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Mild "Weapons" spoilers follow.

Zach Cregger's excellent new horror film "Weapons" takes an unusual storytelling approach. Rather than stick with one linear narrative, Cregger paints a mosaic, weaving a sprawling tale from several different perspectives. Of course, Cregger didn't invent this method of movie storytelling — but you don't usually see it applied to horror movies. Instead, this is the type of format used by filmmakers like Robert Altman — see "Nashville" and "Short Cuts" as prime examples. Quentin Tarantino's breakout hit "Pulp Fiction" also followed a similar path, telling several interconnected stories from various points of time.

And then, of course, there's Paul Thomas Anderson's gargantuan drama "Magnolia." Released in 1999, Anderson's film — which clocks in at a whopping 188 minutes — follows several different interconnected characters around Los Angeles as they cross paths over a short period of time. After Anderson broke out in a big way with "Boogie Nights,...

Zach Cregger started his entertainment career in the world of comedy as part of the Whitest Kids U' Know troupe. But in 2022, Cregger jumped from humor to horror with "Barbarian," a buzzworthy flick that wowed genre fans with a series of jaw-dropping twists and turns no one saw coming. The film made Cregger a hot name in horror, and after producing this year's excellent "Companion," Cregger is back in the director's chair with "Weapons."

Like "Barbarian," Cregger has once again crafted a film where the element of surprise is key (you can read my spoiler-free review right here). The fantastic marketing for the film sets up the basic premise: One night at 2:17 Am, a group of kids from the same small town elementary school class mysteriously leave their house, run into the darkness of their suburban neighborhood, and seemingly vanish without a trace. The town is understandably spooked by...

At the outset of Robert Altman's "The Player," an arsenic-laced satire of the movie business as it existed in the early 1990s, Tim Robbins' suavely vapid studio executive Griffin Mill takes a series of pitch meetings from prominent screenwriters. None of these scribes brings their A-game (save for Alan Rudolph's crossbreeding of "Ghost" and "The Manchurian Candidate"), but the most cynical of the batch comes from comedy legend Buck Henry, who hawks "The Graduate Part II" with nary a whit of shame.

Henry is all business here. He first notes that the three principals, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, and Anne Bancroft, are still alive (Bancroft has since passed), then reveals that the characters are living together in a "big, spooky house up in Northern California somewhere." The kicker: Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson has had a stroke. But while she can no longer speak, she can hear everything going on...

To quote "Lawrence of Arabia," big things have small beginnings. Individually but especially in collaboration with each other, director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams are responsible for several sea changes in their respective fields. Spielberg not only helped institute the summer blockbuster but was instrumental in making genre films become just as prevalent and prestigious as melodramas or period pieces. Williams has been a key figure in getting music composed for the screen to break away from its marriage to the moving image and become desirable to listen to on its own. His pivot from jazz-based scores and Broadway-style arrangements to lush, heavily thematic, symphonic music made the score soundtrack album just as viable as a pop source cue soundtrack, and transformed the bulk of music for films into something that can and should stand on its own in addition to supporting the movie that it's for. Without these two artists,...

Praise Eywa! The new issue of Empire is nearly here, bringing a major dispatch from Pandora. Or, more accurately, James Cameron’s headquarters, where Avatar: Fire And Ash is entering its final stages. You can read all about the next chapter in the saga in the September 2025 issue – pre-order yours here – which hits shelves on Thursday 31 July.

For now, here’s a sneak peek inside.

Avatar: Fire And Ash

Ready for another all-out Na’vi epic? Empire joins James Cameron at Avatar HQ for two full days, watching him as he brings his next sci-fi behemoth into being. Plus, we speak to Jake Sully himself, Sam Worthington, and incoming villain Varang, Oona Chaplin, as the Avatar story gets ready to explore.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Turn it up to 11: Spinal Tap are back in a long-awaited sequel mockumentary. Empire interviews the full band – David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls,...

Previous | Image 1 of 3 | NextThe Search Continues for Lily Tomlin

Chicago – The comedy icon Lily Tomlin has touched nearly three generations with her skewered view of the world. From “Laugh-In” to “Nashville” to “I Heart Huckabees” to “Grace and Frankie,” Tomlin has entertained, inspired and influenced. She was in Chicago to introduce the film version of “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

Mary Jean “Lily” Tomlin was born in Detroit, and later attended Wayne State University, where she switched her major to theater after auditioning for a play. She started doing stand up comedy in Detroit and eventually New York City in the 1960s, a rarity for women in that era. After making her debut on “The Garry Moore Show” in 1966, she made several memorable appearances on “The Merv Griffith Show.”

This led her to California and a regular gig on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,...

