News

Justice for movie stars. We are just a few months shy of when Noah Baumbach’s ode to a fictional movie star is released, with one of our starriest film stars at its center playing said fictional movie star — George Clooney — and plenty more playing less famous characters. “Jay Kelly” will present a modern day Cary Grant (who is even referenced in the teaser trailer) as he struggles to juggle his life as a mega famous actor. As the teaser previews, Jay Kelly is accused of just playing himself — a criticism that has been levied, too, on Clooney, as well as the Netflix movie’s co-star Adam Sandler. And Clooney said he doesn’t “give a shit” if people do think that.

“Have you ever tried playing yourself? It’s hard to do,” Clooney told Vanity Fair, co-opting a line from “Jay Kelly.”

The “Ocean’s Eleven” star pointed out that,...

Audrey Hepburn's 1963 comedy thriller "Charade" was not only one of the actress' best movies, but it was one of the best movies to come out of that entire year. Famously described as "the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made," the movie was a major critical and audience hit. It also won Hepburn a British Film Academy Award for best actress, and won writer Peter Stone an Edgar Allan Poe Award for best motion picture screenplay. 

The 2002 mystery film, "The Truth About Charlie," was a remake of "Charade" that sought to achieve the same level of success as the original. This one starred Thandiwe Newton in Hepburn's role, and Mark Wahlberg in Cary Grant's. Wahlberg's character may technically have a different name as Grant's character, but he's written to be as sneaky and charming as the role that marked the end of era for Grant. Despite both Walhberg and...

Though Louis B. Mayer created the Academy Awards as a union-busting enterprise and a bid for further studio control, they're now considered the highest honors in Hollywood. Studios put millions into Oscars campaigns for their films and stars, and Oscars commentary has become an industry in and of itself. In the Internet age, the Academy Awards now generate iconic viral moments like the memorable "La La Land" and "Moonlight" mix-up in 2017.

Even as we recognize their insignificance, it's difficult not to get invested in the outcome of the Oscars. However, as Oscar voters are fallible people, they don't always get it right. Remember when "Green Book" inexplicably won Best Picture in 2017, mirroring the "Driving Miss Daisy" controversy in 1990? The history of the Academy Awards is filled with instances of voters having very bad taste and having very good taste -- though, of course, taste is subjective.

Indeed, some Oscar winners are best left gathering dust.

Another month means another slate of HBO Max releases. The streamer will bring a few notable films onto its service this August, including A24’s “The Legend of Ochi” and the horror sensation “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” It also boasts a minor selection of archive entries, bringing new horror, romance, comedy and drama onto the service.

Here are the seven best movies that are new to HBO Max in August

20th Century “Alien: Covenant”

“Alien: Covenant” isn’t the best of the “Alien” franchise. It’s barely in the top five. Still, Ridley Scott’s third feature in his outer space horror franchise expands upon the interesting themes and ideas established in his earlier entries.

Scott and company bring Michael Fassbender back into the fold, allowing one of the franchise’s best actors to give a dual performance as synthetics David and Walter. Through these characters (particularly David), “Covenant” continues to...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

If you're a film buff, you can almost certainly cite the first movie you saw in a theater. Mine was "Star Wars." I was three years old, and screamed in terror when the lights dimmed. I was enchanted for a whole ten minutes or so before conking out -- though I did rouse for the trench run. I finally watched "Star Wars" in its entirety during its 1978 rerelease, and that experience of, to my four-year-old mind, having watched a movie that was shot in space is an exhilaration I've been chasing for the last 47 years.

I was fortunate that my introduction to the transporting magic of the movies came via the most pivotal piece of cinema, commercially and artistically, since "Gone with the Wind." Meanwhile, there's some kid out there whose first trip to the theater was to see Tim Allen in "Jungle 2 Jungle.

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,...

Long before he became Superman and Hollywood’s new leading man, David Corenswet was a college student making goofy YouTube sketches with his best friend. His early project, Moe & Jerryweather, is a charmingly low-budget web series that he co-wrote, co-created, and starred in with fellow actor Adam Langdon.

The series follows two offbeat roommates, Moe (played by Langdon) and Jerryweather (Corenswet), as they struggle through attempts to make their own comedy show.

It’s a weird, wonderful mix of oddball sketches. Corenswet plays Jerryweather as the well-meaning but slightly clueless half of the duo, and his comic timing is part of what gives the series its charm.

Moe & Jerryweather may not be polished, but that’s part of the appeal. It’s scrappy, smart, and full of personality. Corenswet’s creativity is all over it, from the writing and acting to the direction, and it offers an early glimpse...

