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For a good portion of Mariska Hargitay’s life, strangers knew more about her mother than she did. So it’s fitting that when Hargitay first appears onscreen in My Mom Jayne, her exquisite and gripping documentary, she’s surrounded by demolition-site rubble, the remains of the Sunset Boulevard mansion that was her first childhood home. The film she’s made traces a years-long process of excavation, sifting through not just movie-star memorabilia but Hargitay’s conflicted feelings about Jayne Mansfield, the blond bombshell who was a mother of five when she died in a horrendous car crash at 34.

Fascinating every step of the way, My Mom Jayne builds toward the public revelation of a secret that Hargitay held close for 30 years, and which was already a 30-year secret when she became aware of it. As the actor turned director declares in the film’s final minutes, making the doc...

Her presence is singular. The moment the celluloid begins to reel, an inner tiger is unleashed. To watch her is to be enthralled by her — the ferocious eyes, hair like fire, a near-permanent smirk. Decade after decade, audiences have remained entranced by the intensity of her performances, be it controlled and simmering or wild and uninhibited. You get the feeling that she indeed is the keeper of true carnal knowledge, to borrow a title from her filmography. Still, at 84 years young, there is no one else like Ann-Margret. This Labor Day weekend, fans have the opportunity to look back at her career and admire all she is at the Cinecon Film Festival, which will honor her with their Legacy Award in Los Angeles.

Consider those opening and closing moments of her breakout “Bye Bye Birdie,” added as bookends in post-production by director George Sidney, where the exuberant actress sings straight to camera,...

The 1940s represent the absolute pinnacle of suspense cinema. This was a decade shaped by global conflict and societal anxiety, conditions that created the perfect storm for stories of paranoia, betrayal, and psychological torment. From this crucible of uncertainty emerged the shadowy world of film noir, the sophisticated psychological thriller, and the modern spy film.

This definitive ranking showcases the ten greatest thrillers of the decade, films that entertained audiences and rewrote the rules of suspense cinema. Each entry on this list combines critical acclaim, box office success, and lasting cultural impact, representing the very best of what made 1940s thriller movies so enduringly powerful.

10. The Stranger (1946)

Director: Orson Welles

Stars: Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young

Orson Welles’s brutally effective post-war thriller operates on a premise both simple and terrifying: one of the architects of the Final Solution has escaped justice and now lives as a beloved...

Vince Calandra, the charismatic Ed Sullivan Show talent booker who graduated from gofer and cue-card guy to bringing such talent as The Beatles, Julie Andrews, Alan King and Jackie Mason to the legendary CBS variety hour, has died. He was 91.

Calandra died Saturday of natural causes at his home in Woodland Hills, his daughter, Christine Calandra Farrell, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Survivors also include his son, Vince Calandra Jr., a writer and/or producer on The Ren & Stimpy Show, Sharp Objects, Dark Winds and many other shows.

A street-smart Brooklyn native, Calandra Sr. started out in the mailroom at the Sullivan show in 1957 — nine years into the Sunday night program’s run — and stuck around through its final episode on March 28, 1971. The show was recorded live.

In a 2003 chat with Jeff Abraham for the Television Academy Foundation website The Interviews, Calandra said he always followed Ed Sullivan’s philosophy...

Restored movies by Pedro Almodóvar, Stanley Kubrick, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Manoel de Oliveira, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Tsai Ming-Liang are set to screen as part of the Venice Film Festival’s 18-title Venice Classics lineup.

Almodóvar’s 1986 erotic thriller “Matador,” featuring Antonio Banderas as a young bullfighter and exploring themes of sex and violence in the bullfighting world – a film that Quentin Tarantino has cited an inspiration – is part of a clutch of European titles in the selection. It also includes de Oliveira’s first film “Aniki-Bóbó”; Marcel Carné’s classic noir “Quai des brumes,” starring Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan, which was a prizewinner at Venice in 1938; and Kieslowski’s “Blind Chance, which heralded his famed “Decalogue.”

U.S. highlights comprise Kubrick’s 1962 Vladimir Nabokov adaptation “Lolita,” starring James Mason and Sue Lyon; Delmer Daves’ 1957 western “3:10 to Yuma,” redone by James Mangold in 2007 in a version starring Russell Crowe...

The Venice Film Festival has unveiled the 18 recently restored movies that will be showcased in its Venice Classics sidebar at upcoming 82nd edition.

