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Reader, you have been lied to! Film history is littered with unfairly maligned classics, whether critics were too eager to review the making of rather than the finished product, or they suffered from underwhelming ad campaigns or general disinterest. Let’s revise our takes on some of these films from wrongheaded to the correct opinion.

When Paramount released “We’re No Angels” as its 1989 Christmas movie (and final film of the decade), reviews were mixed and the box office weak. Hard as it may be to believe in the post-“Fockers” era, audiences just weren’t interested in seeing Robert De Niro in a broad comedy, even (especially?) one co-starring Sean Penn and written by David Mamet.

As years passed, the movie’s reputation never really improved, with even its makers acknowledging its flaws. In his 2023 Hollywood memoir, “Everywhere an Oink Oink,” Mamet blamed director Neil Jordan for ruining his script...

Mathilde Dratwa’s play A Play About David Mamet Writing a Play About Harvey Weinstein debuted in a one-night reading that benefited the Nyclu. The evening, which was held at Playwrights Horizons, raised $15,000. Directed by Leslye Headland, the four-person cast featured Abbi Jacobson, Heléne Yorke, Billy Eichner and Paige Gilbert (who filled in last minute for Kara Young), and was produced by George Strus of Benson Drive Productions, Rachel Sussman of Soto Productions, and Isabelle Mann of Funroe Productions. Audience members included playwrights Hansol Jung, Heidi Schreck, Sanaz Toosi, and Whitney White (who all had audience cameos), along with Busy Phillips, Jodi Balfour, Jen Tullock, Jackie Siblies Drury, Jocelyn Bioh, Ngozi Anyanwu, Meghan Kennedy, Rebecca Henderson, Kaki King and more. Photo credit: Michael Kushner <img alt="" height="467" src="https://cloudimages.broadwayworld.com/upload13/2381066/tn-500_abbijacobson.jpg"...

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this month, A Play About David Mamet Writing a Play About Harvey Weinstein is soon coming to The Judith O. Rubin Theater at Playwrights Horizons as a reading to benefit the New York Civil Liberties Union. Produced by George Strus of Benson Drive Productions, Rachel Sussman of Soto Productions, and Isabelle Mann of Funroe Productions, the one-night-only event will feature a star-studded cast that includes Abbi Jacobson, Billy Eichner, Heléne Yorke, and Kara Young. The woman behind the concept is playwright Mathilde Dratwa. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she explained the play's origins. "The genesis for the play happened when I read a tiny little blurb that [Mamet] was writing about Harvey...

Bill Burr is turning his recent stand-up special, Drop Dead Years, into his first streaming album, set to arrive Aug. 1 via 800 Pound Gorilla and All Things Comedy.

The first track from Drop Dead Years is available to stream now, while the album is also available to pre-order. Burr filmed the special in June 2024 at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, and it premiered on Hulu in March.

Drop Dead Years marked Burr’s eighth hour-long stand-up special, and first since 2022, when he released both Friends Who Kill and Live at Red Rocks.

Monty Python star Eric Idle has bashed Donald Trump and his administration, saying he would be “proud to be thrown out” of the U.S..

In an interview with The Guardian, which featured questions from multiple celebrities – including Eddie Izzard, Tracey Ullman, Steve Coogan and David Mamet – Idle delivered a vicious takedown of the president.

Asked “what’s genuinely funny about Donald Trump?” Idle responded, “There’s nothing funny about Donald Trump. What will be funny is when he leaves office and we have a big party and dance in the streets.”

Idle went on to declare that the president had “no end of capacity for stupidity,” calling him a “treasonous monster who works for Putin.”

“Every summer I go to France because I can’t stand the news. I can’t stand hearing about that man every minute of every day. They’re completely obsessed by him in the U.

Exclusive: Production has wrapped on XYZ Films’ feature The Edge Of Normal with Scott Haze (Jurassic World: Dominion) joining Chloë Grace Moretz and Rupert Friend in the cast.

Based on Carla Norton’s novel of the same name, the film marks the first English-language feature from director Carlota Pereda (Piggy). Moretz plays a woman haunted by the memory of teenage captivity at the hands of a sadist and fears a return to the nightmare when she is asked to mentor a survivor and gets pulled into a game of cat and mouse.

Pic was written by Matt Venne (Dexter: Resurrection) with revisions by Lori Evans Taylor (Final Destination: Bloodlines), based on Carla Norton’s novel. XYZ Films is producing and financing with funding from Ipr.Vc. Vanishing Angle will produce alongside Andrew Deane and Ava Jamshidi for Industry Entertainment. CAA Media Finance is co-repping domestic sales with XYZ.

