News

Exclusive: Oscar winner Cillian Murphy’s next feature Steve will world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before receiving a theatrical release in select cinemas September 19, then dropping on Netflix on October 3. We’ve got a fresh exclusive image from the movie, and also recently caught up with star-producer Murphy along with Steve writer/executive producer Max Porter; director Tim Mielants; and Murphy’s producing partner Alan Moloney with whom he founded Big Things Films, which produces Steve in collaboration with Netflix.

The drama, which also features some darkly funny moments, is set in the mid-1990s and follows a pivotal day in the life of the titular headteacher and his students at a last-chance boys’ reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them. As Murphy’s Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity while also fighting its impending closure, he grapples with his own mental health. In parallel to Steve’s struggles,...

Corpse Bride, Tim Burton’s 2005 stop-motion animated film, will be released in 4K and digital formats in celebration of the film’s 20th anniversary (pre-order here).

The new edition will officially be available for purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital for the first time on September 23rd. In addition to the updated resolution, Corpse Bride will arrive in special steelbook packaging with a variety of new and old bonus features, such as “Digging up the Past: The Minds Behind The Corpse Bride” and ‘Til Death Do Us Art: A Corpse Bride Reflection.”

Featuring the voices of Johnny Depp as Victor Van Dort and Helena Bonham Carter as Emily (the titular Corpse Bride), the film follows Victor, a nervous young man who accidentally marries a deceased bride while practicing his wedding vows in a forest. When Emily whisks him away to the Land of the Dead, Victor must find...

Tim Burton‘s Corpse Bride will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD release in both SteelBook and standard packaging on September 23 via Warner Bros.

The 2005 stop-motion fantasy musical has been newly restored in 4K with High Dynamic Range and Dolby Atmos-TrueHD sound.

Special features:

Digging up the Past: The Minds Behind Corpse Bride (new) ‘Til Death Do Us Art: A Corpse Bride Reflection (new) Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds Inside the Two Worlds of the Corpse Bride Making Puppets Tick The Animators: The Breath of Life The Corpse Bride Pre-Production Galleries Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light Voices from the Underworld The Voices Behind the Voice

Burton co-directs with Mike Johnson from a script by John August (Big Fish), Caroline Thompson (The Nightmare Before Christmas), and Pamela Pettler (Monster House). Danny Elfman (The Nightmare Before Christmas) composed the music.

A young man mistakenly weds a corpse while...

Stephen Colbert will guest star on the CBS crime dramedy Elsbeth, playing a fictional late-night talk show host. According to Vulture, filming for Colbert’s guest spot took place in New York this week, suggesting the role was likely planned before CBS announced on July 17 that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end next spring.

Elsbeth star Carrie Preston recently spoke to Gold Derby about the impressive roster of guest stars the show has attracted, including Laurie Metcalf, Pamela Adlon, Tracey Ullman, and Matthew Broderick. Preston reflected on working alongside performers she admires.

“It was a couple of times where some of my idols were on the show. These are actors that I want to be like and I am inspired by. And to have them come on the show was really extraordinary," she said.

Colbert’s own involvement appears to have stemmed from a February appearance by Elsbeth...

Looking for the next Barry Jenkins, Pietro Marcello, William Oldroyd, or Darius Marder? Let the Toronto International Film Festival’s auteur-focused and discovery-minded Platform section help.

Today, the festival has announced its 2025 Platform program lineup, marking the tenth anniversary of the fest’s auteur competitive section, which “champions bold directorial vision and distinctive storytelling.”

This year’s edition features 10 films representing 19 countries. The program opens with the World Premiere of “Steve,” from Belgian director Tim Mielants, starring Tracey Ullman and Academy Award–winner Cillian Murphy. The film is Mielants’ first appearance at TIFF and his third collaboration with Murphy.

Per usual, the section is juried by a three-person team of luminaries. This year, they include Jury Chair and Spanish film writer, editor, and director Carlos Marqués-Marcet, who won the 2024 Platform Award for “They Will Be Dust.” He is joined by Oscar-nominated actor, writer, composer, and director Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who was...

The Cillian Murphy-starring drama Steve, from director Tim Mielants and Netflix, will open the 2025 Platform competition at the Toronto Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.

Adapted by Max Porter from his novella Shy, Steve has Oscar winner Murphy playing a headteacher during a pivotal day for students at a last-chance reform school and in a world that has left them behind. As Steve deals with his own trauma, he meets Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen also caught between a dark past and an uncertain future.

Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo and Emily Watson also star in Steve, which will hit Netflix on Oct. 3. On Tuesday, Toronto unveiled in all 10 features for the festival section where international films outside of the Hollywood studio orbit compete.

There’s a rare international premiere in the section for Pauline Loquès Nino, which bowed in Cannes and has rising star Theodore Pellerin playing a young...

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

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

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

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

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

Busy Philipps has found success with her QVC+ and Hsn+ late night talk show Busy This Week. Now in Season 2, the show sees the host get her celeb guests to share things they’ve never done before. The July 16 episode with Elsbeth’s Carrie Preston is proof of that as she looks back on her time on True Blood and shares a surprising behind-the-scenes story involving adult film stars as extras. In the exclusive clip above, the Emmy-winning actress also reveals which Elsbeth guest star she’d love to have back as many times as possible. This came after Philipps asked center of the CBS hit series if there has ever been a guest star that has come on that she was like, “I can’t even deal with this?” Preston responded with all of them before naming Tracey Ullman. “That’s giant,” she said. “I used to watch her show religiously.

Cillian Murphy stars in Steve, an intense drama about leadership, personal crisis, and redemption, arriving on Netflix this autumn.

Netflix has revealed the first official image and full cast of ‘Steve‘, its upcoming film starring Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy. The highly anticipated feature will premiere in select cinemas in September 2025 and will be available globally on the platform from 3 October. Directed by Tim Mielants and written by Max Porter, ‘Steve‘ is shaping up to be one of the major releases of the autumn season, combining psychological drama, institutional critique, and high-calibre performances.

Set in the 1990s, the story centres on ‘Steve’, a headteacher who leads a reform school for teenagers on the verge of social exclusion. Cillian Murphy plays this character marked by an internal struggle: while trying to prevent the closure of the school he manages, he also faces increasing emotional instability. The plot unfolds over the course of a single day,...

Netflix has released the first look image, release date and full cast reveal for ‘Steve,’, the new film starring Academy Award® winner Cillian Murphy and introducing Jay Lycurgo, in a reimagining of Max Porter’s Sunday Times bestseller, Shy.

Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo (Top Boy) and Emily Watson are revealed as supporting cast members.

Also in news – Russell Crowe set to join Henry Cavill in ‘Highlander’ remake

Further cast members include Douggie McMeekin, Youssef Kerkour, Luke Ayres, Joshua J Parker, Araloyin Oshunremi, Tut Nyuot, Tom Moya, Ahmed Ismail, Joshua Barry, Archie Fisher, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Priyanga Burford, George Fouracres, Marcus Garvey, Ruby Ashbourne-Serkis and Roger Allam.

Set in the mid-90s, Steve is a reimagining of Max Porter’s Sunday Times bestseller Shy. The film follows a pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve (Academy Award® winner Cillian Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them.

Cillian Murphy’s acting career has spanned nearly three decades and is still going strong. Over these years, he has played pretty much everything, from being a villain to being the Father of the Atomic Bomb in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer; he has built a career as diverse as it could be.

Along the way, he has won several accolades and awards, including an Academy Award in 2024 for Best Actor. However, he is not done yet because Netflix has dropped the first look of his new and exciting project, Steve, taking place in the mid-90s, and it looks like the Red Eye actor has already cut out work for himself.

Surprisingly, fans are already thrilled as they get their hands on the first look of the movie, as Murphy adds depth with a single look.

Cillian Murphy Returns With Another Iconic Role

A couple of years back, Cillian...

Gold Derby's top news stories for June 24, 2025.

Billy Joel: And So It Goes doc gets premiere date

The first part of the music documentary chronicling the life of Billy Joel will bow July 18 on HBO. The second and final installment will air a week later on July 25.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 trailer

The Madelaine Petsch-led horror sequel dropped its first trailer, ahead of a Sept. 26 release.

Building the Band's concept rings a bell

Love is Band? The first preview of Netflix's reality singing competition, Building the Band, shows off a format that should look familiar to anyone who knows the streamer's big dating show. The competition, which is judged by Kelly Rowland, Nicole Scherzinger, and the late Liam Payne, debuts on July 9.

Cillian Murphy is Steve

Netflix has released a first-look image of Oscar winner Cillian Murphy in Steve, a feature adaptation of Max Porter's book Shy. The film,...

Cillian Murphy is heading to Netflix for his next big role. The actor, who won an Oscar for his role in the Christopher Nolan epic Oppenheimer, will soon be playing the titular role in the Netflix movieSteve.