The line-up features Delmer Daves’ 1957 western 3:10 to Yuma, based on a 1953 short story by Elmore Leonard, which was revisited by James Mangold in 2007 in a version starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

Other U.S. highlights include The Delicate Delinquent, starring Jerry Lewis, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, House of Strangers, starring Edward G. Robinson in the role of a rags-to-riches Italian American banker accused of criminal activity.

The sidebar will also showcase Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 Vladimir Nabokov adaptation Lolita, starring James Mason and Sue Lyon.

European classics in the selection include Manoel de Oliveira’s first film Aniki-Bóbó, Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Blind Chance, which heralded Decalogue; Pedro Almodóvar’s Matador, and Marcel Carné’s pioneering film noir Le Quai des brumes, starring Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan,...

One of the greatest gangster movies ever made is back in the spotlight, and it’s now streaming on Max. The 1931 classic The Public Enemy, which stars James Cagney, has a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and helped define the gangster genre as we know it.

Today, we’re used to stories about smooth-talking criminals who are both terrifying and somehow likable. But in the early 1930s, that was a new thing. Back then, real-life gangsters were all over the headlines, and Hollywood saw a chance to bring those kinds of characters to the screen. Actors like James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart made their names playing street-tough criminals during that time.

Later on, gangster movies lost their popularity, but that changed in a big way in the 1970s when The Godfather came out. After that, we saw more classics like Scarface and Goodfellas, and even legendary TV shows like The Sopranos.

One of the best gangster movies of all-time, a 100% fresh pick on Rotten Tomatoes, is now streaming on Max. The criminal anti-hero is a familiar type in the 2020s, but the idea of a sociopathic law-breaker capable of garnering audience sympathy was once a novelty.

Viewers were first treated to gangster movies built around charismatic underworld figures in the 1930s, a time when real gangsters dominated news headlines. Playing criminals helped stars like James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart launch their legendary careers.

Cultural changes later made the gangster movie unfashionable, but the genre enjoyed a huge comeback in the 1970s thanks to The Godfather. The modern crime movie era, as launched by Francis Ford Coppola’s epic, has seen more than its share of classics, from movies like Goodfellas and Scarface, to TV shows like The Sopranos.

The Public Enemy Is Now Streaming On Max It Arrived...

Kathleen Hughes, the statuesque 1950s starlet who unleashed a terrifying scream in connection with her role in the 3D sci-fi classic It Came From Outer Space, has died. She was 96.

Hughes died Monday, according to her close friend, John Jigen Griffin-Atil.

A onetime contract player at Fox and then Universal, Hughes made for a “dainty dish of poison,” as New York Times critic Bosley Crowther put it, in her turn as an actress having an affair with John Forsythe in the crime drama The Glass Web (1953), starring Edward G. Robinson.

A year earlier, she dyed her dark hair blonde to star as a coed in For Men Only (1952), directed by and starring Paul Henreid.

Hughes gave Rock Hudson perhaps his first onscreen kiss when she acted with him in a 1949 screen test, then appeared with him as Piper Laurie‘s handmaiden in the adventure film The Golden Blade (1953).

She also...

The femme fatale character type is as old as the tale about the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, wherein Adam ate the forbidden fruit Eve served, thereby dooming humankind to death and original sin. But in the context of pulp fiction and noir films, this character murders for her selfish needs, often by manipulating the lead, but is not afraid to take matters into their own hands if needed.

Portraying a psychopath is challenging, as most people have not had the displeasure of meeting one in person, so the mysterious elements of psychopathic behaviour are filled by imagination. Few artists from Hollywood’s Golden Age took a stab at playing the femme fatale, but no one was as legendary as Barbara Stanwyck in “Double Indemnity.” As Phyllis Dietrichson, Stanwyck achieves her legendary status because of the realism in her performance. It’s minimalism that sticks out at a...

The 59th Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival will feature a tribute to 1940s American screen star John Garfield.

“We are excited to remember the exceptional but somewhat forgotten career of a pioneer of what, in his day, was an unusually realistic approach to acting by showing 10 titles,” Kviff’s artistic director and the tribute’s curator Karel Och said. “No fewer than eight of them will be screened from the 35mm prints.”

Born on March 4, 1913 as Julius “Julie” Garfinkle, he was one of the first to captivate film and theater audiences with the acting style later known as Method acting. As an intuitive co-creator of the techniques championed by the Actors Studio, he influenced icons such as Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman.

His nearly quarter-century acting career was influenced by the political situation in the U.S. at the time. Garfield first appeared on stage on the eve...

Some couples break up. Others break headlines. Let us spill the tea: when we think of Hollywood’s golden couples, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt top the list like a perfectly brewed cuppa. Their love story, stitched together in the glitzy fabric of Tinseltown, still has us rooting for them, even years after their split.