There’s nothing quite like a trip to Pandora. When James Cameron first unleashed Avatar in 2009, audiences were swept away by the bioluminescent paradise he presented, a stunning backdrop to the love story of human grunt Jake Sully and Na’vi warrior Neytiri. Then, when Avatar: The Way Of Water finally arrived in 2022, Cameron introduced us to Pandora’s teeming oceans, while the Sully story deepened considerably with tangled family ties. Now, a third trip to Pandora awaits in Avatar: Fire And Ash – one that’s set to expand Cameron’s imaginative world in all kinds of explosive ways, as darkness comes to the verdant moon. Buckle up: Pandora is going to go up in flames.

The new issue of Empire is a massive world-exclusive with unparalleled access to Avatar: Fire And Ash. We joined James Cameron for two whole days at Avatar HQ, getting a first-hand look at how...

In the summer of 2013, Staten Island writer/director James DeMonaco threw a party for his just-released movie “The Purge” in a neighborhood restaurant.

“We had the party after the movie opened because we didn’t think it was going to do any business,” DeMonaco told IndieWire. While celebrating the surprise hit that would spawn four sequels, two directed by DeMonaco and all scripted by him, the filmmaker talked with a busboy. “He came over and said he was a fan of the movie, and we just kept in touch.”

The busboy DeMonaco kept in touch with was future “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson, and when the two Staten Island natives learned how much they had in common, a bond was forged.

“He and I never felt like we fit into the fabric of the hyper-masculine tough guy Staten Island mentality,” DeMonaco said. “I don’t want to say his...

On Thursday 24 July 2025, BBC Four broadcasts Helen Mirren Remembers… Gosford Park!

Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Helen Mirren Remembers…” on BBC Four promises to be a fascinating look back at the film “Gosford Park.” In this episode, Helen Mirren reflects on her role in Robert Altman’s celebrated 2001 movie. This film is well-known for its clever mix of murder mystery and social commentary, set against the backdrop of the British upper class and their servants.

“Helen Mirren Remembers… Gosford Park” will explore how the film was written by Julian Fellowes, who later created the popular series “Downton Abbey.” Mirren’s insights will give viewers a deeper understanding of the film’s themes and the dynamics between the characters. The episode will highlight the impressive ensemble cast, which included notable actors like Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, and Stephen Fry, all of whom brought their own talents to the project.

Fans...

Luca Guadagnino is going to be on the road a lot in the coming months. One day after the Italian filmmaker's latest feature, After the Hunt, joined the Venice Film Festival lineup as an out of competition selection, the New York Film Festival announced that the Amazon MGM-released film will play as the opening night selection of its 63rd edition.

"We are excited to open this year’s festival with Luca Guadagnino’s latest, which confirms his status as one of the most versatile risk-takers working today," NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said in a statement. "Brilliantly acted and crafted, After the Hunt is something rare in contemporary cinema: a complex, grown-up movie with a lot on its mind that also happens to be a deeply satisfying piece of entertainment."

In his own statement, Guadagnino called NYFF "an arbiter of global cinema," and provided a quick preview of the movie's themes.

Kristin Scott Thomas is known for her captivating performance in Slow Horses. She plays the role of Diana Taverner, an MI5 agent, and has contributed immensely to the success and recent Emmy nominations for Slow Horses.

She is known for her powerhouse performances in The English Patient, Four Weddings and A Funeral, Darkest Hour, and Mission: Impossible. However, today we dig deeper to find out more about the formidable actress and human being. Each fact reveals more about her as a woman who has had a brilliant journey, starting from the stage, then film, and television.

1. Kristin Scott Thomas Had A Difficult Childhood

Thomas’s early years have been marked by immense pain and tragedy. She was only five years old when she lost her father to a plane crash. Eerily, six years later, her stepfather died in a plane crash, too. This left her childhood traumatised to say the least.

As a film critic, the question I get asked more than any other is, “What’s your favorite movie?” For decades, I’ve given the same answer. But in the last 10 years or so, when I say, “My favorite movie is ‘Nashville,'” I always have to wonder if the person I’m talking to has even heard of it. Many have not. A handful have heard of it in an “Oh, yeah, right” sort of way. The rest, a distinct minority, know just what I’m talking about. I can always tell by the look in someone’s eye when I’ve stumbled upon a fellow “Nashville” believer.

I first saw Robert Altman’s teeming, sprawling, exultant, tragic, transporting masterpiece, which came out 50 years ago this summer, when I was a freshman in college. The film had an effect on me that’s hard to describe. I didn’t...

Robert Downey Jr.‘s worst film is rated 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. The verdict for Downey Jr.’s 1988 teen comedy, Johnny Be Good, comes from 18 critics. The audience largely seems to agree, as the popcornmeter score of the film is 30% from over 5000 reviews. The Iron Man actor played a supporting role in the film, led by Anthony Michael Hall.

