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In the current market of media conglomeration, there's hardly a need to rip off popular movies any more. The preferred solution now is to simply see what intellectual propery the current company already owns and reboot it, whether or not that makes sense. In previous decades, studios would rip off successful movies instead. When a "Rocky" hit big, more boxing movies followed, and "Star Wars" begat any number of sci-fi adventures hoping to ride the coattails. Rather than wondering how you might reboot Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford, studios impressed by "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in the '80s might make "Treasure of the Four Crowns," "High Road to China," or the Richard Chamberlain-starring take on "King Solomon's Mines."

Sometimes, it pays off big. In 2001, a version of "Point Break" with cars instead of surfing became "The Fast and the Furious." Fans of each might still debate which is better,...

Born in Nantes, France in 1928, Jules Verne was sent to Paris as a young man to study law, but fell in love with theatre. He wrote several plays, got married, worked as a stock broker, and continued to write on the side. Eventually, Verne had an epiphany: What if he combined his twin passions of adventure stories and scientific inquiry? You might say this was a "novel" concept in the mid-1800s. Verne's vision was realized when a publisher agreed to print Verne's "Voyages extraordinaires—Cinq semaines en ballon" ("Extraordinary Journeys: Five Weeks In A Balloon") in 1864. The serialized story became a bestseller, so Verne quit his job, writing "science fiction" for 40 years until his death in 1905.

"Extraordinary journeys" doesn't have the same ring as "sci-fi," but Verne is often called the "father of science fiction". Considering sci-fi stories dominate narrative storytelling, Verne can be considered the grandaddy of "Star Wars,...

Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt have had a series of successful projects each, but their joint Western wasn't a big success. The action-packed Western The Magnificent Seven was a remake of the 65-year-old Western of the same name, and it didn't achieve the same acclaim as the original.

The Magnificent Seven premiered on Sept. 8, 2016, and it came from Washington's frequent collaborator, Antoine Fuqua, with whom he worked on The Equalizer trilogy and 2001's Training Day. Although The Magnificent Seven featured the two big movie stars and had critically acclaimed director attached to the project, the Western didn't impress. However, The Magnificent Seven is finding a new life on streaming, as it's currently rising on the charts on MGM+, per FlixPatrol.

The Magnificent Seven has been fluctuating in the charts on MGM+. The Western has recently risen three positions up to seventh place after spending the last few days in ninth and tenth place,...

Sensitivity Warning: This article explores the evolving conversations around representation in Hollywood, including historically harmful practices of casting today. Its purpose is to reflect on where we’ve been- and where we’re going. The Question The most recent use of blackface in an American film I can think of is in ‘Tropic Thunder,’ where it’s deployed in a genius twist of satire: a white, Australian method actor (played by Robert Downey Jr.) undergoes a pigment-altering surgery to play an African-American man. To this day, the comedy catches major flack- arguably more flack than the character receives within the world of the movie- essentially being derided for what some argue is the fundamental reprehensibility of blackface, even when used as a device to mock the offensive practice itself. Alternatively, blackface has been employed metatextually, for the sake of misunderstanding- a fundamental comedic device that dates back to the Greeks.

Maureen Hingert, the Sri Lanka-born beauty queen who appeared as an actress in The King and I, Gun Fever and Gunmen From Laredo, has died. She was 88.

Hingert died Sunday of liver failure at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, her daughter, Marisa Zamparelli, told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was a beautiful and peaceful passing,” she said.

As Miss Ceylon, the 18-year-old Hingert finished second runner-up at the 1955 Miss Universe contest held in Long Beach, California, then appeared as a royal wife in Fox’s lavish adaptation of the Broadway musical The King & I (1956), starring Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr and Rita Moreno.

She followed with more substantial parts as Native American girls in Gun Fever (1958), starring, directed and co-written by Mark Stevens, and, billed as Jana Davi, Gunmen From Laredo (1959).

Born in Colombo, Ceylon, on Jan. 9, 1937, Maureen Neliya Hingert appeared in two 1954 films made in her home country, Circus Girl and...

We’ve discussed three of Michael Crichton’s biggest adaptations with Congo, Sphere, and of course Jurassic Park but we also covered a bit more of the man and his career in the sections about the stories themselves. While the wunderkind could write novels and screenplays, create TV shows, and even program his video game releases, he wasn’t given the chance to direct often. While he has some fun ones like Runaway and Coma, he also has some genuinely great ones like The Great Train Robbery and Looker. While I enjoy all of those, I think one that is fun, good, and actually really important to pop culture is Westworld. It would invariably lead to Jurassic Park and be more of a precursor to The Terminator franchise than it gets credit for as well as a TV series that I think we can all agree ran on for too long.