Not some grand, overbaked drama, but a quiet, heartfelt bond that weathered the storm of fame. Danny DeVito, their former neighbor, once dished about Pitt’s fierce devotion to Aniston during their 2000–2005 marriage. From secret dates sparked by their managers to a lavish wedding, their tale had all the makings of a blockbuster. Yet, Pitt’s wandering eye for Angelina Jolie during Mr. & Mrs. Smith sent their love off the rails.

Danny DeVito’s candid take on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s bond Jennifer Aniston in Friends | Credits: NBC

So get this—Danny DeVito,...

He wasn't called the "King of Cool" for no reason. '60s movie icon Steve McQueen starred in some of the most famous movies of all time during his Hollywood run, and more often than not, McQueen's presence on screen was mesmerizing. Easily confused with the other top star at the time, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen had a smooth demeanor and piercing blue eyes that captivated audiences no matter what role he was playing. Although he played many different kinds of characters as his career went on, McQueen was initially known for playing more of a laid-back drifter type as opposed to a clean-cut suit or badge. Things changed when he played Thomas Crown in The Thomas Crown Affair in 1968.

From that point on, McQueen's roles were becoming more diversified than his usual archetypal roles. This led to arguably his most iconic film in 1968, Bullitt, in which McQueen plays...

Classic horror anthologies Flesh and Fantasy and Dead of Night will be released in a limited edition Blu-ray box set on April 30 via Australia’s Imprint.

Julien Duvivier helms 1943’s Flesh and Fantasy. Charles Boyer, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Betty Field, Robert Cummings, Robert Benchley, Thomas Mitchell, Charles Winninger, and Anna Lee star.

When a jittery businessman complains of a disturbing dream, a friend relates three stories to help calm his nerves. A homely dressmaker wears a mask of beauty to attract a man on Mardi Gras night; a fortune teller predicts an eminent lawyer will commit a murder; and a high-wire artist, haunted by a nightmare in which he suffers a fall, romances a woman who resembles the one he had seen in his dream.

Flesh and Fantasy special features:

Audio commentary by film historians Rodney Barnett and Adrian Smith (new) Video essay by film scholar Joseph Dwyer...

Who is going to speak out?

That’s the disturbing question being debated this week in response to the discordant noises from Washington. The advent of Donald Trump’s “Imperial presidency,” as The Economist terms it, is stirring an emotional response within the entertainment community because of its enemies lists and warnings of “retribution.” But it’s muted.

The results of the 2024 presidential election imparted the message to Hollywood that celebrity voices weren’t resonating. Voters were searching elsewhere for authoritative opinion.

That message seems especially relevant today because retribution has become a key tenet in Trumpdom – witness the enemies lists prepared by several appointees. Or the cancellation of security protection for figures ranging from Gen. Mark Milley to Mike Pompeo.

Even the Wall Street Journal expressed alarm this week about the consequences of revenge politics. Trump supporter Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ar) urged Trump to “revisit” his decisions on security protection,...

Ever since he moved into the public eye with "Star Trek" in 1966, famed /Film contributor William Shatner has gained a reputation for his "large" acting style. This reputation wasn't wholly earned, as Shatner rarely overacted on the original "Star Trek," usually playing Captain Kirk as buttoned-down, judicious, and in control. More recent depictions of Kirk have been incorrect, presenting him as a reckless cowboy and relentless horndog. While Kirk did get into his share of fistfights on "Star Trek" and snogged his share of pretty female guest stars, he wasn't ever careless or distractibly horny. Shatner's "overacting" reputation is extrapolated from only a few carefully selected moments throughout the series. 

As such, when someone does an impersonation of William Shatner, they. Tend. To. Say. Every. Word. As. If. It's. Its. Own. Sentence. Jim Carrey spoofed Shatner on "In Living Color" in this way, and Seth MacFarlane, on his animated show "Family Guy,...

Humphrey Bogart owes his involvement in his most famous movie, Casablanca, to the gangster character he played in High Sierra. By starring as Rick Blaine opposite Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, Bogart solidified his status as one of Hollywood's biggest stars and the stage for him to become a cinematic icon. Prior to the film, Bogart was already a veteran actor, but hardly the top actor in the industry.

Most of his acting experience stemmed from Humphrey Bogart's numerous gangster movie roles. Though most weren't particularly memorable or have any individual importance to his career, they kept him busy through much of the 1930s. Toward the end of the decade, Bogart's roles grew more and more significant, with the actor appearing in films like Dark Victory with Bette Davis in Angels With Dirty Faces. All of these parts can be seen as stepping stones toward Bogart joining the Casablanca cast as the male lead,...

Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

by James Cameron-wilson

In January of this year something extraordinary happened. For the first time, United Artists’ Black Tuesday was shown on British television, having been originally banned for its violence. The film noir classic of 1954 stars Edward G. Robinson, one of the four giants of Hollywood’s gangster genre, alongside James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and George Raft. At the time that Edward G. starred in Black Tuesday, he was in something of a career slump, but, in spite of his modest physical stature, he still manages to bring to bear his characteristically brutal persona. Perhaps even more surprising is how good the film is, a sort of forgotten masterpiece from the Argentinean helmer Hugo Fregonese who, in his time, had directed such stars as Gary Cooper, James Mason, Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, Lee Marvin and Stewart Granger, but who is largely forgotten today,...

The Screen Actors Guild has been presenting its annual life achievement award for many decades. The most recent recipient for 2025 was double Oscar winner Jane Fonda.

For the 2023 event, Sally Field was the latest veteran performer to receive the Screen Actor’s Guild life achievement award. Starting in 1995, audiences around the world have been able to enjoy this celebration of a beloved thespian’s work, crammed right in the middle of a nail-biting awards telecast. In honor of De Niro’s accomplishment, let’s take a look back at every person to be given this prize since the event was first televised. Our gallery includes Helen Mirren, Robert De Niro, Alan Alda, Morgan Freeman, Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Betty White, Shirley Temple, Barbra Streisand, and more.

SAG began handing out a career achievement prize to actors who left their mark on both the big screen and small in 1962. It wasn...

John Ford is one of the greatest directors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, most famous for his Western films, for which Ford often collaborated with John Wayne. Ford is one of the most influential American directors, and he played a pioneering role in Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies. In a career spanning over 50 years, he made more than 100 films, and is often considered the first auteur in Hollywood.

Critically acclaimed, John Ford holds the record for most directing Oscars, having won four of them during his illustrious career. While his Westerns are his most celebrated films, his dramatic works are equally compelling; in fact, Western star and legendary director Clint Eastwood's favorite John Ford movie isn't, surprisingly, a Western. A true master of his craft, Ford dabbled in almost every genre, and was consistently successful at making good films in them all.

The Whole Town's Talking...

Death Row. The camera tracks across five barred cells, lingering close up on each of the inmates. The first, Selwyn (Don Blackman), a heavy set black man, sings the blues, the wooden stool on his lap a drum. The mob boss Vincent Canelli (Edward G. Robinson), armed robber Peter Manning (Peter Graves) and another all pace, like caged beasts. The final man, clutching the bars for dear life, screams, "Shut up, will you?"

Hard cut.

The hard cut is a masterstroke by director Hugo Fregonese. From the claustrophobic to the wide open shot, the gates of death row; from slim, ornamented a cappella to the crash of a dissonant orchestral chord, he makes you sit up in your seat and take notice. Then the credits roll.

It's Tuesday. Two of the convicts, Manning and Canelli, are about to be executed. Manning is offered a ten day stay of execution if he gives up.

Before films like The Wolf of Wall Street and other modern Hollywood movies explored the complexities of avarice, a Western known as The Treasure of Sierra Madre did it first, teaching audiences that gold has a way of "changing a man's soul so he ain't the same kind of guy he was before finding it." Released in 1948, John Houston's masterpiece starred Humphrey Bogart and became a powerful indictment of capitalism by focusing on the insidious way greed takes hold in the human soul when the opportunity presents itself.

In The Treasure of Sierra Madre, three men journey to a foreign country hoping to find gold. One of these men won't return home, and the other two will never be the same again because once that yellow metal gets hold of them, it blackens their souls. That lesson is as relevant today as ever, just like The Treasure of Sierra Madre.

Vampires never die. Not even sunlight and garlic can quash the enduring appeal of one of the most famous supernatural creatures in our mythological lore, especially when it comes to pop culture. For as long as cinema has existed, vampire movies have swarmed the screen, each offering a different representation of the mythic bloodsucker.

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Every comedy team needs a straight man. Lou Costello had Bud Abbot. The Marx Brothers had Margaret Dumont. The Three Stooges had everyone they came in contact with. And while it may not sound like a good deal of fun to be the person setting up the funny folks for laughs, it does take a lot of skill to do it proficiently. And any comedian worth their weight in yuks knows the better the setup, the bigger the laugh.

