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Assassination was to be directed by David Mamet. Then Barry Levinson was hired. And now the legal fireworks are kicking off.

First announced back in late 2023, Assassination is not enjoying a quiet path to production. The project was announced back in 2023 with Barry Levinson at the helm, with the film set to explore ‘the story of how infamous Chicago mobster Sam Giancana arranged the assassination of President John F Kennedy as payback for trying to bring down organised crime after the mob helped put JFK in the White House.’

However, at the time of the project’s announcement, it was mentioned that Levinson had replaced co-writer David Mamet (pictured) in the director’s chair. If today’s report is anything to go by, that transition of power was anything but smooth. Nicholas Celozzi, the film’s other co-writer has now filed a lawsuit against 308, the film’s financiers, accusing them...

When a film makes it all the way to the Academy Awards and takes home the top prize of best picture, a safe assumption to be made is that said movie is probably pretty good. Right? Well, that should be the case, but whatever reason, every once in a while a film sneaks through that just isn't up to snuff and leads future audiences to wonder exactly what the Academy was thinking.

That's the exception, not the rule, however. Most best picture winners are worthy of their title, even if some fans may quibble over what the actual best film of the year was. But even amongst this lofty category, there are films that stand out as the best of the best. If there was to be an Academy Awards: All Stars Edition, these 15 would be the ones that would make the cut. No matter how long ago they were released,...

An indisputable icon of the celluloid, revered for his bravura performances and infectious charisma, Al Pacino’s identity has become an inextricable element in the canon of American cinema. In a career spanning more than half a century, Pacino has cultivated an enviable track record, working with greats like Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, and William Friedkin, to name a few of cinema’s wizards, and producing some of the most excellent performances ever put on screen.

Born Alfredo James Pacino, the South Bronx native started honing his acting chops in theatre before taking the leap into cinema with a small role in “Me, Natalie” (1969). He next surveyed the life of a person with a heroin addiction in “The Panic in Needle Park.” He would then go on to play one of the most popular characters in cinema in “The Godfather,” shooting him to superstardom – all at thirty-two,...

Exclusive: Nicholas Celozzi, a co-writer and producer on the Barry Levinson JFK flick Assassination, has filed a lawsuit against the film’s financier and production outfit 308 US.

Originally filed by Celozzi in a Los Angeles County court in November, the suit will go before a judge in April who will decide whether the legal action can proceed.

Celozzi, an LA-based producer, accuses 308 of multiple contractual breaches. The company contests those claims and has filed a motion to dismiss and has provided a comment below.

The suit is messy and largely born out of several complicated production agreements signed before Levinson’s involvement in the project. April’s hearing will be the latest stage in the months-long legal standoff. The meat and potatoes are as follows.

Assassination is the latest incarnation of a project launched by Celozzi about claims that his great uncle, Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, arranged the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

After William Friedkin’s Cruising spent the better part of the aughts as the subject of earnest, if guarded, revisionist critique, how does the film hold up in our current era of representational politics and trigger warnings? And why does it feel like how you answer that question will determine which side pocket you keep your handkerchief in?

The gay side of Film Twitter had previously treated Friedkin’s 1980 ode to fisting, frottage, and flash cuts with a level of curiosity nearly equal to the fury of the disco era’s gay community. What currency could an undercover police officer’s punk-disco battle with the monsters in his closet possibly have when held against the ironic sense that an avowed sexual assaulter with a fondness for golden showers will soon be the one to usher in a rollback of LGBT gains at every level? But in its day, Cruising was...

Exclusive: 20th Century Studios has boarded an adaptation of Children of the Jungle, with Giannina Scott aboard to produce and Roberto Bentivegna penning the script. Scott will produce through her Cara Films banner alongside Scott Free’s Ridley Scott and President of Film Michael Pruss.

The script is based on investigative journalist Mat Youkee’s book Forty Days in the Jungle and follows the June 2023 rescue of four Indigenous children after the light aircraft carrying them crashed and left them for 40 days in the Colombian Amazon rainforest. Their challenges have been heralded as one of the great survival stories of all time.

Through interviews with the family, members of the Indigenous community and military search teams as well as elders from Colombia’s Amazonian communities, Forty Days in the Jungle recounts the story in the words of its complex young characters. It goes deeper, however, in investigating the brutal history,...

Johnny Depp’s Dior Sauvage Deal ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Johnny Depp locked down the fragrance deal that’ll make your jaw hit the floor. In 2023, Dior threw a massive $20 million+ at him to keep rocking Sauvage for the next three years. That’s not just a win—it’s a straight-up flex. In perspective, Robert Pattinson’s $12 million Dior Homme deal and Brad Pitt’s $7 million Chanel No. 5 pact are now the little leagues.