There are certain movie stars who have "It" the second they walk in front of a camera. It might not happen for them immediately, but all casting directors and filmmakers had to do was watch a minute or two of Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, or Paul Newman to know that they'd be topping marquees and posters for decades to come. For Gen X-ers, the same could be said of Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and Halle Berry. For Millennials and Zoomers, you've got Michael B. Jordan, Florence Pugh, Glen Powell, and Sydney Sweeney.

Some future movie stars don't pop like this. They need seasoning and, most importantly, the right role to demonstrate that they're capable of carrying a movie. I don't think anyone envisioned Gene Hackman as a leading man until they saw him whoop it up as Buck Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde," nor was Renée Zellweger...

Cary Grant is one of Hollywood's greatest rags-to-riches stories. Born Archibald Leach in Bristol, UK, in 1904, he survived an impoverished and neglected childhood in which his mother was falsely declared dead (he would find out she was still alive until was in his 30s) and went on to become one of the greatest romantic leading men that Tinseltown has ever produced. Known for his distinctive and often-imitated mid-Atlantic accent, dashing good looks, and a faint air of aristocratic amusement, Grant appeared in over 70 movies during his career, ranging from Boys' Own adventures ("Gunga Din") and film noir ("Notorious") to slick espionage thrillers ("North by Northwest"). Yet his particular debonair charms were always better suited to light comedy, perhaps best demonstrated in one of his best screwball movies: Howard Hawks' 1940 classic "His Girl Friday," now streaming free on Pluto TV.

"His Girl Friday" was Grant's third collaboration with Howard Hawks after...

, Revisiting Aamir Khan’s Mann which released in 1999, and we hear from the actor in a throwback interview, in this new installment of Subhash K Jha’s feature series This Day That Year.

A lachrymose lack-everything remake of a 1957 Hollywood classic An Affair to Remember directed by Leo McCarey and starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, Indra Kumar’s Mann was an embarrassment for all concerned including its lead Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala, who had earlier worked together in Mansoor Khan’a Akele Hum Akele Tum which coincidentally was also an unofficial remake of a Hollywood classic (Kramer Versus Kramer).

In interview, I did with Aamir Khan after the release of Mann, I asked him if he stood by the film.

He replied, “I stand by all my films. I don’t say I don’t acknowledge their weaknesses. I look honestly at their faults and strengths. I don...

For most moviegoers, Brad Pitt basically dropped out of the sky and into the backseat of a 1966 Ford Thunderbird Convertible in Ridley Scott's 1991 classic "Thelma & Louise." They'd never seen or heard of this ludicrously handsome charmer before, but now that he was so emphatically here, they knew they'd be lining up to see him in just about anything for decades to come.

34 years later, Pitt, at the age of 61, is still one of the most sought-after movie stars in the world -- and those sun-kissed good looks have kept better than Robert Redford's, so he remains a viable romantic lead at a point in his career where you'd expect him to start playing men who are uneasily aware that they've entered their third act. Or he could make like Cary Grant and simply retire rather than face the awful indignity of playing grandfathers.

This would be unthinkable because,...

Jake Gyllenhaal commented on Natalie Portman‘s first pregnancy during the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival, and whether you want to take it as a joke or not is completely up to you.

The former couple dated for a short period of time before going their separate ways, but more on that later. During the film festival, Portman was all set to be awarded the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Black Swan, and who better to present the trophy than her ex-boyfriend, right?

Before calling her on stage, Gyllenhaal’s speech was a mix of both admiration and jokes that were all in good fun. From calling her “the Audrey Hepburn of our generation” to being an advocate for her kind personality, the actor had great things to say about his ex-girlfriend.

He then made a joke about her pregnancy, stating that her kids would need therapy after seeing their mother in Black Swan.

A Relentless Output, A Personal Turn Since ‘Call Me By Your Name’ in 2017, Luca Guadagnino has quietly become one of the most consistently productive auteurs working today. He’s not quite working on a clock- but it’s close. With near-annual feature releases, plus the occasional short film or music video nestled in between, Guadagnino’s output is beginning to resemble Woody Allen’s in terms of consistency- that is, if Guadagnino can keep the pace up for another forty-something years. This year continues the streak. After releasing what he has called his most personal project yet, ‘Queer’ (now streaming on HBO Max), Guadagnino already has another film on deck. ‘After the Hunt,’ a psychological drama is set for release this October, starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield, as well as two Guadagnino alums- Chloë Sevigny (‘Bones and All’) and Michael Stuhlbarg (‘Call Me By Your Name’). Luca Guadagnino’s...