Haze was most...

Ahead of his UK tour, the former Monty Python star responds to questions from Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Mamet, Janet Suzman, Steve Coogan, Bill Oddie and others

When news broke in 2021 that Eric Idle had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, dismay was followed by relief when he survived to get the all-clear. Now 83, Idle is thriving and about to embark on his first UK tour since 1973.

Over haddock and chips in London last month, a gentle and friendly Idle answered questions submitted by readers and fellow writers, actors and comedians about his time as a Python, Broadway smash Spamalot – his musical adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail – as well as selfies, Peter Cook and why he feels sorry for the royals.

A Play About David Mamet Writing a Play About Harvey Weinstein, a new play written by Mathilde Dratwa and directed by Leslye Headland, will have its New York premiere on Monday, July 21 at 7 pm at The Judith O. Rubin Theater at Playwrights Horizons, as a reading to benefit the New York Civil Liberties Union. Produced by George Strus of Benson Drive Productions, Rachel Sussman of Soto Productions, and Isabelle Mann of Funroe Productions, the one-night-only event will feature a star-studded cast that includes Abbi Jacobson, Billy Eichner, Heléne Yorke, and Kara Young. Tickets are now on sale at APlayAbout.com. A Play About David Mamet Writing a Play About Harvey...

While many are growing tired of remakes, there are some that stand out in the crowd, such as Timothée Chalamet's version of Willy Wonka in Wonka (2023). Most wouldn't say it was better than the original 1971 film, but its 82% Rotten Tomatoes score isn't bad. Perhaps that'll be the case forAmazon MGM Studios' reimagination of David Mamet's 1987 House of Games. To increase its chances of being good, Dcu stars Viola Davis (Suicide Squad), who is also an Academy Award winner, and Primetime Emmy Award winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II(Aquaman)will lead and produce the upcoming project.

What can contribute to the success of a remake of a classic production? From ensuring not too much of the original story is changed to selecting the perfect cast, crew, and more, there has to be something that stands out. For this remake of House of Games, having a veteran star like Viola Davis...

Actor-comedian Earthquake is set to star in a multi-camera comedy based on his life, which is in development at Fox with Bill Burr’s North Hill Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment.

No writer has been set yet for the project, titled Earthquake, which is in consideration for the 2026-27 season. It is part of Fox’s push into multi-camera comedy and, while the network has been open to occasionally doing pilots/presentations on the comedy side, Earthquake would be following a script-to-series development track.

Executive producing are Burr and Mike Bertolina of North Hill Productions, Dave Becky of 3 Arts, Jermaine Smith and Earthquake. The comedy, from Fox Entertainment Studios, would be distributed by Fox Entertainment Global.

Fox, whose current live-action comedy slate consists of the single-camera series Animal Control and Going Dutch, has been looking to return to the multi-camera arena two years after the end of its most recent sitcom,...

Would you like to play a game? No. Not Saw. I’m talking about the House of Games, with Viola Davis and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the feature’s star players. According to Deadline, a reimagining of David Mamet’s 1987 crime thriller is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. In addition to leading the film, Davis will produce through her Juvee Productions studio alongside Julius Tennon, Melanie Clark, and Abdul-Mateen II via his House Eleven10 banner.

In David Mamet’s directorial debut, House of Games, a psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men. Mamet wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Katz, while Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, and Lilia Skala led the cast.

Viola Davis’ latest feature, G20, featured the Emmy-winning actress as President Danielle Sutton. In the action-packed film,...

House of Games is getting a remake at Amazon MGM Studios. The acclaimed 1987 neo-noir will be reimagined for the 21st century with two former stars of the DC Extended Universe.

According to Deadline, Viola Davis and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are set to star in a reimagining of House of Games, which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios.Additionally, the actors will produce the remake through their respective production banners, Juvee Productions and House Eleven10. While they have achieved success outside the superhero genre, Davis and Abdul-Matteen II are still perhaps best known for their involvement in the Dceu, with the former starring as A.R.G.U.S. agent Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and Black Adam, and the latter as Black Manta in the Aquaman duology.

The original House of Games was written by David Mamet, who also helmed the feature as his directorial debut.

Exclusive: Viola Davis and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are set to star and produce in a reimagining of the 1987 MGM feature film House of Games, which is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. The actors will produce through their respective production banners, Davis for Juvee Productions alongside Julius Tennon and Melanie Clark, and Abdul-Mateen II for House Eleven10.

