News

This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network: legendary heroes, barrel-chested crooks, metal-clad cops and much more. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

Podcast-616

Excelsior! That’s the only word to describe Hugh McStay and guest Kelechi Ehenulo discussing Marvel’s latest big hitter, Fantastic Four: First Steps…

Writers on Film

John Bleasdale has a brand new book out, Darkness Visible: The Cinema of Jonathan Glazer, so he sits down to discuss Glazer’s 2000 drama Sexy Beast with guest Kaleem Aftab…

Vampire Videos

The trudge through the Underworld series continues apace for Dan Owen and Hugh McStay, joined by guest Kim Morrison, to discuss 2012 sequel Awakening…

We Are Starfleet

A trip to the holodeck lies in store for Ashley Thomas and Craig McKenzie, joined by guest Earl Green, to discuss Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3×04 ‘A Space Adventure Hour’…

At the Movies in the 90s

Fancy buying this for a dollar?...

There are movie lines, and then there are movie moments—those rare, unforgettable exchanges that define a character, a relationship, and sometimes an entire franchise. In The Empire Strikes Back, this happens when Princess Leia tells Han Solo, “I love you.” Without missing a beat, Han replies, “I know.”

It’s a line that has lived rent-free in pop culture for over 40 years. It's often quoted, memed, and even printed on everything from mugs to wedding bands. Aside from "No, I am your father" and "May the force be with you", it's arguable the most memorable line in Star Wars. We couldn't imagine Han saying anything else in that moment.

But here’s what many fans don’t know: that line wasn’t in the original script. Harrison Ford improvised it—and Star Wars was never the same.

The original script had something very different

During the filming of The Empire Strikes Back,...

George Lucas may be one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema, but according to Star Wars actor Liam Neeson, the legendary filmmaker never actually enjoyed directing.

In an interview with GQ, Neeson offered a surprisingly candid insight into Lucas’s creative process during the filming of The Phantom Menace. He said,

George [Lucas] doesn’t like directing. He told me that. He’d finish a scene and say Natalie, a little bit faster. Liam, a little bit faster. Editing is where he starts to enjoy the process, but actually directing the actors he told me he doesn’t like it.

While Lucas’s groundbreaking innovations in visual effects, world-building, and sound design transformed Hollywood, his passion clearly lay behind the camera, particularly in the editing room, where he could shape the story on his own terms.

Neeson further noted that it was only during the post-production process that Lucas came alive creatively.

“No, I am your father.”

There are few lines in cinema history as instantly recognizable as Darth Vader’s revelation in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s become such a part of pop culture that people who haven’t seen a single Star Wars movie know the quote by heart.

As jaw-dropping as “No, I am your father” was (and is), it wasn’t even the biggest twist in Esb. That honor goes to something far more subversive, especially for a 1980 Memorial Day blockbuster. This was something that shook audiences at a structural level.

The heroes lose.

Before Empire, sequels, especially in big genre franchises, didn’t typically do well at the box office, and they certainly didn’t have the good guys come in second place.

Look at sequels from the same era, like Superman II or Rocky II. The Superman sequel ends with Clark defeating Zod, reclaiming his powers,...

Kenneth Colley, the revered British actor best known to Star Wars fans as the fan-favorite villain Admiral Piett, has died at the age of 87. The news was confirmed by his longtime agent Julian Owen via a statement, which noted that Colley had been admitted to the hospital after a fall injured his arm. While in care, he contracted Covid, which quickly developed into pneumonia and saw him lose his life, surrounded by friends, and peacefully. The full statement can be found below:

“He had been admitted after a fall with an injured arm, however he quickly contracted Covid which developed into pneumonia. He passed away peacefully with friends at his bedside. Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years. Ken continually worked on stage, film and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian to evil...

What makes a movie rewatchable? An interesting story? Compelling characters? Strong performances? Humor? Quotable lines? A truly rewatchable movie will have all of these and a little extra. We’re talking about the type of movies that you can throw on the TV when you’re having a bad day and instantly feel a little better. The type of movie that grabs your attention as you walk through the room and immediately distracts you from whatever you were doing. The type of movie that you have to watch, no matter how many times you’ve seen it before.

We took on the impossible task and compiled our list of the 25 most rewatchable movies of all time and listed them in chronological order of release. It doesn’t mean that they’re the greatest movies ever made (that’s a different list that you can check out here), it just means that they have that special,...