The film revolved around Hall’s star high-school quarterback, who is being pursued by an army of college recruiters. Downey Jr.’s Leo Wiggins is his best friend, who wants him to wait for the most lucrative offer. Meanwhile, Uma Thurman plays his girlfriend who wants him to attend the state college with her, which hasn’t offered him anything.

It has a typical storyline for a high-school sports drama, but Bud S. Smith’s film fails epically when it comes to the film’s execution. There is nothing memorable about the film except its star cast,...

Ari Aster is expanding the fictional town of Eddington into Queens, NY. The auteur is partnering with the Museum of the Moving Image to host the new film series “Eddington City Limits,” highlighting the features that inspired his acclaimed Covid-set Western.

Aster will be in attendance for two out of the five films that will screen; the program ranges from Robert Altman’s iconic “Nashville” to Lars von Trier’s beloved “Dogville.” The series is co-programmed by Aster and MoMI Senior Curator of Film Michael Koresky, and will take place from August 15 to 31. “Eddington” opens in theaters today, July 18.

As the description for the film series states, “Eddington City Limits” will include “movies that both directly inspired or echo the escalating madness of ‘Eddington,’ depicting powder-keg communities ready to spill over into violence or enclosed worlds so given to conspiracy and obsession that there’s no longer any sense of coherent reality.

On Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 9:00 Pm, BBC Four will air “Helen Mirren Remembers… Gosford Park.” This special program offers a unique opportunity to revisit the beloved 2001 film that captivated audiences with its intricate storytelling and rich character dynamics. Helen Mirren takes center stage as she reflects on her role in this acclaimed murder-mystery directed by Robert Altman.

Gosford Park is celebrated for its exploration of the lives of both servants and their masters, a theme that resonates deeply with viewers. Written by Julian Fellowes, known for creating Downton Abbey, the film features an impressive ensemble cast that includes legendary actors like Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Alan Bates, Stephen Fry, Derek Jacobi, and Kristin Scott-Thomas. Each actor brought their own flair to the film, making it a standout in the genre.

As Mirren shares her memories and insights, audiences can expect a blend of nostalgia and behind-the-scenes stories that shed light...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars and movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Sometimes we are lucky enough to even speak with them about their work. And sometimes, they are both a movie star and a movie director. Today that’s Embeth Davidtz, director of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, now in theaters and expanding this weekend.

Our B-Sides include Feast of July, The Gingerbread Man, Mansfield Park, and Bicentennial Man. We speak with Davidtz about her directorial debut, her incredibly diverse acting career, and adapting from the memoir by Alexandra Fuller. There’s extended discussion of Robert Altman’s direction of actors, the underrated qualities of Feast of July (a Merchant Ivory production!), and the ambitions of Bicentennial Man. Not to mention the incredible high-wire act by Davidtz...

After months of predictions, prognistication and heavy-duty FYC campaigning, the big day finally arrived Tuesday as the revelation of the 77th annual Emmy Award nominations crowned HBO Max, Netflix and Apple TV+ as the town’s top shops.

These stories are included in today’s installment of “Daily Variety,” a new podcast that features conversations with Variety journalists about news, trends and personalities making waves in media and entertainment.

Apple TV+ drama “Severance” led the Emmy field among shows with a surprisingly strong tally of 27 nominations for the reality-bending drama’s long-awaited second season. HBO Max was atop the leaderboard overall with a platform record-best 142 noms. Meanwhile, Apple TV+ also claimed the year’s most-nommed comedy with buzzy freshman “The Studio.”

Michael Schneider, Variety‘s television editor, and Clayton Davis, chief awards editor, parse the signals sent by what Television Academy voters embraced — and what they didn’t. The lively...

The late Michael Madsen delivers one of his final performances in “Concessions,” a comedy-drama about the closing night of a movie theater, marking what director Mas Bouzidi calls a tribute to “the last of his kind” in cinema. The actor died earlier this month.

Variety has obtained an exclusive clip from the film, which premieres at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August. The feature showcases Madsen as Rex Fuel, a former stuntman attempting to charm his way into a free ticket to see his old movie and relive his glory days at the Royal Alamo Cinema.

“Working with Michael Madsen was one of the greatest privileges of making ‘Concessions,'” said Bouzidi, who wrote and directed the film. “He was the last of his kind, owning the camera and commanding the audience with nothing but a squint and a sly grin. I still remember the joy I’d get...

Whenever a Hollywood epic gets so drunk on its own cultural importance that it attempts to pre-legitimize itself by casting every available star in town, you can be quite certain that the finished product will be either a terminal bore or a full-blown disaster. Darryl F. Zanuck's "The Longest Day" is very much the former, a 178-minute grind that tries and largely fails to thrust moviegoers into the middle of the D-Day invasion via docudrama techniques; it's often technically impressive, but it quickly turns into a game of spot-the-star, which pulls us straight out of the movie. And then there's 1967's "Casino Royale," a celebrity-studded James Bond parody that feels like watching an exclusive, booze-fueled bash from the house across the street.