Steve is adapted by Max Porter from his bestselling novella, Shy. Tim Mielants (Small Things Like These) directs. A first-look photo of the film released by Netflix on Tuesday reveals Murphy in his role as Steve, depicting the character leaning against a blackboard, seemingly lost in thought. The character is a head teacher who's facing the closure of his reform school, while Jay Lycurgo co-stars as one of his students, who's enduring his own struggles.

Here's your first look at Cillian Murphy in the upcoming film Steve. Also starring Jay Lycurgo, Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo, and Emily Watson.A reimagining of Max Porter's bestselling novel Shy, the film follows a pivotal day in...

El ganador de un Óscar es hijo de dos profesores en la vida real. © Netflix

Netflix ha desvelado la primera imagen y ha anunciado la fecha de estreno de la película Steve, dirigida por Tim Mielants (Small Things Like These).

Ambientada a mediados de los años 90, Steve es una reimaginación de la novela Shy, escrita por Max Porter, y narra un día crucial en la vida de Steve (Cillian Murphy), un director de un centro de reinserción para jóvenes al borde del abismo en un mundo que les ha dado la espalda. A medida que Steve lucha por salvar el centro y evitar su cierre, también se enfrenta a sus propios problemas de salud mental. En este mismo día también seguimos a Shy (Jay Lycurgo), un adolescente problemático atrapado entre su pasado y su futuro, que intenta conciliar su fragilidad interna con sus impulsos autodestructivos y violentos.

La película está protagonizada por Cillian Murphy,...

Netflix has released a first look at Cillian Murphy in Steve, adapted by Max Porter from his bestselling novella Shy.

Off the back of Porter’s Berlinale debut The Thing With Feathers, Oscar-winning Murphy stars as a headteacher in the Tim Mielants-directed Steve. The image released Tuesday shows him holding a tennis ball while leant against a blackboard.

The movie, set to release in October, follows a day in the life with Steve and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them.

“As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure,” a plot synopsis reads, “we witness him grappling with his own mental health. In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence.

Cillian Murphy will soon be seen in a new film titled Steve, a drama that’s set to arrive in cinemas this September before making its Netflix debut on October 3, 2025. The movie is inspired by Max Porter’s 2023 novella Shy and marks another collaboration between Murphy and the author.

The story follows a tense and emotional day at a reform school for troubled boys. Murphy plays the headteacher in charge of the school, while Jay Lycurgo plays Shy, a student at the heart of the story. Also joining the cast are Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo, and Emily Watson.

Tim Mielants directed the film, and Max Porter adapted the script himself from his own book. Porter and Murphy have worked together before, both on stage and in short films. This time, they’re teaming up again, Murphy is not just acting but also producing the movie through his company, Big Things Films,...

Cillian Murphy is back on screen in a new film called Steve, and here’s a first look. The movie is based on the 2023 novella Shy by Max Porter, and it’s hitting select cinemas this September. After that, it’ll be available to stream on Netflix starting October 3, 2025.

Steve tells the story of a headteacher and a group of troubled boys at a reform school. The whole film takes place over one very intense day. Murphy plays the headteacher, while Jay Lycurgo takes on the role of Shy, one of the boys at the school. Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo, and Emily Watson are also in the cast.

The film is directed by Tim Mielants and was written by Max Porter, who adapted it from his own book. Murphy and Porter have worked together before on both stage and screen, and this new project is another collaboration between the two.

Oscar winner Cillian Murphy’s next feature, Steve, will receive a theatrical release in select cinemas in September before dropping on Netflix on October 3. We’ve got a first-look image of Murphy in the eponymous role – scroll down to check it out.

Murphy also produces the reform school drama under his Big Things Films banner with partner Alan Moloney, and in collaboration with Netflix which handles global distribution. The release dates could point to fall film festival play.

Directed by Tim Mielants, Steve is a reimagining of Max Porter’s novel Shy, and also stars the previously announced Jay Lycurgo. Supporting cast revealed today are Emmy and Golden Globe winner Tracey Ullman, Top Boy’s Simbi Ajikawo (aka Little Simz) and BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee Emily Watson. Mielants recently helmed Netflix’s Murphy-starrer Small Things Like These in which Watson featured.

Set in the mid-1990s, Steve follows a...