Among all the gritty action movies of the 1980s that featured big men with big muscles, a new hero emerged in 1987 to take the world by storm. Part man, part machine, and all cop, he was the saving grace of a futuristic Detroit on the brink of social and financial collapse. Showing no mercy to criminals and urging kids to stay out of trouble, his name was Robocop, and he spawned an entire franchise of movies that are hitting free streaming tomorrow, July 1.

Per Tubi, all three Robocop films will be available to watch for free in just a matter of hours, so you can relive all the fun, excitement and violence of the original trilogy, even if Robocop 2 and Robocop 3 paled in comparison to the first movie. As perhaps one of the most quotable films ever made, Robocop went on to be regarded as one of the...

Scream Factory is releasing limited edition SteelBook 4K Uhd + Blu-ray editions of RoboCop 2, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Prince of Darkness, and Ghosts of Mars exclusively through Amazon.

RoboCop 2 will be released on July 15.

The 1990 sci-fi action sequel is directed by Irvin Kershner (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) and written by comic book legend Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns) and Walon Green (Eraser).

Peter Weller returns to star with Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Tom Noonan, Belinda Bauer, and Gabriel Damon.

Disc 1 – 4K Uhd:

4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative In Dolby Vision (Hdr-10 Compatible) Audio: DTS-hd Master Audio 5.1 Surround & 2.0 Stereo Audio Commentary With Author/CG Supervisor Paul M. Sammon Audio Commentary With The Makers Of “RoboDoc: The Creation Of RoboCop” Documentary – Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths And Eastwood Allen

Disc 2 – Blu-ray:

4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative Audio: DTS-hd Master Audio 5.1 Surround & 2.0 Stereo Audio...

Hi, I’m Chucky. Wanna play? Chucky remains one of the most iconic slasher villains ever, a full two-and-a-half feet of terror, quips and clever kills that have kept viewers coming back since Child’s Play was released in 1988. And while TV series Chucky has gotten the ax (or was it an umbrella?), the legacy of the character is forever. And we have Brad Dourif to credit there, having voiced Chucky across seven films and 24 episodes. Come to think of it, where did that distinct voice come from?

Brad Dourif – who has since retired from acting with the sole exception of any future Child Play endeavors – says he found the soul (so to speak) of Chucky by embracing the true feeling of the films. “At first I kind of worked on a Chicago accent…and then I thought: ‘You know what? This is camp sh*t. Don’t make this too real.

Les Dilley, the Oscar-winning art director and production designer, has died. He was 84.

Dilley died on May 20 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his family said. “Les’s legacy lives on in the many iconic films he helped bring to life for over six decades and in his family home he personally built as an homage to his work. His love for the motion picture business was evident to the very end. When he wasn’t on set, he enjoyed constructing things in his workshop at home, playing ice hockey, and a good cup of tea. In addition to his incredible work ethic, quirky British humor, and love of life, he was a dedicated and loving husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. He will be greatly missed,” the family said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

Dilley worked on 100 film and TV projects over his 60 year career,...

Ivor Leslie ‘Les’ Dilley, the Oscar-winning production designer of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), has died at age 84.

A rep for the art director told Deadline the Dilley died on Tuesday, May 20 from complications with Alzheimer’s disease, surrounded by his wife and family.

“Les’ legacy lives on in the many iconic films he helped bring to life for over six decades and in his family home he personally built as an homage to his work,” Dilley’s family said in a statement. “His love for the motion picture business was evident to the very end. When he wasn’t on set, he enjoyed constructing things in his workshop at home, playing ice hockey, and a good cup of tea. In addition to his incredible work ethic, quirky British humour, and love of life, he was a dedicated and loving husband,...

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is celebrating its 45th anniversary. The film is widely considered to have changed cinema forever.

Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian, recently reflected on his time with the franchise and has nothing but good memories. "Working on The Empire Strikes Back was like stepping into a dream - an adventure in every sense," he told the New York Post. "George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, and the entire team created a world so rich and real that it was impossible not to get swept away. I knew it was something special even then, but none of us could have predicted the lasting impact it would have."

The idea of an army of fans celebrating the 45th anniversary may have seemed unlikely when the film was released, but that's exactly what happened. According to Williams, the film resonated "because it's not just about...

Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises but has often been a hit or a miss with its entries post the original trilogy. While the prequel trilogy has largely been divisive, only a few of its post-Disney offerings such as The Mandalorian, Rogue One, and Andor have received unanimous praise. The prequels still remain one of the most polarizing works in Hollywood.