Image Source: Warner Bros Oh, the glory days of cable TV! Remember flipping channels and stumbling upon those wild, wonderfully weird movies that just stuck with you? Some were hidden gems, some were pure cinematic magic, and others… well, others were so delightfully bizarre they became legends in their own right. Today, we’re dusting off one of those truly unique cinematic experiences: the 1981 sci-fi thriller, Looker! This gem sprang from the brilliant, often-prophetic mind of the late, legendary Michael Crichton. Before he gave us the thunderous roars of Jurassic Park or the emergency room drama of E.R. (which literally changed TV history!), Crichton also penned and directed the iconic Westworld (starring the late Yul Brynner!). So, when he put his vision into Looker, starring the late Albert Finney, Oscar winner the late James Coburn, and Partridge Family/L.A. Law alum Susan Dey, you knew it wouldn’t be boring.

The underrated sequel to The Magnificent Sevenis about to saddle up at a new streaming home. Per Prime Video, 1966's Return of the Seven is set to become the streaming platform's latest addition.

Return of the Seven -- starring Academy Award winner Yul Brynner as Chris Adams -- will be available for streaming on Prime Video beginning June 1. It followed after the success of The Magnificant Seven (which itself was a remake of the 1954 classic Seven Samurai), with Brynner as the only cast member to reprise his role.

Directed by Burt Kennedy from a screenplay by Larry Cohen, Return of the Seven saw Brynner return to his iconic role as Cajun gunfighter Chris Adams. In the 1966 film, Adams banded together with his remaining allies from the original Seven and a few new recruits to stare down an army of villains who captured the residents of a small Mexican village to further their nefarious endeavors.

Veteran actor Patrick Adiarte, who played Ho-Jon in the first season of the hit war comedy-drama M*A*S*H, has died. He was 82. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Adiarte’s niece, Stephanie Hogan, confirmed he passed away on Tuesday (April 15) in a Los Angeles-area hospital of pneumonia. Born on August 2, 1942, in Manila, Philippines, Adiarte and his sister Irene, along with their mother Purita, were imprisoned by the Japanese in 1945 during the Second World War. His father worked as a captain for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was killed that same year. A year later, Adiarte and his family emigrated to New York. His acting career began on stage when, in 1952, he joined the Broadway cast of The King and I. He also starred in the film adaptation in 1956, portraying Prince Chulalongkorn, the eldest son of Yul Brynner’s King Mongkut of Siam. Everett Collection Adiarte also starred...

Patrick Adiarte, the Philippines-born actor and dancer best known for his roles in “The King and I,” “M*A*S*H” and “Flower Drum Song,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles from pneumonia. He was 82.

His death was confirmed on social media by friends and family members Wednesday.

Born in Manila, Adiarte was imprisoned along with his sister Irene and their mother Purita by the Japanese in 1945 during World War II. Their father was killed that same year while he was working as a captain for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Over a year later, Adiarte and his surviving family members emigrated to New York. In 1952, he joined the Broadway cast of “The King and I” and toured with the show alongside fellow cast members Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence. When the Broadway production was adapted a few years later in 1956 into a feature film by 20th Century Fox, Adiarte was cast as Prince Chulalongkorn,...

Patrick Adiarte, the Philippines-born dancer and actor who appeared in The King and I and Flower Drum Song on Broadway and the big screen and had a recurring role on M*A*S*H, has died. He was 82.

Adiarte died Tuesday in a Los Angeles-area hospital of pneumonia, his niece, Stephanie Hogan, told The Hollywood Reporter.

When The Brady Bunch went to Honolulu for a family vacation in a three-part episode that kicked off the fourth season of the ABC series in 1972, Adiarte played a construction gofer who gives the kids a tour before they meet with all kinds of chaos after Bobby (Mike Lookinland) discovers a small tiki idol that could be cursed.

Adiarte also was a popular dancer on the 1965-66 NBC musical variety series Hullabaloo, where he began a short-lived singing career with the pop tune “Five Different Girls.”

In 1952, Adiarte joined the Broadway cast of Rodgers...

At the outset of the 1960s, the United States felt poised for its greatest decade yet or armageddon. The Soviet Union's launch of the Earth satellite Sputnik in 1957 had placed many Americans on edge. How had the Russkies beaten the most prosperous country on the planet into space, and what were our leaders doing to counteract this disaster? This led to one of the most contentious and closest Presidential elections in U.S. history, which found Democrat John F. Kennedy narrowly prevailing over Republican Richard M. Nixon. Many were hopeful that the country was in the right, aspirational hands; almost just as many were convinced we'd consigned the country to certain doom.

In times like these, people used to go to their local movie theater to escape the fresh hell of the outside world. They'd line for any entertainment that promised some kind of catharsis. Romances, comedies, romantic comedies, horror flicks,...