Carrie Preston didn’t think she’d ever be headlining her first television series, much less as a character she’s played off and on for 15 years. The seasoned actress, whose small-screen resume is filled with memorable supporting parts in “True Blood” and “Claws,” first played Elsbeth Tascioni in 2010 in “The Good Wife.” She was an eccentric but brilliant lawyer with unconventional methods of solving tough cases. The character’s unique tics, scatterbrained quips and sunny disposition made her a fan favorite, winning Preston her first guest-actress Emmy in 2013. She reprised the role in the spinoff “The Good Fight,” where she directed two episodes.

When creators Robert and Michelle King gave Preston her own star vehicle with CBS’ “Elsbeth” — a “Columbo”-inspired “howdunit” police procedural — the 57-year-old actress was more than ready for the opportunity.

Carrie Preston and Stephen Moyer in “Elsbeth” (CBS)

“This is definitely my dream job,” Preston...

Carrie Preston has portrayed Elsbeth Tascioni — a delightfully unpredictable attorney — for more than 15 years. What began as a recurring character on The Good Wife evolved into a fan-favorite performance that continued on The Good Fight and now leads her own CBS series, Elsbeth, heading into its third season. With each iteration, Preston has peeled back more layers of Elsbeth’s eccentric persona, revealing a character as emotionally complex as she is offbeat.

“I love Elsbeth’s curiosity and her wonder and her positive attitude,” Preston tells Gold Derby. “It takes discipline to approach the world that way. It's infectious. I love getting inside of that mindset every day because it really helps me in my life.”

While “quirky” is often the go-to descriptor for Elsbeth, Preston believes there's more beneath the surface. “I don’t mind anyone calling her that, but that can be a little bit of a simplification,...

CBS will submit 25 performers from Elsbeth Season 2 for Emmy consideration, Gold Derby has learned.

That includes the three series regulars — Carrie Preston as quirky investigator Elsbeth Tascioni, Wendell Pierce as police captain Charles Wallace, and Carra Patterson as police officer-turned-detective Kaya Blanke — plus 22 famous guest stars who made an impact during the show's sophomore year.

Preston, a former guest actress Emmy winner (2013) for playing this same character on The Good Wife, will campaign in Best Drama Actress. Pierce and Patterson are seeking their first career Emmy bids, and are entering the respective races for Best Drama Supporting Actor and Best Drama Supporting Actress.

Several big names and award winners are among the guest stars being submitted. Who's the Boss? and Charmed star Alyssa Milano plays Lisette “Pupetta” Del Ponte, the owner of a restaurant embroiled in murder. Two-time Emmy winner Michael Emerson, who's married to Preston in real life, has...

“Live from London, it’s Saturday Night!”

That phrase may not be familiar yet, but that will change next year when NBC’s long-running live sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live hits the U.K. with an official local adaptation.

Comcast-owned Sky and SNL creator Lorne Michaels are taking the venerable old comedy institution across the Atlantic, with Saturday Night Live UK set to air sometime in 2026. The live, fast-paced sketch format will remain the same for the adaptation, with a star-studded lineup of hosts and musical acts complementing a cast of British comedians and comedy writers.

More details on when SNL UK will debut, as well as news on casting, hosts and musical guests will be announced in the coming months.

“For over 50 years Saturday Night Live has held a unique position in TV and in our collective culture, reflecting and creating the global conversation all under the...

Welcome to the Gold Ticket, your VIP guide to the best of award-worthy pop culture for the weekend ahead, curated by the Gold Derby team of experts. (April 4 - April 6)

The main stream

Michelle Williams is Dying for Sex.

The Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner for Best Limited/TV Movie Actress for her work in Fosse/Verdon stars in the new FX limited series, which is adapted from the Wondery podcast of the same name. The eight-episode series (now streaming on Hulu) is inspired by the true story of Molly Kochan, who, after discovering that her cancer returned and is incurable, leaves her husband (portrayed on the show by Jay Duplass) to explore her sexuality with the time she has left. Deftly balancing comedy with frequently grim subject matter, the surprisingly raunchy series — which also stars Jenny Slate as Molly's best friend with whom she embarks on her new...

“The Actor” (2025) feels like a Charlie Kaufman script directed by Damien Chazelle. It is bittersweet, charming, and immersive like a Chazelle film that lingers in your mind long after, but it follows a dreamlike logic and revels in its inherent absurdity like a Kaufman script. Somehow, their distinct styles coalesce in Duke Johnson’s surrealistic mystery film to offer a captivating confusion. It constantly puts its protagonist, Paul Cole (André Holland), at odds with himself. After waking up from an accident, he learns that he was beaten up for sleeping with a married woman. He loses most of his memories.