Creator George Lucas took complete creative control over the franchise with the prequel trilogy, all three of which he wrote and directed. The filmmaker reportedly had the idea long back, even during the filming of the original trilogy. He reportedly offered the role of a Jedi space witch to popular B-movie actress Sybil Danning.

Sybil Danning was going to play a Jedi Witch in the Star Wars prequels A still from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Credits: Lucasfilm

George Lucas’ prequel trilogy in Star Wars was an event.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This May, Hulu is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the highly anticipated return of Nine Perfect Strangers to the much-anticipated streaming release of Pamela Anderson‘s The Last Showgirl. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Hulu this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the seven best films that are coming to Hulu in May 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Attack the Block (May 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91% Credit – Optimum Releasing

Attack the Block is a British sci-fi comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish. The 2011 film is set on a council estate in South London, and it follows a group of teenagers as they fight against alien invaders to save themselves. Attack the Block stars John Boyega,...

As Hollywood hurtled toward the 1970s, the American film industry was in the midst of a revolution. The old studio moguls, who'd been flailing throughout the '60s to slake Baby Boomer audiences' thirst for movies that spoke to their generation, were being replaced by younger executives who understood the future of their business hinged on being able to palpably connect with this massive cohort.

As envelope-shredding movies like "Easy Rider," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Graduate" became runaway blockbusters, the era's biggest directors and stars spied an opportunity to obtain greater creative and financial control of their movies. Since even the young execs were scrambling to figure out why Boomers flocked to an adaptation of a publishing sensation like "Love Story," but avoided, say, the film of John Updike's bestseller "Rabbit, Run," striking deals with artists who seemed to have their finger on the pulse of this generation, or...

Sad news for Star Wars fans today as Clive Revill, best known as the original voice of the villainous Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back, has died at the age of 94. Over a prolific career, the actor made many appearances on stage and screen, and his passing is the loss of another star from a generation that gave the world some pioneers of modern cinema. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Revill died March 11 at a care facility in Sherman Oaks following a long battle with dementia.

Born in 1929, Revill showed a love of acting at a young age and attended many schools and colleges on his way to a professional career which began in England. Appearing in many West End productions, the actor became a powerhouse performer in both modern – at the time – and Shakespearean roles, lending his voice to characters of both dramatic and comedic inclination.

In the 1960s and 1970s,...

Actor Clive Revill, known in part for his work on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Revill died on March 11 while at a care facility in Sherman Oaks, California. According to his daughter, Kate Revill, her father died following a battle with dementia. He was 94 years old.

Revill is known to Star Wars fans for his role in the original cut of 1980's Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. After he worked with director Irvin Kerschner on 1966's A Fine Madness, Revill was called upon to record some dialogue to be used for the voice of the emperor, in which the character is presented as a holographic projection. In the next movie, Return of the Jedi, Ian McDiarmid took over the role of the emperor, and in the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back, McDiarmid's version was used to...

Clive Revill, the New Zealand native who after being recruited to be an actor by Laurence Olivier starred on Broadway, appeared in two films for Billy Wilder and provided the original voice of the evil Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back, has died. He was 94.

Revill died March 11 at a care facility in Sherman Oaks after a battle with dementia, his daughter, Kate Revill, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The extremely versatile Revill played cops in Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), starring Olivier, and Jack Smight’s Kaleidoscope (1966), starring Warren Beatty; not one but two characters (a Scotsman and an Arab) in Joseph Losey’s Modesty Blaise (1966); and a physicist investigating strange goings-on at a haunted mansion in John Hough’s The Legend of Hell House (1973), starring Roddy McDowall.

A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Revill also appeared seven times on Broadway and received Tony nominations for...

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back will be screened at the 16th TCM Classic Film Festival on April 24, presented by George Lucas.

Via Deadline, The Empire Strikes Back will be screened on opening night for the film's 45th Anniversary, as part of the festival's theme of “Grand Illusions: Fantastic Worlds on Film.”

The festival's host, Ben Mankiewicz says, "Empire not only dazzled and delighted Star Wars fans, it pushed the boundaries of moviemaking, further deepening its characters and expanding the most popular cinematic universe of all time."

The Empire Strikes Back is directed by Irvin Kershner and stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Jeremy Bulloch, James Earl Jones, and Alec Guinness, to name a few. It remains one of the most popular Star Wars films to date and includes what could be the greatest plot twists in cinema history. However, the...

Stephen King can easily be considered the king of the horror genre, having written several chilling stories. His novels are filled with eerie and unforgettable details and characters. But what many might not know is that one of the scariest villains in It was actually inspired by someone from Star Wars.

