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Cagney & Lacey actor Tom Troupe has passed away at the age of 97. The Korean War veteran acted in several stage and screen projects, including shows like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. The actor celebrated his 97th birthday just a few days ago on July 15. A family spokesperson revealed that the actor died of natural causes (via THR).

He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was part of local theater productions. He moved to New York in 1948, where he studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio. He received a scholarship from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? actress Uta Hagen.

Before he could take further steps in acting, he went to serve in the Korean War. For his brave service to the country, he was reportedly given a bronze star. After returning from the war, he continued pursuing his interest in acting. He made his Broadway debut with an appearance in the production,...

With the exception of that one confounding “Treehouse of Horror” line about Brazilian time travelers, most classic Simpsons jokes aren’t too complicated to wrap your head around. And the majority of the show’s celebrity parodies are fairly obvious, whether it’s the Schwarzenegger-like hulking Austrian movie star Rainier Wolfcastle, or the grating children’s singer Roofi.

But at least one celeb stand-in has puzzled fans for the past 28 years.

Season Eight’s “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase” departed from the show’s usual formula for a fourth wall-breaking presentation of three never-before-seen failed Simpsons spin-offs, including a sitcom in which Grampa’s ghost possesses Moe’s love tester machine, and a lame Simpsons variety series in the vein of The Brady Bunch Hour.

But the first “pilot” that we get to see is for Chief Wiggum P.I., a mystery show that finds Springfield’s most incompetent cop moving...

When writer/director Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs" comedy spoof of "Star Wars" was released in 1987, fans of the 'space opera' genre were delighted with the film, but reviewers dismissed the feature as lame 'shtick', thinking the whole "Star Wars" 'thing' had run its course and best left forgotten. But the fans were right, the film was successful and now producer Brooks with backing from Amazon MGM is finally moving forward at ‘ludicrous speed’ with a new sequel, to be directed by Josh Greenbaum, releasing in 2027 in theaters:

The original "Spaceballs", currently streaming on HBO Max, sees many of the main cast pass away, including John Candy as 'Barf'...

... Joan Rivers as 'Dot Matrix', Dom DeLuise as 'Pizza The Hut'...

...and Phil Hartman as 'Dink'.

But Bill Pullman will return as ‘Lone Star' as will newcomers Keke Palmer and Josh Gad. Lewis Pullman, Bill’s real-life son, will play his...

Amazon and MGM have revealed that a "Spaceballs" sequel is officially moving forward, with Mel Brooks -- on the cusp of his 99th birthday -- returning to reprise his role as Yogurt from his original 1987 spoof movie. This news fulfills a lot of eager anticipation, as "Spaceballs" fans (many of whom have sore backs) have been speculating as to whether or not it would happen for years. The film's teaser trailer hilariously points out that since 1987, there have been numerous "Star Wars" TV shows and movies, not to mention Disney animated films, remakes of those movies, and prequels to those remakes. There were also, as the teaser notes, many "Alien" and "Predator" films, several "Jurassic Park" movies, eight "Harry Potter" films, a developing TV show remake of those movies, and 36 films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, it adds, there was only one "Spaceballs."

That, however, isn't entirely accurate.

Josh Gad's Spaceballs sequel has its first returning cast member. Comedy legend Mel Brooks, who co-wrote and directed the original film, will be returning to play the Yoda-like sage Yogurt. Brooks played two roles in the film, but there's no indication that he'll return to the villainous role of President Skroob. Deadline reports that the film has also been added to Amazon MGM's release calendar: it is now slated to hit theaters in 2027.

So far, details about the sequel are being kept under wraps, including its title, although the original film did tease Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money. Gad will pen the film and is also expected to star in it, while Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar) will direct. The film has been facetiously described as "A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film." Brooks will turn 99 later this month,...

Ruth Buzzi, who was so hilarious as the lonely spinster Gladys Ormphby, the lady who swung her handbag as a lethal weapon, on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, has died. She was 88.

Buzzi died Thursday of complications from Alzheimer’s at her home near Fort Worth, Texas, her longtime rep, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Hollywood Reporter. In July 2022, her husband, actor Kent Perkins, revealed that she was “bedridden and incapacitated” after suffering a series of strokes.

Buzzi appeared in the original Broadway production of the musical comedy Sweet Charity, played Marlo Thomas’ pal Margie “Pete” Peterson on ABC’s That Girl, starred opposite Jim Nabors on a Saturday morning kids show, The Lost Saucer, and spent many years on Sesame Street.