There are obvious exceptions, but they come with the caveat of knowingly satirizing Hollywood's insularity (Robert Altman's "The Player") or simply being a hot project that...

Sometimes, life is overwhelming. We retreat into safe spaces to combat the madness, indulging in hobbies or pastimes that bring us joy. I play video games, read comic books, and listen to music to unplug, whereas world-famous filmmaker Oliver Stone watches movies to unwind. According to Stone, his fears of war and pessimism led to his most recent film binge, focusing on Joseph Kosinski’s F1 racing drama, movies starring Michael Douglas, Robert Altman’s 1992 caper The Player, Mike Newell’s 1997 crime classic Donnie Brasco, and more.

While Stone has nothing but glowing words to describe F1, with Brad Pitt’s performance being a stand-out element in a project with many highlights, he opines about the cost of Hollywood greatness, lamenting the days when something as epic as F1 didn’t cost $250 million to produce.

In Oliver Stone’s lengthy Facebook post, he shares the following about Joseph Kosinski’s...

In the early days of Hollywood, Westerns dominated the box office. Shootouts and horse chases were exciting to watch and easy to understand without dialogue during the silent movie era. Audiences were drawn to stories of brave cowboys and mustache-twirling villains because, in times like the Great Depression when hope was hard to find, they could escape into uplifting tales of a hero winning the day. Then, after World War II, in the 1950s, the U.S. emerged as a mighty force to be reckoned with. We had conquered the frontier and helped defeat the Nazis. As such, Westerns became more popular than ever because they reflected our national identity, which was built on a clear good versus evil narrative.

However, the Western genre took a different path when Americans no longer felt that swell of pride in their country. While there are some exceptions, in the 1960s and 1970s...

Fireworks, opera arias, dancers, a show-stopping turn from UK singer Emeli Sandé, smutty jokes from emcee David Walliams, and a rabble-rousing speech from Gladiator star Russell Crowe were among the highlights of a lavish and somewhat protracted closing ceremony of the third edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival (June 21-29).

At the event, which took place on the island of Fort Manoel, the filmmakers themselves were inevitably eclipsed by the performers and presenters.

Nonetheless, the festival itself, which had opened last weekend with an open-air screening of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, boasted strong attendances and a diverse range of films.

Courtesy of StudioCanal

by James Cameron-wilson

Few films in the Swinging Sixties were as much a part of their time as John Schlesinger’s Darling. Chronologically positioned between Godard’s Breathless and Antonioni’s Blow Up, it is a microcosm of the tail end of an empire that was enjoying its last twitch of cultural significance. The Darling of the title is the extremely beautiful, self-absorbed and cosseted Diana Scott played by the It girl of the day, Julie Christie, the face of Ideal Woman magazine. And she would seem, indeed, to be the Ideal Woman, beloved of cads, intellectuals and royalty. The thumbnail premise is attributed to three men, the scenarist Frederic Raphael, the director John Schlesinger and the producer Joseph Janni, and it is Raphael who has provided the sparkling dialogue. Essentially it’s a satire of Britain in the mid-1960s, with Julie Christie the Carnaby Street...

by Cláudio Alves

Juliette Binoche's jury made history when they gave Jafar Panahi the Palme d'Or.

One month ago, Jafar Panahi took the Palme d'Or at Cannes for It Was Just an Accident and thus became the fourth director to win top honors from the Croisette, the Berlinale, and the Venice Film Festival. The Iranian master joins the ranks of Henri-Georges Clouzot, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Robert Altman. However. If you exclude ties and those cineastes who won two prizes for the same film, then Panahi and Antonioni are in an exclusive club of two. Inspired by Eric Blume's musings on the Triple Crown of Acting – Oscar, Tony, and Emmy – I started to ask myself what other filmmakers are close to achieving the same Palm, Golden Lion, and Bear combo. Who's next? The answers might surprise you…...

As we continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Jaws," cinema enthusiasts everywhere can wax poetic about the film's impact as the godfather of the modern blockbuster. The 1975 big screen adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel of the same name not only captivated audiences and frightened them from visiting the beach that summer, but it also served as the ultimate calling card for the filmmaker who would be king: Steven Spielberg. After making his feature-length debut with his television film "Duel" and his theatrical debut with "The Sugarland Express," Spielberg ventured into uncharted waters with "Jaws," which was a notoriously difficult production for him.

"Jaws" was a cultural juggernaut, becoming the highest-grossing film ever at the time of its release (a record that Spielberg himself would break two more times with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Jurassic Park"). Adjusted for ticket price inflation, it is the 7th highest-grossing film in history,...