Stephen King | Credits: Kevin Payravi | Cca 4.0/Wikimedia Commons

This character was none other than Mrs. Kersh, and while both movies are quite different from one another, the author has a very special Star Wars connection that he used to name the It villain.

How Star Wars inspired one of the most scariest It villains out there?

When it comes to crafting some of the most eerie and scary books out there, Stephen King reigns supreme. King has penned some of the most terrifying stories out there and can easily be one of the most celebrated authors of our time.

Will Amazon’s 007 franchise ever take center stage again?

Thinking about this, I flashed back to a conversation with an actor friend telling me, “I’ve just been offered a big payday as the next James Bond but I can’t get over the feeling that his every line has been said before – and maybe better.”

I was talking with John Gavin who, instead of replacing Sean Connery, opted for a lower salary as Ambassador to Mexico. “Does the world really need another Bond?” he asked.

I thought of Gavin this week because his 1983 question is again being bandied about at all-powerful Amazon, which has seized control of the franchise after the 60-year reign of the Broccoli dynasty. Bond has endured 25 iterations grossing a total of $7.8 billion worldwide, with its most recent title three years ago appropriately titled No Time to Die.

Jeff Bezos is publicly asking “Who will be the next Bond?...

Quick LinksSean Connery Is Still the Golden Standard of James BondWho Is Sean Connery in The Rock?Why The Rock Works as Connery's Final Bond Movie

There are a few icons in fiction that have transcended mediums and generations and the most famous would arguably be James Bond, Agent 007. James Bond was created by Ian Fleming in 1953 and since then he has been a mainstay in pop culture with countless books and films. Daniel Craig was the most recent actor who was given a license to kill (onscreen) the first and most famous was certainly Sean Connery. Connery brought James Bond to life for seven movies between 1962 and 1983, yet his greatest Bond movie wasn't even part of the 007 franchise, but a popular theory proves that it belongs among them.

The Rock was a 1996 Michael Bay movie that starred Nic Cage, Ed Harris, and Sean Connery. Nic Cage played a biochemist...

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" is one of the best things to happen to "Star Wars" since George Lucas tapped Irvin Kershner to direct "The Empire Strikes Back" and Lawrence Kasdan to write it. Coming off the success of the still visually stunning "Clone Wars" micro-series by maestro Genndy Tartakovsky, "The Clone Wars" took all the good ideas and concepts Lucas introduced in the prequel trilogy — yes, there are some great ideas here, even in "Attack of the Clones" — and gave them enough time to properly breathe and develop over time.

The result remains some of the best storytelling in all of "Star Wars." It's a show that gave us one of the best characters in "Star Wars" in the form of Ahsoka Tano, turned the faceless clone army into a group of dozens of fleshed-out and complex characters, and even expanded upon the politics of the Separatists and the titular conflict,...

Coming in hot with the hot takes! Controversy ahead!

The commonly accepted wisdom among "Star Wars" fans is that Irvin Kershner's 1980 film "Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back" is the best film in the "Star Wars" canon. Many appreciate its relatively dour tone and po-faced sense of panic. "Empire" carried over the characters from "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" and took them more seriously. In George Lucas' original 1977 film, the characters played out as broad archetypes. In "Empire," they were depicted as depressed, struggling, injured, panicked, or standing on the cusp of wisdom. They became deeper and more human.

Also, "Empire" expanded the role of fan-favorite character Darth Vader from a threatening lieutenant into the right-hand man of the Emperor (who was played by Elaine Baker and voiced by Clive Revill in the original version of "Empire" before Ian McDiarmid replaced them both...

Darth Vader is arguably one of the most memorable characters created by George Lucas for his epic space opera franchise Star Wars. While the character was introduced as a villain, the second installment, The Empire Strikes Back revealed an important twist about Vader that remains one of the biggest reveals in Lucas’ grand plan for the original trilogy.

David Prowse played Darth Vader in Star Wars (Credit: Lucasfilm).

According to reports, actor David Prowse who physically portrayed Vader in the movies ended up allegedly leaking the plot details during a fan interaction. Prowse’s reveal is arguably the greatest instance of an actor leaking spoilers, trumping the likes of Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo. Here is what you need to know about Prowse reportedly spoiling a major Darth Vader twist.

Darth Vader actor David Prowse allegedly spoiled major Star Wars twist

Actor David Prowse was responsible for portraying the menacing...

Did iconic directors refuse to helm Star wars prequel? (Photo Credit – Wikipedia)

Well, guess what? They all said no. Why? Because sometimes even legends don’t want to mess with the mythos. Ron Howard spilled the galactic tea in a 2015 Happy Sad Confused podcast interview. Lucas had approached Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Howard (Apollo 13 genius) with an offer no filmmaker could refuse—or so you’d think.

