the whole filming and editing.”

Eo is a vision of modern Europe seen through the eyes of a donkey on a stoic journey through a world where disaster and despair alternate with unexpected bliss. From Sideshow & Janus Films, it’s Poland’s entry into the Best International Feature Film Oscar race.

Related: The Contenders International – Deadline’s Full Coverage

Comparisons have been made to Robert Bresson’s 1966 study of the same breed of animal in Au Hazard Balthazar, something Skolimowski welcomes. During Deadline’s Contenders Film: International event, Skolimowski discussed the profound impact that movie had on him.

“I was a young unknown filmmaker...

Poland’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Eo’ directed by Jerzy Skolimowski'Eo' is the first motion picture to turn the spotlight onto the plight of animals as victims of persecution going as far as setting up an analogy to the genocide of the Jewish people.

Twice this is alluded to. First when Eo wanders into the woods and visits ancient gravestones which are marked by Hebrew letters. The second time is at the end after his endless odyssey on earth searching for the one who loved him most and lost him. “Like sheep to the slaughter” is a phase often associated with the Jews who were herded into conditions worse than those of animals, into boxcars and into gas chambers. So we see cattle herded into slaughter.

This is no Bambi. No Disneyification for this Burro. The animal is lovable and one senses its view of the outside world from its actions, one even senses its emotions.

The world is a mysterious place as seen through the eyes of an animal.

On his journey, Eo, a gray donkey with melancholic eyes, meets good

and bad people, experiences joy and sorrow as the wheel of fortune at every turn transforms his luck into disaster and his despair into

unexpected happiness. But never, at any instant, does he lose his innocence.

Watch the trailer here.

The telling of Eo’s story is also particularly Polish featuring the woods of of Jerzy Kosinski’s novel and feature The Painted Bird, the woods of Polansky’s childhood and of countless others who as as children, women and partisans during the war took to the woods as a means of escape. But here the victim has no voice and humans are only the willing and unwilling accessories to his plight as he tries to avoid the pitfalls of the world.

And we feel deeply for Eo who never says a word. What is the magic Skolimowski employs to make this movie so moving?

Jerzy Skolimowski and Eo, played by Taco, Ola, Marietta, Ettore, Rocco and Mela

This is the first movie that the 84-year-old Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski has made in seven years.

His wish was to pay homage to the cinema of Robert Bresson who inspired him to write this modern tale, whose main character is a Sardinian donkey:

“Several decades ago, I said in an interview (I think it was Cahiers du Cinéma) that the only film that moved me to tears was Au Hasard Balthazar (1966). I think I discovered it right after it came out. Since then, I haven’t shed a single tear at the cinema. Thus, what I owe to Robert Bresson is to have acquired a strong conviction that making an animal a character in the film is not only possible, but can also be a source of emotion."

Eo is a poetic work, a metaphorical vision of the world.

“I wanted above all to make an emotional film, to base the narration on emotions, much more than in all my previous films.”

During his career Jerzy Skolimowski has directed very great actors like Robert Duvall, or Jeremy Irons —” two of the most generous with whom I have worked, wonderful beings — but, directing a donkey on the screen, calls for any obviously other springs.”

“Directors use intellectual arguments to get actors the desired effect, use language to provoke their emotions. With my donkey, the only way to persuade him to do anything was tenderness: words whispered in his ear and a few friendly caresses. Raising your voice, showing impatience or nervousness would have been the shortest path to disaster.”

“In Poland we have an animal protection law. Everyone, including the donkeys, can work up to 8 hours on a set. When they shoot, we are responsible for them, they are our actors. We make sure that they do not feel stress during the shots, that they enjoy the work and the contact with the film crew. We also ensure their comfort throughout their presence on set. In this specific case, they were also under the permanent supervision of a veterinarian, which gave us additional assurance for their good health and well-being. During the preparations and during the realization, we ensured that the breaks and the night rest conditions were respected.”

Watch the trailer here.