This applies to many sitcoms, where the cast of zanies needs a steadily turning planet around which to wildly orbit. If you're really good at it, there could be multiple Primetime Emmys coming to you (e.g. Ed Asner won three for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"). And if you happen to find yourself on "Gilligan's Island," while there might not...

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...

Is that the smell of cigarette smoke filling the room? Did a thick layer of fog just descend on the city skyline? Has your inner voice started monologuing more than usual and with an air of suspicion? That’s right folks, Noir City Film Festival at Detroit’s Redford Theatre is set to return this month for it’s seventh annual showcase of murder, intrigue, trenched coats, and brimmed hats. As with every year, the festivities will be hosted by Eddie Muller of Turner Classic Movies‘ “Noir Alley” and will feature an international theme this year with foreign selections, as well as Hollywood films directed by non-American filmmakers like Otto Preminger and Hugo Fregonese.

2024’s Noir City: Detroit begins on Friday, September 20 with a double feature of “Victims of Sin” (1951) and “Night Editor” (1946). Directed by Emilio Fernández, one of the most prolific filmmakers from Mexican cinema’s Golden Age during the ’40s and ’50s,...

Throughout film history, countless actors have utilized the gangster genre as a launching pad to superstardom. In the early 1930s, James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson became A-list actors following their performances in The Public Enemy and Little Caesar. During the New Hollywood movement, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro entered the upper echelon of Hollywood stardom after their seminal performances in The Godfather and Mean Streets. Internationally, stars such as Jean Gabin and Alain Delon had lengthy careers within the gangster genre, routinely giving memorable performances in works such as Pp le Moko and Le Samoura.

Delivering iconic performances in a gangster movie provides actors with the opportunity to become a staple of the pop culture lexicon. Characters such as Vito Corleone, Michael Corleone, and Tommy DeVito remain popular among audiences decades after they first appeared on the silver screen. Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront,...

Every great screen performance expands the medium in its own way, giving audiences something to respond to, while offering fresh ideas to future actors. A select few can be said to have redefined the craft entirely: Orson Welles in “Citizen Kane,” Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront,” Toshiro Mifune in “Rashomon” and Gena Rowlands in “A Woman Under the Influence.”

Rowlands died Wednesday at age 94, half a century after “A Woman Under the Influence” premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1974. Rowlands was the last to go from among a tight clique of titans — actors who transformed modern cinema: Peter Falk, Seymour Cassel, Ben Gazzara and, of course, Rowlands’ late husband, actor-director John Cassavetes.

Younger audiences who know Rowlands only as the memory-challenged older woman in “The Notebook” (directed by her son Nick Cassavetes) or for her Emmy-winning turn in “Hysterical Blindness” owe it to themselves to investigate her most important work,...

Gena Rowlands, a multiple Emmy winner whose captivating work in A Woman Under the Influence and as the elder and dementia-ridden Allie in The Notebook also moved moviegoers, died Wednesday surrounded by family at her home in Indian Wells, CA. She was 94.

No cause of death was given, but the retired actress had been battling Alzheimer’s disease, ironic in light of her famous film role.

She retired from Hollywood in 2015 after earning four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and two Oscar nominations. Her Oscar noms included A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria, both borne of collaborations with her late husband, John Cassavetes. The duo made an indelible mark on American independent film, not just for the often revelatory end product, but also for the DIY way they made their movies.

A Woman Under the Influence was prompted by Rowlands, who wanted to delve into the difficulties faced by...

This post contains spoilers for "Soylent Green" and its source material.

Richard Fleischer's 1973 dystopian sci-fi classic, "Soylent Green," ends with a shocking revelation. Set in a future consumed by ecocide — thanks to unchecked overpopulation and the depletion of resources that came with it — New York City stands on the brink of collapse. The increasing divide between the affluent and the poor has prompted riots over the artificial wafers made by the Soylent Corporation, and their latest product, the plankton-rich Soylent Green, remains coveted, while the rich indulge in organic delicacies. After NYPD detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) gets embroiled in a conspiracy, he learns that the plankton claimed to produce Soylent Green has gone extinct, and that the key ingredients in the wafer instead come from human bodies. "Soylent Green is people!" he shouts in anguish to the crowd assembling around him in the end, devastated that the truth might never be uncovered.

Tom Cruise’s Interview With The Vampire Role Was Offered To Another Actor ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia )

Tom Cruise is arguably one of the biggest action movie stars in the world. Before being cast in the world-renowned franchise Mission Impossible, he had led highly successful films, including “Top Gun” and “Born on the Fourth of July.”