Dior stood by Depp when things got messy. Even after a U.K. court ruled against him in 2020 in his libel case against The Sun, the brand didn’t back down. While Hollywood distanced itself, Dior leaned in, keeping Depp as the face of its best-selling cologne despite public pressure. That gamble paid off. After he won his 2022 defamation trial against Amber Heard, Sauvage sales skyrocketed. Lvmh CEO Bernard Arnault credited Depp’s image as a...

Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) must be a couple. They’re taking a romantic getaway to an idealistic cabin in a remote area. The two bond over a mishap at a strawberry stand. He makes her a scallop dinner. It’s crazy romantic! After performing the kinkiest sex of their lives, something goes wayward. We begin Oh, Hi! with a disturbing revelation. Iris has done something very wrong, and Isaac is nowhere to be seen. That conclusion comes to light through a series of funny twists and turns that make this a brilliant watch out of Sundance.

Oh, Hi! Sundance Review

After the two engage in Bdsm for the first time and Isaac winds up tied to his bed, he utters the worst truth of his life. Iris and Isaac are not a couple. She’s just another one of his situationships. Being tied up to the bed...

Some genuinely wild names brushed by the Millennium Falcon during George Lucas's search for the right Han Solo in "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope." In another timeline, that scruffy-looking nerf herder could've had the appearance of Al Pacino, Bill Murray (who almost became Batman as well), Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, or even "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer, who once found himself auditioning to portray the hotshot pilot. But before Lucas looked to a very lucky carpenter for the job, an already established young star named Kurt Russell got a call to come in and try visiting a galaxy far, far away. Decades later, Russell's audition for the movie is now available to watch and provides excellent insight into the Solo we could've had.

Taking a look back at the breadth of Russell's acting career, there's no doubt that the charm and swagger needed for Han Solo was in there somewhere.

Why did Keanu Reeves pass on Speed 2? (Photo Credit – Facebook/Prime Video)

Keanu Reeves made one of the smartest career moves ever by giving Speed 2 a hard pass. The first Speed was an absolute adrenaline rush, a steady ride of shambles and outbursts. So when they announced a sequel, everyone just assumed Reeves would be back for more but nope, he slammed the brakes on that one.

Instead of him racing against time, we got Jason Patric as Sandra Bullock’s new on-screen boyfriend. Not precisely something fans were hoping for. Reeves took one look at the script and knew it wasn’t exemplary. So, he trusted his gut and walked away. And guess what? He was right.

Why Keanu Reeves Opted Out of Speed 2

When Speed 2 dropped, everyone presumed Keanu Reeves would be back as Jack Traven. After all, he was a major reason the...

Although Adam Wingard isn’t returning for the Godzilla x Kong sequel, Dan Stevens is planning on sticking around. THR reports that the actor is in talks to reprise his role of Trapper for the new MonsterVerse movie.

Trapper is a Titan veterinarian at Monarch, and memorably replaced Kong’s infected tooth with a metallic one in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The new film is starting to take shape, with Kaitlyn Dever (The Last of Us) recently joining the cast. Plot details are naturally being kept under wraps at this time, but Legendary has teased that the sequel will feature “several new human characters alongside the beloved and iconic Titans Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat.“

As I mentioned above, Wingard will be sitting this one out. He elected to step away to focus on his upcoming action horror thriller, Onslaught. The studio tapped Grant Sputore,...

From Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespearean trilogy Maqbool (based on Hamlet), Omkara (Othello) and Haider (Hamlet), Maqbool is the rawest, most honest and untarnished adaptation.

Maqbool transports us to a threshold of pain and redemption hitherto unknown to Hindi cinema. Because this is Shakespeare’s Macbeth trans-located to Mumbai’s underworld, and because Bhardwaj has selected a dream cast to portray his nightmarish world of crime and retribution, Maqbool takes its emotional content beyond any other film from the genre.

The writing on the wall is so clear, coherent, and redemptive that even Shakespeare would smile indulgently at the artistic liberties Bhardwaj has taken with the original text. Maqbool opens a whole new universe of passion- play, unexplored in the original text. Bhardwaj reveals the politics of lust and passion with a sure-handedness seldom witnessed in Hindi cinema.

Hence, the King from Shakespeare becomes a doddering, paunchy underworld kingpin, Abbaji (Pankaj Kapoor...

A handful of famous actors, including Michael J. Fox, turned down the chance to play Sam Wheat in 1990’s Ghost opposite Demi Moore before Patrick Swayze landed his career-changing role. Fox later told Whoopi Goldberg he made a huge mistake by passing on the movie — “I’m a fucking idiot.”

