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Thankfully, we survived another frustrating hiatus.

It feels like it's been forever since Chicago Pd was on our screens, and the hiatuses have been frustrating.

But alas, Chicago Pd Season 11 Episode 10 is coming in hot with a ... spins wheel ... Hailey Upton installment.

By now, we're accustomed to the character-centric focus. We don't have to care for it, but we're used to it.

Despite annoyance about the formatting, the midseason premiere may feature most of the team.

Given that it has been a while since Chicago Pd Season 11 Episode 9, a refresher may be necessary.

"Somos Uno" was the rather abrupt and severely underwhelming conclusion to Dante Torres' storyline with the cartel wife.

While his canoodling with Gloria was a shocking development that arose when introduced, the storyline got shoved out of sight until it resurfaced and wrapped up abruptly, making many of us wonder about the necessity of it in the first place.

It's not entirely unexpected when the One Chicago franchise announces another exit.

We've grown accustomed to the revolving door of our beloved actors as we bid adieu to fan-favorite characters or those we adore.

The most recent Chicago Pd exit, Tracy Spiridakos, similar to the departure of Jesse Lee Soffer roughly a year prior, is still reverberating across the fandom.

While it's not unsurprising given various factors, ranging from Halstead's disappointing exit, the grim direction of Upton's storyline since, and the occasional budgetary measures, it doesn't change the fact that this news will pose a blow to the series for many of its viewers.

And we're left to wonder what the future holds for Hailey, Jay, and the Intelligence Unit.

Even before this casting shakeup, we were already wondering what Chicago Pd would look like for Hailey Upton.

While I can attest to having some controversial and unpopular misgivings about the series' Upstead focus,...

Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to music-themed documentary The Elephant 6 Recording Co., setting an August 25 theatrical release date for the directorial debut of C.B. Stockfleth.

The film, an inside look at the influential underground music movement, premiered at Doc NYC last November and held its international premiere at Cph:dox in Copenhagen in March.

“In 1985, a group of Louisiana high schoolers began experimenting with whatever random instruments and gear they could find,” a description of the documentary notes. “This core group became the basis for a loose music collective that became known as the Elephant 6 Recording Co. and comprised bands Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, Elf Power and many others. Influenced by psychedelic pop of the Beatles and the Beach Boys and a lo-fi DIY approach, the bands that coalesced around the Elephant 6 banner epitomized for many alternative and indie rock of the ‘90’s.

Warning! Spoilers for Chicago Pd season 10Chicago Pd has officially ended Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead's (Jesse Lee Soffer) relationship, and now the show needs to let Hailey move on as Jay previously did from Erin (Sophia Bush). Chicago Pd is no stranger to romantic entanglements, with the relationship dynamics within and surrounding the Intelligence Unit being one of the show's greatest features to help character the squad beyond their job descriptions. With this, Chicago Pd has developed several season-long romances that have garnered both drama and cult followings. Chicago Pd can sustain this level of intrigue by seeing its characters move on from grieving over their lost loves — before it gets stale and tired.

Jay’s evolution with Hailey is not his first pitched relationship, as he experienced something similar with Erin before her departure from Chicago Pd. Much in the way that he and Hailey grew closer,...

Chicago Pd star Tracy Spiridakos comments on the impending end of Upton and Halstead's marriage despite the promise that they will reunite after his temporary stint in the army. Earlier in Chicago Pd season 10, Jesse Lee Soffer officially exited the One Chicago series after Jay Halstead suffered an identity crisis. In an effort to re-center himself, he made the shotgun decision to resign and lead an operation in Bolivia. While seeing the close-knit Intelligence lose another member was difficult, it was more heartbreaking to watch him say goodbye to his long-time partner and new wife, Hailey Upton.

Amid their separation, there was a promise that the couple would reunite after Halstead's time in Bolivia, which is originally set for eight months. However, considering Soffer's exit from Chicago Pd, it was almost impossible that this would pan out, and Spiridakos confirms that in an interview with Variety, essentially stating that Halstead...