David Mamet wrote the original feature, which also served as his directorial debut. It follows psychiatrist Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse), who gets caught up in the world of gambling while trying to help one of her patients, Mike Mancuso (Joe Mantegna), deal with anxiety.

In 2017, Davis was named by Time 100 as one of the world’s most influential people and, in 2022, was honored with the Public Counsel’s William O Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice causes. Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille honor at...

Unpacking ‘Henry Johnson’: Mamet Returns With a high-profile Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross currently underway, we’re once again reminded of David Mamet’s singular ear for dialogue- the same talent that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for this very play. While his sharp, staccato writing has long been celebrated on stage and screen, Mamet’s work behind the camera has drawn more divided opinions. His latest film, 'Henry Johnson', is an intimate ensemble piece starring Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman. After premiering at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles last May, the film is now available to rent through its official website. As the old T-shirt gag goes, “But what I really want to do is direct.” Mamet’s career has followed that familiar arc: from acclaimed playwright to Hollywood screenwriter- penning Oscar-recognized scripts like 'The Verdict'- to director,...

Stephen King called The Final Score, which contains Collision, "the best crime fiction I've read in 20 years," and now it's being adapted into a movie with an A-list star. A short novel in Don Winslow's upcoming story collection The Final Score, Collision follows a loving husband and father whose seemingly perfect life unravels after a single devastating mistake lands him in prison.

Forced to adapt and survive behind bars, he eventually earns his freedom, only to discover the shocking reason he was kept safe all along. What follows is a transformative mission that alters the course of his life forever.

Now, after a highly competitive bidding war involving multiple contenders, Amazon has secured the rights to Don Winslow's short novel Collision with Jake Gyllenhaal set to star, according to Deadline. The actor will also produce via his Nine Stories banner.

What This Means For Collision What To Know About The Adaptation

Earlier this month,...

Exclusive: In a major deal that was highly competitive with multiple bidders, Amazon has bought the rights to Collision, a short novel in Don Winslow’s upcoming story collection The Final Score for Jake Gyllenhaal to star in and produce with his Nine Stories partner Josh McLaughlin and The Story Factory’s Shane Salerno.

Collision tells the harrowing story of a devoted husband and father with a great life who makes one terrible mistake that sends him to prison, where he must learn how to survive. But that’s only the beginning: When he finally becomes free, he learns why he was protected in prison and is a sent on a mission that will change him forever.

This is a reunion with Winslow and Amazon. Amazon and Working Title will be releasing Crime 101, based on another Winslow short story, on President’s Day weekend 2026. The film is written and...

Unpacking ‘Henry Johnson’: Mamet Returns With a high-profile Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross currently underway, we’re once again reminded of David Mamet’s singular ear for dialogue- the same talent that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for this very play. While his sharp, staccato writing has long been celebrated on stage and screen, Mamet’s work behind the camera has drawn more divided opinions. His latest film, 'Henry Johnson', is an intimate ensemble piece starring Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit, Chris Bauer, and Dominic Hoffman. After premiering at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles last May, the film is now available to rent through its official website. As the old T-shirt gag goes, “But what I really want to do is direct.” Mamet’s career has followed that familiar arc: from acclaimed playwright to Hollywood screenwriter- penning Oscar-recognized scripts like 'The Verdict'- to director,...

On Wednesday, June 11th, Academy Award, Emmy, SAG, Golden Globe, BAFTA & Critics Choice Award-Winner Kieran Culkin, star of Glengarry Glen Ross, was celebrated as he was presented with a portrait for the wall of the iconic Sardi’s restaurant. The portrait was unveiled and presented by Max Klimavicius, Manager of Sardi’s. David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize & New York Drama Critics’ Circle-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Tony & Olivier Award-winner Patrick Marber (Leopoldstadt; Travesties; Closer; After Miss Julie) ends its strictly limited run on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at The Palace Theatre (160 W. 47th St.). Tickets are on sale at the Palace Theatre box office, at BroadwayDirect.com or for more information, visit GlengarryonBroadway.com. Glengarry Glen Ross stars Academy Award, Emmy, SAG,...

Both “Adolescence”’s Stephen Graham and Sharon Horgan of “Bad Sisters” always knew they wanted to be actors.

While their career counselors in Liverpool and Ireland, respectively, did not believe in their lofty dreams at the time, the multi-hyphenates kept their noses to the grind and went on to create two of the year’s buzziest shows.

As Graham and Horgan sat down for TheWrap’s long-form video series Visionaries, the two discussed writing their respective series – Horgan’s daunting second season on Apple TV+ and Graham’s first go with his four-part limited series on Netflix.