Early on in her career, Buzzi had a comedy act with Dom DeLuise in which he played the incompetent magician Dominic the Great and she his assistant, Shakuntala.

Buzzi was...

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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...

Four years after bringing the world the high speed comedy classic Smokey and the Bandit (and three years after their stuntman comedy Hooper and one year after Smokey and the Bandit II), director Hal Needham and star Burt Reynolds teamed up again for another high speed comedy, the goofball ensemble film The Cannonball Run. The film was a big hit, the sixth highest-grossing domestic film of 1981, and it was followed by a pair of less successful sequels, Cannonball Run II (1983) and Speed Zone (1989). Even though the follow-ups aren’t highly regarded, The Cannonball Run is still a well-known title, which is why we’ve been hearing rumblings of a remake for years. Now, industry scooper Jeff Sneider of The InSneider reports that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan is likely to be the one to finally bring The Cannonball Run back to the screen, as his production company, Bosque Ranch, is developing...

After 30 years of complete silence, Moretti, the "glamboyant" and lusty singer-songwriter, known to many as the "Wizard of Wiggle," returns from the brink of obscurity with a new studio album, his 18th, titled Caesar's Request. This newly recorded effort sits at the center of Opus, the feature-length debut of former GQ writer-editor Mark Anthony Green, for A24. Moretti, portrayed by a typically atypical John Malkovich, is the fabulously outrageous musician who drives disparate figures like Wolf Blitzer, Lenny Kravitz, Bill Burr, and droves of anonymous fans into a frenzy with the slightest scintilla of new material. Moretti is an assemblage of recognizable, persnickety pop idols who maintain appeal through enigmatic evasion, crawling intermittently out of the woodwork to offer lyrics like, "Girl, you're sexy and you know it / and you're not afraid to show it." Riveting stuff. From the moment the film begins, suspension of disbelief is required, and its mission,...

Numerous actors and filmmakers have paid tribute to award-winning actor Gene Hackman following his death at 95. The actor, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Feb. 26, adding an additional sense of tragedy to the loss. Francis Ford Coppola, Viola Davis, and Josh Brolin were among the notable people who honored Hackman and his prolific career.

Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Hackman in 1974’s noir thriller The Conversation, shared on Instagram, “The loss of a great artist, always cause...

Silence, all you "You couldn't make 'Blazing Saddles' today" fools: it just so happens that Mel Brooks almost wasn't able to make "Blazing Saddles" in 1974. To be fair, Brooks knew going into making the film that he was looking to push buttons and boundaries, extrapolating from the anything-goes ethos of his prior comedy ventures. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly from 2014, Brooks confessed that his primary interest in making his brand of cinematic anarchy was that he "just wanted to exorcise both my angels and demons." Brooks encouraged his writers to "go nuts," on the assumption that Warner Bros. Pictures would see the finished film and refuse to release it.

Although "Blazing Saddles" was eventually released to great acclaim, becoming one of the most beloved comedy films of all time, Brooks' assumption did prove well-founded at one point. Surprisingly, WB didn't take issue with multiple aspects of the movie — and...

This piece contains some spoilers for "Gladiator II."

In this month's "Gladiator II," Rome does not fall — but it comes damn close. It's also not for lack of trying, as both the manipulative ex-slave Macrinus (Denzel Washington) and our ostensible hero, Lucius (Paul Mescal), have no love for the Empire, with both men actively seeking to usurp, disrupt or combat its rule. Even though Lucius eventually changes his mind and finds himself believing in a "dream of Rome" begun by his grandfather Marcus Aurelius, and his father, Maximus (Russell Crowe in the first "Gladiator"), it may be too late, as the Empire has been nearly irrevocably tarnished by decades of decadence and misrule. The two men most responsible for this are the Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), a couple of Enfant Terribles who director Ridley Scott told Vanity Fair he saw as "almost a replay of Romulus and Remus,...

Pauline Kael once called the gulf between E.T. and Poltergeist a testament to the confounding ability for one man, Steven Spielberg, to produce one enduring masterpiece and one miserable failure in the space of a year—and God forever damn her for not realizing that Poltergeist is, if anything, a more harrowing portrait of the nuclear family on the verge of dissipation, but I digress. Apparently, she hadn’t seen Mel Brooks’s 1974 one-two punch.