Eo, in the words of NY Times review by Manohla Dargis, “adheres to the hero’s journey only to deviate drastically from that template. In short, Eo sets off on an adventure, enters a realm of near-supernatural wonder, encounters fabulous and less so forces, experiences challenges and temptations (including a wreath of carrots). He also meets Isabelle Huppert in an Italian villa, though she ignores him. His journey is strange, absurd, exhilarating and terrifying.”

We pity the poor animal and in our pity we should recognize our own cruelty to animals as well as to other human beings who are treated like animals within our own society and in front of our own eyes.

Jerzy Skolimowski worked with Ewa Piaskowska on writing the screenplay, following a now well-established method: “Eo is the third screenplay we have written together. The method is simple: one of us has an idea (in the case of Eo, it was Ewa, in the case of Essential Killing, it was me), then we give ourselves a good session of brainstorming. Then it’s Ewa who takes care of most of the writing, with me making adjustments, whether it’s additions or cuts. We usually write in Polish, then it’s always Ewa who takes

in charge of the English translation.”

The Directors’ Fortnight has shown the films of Skolimowski starting in 1965 with Walkover, his second feature film, acclaimed for its innovative form. “At the time, a young American filmmaker came to congratulate me after the screening of Walkover, and although my English was limited at the time, we instantly became friends. It was Jack Nicholson, who was also discovering Cannes. Smoking a joint with him on the beach that night remains one of my fondest memories from Cannes.”

This is the seventh time in his career that Jerzy Skolimowski has been invited in Competition to Cannes. “Coming back is a bittersweet experience. Many people I have met at the Festival over the years are no longer of this world, others cannot come. I myself have become a bit of a recluse and I feel better in my house in the forest in the middle of nowhere. The world today does not inspire much optimism — a war is raging in Europe. It seems absurd to celebrate the premiere of a movie, with the tragedy unfolding every day in Ukraine.”

Despite its dramatic nature, Eo is also a film rich in funny moments. What makes Jerzy Skolimowski laugh? “I don’t think I’ve laughed heartily in a long time. But I do smile sometimes — especially at my dog, Bufon, for his playfulness, or for the way he tilts his head when he listens to men’s conversations, as if he doesn’t want miss a word.”

International sales agent, Hanway, was founded by Jeremy Thomas who announced his own retirement this year in Cannes. Skolimowski and Thomas have a long-standing relationship that began when Thomas produced his second film Le Cri, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 1978. They also collaborated on Essential Killing, which won the Special Prize of the Jury and the Best Actor Prize at the Venice Film Festival, as well as 11 Minutes, also screened in Competition in Venice.

Says Skolimowski, “Jeremy is a production icon. It’s always been a real privilege to see how he thinks, what he prioritizes, how he makes decisions or works with directors. He is in a separate class.”

Jeremy Thomas was born into a film family — his father and uncle were directors. He started in film laboratories and graduated as an editor, working on many films and eventually editing Family Life by Ken Loach. In 1974, Thomas produced his first film, Mad Dog Morgan by Philippe Mora with Dennis Hopper, then founded Recorded Picture Company. Thomas then produced numerous personal films, including Investigaton of a Passion, Eureka and Insignificance by Nicolas Roeg, and Furyo by Nagisa Ôshima with David Bowie. He eventually founded Hanway as the nternational sales agent for his films.

Hanway and its distributors did not stint on giving the film plenty of festival exposure, a good way to create word of mouth actively as it rolls out theatrically. After debuting in Cannes where Skolimowski won the Jury Prize and the Best Composer Award went to Pawel Mykietyn, it went on to a list of festivals that reads like a a primer for filmmakers to try to follow themselves: Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Hungary’s Miskolc International Film Festival, Toronto, Gdynia, Vancouver, Hamburg, Busan, Rio, London, New York, Mill Valley, Hamptons, Grand Lyon in France, Bergen, Santa Fe, Cologne, Philadelphia, Valladolid, Montclair, Vienna, Geneva, Seville, AFI Fest, Hawaii, Belfast, Tallinn, Ljubljana, MoMa, Taipei’s Golden Horseshoe.