Was Upton pulled in the wrong direction?

On Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 12, Sean O'Neal surprised her with a call from prison, revealing sensitive information.

Upton tried to keep him at a distance, but she realized she needed to get closer.

As the team mobilized, it was down to a small window of time to win all of the classified intel.

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It seems the closest man in Hailey's life these days is a creepy serial killer, and that may not be changing anytime soon.

We got more of Sean O'Neale on Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 12, as he led them to another case and a potential mystery surrounding Richard Beck.

Something tells me we will have Sean and Beck for a while this season.

We may as well get the Upstead of it all out of the way first. We were due for an update on that front.

Honestly, it feels like the only one who doesn't know or is in denial about the state of her marriage to Halstead is Hailey herself.

From the moment Jay hightailed it out of town on some assignment in Bolivia, there's been some finality to the couple's relationship.

And it's not solely because the actor has departed the series either. Jay was distant and checked...

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 12, “I Can Let You Go.”] For Gia-Rayne Harris’ TV directorial debut, she was given a Chicago P.D. episode that ended with two major scenes for Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos). First, Upton found out that her husband, Jay Halstead, asked for an extension on his work overseas. Then, she went to see sex trafficker Sean O’Neal (Jefferson White) in prison after his tip helped Intelligence rescue a kidnapped woman — she’s part of a family hiding something and kicking off a new arc — and he hoped to continue working as her informant. “I’m not coming back. I can’t have you in my life, can’t do this, it’s not right, it’s not for me, so I won’t do it. I’m done,” she told him. But Sean knew what she might not be ...

Warning! Spoilers for season 10 of Chicago Pd!

While it might seem that Hailey Upton's (Tracy Spiridakos) mid-season 10 finale move in Chicago Pd is uncharacteristic, it could be very in-character for her trajectory this season. This is especially true considering that people and characters sometimes behave differently than they usually do when pushed to the brink. These moments make for the most compelling drama. As such, it's worth analyzing Upton's decisions during one of her toughest seasons to understand her development going forward.

Season 10 of Chicago Pd has levied some heavy losses on Intelligence, none more so than for Upton. The departure of her husband, Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), strained Upton's personal life, but there was no solace in her professional sphere either. Instead, Upton created problems for herself and Intelligence, trying to bring down Sean O'Neal (Jefferson White), going so far as to use herself as bait and tail...

If you’re worried about Chicago P.D.‘s Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) now that she can’t focus on building a case against sex trafficker Sean O’Neal (Jefferson White), you’re not alone. Ever since her husband, Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) left, she’s been using work to distract herself, but so much is up in the air regarding their future and how that will continue to affect her. With Soffer returning to direct later this season, might we see him onscreen again as well? “We’ll definitely hear about what’s going on, for sure, and tell stories about that absence,” showrunner Gwen Sigan tells TV Insider. “There are no plans to see him onscreen, but we’re very excited that he is coming back and directing one. I think he’s gonna really enjoy it. I think it will be a nice opportunity for him.

Did the team manage to take down Sean O'Neal?

On Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 9, a sudden turn of events left the team at odds about how to proceed.

With more victims popping up, there had to be a big decision to secure the future of the team.

Elsewhere, Chief O'Neal hired a lawyer, determined to keep his son out of prison.

How did it all end?

Watch Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 9 Online

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[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 9, “Proof of Burden.”] Voight (Jason Beghe) and Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) are faced with a serious choice near the end of the Chicago P.D. fall finale. Intelligence spends “Proof of Burden” trying to find what they need to officially take down sex trafficker Sean O’Neal (Jefferson White). Meanwhile, Voight needs to get Chief O’Neal (Michael Gaston) to accept the truth about his son. Just as they’re about to arrest Sean, however, they hear gunshots from inside the chief’s home. Once inside, they find both father and son on the floor — but Sean’s alive! It takes Upton a few moments longer than Voight to give him aid, then at the hospital, the doctor tells them they saved his life. Showrunner Gwen Sigan delves into that decision and teases what’s ahead. Talk about Upton’s reluctance to step in to help and then how ...