Starring in movies like “Rain Man” and the 1996 hit film “Interview With The Vampire” proved the action star could also shine as a dramatic actor. But director Neil Jordan revealed Tom Cruise wasn’t the first choice to play Lesat. The movie was adapted from Anne Rice’s original book of the same name.

In an excerpt from his new memoir, published in The Telegraph, Jordan reflected on his decision to cast Tom Cruise opposite Brad Pitt, revealing he originally offered the role to Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis.

Trending Top Gun: Maverick Sequel Update Shared By Film’s Producer,...

1994 was a big year for Anne Rice adaptations, as it featured two of them: Garry Marshall's comedy thriller Exit to Eden, and Neil Jordan's Interview With the Vampire. The latter became a cult classic and was very successful, but it didn't come without backlash due to its casting.

In an excerpt from his upcoming memoir Amnesiac, which Jordan published in The Telegraph, the director argues why he cast "Hollywood's biggest star" as the glamorous Lestat de Lioncourt. Interview With the Vampire was based on the eponymous first novel in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, a goth vampire series that combined erotic literature, Christian motives, and mythical creatures. The film starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in the leading roles, and the casting of the latter was considered controversial at the time.

Related How Is Queen of the Damned Connected to Interview With the Vampire?

The TV reboot...

When Neil Jordan’s “Interview With the Vampire” film adaptation released in 1994, Tom Cruise was already a worldwide star. He had led the highly successful “Risky Business” and “Top Gun” and received an Oscar nomination for “Born on the Fourth of July.” But, not everyone was convinced he could play the titular vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt, and his casting caused a considerable amount of backlash among fans of Anne Rice’s original book.

In an excerpt from his new memoir published in The Telegraph, director Jordan reflected on his decision to cast Cruise opposite Brad Pitt and the outrage that followed, recalling how he originally offered the role to Daniel Day-Lewis.

“The problem was the casting of Lestat. Brad Pitt had agreed to play Louis and somehow assumed Daniel Day-Lewis would be playing Lestat, an assumption shared by Anne. I offered it to Daniel, who read it, and, as I expected,...

Spider-Man Noir may have spent the past few years off somewhere staring at matches as they burn, but the hilariously melodramatic Spider-Verse character played by Nicolas Cage will officially return in a new show on MGM+ and Amazon's Prime Video, according to Variety. What's wilder: the show will be live action.

The new show will be called "Noir," and this isn't the first time we've heard about it: the show was first announced back in February 2023, but Cage's casting wasn't confirmed at that time. In fact, a month earlier the beloved actor actually told ScreenRant that he wasn't going to be included in "Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse," a decision he seemed bummed about. "You'd have to ask Sony," he told the outlet when asked about the future of his character. "No one's spoken to me about that ... I wish they would. I love Spider-Man Noir, too. I think that's a great character.

Synopsis: As an intimate portrait of William Shatner’s personal journey across nine decades of a boldly lived and fully realized life, William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill strips away all the masks he has worn during his storied career to reveal the man behind it all.

Review: William Shatner is a legendary actor better known for his iconic performance as Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek television series and films. He holds a unique place in Hollywood history. A fan favorite for over sixty years with a career on stage and screen as a writer and singer, and having traveled to space, Shatner’s legacy has built him a dedicated fanbase worldwide. Having written memoirs and shared his life story in many forms of media, You Can Call Me Bill is a unique documentary that does not follow the conventional format we have come to...

On Blue Lips, Schoolboy Q’s first album since 2019’s utterly unremarkable Crash Talk, there’s a sense that the Los Angeles rapper is trying to make up for lost time. He exudes an assured confidence throughout that, unlike past releases like 2016’s Black Face LP, makes it feel like he has something to prove. He’s able to whip up an endless amount of versatile and oddball flows, and does so with an equally fresh and flippant demeanor.

Schoolboy delivers each word on “Pop” with a tossed-off precision that’s both laser-focused to fit the track’s rhyme scheme and casual in its cadence. He punctuates the word “pop” with a snickering snarl, accompanied by the sound of a pistol being fired. Later in the track, he lowers his voice to a scruffy register, furiously spitting his words out. The entire song, including a notably batshit Rico Nasty feature,...

Planet of the Apes is one of the most successful and durable science fiction franchises in Hollywood history. Starting in 1968 with the original film, the Apes series has generated more than $2.1 billion in box office grosses over the course of just nine movies, with a highly-anticipated 10th entry, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, due for release this May. The property has also spawned both a live-action and animated TV series, books, comics, video games, and toys – the latter produced in the wake of the first film’s success and arguably the template for future movie merchandising campaigns.