Isa Hanway has licensed the film to Sideshow for US (the new kid on the block who is working with Janus on the theatrical release as they did with Oscar Winner Drive My Car. Founded by longtime IFC President Jonathan Sehring and his acquisitions chief Jason Hellerstein, Sideshow is also distributing Cannes films The Eight Mountains, Tori and Lokita, and All That Breathes. Other distriutors include Films We Like for Canada, Arp Selection for France, Soda for Peru and Colombia, Nitrato for Portugal, Rapid Eye for Germany, Applause for Taiwan, DDDream for China, Fine Films for Japan, Front Row for Mena and Iran, Odeon for Greece and The Searchers for Belgium.

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SydneysBuzz by Sydney Levine is about the international film circuit, films from places far and near that you may not hear about often, like Cannes or the newly launched Red Sea Film Festival.

Banijay (“Marie Antoinette”) has boarded “Les disparus de la Forêt Noire,” a gritty French thriller starring Hélène de Fougerolles (“Balthazar”), Gregory Fitoussi (“St Tropez,” “Spiral”) and Tcheky Karyo (“The Missing,” “Baptiste”).

Commissioned by TF1, “Les Disparus de la Forêt Noire,” is co-produced by Banijay Studios France, Fiction’Air, Belga Productions and Rtbf. The premium drama will be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.

“Les disparus de la Forêt Noire” is set in the heart of the Black Forest, at a binational military base near the French-German border, where twelve bodies, all men, are found in a mass grave. The victims are both French and German, with the murders committed over three decades. Judge Camille Hartmamnn, played by Hélène de Fougerolles, has a connection to the case, her memory has been impaired after a car accident. Yet, this macabre discovery revives memories Hartmann believed to be buried. Meanwhile, veteran French officer Franz Agerland...

Eo (2022).It is not often that a film is made with radical sympathy. Too often, movies ignore the longing and pain of people, excluding their existence in form and feeling from storyworlds. And if such things are acknowledged, the movie will tend to make up for this rarity by overplaying misery and desperation. Jerzy Skolimowski's Eo, a tremendously sad but also overwhelmingly beautiful picture, chooses the radical path. The film is devoted, in body and soul, style and spirit, to sympathizing with another creature, and one who suffers a great deal without exploiting either its pathos or the viewer’s emotional reserves. Skolimowski and his co-writer, producer, and wife Ewa, in the spirit of great compassion, tell the story not of a human creature, but of an animal; and better yet, a donkey.Even with Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar (1966) as a precedent, it’s an unexpected subject,...

The Addams Family has been a part of American culture for 84 years, starting with cartoons in The New Yorker and branching out into sitcoms, live-action features, and animated films. Their morbidly hilarious shenanigans and fierce loyalty to each other go hand in hand, and they continue to speak to freaks, outcasts, and fans of the macabre today. Though you probably have a good idea who the major players in the Addams Family are, some of the cobweb-covered branches of their family tree may surprise you.

For a fictional family that has been around since 1938, the Addams Family has a surprisingly straightforward canonical genealogy. Though there are countless aunts, uncles, and cousins that have accumulated over the years — most mentioned only in passing — the core group remains largely the same. Still, with a new series featuring the spooky family destined for Netflix, a refresher can't hurt. Here's a complete rundown of America's royal goth family.

‘Old ways’ meet modernity in its purest brutality in Li Ruijun’s drama “Return To Dust”, a shocking proof of life’s injustices that have the tendency of pouring on some people’s heads bucketwise. When they do not exactly pour over the head of Ma (Renlin Wu), the least loved of many brothers, than the heavy rains do. But as the good man is very much used to it, he takes whatever comes with the calmness of someone who doesn’t wish much of life, and has even less to lose.

“Return to Dust“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Li takes us to the vast landscapes of Gaotai and its surroundings on a journey through all four seasons and different stages of radical changes Ma is met with during that time. It is not only his life that gets impacted by the sudden appearance of land developers.

James Corden made his return to “The Late Late Show” on Monday night and apologized for making what he deemed a “rude comment” to a staffer at the famed New York restaurant Balthazar.

“I didn’t shout or scream, like I didn’t get up out of my seat. I didn’t call anyone names or use derogatory language. I have been walking around thinking that I hadn’t done anything wrong, right? But the truth is like I have — I made a rude comment and it was wrong, and it was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server,” Corden said from his desk of the CBS late-night show.