Does Intelligence have enough to put Sean O’Neal (Jefferson White) away for sex trafficking? Not yet, even after Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) found that skeleton on Chicago P.D. “We’re gonna be piecing together all the evidence that we actually have and finding that we don’t have as much as we think we do, and in true Cpd fashion, we will not quite have him,” showrunner Gwen Sigan tells TV Insider of the December 7 fall finale. “We know it was him. We know now what his motivations have been and why he’s trafficking these girls in the way he is. And it will now be about the obstacle of, how do we get him? And how do we get him when we know the chief is going to block every move that we make?” Chief O’Neal (Michael Gaston) is Sean’s father,...

Was it the end of the line for Sean O'Neal?

On Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 7, actionable evidence finally surfaced, putting Upton on a course to build a case in secret.

However, the officers found Shaun more elusive and dangerous than anticipated.

As the case reached a surprising conclusion, things took a turn when another villain popped up to help Shaun.

Watch Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 7 Online

Use the video above to watch Chicago Pd online right here via TV Fanatic.

Catch up on all your favorite shows and reviews and join in the conversations with other fanatics who love TV as much as you.

TV Fanatic is your destination for the latest news, spoilers, reviews, and so much more!

It seems the Sean O'Neal case is nowhere close to getting resolved.

And unfortunately, by the end of Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 7, the chief learned about Sean and is in denial, and Sean is officially tipped off about the unit coming after him with Hailey leading the charge.

Now their job is harder than ever if they're trying to take down a prolific trafficker protected by a cop who already knows they're coming for him.

Kudos to the series because they've heeded some of the criticism and are working on it. For starters, they won't have us coming for them over continuity when Hailey has been rocking that scar on her forehead for a good minute.

It coincides nicely with the timeline that reminds us it hasn't been that long since Halstead's departure, but she hasn't been functioning well since then.

We had a few moments where we got some...

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Chicago Pd season 5 episode 5.

Intelligence's latest challenge is exactly what Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) needs to fix its big Chicago Pd season 10 problem. Things have been weird at the 21st District ever since Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) left the force. While it has been a difficult time for everyone, it has been the worst for Upton who also lost her husband. Nonetheless, Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) needs her to move forward, and their latest case could be exactly what Upton needs to healthily deal with Halstead exiting Chicago Pd.

In Chicago Pd season 10, episode 5, "Pink Cloud," Upton realizes that the son of the new Police Chief, Sean O'Neal (Jefferson White) has been secretly trafficking girls for years. This gives Intelligence a brand-new challenge for the rest of the season as it pits Voight's team against the brass. This isn't exactly new for the squad...

The teens were right. It's always the white guy.

It was an incredibly dark, painful, and riveting hour with Chicago Pd Season 10 Episode 5 presenting us with its first ongoing case of the season.

The addition of Yellowstone's Jefferson White as a recurring character was exciting news, but did anyone envision this? Sean O'Neal has to go down.

It seems the hour pulled from positive reception from Chicago Pd Season 9 Episode 20's Memory. This time, the case was a chilling introduction to sex trafficking and directly involved the chief's son.

It was the first time Halstead's absence resonated because of the effects on Hailey. And the installment did a commendable job of showcasing how distraught Hailey is and how she's coping with his absence without dwelling on it, detracting from the rest of the series, or sidelining the other characters.

The montage of Hailey picking up overtime as a way...

“War on the Diamond,” a feature documentary about the only baseball player to die directly of injuries sustained in a game, is set to premiere Nov. 15 on VOD platfoms including iTunes, YouTube, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Vudu.