But all three turned him down. Howard revealed, “They all said the same thing: ‘George, you should do it.’ I don’t think anybody wanted to follow up that act at the time. It was an honor, but it would’ve been too daunting.”

This wasn’t Lucas’s first rodeo with delegation. After a grueling experience directing A New Hope, he let Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand handle The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. His plan for the prequels?...

Sean Connery's James Bond films have a significant place in movie history, kicking off the long-running franchise in the early 1960s that has spanned decades with a total of 26 (1 being unofficial) Bond movies to date. Connery is arguably the most important actor in the franchise, being the first of six actors so far to take up the mantle of the iconic 007. His first appearance as the character was in Dr. No in 1962, which was also the first adaptation of the landmark novels by Ian Fleming.

Following his first film as James Bond, Connery starred in four more 007 films in the '60s, retiring briefly from the character, only to return in 1971. He finally came back once more in 1983 for Never Say Never Again, which officially marked the end of his career as 007. Not only was Sean Connery one of the most important James Bond actors, but he was also one of the best,...

A good director is one of the most reliable indicators that a movie will be worth watching, but there can also be surprises when a director creates just one truly great movie. It's often the case that a successful movie can be the beginning for a director, and they will go on to create more and more. This isn't always what happens, unfortunately, as there have been plenty of one-hit-wonder directors over the years.

Sometimes, a director simply captures lightning in a bottle for one outstanding movie, but they can't replicate the results on other projects. Other times, their one-hit-wonder status is due to factors beyond their control, like if they don't get given the right opportunities or if their projects keep hitting stumbling blocks. Some classic movies including King Kong, The Empire Strikes Back and Donnie Darko represent the only big hits of their director's careers.

Irvin Kershner Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back...

When George Lucas started the Star Wars saga in 1977, neither Lucas nor audiences knew how big the franchise would become. The original Star Wars movie (later renamed Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) was a monumental success, due in no small part to its revolutionary use of visual effects. The success of the first movie allowed Lucas to independently finance the next two movies of the Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. Later, the prequel trilogy would bring a new wave of visual effects technology to Star Wars, allowing Lucas to expand his world-building.

The emergence of new technologies after the release of the original Star Wars trilogy inspired Lucas to return to these movies to further enhance them. 1997 saw the release of the Star Wars Special Editions, which added new shots,...

Three of the James Bond movies were remakes of previous Bond films, and these remakes include some of the absolute best (and absolute worst) of 007s on-screen adventures. Remaking past Bond movies might start becoming more common in the next couple of iterations of the franchise, because the producers have just about run out of Ian Fleming stories to adapt. Since very few of the Bond movies have actually stuck to the source material that gave them their titles, the next incarnation of the Bond series could see Eon going back and adapting Flemings novels more faithfully.

But Eon (and other producers) have been readapting Flemings works since long before they ran out of new ones to turn into movies. Casino Royale the very first Bond novel has been adapted for the screen a grand total of three times, and each version has been vastly different than the last. When...

Toian Matchinga, who guest-starred three times on the 1960s CBS series The Wild Wild West and appeared on such other shows as Death Valley Days, I Dream of Jeannie and The Odd Couple, has died. She was 82.

Matchinga, who later in her acting career went by her birth name, Caryn Matchinga, died Sunday of natural causes at home in Belmont, Massachusetts, her family announced.

In films, Matchinga appeared for Don Siegel in Madigan (1968), for Irvin Kershner in Up the Sandbox (1972) and NBC’s Raid on Entebbe (1977) and, in her final onscreen role, for Costa-Gavras in Mad City (1997).

The Ohio native booked gigs on The Wild Wild West, which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, in 1965, 1967 and 1969. Her résumé also includes episodes of The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Rat Patrol, The Flying Nun, The Big Valley, Rango, Ellery Queen and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Caryn Lee Matchinga was born in Painesville,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSQueer.Mubi has canceled its annual Turkish film festival—Mubi Fest Istanbul—after the Kadıköy District Governorate of Istanbul barred a screening of the opening film, Luca Guadagnino’s Queer (2024), citing its “provocative content.”During Warner Bros. Discovery’s quarterly earnings call, CEO David Zaslav waxes optimistic about Donald Trump’s reelection, arguing that it “may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that…would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed.” Meanwhile, other industry execs share concerns about the impact of high tariffs on the international film market.Multiple cinematography organizations have condemned an op-ed penned by Marek Żydowicz, the founder and CEO of Camerimage, the Polish film festival.