Paramount turned to other actors as well, reports Far Out. Harrison Ford. Tom Hanks. Kevin Bacon. Even Paul Hogan, hot of Crocodile Dundee, was considered. But one guy who never got a shot? The studio’s biggest movie star: Eddie Murphy. The comedian’s films brought in more than $1.3 billion during the 1980s.

“I deserved for them to come to me first,” Murphy says in the book Off the Record, excerpted by Newsweek in 2007. “That’s how you treat your biggest star. You give him the opportunity to say he’s not interested. I would have been interested in doing Ghost.

by Nathaniel R

Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice © Briarcliff Entertainment

It's that time when you should start voting on the chart polls of "who Should win?" We all know Kieran Culkin has the "supporting" Oscar locked up for his moody insightfulness and purposefully too-much lead performance in A Real Pain. But can we pause for a moment to appreciate that, Category Fraud aside, this is the best Best Supporting Actor lineup we've had in ages. There's not a bad or solid-but-unexciting performance in the bunch, just excellence across the board. Because I was so stunned at the quality of the shortlist, I had to look back through Oscar history to find its equivalent  - a year wherein there's not a single performance nominated that would look bad as a winner. I think you have to go back thirty years to either 1995 or 1993 to find a lineup as consistently strong.

Celebrated playwright and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, known for films like The Social Network and A Few Good Men, shocked the world when a rather absurd email of his made its way to the Internet. What was in the email was an unsettling attitude toward female actors like Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and more. These actresses have shaped Hollywood into what it is today and they are regarded as some of the best names in the industry.

Aaron Sorkin | Credits: Image by: Pruneau, Cc By-sa 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Thus, Aaron Sorkin’s words on how these actresses’ Oscar wins haven’t been as impressive as those of their fellow male actors’, surprised the world. It looks like there is still a long way to go before Hollywood’s sexism problem gets much-needed fixing.

Cate Blanchett’s Oscar win and a New York Times article Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine (2013) | Credits: Sony Pictures Classics...

The Academy Awards committee recently announced their 2025 nominations for the Best Actor category. And boy oh boy, is it going to be cut-throat with the likes of Ralph Fiennes and Timothée Chalamet competing against each other. But talk of fierce competition and we’re often reminded of the 77th Academy Awards, where Jamie Foxx was pitted against veterans like Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, and Johnny Depp.

Jamie Foxx as Max the cab driver in Collateral | image: Paramount Pictures

Yet, the actor of color who was nominated for two categories—Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, ended up emerging victorious in the stiff competition. Despite losing the supporting actor category (which seemed rather easy to win) Jamie Foxx turned the tables and took home the coveted award for Best Actor, leaving DiCaprio, Depp, and Eastwood in the dirt.

Jamie Foxx was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in 2005

Although...

Nominations voting is from January 8-17, 2025, with official Oscar nominations announced January 23, 2025. Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. And finally, the 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Et/ 4:00 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

While the other acting categories have a very clear frontrunner, the Best Actor Oscar race is pretty evenly split between “A Complete Unknown” star Timothée Chalamet and “The Brutalist” star Adrien Brody, with “The Apprentice” star Sebastian Stan coming in at the 11th hour as the dark horse.

Focusing on the former pair of actors, one fascinating element linking the pair is that, were Chalamet to win, he would break Brody’s record for youngest ever Best Actor winner. (The young Oscar nominee is around nine...

Stephen Amell became a household name with his portrayal of Green Arrow in CW’s Arrow. After eight seasons of playing the titular superhero, though, he is ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in Arrow | Credits: The CW

While he already utilized his professional wrestling background with the Starz series Heels, he has bigger ambitions for his career. Once in an interview, he expressed his appreciation for legendary Hollywood directors like Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarantino.

Moreover, he noted that he would love to work with them on projects. Incidentally, even some major A-list actors haven’t had the chance to work with them yet. So it’ll be interesting to see if he manages to pull it off by some stroke of luck.

Stephen Amell wants to work with legendary Hollywood directors

In an interview ahead of Australia’s Supanova Comic...

Did Lady Gaga film a bold scene with Salma Hayek? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Apparently, Lady Gaga and Salma Hayek filmed a “hot” scene that never made it to theaters. Yep, Patrizia Reggiani and her psychic, Pina Auriemma, got steamy, at least in a version of the movie we’ll never see. Gaga spilled the tea, saying, “There’s a whole side of this film that you did not see, where Pina and I developed a fiery relationship.”

Director’s cut, anyone?

The surprise twist wasn’t in the original script. Gaga, fully immersed in her character’s chaotic energy, pitched the idea during filming. “So after Maurizio dies, maybe it gets hot?” she suggested to Hayek. Cue Salma’s hilarious response: “What are you talking about?”