The husband shows no mercy to this man and throws him out. Suddenly, he finds himself stranded in a small town with no one to call his own. He enters with no recollection of the life he had led till then. He only vaguely recalls someone calling him ‘an actor’ in the hospital.

For an episode centered around love, Elsbeth sure chose some odd relationships to depict. There’s campy comedy, and then there is mildly obscure humor, which has found its way onto the show.

There were a lot of hands at play in weaving this particular episode. For one, whoever created the character Freya is probably not the same person who suggested she be in a throuple.

The Elsbeth writers had some fun with “Hot Tub Crime Machine” and with Mary-Louise Parker’s character. She was the perfect example of what happens when crazy meets controlling.

(Michael Parmelee/CBS)

Along with that, the series is shifting gears and preparing for a new dynamic around the precinct.

Elsbeth feels like a different show without Kaya and Miss Tascioni attached at the hip every second, but I can see why the hands behind the show would want to nip that in the bud.

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John Howley's 1989 animated film "Happily Ever After" was conceived as a sequel to the "Snow White" fairy tale. Its story extrapolated partly from the earliest published version by the Brothers Grimm but also partly from the 1937 Disney-produced film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." "Happily Ever After" didn't re-use any of Disney's designs, voices, characters, or concepts (at least none that weren't already in the Public Domain), but one can see how Howley's film relied on vague cultural echoes that Disney originally yawped into the mass consciousness. Snow White (Irene Cara), for example, had almost identical hair and wore a similar dress to the version of the character designed by Walt Disney.

"Happily Ever After" staggered during its brief theatrical run, making only $3.3 million at the box office on a modest $6.8 million budget (although it was later heavily rented...

When Duke Johnson was making the Oscar-nominated animated feature “Anomalisa” with Charlie Kaufman, Kaufman suggested Johnson read “Memory,” a lost Donald Westlake novel that had recently been published. (Kaufman had heard about its resurrection on NPR.) The novel, about a man named Paul Cole, who finds himself stranded in a small town with a head injury after being attacked by the jealous husband of Paul’s lover, had been completed in 1963 and shopped around by Westlake, with no takers. An attempt was made in the 1970s to shop it around again but Westlake, one of the great American crime fiction writers, declined. After his death in 2008, it was finally published by Hard Case Crime two years later.

“[Kaufman] was telling me that he really liked it, because what was interesting about it is that it’s by this famous crime novelist and that it was in the guise of a noir thriller,...

Family Guy superfans have seen at least some of the show’s 1998 pilot — seven minutes of Seth MacFarlane’s pitch have been included on DVDs in years past. But internet sleuths on the lookout for lost media recently uncovered the full 16 minutes, posting it to YouTube for the world to see.

Thank Redditor GhostTheDeadGirl for the find, buried on the web page of animator Robert Paulsen. “I actively searched for and found his portfolio page and the pilot was there,” she posted on Reddit. “I uploaded it to YouTube originally, as well as the internet archive.”

Can we get a round of high-fives?

Watch the pilot and you’ll see that several of the show’s trademarks were baked into the original recipe:

The cutaway gags were there from the first moment, with the Brady Bunch dad punishing son Greg in a poisonous snake pit before we’re even introduced...

When director Duke Johnson sat down and watched Federico Fellini’s 1954 classic “La Strada,” he was immediately drawn to the iconic clown costume worn by Giulietta Masina. Now in his newest film, “The Actor,” a similar outfit is adorned by Edna (Gemma Chan) while out on an intimate date with Paul (André Holland).

“It’s these two people that feel like maybe they don’t fit into the world,” Johnson tells Variety. “With these two oddballs finding each other, the possibility of connection was the driving force. They’ve really hit it off.”

The moment takes place on Halloween night when Paul, still trying to piece together who he is after waking up with amnesia, goes out with Edna after the two meet at the cinema. Despite it being Halloween, you’d hardly be able to tell by looking at the men’s synonymous coats, making Edna’s hand-stitched blue clown costume immediately stand out.

The Actor is a true film experience — artistically and intellectually gripping, or confusing and boring, depending on the audience. Its superb lead performance, production design, and poetically philosophical approach will be eagerly imbibed by some viewers who will be quick to call The Actor a masterpiece, while most mainstream audiences will be left restless by its odd pacing and lack of romantic chemistry. Your reaction to the film utterly depends upon your cinematic proclivities. The arthouse crowd will surely gush while the Average Joe may want to steer clear. If you're somewhere in between the two, summon an adventurous spirit and rush to see the film before it disappears from theaters all-too-soon.