Jonathan Haze had over 40 screen acting credits to his name, with many of those credits being earned on Roger Corman productions – and the one credit that stands out among all others came when Haze took on the role of Seymour Krelborn in Corman’s 1960 man-eating plant classic The Little Shop of Horrors. We lost Corman earlier this year, when he passed away at the age of 98. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that we’ve lost Haze as well. His daughter Rebecca informed them that Haze passed away at his home in Los Angeles this past Saturday at the age of 95.

A cousin of drummer Buddy Rich, Haze was born with the name Jack Aaron Schachter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1929. He worked the stage for Rich and was Josephine Baker’s stage manager for two years before he got into acting. He hitchhiked to L.A. and got a...

Jonathan Haze, who starred for Roger Corman as the flower shop assistant Seymour Krelborn in the original The Little Shop of Horrors, just one of two dozen films he made with the B-movie legend, has died. He was 95.

Haze died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, Rebecca Haze, told The Hollywood Reporter.

A cousin of drummer Buddy Rich, Haze was a valuable and versatile member of Corman’s repertory company from 1954 — when he acted in The Fast and the Furious and Monster From the Ocean Floor — until 1967, when he appeared in The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and served as an assistant director on The Born Losers.

In one of his more noteworthy turns, Haze portrayed one of the three teenagers who stumble upon $250,000 worth of heroin and become dealers in Warner Bros. drama Stakeout on Dope Street (1958), the first feature directed by Irvin Kershner.

The Pittsburgh...

Generally speaking, the first director Star Wars fans think of when contemplating the franchise is the man who created it, George Lucas. It's pretty safe to say, however, that Lucas's films are far from being the most celebrated in the franchise. That honor belongs to another man named Irvin Kershner, who directed The Empire Strikes Back. In terms of batting record, that's about as good as it gets for Star Wars. However, many fans are not aware that Irvin Kershner also directed a James Bond film starring one of cinema's biggest stars.

1983 was a weird year in the history of James Bond. Not one but two movies starring the suave secret agent hit theaters, Octopussy starring Roger Moore, and Never Say Never Again, which boasted a returning Sean Connery to the role that turned him into a superstar. Neither film wound up leaving much of an impact on the franchise itself,...

Star Wars has always been a box office juggernaut ever since it began in 1977, but even the legendary sci-fi franchise has faced competition from other blockbusters over the decades. Star Wars' inflation-adjusted box office earnings are staggeringly high: only two of the 12 theatrically-released films fall below $1 billion when adjusted for inflation. Most Star Wars movies became the highest-grossing films for the year they were released, and absolutely blew their competition out of the water. There were some entries to the saga that were outperformed, however, and even the high earners had competition to deal with.

There are quite a few ingredients in the recipe for box office success. Making an entertaining movie is the most important aspect, but things like marketing, target audiences, and release dates are also important. Sometimes, picking the wrong release date can put a movie in direct competition with another film and end up hurting both,...

Across the Star Wars saga, all kinds of legendary filmmakers have come out to play – from George Lucas kicking it all off (alongside Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand), to Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams in the sequel era, and the likes of Jon Favreau, Bryce Dallas Howard, Carl Weathers, Robert Rodriguez, and Kogonada helming episodes of the streaming series. But even by Star Wars standards, upcoming series Skeleton Crew – a galactic pirate adventure, in which four suburban kids get lost in the vastness of space and have to find their way home – boasts a particularly stellar roster of filmmakers.

Jon Watts – of the Spider-Man MCU trilogy – devised the show along with his longtime collaborator and friend Christopher Ford, and together the pair assembled an who’s-who of directing talent: Bryce Dallas Howard and Twisters' Lee Isaac Chung return after their Mandalorian episodes; longtime Star Wars devotee David Lowery (The Green...

George Lucas campaigned for one particular performance in The Empire Strikes Back to be nominated for an Academy Award, but sadly it was not meant to be. The Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as the best installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, if not the entire Skywalker saga. It elevated the ground-breaking narrative and cinematic techniques pioneered by the first Star Wars film later retitled A New Hope and changed everything we thought we knew about Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and, most of all, the Force.

One integral new character introduced in The Empire Strikes Back was the green alien Yoda. Now an iconic Star Wars figure one whose life experiences have influenced multiple generations of Jedi and Star Wars storytelling Yoda trained Luke in the ways of the Force after Obi-Wan Kenobis death, giving Luke the tools he needed to eventually defeat Emperor Palpatine and...