Young Frankenstein is so loving and charmingly goofy in spoofing one of Hollywood’s most successful early genres (the Universal monster movies of the 1930s) that it winds up as much a tribute as it is a parody. But Blazing Saddles, a burlesque about a western town standing in the way of the railroad expansion and the Black sheriff sent to discourage its citizens from deserting, is a limp, shapeless mess of a film...

Thelma filmmaker Josh Margolin pointed the film’s 95-year-old leading lady June Squibb to the same source of inspiration that sparked the movie itself: his grandmother, who shares the name of the title character.

“Josh gave me some little films that he’d made, like of Thelma going to the store or Thelma celebrating her birthday, just to get an idea of who she was and what she was like,” Squibb explained during a panel with Margolin at the Deadline Contenders Film event on Saturday.

“She’d always just been a huge figure in my life and sort of an inspiration to me and someone I always looked up to,” Margolin said of the real-life Thelma Post. “I had been making these little documentaries about my grandma when she was living alone in her nineties for the first time ever,” recalled Margolin. “And it was just an interesting time because...

Before Burt Reynolds was doing voice roles for a quick buck later in his career, he had a true passion for the art…or maybe just acting like a dog. His first foray into voice work was as Charlie 1989’s All Dogs Go to Heaven. While the character was written with Reynolds in mind, he brought a little something extra to the part, which resulted in none other than Dom DeLuise (who voiced Itchy) being recruited to help.

In a recent social media post, All Dogs Go to Heaven director and animation legend Don Bluth remembered Burt Reynolds going full German Shepherd. “When he first came to the microphone he made up what he called, ‘My wonderful dog voice.’ He was very proud of it, but it was awful.” As such, Bluth asked DeLuise (a longtime pal of Reynolds’) to help out, which he did…for a price. “Then I...

Anyone who grew up in the 1980s or 1990s and spent more time watching VHS tapes than they did experiencing fresh air and direct sunlight is likely familiar with the name Don Bluth. The animation legend gave us iconic films like An American Tale, The Secret of Nimh and The Land Before Time, which were chock-full of delightful visuals, heartwarming characters and pure uncut trauma fuel. Because it’s never too early to teach kids that life is a terrifying nightmare place full of disappointment and dead dinosaur moms.

One of Bluth’s most memorable works was 1989’s All Dogs Go to Heaven. Sounds pleasant enough, right? Well, it’s about a lovable German Shepherd scoundrel named Charlie, who gets sloppy drunk, then promptly murdered by a mobster like 10 minutes into the movie.

Despite the title, after Charlie dies and visits Heaven, he escapes back to Earth and spends much...

Animated feature films are hard to make. Incredibly expensive and time-consuming, the financial risk of making a full-length animated film has scared away investors since the 30s, and many a studio has bankrupted itself trying to achieve the near impossible. While some have tried and failed, like Upa (owners of the Mr. Magoo IP) and the famed Fleischer Studios, only the Walt Disney Company saw anything that could be considered maintained, widespread success in the field for almost 50 years. It wasn't until Ralph Bakshi's adult, counterculture-influenced films of the 70s and the gradual exposure of the rest of the world to Japan's anime features that non-Disney, feature-length animation found any real, continued the success. However, it took until one Disney animator left the company in frustration on his 42nd birthday in 1979 and founded a studio for a major competitor to Disney's long dominance to emerge.

That animator was none...

Josh Gad has enjoyed every second of working with comedy legend Mel Brooks. The pair are busy developing Spaceballs 2, the long-awaited sequel to Brooks' 1987 space opera parody of the original Star Wars trilogy.

During an interview on the Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast (via People) to promote his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy, Gad touched on how collaborating with Brooks on Spaceballs 2 has so far been an "incredible" honor. "Mel is 98 years young and I can't go into detail just how involved he is, but let's say very, and it's been such a thrill to get to see him literally still on form in every single way," said the actor. "He is so effortlessly funny and so unbelievably brilliant."

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Frozen's Josh Gad makes his comic book writing debut in the upcoming Dark Horse Comics four-issue miniseries,...

Chad McQueen, perhaps best known for his role as Dutch in The Karate Kid and one of its sequels, has passed away. He was 63 years old.

Per TMZ, McQueen died on Wednesday at his ranch home in Palm Desert, California. His passing was confirmed by his attorney, Arthur Barens, who was present with McQueen's life partner and his children when the actor passed. According to Barens, McQueen's death was attributed to progressive organ failure that followed an unspecified injury a few years prior.