Initially set in 1950s Ohio, an actor (André Holland) wakes up in a small town's hospital after being attacked for a dalliance with a married woman. He has no memory of the violent incident or his life before.

As far as Elsbeth episodes go, this one wasn’t the most thrilling or all that interesting. To be fair, though, the show has swung big with some of its cases in the past.

One thing the show has managed to capitalize on is keeping every episode feeling fresh. Well, “I See … Murder” was a little past its “Use By” date, leaving a less-than-memorable experience.

That said, Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 15 still had a couple of standout moments that gave us a few fun moments. For one, this was another actual “murder mystery” where nothing made sense until the very end.

(Michael Parmelee/CBS)

Besides, without “I See … Murder,” how else would we know that there are “vigilante rat hunters” in NYC or that a psychic can charge you upwards of fifteen hundred dollars?

Not to mention the most important fact learned in this episode: Woodchucks don’t actually chop wood.

It turns out that voicing Bart Simpson is more than just yelling “¡Ay, caramba!” “eat my shorts!” and “I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?” into a microphone: There’s a whole lot of flatulence, too, according to voice actress Nancy Cartwright.

The comedy staple, who has offered her vocal chops to The Simpsons’ eldest since the animated family’s Tracey Ullman days, recently dropped by “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan’s new YouTube series where she got candid about the guts — and gas — it takes to bring Bart to life.

“What do I do for a living? I’ll put it in three words,” Cartwright told Milan in her signature Bart voice. “I burp and fart for a living.” Far surpassing her self-imposed three-word limit, Cartwright still managed to stand by such scatalogical work. “It’s a nice gig,” she continued, reverting to her normal tone as Millan giggled by her side.

One of the great pleasures of director Duke Johnson‘s haunting and beautiful new film “The Actor” is, appropriately enough given the film’s title, the abundance of terrific performances. André Holland anchors the movie as the title character, an actor struggling to figure out who he is and where he belongs after an accident leaves him with amnesia. He’s surrounded by a gallery of equally fascinating supporting players — most of whom play multiple characters, with the actors often unrecognizable under layers of elaborate hair and makeup.

For Johnson, the decision to create a troupe of actors who would play different characters throughout was both practical and philosophical. “There are the limitations of shooting in Europe and getting your actors,” Johnson told IndieWire on an upcoming episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, noting that getting a huge cast to Budapest for production would have been prohibitively expensive — once he...

It can be difficult to step out of the shadow of a creative collaborator, which Duke Johnson does fitfully with “The Actor,” his first live-action theatrical feature. Though Johnson has had a steady career for close to two decades, principally in stop-motion animation for television, he is perhaps best known for co-directing “Anomalisa” with Charlie Kaufman. A full decade later, Kaufman (who serves as an executive producer on “The Actor”) still has a marked influence on Johnson’s solo directorial debut, though it is awkwardly grafted onto a noir-inflected tale — based on the novel “Memory” by Donald E. Westlake — of a man recovering from amnesia and attempting to rediscover who he is.

That man is Paul Cole (André Holland), a member of a New York City theater troupe on the last leg of a Midwest tour. As the film begins, he is preparing to bed a married woman before her...

“Elsbeth,” CBS’s quirky legal drama, welcomes a special guest star this Thursday, as Tracey Ullman joins the cast for a psychic showdown. In “I See… Murder,” Elsbeth Tascioni, known for her unconventional approach to crime-solving, finds herself facing off against Marilyn Gladwell (Ullman), a professional psychic. The case involves a wealthy client whose stepson turns […]

Elsbeth: I See… Murder...

Tracey Ullman pops in as the week’s special guest star on CBS’s Elsbeth season two episode 15. Directed by Rob Hardy and written by Sarah Beckett and Wade Dooley, “I See … Murder” will air on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 10pm Et/Pt.

Carrie Preston stars as Elsbeth Tascioni, Wendell Pierce stars as Captain C.W. Wagner, and Carra Patterson is back as Officer Kaya Blanke. Robert King, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, and Jonathan Tolins serve as executive producers.

“I See … Murder” Plot: Elsbeth matches wits with a professional psychic (Tracey Ullman) after the stepson of one of her wealthy clients is found murdered in Central Park. Meanwhile, Kaya’s dreams of becoming a detective may come true. Daniel K. Isaac and Jill Eikenberry guest star.

Tracey Ullman as Marilyn and Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni in ‘Elsbeth’ season 2 episode 15 Elsbeth Season 2 Description, Courtesy of CBS:

Emmy Award winner Carrie Preston is back as Elsbeth Tascioni,...