To us movie fans, they’re Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan, and together they are Wyld Stallions. But this fall, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will reunite for a new project. This time, they will take to the stage in a new Broadway production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in fall 2025, with Jamie Lloyd directing. Winter previously stepped back in front of the camera after a lengthy run as a director when he and Reeves reprised their iconic comedy roles for 2020’s Bill & Ted Face the Music.

According to Deadline, the Waiting for Godot play will be performed at the Hudson Theatre. The production is scheduled to begin previews on Saturday, September 13 ahead of the opening night on Sunday, September 28. Unfortunately, the play is set to be a strictly limited engagement and will play through Sunday, January 4, 2026, only. The complete cast and design team is said to be announced soon.

The previously announced Broadway production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter has found a home in the Hudson Theatre, where the play will begin previews on Saturday, September 13 ahead of a Sunday, September 28 opening night.

The strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, January 4, 2026, only. Jamie Lloyd is the producer and director.

Complete casting and design team will be announced soon.

Waiting for Godot is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, Atg Productions, Bad Robot Live, and Gavin Kalin Productions.

Premiering in 1953 in French with a subsequent English-language production premiering in 1955 in London, Godot went on to become a cultural touchstone and has been translated into dozens of languages.

Reeves, who will play Estragon, will be making his Broadway debut with the production. Best known for his starring roles in The Matrix and John Wick franchises, Reeves performed in various local theater production...

Mel Novak, the great movie villain known for his slick turns as the sniper Stick in Bruce Lee’s Game of Death, the gangster Blue Eyes in Jim Kelly’s Black Belt Jones and the informant Tony Montoya in Chuck Norris’ An Eye for an Eye, has died. He was 90.

Novak died Wednesday of natural causes at a hospice facility in Granada Hills, his daughter Nikol Conant told The Hollywood Reporter.

In a career that spanned seven decades, the charismatic Novak did lots of his own stunts, as in The Ultimate Warrior (1975), starring Yul Brynner and Max von Sydow. That was one of the four films he made with Enter the Dragon director Robert Clouse.

In his death scene for that post-apocalyptic adventure, “They covered me with peanut butter and sunflower seeds and then put 40 live rats on me,” Novak recalled in a 2018 interview. “I told their trainer, ‘If one of them bites me,...

At this point in their careers, Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua simply trust each other and it's not hard to see why. The pair's first collaboration, 2001's "Training Day" resulted in an Oscar win for Denzel, which considering this was the first movie in which the esteemed star played a villain, is a pretty good outcome — even more so when you consider Denzel's "Training Day" casting sparked so much controversy that he was warned against taking the role by the NAACP.

In the years that followed, Washington and Fuqua worked together multiple times, most notably on the "Equalizer" films which saw Washington going full John Wick-mode in a trilogy of action thrillers based on the 1985 CBS series. But "The Equalizer" and its sequels aren't the only Fuqua/Washington team-ups to come in the wake of "Training Day." In 2016, the director oversaw yet another Denzel Washington first with "The Magnificent Seven,...

Fans of the 1993 cult classic Cool Runnings just received a burst of nostalgia as several cast members from the beloved John Candy film gathered for a heartwarming reunion. The movie, a fictionalized account of the Jamaican bobsled team’s unlikely journey to the 1988 Winter Olympics, is one of the most-loved sports comedies of the 90s. Decades later, the stars who brought that underdog story to life reunited at 90s Con in Hartford, Ct, on Friday.

When Cool Runnings arrived in cinemas in 1993, it seemed like just another comedy about a group of people who would attempt a sporting achievement against all the odds. However, the story of four Jamaican athletes—Derice, Sanka, Yul, and Junior—who competed as a bobsled team in the Calgary Olympics with the help of unorthodox and disgraced coach Irving Blitzer, played by Candy, became an uplifting movie that has transcended generations.

The cast reunion, some...

If there’s a role that defined Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career, it’s the Terminator. He was already famous even before starring in James Cameron’s film, but his stardom soared to greater heights after he took on the iconic role.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator / Credits: Orion Pictures

What’s interesting is the fact that his character somewhat shares similarities with the robotic Gunslinger in Westworld. The former professional bodybuilder said he was a fan of the original movie, and ever since, it’s always been a dream project of his to star in a remake.

Westworld greatly influenced Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance in The Terminator

The immense success of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator franchise has got many fans curious as to how he pulled off the tough role given its complicated nature. The actor revealed in a 1984 interview with Fangoria magazine (via The Terminator Fans) that he took...

A famous quote by a poet named Cesar A. Cruz poses the idea that "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." It can apply to everything, and it's more relevant than ever. It's especially pertinent with movies, as filmmakers often go out of their way to create unique experiences for the viewers. So, not every motion picture is designed for everyone.