Chadwick Steven McQueen was the only son of late actor Steve McQueen, who died in 1980 at the age of 50. At the time, the younger McQueen was nine years old. Like his father, McQueen took an interest in racing at an early age and was netting big wins by the time he was 10. He won if class at the World Mini Grand Prix at 12 years old. He'd continue racing professionally as an adult,...

Mel Brooks beloved, controversial comedy classic Blazing Saddles rides back into theaters nationwide courtesy of Fathom Events and Warner Bros. later this month. In celebration of the groundbreaking comedys 50th anniversary, this Fathom Big Screen Classic also includes a special introduction by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin. Blazing Saddles will return to the big screen for a limited time on September 15 and September 18, and tickets are available for purchase now via the Fathom Events site.

Ribald, tasteless, and hilarious... Mel Brooks classic spoof of the Western genre pokes fun at everyone and everything. Together with his nefarious railroad baron-backer Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), corrupt Governor Lepetomane (Brooks) cooks up a scheme to grant a reprieve to an African American convict (Cleavon Little), on the condition that the condemned man agrees to serve as sheriff of a small Western town - with the intent that the newly-minted lawman will only...

Nearly ten years after director George Miller returned to the post-apocalyptic wasteland and redefined the action genre with Mad Max: Fury Road, the Australian auteur returned to replace Charlize Theron with Anya Taylor Joy to tell the origin story of the warrior who helped Mad Max cross that fury road in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. And regardless of how underwhelming its box office may be, this high octane prequel will surely stand the test of time alongside the rest of the Mad Max saga, certainly more so than another follow-up from Warner Bros. to a car racing franchise way back in 1984, when the late great Burt Reynolds bid farewell to the formula comedy genre that made him a superstar alongside an all-star cast (Jackie Chan! Frank Sinatra! Tony Danza!) with Cannonball Run II.

The original Cannonball Run was just one of many hit movies between Burt and his stuntman...

Welcome to the dog days of summer, where you’ll sweat through your clothes mere seconds after stepping outside and you risk a nasty sunburn just from getting your mail.

That said, we’re more interested in the canine part of the equation. After all, what better way to distract you from a bout of heat stroke than by watching the funniest pups in the history of movies?

To determine which hilarious furballs should make our list, we reached out to all manner of dog experts — from veterinarians to dog groomers to the voice of the Taco Bell Dog to the guy who performs Rowlf for the Muppets. Which is to say: We’re confident that we most definitely barked up the right tree.

For the record, though, this list is only movie dogs, so no Eddie from Frasier or Courage the Cowardly Dog, though some of the dogs below...

Horror comedies have been a staple in the genre since the 1980s, with many films finding a cult following years after their release. Night of the Creeps is fresh while cleverly referencing classic films within the horror genre. Parents and Serial Mom follow seemingly ordinary parents with a twisted secret life.

Despite flaws found within many horror comedy flops, a few notable films deserve more attention. Great films that flop at the box office typically fail due to outside factors, but for many horror comedies, the failure is a result of the content within the films. It's not a guarantee that audiences are going to connect with the combination of laughs and terrors. While some underappreciated horror comedies assemble a unique, laughable concept, others seek to be humorous tributes to the great horror films that came before.

Various horror comedies are made with self-awareness of the genre, playing into the...

There's just something about Jim Henson's Muppets that makes them so special. From Sesame Street to the rest of the Muppets (now owned by Disney), people of any age light up when Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie or any of the other characters show up somewhere. While there have been many series and films starring these characters, The Muppet Movie the musical ensemble's first foray into the big screen is still a timeless classic 45 years after it first hit theaters.

The film is very silly, as any Muppet caper should be. Even better, the inimitable Henson, the other performers and the filmmakers imbued the story with real emotion and heart. The villain here is Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), a restauranteur who wants Kermit to be the "spokesfrog" for his franchise food empire built on frog legs. That's one of the movie's many silly parts. However, as the Muppets that fans...

When writer/director Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs" comedy spoof of "Star Wars" was first released in 1987, fans of the 'space opera' genre were delighted with the film, but most reviewers dismissed the feature as lame 'shtick', thinking the whole "Star Wars" 'thing' had run its course and best left forgotten. But the fans were right, the film was successful and now producer Brooks with backing from Amazon MGM is finally moving forward at ‘ludicrous speed’, to prep a sequel, to be directed by Josh Greenbaum:

The original "Spaceballs", currently streaming on Max, sees many of the main cast pass away, including John Candy as 'Barf'...