Sara Fgaier on Leo McCarey’s An Affair To Remember, starring Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant and Love Affair with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer: “I saw the two versions in Paris. It was incredible, because I already wrote the film [Weightless] and then I discovered them.” Photo: Anne Katrin Titze

Sara Fgaier’s Weightless (Sulla Terra Leggeri), a highlight of Cinecittà and Film at Lincoln Center’s 24th edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, stars Andrea Renzi, Sara Serraiocco, Emilio Scarpa, and Lise Lomi. The story by Fgaier and Sabrina Cusano, who both co-wrote the screenplay with Maurizio Buquicchio, links love and memory and in an exciting new cinematic way combines past and present, the life of the mind and that of physical remnants of what may never have been.

Lise Lomi and Emilio Scarpa star in Sara Fgaier’s Weightless

Fgaier chose a Julian Barnes quote from...

In classic film circles, “Bringing Up Baby” is just one of those movies that everybody knows about. It’s Cary Grant. It’s Katharine Hepburn. It’s Howard Hawks. All “Old Hollywood For Dummies” buzz words. But the movie — a notorious flop upon release — is a historical curiosity not because it is a cute, zany screwball comedy of a bygone era — though it is. “Bringing Up Baby” just happens to have what is likely first usage in film of the word “gay” to mean something other than happy. At least we think it does.

“My understanding is that by the time ‘Bringing Up Baby’ came out, the word ‘gay’ was known in some circles to mean homosexual,” TCM host Dave Karger said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “And the story goes that Cary Grant ad libbed that line. So, I would like to think that he that Cary Grant...

You may or may not know this, but Tubi is an amazing streaming service. Sure, it's ad-supported, meaning you'll get a couple of commercial breaks during viewing, and no one's championing Tubi Originals. But no other streamer has a library as eclectic — mixing classic cinema, foreign films, studio hits, cult genre junk, horror favorites, and more. Where else can you find "The Red Shoes" next to something called "Dinocroc vs. Supergator"?

Tubi is like the niches of every other streaming service rolled into one, and it regularly hosts some of the greatest American and world cinema — for free, aside from the occasional ad break. Keep your Netflixes, HBO Maxes, and Criterion Channels — if I could only have one, I'm keeping Tubi.

Here are the 15 best movies on Tubi right now.

Read more: The 10 Best Movies Of All Time, According To IMDb

Jaws

There's a lot to say — and that has...

Marlon Brando Was Devastated by His Experience on Charlie Chaplin’s Final Film (Photo Credit – Prime Video/Wikipedia)

Charlie Chaplin was about to call cut for the very last time in 1966. The legend of the silent film era and the man whose moustache spoke volumes without uttering a word was about to direct his swan song, A Countess from Hong Kong. For that, he needed a man who could ooze charm effortlessly, and so Chaplin went after Marlon Brando.

Why Marlon Brando Agreed To A Role That Made Him Nervous

For all his reputation as Hollywood’s brooding crown jewel, Brando couldn’t resist the offer. The idea of working with Chaplin, an idol from his childhood and a man he saw as nothing short of a comedic god, was too good to pass up. “I figured he must know something I didn’t, that he thought I could add...

The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to present actor/producer Tom Cruise, actress/producer/choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas with Honorary Awards, and actress/singer-songwriter Dolly Parton with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 16th annual Governors Awards, the organization announced Tuesday.

The honorees — whose selection was the final decision made by the 55 governors who served on the Academy’s board during the 2024-2025 term, including the likes of Pam Abdy, Jason Blum, Ruth E. Carter, Ava DuVernay, Marlee Matlin, Jason Reitman and Eric Roth — will be fêted at a black-tie ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 16.

“This year’s Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact,...

Do movie stars still exist? Film journalists, cinephiles, and producers have been debating this point for over a decade, declaring the movie star extinct.

But throughout the 2010s, Hollywood leaned into intellectual properties and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while original films starring A-list talents like Jennifer Lawrence (“Passengers”), Johnny Depp (“The Lone Ranger”), and Will Smith (“Gemini Man”) flopped, and gradually everybody seemed to be lining up to pay their respects at the grave of the movie star.

They’ve blamed the death on Hollywood’s hunger for IP, the erasure of the mid-budget movie, and the rise of television. But many of these arguments miss the forest for the trees: We not only still have movie stars today, but stardom today is very similar to what it was in the Golden Age of Hollywood. The film industry is not post-movie stars, and big-name actors still influence audiences’ viewing habits and films’ financial success.

The "MacGuffin" is one of the most famous, most enduring plot devices in all cinema. The term was created by screenwriter Angus McPhail, but it entered the pop culture consciousness via McPhail's early collaborator, Alfred Hitchcock, whose works regularly employed the device.