People have been fleeing from cinemas for around a century. One of the earliest examples of mid-movie walkouts occurred in 1932 with the movie Freaks. It was the earliest film to feature actors with various disabilities and physical differences as its stars, which made the close-minded audiences uncomfortable even before things got violent. Viewers fled screenings of Freaks out of fear, disgust, anger, and even medical necessity, and that tradition has never gone away. No movie is ever truly safe from someone walking out mid-screening, with folks opting...

Robert De Niro won his second Oscar in 1981 for playing a boxing champ in Raging Bull. And now he has been chosen as the acting champ when it comes to Academy Awards.

His performance for the Martin Scorsese film from 1980 has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actor winner ever, according to a Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts, critics, and editors, who ranked all 97 male leading actors.

Anthony Hopkins finished second for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), with Marlon Brando following in third for The Godfather (1972). Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007), and Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) rounded out the top five.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actor winners is Warner Baxter for In Old Arizona (1928). George Arliss in Disraeli (1929), Lionel Barrymore for A Free Soul (1930), Paul Lukas for Watch on the Rhine (1942), and Paul Muni for The Story of Louis Pasteur...

Robert De Niro won his second Oscar in 1981 for playing a boxing champ in Raging Bull. And now he has been chosen as the champ of all actors.

His performance for the Martin Scorsese film from 1980 has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actor winner ever, according to a Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts, critics, and editors, who ranked all 97 male leading actors.

Anthony Hopkins ranked second for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), with Marlon Brando following in third for The Godfather (1972). Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007), and Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) rounded out the top five.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actor winners is Warner Baxter for In Old Arizona (1928). Just above that film performance in the rankings are George Arliss in Disraeli (1929), Lionel Barrymore for A Free Soul (1930), Paul Lukas for Watch on the Rhine...

Garth Hudson, the keyboardist, sax player and archivist for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Band whose farewell show with the group was memorialized in Martin Scorsese’s landmark documentary The Last Waltz, died Tuesday in his sleep at a nursing home in Woodstock, NY. He was 87.

The executor of his estate executor confirmed the news to the Toronto Star.

Born Eric Hudson on August 2, 1937, in Windsor, Ontario, and was trained in classical piano and music theory. He played in local bands before hooking up in the late 1950s with rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins’ The Hawks, which eventually would feature many of his Band mates. The group would back Bob Dylan’s on the notorious mid-’60s “Going Electric” tours and, rechristened The Band, they collaborated on groundbreaking album The Basement Tapes, helping to invent the Americana genre.

Related: Ronnie Hawkins Dies: ‘Father Of Canadian Rock ‘N’ Roll’ Was...

Did movies for kids peak in the 1990s? It's entirely possible. We arrived at this question after sifting through piles of our old VHS tapes to produce a list of the best '90s kids' movies, noting the amount of high-quality entertainment we had to choose from. Make no mistake, this was a hard list to assemble and required more than a few heartbreaking sacrifices. Even cherished Walt Disney productions like "Mulan" and "Tarzan" were left on the outside looking in, which speaks volumes about the last great decade. "Beethoven?" Nope. "Rookie of the Year?" Nadda. "Angels in the Outfield?" Non. The Lindsey Lohan "Parent Trap?" Nein.

Thankfully, the films that made the final cut are genuinely excellent. So, don't get too mad if your favorite children's flicks are nowhere to be found. Chances are, we love them too but had to make room for those that were marginally better.

The action-packed Western The Magnificent Seven, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, will soon be available for streaming. The movie is a remake of a 64-year-old Western, which is itself heavily inspired by a samurai film.

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Peacock subscribers can saddle up and revisit this thrilling remake of the iconic Western classic. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, most known for Training Day, the film features Washington as Sam Chisolm, a bounty hunter who leads a group of outlaws, gamblers, and sharpshooters to protect a small town from a ruthless industrialist. The star-studded cast also includes Chris Pratt as the charming and wisecracking gunslinger Josh Faraday, Moon Knight’s Ethan Hawke, Daredevil’s Vincent D’Onofrio, and Byung-hun Lee, bringing fresh energy to the story of justice and sacrifice.

Related This ‘80s Action Director Made One of the Most Underrated Western Movies

Walter Hill helped to usher in countless 80s classics, but...

"The Terminator" is one of those unimpeachable sci-fi classics that feels fundamental to the evolution of the genre. As such, it's strange to think of director James Cameron having any specific inspiration, especially considering the impetus for the 1984 movie was as personal as Cameron having a nightmare which included that now famous image of a chrome Terminator exoskeleton emerging from a fire.

Beyond that, "The Terminator" has taken on a sort of mythical aura in the history of cinema. Like Paul McCartney having to verify "Yesterday" didn't already exist before he could accept that he'd written it, the idea for "The Terminator" seems like such a foundational sci-fi concept that it's odd to think there was a time when it didn't exist in the public consciousness. A killer robot is sent back in time to prevent a future war — like all good ideas it's simple without being simplistic and made...