Co-directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, 2015’s “Anomalisa” told a walking nightmare of a story about a motivational speaker who perceives (almost) everyone he meets to be the same identical stranger. They all share the same face, they all speak with the same voice, and they all reflect the inescapable self-absorption of the main character, whose hell is that he can only see the world through the prism of his own two eyes.

“The Actor” — Johnson’s solo feature debut — is a similarly dream-like film about a man suffering from the exact opposite problem. His name is Paul Cole, he’s a rising star of the New York stage, and we’re first introduced to him on a dark and fateful night in the fictional town of Jeffords, Ohio, where his theater troupe has just performed their latest show. Paul takes a local gal to his hotel room for a nightcap,...

Lynne Marie Stewart, who had supporting turns in “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” has died, her friend Cassandra Peterson confirmed via Instagram Friday. She was 78.

A lifelong Los Angeles native, Stewart began her career in comedy as part of the Hollywood-based sketch group “The Groundlings,” where she met Peterson and future “Pee-wee” co-star Paul Reubens.

Her early television career included roles as several different nurses on “M*A*S*H”, a guest spot on “Night Court” and a slew of recurring roles on “Laverne & Shirley.” In 1973, she had a brief role as a driver in “American Graffiti,” and in 1987 she appeared in the Arnold Schwarzenegger thriller “The Running Man.”

Stewart was best known for her role as Miss Yvonne, “the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppetland,” first originated in the 1981 Broadway stage version of “The Pee-wee Herman Show.” She would continue in the role across film and television, playing Miss...

Lynne Marie Stewart, best known for playing Miss Yvonne on Pee-wee’s Playhouse and her recurring role on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has passed away at the age of 78. The news of her death was shared by long-term friend, Cassandra Peterson – better known as her horror hostess creation Elvira – via social media. The actress, who worked with Stewart on several Elvira projects, shared:

“My heart is breaking upon hearing the news of my dear friend Lynne Stewart’s passing. One of the kindest, sweetest, funniest women who ever lived. The iconic Miss Yvonne of Pee-wee’s Playhouse: She’ll always be “the most beautiful woman in Puppetland”.

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Born and raised in California, Stewart...

"There's something wrong me, Edna. I don't know who I am!" Neon has unveiled an official trailer for an intriguing new film titled The Actor, starring Andre Holland as actor Paul Cole. Neon already has this set for release in March - even though it hasn't shown up at any festivals before then. It's the latest feature film made by the filmmaker who made the stop-motion animation film Anomalisa back in 2017. When New York actor Paul Cole is beaten and left for dead in 1950s Ohio, he loses his memory and finds himself stranded in a mysterious small town where he struggles to get back home and reclaim what he's lost. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer. As bits & pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can't be trusted,...

“The Actor”, the new live-action ‘crime-mystery’ feature, based on the 2010 novel “Memory” by Donald E. Westlake is directed by Duke Johnson, starring André Holland, Gemma Chan, May Calamawy, Olwen Fouéré, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Joe Cole, Tracey Ullman, Tanya Reynolds, Asim Chaduhry, Youssef Kerkour, Edward Hogg, Thomas Dominique, Fabien Frankel and Scott Alexander Young, releasing March 14, 2025 in theaters:

“…’Paul Cole’ (Holland) finds himself stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here.

“Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer ‘Edna’ (Chan).

“As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Neon and Anomalisa director Duke Johnson are bringing something twisty and mysterious this Wednesday with a trailer for The Actor, a bizarre amnesiac tale filled with mischief, misinformation, and malcontents. It stars André Holland as a man with no memory surrounded by suspicious characters and a beautiful stranger who wants to help him solve the mystery of his past and become a part of his future.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Actor courtesy of Neon:

“Based on the novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake, The Actor finds Paul Cole (Holland) stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer (Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery,...

Neon has unveiled the official trailer and teaser poster for “The Actor,” an upcoming noir drama directed by Duke Johnson, known for co-directing the animated film “Anomalisa.” This marks Johnson’s live-action directorial debut. The film is set to hit theaters on March 14, 2025.

Based on Donald E. Westlake’s 2010 novel “Memory,” “The Actor” stars André Holland as Paul Cole, a man who finds himself stranded in a mysterious small town with no recollection of his identity or how he arrived there. As he starts anew, he forms a relationship with local costume designer Edna, portrayed by Gemma Chan. As fragments of his past gradually surface, Paul endeavors to uncover his true self, navigating a reality where time is elusive and appearances are deceptive.