The doc tells the story of Raymond Chapman, a Cleveland Indians shortstop who was hit in the head by a pitch in a game against the New York Yankees. He died the following day. To mark today’s 102nd anniversary of the fatal game, “War on the Diamond” producers have released a trailer for the documentary from Dark Star Pictures.

“Diamond” is” directed and produced by Andy Billman. It’s based on Mike Sowell’s 1989 book “The Pitch That Killed: The Story of Carl Mays, Ray Chapman and the Penant Race of 1920.” Jonathan Taylor Hurley served as director of photographery; Paul Carruthers served as editor.

Billman produced with Art Horan (“The Usual Suspects...

A '90s favorite is making its way back to the airwaves. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nickelodeon is developing a Clarissa Explains It All revival.The original sitcom starred Melissa Joan Hart as Clarissa Darling, a teenager trying to survive her aggressively suburban life. The cast also included Jason Zimbler, Sean O'Neal, Elizabeth Hess, and Joe O'Connor. The show ran for five seasons on Nickelodeon before ending in 1994.Read More…...

With the recent news of a Clarissa Explains It All reboot coming to Nickelodeon, it has us wondering one thing—what in the world happened to Sam? The iconic '90s character, played by actor Sean O'Neal, was a fan favorite amongst viewers for his skateboarder lingo, bright neon backwards hat, and of course his infamous ladder entrances through Clarissa's second-story bedroom window. And while he has seemingly been out of the spotlight for years, it looks as though O'Neal is still riding the acting train. According to his IMDb page, the now 42-year-old star has appeared in a handful of small roles including a "Party Guest" in the 2016 film Penumbra and "Protester #1" in two episodes...

He was born Sean McEnroe, the son of John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal but last year, Sean decided to drop his father's last name and take his mom's as his surname. "I changed my name to Sean O'Neal - it's nothing against my dad but I wanted to have my own path that is not so directly linked to him because it's just the way people have [always] perceived me," O'Neal, 28, tells People. "I just wanted to forge my own identity." As for his, at times, complex relationship with his father, he says, "We're trying to work things out. We have...

He was born Sean McEnroe, the son of John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal but last year, Sean decided to drop his father's last name and take his mom's as his surname. "I changed my name to Sean O'Neal - it's nothing against my dad but I wanted to have my own path that is not so directly linked to him because it's just the way people have [always] perceived me," O'Neal, 28, tells People. "I just wanted to forge my own identity." As for his, at times, complex relationship with his father, he says, "We're trying to work things out. We have...

Back in the wild world of the '90s, before Wikipedia and Yahoo! Answers were tending to the questions of growing minds, kids turned to television to get advice. And one of the greatest TV sages was Nickelodeon's Clarissa Darling. The fast-talking, free-spirited, self-dressing tween dispensed sassy knowledge to viewers on Clarissa Explains It All, taking on every subject from dating to how to deal with annoying little brothers. Played by Melissa Joan Hart, Clarissa has developed a nostalgic following as '90s kids grow up and fondly think back to the simpler times of landlines and neighbors who entered through the window.

Back in the wild world of the '90s, before Wikipedia and Yahoo! Answers were tending to the questions of growing minds, kids turned to television to get advice. And one of the greatest TV sages was Nickelodeon's Clarissa Darling.

The fast-talking, free-spirited, self-dressing tween dispensed sassy knowledge to viewers on Clarissa Explains It All, taking on every subject from dating to how to deal with annoying little brothers. Played by Melissa Joan Hart, Clarissa has developed a nostalgic following as '90s kids grow up and fondly think back to the simpler times of landlines and neighbors who entered through the window.

They seemed ageless as camp counselors, Goodburger employees and dude ranch handlers, but even '90s Nickelodeon stars couldn't stay teenagers forever. One went on to marry Ben Stiller) while others quit acting altogether. But 30-year-olds around the world can rejoice, because Amanda Bynes, 27, has yet to join the club.

Danny Tamberelli from "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" is 31.