Musicals often go overlooked at the Academy Awards, but there are a handful of career-defining performances in the genre that have received the notable accolade. Chicago is the latest musical to win Best Picture, with recognition for the genre largely coming in the form of wins in the acting categories. Several of these actors play the lead or supporting roles in what's considered to be some of the best musicals of all time. Some of these actors were part of a significant sweep their film had at the Oscars that year, like Rita Moreno in West Side Story.

Others were the only ones to win for their musical film that night. In these roles, celebrated film actors like Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, and Liza Minnelli blew critics and audiences away with their ability to transform into their famous characters, showing a whole new side to them as performers. Additionally, actors...

As Hollywood adjusted to the whims and desires of Baby Boomer moviegoers heading into the 1970s, studios found themselves making fewer and fewer Westerns. Long one of the most reliably profitable genres, younger viewers who'd come of age rebelling against much of what their parents held dear were turned off by this continued mythologizing of how America pursued its manifest destiny. They rejected John Wayne, but turned out for Italian-produced Spaghetti Westerns, especially those starring Clint Eastwood. As a result, the only semi-traditional Hollywood Westerns Boomers would embrace tended to feature Eastwood in the starring role (e.g. "High Plains Drifter" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales").

One notable exception to the Eastwood rule was Michael Crichton's sci-fi/Western blend "Westworld." The 1973 film stars Richard Benjamin and James Brolin as a pair of buddies who take a vacation to an adult amusement park called Delos to live out their dreams...

The Magnificent Seven was truly one of the best Western films ever made, and it’s surely left plenty of viewers looking for more team-up movies that scratch the same itch. While the original film, which was based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Japanese classic The Seven Samurai, had a unique appeal, plenty more Western releases recapture the magic of John Sturges’ 1960 film. Although the excitement of witnessing the likes of Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen sharing the screen was a tough act to follow, the history of Western cinema boasts endless classic releases.

Many of the best Westerns ever made echo the appeal of The Magnificent Seven and feature outlaws reluctantly teaming up or lawmen forced to come together to achieve a common goal. While these were classic topics for Westerns from times past, some of the best directors working today have also tried their hands at telling stories of bandits,...

When Arnold Reconsidered Terminator 3 Role (Photo Credit – Facebook)

It’s hard to believe, but Arnold almost skipped Terminator 3. Yep, the iconic cyborg was ready to walk away—until James Cameron dropped a gem of advice: “Take the money and run.” Just like that, the Terminator was back.

But here’s a plot twist: Arnold almost wasn’t the Terminator. In ’84, the studio wanted O.J. Simpson for the role (seriously). They had Arnold pegged as Kyle Reese, the human hero. Then, one lunch with Cameron flipped the script—and Hollywood history.

Then came the lunch that changed everything. Arnold sat down with Cameron and couldn’t stop dissecting the Terminator character. He geeked out how the cyborg needed to move like a machine, with no wasted actions. “He has to be trained blindfolded,” Arnold told Cameron, referencing Yul Brynner’s robotic vibe in Westworld. Cameron was floored. He shut the conversation down with,...

In 1960, one of the greatest Westerns of all time, The Magnificent Seven, premiered in theaters, yet many don't realize the movie is the first in a franchise of underrated Westerns. The Magnificent Seven is directed by John Sturges and based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa movie, Seven Samurai. The film centers on a Mexican village being terrorized by a man named Calvera and his team of cruel outlaws. As a result, the villagers hire seven American gunslingers to protect them. The cowboys not only teach the villagers to protect themselves, but take down Calvera once and for all.

Though it may seem surprising now, upon its release, The Magnificent Seven was something of a failure. It did poorly at the box office in the United States and Canada, and only made a profit due to success in Europe and Asia. Furthermore, reviews were mixed. While some praised The Magnificent Seven for its high-energy first half,...

One of Sergio Leone's spaghetti western masterpieces has hit a major streaming platform. Once Upon a Time in the West, starring Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, has arrived on Prime Video as of December 1.

Directed and co-written by Leone, the revenge-western Once Upon a Time in the West follows Bronson's character, Harmonica (a role originally intended for Clint Eastwood), as he tracks down Fonda's outlaw Frank to right a past wrong. The film notably cast Fonda against type as the villain. The movie's ensemble includes Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Gabriele Ferzetti, Paolo Stoppa, Marco Zuanelli, Keenan Wynn, Frank Wolff, Lionel Stander, Woody Strode, Jack Elam, Al Mulock, Benito Stefanelli and Aldo Sambrell.

Related December 1 Will Be a Sad Day for Stephen King Fans

Stephen King fans only have a few days left to watch a popular adaptation before it leaves Netflix at the start of December.