The filmmaker would later explain the concept to fellow auteur François Truffaut during their legendary 1960s conversations.

The main thing I’ve learned over the years is that the MacGuffin is nothing. I’m convinced of this, but I find it very difficult to prove it to others. My best MacGuffin, and by that I mean the emptiest, the most nonexistent, and the most absurd, is the one we used in North by Northwest. The picture is about espionage, and the only question that’s raised in the story is to find out what the spies are after. Well, during the scene at the Chicago airport, the Central...

Jason Isaacs had reservations with his role in The White Lotus Season 3; he nailed the audition and got the part, but hesitated after reading Timothy Ratliff's backstory. He took on the challenge and pulled it off, thanks in part to co-star Parker Posey.

It's hard to imagine another actor playing Timothy Ratliff in The White Lotus, but Jason Isaac confirmed others had turned down the role before his audition. In an interview with Deadline, Isaacs said it was difficult to portray a compelling character who’s always under the influence. “Tim’s a guy who’s out of his head for five or six episodes on downers, not on entertaining uppers like Murray Bartlett was in Season 1. And with virtually no words to communicate this enormous story he’s got,” he explained.

The role proved a challenge, despite Isaac’s impressive acting history; his nuanced performance (as Cary Grant) in Archie showcased his range,...

Jason Isaacs made his movie debut in 1989, in British romcom The Tall Guy, and has worked solidly ever since. He’s used to being recognized, mostly for his role as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter, but also for his small-screen work in The Oa and Star Trek spin-offs. He expects that, given the fanatical audiences they attract, but he’s been blindsided by the amount of attention he’s had since the April finale of Mike White’s hit HBO show The White Lotus, in which he plays shady U.S. businessman Tim Ratliff.

“For the last few weeks, I’ve been recognized a lot, and in the most surprising places,” notes the deadpan 62-year-old Brit as he makes short work of a mushroom donburi at London’s White City House. “But that’s what usually happens: I’ll be recognized for a few weeks, and then it stops. I...

Stanley Donen's "Charade" is about Reggie Lampert (Audrey Hepburn), a professional interpreter who is on the cusp of divorcing her husband, Charles. While on vacation in the French Alps, she meets the charming and handsome Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), a fellow American that she instantly has chemistry with. They go their separate ways, but he will return to her life shortly enough. Back home in Paris, Reggie finds that her husband has been murdered, and he has left behind a mysterious satchel with plane tickets and several fake passports. At his funeral, some shady-looking dudes stab his corpse with a pin to make sure he's really dead. Charles, it seems, was up to something Reggie never knew about. 

An American diplomat (Walter Matthau) explains to Reggie that her late husband was once a soldier in World War II and had been assigned a delivery task, secretly shipping gold to the French underground.

The Italian mainland boasts a host of film festivals from the giants like Venice, Torino and Rome to the specialist cinephile celebrations like the Bologna Cinema Ritrovato and Pordenone’s annual celebration of silent cinema. But few of them boast as beautiful and historical a setting as the ancient amphitheater that hosts the screenings of the Taormina Film Festival, which celebrates its 71st edition this year.

The Greco-Roman theater, which once saw spectators enjoying the spectacle of gladiators fighting ferocious beasts, now serves as an open air cinema where viewers have watched the likes of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Twisters.” Sometimes, Mount Etna will erupt in the distance, spouting plumes of molten lava and stealing the show. With such ancient history in mind, here’s a run through of some milestones in the admittedly shorter history of the Sicilian film festival:

● 1957 – The film festival, which had...

Jason Isaacs is used to Harry Potter fans giving him a sock (Dobby is free!). After starring in Season 3 of The White Lotus as scandal-hiding financier Timothy Ratliff, however, he's experiencing a new phenomenon: "People offer me piña coladas everywhere I go," the actor tells Gold Derby. "I was on the Tennis Channel [last month], because I'm a tennis buff and I was talking about tennis, and they brought out a smoothie — a blender with piña coladas in it."

That homage to his desperate patriarch's shocking, and thankfully aborted, plan to kill himself and members of his family with a poisoned cocktail isn't the only reminder of his time on one of 2025's buzziest series: After Duke University publicly objected to North Carolina native Timothy donning his alma mater's T-shirt during his deadly visions, Isaacs now has a collection of Blue Devils apparel. "I've got the T-shirt, and I wore it just two days ago.

Max Clayton will star as C.K. Dexter Haven in Ogunquit Playhouse’s reimagining of High Society. The production will run from July 24 – August 23. High Society features music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Arthur Kopit, with additional Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. High Society takes Philip Barry's beloved comedy The Philadelphia Story and weaves in the sophisticated elegance of Cole Porter’s music. Centered on the taming of the brazen young socialite Tracy Lord, the characters made famous by Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart in George Kukor’s Oscar-winning 1940 film were given new life in 1956 by Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra in the musical adaptation. <br...