“This was the first thing I’ve ever wrote,” Graham said of his record-breaking series about a young boy accused of murdering a female classmate. The actor and producer knew he could not write this on his own, so he found a partner in Jack Thorne.

“He writes the human condition beautifully. He...

Jesse Armstrong’s Mountainhead (2025) marks a sharp, acerbic entry into the growing canon of tech-world satires. Known best for his masterwork Succession, Armstrong crafts a darkly comedic chamber piece that follows four tech billionaires on a retreat gone sideways. With performances from Steve Carell as the chillingly detached mentor Garrett, Corey Michael Smith as the volatile tech mogul Ven, Jason Schwartzman as the insecure host Souper, and Ramy Youssef as the socially tone-deaf AI genius Jeff, Mountainhead is a clever, intimate dissection of power, ego, and the absurdities of modern capitalism. The film, shot with the cold precision reminiscent of early David Mamet, blends dry humor, existential dread, and social satire, placing it in conversation with a host of contemporary films critiquing the elite.

If you found Mountainhead riveting, sardonic, and scarily familiar, here are 10 movies like Mountainhead that echo its thematic cynicism, character-driven tension, and corporate absurdity.

1. The Menu...

The John Wick spinoff Ballerina will open the 71st Taormina Film Festival, which kicks off in Sicily next week and announced its lineup Thursday.

Star Ana de Armas will not be in attendance, with the film represented instead by director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus.

It is among eight features that will play as special events in Taormina’s Ancient Theatre.

Another 10 titles will play in the International Feature Film Competition including Iraq War U.S. Navy Seal drama Warfare; The Rule of Jenny Pen with John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush; and David Mamet’s Henry Johnson with Shia Labeouf, Evan Jonigkeit and Chris Bauer. (Scroll down for the full lineup.)

Ballerina is among 13 Out of Competition titles which also include Billy Zane’s Int. Hallway / Night and Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight.

A number of high-profile stars will attend to receive honorary awards including Martin Scorsese,...

Italy’s Taormina Film Festival is set for a standout 71st edition with a rich mix of genres – including some potential discoveries – on display, plus a generous dose of star power within a new format that attempts to revive the storied Sicilian event and put it back on the international map.

Marketing guru Tiziana Rocca, who has close Hollywood ties and is a festivals specialist, is back at the helm eight years after she was forced to step down due to political infighting in 2017 following a five-year stint. Rocca’s first move has been to reintroduce a competitive section comprising 10 titles. They will be judged by a jury that, as previously announced, is headed by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won an Oscar for her role in “The Holdovers.”

The Taormina competition, unveiled on Thursday, comprises the world premieres of Whoopi Goldberg and Jeremy Irvine comedy “Leopardi & Co” by Italian director...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

Fans of The Last of Us were left with plenty to chew on after the Season Two finale, which featured a surprise cliffhanger and possible time jump. For showrunner Neil Druckmann, it’s just another way to push the storyline of the TV series while still paying homage to the origins of the Last of Us video game franchise.

As he told Rolling Stone recently, “The best way...

Although he had spent the better part of his career making scathing political and social satires like “Peep Show” and “In the Loop,” Jesse Armstrong became a household name to American entertainment pundits thanks to “Succession,” the epic HBO drama series that became hailed as an instant classic. With its Shakespearean themes, shockingly relevant material, and powerful performances, “Succession” proved to be a natural heir apparent to classic shows like “Mad Men” or “The Sopranos.” It’s been unsurprising that many of its key creatives have doubled down on their film careers in wake of the brilliant “Succession” finale; frequent director Mark Mylod made his cinematic debut with “The Menu,” Kieran Culkin took home an Oscar for “A Real Pain,” and Jeremy Strong has landed many acclaimed parts, and even recently served on the Cannes jury.

Armstrong may have been the creative instigator of “Succession,” but his new feature “Mountainhead” is a singular effort.

Bill Maher has never been one to shy away from confrontation. But when a guest on his Club Random podcast claimed the Real Time host was "full of s***," Maher pulled back as the conversation turned tense.

Unsurprisingly, politics and Donald Trump caused the verbal sparring between Maher and playwright David Mamet. The Glengarry Glen Ross writer subscribes to political beliefs that mostly oppose those of Maher, even though the Real Time host isn't afraid to rip Democrats or agree with President Trump on certain issues.

But the conflict on Club Random came about when January 6 entered the discussion. Mamet took exception to Maher calling it a "riot" and things devolved from there as Maher criticized Trump for not conceeding the 2020 election in a similar fashion to his predecessors.