Han Solo is one of Star Wars' most beloved, iconic characters, and 15 quotes in particular are his very best. Harrison Ford brought Han Solo to life in A New Hope, and Han has since become among the most popular characters in all Star Wars movies and TV shows. Not only did Han Solo play a pivotal role in one of the most important periods of the Star Wars timeline, but he was also a charming, witty character who played opposite Luke's wide-eyed innocence perfectly.

Even after the original trilogy, however, Han continued to be a fan-favorite figure in Star Wars. In fact, while the sequels are unfortunately still considered some of Star Wars' worst movies, Harrison Ford's return as Han Solo (however short-lived) was almost universally celebrated. Throughout Han Solo's appearances in the Star Wars original and sequel trilogies, these 15 quotes are his very best.

"And I Thought They Smelled...

George Lucas created one of the most imaginative film worlds out there at a time when technological advancement in films was still miles away. However, the creative process also took a toll on Lucas and he was open about the stress that filming Star Wars caused him. He even revealed that the long gap of nearly 16 years between the original and prequel series was a deliberate move because of two major reasons.

George Lucas | Credits: nicolas genin, licensed under Cc By-sa 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lucas stepped down from directing duties after the first film in 1977. After handing over the director’s role to Irvin Kershner, Lucas focused solely on developing his special effects company Ilm. Lucas avoided taking further stress when he decided not to direct Return of the Jedi as well.

George Lucas Revealed The Real Reason Why Original And Prequel Star Wars Came 16 Years Apart A still...

Never Say Never Again may be the strangest film in the entire James Bond franchise due to some unusual licensing agreements that allowed Warner Bros. to make their own version of the Ian Fleming novel Thunderball, which had already been adapted into a film starring Sean Connery in 1965. While Connery had officially retired from the role of 007 after his role in Diamonds Are Forever, he was lured back to star in Never Say Never Again, which was ironically released the same year that the Roger Moore Bond film Octopussy was also set to debut. Never Say Never Again wasnt much of a comeback for Connery, as there was little that director Irvin Kershner was able to do with the material that hadnt already been done better in Thunderball. That being said, Connery once revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson that an intense underwater scene made him very, very...

Irvin Kershner, the director of The Empire Strikes Back, was once willing to direct one of the movies in the prequel trilogy, and his take on Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones could have been very different from George Lucas' vision. The Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as the best Star Wars movie ever made, and a lot of its reputation comes from Kershner's work. Lucas had met Kershner when he was a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and he had asked his former teacher to direct another Star Wars movie.

Though George Lucas asked three people to direct the prequels, he ended up directing every installment himself. Many viewers considered that a mistake, and though the prequels are now beloved by many Star Wars fans, most agree they aren't as good as the original trilogy. If the prequel trilogy had been made just a few years earlier,...

A common misconception about the original "Star Wars" trilogy is that all the films were all directed by creator George Lucas. Yes, Lucas directed the first movie, and he was the main creative voice behind "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," but those latter two films were directed by Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand, respectively. Kershner proved a great choice, as his skill at getting emotional performances out of his actors made a strong counter to Lucas' famously stiff approach to all things human. Marquand was a little more questionable; personally, I'd have preferred it if David Lynch had given us his "Star Wars" spin.

Despite "Empire" being arguably the best movie in the franchise, Lucas did not take the right lesson from it: he went on to direct the three prequel films himself, with infamously bad results. Suddenly we were getting longwinded, nonsensical action sequences and terrible acting,...

Director Irvin Kershner helmed The Empire Strikes Back, arguably considered the best installment in the Star Wars franchise. During an interview, Kershner discussed several aspects of the iconic film, including the romance between Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia.

Irvin Kershner directed Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Credit: Lucasfilm).

At the same time, Kershner spoke about the line in the film where Leia and Solo profess their love for each other. In the interview, the director revealed that the scene was improvised during a difficult day of filming, especially since it was an extremely hot day. Here is what Kershner had to say about the iconic Harrison Ford line from The Empire Strikes Back.

Irvin Kershner Reveals the Origin of One of Harrison Ford’s Most Iconic Star Wars Line

Irvin Kershner directed the second installment in the franchise, The Empire Strikes Back, which...

The impact of Frank Herbert’s Dune upon its release, which reshaped the sci-fi landscape, can’t be overstated. While it would take another two decades before the novel saw its own big-screen adaptation, directed by David Lynch, it did contribute to making George Lucas’ Star Wars iconic.