... Joan Rivers as 'Dot Matrix', Dom DeLuise as 'Pizza The Hut'...

...and Phil Hartman as 'Dink'.

But Bill Pullman as 'Lone Star' and Daphne Zuniga as 'Princess Vespa' are still working.

As for Rick Moranis, who reprised his role as ‘Dark Helmet’, for...

In an age when multiple classic movies that don’t need sequels are getting sequels, the latest film to get this treatment is the 1987 Star Wars parody Spaceballs. The original film was directed, produced, and co-written by comedy legend Mel Brooks (who also acted in it). Brooks will once again act as producer, with actor/comedian Josh Gad set to star and co-produce, and co-write the film for Amazon/MGM.

While the film is in early development and the plot is being kept under wraps, we can only imagine what we might see. The first Spaceballs film primarily parodied the original Star Wars trilogy with a few references to Alien, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes. But with multiple new sci-fi franchises like Avatar becoming popular, you never know what they might do next. Not to mention all the new Star Wars movies since then.

Unfortunately, a decent amount...

The beloved comedy Spaceballs may finally be getting an official sequel. It's been reported that Spaceballs 2 is in the works and its lead star has been revealed.

Per a new report by The InSneider, a Spaceballs sequel is moving forward at Amazon MGM Studios. The new film will feature Josh Gad in a lead role, and the actor is also set to produce alongside original Spaceballs helmer and producer Mel Brooks. According to the report, Josh Greenbaum is directing the sequel, which was co-written by Gad, Benji Samit, and Dan Hernandez. Kevin Salter is executive producing.

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Released in 1987, Spaceballs was written by Brooks, Ronny Graham, and Thomas Meehan. The film lampooned the sci-fi genre, primarily the Star Wars franchise, though...

Individuals like Andy Kaufman, Richard Pryor, John Candy, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Robin Williams, Gilda Radner, George Carlin, and Gene Wilder come to mind in a list of late comedic greats who changed the comedy landscape. Their influence remains a part of the art, with up-and-coming joke-slingers citing them as sources of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s good to reflect on the contributions of comedy’s titans. So Kino Lorder is proud to present Ron Frank’s Remembering Gene Wilder trailer, celebrating the life and career of the curly-haired clown alongside notable friends.

Remembering Gene Wilder is a heartfelt documentary and entertaining portrait of the life and career of the beloved actor, featuring an extensive array of highlights from Wilder’s most memorable films and interviews with his closest friends, family, and fellow comics.

Here’s the official description for Remembering Gene Wilder:

Remembering Gene Wilder is a loving tribute to...

Richard Lewis Screenshot: 20th Century Fox Richard Lewis was always around in the early ’90s. Between guest spots on Letterman and the slew of stand-up specials and clips that ran on HBO and Comedy Central, one could find Richard Lewis pulling his hair out on stage at any time of the day.

Richard Lewis

Screenshot: 20th Century Fox

Richard Lewis was always around in the early ’90s. Between guest spots on Letterman and the slew of stand-up specials and clips that ran on HBO and Comedy Central, one could find Richard Lewis pulling his hair out on stage at any time of the day.

Ken is far too sensitive to peer pressure, which is a good thing for Oscar fans because Ryan Gosling will officially perform “I’m Just Ken” at this year’s ceremony despite initially showing hesitancy. Now, will it stand as one of the best performances in Oscar history or will it go full Rob Lowe/Snow White?

I fully expect “I’m Just Ken” to be a showstopper, especially now that Gosling has confirmed he’ll be the one behind the mic and it won’t be given to somebody not even associated with the movie. However, admittedly sometimes that works out extremely well, as when Robin Williams performed “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. And while that song lost to Tarzan’s “You’ll Be In My Heart”, you can’t tell me you remember Phil Collins’ performance that night.

Another oddball performance for a song...

The comedy world—heck, the whole world—mourns the passing of Richard Lewis, whose death was announced yesterday. The 76-year-old comic was a mainstay on the circuit since the mid-1970s. Though he has several comedy specials and movie appearances under his belt (plus the early 1990s sitcom “Anything But Love” opposite Jamie Lee Curtis) his most widely-seen work was surely as Larry David’s bickering foil on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Lewis’s amplified version of himself appeared in the first regular series episode in 2000 (recall that “Curb” began as a one-off special in 1999), and can be currently seen in the 12th season, which is now airing.

Lewis was nominated for a SAG Award in 2006, for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series. His special “The I’m Exhausted Concert” was nominated for a Cable Ace Award in 1989.