"Well, you like me, have built a career out of nothing except talent and a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work,...

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.NEWSEyes Wide Shut.Favorable tax breaks, a sturdy filmmaking infrastructure, and a more stable political climate have made London a new locus for film production, especially in the wake of American post-strike budget reductions and the recent spate of wildfires. However, it’s unclear whether President Trump’s ever-changing tariff policy will affect London’s status as a haven for American productions.On the eve of the Cannes Film Festival, over 100 film and television organizations appealed to various governments and organizations to “stand firm and safeguard the systems that support independent film and audiovisual creation” in light of President Trump’s proposal to impose tariffs on film imports. Hundreds of actors and filmmakers have signed a letter condemning...

Following the debut of his Henry Johnson film adaptation, David Mamet is at work on his next project for the stage. “I’m writing a play for Rebecca (Pidgeon) about these two women who need to kill J.K. Rowling," the writer told Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro during a recent interview. Pidgeon has appeared in several Mamet projects, including the 1991 film Homicide and the play Oleanna, for which Mamet wrote her a part. She also appeared as Ricky Roma in a reading for a female version of Glengarry Glen Ross, which is rumored to hit Broadway following the departure of the show's current stars. This would mark his first new play since 2023's Henry Johnson. In terms of what's next for the big screen, Mamet said "I’m writing...

American film director best known for Glengarry Glen Ross and At Close Range

The film director James Foley, who has died from brain cancer aged 71, was a self-effacing and shrewd stylist whose camerawork always served the actors and the psychology of the characters. This thespian focus was best showcased in his 1992 adaptation of David Mamet’s stage play Glengarry Glen Ross; its heavyweight cast, which included Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey, might have overwhelmed a less purposeful supervisor.

But in his hands this dissection of American capitalism, set in a beleaguered real-estate office, became an actors’ masterclass; the cast would turn up on their days off to watch each other work. Foley had been convinced to direct it by a new version of Mamet’s script that broke down what on stage had been cerebral monologues into pithy, visceral repartee. Accordingly, the director insisted on casting “great actors,...

We kick off the 2025 summer season of Crew Call with a very candid wide-ranging conversation with Pulitzer-prize winning playwright and 2x Oscar nominated scribe, David Mamet.

He’s directed a new movie, Henry Johnson, his first in 12 years, based on his 2023 play which premiered in Venice, CA. The pic, which is self-distributed and available to rent digitally, follows the title character (played by Mamet’s son-in-law Evan Jonigkeit), who after helping a friend out, becomes collateral damage and complicit in his sex crime affairs. This leads Henry Johnson to jail. He looks to authority figures he encounters along the way including his eventual cellmate, Gene (Shia Labeouf). Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty.

We talk with Mamet about the origins of Henry Johnson, Labeouf’s sublime performance (and how Mamet doesn’t believe in method actors), the state of the motion picture industry...

According to early reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have another winner on their hands.

The Oscar winners have reunited for the fifth time with Highest 2 Lowest, their first project since 2006’s Inside Man, a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1963 drama High and Low. The film had its gala premiere at Cannes on Monday, where Lee helped celebrate Washington with an honorary Palme d'Or.

“Titled like a sequel, plotted like a remake, and shot with enough of its own singular verve to ensure that most people never think of it as either of those things, Spike Lee’s deliriously entertaining — if jarringly upbeat — Highest 2 Lowest modernizes the post-war anxieties of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low for the age of parasocial relationships,” Indiewire critic David Ehrlich wrote. “The basic chords of the song remain the same as they were back in 1963, even...

Yet again a filmmaker has gone to the throne of Japanese giant Akira Kurosawa for inspiration. Among the lauded director’s films Hollywood has turned into English-language adaptations are Seven Samurai, which became The Magnificent Seven twice (including once with Denzel Washington); Rashomon, which became Paul Newman’s The Outrage; Ikiru, remade a few years ago as Living; Yojimbo, which led to an uncredited inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars; and 1958’s Hidden Fortress, unquestionably an inspiration for George Lucas and Star Wars.

Now chalk up another one with Spike Lee’s new take on Kurosawa’s 1963 drama High and Low, in which Toshiro Mifune played a shoemaker executive who is torn between paying the ransom to his chauffeur’s son’s kidnapper after the criminal nabbed him by mistake instead of the executive’s son, who was safe. It becomes a moral dilemma, especially as the exec really needs...

Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page (Limited) features 10 standout limited or anthology series scripts in 2025 Emmy contention.

Netflix’s Adolescence has enthralled viewers and captivated fellow filmmakers with its arresting story of a 13-year-old who is suddenly taken into custody one early morning for the murder of a female classmate.