Once Upon a Time in the West...

In the history of the Oscars, there have only been three times when an actor has won a Best Actor award for portraying famous kings. The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are recognized as the most prestigious award in the movie industry. Since its first ceremony, which took place in 1929, many actors, actresses, directors and composers have received recognition from the Academy for their work in some of the greatest movies ever made.

In the near-century history of the Oscars, there have been 86 winners of the Academy Award for Best Actor. Across the years, there have been many actors who have won Oscars for their portrayals of real people. While several of them have won Oscars for their performances in biopics, there have only been three actors in the history of the Oscars that have won Best Actor awards for portraying kings who reigned across different centuries.

Charles Laughton...

Lee Van Cleef was truly one of the greatest stars of his era, with a filmography that included some of the best Western movies of all time. With over 170 film and television roles, Van Cleef was particularly known for his leading and supporting roles in acclaimed spaghetti Westerns and his performances opposite stars like Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood. With a talent for playing no-nonsense tough guy bandits, Van Cleef had a sinister screen presence that made him a truly compelling villain.

From Western team-ups with iconic stars to truly spectacular Western sequels, Van Cleefs time in the cinematic Wild West was well spent. While some of Van Cleefs best Westerns featured him as the lead, he often also took a backseat to play highly memorable supporting characters who helped elevate these movies to now legendary status. A true icon of the Western genre, Van Cleef should be...

Written and directed by Michael Crichton, the sci-fi thriller Runaway had its thunder stolen by another killer robot movie in 1984: The Terminator.

It’s a wonder what author and filmmaker Michael Crichton must have thought when Orion Pictures released its moderately low-budget sci-fi thriller The Terminator in cinemas in October 1984. Not just because of its parallels between Crichton’s 1973 film Westworld – right down to Yul Brynner’s implacable, gun-toting robot cowboy, which Arnold Schwarzenegger later admitted had influenced his performance. Rather, because young upstart filmmaker James Cameron completely stole Crichton’s thunder.

Less than two months later, in December 1984, Crichton’s own killer robot movie emerged in cinemas. Called Runaway, it cost a little more to make than The Terminator (Cameron’s debut cost about $6.4m; Crichton’s film cost $8m). But unlike the former, Runaway was a box office disappointment. The Terminator made almost $80m in cinemas alone,...

One of the sequels to the legendary Western film The Magnificent Seven will soon get a new streaming home. 1969's Guns of the Magnificent Seven will arrive on Prime Video on November 1.

Directed by Paul Wendkos and produced by Vincent M. Fennelly, Guns of the Magnificent Seven stars George Kennedy as the character Chris Adams, originally portrayed by Yul Brynner in previous franchise entries. Rounding out the seven are James Whitmore as Levi Morgan, Monte Markham as Keno, Reni Santoni as Maximiliano "Max" O'Leary, Bernie Casey as Cassie, Scott Thomas as P.J., and Joe Don Baker as Slater. The group bands together to free the Mexican revolutionary Angel Quintero, played by Fernando Rey, and fight the oppression of the sadistic Colonel Diego, portrayed by Michael Ansara. The movie's cast also includes Wende Wagner, Tony Davis, Frank Silvera, Sancho Gracia, Luis Rivera, George Rigaud, and Peter Lawman.

Related 1 of the...

Mitzi Gaynor, star of 1950s big-screen musicals including “South Pacific” and “Les Girls” and a series of beloved variety specials in the 1970s, died on Thursday. She was 93.

Gaynor’s management team, Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda, confirmed to Variety that she died of natural causes.

“For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage. She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer,” Reyes and Rosamonda wrote in a statement on Gaynor’s X account. “Off stage, she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being.”

Gaynor starred as Navy nurse Nellie Forbush in the 1958 big-screen adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” together with Rossano Brazzi as French planter Emile De Becque and John Kerr as Lt. Cable. Gaynor sang...

Mitzi Gaynor, the leggy entertainer whose saucy vitality and blond beauty graced the big screen in South Pacific and on Las Vegas stages and in spectacular TV specials, has died. She was 93.

Gaynor, who received top billing over The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 16, 1964, and was famed costume designer Bob Mackie’s first celebrity client, died Oct. 17 of natural causes, her team announced in a statement.

“As we celebrate her legacy, we offer our thanks to her friends and fans and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda of Gaynor’s Mgmt team said in a statement shared on the entertainer’s X (formerly known as Twitter.)

“Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life. She often noted that her audiences were ‘the sunshine of my life.’ You truly were.

The great Denzel Washington has only starred in one Western movie during his illustrious acting career, Antoine Fuqua's 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven, a star-studded remake of the 1960 movie starring Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen. Of course, both films are inspired by legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's highly influential 1954 action movie Seven Samurai.