After news of Lewis’s death was made known Wednesday, David released a...

Eddie Driscoll, the veteran character actor who appeared on shows including Sex and the City, Boston Public, Entourage, Mad Men, The Last Ship and This Is Us, has died. He was 60.

Driscoll died Dec. 15 in Los Angeles from a saddle pulmonary embolism after months of fighting stomach cancer, actor Jimmy Palumbo announced.

Driscoll had a recurring role as East Coast leader Randall Croft in 2016 on the TNT sci-fi series The Last Ship, and he portrayed the loan shark Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo in a West Coast touring company of Jersey Boys.

Driscoll also showed up on episodes of Days of Our Lives, Tracey Takes On …, The King of Queens, Cold Case, 24, Heroes, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY, 24, Medium, Heroes and Desperate Housewives and in films including Lansky (1999), Boat Trip (2002), Pavement (2002), Cellular (2004) and Blast (2004).

Born in New York on Sept. 26, 1963, Edward Driscoll graduated from Lenape Valley Regional High School in Stanhope,...

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: A Midnight Movie for the Love of a Woman

The cinematic understanding of romance is on the run. It’s a sad topic ahead of Valentine’s Day, I know. But the big romantic gestures and sweeping professions of love that once characterized the rom-com genre are now about as welcome in real life as TikTok therapists are welcome on the big screen. Add a family counselor to your next “Clueless” viewing and you just won’t see Paul Rudd the same way; try planting one on your step-sister at...

Millennials of the '80s and '90s can be nostalgic for many of the children's movies they grew up with. Disney ruled classic children's films back then as well, but there is another name that some fans might not realize actually created their favorite kid's movie. Originally working with Walt Disney, Don Bluth was an animator for films like Sleeping Beauty, The Fox and the Hound, Robin Hood, and The Rescuers. In 1983, he started his own company, which began animating video games and moved into film. Now an '80s icon, Dragon's Lair was Bluth's first video game.

Thirty years later, Bluth is set to direct a live-action film version of Dragon's Lair with Ryan Reynolds attached as the main character, and Netflix is in talks for its release. The game's popularity has come back thanks to the help of '80s nostalgia and shows like Stranger Things featuring it,...

I was about 8 years old when I first met Norman Lear.

My dad, Carl Reiner, was working on Sid Caesar’s Show of Shows and Norman was writing for Colgate Comedy Hour, so they were both in New York. In those days, it was a small world of people who trafficked in sketch comedy. Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Dom DeLuise — all these guys and their families would hang out together. My family and Norman’s family used to have summer houses near each other on Fire Island, and Norman had a daughter, Ellen, who was around my age, so we used to play together.

One day Ellen and I were playing jacks — I was teaching her how, explaining the rules, showing her what to do. Norman came over to watch and he started to laugh. Apparently, I was teaching her in a funny way, which he found hysterical. And he...

Mort Engelberg, who was a producer on films including Smokey and the Bandit and The Big Easy before transitioning into politics as an “advance man” for Bill Clinton and other presidential candidates, died Saturday in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 86.

“He was a wonderful person, a wonderful husband. He loved the movie business, and he loved his work with President Clinton,” his wife, Helaine Blatt, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He told the best stories of anyone I ever met, the best jokes.”

Born and raised in Memphis, Engelberg graduated from the University of Illinois and then spent a year working on a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Missouri. He left school before completing that degree and worked as a journalist for a few years before moving to Washington in 1961 to work for Sargent Shriver, the director of the then-newly formed Peace Corps, and later...

T​he 80s was a fun time for moviegoers. For a successful comedy, sometimes all you needed was a group of employees at a specific job, they butt up against whatever authority is in place, and get into hijinks. There is no better example of this than the recruits at the Police Academy. A group of misfits that are thrown together and given guns. The making of the film had its ups and downs but the whole thing ended up with a whole of laughs and creating a franchise that would spawn seven films, a TV series, and a Saturday morning cartoon. Let’s find out exactly what happened to Police Academy here on Wtf Happened To This Movie?

P​roducer Paul Maslansky was in the middle of production on the film The Right Stuff. They were about to film a scene on the street and had called into the...

Norman Steinberg, who co-scripted Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Blazing Saddles with and won an Emmy for Flip Wilson’s 1970s variety show, has died. He was 83. The WGA East said Steinberg died March 15 but did not provide other details.