The British series from creators Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne employs the same one-shot style over the course of the four, edge-of-your-seat episodes — a technique that’s become somewhat of a calling card for Adolescence director Philip Barantini, working with cinematographer Matthew Lewis. But it’s not just the camera work that has made Adolescence such a runaway hit, ranking as Netflix’s third most-watched English-language series of all time with 137.8 million views since its March 13 release.

It’s Owen Cooper’s portrayal of the troubled teen Jamie drawn into the online manosphere as he and...

“Slauson Rec,” a documentary starring Shia Labeouf and his mental trauma, is not a good movie. But it’s a timely artifact of one of the things movies are now up against — a pathological and vampiristic celebrity culture that sucks all the air out of the room. In 2018, Labeouf posted a video on Twitter announcing the formation of a free weekly theater workshop that would meet every Saturday at the Slauson Recreation Center in South Central Los Angeles. Hundreds of people showed up for it, lured by the magnet of Labeouf’s name. One of them was Leo Lewis O’Neil, a young man who wasn’t interested in being an actor but who volunteered to record the workshop on camera. Over the next three years, he shot hundreds of hours of footage of Labeouf and his followers doing their experimental theater thing, writing and rehearsing several “plays” they presented in a nightclub and,...

Producer Jason Michael Berman feels he has an advantage with the launch of A/Vantage Pictures.

The former president of Mandalay Pictures has built his career identifying the space where artistry meets impact. Now, with A/Vantage, he’s placing that mission front and center, starting with the Cannes Film Festival premiere of the Spike Lee-directed “Highest 2 Lowest,” starring Denzel Washington.

Launched in April, A/Vantage is committed to culturally resonant, commercially viable films. The name reflects its goals: “A” for authentic, “Vantage” for a unique point of view, and a nod to Berman’s childhood as an Av club kid.

“I’m an Av kid at heart,” he says with a chuckle and smile. “This is about perspective, giving filmmakers the vantage to tell stories that matter, and giving audiences a vantage to see the world differently.”

Berman has long supported visionary storytellers with something personal to say.

Since Adolescence premiered in March, Netflix’s breakout TV hit of the year has reverberated through homes, schools and political discussions around the world.

At the time of this interview, co-creator Jack Thorne has just visited 10 Downing Street — the home of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — to discuss both the limited series’ outsized impact on the public consciousness, and what can be done to help solve the societal ills it examined.

Starmer has recently taken the rare step of pronouncing his love for a Netflix show and simultaneously making it part of the nationwide school curriculum, deeming it vital viewing for all young people. However, others, such as Elon Musk, and Starmer’s opposite number, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, have spread an unfounded conspiracy theory about its main character. Predictably, the media has been in overdrive.

Away from Adolescence being used as a political football, the show, produced...

Plot: Henry Johnson follows the title character as he navigates his search for a moral center after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice, and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.

Review: David Mamet is a name that has become synonymous with masterful writing. A playwright and filmmaker for over fifty years, Mamet’s works have become required reading in performing arts programs nationwide. Having written films including Glengarry Glen Ross, Ronin, and Hannibal, Mamet’s directorial projects have been no less influential. While my favorite is 1997’s The Spanish Prisoner starring Steve Martin, Mamet has helmed many movies based on his plays and original scriptwork. It has been twelve years...

Shia Labeouf has shared an alleged email exchange he had with Timothee Chalamet back in 2023, amid rumors of a feud.

The 38-year-old actor made a comment about Timothee in an interview recently, which perhaps led to this latest update.

Keep reading to find out more…

In a May 8 THR interview, Shia was asked, “And last we talked, you’d found Catholicism and you’d lived in the monastery. How’s that going?”

He responded, “It changes the way you work, for sure. Me and Alec [Baldwin] would never have these problems now. But I was in an island. Then I hear Timothée Chalamet get up and he says something like, ‘I want to be great.’ I so know the feeling. On him, it’s cute. On me, it wasn’t cute. You know what I’m saying?”

On Twitter (aka X) this week, Shia seemingly responded.

He began his post with...

Gold Derby's top news stories for May 13, 2025.

Watch the trailer for Kim Kardashian's legal drama All's Fair

Hulu released the trailer for All's Fair, a juicy new legal drama from creator Ryan Murphy. Murphy has assembled an all-star cast — Kim Kardashian, two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts, Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts, BET Award winner Teyana Taylor, Emmy winner Sarah Paulson, and eight-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close — to play the partners at an all-female divorce law firm. "In a world where money talks and love is a battleground, these women don’t just play the game—they change it," according to the synopsis. Matthew Noszka also stars. Murphy writes, directs, and executive-produces. The series premieres this fall.