And yet, as we’ve seen over and over again with blockbuster pop culture milestones like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and numerous others, Hollywood at the beginning was loathe to touch the property. After publicist-turned-producer Arthur P. Jacobs secured the rights to the novel upon which the original film was based,...

For most of us, the Planet of the Apes movies have always been around. Spanning five decades and ten movies – and counting – it’s hard to imagine a world without that race of hyper-intelligent monkeys and their everlasting war against man. We take this extended universe for granted, but it wasn’t always this way. It’s probably not hard to believe that at one time, the concept of a world populated by talking apes wasn’t thought of as a box office draw, and if it hadn’t been for the determination of a handful of true believers in the material, we may never have gotten one movie, let alone an entire franchise. So let’s go back in time a bit to a world without Dr. Zaius and the gang and find out Wtf Happened to Planet of the Apes?

We’re going back as far as 1963, when...

Norman Jewison, who directed Best Picture Oscar winner In the Heat of the Night and nominees Fiddler on the Roof, A Soldier’s Story, Moonstruck and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, also producing the latter four, died peacefully Saturday, January 20. He was 97.

Jewison’s film career spanned more than four decades and seven Oscar nominations — three for Best Director and the four for Best Picture. His films received a total of 46 nominations and 12 Academy Awards. In 1999, Jewison was honored with the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Award at the Academy Awards. He also collected three Emmy Awards for his work in television.

A smattering of his other wide-ranging work includes The Hurricane, Agnes of God, Rollerball (1975) and Jesus Christ Superstar, all of which he also produced. As a producer, Jewison had an eye for talent, as well.

The moment Elvis Presley stepped in front of the camera for his second appearance on "The Milton Berle Show" in 1956, there was no doubt that this young man was destined for more than pop music superstardom. Much more.

Conversationally, he was downright adorable with his boyish good looks and aw-shucks Southern shyness, but once the music kicked in he was transformed into a hunk of burning lust. That gyrating pelvis and run-riot voice spurred sexual awakenings in living rooms across the country (in full view of outraged parents). To teenagers, Elvis belted out a call to rebellion. To parents, he was a pompadoured incubus. To Hollywood, he was singing, swaggering box-office gold.

Between 1956 and 1972, Elvis starred in 31 features and two concert films. There were lulls (particularly when his popularity faded prior to his 1968 comeback special), but for the most part Elvis reliably packed 'em in. According to producer Hal B. Wallis...

In real life, cigarettes and cigars are a nasty vice that assail the olfactory nerve with a thick, pungent odor capable of leaving clothes, car interiors, and whole rooms smelling like ashtrays. They're also incredibly addictive and, when one's habit stretches out over decades, ruinous to an individual's health.

In movies, however, they're instant atmosphere machines that can, when wielded by an actor who knows how to smoke with style, heighten a character's sense of sophistication or sex appeal. Marlene Dietrich defined pre-code cinematic carnality with her wickedly sensuous French inhale in "Shanghai Express," while Humphrey Bogart conveyed marrow-deep weariness with every heavy exhale in "Casablanca." As for cigars, conjure up an image of Edward G. Robinson, and you'll invariably see the sawed-off star with a stogie clenched between his sausage-thick fingers.

Though the entire world has long been tragically aware of how deadly a nicotine addiction can be, films...

Hollywood, with its lengthy list of Jewish founders, flourished during an era of rampant antisemitism. In recent years, the Anti-Defamation League has said anti-Jewish sentiment has hit levels unseen since after the Great Depression, a time when Jewish studio moguls had difficulty securing bank loans as many lenders would not work with Jews. Now, in Los Angeles specifically, an Adl report (released months before the Israel-Hamas conflict) found harassment and vandalism increasing to highs.

On Nov. 8, the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance hosted a screening of footage produced by Hamas to brag about murdering Jews. During the screening, the head of the Museum of Tolerance, Rabbi Marvin Hier, reminded viewers that if not for atrocities like the one on Oct. 7, the Jewish global population should be 200 million today, but “there are only 14 million because we are the leftovers of pogroms.” The screening, organized in part by Gal Gadot, saw protestors...

Humphrey Bogart's gangster movies from the '30s and '40s may not all live up to his high standards, but some became undeniable film noir classics. Warner Bros., the number one studio for crime movies, signed Bogart and often cast him alongside other recurring actors in their gangster films, like James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. Bogart's talent shines through in his early gangster roles, even when the scripts and overall quality are lacking, and his versatility as both a romantic lead and a brutal criminal is what keeps him popular.