But Ridley Scott, known for pushing boundaries, gave the green light to explore it. Gaga praised him, saying, “This is a testament to [Ridley Scott] as a director,...

In the world of Oscars, achievements are like golden tickets — they’re rare, and the competition is as fierce as a lion’s roar. But every once in a while, an actor breaks through, marking history with a combination of talent, hard work, and, well, destiny. Timothée Chalamet, at just 29 years old, is now one of those rare gems, setting a new standard by becoming the first-ever actor to lead two ‘Best Picture’ nominations in the same year—A Complete Unknown and Dune: Part Two.

Timothée Chalamet in a still from Dune: Part Two | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

This is no ordinary feat. It’s the kind of achievement that stands out like a diamond in a sea of stones. It’s the kind of news that makes you stop scrolling, look twice, and say, “Now that’s something special”.

Timothée Chalamet joins an elite club before 30?

When Timothée Chalamet...

As the excitement around the 2025 Academy Awards builds, there’s one actor who’s making headlines for an achievement that’s completely new to the Oscars. Timothée Chalamet, known for his impressive acting skills and standout roles, is now in the spotlight for something even bigger. This year, he’s achieved something that has never been done before in Oscar history.

Timothée Chalamet in a still from Dune: Part Two | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Despite the legendary careers of actors like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, no one has managed to lead two films nominated for Best Picture in the same year—until now.

Why is Timothée Chalamet’s Oscar achievement so groundbreaking?

The 97th Academy Awards have reached a historic milestone with Timothée Chalamet achieving something no actor has accomplished before. He is now the first actor to star in leading roles in two Best Picture nominees in the same year.

What do Kim Novak, Jim Carrey, John Turturro, and the late Donald Sutherland all have in common? Well, aside from being acclaimed actors, these stars have never (we repeat: never) been nominated for an Academy Award. And that crime is now being celebrated by the annual anti-awards season festival, hosted by the Museum of the Moving Image.

The beloved museum announced its third iteration of the popular “Snubbed” screening series, which reexamines films that have been overlooked by the Academy. The 2025 theme is centered on actors and titled “Snubbed Forever: Great Actors, No Nominations.” The program will run February 1 through March 9, and feature 21 films starring actors who have never been nominated for an Oscar.

Highlights include Kim Novak in the enduring “Vertigo,” John Turturro and John Goodman in “Barton Fink,” Rita Hayworth in “The Lady from Shanghai,” Jim Carrey in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and Danny DeVito in “Batman Returns.

Arrow Video Unveils an Essential 70’s Slasher, Two Japanese Noir Features, and William Friedkin’s Legendary LGBTQ+ Thriller Starring Al Pacino in February’s slate On February 11, Arrow Video takes you to church with the cult classic Alice Sweet, Alice, which receives its global premiere on 4K Uhd. Director Alfred Sole (Pandemonium) tapped a then-unknown Brooke …

The post Arrow Video US – February 2025 Release Schedule appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Social media is inundated with Family Guy memes, and a particular one involving The Godfather resurfaces occasionally.

Seth MacFarlane, creator and star of the long-running animated series, recently took to social media to explain the origins of the “it insists upon itself” meme that fans quote.

“Since this has been trending, here’s a fun fact,” MacFarlane shared on X, the microblogging platform formerly known as Twitter. “‘It insists upon itself’ was a criticism my college film history professor used to explain why he didn’t think The Sound of Music was a great film. First-rate teacher, but I never quite followed that one.”

In Season 4, Episode 27, titled “Untitled Griffin Family History,” Peter Griffin shares with his family that he did not care for The Godfather.

“How can you even say that, Dad?” Peter’s son Chris asks.

Lois adds, “Peter, it’s like the perfect movie.”

“And this is what everyone always says,...

The first movie that Christopher Nolan made for a big Hollywood studio is still the most underrated film of his career — and even the director himself agrees. Ever since his groundbreaking Batman reboot made him a household name, Nolan has practically been a franchise unto himself. Along with Quentin Tarantino, he’s one of the only filmmakers whose name alone can attract huge crowds to movie theaters. No one else could make a blockbuster out of a three-hour biopic of a physicist, but Oppenheimer became Nolan’s highest-grossing non-Batman movie (and third highest-grossing film overall).

Nolan is one of the only directors left who can command a nine-figure budget for an experimental original story. He earned enough trust with Warner Bros. to get them to commit as much money to movies like Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet as they would a reliable comic book movie. Nolan’s next film, a star-studded adaptation of The Odyssey,...

A staple of Hollywood since the earliest days of cinema, gangster crime movies have formed an intrinsic part of popular culture. Several of the genre's most beloved and influential outings have been acclaimed by fans and critics alike, with many of the finest examples lauded as some of the best movies of all time. From the early days of iconic entries like The Public Enemy all the way to more modern standouts like The Departed, gangster flicks have been captivating audiences with their thrilling stories and nuanced examinations of criminality.