In translating the story from the East to the West, several differences between the Samurai film and the Western movie stand out, most notably regarding the accuracy of The Magnificent Seven's cinematic tropes and tenets set along the American frontier. Fortunately, Denzel Washington is such a magnetic draw that the glaring inaccuracies of the movie, cited by historian Michael Grauer via Business Insider, did harm the movie's success at the box office or on streaming.

The Magnificent Seven PG-13

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*Availability in US Release Date September 14, 2016Director Antoine FuquaCast Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt2, Haley Bennett,...

After coming up short on his first two Best Actor Oscar bids for “Walk the Line” and “The Master,” Joaquin Phoenix took the gold in 2020 for “Joker.” The film reaped a whopping 11 Oscar nominations and cracked the billion dollar mark at the box office. The sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which hits theaters October 4, makes Phoenix the 11th Best Actor victor to reprise his winning role in a feature film.

Only one of the first 10 fellows to pull off this double feature earned another Oscar nomination: Bing Crosby (he won for “Going My Way” in 1945 and was nominated for “The Bells of St. Mary’s” in 1946).

Those who preceded Crosby in reprising their winning roles without academy recognition are Warner Baxter, who went on to appear in both “The Cisco Kid” (1931) and “Return of the Cisco Kid” (1939), and Spencer Tracy, who starred in “Men of Boys Town” (1941).

Edward Flanagan portrayer Tracy...

The best movie remakes are those that can stand on their own merits, and have their own identity separate from their source material. This is especially true for remakes of movies that are considered by both critics and general audiences to be untouchable classics. That said, there are some remakes that are so well-made and popular that they don't just surpass the original, but outright bury them and leave them in obscurity.

This doesn't mean that the original movie was inferior or never good to begin with. Truth be told, many of the original movies still hold up well under modern scrutiny. It's also not difficult to see why audiences of the time loved them. But thanks to a combination of the passage of time, the new cast's and crew's talents, and modern tastes, these remakes' original versions were forgotten and fell through the cracks.

The Ten Commandments Transformed a...

Ron Howard's acting career was part of a family legacy, as his father, Rance, was already a prolific performer when he was born in 1954. Howard's first professional acting credit is for the 1959 feature "The Journey," with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. That same year, the five-year-old Ron infiltrated TV, appearing as precocious moppets in multiple hot shows.

More notably, beginning in 1960, Ron -- credited as Ronny -- began starring on "The Andy Griffith Show," playing Opie, the son of Griffith's character. Howard would appear in 243 of the show's 249 episodes, over the course of eight seasons. While appearing on "Andy Griffith," Howard would continue to be a TV presence, appearing in dozens of additional hot shows, as well as several notable B-pictures.

Even in his teen years, Howard continued to act, proving that he was no mere child prodigy. He appeared in George Lucas' nostalgia film "American Graffiti," and...

Quick Links A Star-Studded Western Extravaganza The Magnificent Seven Production Was Plagued by Hurdles and Headaches The Magnificent Seven Is a True Masterpiece in the Western Genre The Magnificent Seven Becomes a Celebrated Classic

Lauded as one of the greatest and most celebrated Westerns of the 20th century, the 1960 masterpiece The Magnificent Seven featured some of Tinseltown's most sought-after leading men, with big names like Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson headlining the exhilarating adaptation of the iconic Japanese epic. The sweeping picture features a group of misfit gunslingers as they are tasked with protecting a small Mexican village from violent bandits led by the villainous Calvera (Eli Wallach).

By the time The Magnificent Seven was released, Westerns were a certified staple on the silver screen and were fan-favorites among curious moviegoers, with the spellbinding flick becoming one of the revered entries in the "Golden Age of the Western...

The Western genre stands out as one of the strongest and most compelling in cinema. Despite its declining audience in the 21st century, the genre continues to have an impressive output, with many of the best-written and best-acted films in history taking place in the Old West. From action-packed adventure to ultra-violent antihero stories and even war movies, there are plenty of great movies to choose from.

The Western genre is, alongside drama and war, something of an outlier in cinema due to the fact it has so few sequels. In fact, many of the movies deemed duologies or trilogies in the genre are often loosely related, and there's a famous trend of stars rarely reprising their roles when they are follow-ups, such as the True Grit and High Noon sequels. As a result, few Western sequels are held in high esteem, though there are plenty worth a look.

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Exclusive: The widow of Michael Crichton – creator of ER, Jurassic Park, Westworld, Twister, The Andromeda Strain and many other hits that blended grounded science with propulsive pop culture narratives – filed a potentially explosive lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court this morning.