Irene Ng from "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo" is 38.

Katrina Johnson from "All That" is 31.

Yes, that little girl who played H. Ross Perot.

Alisa Reyes from "All That" is 32.

Lori Beth Denberg from "All That" is 37.

Larisa Oleynik from "The Secret World of Alex Mack" is 32.

Jason Zimbler from "Clarissa Explains it All," 35.

Melissa Joan Hart from "Clarissa Explains it All" is 36.

Michael Ray Bower from "Salute Your Shorts" is 38.

Kenan Thompson from "All That" is 35.

Christine Taylor from "Hey Dude" is 41.

Michael Maronna from "The Adventures of...

What's not to love? The awful production values, the silly one-liners, and the great mockery of it all on the internet

Sharknado, pundemic on Twitter, has restored the B-movie back to its rightful place in American life: cult summer blockbuster and universal inside joke. To join in you don't need a TV or even to have seen the movie. You only must appreciate absurdity (and tolerate portmanteaus:

As the nation laughed the night away at Sharknado, none could have predicted the looming Crabquake.

— Sean O'Neal (@seanoneal) July 12, 2013

In case the title left anything to doubt, a quick summary of the film: a tornado spews sharks into Los Angeles. One lands in Tara Reid's pool, another bounces off a barstool. Helicopters throw bombs at the weather. A character named 'Fin', played by a Chippendales dancer, leaps into the open jaws of a projectile Great White and chainsaws his way out of its rubber belly,...

Our 12-city New Cult Canon tour—presented by Mike's Hard Lemonade—is winding to a close, with the final stops in Boston and San Francisco this week. Tomorrow, Boston's Somerville Theatre will play host to Bad Santa, presented by The A.V. Club's Sean O'Neal, making his first visit to your city since his college days. On Wednesday, at the Roxie in San Francisco, we've got the 1974 cult classic Black Christmas, starring Margot Kidder. Ms. Kidder will be in attendance that night for a post-show Q&A hosted by The A.V. Club's ...

Jean-Luc Godard and Marcel Ophüls evidently covered quite a lot of ground in two public discussions that took place in 2002 and 2009, now collected in Dialogues sur le cinéma, a book published in France last week. The New Yorker's Richard Brody posts a round of first impressions, noting that the two filmmakers discuss Ophüls's father, Max, the political implications of cinema and a project they considered collaborating on, either about what "Being Jewish" means (to hear Godard tell it) or about Israel and Palestine (Ophüls's understanding): "In a brief afterword, the book's editor, Vincent Lowy, explains that Godard wrote to Ophüls in January, 2010, proposing a specific three-part film: the first part directed by Ophüls; the second part, Godard's response; the third, Ophüls's response to Godard's response. 'Jean-Luc Godard even specified, in this letter, the title that he'd have given the film: Adieu au langage.' That is, of course,...

"Nicol Williamson, the British actor best known for his role as the wizard Merlin in the 1981 film Excalibur, has died of esophageal cancer," reports the AP. "Williamson had dozens of film credits to his name but won more plaudits for his stage acting. Playwright John Osborne once described him as 'the greatest actor since Marlon Brando.' He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1966 for his role in Osborne's Inadmissible Evidence and again in 1974 for Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. He also was nominated three times for acting honors at the British Academy Film Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars."

"He made his professional stage debut at the Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1960, before appearing in Tony Richardson's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Royal Court Theatre," notes the BBC. "He later teamed up with Richardson again, to star his Hamlet production at the Roundhouse. It was so successful,...

"Something happened to British cinema this year: it got world-class again." Tim Robey builds a convincing case: the returns of Lynne Ramsay and Terence Davies, debuts by Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur), Richard Ayoade (Submarine), Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley (Black Pond) and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) and, perhaps most encouraging, "remarkable second films from Ben Wheatley (the horror-thriller Kill List), from Joanna Hogg, whose bitterly insightful Archipelago confirmed all the promise of Unrelated, and from Andrew Haigh, whose Nottingham-set gay romance Weekend has been a sleeper hit here and in the United States…. The sheer range of subjects, periods, genres, styles and ambitions was as heartening as the quality of the movies, and proof that our industry is in great shape."