Along the way, cinema has witnessed several gangster movies that have defined the genre in their own unique way. Establishing what works best for this brand of film through bold experimentation, many of the best gangster movies bravely took a chance on what was an unproven central premise or creative direction at the time, only to be rewarded in the...

2006 was a good year for Denzel Washington on the big screen, because he starred in two high-grossing, high-quality thrillers: "Deja Vu" and "Inside Man." Just as "Deja Vu" was "Vertigo" as a time-traveling action movie, "Inside Man" was director Spike Lee's 21st century update on Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon."

Written by Richard Gerwitz, "Inside Man" follows a hostage situation during a robbery at a Manhattan bank. Washington plays NYPD hostage negotiator Detective Keith Frazier, squaring off against the robbers' leader, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen). The story didn't begin with Lee (Ron Howard was in talks to direct "Inside Man" first), but he made it his own. "Inside Man" is definitely more of a crowd pleaser than something like "Do The Right Thing," as seen by it also being Lee's highest-grossing film to date, but it's absolutely a Spike Lee joint.

Lee's range as a director comes in...

Mark your calendars, Oscars fans, because the 97th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 2, 2025 on ABC. The annual star-studded ceremony will honor movies released in theaters within the 2024 calendar year of eligibility. AMPAS members will vote on the Oscar winners in 23 categories, including Best Supporting Actor. But who will win? Here at Gold Derby, thousands of users have been making and updating their 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Supporting Actor, so let’s take a look at all of the top contenders in our photo gallery below.

These 25 Best Supporting Actor hopefuls are listed in order of their racetrack odds, which are derived from the combined forecasts of four unique groups: experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, editors who cover awards year-round for this website, top 24 users who had the best accuracy scores last year, and the mass of users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.

The...

Christopher Nolan crafts cinematic puzzles that fry your brain in the best way possible. But even the genius behind Inception and The Dark Knight had his fair share of haters, claiming he’s all brains and no heart. Enter Interstellar — a space odyssey that slapped those critics sideways with one gut-wrenching, soul-baring scene unlike anything Nolan had ever done.

Christopher Nolan | Image by HellaCinema, licenced under Cc-by-sa-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

It’s raw, emotional, and so powerful it almost feels like the movie is winking straight at you through the screen.

Christopher Nolan broke his own rules to deliver Interstellar’s most emotional and unforgettable moment Christopher Nolan with Matt Damon and Matthew McConaughey on the sets of Interstellar | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Christopher Nolan broke his own traditions for a single emotional moment in Interstellar. Released in 2014, the sci-fi masterpiece starred Matthew McConaughey as a father steering through the vastness...

While The Godfather Part II proved itself to be just as critically successful as its predecessor, it surprisingly didn't do as well at the box office. Inspired by the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, The Godfather trilogy depicted the lives of the Corleone mafia family and their involvement in organized crime across the world. The first installment, The Godfather, looks at the family's patriarch, Vito Corleone, and his complicated life with his family and criminal activities. The two sequels explore Michael Corleone's rise to power and attempts to protect his family from his crimes.

Since the movies' release, The Godfather franchise has been ranked as one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, with the first two movies being listed as some of the most successful movies ever made. The Godfather's cast includes Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro, who have all received Oscar nominations for their...

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Few filmmakers had a better 1970s than Sidney Lumet. While he was more prolific than most of the decade's top directors, knocking out 11 movies over a 10-year span, and did find time to helm one of the worst musicals in motion picture history (a badly bungled adaptation of "The Wiz"), when Lumet got ahold of the right material, he made classics like "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon," and "Network."

There isn't a more electric movie in Lumet's oeuvre than "Dog Day Afternoon." Based on a true story, the 1975 critical and commercial hit centers on a bank robbery in Brooklyn carried out by Sonny Wortzik, an amateur crook desperate to pay for his lover's gender-affirming surgery. When the heist quickly goes south, Sonny and his associates find themselves stuck holding hostages while cops swarm the building. The defiant Sonny scrambles to negotiate...

Jeremy Strong accomplished what many actors could not, by playing “the vilest man of the 20th century” in Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice. Although he has previously taken on controversial characters, this particular role presented some hesitation for him.

Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn in The Apprentice | Credit: Briarcliff Entertainment

Strong played the infamous Roy Cohn, a lawyer and political hitman active in the 70s and 80s. Cohn began his career as an attorney, spending 30 years in the legal profession. He is best known publicly as the mentor of Donald Trump, the President of the United States. Throughout his career, Cohn faced multiple charges of witness tampering and professional misconduct.