Perhaps more than any other director in the history of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock was fascinated by identity. Many of his films revolve around a case of mistaken identity. This was played out in many of his classic films, from Saboteur to The Wrong Man and on to North by Northwest.

In each case, our erstwhile hero has been accused of some villainous act and must fight his way through 120-odd minutes to clear his name.

In others, it's the protagonist themself who isn't quite sure of who they truly are. Hitchcock never resorted to anything as cumbersome as an actual mask, although there may be a wig involved. A prime example of this is the seminal thriller Psycho.

3 new classics on Netflix that wear their Alfred Hitchcock on their sleeves

The titular character of Marnie has a deeply hidden self as well. In both films, the truth is revealed to...

From humble beginnings to acting, movies, and community leadership, George Takei, born on April 20th, 1937, has worn many hats in his long career. He’s one of our last 3 surviving bridge crew members (along with Walter Koenig and William Shatner), so let’s look at his impressive career and the importance of his presence on Star Trek.

A chaotic youth

Born Hosato Takei, the actor’s father named him George, as George VI’s coronation occurred shortly after Takei’s birth. In 1942, the Takei family was thrown into chaos because of fear and mistrust of Asian people as World War II escalated. They lived in internment camps in Arkansas and California, then lived in poverty in Skid Row, in Los Angeles, after the war ended.

An acting career blooms

As a young man, Takei attended college at Berkley, the University of California at Los Angeles, and even abroad at schools in England and Tokyo.

Marion Morrison belongs on the Mount Rushmore of movie stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Never heard of him? We bet you have. He went by John Wayne. The American Film Institute inexplicably put him at number 13 on their list of 100 Biggest Stars (what were they smoking and where can we get some?). Sure, we love Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant too, but you won't see their mugs at highway gas stations nationwide splattered on every sort of memorabilia you can imagine. John Wayne, and John Wayne alone, was more than a movie star. He was a symbol of the country he called home, with all of its greatness and contradictions. These roles are the reason why.

This is not "John Wayne's Best Movies," though naturally there's considerable overlap. Sure, these are great movies, but we're not ranking the film's overall quality. This is about Wayne's work.

Like Netflix and HBO Max, Amazon’s Prime Video has a film and TV library that is vast and deeper than most of its subscribers may realize. Hidden beneath its most easily accessible recommendations are underrated, oft-forgotten movies that you likely have never seen before. These films run the complete genre gamut, which means that, regardless of whether you are in the mood for a light-hearted Hollywood adventure or a darker thriller, you can always find exactly the kind of movie you’re looking for on the platform.

With all that in mind, here are seven great hidden gem movies that are streaming on Prime Video right now.

“The Third Man” (Selznick Releasing Organization) “The Third Man (1949)

Rightly regarded as one of cinema’s greatest films, director Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” is a jovially constructed noir about betrayal, justice and loss. Written by Graham Greene, it follows an...

Legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek sure made a lot of cameos in ‘80s and ‘90s TV shows, usually playing himself, and one time portraying a shadowy government agent who looks exactly like Alex Trebek. But arguably the greatest Jeopardy!-themed episode of television was Cheers’ “What Is… Cliff Clavin?”

It found the titular Boston watering hole’s resident know-it-all competing in the primetime game show. To his friends’ surprise, Cliff actually slays the competition, mostly thanks to a lineup of categories that are conspicuously right up his alley, including “Beer,” “Mothers and Sons,” “Bar Trivia” and “Celibacy.”

But after earning a huge lead thanks to this Slumdog Millionaire-esque luck, Cliff blows it all in Final Jeopardy. The category is “Movies,” and the clue simply reads, “Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz and Lucille LeSueur.” Cliff responds, “Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?”

Unfortunately for Cliff, he...

When James Bond Faced Casting Rejection ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

James Bond has always been the kind of role that attracts wild stories. Actors love to claim they were considered for it or nearly signed for it, especially after someone new is officially announced.

The list has grown to include American stars who had no real shot, and British legends who were nearly there but not quite. Each time a Bond steps down, the rumor machine kicks into overdrive and spins out names from the obvious to the absurd.

The Ever-Shifting James Bond Casting Formula

Sometimes, the producers went with fresh faces, like Australian George Lazenby, plucked from modeling into the tuxedo. Other times, they circled back to the familiar, as they did with Sean Connery. But one thing’s for sure and that is there never seemed to be a clear formula. The direction of the franchise has always bent...

[Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2022 and has been updated multiple times since.]

Movies might seem like magic, but Hollywood’s favorite actors, directors, producers, stunt performers, props masters, costumers, script coordinators, and cinematographers are still only human. Since before that child extra prematurely covered his ears for Eva Marie Saint shooting Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” audiences have delighted in finding the little moments that make their favorite films imperfect.

Like freckles on a human face, mistakes can make movies infinitely more special to the audiences that love them. Consider the clumsy stormtrooper of “A New Hope,” whose hilariously audible collision with an Imperial spaceship doorframe turned the extra’s true identity into an ongoing mystery for the Star Wars ages. Or, for “The Lord of the Rings” fans among us, there’s the anachronistic automobile appearing in “Fellowship of the Ring” right alongside Sam and Frodo. As for the Wizarding World, how about that bike seat on Harry’s broomstick?...

With concerns remaining over the theatrical experience, some key figures are working hard at ensuring it survives

Throughout film history, there have been vanishingly few directors whose brand names reach the heights of the movie stars who log time in front of the camera. That’s natural; we see people like Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Paul Newman, Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise in movie after movie, sometimes experiencing a love-at-first-sight lightning-strike moment, sometimes developing a relationship over many years, and sometimes a combination of the two. Directors, for the most part, remain hidden, with a select few – Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Martin Scorsese – popping through to broader public consciousness, a process that seems to take twice as long. (Martin Scorsese became a commercial prospect roughly 30 years into his career.)

It’s a little surprising, then, that the newest crop of directors reaching for brand-name status have become the public faces...

If the Cannes Film Festival were a building, it would be the Carlton.

The iconic hotel, with its Belle Époque balustrades and twin cupola domes, its combination of old world elegance and over-the-top extravagance, is a manifestation — in limestone, stucco and pink marble — of the Cannes festival brand. “I often hear people compare the Carlton to the Eiffel Tower,” says Carlton Hotel general manager Pierre-Louis Renou. “On one hand, it’s gigantic, but on the other so immaculate. It’s kind of a monument to the glamour of Cannes.”

The first-ever Cannes festival was held at the Carlton Casino in 1946 — well before they built the Palais — and the Carlton has played a supporting, occasionally starring, role in the history of the festival ever since. The first Cannes celebrity photo-op? The best promotional stunts? The biggest backroom deals? They all happened at the Carlton.

The Cannes Festival Launches in the Carlton...

Katharine Hepburn Was Once Called Box Office Poison—Here’s How She Staged Her Comeback(Photo Credit –Wikimedia)

Katharine Hepburn stepped into Hollywood with a fire that couldn’t be ignored. In a time when the silver screen was shaping the dreams of millions, she carved her path instead of following the trends. Her fierce presence in A Bill of Divorcement lit a fire under the decade, and soon, she was everywhere. Films like Morning Glory and Little Women only further cemented her place in the spotlight. But stardom, especially in Hollywood’s Golden Age, was never guaranteed to last. That same spotlight could turn harsh, and tragically, by the end of the 1930s, it did.

Katharine Hepburn’s Shine Began to Fade

The industry shifted fast, and Hepburn’s films no longer drew crowds. Her films, such as Sylvia Scarlett, Mary of Scotland, and The Little Minister, failed to capture the box office.

James Stewart, more affectionately known as "Jimmy" to his fans, was an Oscar-winning performer who became famous for his polite, gentle screen persona, often playing the aww-shucks boy next door. Yet he also showed his range with a series of performances that found him playing against type. Let's take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1908, Stewart earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for playing an idealistic young senator in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939), which firmly established him as the patron saint of the common man. He clinched his one and only victory the very next year for "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), playing a tabloid reporter who stumbles into the marital strife of a high society couple (Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant).

After serving in WWII, Stewart returned home to play George Bailey, a businessman contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve, in...

Joan O’Brien, the actress and singer who shared a submarine with Cary Grant in Operation Petticoat and a romantic relationship with Elvis Presley in It Happened at the World’s Fair, has died. She was 89.

O’Brien’s death was confirmed Wednesday by her daughter, Melissa, in a brief phone call with The Hollywood Reporter. She did not wish to provide any details.

A onetime contract player at MGM, O’Brien also appeared alongside John Wayne in The Alamo (1960) and The Comancheros (1961) and starred in four films released in 1962: It’s Only Money, Six Black Horses, We Joined the Navy and Samar, opposite Jerry Lewis, Audie Murphy, Kenneth More and George Montgomery, respectively.