Daniel Day-Lewis' screen return Anemone finds release date

Focus Features will give drama Anemone a limited release on Oct. 3 and expand to wide release on Oct. 10. The film will mark three-time Academy...

Michael McKean, currently on Broadway in Glengarry Glen Ross, visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss the hit revival of the David Mamet play. "It's about the smallest little pinpoint of American enterprise," the actor explained. "It's selling crap real estate in Florida to people who live in Chicago. It's all about those men and what they do and how they do it to each other on the way out the door." McKean also recalled attending the play's original production: "I saw it in 1986 with Peter Falk in Bob Odenkirk's role...and Joe Mantegna, who had created the role of Ricky Roma a couple of years before in New York...It's an amazing play." Watch the full interview with McKean...

The producers of the new Broadway production of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize & New York Drama Critics' Circle-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Tony & Olivier Award-winner Patrick Marber, have announced that the production has reached recoupment. Additionally, the play has broken the Palace Theatre Box Office grossing $2.4M the week ending 5/11/25. The production, which officially opened Monday, March 31, 2025 at The Palace Theatre, plays a strictly limited engagement through Saturday, June 28, 2025. Glengarry Glen Ross producers are also proud to announce that the play raised a total of $238,343 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids during its annual Red Bucket campaign, making it the first runner up for a Broadway play. Glengarry Glen Ross stars Academy Award, Emmy, SAG, Golden Globe,...

Glengarry Glen Ross, the hit Broadway revival of the David Mamet play starring Kieran Culkin, Bill Burr and Bob Odenkirk, has recouped its investment, producers announced today.

The recoupment marks the third such announcement in recent weeks, following similar announcements for Othello starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal , and Good Night, And Good Luck starring George Clooney. The three starry productions are among the biggest hits of Broadway’s spring 2025 season.

Glengarry‘s recoupment coincides with the production’s record-breaking weekly gross at the Palace Theatre. For the week ending May 11, the revival took in $2.4M.

The $7.5 million Glengarry Glen Ross officially opened Monday, March 31 at The Palace Theatre and plays a strictly limited engagement through Saturday, June 28.

Glengarry Glen Ross producers also announced that the play raised a total of $238,343 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids during its annual Red Bucket campaign, making it the first runner up for a Broadway play.

Henry Johnson unfolds as David Mamet’s screen adaptation of his 2023 play, marking his return to feature filmmaking after an eighteen‑year absence. Mamet wears both writer’s and director’s hats, coaxing from the stage-bound material a pulse that feels almost cinematic. At the center stands Evan Jonigkeit, whose measured stillness anchors each confrontation, joined by Chris Bauer’s razor‑sharp lawyer‑interrogator, Shia Labeouf’s magnetic prison philosopher, and Dominic Hoffman’s weary guard.

The film’s architecture is spare: four two‑character scenes set in an office, a cell and a library, stitched together by silent ellipses that swallow days or weeks. Conversation becomes currency, each line a probe deeper into Henry’s moral core. What begins as a simple workplace favor unravels into an interrogation that propels him behind bars, then into the tangled politics of confinement, and finally into a hostage‑standoff that tests the limits of trust.

I assumed David Mamet would probably have more opinions about Aristotle than A24 and, indeed, in discussing the 76-year-old playwright-turned-filmmaker’s new movie, Henry Johnson, the former came up while the latter didn’t. Henry Johnson marks Mamet’s return to the director’s chair after a decade-long absence from cinema, and it’s easily his most austere work since 1994’s Oleanna, which like this film was adapted from his own play. Premiering on stage in 2023 at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California, and later staged at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater in 2025, the play follows the unraveling of its titular character, a well-meaning […]

The post “Drama Appeals to Us is Because It Touches Something Different than the Contemporary”: David Mamet on TV, Theater, Gene Hackman and His New Film, Henry Johnson first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

I assumed David Mamet would probably have more opinions about Aristotle than A24 and, indeed, in discussing the 76-year-old playwright-turned-filmmaker’s new movie, Henry Johnson, the former came up while the latter didn’t. Henry Johnson marks Mamet’s return to the director’s chair after a decade-long absence from cinema, and it’s easily his most austere work since 1994’s Oleanna, which like this film was adapted from his own play. Premiering on stage in 2023 at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California, and later staged at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater in 2025, the play follows the unraveling of its titular character, a well-meaning […]