Led by Crichton’s widow Sherri Crichton on behalf of John Michael Crichton Trust’s Roadrunner Jmtc, the suit (read it here) names Warner Bros Television, John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill and others who are charged with breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Repping Crichton is Hueston Hennigan Llp, which has demanded a jury trial. The lead attorney, Robert Klieger, repped Peter Jackson in the filmmaker’s suit against Warner Bros over profit participation, which was settled.

The lawsuit alleges that after walking away from a yearlong negotiation to make a new version of the billion-dollar hit series ER,...

Western sequels, like The Lost City of Gold, can expand upon the original with epic narratives and iconic stars. Films like Return of the Seven may not bring back all original cast members but still capture the magic of the original. Classics like Trinity Is Still My Name prove that Western sequels can balance comedy and action for a successful franchise.

Although there have been countless great Western movies over the years, this was not a genre well-known for boasting a lot of fantastic sequels. Whether it's because the nature of cowboys, gunslingers, and outlaws usually led to an early grave or because some of the best Westerns were based on fact, its rare to find a truly must-watch Western sequel. However, there were a select few Western sequels that lovers of the genre absolutely must check out that lived up to or even improved upon the original movie or source material.

One could say it’s a “by-the-numbers” summer with “Despicable Me 4,” “Inside Out 2”” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” among the top box office films. But one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” is back in theaters for its 70th anniversary in a limited release in a new 4K restoration. The acclaimed, influential epic is set in a 16th century Japanese village of poor farmers who hire the seven samurai to protect them from invading bandits intent on stealing their barley crop.

The film stars two members of Japanese filmmaker’s stock company — Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. “Samurai” as noted in the press notes for the new restoration “virtually redefined Japanese cinema’s sword play and period genres, proving Kurosawa a master of both visually thrilling and dramatically complex storytelling.”

Though “Seven Samurai” was released in Japan on April 26, 1954, and was...

Akira Kurosawa's iconic classic Seven Samurai takes home an impressive box office haul in a single theater over 70 years after its initial release.

Per box office analysis account ERCboxoffice on X, the recent release of the 4K remastered edition of Seven Samurai at the Film Forum theater in New York City brought in $19,000. The release is set to expand into Los Angeles and Boston next week, which brings the potential for the box office return on this edition of the film to expand exponentially.

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The cast of Avatar and longtime collaborator James Cameron remember legendary producer Jon Landau after his passing.

Akira Kurosawas 4k restoration of Seven Samurai scored $19k in just a single NYC theater (Film Forum) this weekendwill expand to LA and Boston next week. pic.twitter.com/xG4dmvxGHH Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice...

Robert Towne, who won an Oscar for his Chinatown original screenplay and was nominated for his Shampoo, The Last Detail and Greystoke scripts, died Monday at his home. He was 89.

PR firm McClure & Associates announced the news on behalf of Towne’s family.

Towne also earned BAFTA, Golden Globe and WGA awards for Chinatown, the L.A.-set 1974 thriller starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. It was one of three Writers Guild Awards he won during his career, along with Shampoo and the drama series Mad Men, on which he was a consulting producer during the final seventh season. He also was nominated for The Last Detail (1973) and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1985). He was honored with the guild’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in 1997.

Thoughtful and soft spoken, Towne was a perfectionist who hated studio meetings and script notes and famously would disappear for...

John Sturges' "The Magnificent Seven" is one of the best Westerns of all time. We are bound by the Unspoken Rules of the Internet to acknowledge that the film is a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai," and Kurosawa himself found it "disappointing, but entertaining." With all due respect to the Japanese master, though, "The Magnificent Seven" is a banger. Led by a stalwart cast that serves as a who's who of 1960s manly men, including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter, and Charles Bronson, the plot follows a small Mexican village that's being terrorized by a gang of bandits led by a guy named Calvera, played Eli Wallach. With their backs against the wall, the villagers decide to hire a group of seven gunslingers to protect them, and the stage is set for an inevitable showdown.

Brynner and McQueen butted heads behind the scenes,...

Armando Silvestre, a busy actor in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema who appeared with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, with Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun and with Burt Lancaster in The Scalphunters, has died. He was 98.

Silvestre died June 2 in Coronado, California, a representative from the Aztlan Mortuary in nearby La Mesa told The Hollywood Reporter.

The powerfully built Silvestre made scores of films in Mexico, among them Here Comes Martin Corona (1952), Rossana (1953), Story of a Mink Coat (1955) with Silvia Pinal, La Sombra Vengadora (1956), The Miracle Roses (1960), Neutrón Contra el Dr. Caronte (1963), La Choca (1974) and Faith, Hope and Charity (1974).

He excelled in Westerns and action adventure movies early in his career en route to compiling more than 200 credits on IMDb.

Armando Silvestre Carrascosa was born in San Diego on Jan. 28, 1926, and raised in Tijuana. His younger brother was Eduardo Silvestre, winner of the Mr.