After making her big-screen debut as the girlfriend of Dean Jones’ overzealous law student in the drama Handle With Care (1958), O’Brien played the embarrassingly clumsy Second Lieutenant Dolores Crandall in the World War II comedy Operation Petticoat (1959), directed by Blake Edwards.

Alfred Hitchcock‘s To Catch a Thief will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a limited edition SteelBook 4K Ultra HD + Digital release on July 29 from Paramount.

The 1955 romantic suspense thriller is presented in 4K with Dolby Vision Hdr and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary by Hitchcock Historian Dr. Drew Casper Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on To Catch a Thief Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly Theatrical Trailer

Hitchcock directs from a script by frequent collaborator John Michael Hayes, based on David Dodge‘s 1952 novel of the same name.

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly star with Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams.

Reformed jewel thief John Robie (Grant) is suspected of a new rash of gem thefts in the luxury hotels of the French Riviera, and he must set out to clear himself. Meeting pampered heiress Frances (Kelly), he sees a chance to bait the mysterious thief...

Our time on this planet is agonizingly brief, which, among other bummers, means that we'll leave loads of great movies unwatched. Ultimately, you've got to prioritize which filmmakers and types of films matter the most to you, while, and this is crucial, making sure you block out time to screen movies that are well out of your wheelhouse. Dive into the wilds of experimental cinema. Explore the many modes of African filmmaking. Acquaint yourself with Italian neorealism. The broader your horizons, the better you understand the lives and struggles of people in places you may never personally visit. As Roger Ebert once noted, movies are "empathy machines." Also, you might just find a new favorite filmmaker along the way (like I did with Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun via The Criterion Channel).

You should always be craving new experiences, but, let's face it, sometimes... Okay, a lot of the time you...

Superman is about to put a new spin on the iconic romance between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and a classic piece of cinema was cited as a major inspiration. Superman and Lois Lane are the most famous couple in all of comics, having been together in some form since Action Comics #1 in 1938. The typical dynamic between them, from George Reeves' The New Adventures of Superman to the Christopher Reeve Superman films, is that Lois Lane is head-over-heels for Superman. Though he shares those same affections for her, he often feels like he can't be with her because of a greater duty to the world. However, it seems this summer's Superman is messing with the formula in some exciting ways.

Speaking with ABC, David Corenswet and James Gunn discussed their upcoming Superman project, with one topic highlighted being the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. David Corenswet described it...

Netflix, the streaming service famous for not streaming older movies and not bringing movies to the big screen, is – in a surprise twist – bringing a bunch of old movies to the big screen!

The Hollywood Reporter has announced this afternoon that the Netflix-owned Paris Theater in New York will be celebrating Alfred Hitchcock with screenings of 36 of his movies.

“The series — Hitch! The Original Cinema Influencer — will run May 16 to June 29 at the Paris Theater, which Netflix purchased in 2019,” THR details. “The films range from Hitchcock’s early works such as Blackmail to enduring hits such as Psycho and The Birds.”

In addition to the big screen series, a collection of classic Alfred Hitchcock films will be available to stream on Netflix in the US featuring some of his most iconic works starting June 1.

Here’s everything you need to know, straight from the Paris Theater…

The Paris Theater is proud to present Hitch!

Winning an Oscar can truly change the trajectory of an actor's career. Naturally, it isn't everything, and some performers do just fine without ever winning an Academy Award. However, taking home the trophy proves that an actor has earned the respect of their peers, and if they play their cards right and make smart business decisions, they can have a very bright future ahead of them. 

Jennifer Lawrence became a Hollywood darling in large part thanks to her Best Actress win for "Silver Linings Playbook," and Halle Berry made history as the first Black woman to win the Best Actress statue for her work in "Monster's Ball." It's fascinating to consider what opportunities would've been in store for them had those iconic roles gone to somebody else, and that was almost the case. For those performers and many others, they weren't the first pick for their Oscar-winning roles. Someone else...

Did Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest set the scene for James Bond? (Photo Credit – YouTube)

Long before James Bond ever ordered a martini or shot down a henchman in Dr. No, Alfred Hitchcock had already stitched together the cinematic DNA of 007 in North by Northwest.

Hitchcock’s thriller, released in 1959, three years before Sean Connery donned the tux, was practically a James Bond prototype in everything but name. Cary Grant’s Roger Thornhill, a sharp-suited ad man mistaken for a spy, finds himself dodging bullets, seducing mysterious women, and leaping across iconic landmarks.

Well, it sounds familiar, right? It should as this was the stylish, danger-laced formula that would come to define Britain’s most famous secret agent.

Trending When Meryl Streep Rejected A ‘Slightly’ Insulting Offer For The Devil Wears Prada & Walked Away With $4 Million Instead!