The post “Drama Appeals to Us is Because It Touches Something Different than the Contemporary”: David Mamet on TV, Theater, Gene Hackman and His New Film, Henry Johnson first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Ballad of Wallis Island (James Griffiths)

You know when you hear a song and it transports you back to an era or a memory or a moment? It’s this involuntary mental reflex that can be marvelous, painful, or some combination of the two; all intensified by the emotion of the music that triggers it. This familiar phenomenon provides the backbeat for The Ballad of Wallis Island, a comedy that envelops you in its charm while plucking a serenade on your heartstrings. The film itself is an evocation of a memory for writers/stars Tim Key & Tom Basden and director James Griffiths––a feature shot in eighteen days based on a short film they made eighteen years ago. – Kent W. (full...

James Foley, best known for directing the 1992 black comedy drama Glengarry Glen Ross and several episodes of the Netflix hit House of Cards, has died. A rep told The Hollywood Reporter that the director, producer, and writer died earlier this week of brain cancer. He was 71. Foley directed the two sequels of Fifty Shades of Grey: Fifty Shades Darker (2017) and Fifty Shades Freed (2018). In addition, he worked with some of the biggest stars, including Sean Penn, Halle Berry, Madonna, and Al Pacino, making his signature style noir-esque stories.

A New York native, Foley made his directorial debut with the romance drama Reckless, starring Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn in 1984. The film follows an outcast teenager and football player, Johnny Rourke (Quinn), who falls for popular cheerleader Tracey Prescott (Hannah). In 1986, Foley directed the American neo-noir crime drama At Close Range, led by Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. Mary Stuart Masterson,...

James Foley, the iconic director of Glengarry Glen Ross, passes away at the age of 71.

Per Variety, the acclaimed director is confirmed to have passed away. Foley's passing came earlier this week, and was brought about by an ongoing bout of brain cancer. The news was reported via a representative for Foley speaking to The Hollywood Reporter.

Born in Bay Bridge, Brooklyn before growing up in Staten Island, Foley graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo before attending the University of Southern California and acquiring his M.F.A. in film study and production. Foley's directorial debut came in the form of Reckless, written by Chris Columbus and starring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah. The film was a somewhat surprising success at the box office upon its release in 1984, bringing in over $8.3 million against a $3 million budget.

In the years that followed, Foley directed numerous films,...

Shia Labeouf is getting candid about his struggles.

The 38-year-old actor revealed in a new interview that at one point in his life, while he was working on a Broadway play, he was “sleeping in Central Park.”

Shia spoke with The Hollywood Reporter alongside his Henry Johnson director David Mamet, and reflected on a point in his life when he was “not in a good way” while working on the play Orphans, which he eventually dropped out of.

Shia also recalled the tensions between himself and Alec Baldwin on Orphans ahead of him dropping out of the project, but said that they eventually “made it right.”

Keep reading to find out more…

“By the time Baldwin got there, it was almost unfair. So he’s dealing with both my fractured little weak ego, right? All this hard prep that I’d done for two years, and my desperate need to show him all my prep,...

Acclaimed director James Foley has died at age 71. A representative for the Foley family confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the filmmaker passed “peacefully in his sleep earlier this week following a years-long struggle with brain cancer.” It is unclear when Foley was diagnosed and for how long his illness was.

Foley most famously helmed the 1992 film adaptation of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Kevin Spacey. Foley would later reunite with Spacey for 12 episodes of Netflix’s first-ever series, “House of Cards.”

Foley made his feature directorial debut in 1984 with “Reckless” starring Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn. He was best known for working in the domestic thriller genre, despite defying filmmaker labels. His features include directing Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon in “Fear,” Halle Berry and Bruce Willis in “Perfect Stranger,” and “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed...

James Foley, director of films including “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “At Close Range” and “Fear,” died at his home in Los Angeles earlier this week.

He died after a year-long struggle with brain cancer, according to a rep.

Foley worked with stars including Sean Penn, Madonna, Al Pacino and Halle Berry, and specialized in atmosphere-soaked, noir-adjacent stories.

His first feature was 1984’s musical romance drama “Reckless,” starring Daryl Hannah and Aidan Quinn. Foley followed that with “At Close Range,” starring Penn and Christopher Walken in a neo-noir that included the Madonna song “Live to Tell.” Madonna was married to Penn at the time, and Foley went on to work with Madonna several times, directing music videos and her feature “Who’s That Girl.” The screwball comedy bombed, and Foley told FilmInk, “It was a major life experience. That first failure is so shocking.”

“Glengarry Glen Ross” was one of his most high-profile films,...