Also in the Telegraph, Robbie Collin looks back on 2011's highs and lows and the paper lists its top ten and ten worst films of the year. Speaking of the worsts,...

John Neville, who has died at the age of 86, was "perhaps best known to American audiences for playing the title role in [Terry Gilliam's] The Adventures of Baron Munchausen as well as the Well-Manicured Man on The X-Files," suggests Sean O'Neal at the Av Club.

But he was also "a leading light of the Old Vic, the charismatic artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse in the early 1960s and, after emigrating to Canada in 1972, a renowned leader of that country's theatre," writes Michael Coveney in the Guardian. "He found huge matinee-idol success early on, in the [John] Gielgud roles of Hamlet and Richard II, though his patrician veneer and noble bearing could be easily discarded, as he showed to devastating effect in 1963, when he played Bill Naughton's Alfie at the Mermaid theatre, the role that became Michael Caine's calling card on film. This performance, in which Neville graduated from juvenile lead...

Clarissa Explains It All star Melissa Joan Hart has insisted that Sam (Sean O'Neal) was not a "threat" to her character Clarissa. On the '90s Nickelodeon sitcom, Sam would frequently enter Clarissa's bedroom via a ladder attached to her bedroom window. "I think they were trying to show that a girl and boy could be friends," Hart told Entertainment Weekly. "They could be platonic." She continued: "I think it was just that Clarissa was a good kid and was trusted by her parents to do the right thing. They knew [Sam] was her best friend, and he was not a threat." However, Hart (more)...

Notorious control freak/undeniable genius Prince just told George Lopez that he wishes copyright law would prevent other musicians from covering his songs. (This via The Av Club; we forgot to DVR yesterday's Lopez Tonight somehow.) This, of course, is a guy who successfully sued a toddler to remove a YouTube video of the kid dancing to "Let's Go Crazy." And, as Sean O'Neal at The Av Club points out, Prince covers others people's stuff constantly, often in virtuosic medleys of several at a time. His 2007 Super Bowl performance, for example, included snippets of "Proud Mary," "All Along the Watchtower," and the Foo Fighters' "Best of You." (This last was supposedly a bizarre act of revenge against the Foo Fighters for themselves covering "Darling Nikki" without his permission; apparently Dave Grohl was for some reason [...]...

10 Underrated South Park Songs Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Book of Mormon is only the latest example of their towering songcraft. By Sean O'Neal Although few have seen it yet, Matt Stone and Trey Parker's The Book Of Mormon is already one of the most promising shows on Broadway. That's because the duo has spent their entire career proving that, in addition to being consummate smart-asses, they're also extremely talented (even Oscar-nominated) songwriters, creating catchy, funny tunes from their early days on Cannibal: The Musical to Team America: World Police and throughout fourteen seasons of South Park. And while South Park songs like "Uncle Fucka" and "Chocolate Salty Balls" have rightfully gotten plenty of accolades, the show also boasts this equally great roster of less-heralded musical numbers — a commitment to quality that bodes well for filling out two hours on [...]...

"Anne Francis, who costarred in the 1950s science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet and later played the title role in Honey West, the mid-1960s TV series about a sexy female private detective with a pet ocelot, died Sunday. She was 80." Dennis McLellan in the Los Angeles Times: "A shapely blond with a signature beauty mark next to her lower lip, Francis was a former child model and radio actress when she first came to notice on the big screen in the early 1950s. She had leading or supporting roles in more than 30 movies, including Bad Day at Black Rock, Battle Cry, Blackboard Jungle, The Hired Gun, Don't Go Near the Water, Brainstorm, Funny Girl and Hook, Line and Sinker."