Last week, restauranteur and Balthazar owner Keith McNally blasted Corden on Instagram, calling the comedian and Tony Award-winner a “tiny cretin of a man” as well as “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.

After initially calling the controversy “so silly” in a New York Times profile, James Corden used Monday’s Late Late Show broadcast to further respond to recent allegations that he bullied the staff at a New York restaurant.

For the uninitiated, the controversy arose on Oct. 17 when New York restaurateur Keith McNally posted on Instagram that he’d banned Corden from his eatery Balthazar. After calling Corden “a tiny Cretin of a man” and “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,” McNally went on to share anecdotes from Balthazar managers in which Corden...

Using his platform to apologize. James Corden addressed the elephant in the room on Monday’s “The Late Late Show”, when he addressed being banned from a New York City hotspot and had a public blowout with the owner of social media.

“As some of you may have seen last week there were stories about me beings banned from a restaurant,” Corden shared with his audience on Monday night. “Whenever these sorts of moments come my way, I like to adopt quite a British attitude. Sort of keep calm and carry on, things are going to get written about me, never complain, never explain. It’s very much my motto.”

However, Corden explained that he spoke to his father about the situation, and said, “As my dad pointed out to me on Saturday, he said, ‘Son, well, you did complain. So you might need to explain.'”

According to Corden’s recollection of events,...

In his first show back after a week off, James Corden used his monologue on Monday’s “The Late Late Show” to address the matter of his being banned from New York City’s Balthazar.

Corden explained what happened from his point of view, called what he did “a mistake,” and essentially apologized to the restaurant’s staff and said he hopes he’ll be “allowed in one day, so … I can go there and apologize in person.”

In case you need a catch-up, Corden was banned for life from the restaurant by restauranteur Keith McNally, who called him a “tiny cretin of a man” and “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.” McNally said Corden was also banned from the other restaurants he owns. McNally rescinded the ban after Corden apologized, but after Corden downplayed the whole thing in a New York Times interview,...

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James Corden addressed the seemingly ongoing drama surrounding his recent temporary ban from a New York restaurant for alleged “abusive” behavior on Monday’s episode of The Late Late Show.

Following a week of intense scrutiny, speculation and a fair deal of social media backlash, a chastened and sheepish Corden took the time to explain what had happened and why he had said so little about his very public dust-up with the owner of the famed New York eatery Balthazar.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Corden had commented on the drama that initially stemmed from an Instagram post from restaurateur Keith McNally, who revealed that he had the Brit comedian banned from Balthazar for being an “abusive customer” towards the restaurant’s servers. Despite McNally later revealing in another post that Corden had apologized to him, and he was no longer banned,...

James Corden took some time at the start of Monday’s episode of “The Late Late Show” to acknowledge a recent controversy involving his now-reversed ban from New York restaurant Balthazar, offering an apology for “the rude comment” he directed toward to the business’s waitstaff. Corden said he made the comment “in the heat of the moment” after his table was accidentally served a dish his wife would’ve had an allergic reaction to.

“I didn’t shout or scream. I didn’t get up out of my seat. I didn’t call anyone names or use derogatory language. I have been walking around thinking that I hadn’t done anything wrong, right? But the truth is I have. I made a rude comment and it was wrong,” Corden stated. “It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server.”

Balthazar owner Keith McNally first publicly banned Corden from his business last week,...

Ricky Gervais has shared a tweet by a fan that mocks James Corden after news emerged that he was banned from a New York restaurant.

Actor and presenter Corden has come under fire in recent days for allegedly shouting at serving staff in famed Manhattan eatery Balthazar.

Keith McNally, the restaurant’s owner, called Corden out in an Instagram post that described him a “hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man” and claimed he was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”.

Following the news, Gervais retweeted a post shared by a Twitter user called Sue.

The post included a clip from Gervais’s Netflix show After Life, in which Diane Morgan’s character Kath asks Gervais’s Tony what his five dream dinner party guests would be.