Jawsrepresented a huge leap forward in Steven Spielberg's career, but the director was disappointed at the time that he didn't receive an Oscar nomination for his work. Jaws remains one of Spielberg's best movies, even though he was just 27 years old at the time. It also made history at the Oscars, becoming one of just a handful of horror movies which have been nominated for Best Picture. The genre has historically been overlooked by the Academy, but the quality of Jaws was hard to ignore. However, the Academy's admiration for Jaws didn't extend to a Best Director nod for Steven Spielberg.

In the National Geographic special Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Story, Spielberg revealed his true feelings when he learned that the Academy had passed him over for a Best Director nomination.

"When a film is on the cusp of being considered for awards, it’s not so much...

The landscape along the road from Mellieha to the west coast of Malta is pretty sparse until you reach the sea by the old World War II pill box and look down into the bay below. There, you will be greeted with a remarkable and incongruous sight: a picturesquely ramshackle village that looks like it has sprung fully-formed from the pages of a comic book. That was, of course, the intention, as it was specially built for "Popeye," Robert Altman's notorious comedy musical based on the classic comic strips by E.C. Segar.

The Popeye Village doesn't take long to walk around, but it is a marvel of production design. Indeed, it was perhaps unnecessarily over-designed for the needs of the film. Logs were brought in from the Netherlands and wooden roof shingles were shipped all the way from Canada for the seven-month construction, which employed 165 tradespeople and required eight...

It’s a cornerstone of movie mythology that “Jaws” and “Star Wars” are forever linked, like high-concept popcorn twins. They’re the movies that, taken together, ushered in the blockbuster revolution. As the myth goes, “Jaws” and “Star Wars” launched the permanent takeover of movies by — for lack of a better word — escapism. But today, on the 50th anniversary of the day that “Jaws” was released, I’d like to take the opportunity to de-link those two movies.

In 1977, “Star Wars” was a sci-fi fantasy so potent and square and video-game zappy, one that would prove to be so addictive to so many generations, that it effectively marked the birth of our all-fantasy-all-the-time popular culture. Its influence was beyond profound. It changed the consciousness of people. It made them want to live in other worlds. Obviously, it wasn’t the first movie or work of art to do that. To me,...

Gailard Sartain, the character actor best known for his role in “The Buddy Holly Story” and his work on variety shows like “Hee Haw,” died Tuesday, June 17, at the age of 78.

Sartain’s death was announced on Facebook by The Church Studio, a Tulsa-based recording studio where the actor and comedian’s wife, Mary Jo, is a frequent volunteer. He is survived by Mary Jo.

A Tulsa native, Sartain was born on Sept. 18, 1946. He began his entertainment career in Tulsa, working first as a cameraman at the local television station where he eventually garnered his first bit of fame for creating and starring in “The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting,” a late-night comedy show he hosted as the fictional wizard Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi. Working with fellow Tulsa natives, including Gary Busey, Sartain wrote and performed special skits in between the show’s broadcasts of old B-movies.

It was his work as Dr.

Gailard Sartain, the very funny character actor who spent some 20 years on Hee Haw, appeared in three Ernest films with Jim Varney and displayed a flair for the dramatic in The Buddy Holly Story and Mississippi Burning, has died. He was 81.

Sartain died Thursday of natural causes at his home in his native Tulsa, Oklahoma, his wife of 36 years, Mary Jo Sartain, told The Hollywood Reporter. “Actually, he died of silliness,” she said.

Sartain showed up in nine features directed by Alan Rudolph: Roadie (1980), Endangered Species (1982), Choose Me (1984), Songwriter (1984), Trouble in Mind (1985), Made in Heaven (1987), The Moderns (1988), Love at Large (1990) and Equinox (1992).

He appeared for Carl Reiner in The Jerk (1979) and All of Me (1984), for Francis Ford Coppola in The Outsiders (1983), for Stephen Frears in The Grifters (1990), for Jon Avnet in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and for Michael Mann in Ali (2001).

In 1972, Sartain joined the cast of the syndicated country variety show Hee Haw,...

Steven Spielberg, one could say, was less than pleased when he found out he was not nominated for the Best Director Oscar for his game-changing shark thriller Jaws. On Oscar nominations morning in 1976, the then 29-year-old was so confident that the blockbuster was "about to be nominated in 11 categories" that he turned the camera on himself to document his live reaction.

"You're about to see a sweep of the nominations," Spielberg boasted in the footage (watch above), which has since become legend thanks to the Media Burn Archive collection.

Along with friends Joe Spinell and Frank Pesce—both of whom were filming Rocky, which would go on to win Best Picture at the subsequent Oscars—Spielberg watched as Best Director was announced on TV. The nominees were Federico Fellini for Amarcord, Stanley Kubrick for Barry Lyndon, Sidney Lumet for Dog Day Afternoon, Robert Altman for Nashville, and Miloš Forman for...