She "was active until just a few years ago, still doing TV guest shots into her 70s," notes the Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore.

The Guardian's Ronald Bergan calls her performance in Blackboard Jungle "strong,...

In Hollywood, a magic 8-ball used to just be a vial of cocaine that allowed producers to think they're flying. But now it's also going to be a movie about an oversize billiard ball with a blue liquid-immersed 20-sided die inside it that enables indecisive people to make important life choices. For example, some exec at Paramount asked one, "should we make a movie based on the Magic 8-Ball novelty toy?" And it answered, "My reply is no." So the studio exec put the greenlight on it faster than he could snort a line.

Is the idea of a Magic 8-Ball movie surprising? To be honest, I thought this project had already been announced back when everyone was foretelling what other games and toys would follow Monopoly, Battleship, Ouija Board, Stretch Armstrong, etc., into multiplexes. Now it just seems like everyone's unveiling the appropriate 8-ball-related snark they've been working on...

There's been a lot of talk today about Stephen Hawking's alien theory, shared in last night's Discovery Channel special Into the Universe, and I find it a good place to start a discussion on greed and irony. See, Hawking, who is supposed to be a smart guy, thinks there's no point in humans attempting to communicate with aliens because of the great chance that they'll just end up coming over and conquering us. He actually uses an analogy in which the foreign creatures are Columbus and we poor Earthlings are Native Americans. Because acknowledging the historical tradition of human greed, exploitation and slaughter isn't a sign that we'd do the very same thing if given the chance.

I find it fitting that aliens are the talk of the water coolers today because of how Ridley Scott is making the press rounds openly talking about his plans for the 3D...

The two biggest trends in Hollywood right now are 3D and babies (and 3D babies, probably), but gaining on their shit-covered heels is the concept of imaginary friends. Between the Drop Dead Fred remake and Mel Gibson's beaver puppet movie is now Seth MacFarlane's hard-r teddy bear thing that Brian wrote about earlier today. Also, despite Spielberg's departure, Fox may still be developing its Harvey redo, and there's New Line's remake of The Orphanage, as well. Oh yeah, and you all saw that trailer for the imaginary super-hero friend movie, Paper Man, right?

Just you wait; soon enough we'll get that in-development Imaginary Barry movie and surprisingly-not-announced-yet remakes of Cloak & Dagger, Pete's Dragon and Little Monsters. Yes, I know the latter two don't exactly involve imaginary friends, but they're close enough, just as is Calvin and Hobbes, the rights to which some studio exec is just dying to get his hands on now.

On Wednesday, The Onion's A.V. Club posted an interview with Chloe Sevigny. Conducted by Sean O'Neal, I think the interview was meant to promote "Barry Munday," but the conversation soon went off in a different direction. As per O'Neal's Q&A format, the interviewer noted "This past season of Big Love has taken a lot of flak for being so over-the-top." A true statement. It's not the universally held position, but it's certainly reflective of the opinion of some percentage of the show's fan base. "It was awful this season, as far as I’m concerned," Sevigny responded. What...

We'll have lots of guests at Fantastic Fest this year, more than ever before. Here are just a few of the many interesting people who'll be joining us this year, in no particular order. We'll continually update our roster so keep an eye on this page.

Filmmakers and Actors

Norihiro Koizumi (Gachi Boy: Wrestling With A Memory)

A young, talented director who is quickly making his mark in the Japanese filmmaking scene. At the tender age of 25, he directed his first major feature-length film, “Midnight Sun.” “Midnight Sun” was not only critically-acclaimed, but became a commercial hit, grossing over 1 billion yen at the Japanese boxoffice. His latest film, “Gachi Boy Wrestling with a Memory,” won the grand prix at the Udine Far East Film Festival.

Nacho Vigalondo (Shorts Program)

Last year at Fantastic Fest noted Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo won the Next Wave competition, later securing domestic distribution for Timecrimes...