While The Apprentice actor has portrayed several political roles such as Kendall Roy in Succession which significantly propelled his career. However, he was initially reluctant to take on the portrayal of Roy Cohn.

Jeremy Strong took the risk of playing...

To mark the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live,” putting together 90 minutes of live TV in six days — already a herculean feat — is not enough. In addition, the venerable variety show is flooding the zone with shows of its pop cultural might. On the heels of Jason Reitman’s hagiographic film “Saturday Night” and ahead of next month’s three-hour telecast from Studio 8H comes the four-part docuseries “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night.” Executive produced by Oscar-winner Morgan Neville, the show is the latest prong in NBC’s full-court marketing press to celebrate the anarchic experiment turned established institution. But 50 years in, the legend of Lorne Michaels’ merry circus has already been celebrated, many times over. “SNL50” adds little to this half-century of anecdotes, oral histories and archival footage. Instead, it embellishes around the edges, making use of gimmicky formats and the access that comes with aiding a corporate PR push to dress up old chestnuts.

Few films genres are as iconic as Noir. Recognizable for dramatic lighting, jazzy soundtracks, and a gritty setting, Noir has been transporting viewers to the world of underground crime since its creation in the 1940s. More important than its aesthetic, Noir's morally ambiguous leads embark on investigations of the human spirit and its ability to be corrupted.

Though the era of 1940s Noir has ended, the genre has lived on in modern cinema--influencing many films with its classic themes and visuals. For example, David Lynch's psychological thriller Mulholland Drive, relies on a dreamy jazz soundtrack and classic Noir visuals, while dark comedies like A Simple Favor, revolve around a morally ambiguous lead on a quest to undercover the truth. Ultimately, by incorporating elements of Noir into their projects, these successful films better draw audiences into the story.

Heat (1995) Directed by Michael Mann

Heat

Michael Mann's classic crime thriller...

Let’s rewind to 1994. Speed became an instant classic, throwing us into the high-stakes drama of a bus wired to explode if it dropped below 50 mph. It had it all—especially Keanu Reeves as the heroic cop Jack Traven, Sandra Bullock as the witty passenger Annie Porter, and a plot that kept us hooked.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed (Credits: 20th Century Studios)

Naturally, fans couldn’t wait for a sequel. But then came Speed 2: Cruise Control in 1997. And, well it wasn’t what anyone hoped for. The high-speed bus was swapped for a slow-moving cruise ship, and Reeves didn’t return.

So, why did our beloved Jack Traven ditch the sequel, leaving Annie Porter to awkwardly flirt with a new guy? Turns out, the lead star had some solid reasons, and honestly? He dodged a bullet—or maybe a sinking ship.

Keanu Reeves’ reason for skipping...

Image Source: Warner Bros Al Pacino as the Devil? Now that’s what you call spot-on casting! That’s exactly what 1997’s supernatural thriller The Devil’s Advocate delivered. Packed with mystery, drama, and performances that command your attention, this film remains a cult favorite decades later. Joining Pacino are Keanu Reeves and an award-winning Charlize Theron, creating a trio that brought fire to the screen. The movie wasn’t just a critical hit; it made a whopping $153 million globally. Over 25 years later, it’s still turning heads and enticing new fans to take a walk on the dark side. Inspired by Andrew Neiderman’s 1990 novel, the story revolves around a hotshot Florida lawyer named Kevin Lomax, who’s lured to a high-powered Manhattan law firm offering unimaginable opportunities. But as his wife battles chilling, otherworldly visions, Kevin begins piecing together a terrifying truth — his charming and enigmatic boss, John Milton,...

Sofia Coppola got a lot of negative press for her performance as Mary Corleone in The Godfather Part III, but she’d previously played a small role (literally) in the first movie, too. When Francis Ford Coppola cast his daughter to play one of the lead roles in the final chapter of The Godfather trilogy, he was criticized for a nepotistic bias. Upon the movie’s release in 1990, critics lambasted Sofia Coppola’s work, with some even claiming that her supposedly wooden acting ruined the film.

But not everyone realizes that this wasn’t Sofia Coppola’s first appearance in The Godfather cast. It was her first time playing a major character with speaking lines, but it wasn’t her first time playing a member of the Corleone family in her father’s iconic trilogy. 18 years before she starred in The Godfather Part III, she had appeared alongside Al Pacino...

Julia Roberts is one of the most influential and iconic actresses to have ever gotten success in Hollywood. An Oscar-winner for Erin Brockovich, Roberts is also seen as the one actress who single-handedly bridged the gap between the salaries of male and female actors.

This journey, began with 1990’s Pretty Woman, which paid her just $300k for a role she eventually became iconic for. However, while she would go on to become the most well-paid female actor in the industry, her work on Pretty Woman also brought her backlash from feminists.