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Steinberg was a disgruntled lawyer met Brooks in the 1960s at a Manhattan coffee shop, where he would run into the future Egot winner regularly. After repeatedly telling him that we wanted to be a comedy writer, Brooks relented and told Steinberg to submit a script for his James Bond-spoofing sitcom Get Smart! The series was canceled, but Brooks told the would-be scribe that...

History of the World, Part II might get a follow-up season sooner than later. The Hulu series, which stars Mel Brooks, Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll, and Ike Barinholtz along with a cavalcade of celebrity guests, is a sketch comedy series inspired by history that ran for three nights on Hulu between March 6 and March 9. It is a sequel to Brooks' classic film History of the World, Part I, which premiered in 1981 and featured an all-star cast including Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, and Cloris Leachman.

Newsweek had the opportunity to sit down and talk with several members of the cast and crew of History of the World, Part II. When they inquired about the series' future, showrunner David Stassen offered an optimistic take. While he didn't outright confirm that there would be a History of the World, Part III, he did indicate the interest. Read his full quote below:...

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder have collaborated several 'unique' comedies ever made, but some of those movies were better than others. Wilder’s zany acting style has always worked well with Brooks’ chaotic, anything-goes comedic sensibility. Whatever absurdist scenario Brooks threw at Wilder, the actor could find the truth and humanity in it. Brooks developed strong, long-running working relationships with a number of his actors – including Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman – but there was something special about his dynamic with Wilder. Comedically, they were always on the same page; they even wrote together.

From Willy Wonka to various Richard Pryor sidekicks to the doctor who falls in love with a sheep in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Wilder played many hilarious roles throughout his career. But Wilder’s talents never shined brighter than when he was playing three-dimensionally ludicrous characters like nervous accountant Leo Bloom and conceited scientist Dr.

In the words of the late great Madeline Kahn‘s Empress Nympho, “Yessssss!” After 40 years, the classic satire that is Mel Brooks‘ History of the World: Part 1 has finally birthed a follow-up befitting its legendary status. Not only in laughs but in sheer casting magic. Like the feature film, which starred icons of comedy like the aforementioned Kahn, Gregory Hines, Cloris Leachman, Dom Deluise, and Sid Caesar, Hulu’s sequel series History of the World: Part II is running over with famous faces from, well, modern times. Literally, everyone is in this thing. Tyler Golden/Hulu In addition to Josh Gad, Zazie Beetz, and Jay Ellis, who sat down with us to talk about the project, there’s a cast list of historic proportions. Jake Johnson, Richard Kind, Johnny Knoxville, Lauren Lapkus, Jenifer Lewis, Poppy Liu, Joe Lo Truglio, Jason Mantzoukas, Ken Marino, Jack McBrayer, Jack Black, Jason Alexander, Ayo Edebiri,...

As the American treasure himself says in the opening credits, Mel Brooks is a hero to some, and merely a legend to others. He broke ground in irreverent social commentary with Blazing Saddles, and rewired the knobs in the monster’s brain for Young Frankenstein. Brooks’ Hulu TV-sketch-series-masquerading-as-a-film-sequel throws more jokes at the viewer than almost any comedy in the History of The World, Part II. Not all of them land squarely, though the ricochets inflict sufficient comic collateral damage.

There is a lot we can learn from an anthology sketch series. All of which is graded on a curveball. Like History of the World, Part I, the series is made up of short gags, like Marco Polo’s (Jake Johnson) impromptu gift-exchange on his first trip to China, longer one-off sequences, and a few continuing stories. The eight-episode series is Brooks’ first creative project since composing the score to...

Mel Brooks' long-awaited sequel, History of the World, Part II, has recently been accused of plagiarism. The upcoming Hulu series is a follow-up to his 1981 movie, History of the Word, Part I. The farcical comedy classic featured an all-star cast included Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, and Gregory Hines in fictionalized comedic retellings of important real-world events.

Something Rotten! writer John O’Farrell took to social media to call out Brooks' History of the World, Part II for using one of their jokes. In a recent trailer, Josh Gad portrays William Shakespeare who uses a writer's room to develop his plays. One writer suggests actors sing a portion of their lines to music, an idea that Shakespeare shoots down. O'Farrell claims the show "ripped" off Something Rotten!, pointing out his Broadway play used the same premise in 2015. Gad defended the series in a Tweet calling the joke a "one off...