The supporting cast includes May Calamawy, Olwen Fouéré, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Joe Cole, Tracey Ullman, Tanya Reynolds, Asim Chaudhry, Youssef Kerkour, Edward Hogg, Thomas Dominique, Fabien Frankel,...

“The Actor” is ready to wake up.

The new movie, from “Anomalisa” director Duke Johnson, stars André Holland and Gemma Chan, and you can watch the brand-new trailer right now.

The official synopsis notes that the story follows “Paul Cole (Holland) stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer Edna (Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.”

May Calamawy, Asim Chaudhry, Joe Cole, Fabien Frankel, Olwen Fouéré, Edward Hogg, Toby Jones, Youssef Kerkour, Simon McBurney, Tanya Reynolds, Tracey Ullman and Scott Alexander Young also star.

What’s fascinating about “The Actor” is that...

Duke Johnson is making his solo directing debut with the highly-anticipated noir, “The Actor.”

Johnson reunites with his “Anomalisa” co-director Charlie Kaufman to executive produce “The Actor,” which stars André Holland as a man who realizes he has no idea what his true identity is after surviving a brutal attack in 1950s Ohio. Johnson co-wrote the script with Stephen Cooney, which is based on the novel “Memory” by Donald E. Westlake.

The official synopsis reads: “Paul Cole (Holland) is stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer Edna (Gemma Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.

Thirty years ago this week, on February 12, 1995, Homer Simpson went to clown college. Why? Because a billboard told him to, that’s why.

“Homie the Clown,” from Season Six of The Simpsons, was a bit of an unwieldy premise. After all, it didn’t make too much sense that Homer would want to moonlight as a perpetually abused birthday party clown (hence the billboard plot point). But the episode is now considered a classic. And the third act, in which Homer is mistaken for Krusty the Clown by Fat Tony’s mobsters, gave us one of the show’s all-time greatest jokes:

It also paid off one of The Simpsons old set-ups for a twist that was ultimately abandoned.

As we’ve mentioned before, there’s a very good reason why Homer and Krusty look so similar. As Matt Groening explained on the “Homie the Clown” DVD commentary, “Back on The Tracey Ullman Show,...

When you watch a great drama on Netflix you have a conflict over its ending. Of course, you want to get to the end to find out what happens, how all the stories come together, and what happens to the characters. Sometimes, though, it’s so good and enthralling that you want to be able to keep watching it and wish it wouldn't end. A new season is the obvious answer.

That was very much the case for Black Doves. The Netflix drama was released late last year and captured a lot of attention. It was a great mix of a thrilling story, some festive elements due to its Christmas in London setting, and, of course, a brilliant cast.

Led by Kiera Knightley and Ben Whishaw, there were also strong roles for Sarah Lancashire and Andrew Buchan. Tracey Ullman also makes a dramatic late appearance in the show. The names...

“Elsbeth,” the CBS crime drama, is adding some serious star power to its second season. Veteran comedic actress Tracey Ullman and film star Jordana Brewster are confirmed for guest roles, bringing their talents to the quirky procedural. Ullman, seen recently in the Apple TV+ series “Black Doves,” will play a psychic whose clientele includes some […]

Tracey Ullman, Jordana Brewster Join CBS’s “Elsbeth”...

Food Network is conjuring up another edition of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, renewing the competition series for Season 2.

In the first season, hosted by Harry Potter actors James and Oliver Phelps (aka Fred and George Weasley), bakers constructed cakes against the backdrop of the movie sets at the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. Chefs Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef served as judges, while Harry Potter alums Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) made guest appearances.

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Exclusive: The CBS drama series Elsbeth has added Tracey Ullman (The Tracey Ullman Show) and Jordana Brewster (Fast & Furious) to its growing list of guest stars for Season 2. New episodes return on January 30 at 10 p.m.

Based on the character featured in The Good Wife and The Good Fight, the series follows Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), the astute but unconventional consent decree attorney working with the NYPD to catch New York’s well-heeled murderers utilizing her unique point of view.

Ullman will portray Marilyn, a professional psychic with elite Manhattan clients who won’t make a move without consulting her first. When the stepson of one of her wealthy clients is murdered, Elsbeth must match wits with a woman whose supernatural gifts usually keep her one step ahead.

Brewster will play Chloe, a beautiful, elegant “lifestyle consultant,” usually found on the arms of the high rollers on billionaire’s row.