Julia Roberts sees Pretty Woman as a ‘fairytale’! Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. | Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Despite her success, Pretty Woman remains a defining yet divisive part of Julia Roberts’ legacy. Released in 1990, the film grossed over $400 million worldwide and earned Roberts her second Oscar nomination. However, the fairytale romance about a Hollywood s*x worker...

Before Black Panther 3, Ryan Coogler is all set to impress the viewers with a horror flick, titled Sinners. He will reunite with his Black Panther villain, Michael B. Jordan, who will be playing a dual role in this film. Coogler’s production company Proximity Media is behind the film and it began development a year ago in January 2025.

Michael B. Jordan in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

The film is based on Coogler’s original idea and he also serves as the writer of the project. The film is reportedly a period genre vampire film. Warner Bros. won the bidding war for the distribution rights, beating Sony and Universal to it. The film recently announced a delay in its release date owing to post-production issues.

Sinners cast: The stars of Ryan Coogler’s horror film Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Li Jun Li in the upcoming film Sinners | Credits: Warner Bros.

Andy Garcia's Vincent Mancini took over from Michael in The Godfather Part III, but a completely different character might have proved a more fitting replacement. Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 gangster classic chronicled the handover of power from Vito Corleone to his son Michael. The story came full circle 18 years later when Michael himself passed the reins over in The Godfather Part III. His eventual successor was Sonny's illegitimate child, Vincent, who had been serving the Corleone family under Joey Zaza but was looking for more responsibility and influence.

Upon proving himself to Michael, Vincent became next in line as the Corleone family don, and the entire Godfather saga concluded with Garcia's newly-crowned protagonist promising to usher in a new era of prosperity for his inherited empire. While Vincent represented a fascinating addition to The Godfather's cast, he was far from the obvious choice to replace Al Pacino's Michael.

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For years, Christopher Nolan has been among the most discussed, praised, and fiercely debated directors in Hollywood. He's the filmmaker with the most movies in IMDb's top 250, he's navigated the industry by tackling an impressive mix of original projects and intellectual property, one of his biggest movies arguably singlehandedly changed the Academy Awards forever, and every new film of his feels like a proper event. (You've likely seen the hype around his recently announced adaptation of "The Odyssey" coming next year.) His filmography has been combed over and argued about wherever cinephiles gather, and members of his passionate, almost cult-like fan base are willing to go to bat for any of his features.

While I don't know if Nolan himself has weighed in about what his best movie is, the director has gone on the record about what he...

In Hollywood, several new directors face rejection from big stars because of a lack of trust and other factors involved in making a film. Denzel Washington, one of the veteran stars of the industry, came to regret his decision.

Brad Pitt as David Mills in 1995’s Se7en | Credits: Arnold Kopelson Productions

It wasn’t just Denzel Washington, however, who passed on David Fincher’s 1995 classic Se7en. Before Brad Pitt, Fincher had met several actors for the role of Detective Mills. He was met with some ludicrous reasons in return.

Gene Hackman passed on David Fincher’s Se7en

David Fincher is a veteran name in Hollywood now, but back in the day, he started out as a humble director just like everyone else. Fincher had his fair share of rejections, especially with a script as uncommon as that of Se7en.

Gene Hackman also passed on the role in Se...

First there was Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend, the 2022 film starring Frank Grillo and written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Moresco (Crash). Then came the higher-octane Ferrari, the 2023 biopic directed by Michael Mann, with Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley. Now, in Rome’s famed Cinecittà studios, another legendary Italian supercar manufacturer is being immortalized in Moresco’s Maserati: The Brothers, with Italian actor Michele Morrone playing one of the three siblings who founded the trident brand in 1914. (Anthony Hopkins, Andy Garcia and Jessica Alba also star.)

The producer behind all three films, 37-year-old Italian Canadian Andrea Iervolino, is bringing these automotive origin stories to the screen at a time when Hollywood is going motor mad. Witness the forthcoming F1 starring Brad Pitt, or the recently announced Austin Butler and Tom Holland movie American Speed, or the fresh rumors that Tom Cruise plans to reboot his 1990 NASCAR movie Days of Thunder.

It began with the spark of a candle in 1941 related to the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons. Wait, a comic book genre?! No one was certain what to think about pages coming to life. The comic book genre has been under siege during "Awards Season" since 1978 when Christopher Reeve made the world believe a man could fly.

Recently, a different Bat signal had been emblazoned across Hollywood's sky, and it is solid gold. Can we stop hating on this genre now?

It probably won't happen as long as people like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Roland Emmerich, and David Cronenberg are helming Hollywood. They're so influential and vociferous against the comic book genre that it tends to make the award bureaus reconsider a person acting in spandex really isn't "acting." As if cosplay doesn't involve imagination.