While Star Wars is an amalgamation of many works, including Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz, it’s the influence of Dune that stands out the most. But despite the similarities, Lynch was less than thrilled when asked to direct Return of the Jedi.

David Lynch Had No Interest in Helming Return of the Jedi David Lynch. | Credit: Aaron from Seattle/Cca-2.0/Wikimedia Commons.

Before helming the first Dune adaptation in 1984, which ended up becoming one of the biggest mishaps in David Lynch‘s career, the director was initially offered to take the wheel of Star Wars.

Taylor Sheridan may be one of Hollywood’s most in-demand scriptwriters right now but Harrison Ford has been in the industry longer than Sheridan has even been alive. But that barely stopped the showrunner from casting two of Hollywood’s biggest names in a television prequel spin-off show.

Harrison Ford in 1923 [Credit: Paramount Network]

Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren’s parts in 1923 could not be played by better actors, in hindsight. But during the casting process, Sheridan stunned Hollywood into silence by drawing two of the biggest names in the A-list roster. It seems, however, that the calculated move did not play out in vain.

A Testament to Taylor Sheridan’s Talent for Words

Say what one may about Taylor Sheridan’s fake cowboy-land fantasy, it is still impossible to overlook the Yellowstone creator’s mastery of dialogue. What Sheridan couldn’t achieve in his acting career, he delivered a hundred-fold...

John Carpenter is one of the most influential people in horror history as the genius who brought us both Halloween and The Thing, along with other classics like Escape from New York, Christine, and They Live. Before all of those, however, Carpenter got his first big breakthrough with a movie that's been lost to time, 1978's Eyes of Laura Mars. It's not Carpenter's first ever movie, as he had directed independent fare such as Dark Star and Assault on Precinct 13, but just months before Halloween would alter his life forever, Eyes of Laura Mars was released. Carpenter didn't direct it, but he did write it, and being a Columbia Pictures film, it's the first time he ever worked with a major studio. Eyes of Laura Mars was a star-studded affair headlined by the likes of Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, and Brad Douriff. Even though it wasn't a box office sensation,...

The Criterion Channel has unveiled its streaming lineup for August 2024, which features an eclectic mix of independent films showcasing the work of auteurs from around the world.

The boutique service will become the exclusive streaming home of Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2021 comedy “Licorice Pizza,” and will celebrate the occasion by adding four more of his films to the channel: “The Master,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Punch-Drunk Love,” and “Magnolia.” Anderson’s frequent collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman will additionally be celebrated on the streaming service as part of a larger retrospective. Many of the late actor’s most iconic roles, including “Capote” and “Synecdoche, New York,” will be included, along with his sole directorial outing “Jack Goes Boating.”

The channel will also highlight several other prominent filmmakers including Preston Sturges, who helped pioneer the modern rom-com through films like “The Lady Eve” and “The Palm Beach Story,” and prolific Egyptian auteur Youssef Chahine.

The Criterion Channel’s August lineup pays tribute to auteurs of all kinds: directors, actors, and photographers, fictional or otherwise. In a notable act of preservation and advocacy, they’ll stream 20 titles by the Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, here introduced by the great Richard Peña. More known (but fun all the same) is a five-title Paul Thomas Anderson series including the exclusive stream of Licorice Pizza, as well as a Philip Seymour Hoffman series that overlaps with Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love (a Criterion Edition this month), and The Master, plus 25th Hour, Love Liza, and his own directing effort Jack Goes Boating. Preston Sturges gets five movies, with Sullivan’s Travels arriving in October.

Theme-wise, a photographer series includes Rear Window, Peeping Tom, Blow-up, Close-Up, and Clouzot’s La prisonnière; “Vacation Noir” features The Lady from Shanghai, Brighton Rock, Kansas City Confidential, Purple Noon, and La piscine. Alongside the aforementioned PTA and Antonioni pictures,...

George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise stands as a cornerstone of modern science fiction. Initially an ambitious space opera project, it has evolved into one of the most successful and beloved franchises in history. Spanning several decades, Star Wars has captivated multiple generations of fans and continues to be revered as one of the greatest fictional universes ever created.

Despite its cult classic status and millions of devoted followers, tales from the production of these films continue to intrigue us. Whether they pertain to the newer installments or the original trilogy, the report we have today hails from the latter.

This story centers around David Prowse, the actor who portrayed the body of Darth Vader in the original trilogy. While Prowse did not provide the voice or the unmasked face of Darth Vader, he embodied the physical presence of the character. This report aims to uncover the reasons behind this casting decision.