Gailard Sartain, the character actor and comedian whose breakthrough role on Hee Haw launched a career of playing Southern good-ol’-boy that included his memorable performance as The Big Bopper in 1978’s The Buddy Holly Story, died Tuesday, June 17, following a long illness. He was 78.

His death was announced on Facebook by The Church Studio, a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma where Sartain’s wife Mary Jo volunteers.

Born in Tulsa on September 18, 1946, Sartain began his show business career there, working as a cameraman at a local TV station before creating a late-night movie host in 1970 he called Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi. Dressed in wizard garb, Sartain introduced B-movies and performed comedy skits under the show name The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting.

Another Tulsa native who appeared on the late-night movie show was Gary Busey. Sartain and Busey would reunite near the end of the decade when Busey played...

When Jaws hit the beaches – that is, theaters – in the summer of 1975, director Steven Spielberg was marked as Hollywood’s next hot wunderkind. After becoming the highest-grossing movie ever at the time, it was on its way to the Academy Awards. But it didn’t exactly pan out the way Spielberg expected, as he missed out on a coveted Best Director nomination. Fifty years on, he remembers the exact moment he felt he was snubbed.

In the upcoming National Geographic special Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, Spielberg – who was 28 when Jaws was released – said that he believed so much of the hype that it was a shocking moment when he failed to land a Best Director nod. “When a film is on the cusp of being considered for awards, it’s not so much what you want for yourself — it’s what everyone else says is going to happen for you.

Jaws, the Steven Spielberg adventure thriller that revolutionized the film industry in the 1970s, is turning 50 years old. That's five decades of numerous titles and recognitions for the Raiders of the Lost Ark director whose name is synonymous with successful forms of entertainment. But despite his early achievement with 1975's Jaws, Spielberg had to earn his medals, and this included recognition from the Academy itself. Jaws was a huge commercial hit in the '70s, and many believed that it was a sure bet that the young director was going to be nominated for Best Director the following year. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, and 50 years later, Spielberg says that he was "surprised" at the snub.

Only a few years after Jaws, Spielberg would earn his first nomination as Best Director for his work in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And almost 20 years had to pass for him to win an Oscar for Best Director.

Gold Derby's top news stories for June 17, 2025.

The Pitt scrubs back in

Season 2 of the Max drama has started filming. The Noah Wyle-led show shoots primarily on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., with exterior shots being filmed on location in Pittsburgh. The second season is expected to premiere in January 2026.

American Cinema Editors announce dates for Ace Eddies

The biggest awards in film and television editing have set dates for their annual awards. The eligibility window for TV runs from Nov. 2, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2025. For features, the period goes from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025. Submissions open on October 1, and the awards will take place on Feb. 27, 2026.

I Know What You Did Last Summer has one question for you

The legacy sequel to everyone's favorite nautically themed slasher franchise is headed to theaters on July 18, and the new trailer reveals exactly how they're getting Jennifer Love Hewitt's character, Julie James,...

Every July 4th weekend, I, like so many others, uphold a sacred tradition: watching "Jaws." It's seasonal, it's timeless, and frankly, watching a fictional town be terrorized by the inaction of a local government that cares more about profits than people is one of the few appropriate ways to "celebrate" American independence. At the center of "Jaws," and the source of multiple generations developing galeophobia, is a large, aggressive, great white shark. The success of the film invented the summer blockbuster, and 50 years later, the combination of Bruce's dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water and the resonant rumble of a John Williams-conducted tuba is enough to keep some people out of the water for good.

Like its notorious antagonist gliding into the waters off Amity Island, "Jaws" was a cinematic feeding frenzy that continued well beyond Labor Day. This wasn't just a movie; it was a moment,...

Hollywood Insider - 'The Studio'

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s 'The Studio' In-Depth Review Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s 'The Studio' is a love letter to Hollywood old school classical Hollywood, filled with comedic satire, executive in-jokes, and an energy reminiscent of Robert Altman’s 'The Player'. The series explores the power dynamics of 90s Hollywood through the lens of a contemporary setting, offering a humorous yet biting critique of the film industry’s inner workings. It's a tale as old as time, showing the ins and outs of Hollywood's execs. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood...

Elaine May is set to direct a feature for the first time since Ishtar, with Dakota Johnson offering a promising update on Crackpot.

Legendary writer, director and performer Elaine May is enjoying quite a time in her 90s. The media gaze when it comes to ninetysomething people in the world of world, theatre and TV might be trained on Clint Eastwood, but perhaps Elaine May should have been given more of the spotlight.

In 2019, for instance, in her late 80s, she took home a Tony award for Best Actress in a Play for her work in Broadway hit The Waverly Gallery. And these past few years, she’s been trying to realise a film project, when where she keeps coming up against hurdles.

The film in question is Crackpot, that’s had Dakota Johnson leading the cast for some time now. Sebastian Stan was also attached as of last year,...