And so, hate continues against any visual entertainment from comic books and graphic novels.

Johnny Depp’s second directorial venture, Modì – Three Days on the Wing of Madness, was released in theaters last year. It came 27 years after his debut directorial venture, The Brave. If you haven’t heard of such a film, it was probably because Depp refused to release the film in the United States after the critical reception of the film was negative.

Johnny Depp in a still from The Brave | Credits: Majestic Films International

The 1997 film saw Depp also take on the lead role and cast Marlon Brando in a supporting role. He admitted that The Brave was a challenging film to make in more than one way. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor didn’t want to make the same mistake of taking on too much work and decided to stay only behind the camera for Modì.

Johnny Depp did not want to release his bad directorial debut film in the U.

Irish actor Colm Meaney (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, In the Land of Saints & Sinners) will receive the Irish Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his “outstanding contribution to the Irish and international screen industry,” the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) said Friday.

“To say I was surprised when I got the news that IFTA wanted to give me this award would be an understatement. I was truly shocked,” Meaney said. “To be asked to join this long list of very illustrious previous recipients is a huge honor, and I’m thrilled and looking forward to a good night in Dublin.”

IFTA lauded his career, spanning five decades, noting that it has seen him “work with renowned filmmakers, including John Huston, Robert Redford, Michael Mann, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Alan Parker, Warren Beatty and Ron Howard, and alongside actors such as Al Pacino,...

Christopher Nolan. The name alone sends shivers down the spine of movie buffs. From perplexing plots to flabbergasting visuals, Nolan’s flicks set the bar for storytelling.

His blend of gripping plots and deep themes? Unmatched. And those box office numbers? A staggering $6 billion. Yeah, the success speaks for itself.

We have seen that 2023 was a golden year for him. Oppenheimer, the historical thriller about the creation of the atomic bomb, shattered records and became a cultural moment. But did you know it’s only his third highest-grossing Nolan film? That’s the magic of the British filmmaker.

Christopher Nolan

He weaves mind-bending tales that dive deep into life’s big questions—yet somehow, everyone still shows up. Hard to believe, but Nolan pulls it off every time.

Chris got a way of doing things that no one else can match. Come along for a tempest ride through his films,...

Ah, what a relief after the year-end self-importance of The Brutalist and Nosferatu to have some good January pulp in our filmgoing lives again. Seven years in the making, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera finally brings us back into the world of weary, hard-drinking cop Big Nick (Gerard Butler) and aspirant master-thief Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.). A film that even its biggest fans gave the backhanded compliment of “douchebag Heat,” the original Den of Thieves strangely endured––if partly due to a mixture of ambition and sleaze, almost like the grizzled anti-heroes at its center.

The previous film ended with a bloody, foiled Los Angeles heist leaving Nick on the trail of Donnie, who had fled to London after being revealed as something of a secret criminal mastermind. The sequel opens on an airplane-diamond heist in Antwerp, Donnie now part of a highly skilled, mostly Slavic team of thieves called The Panthers.

Imagine the iconic diner sit-down scene between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Michael Mann’s Heat stretched out to feature length and you’ll get some idea of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.

Admittedly, there’s a terrific action sequence in director-screenwriter Christian Gudegast’s follow-up to his overlong 2018 heist thriller. Unfortunately, the superbly orchestrated car chase/shootout, taking place both in a tunnel and on winding mountain roads, occurs nearly two hours into this equally bloated sequel’s 144-minute running time. Until then, you spend a lot of time watching the characters luxuriate in the European settings via consuming copious amounts of croissants, gelato and tiny cups of coffee.

Indeed, watching Gerard Butler, reprising his role of tough cop “Big Nick” O’Brien, struggle to learn the proper pronunciation of the word “croissant” is one of the more interesting elements of this formulaic if slickly filmed movie...

Robin Williams’ performance as the antagonist in Christopher Nolan’s harrowing Insomnia earned the comedian some of the best reviews of his career. “Williams reminds us that he is a considerable dramatic talent,” wrote Roger Ebert. Slate’s David Edelstein called his performance “shockingly effective,” while Empire said, “Williams delivers his best straight performance yet.”

But you can’t expect a guy like Williams to keep a straight face for long. Between takes, the fast-riffing comedian broke into his usual antics, bouncing off the walls and entertaining the tech folks with improvised characters and celebrity impressions. But one guy on set wished Williams would have given it a rest. That’s director Nolan, who was trying to create a moody murder mystery while Williams was telling penis jokes.

“He was very much Robin Williams,” Nolan told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “He likes to perform. He could see I wasn’t receptive to his comedy between takes,...