After a 42-year wait, the long-promised Mel Brooks sequel History Of The World Part II continues a strange trend. Sometimes follow-ups to popular films can come in the most unexpected and unlikely places. When waiting for classic movies to continue on the big screen, it can be easy to miss a sequel since they can appear as video games, novels, or even television shows that go unnoticed. However, storytelling is a medium that takes many forms, and in a franchise, it doesn’t always begin or end in cinemas.

Originally premiering in 1981, History of the World Part I was Mel Brooks’ parody of Hollywood’s historical movie trends. As part of the original film’s finale, a trailer played for History of the World Part II, teasing spectacles such as “Hitler on ice,” “a Viking funeral,” and “Jews in space.” Although initially filmed as a gag with no intention of making it,...

If you've never watched the 1981 Mel Brooks film "The History of the World, Part I," now is the time to do it. All these years later, a sequel series, "The History of the World, Part II," is hitting Hulu in March. Even if you haven't seen it, you've definitely heard people quote it, from the Torquemada musical number in The Spanish Inquisition segment to lines like, "It's good to be the king," and the "No, no, yes" song from Madeline Kahn. I feel pretty confident when I say that it's one of the funniest movies of all time, and I'm hardly alone in that sentiment.

"History of the World, Part I" is irreverent and absolutely stupid in the most wonderful way, and even after dozens of viewings, I still giggle to myself about parts of it whenever they cross my mind. Not only did Brooks write, direct, and star as Moses,...

The first History of the World, Part II trailer reveals the sequel to writer-director Mel Brooks cult classic comedy, History of the World, Part I, 40 years later. The original film hit theaters in 1981 sporting a star-studded ensemble cast including Madeline Kahn, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman, and Cloris Leachman. Segmented into chapters, the film featured fictionalized comedic retellings of important real-world events from the Stone Age, the Old Testament, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution.

The 96-year-old Brooks returns as a writer for the first time since 2005's The Producers remake starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, and introduces Hulu's trailer for History of the World, Part II.

The trailer takes a hilarious look at important moments in human history while confirming members of the upcoming series' extensive cast. Alongside Ike Barinholtz, Nick Kroll, and Wanda Sykes, the trailer reveals Seth Rogen as Noah,...

Newly released images from History of the World, Part II reveals the sequel to the beloved Mel Brooks movie. Released in 1981, the original comedy film, History of the World, Part I, retold significant events in history through humorous fictionalized vignettes. Written and directed by Brooks, the movie covered the Stone Age, the Old Testament, the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. Brooks starred alongside an ensemble cast to include Dom DeLuise, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Sid Caesar, and Gregory Hines in his first film role.

Entertainment Weekly shared new images of the upcoming History of the World, Part I sequel, History of the World, Part II. Starring Big Mouth's Nick Kroll, The Other Two's Wanda Sykes, and Afterparty's Ike Barinholtz, the stills reveal several time periods covered in the upcoming television series including the Russian Revolution with Barinholtz as Leon Trotsky, Shirley Chisholm's...

It’s good to be a Hulu subscriber because Mel Brooks‘ History of the World, Part II series is finally ready to rewrite the past for laughs and scrutiny. Hulu shared a gallery of images from the original comedy series on Wednesday, featuring images of Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Ike Barinholtz occupying various historical points for the sketch-style presentation.

According to Hulu’s official description, “After waiting over 40 years, there is finally a sequel to the seminal Mel Brooks film, History of the World, Part I, with each episode featuring a variety of sketches that take us through different periods of human history.”

The series stars Mel Brooks, Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll, and Ike Barinholtz. Gary Nguyen, David Stassen, Dove Cameron, Pamela Adlon, and Johnny Knoxville also appear throughout the series.

Last year, The Ankler reported that Brooks’ History of the World, Part II series could feature a who’s who of Hollywood royalty,...

John Candy may no longer be with us, but he's still Canada's national treasure. Amongst his raunchy '80s peers, the Second City comedy alumnus had a gift. His warmth never failed to give us a smile when he appeared on-screen. His best films built on that endlessly loving part of Candy, turning him into an honorary family member, a silly babysitter for our darker days.

Despite his comedy prowess, his dramatic roles made us look at him in a new light. When he died in 1994 at 43, we lost decades of potential work where we could have deepened his craft. As a Canadian whose vibrant attitude borrows from the best in Candy, Ryan Reynolds understands what Candy means to all of us. Reynolds' production company is working on a documentary on Candy's life and legacy. For now, we have Candy's movies to remember him by when we miss his infectious laugh.