Humphrey Bogart got his start in Hollywood with a string of tough guy roles in gangster movies, some of which rank higher than others in terms of their quality. Before he started playing the hero in films such as The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen, Bogart was an out-and-out villain. Most of his movies from this...

Crime and mafia movies have had a major cultural appeal due to their exploration of dangerous and exciting aspects of life that appeal to audiences. Actors like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have made a name for themselves in the gangster genre, with De Niro having the highest quantity of acclaimed starring roles. Other actors like Michael Madsen, Frank Vincent, Edward G. Robinson, Chazz Palminteri, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Humphrey Bogart, and James Cagney have also made significant contributions to the gangster genre with their memorable performances.

Crime and mafia movies defined the film industry for decades, with certain actors making their careers out of playing villainous gangster characters. With organized crime and the Mafia so prevalent in American news in the 20th century, it's no wonder the genre garnered a mass cultural appeal. Exploring criminals and the darker aspects of life allows audiences to escape into something dangerous and exciting,...

Locked In is a mystery thriller film directed by Alex Baranowski, from a screenplay by Rowan Joffé. The Netflix film revolves around Lina, an unhappy newlywed woman who has a hostile relationship with her mother-in-law Katherine. An affair starts a chain reaction that ends up in betrayal and murder. Locked In stars Famke Janssen, Rose Williams, Anna Friel, Finn Cole, and Alex Hassell. So, if you loved the Netflix film here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Gone Girl (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – 20th Century Fox

Synopsis: Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher and based upon the global bestseller by Gillian Flynn, unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick’s...

Dark Passage (1947) is the least impressive of the four Bacall-Bogart films, with some flaws in the film's overall execution that distract from the great performances. Key Largo (1948) is a sentimental film noir with themes of post-wwii disillusionment, featuring standout performances by Bacall, Bogart, and Edward G. Robinson. The Big Sleep (1946) is one of the best Bogart and Bacall films ever made, blending elements of film noir and gangster films with incredible chemistry between the iconic Hollywood pair.

The classic Hollywood duo of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall resulted in four movies, ranked here from worst to best. Humphrey Bogart is one of the most famous actors in film history for his leading roles in Casablanca, The Caine Mutiny, and The Maltese Falcon. Bogart, known commonly as Bogie in Old Hollywood, had a celebrated acting career for 25 years between 1921 and 1956 and remains a landmark figure of 20th-century cinema. He began acting...

Gangsters, mobsters, thugs, and mugs. Organized crime holds the upper tier of the international cinematic commission. “Crime pays,” Edward G. Robinson, who played Rico Bandello in the seminal gangster film Little Caesar (1931), is famous for saying. “But only in the movies.” When a good mob movie is on the table, it is an offer no filmmaker can refuse. There is more intrigue, suspense, violence, mayhem, and madness to be found in the criminal element than any other genre.

“Gone are the days of the gangsters,” audiences heard for years, usually in movies about mobsters. They always rise up, even if they are splattered across the ornate fountains of their gangland mansions in the last frame, like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), or rolling down the steps of a church, dead from a hail of bullets. That’s how James Cagney’s Eddie Bartlett went out in The Roaring Twenties (1939). Now,...

Peter Gonzales Falcon, the Texan who starred as a young Federico Fellini in the director’s semi-autobiographical Roma, has died, according to his friend Aurelio Montemayor. He was 75.

Gonzales Falcon got his start with a bit part in Viva Max (1969), a satirical film about a modern-day Mexican general (Peter Ustinov) who retakes the Alamo.

The actor went on to model for a year in London before he landed the role that would make his career.

In 2018, Gonzales Falcon related the story of auditioning for Fellini after being recommended by actor Eugene Walter, a friend of a friend:

I went to Cinecittà where there was a line about a block long with young men wanting to meet Fellini. I went around the line to the main door and buzzed. The door was opened by Liliana [Fellini’s longtime assistant] who looked like a little Edward G. Robinson and even had a cigar in her mouth.

Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman in Sympathy For The Devil Photo: Rlje Films In 2013, it was mostly serious cinephiles who saw the movie Locke, in which Tom Hardy traverses the highways at night, trying to get to his mistress who’s going into labor. It’s pretty much a one-man show,...

Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman in Sympathy For The DevilPhoto: Rlje Films

In 2013, it was mostly serious cinephiles who saw the movie Locke, in which Tom Hardy traverses the highways at night, trying to get to his mistress who’s going into labor. It’s pretty much a one-man show, with...