Everybody loves to bash Hollywood, including Hollywood itself. The latest and most genially barbed takedown comes from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, longtime production partners whose Apple TV+ comedy series “The Studio” starts out by ruining Martin Scorsese’s career in its first episode. It goes on to poke knowing fun at pompous directors, feckless executives, egotistical actors, woke culture, AI, the Golden Globes, CinemaCon and oh, all sorts of other stuff, even pediatric oncologists.

The 10-episode series plays at a breakneck pace and is largely composed of lengthy, uninterrupted shots that required intricate timing between the actors and film crew. The list of notables who play themselves (or unflattering versions of themselves) includes Scorsese, Ron Howard, Sarah Polley, Olivia Wilde, Charlize Theron, Zac Efron, Ice Cube, Adam Scott, Quinta Brunson, Steve Buscemi and many more.

Seth Rogen (Arsenii Vaselenko)

Rogen, who co-directed every episode with Goldberg, plays Matt Remick,...

Chicago – “Breakfast of Champions” was a film that was critically reviled when it was released, and became one of those box office “mega bombs.” But the adapter/director of the film, Alan Rudolph, is getting the last laugh. “Breakfast of Champions” is being re-examined in a new 4K Uhd restoration through Shout! Studios and Films We Like as a film decidedly ahead of its time.

Breakfast of Champions

Photo credit: Films We Like/Shout! Studios

Rating: 5.0/5.0

“Breakfast of Champions’ (1999) tells the story of car dealership titan Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis), the most respected man in Midland City. His smiling face appears on every local channel and billboard , as a shining symbol of the American Dream. But Dwayne Hoover is not smiling inside. Nor can he be trusted. Dwayne’s shady prosperity, picture-frame family, and small mind are cracking.

His television commercial-addicted wife (Barbara Hershey) may or may not be physically...

Chicago – Alan Rudolph is a filmmaker icon from the last twenty years of the 20th Century and beyond. He had an unprecedented string of critical darlings from the 1970s through the ‘90s, a run that is acknowledged in the Criterion Channel’s June 2025 Spotlight Alan Rudolph’s Dramas of Desire.

The Criterion Channel description for Alan Rudolph’S Dramas Of Desires: “Alan Rudolph’s cinema is a constellation of dreamers, drifters, and disenchanted romantics. A protégé of Robert Altman and a singular voice in independent film, Rudolph has long been a maverick, eschewing convention in favor of elliptical storytelling, painterly compositions, and jazz-inflected rhythms. His films – including the tour-de-force Geraldine Chaplin thriller “Remember My Name” and the surreally stylish neo-noir “Trouble In Mind” – that invites us into richly textured worlds where emotional logic supersedes plot, and the ephemeral becomes eternal.”

Alan Rudolph’s Dramas of Desire

Photo credit: CriterionChannel.com...

Ridley Scott’s Alien is widely considered one of the most influential science fiction and horror films of all time. Alien received mixed reviews at the time of release but managed to find success at the box office. Scott was meticulous with the film and did everything in his capacity to bring his vision to the screen.

However, after the film, Scott largely stayed away from the franchise for the sequels. He wasn’t too appreciative of the sequel films, although he may have had a few kind words to say about James Cameron’s Aliens. Scott, who recently served as a producer on Alien: Romulus, confirmed that he will not be directing any more Alien films.

Ridley Scott wasn’t exactly a fan of the sequels to his first Alien movie Ridley Scott with Sigourney Weaver in a set still from Alien | Credits: 20th Century Studios

During his most recent interview with ScreenRant,...

Original Aliendirector Ridley Scott says he thought the franchise was done after its fourth film.

Per Entertainment Weekly, Scott recently discussed his prior concern for the Alien franchise's future, especially after the lackluster release of the fourth film, 1997's Alien: Resurrection. "I think I felt it was deadened after 4," Scott said. "I think mine was pretty d---m good, and I think [James Cameron's] was good, and I have to say the rest were not very good. And I thought, 'F--k, that's the end of a franchise which should be as important as bloody Star Trek or Star Wars.'"

Scott also recalled being offered Alien in the first place, as well as his reaction to the project. "Because designer is in my blood and DNA, I just knew what to do with it," Scott said. "I just knew what to do with it. And I was the fifth f---ing choice.

Ridley Scott said in an interview with ScreenRant that “I’ve done enough” when it comes to the “Alien” franchise, which he started 46 years ago. Scott produced last year’s well-reviewed “Alien: Romulus” movie, and he’s an executive producer on Noah Hawley’s upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth.” But it appears Scott’s days of directing “Alien” projects is over. As he summed up: “Where it’s going now, I think I’ve done enough, and I just hope it goes further.”