When Kath says her first one would be Corden, Tony replies: “F*** me.

The ongoing saga of James Corden and the restaurant staff he was reportedly rude to continued Friday with the owner of the New York City restaurant Balthazar could eat free there for life if he apologizes to two servers.

To recap: Corden was banned from the location after owner Keith McNally called him a “tiny cretin of a man” who was also “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.” McNally said that the comedian and host was banned for life from any of his restaurants.

While Corden didn’t publicly respond, the internet was abuzz with similarly rude stories about the “Late Late Show” host and “Cats” costar, including one involving his wife, his baby and an airplane.

But it seemed as though the brouhaha had cooled down. Earlier this week McNally, again on Instagram, claimed that Corden apologized and the ban had been lifted.

Ricky Gervais has shared a tweet by a fan that mocks James Corden after news emerged that he was banned from a New York restaurant.

Actor and presenter Corden has come under fire in recent days for allegedly shouting at serving staff in famed Manhattan eatery Balthazar.

Keith McNally, the restaurant’s owner, called Corden out in an Instagram post that described him a “hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man” and claimed he was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”.

Following the news, Gervais retweeted a post shared by a Twitter user called Sue.

The post included a clip from Gervais’s Netflix show After Life, in which Diane Morgan’s character Kath asks Gervais’s Tony what his five dream dinner party guests would be.

When Kath says her first one would be Corden, Tony replies: “F*** me.

James Corden has broken his silence on the Balthazar restaurant row, saying he feels “zen” about the whole incident as he hasn’t done anything wrong.

The Late Late Show host was called “the most abusive customer” and a “tiny cretin of a man” by Keith McNally, the owner of French eatery Balthazar, who banned him from the New York eatery on Monday. But the restaurateur later lifted the ban, saying the actor and TV host “apologised profusely”.

On Thursday, Corden told the New York Times in an interview: “I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level. So why would I ever cancel this [interview]?”

“I was there. I get it. I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly. I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication,” he added.

The British entertainer...

Autumn typically signals the start of the back-to-school season, but in Paul Feig's latest film, this return contains more magic, monsters, and mystery than pens, pencils, and homework. With Netflix's "The School for Good and Evil," the filmmaker behind "Freaks and Geeks" and "Bridesmaids" tackles his biggest fantasy comedy since 2016's much-discussed "Ghostbusters" reboot as he adapts Soman Chainani's popular young adult novel series for the small screen.

In this colorful, sweeping epic, Feig transports us to a familiar world with a magical twist: The would-be heroes and villains of tomorrow are trained at a legendary school. Split into good and evil wings, this is where everyone who's anyone in this fictional land wants to be, especially pals Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wyle). So, you can imagine their glee when they receive an invitation to study with the fairy-tale realm's finest tutors. However, the...

Conan O’Brien once fired a member of staff for being “impatient and rude” to a waiter in a restaurant, a former employee has claimed.

On Tuesday (18 October), many social media user shared their anecdotes of celebrities treating catering staff poorly, after allegations were made against late-night host James Corden by the owner of New York restaurant Balthazar.

Corden was banned from Balthazar by Keith McNally for his alleged treatment of restaurant staff, although his ban was later rescinded. McNally claimed that Corden had called him to “apologise profusely”.

Amid the row around celebrity entitlement, stand-up comedian Todd Levin, who was a writer on Conan from 2010 to 2020, shared his own story about working for a late night host.

“At Conan there was a crew member who was fired because Conan witnessed him being impatient and rude to a server at a restaurant,” he tweeted on Tuesday night.

“Just remembering that now,...

James Corden’s ban from the New York City restaurant Balthazar did not last more than 24 hours. Balthazar owner Keith McNally took to Instagram to announce the CBS late night host was no longer banned from the NYC establishment. According to McNally, Corden “apologized profusely” to him after he went public with a story accusing Corden of being “the most abusive customer” at the restaurant.

“James Corden just called me and apologized profusely,” McNally wrote on Instagram “Having fucked up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances. So if James Corden lets me host his ‘Late Late Show’ for nine months, I’ll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not. But….anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar. So Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden,...