When Dune Director Denis Villeneuve Opened Up About His Lifelong Wish Of...

Film directors are the masterminds behind the magic, the real wizards of the silver screen. While actors may get all the glory, it’s the directors who pull the strings, calling the shots (literally) and shaping the stories we love. From the old-school legends who defined cinema to the fresh talents shaking things up today, the film industry has been home to some of the most iconic filmmakers in history.

Some directors are known for their jaw-dropping action sequences, others for their mind-bending storytelling, and a few for making us cry into our popcorn. Whether it’s Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming adventures, Quentin Tarantino’s blood-soaked brilliance, or Christopher Nolan’s brain-busting timelines, each director brings something unique to the table. Here are 30 legendary directors from all over the world who spellbind us with their craft.

30. Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola in The Godfather Part III (Credits- Paramount)

Francis...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Among James Bond fans, there is a well-established genre known as the non-Bond Bond movie. You might think that 26 official 007 films would be enough to satiate fans of England's greatest spy, but cinema's most enduring franchise has now been running for 65 full years, and evidently a film releasing on an average of every 2.5 years just simply isn't enough for 007 adherents.

Now that Amazon owns the James Bond IP that will surely change, with Bond spin-off ideas likely coagulating in the minds of Amazon execs as I type. While we await the onslaught of 007 media, however, there are several well-established non-Bond Bond movies that can act as solid substitutes for official 007 features. These movies include films that starred former 007 actors in roles that are, in all but name, essentially James Bond and there's even an entry...

In Which Movie Did Daniel Craig Replace Robert Downey Jr.? ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia )

Daniel Craig, well-known for playing the daredevil agent James Bond, had once replaced the Oscar-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. as the lead in a big-budget film. And that film was not Casino Royale, the first film in which Daniel Craig’s tryst with 007 began, or any Bond movie. Read on to know which film that was.

The Film In Which Daniel Craig Replaced Robert Downey Jr.

Coming straight to the point, the name of that movie was the sci-fi action thriller Cowboys and Aliens, which came out in 2011. The dashing Knives Out actor bagged the role after Robert Downey Jr. dropped out of the film (as per a report by Deadline).

Cowboys And Aliens Plot

The movie was based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name, and directed by Jon Favreau. Set in a retro-futuristic setting in the 1870s,...

Who Did Tom Hardy Seek Advice From While Preparing To Play Venom? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

So, Tom Hardy wasn’t just gearing up for Venom (2018); he was stepping into a whole new realm of digital mayhem. But instead of figuring it out alone, Hardy made a call to someone who knew the ropes of motion capture better than anyone: The Lord of the Rings legend Andy Serkis. Yes, the legendary Gollum himself. And little did Hardy know that this call would spark a massive shift, not just in his performance but in the entire Venom franchise.

Before Venom even hit theaters, Hardy was already thinking about what the next step would look like. As much as he was ready to rock that motion-capture suit, he knew there was one man to turn to: Andy Serkis, the icon who helped bring Gollum and Caesar to life. So Hardy called Serkis up.

Alfred Hitchcock Suspicion Ending ( Photo Credit – Facebook )

Alfred Hitchcock has stood tall as one of cinema’s most revered creative forces for decades. The legendary director, who had mastered suspense like few ever could, crafted stories that sank into the audience’s bones and Suspicion was no exception.

However, not many know that Hitchcock has a bitter memory tangled within its legacy and it includes a last-minute change he despised and a lead actor he ultimately wished he had never chosen.

The Cary Grant Conundrum

The year was 1941 when Hitchcock first joined forces with Cary Grant, a collaboration that would later bloom into one of Hollywood’s most iconic partnerships. At the time, Grant was the darling of the silver screen, the epitome of charm and effortless wit, who dazzled audiences in films like Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story.

Trending Liam Neeson Still Grieving Natasha Richardson’s Death:...

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Alfred Hitchcock didn’t just dip his toe into controversy in 1948, he swan-dived headfirst with Rope, a film that defied censors and delighted LGBTQ+ or queer-coded cinema devotees long before the industry knew what to make of either. Behind the curtain of this tightly wound thriller was a project laced with queerness, and a kind of narrative tension that burned through the glossy restrictions of the Hays Code like acid through celluloid.

Rope: A Story of Murder, Subtext, and Hidden Desires

Hitchcock’s first Technicolor film might have looked vibrant on the surface, but its real color came from what wasn’t being said. Beneath the elegant frames and champagne-drenched dialogue sat a story lifted from the bones of a real-life murder, with threads of queerness sewn in so tightly that even the censor boards couldn’t yank them loose.

Rope, inspired...