Scott said the “Alien” franchise is “spreading like wildfire,” which he’s more or less amazed at considering there was a time when he thought the series was as good as dead. Scott directed 1979’s “Alien” before handing the franchise to James Cameron for 1986’s “Aliens.” The series then took stumbles with divisive entries from the likes of David Fincher (“Alien 3”) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (“Alien Resurrection...

How many times have you walked out of a movie and exclaimed, "That was great, but what it really needs is to be a television show!" Your answer, hopefully, is never. This is no shade on the home-viewing medium, but merely an acknowledgment that what you loved about said movie is unlikely to be replicable as a TV series. There are exceptions. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau killed it as Felix and Oscar in Gene Saks' film of "The Odd Couple," but Tony Randall and Jack Klugman quickly made those roles their own on the hit ABC sitcom. Peter Berg crafted a big-screen American classic out of Buzz Bissinger's "Friday Night Lights," but the five-season series proved to be a deeper, more resonant experience. And who knew the boys club counterculture comedy of Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" could lay the groundwork for a long-running sitcom that...

Sir Ridley Scott is finished with the 'Alien' franchise.After directing the eponymous 1979 sci-fi/horror flick, the 87-year-old filmmaker walked away from the 'Alien' series until returning for the 2012 prequel 'Prometheus' and its follow-up 'Alien: Covenant' in 2017, though Scott now thinks he's "done enough" with the 'Alien' franchise.Speaking with Screen Rant, he said: " A number of years after ['Alien'], I said, 'I'm going to resurrect this',[and wrote] 'Prometheus' from scratch–a blank sheet of paper. Damon Lindelof and I sat then hammered out 'Prometheus'."It was very present and very welcome. The audience really wanted more. I said, 'It needs to fly.' No one was coming for it, [and] I went once again [and made] 'Alien Covenant', and it worked too. "Where it's going now, I think I've done enough, and I just hope it goes further."After Scott's...

Ridley Scott, the director behind classics like Gladiator, Blade Runner and the 1979 groundbreaking film, Alien, says that he's "done enough" for the horror sci-fi franchise. 2024's Alien: Romulus proves that the franchise does have life without Scott at the helm, and he agrees with this, saying, "Where it's going now, I think I've done enough, and I just hope it goes further."

Scott was only involved in the first film, and then took a (very long) break. Eventually, he returned in 2012 to make the prequel Prometheus, and in 2017 he made his last Alien film, Alien: Covenant. The director was only involved as a producer in Romulus, as he gave Fede Álvarez a much-deserved opportunity to try his best at making an Alien sequel. The result was a critically acclaimed blockbuster that many believed came close in spirit to what Scott had done with Alien.

In a conversation with Screen Rant...

Ridley Scott reflects on his journey with the Alien franchise and his directorial future. The filmmaker directed the groundbreaking first Alien movie, which hit theaters in 1979. While he didn't return to helm the sequels, Aliens or Alien 3, Scott later directed 2012's Prometheus, the fifth installment in the franchise, and 2017's Alien: Covenant. He also served as a consultant and producer on 2024's Alien: Romulus.

In an interview with ScreenRant for the Kingdom of Heaven's 20th anniversary, Scott talked about his future with the Alien franchise, expressing his desire to part ways with it. While he voiced praise for James Cameron's sequel, he felt like the series was "deadened after 4." He further recalled how he was hired to direct the 1979 movie in the first place and why he returned decades later to resurrect the franchise. However, regarding his future, the director believes that he has "done enough." Read...

Alan Alda, who starred on CBS’ long-running comedy series M*A*S*H alongside Loretta Swit, spoke out Friday after the news of Swit’s death at age 87.

Swit, who played Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H from 1972-1983, died at her home in New York City at age 87.

Alda played Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce also for the full run of the 14-time Emmy-winning show, which was based on Robert Altman’s 1970 feature film that starred Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye and Sally Kellerman as Hot Lips, the head nurse at the U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital near the front lines of the Korean War.

“Loretta was a supremely talented actor,” he posted on X. “She deserved all her 10 Emmy nominations and her 2 wins. But more than acting her part, she created it. She worked hard In showing the writing staff how they could turn...

Loretta Swit, the Emmy-winning actress best known for her iconic role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on the long-running television series M*A*S*H, is dead. She was 87.

Born on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey, Swit’s career spanned television, film, and the stage, but her portrayal of the fiercely independent and compassionate army nurse during the Korean War made her a household name. She was part of M*A*S*H since the first episode debuted in 1972 and remained a central figure throughout the show’s 11-season run, winning two Emmy Awards and millions of fans. Along with Alan Alda, Swit was the only original actor to appear in both the pilot episode and the finale. Sally Kellerman, the actress who played Houlihan in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H movie, died in 2022.

“[Houlihan] was [unique] at the time and in her time, which was the ’50s, when [the Korean War] was happening,” Swit said in a 2004 interview.