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From director William Friedkin came the war drama, Rules Of Engagement. As we re-evaluate the cinema of 2000, does it stand the test of time?

This is the latest in Aj Black’s series of features on films released in the year 2000. He previously looked back at DreamWorks animation, The Road To El Dorado. Potential spoilers lie ahead…

Did William Friedkin steal the plot of Rules Of Engagement from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?

In that series, the noble Klingon Commander, Worf, is tried by an extradition hearing. In the middle of hostilities between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, Worf commanded a vessel that fired on and destroyed a civilian transporter, mistakenly believing it to be a Klingon warship.

That episode is called – you guessed it – Rules Of Engagement, and it aired just three years before Friedkin’s film came out. Perhaps the original writer of the film, James Webb,...

Darren Aronofksy's extremely polarizing horror filmmother! has found a new streaming home on Paramount+, giving subscribers a chance to re-evaluate a release that divided audiences in 2017. Some were swept up in Aronofsky's star-studded metaphor, but just as many were disgusted by how far he was willing to go to make a point.

The plot can be summed up as the story of a woman who's living with her husband, an author, in a mansion in the middle of nowhere. He's suffering from writer's block, and she spends her days renovating the house. When a stranger knocks on their door, and his family arrives soon thereafter, an ordeal begins for the woman. Per the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis of the film:

A young woman spends her days renovating the Victorian mansion that she lives in with her husband in the countryside. When a stranger knocks on the door one night, he becomes...

Dan Cohen is stepping down as Paramount’s chief content licensing officer and president of its revived acquisition arm, Republic Pictures.

His departure comes ahead of Skydance’s impending merger with Paramount, with more executive departures likely to come as Skydance CEO David Ellison installs his own leadership team. Cohen’s final day at Paramount will be on Friday.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me as the journey we’ve shared has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career,” Cohen said in a memo to employees obtained by TheWrap.

“Over the last 8 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the most talented and dedicated individuals in the industry. Together, we’ve navigated a constantly evolving media landscape, forged groundbreaking deals and brought incredible stories to audiences around the world,” the memo continued. “I know you’ll continue to carry this important work...

Dan Cohen, Chief Content Licensing Officer at Paramount, is leaving the company after eight years.

Cohen’s departure comes as the company’s merger with David Ellison’s Skydance is set to close next month.

Cohen, who is also President of Republic Pictures, informed colleagues of his exit in a note, seen by Deadline.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me as the journey we’ve shared has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career,” he wrote. (Read the full note below.)

As Chief Content Licensing Officer, Cohen was responsible for selling Paramount-produced content to international broadcasters and streamers around the world. On the Republic Pictures side, he revived the film studio as Paramount’s acquisition label, releasing titles including Blackberry, William Friedkin’s final film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and The Greatest Night in Pop.

He joined the company in 2017 as President of Worldwide Television Licensing,...

The end isn’t just near — it’s here. Today marks the end of an era for one of horror’s longest-running franchises in recent memory. Fans of The Conjuringfilm series will want to take a seat for this as they’re invited to feast their eyes on the full trailer for The Conjuring: Last Rites, which will serve as the last time that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson will appear in the roles of real-life paranormal investigators, Lorraine and Ed Warren, respectively. After more than a decade and numerous films that spawned multiple offshoots, it’s a bittersweet moment to see the pair in the last movie, but — at the same time — we’re beyond excited to see what Farmiga, Wilson, and returning helmer, Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), have in store for us when the feature comes to cinemas on September 5.

We’ve...

The original Naked Gun movie was one of the biggest comedy hits of the ‘80s, but Leslie Nielsen’s follow-up spoof wasn’t quite as successful.

Released just two years after The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad, Repossessed starred Leslie Nielsen as an aging priest named Father Mayii, who’s tasked with expelling a demon from the body of a woman who had previously been possessed when she was a child. As an added novelty, she was played by Linda Blair, star of the original William Friedkin-directed classic The Exorcist.

While arguably better than some official Exorcist sequels, Repossessed was a critical and commercial dud. A review in The Toronto Star blasted the movie’s “pseudo-Zucker Brothers attempt at satire,” noting that it “delights in trotting out a bevy of naked women with pendulous breasts and happily indulges in vicious sexist remarks that seek immunity in the name of parody.

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Roxy Cinema

Tied to a new 4K release, Jim McBride’s Breathless screens on 35mm this Friday; City Dudes returns on Saturday; a print of Snake Eyes screens throughout the weekend.

Film at Lincoln Center

A career-spanning, 35mm-heavy Gene Hackman retrospective––featuring films by Clint Eastwood, William Friedkin, Francis Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson, and Nicolas Roeg––begins.

Anthology Film Archives

A series on Barbara Loden begins.

Bam

A retrospective of 2000s New York continues, including a print of Birth.

Film Forum

A number of Akira Kurosawa’s most seminal films play, while the 4K restoration of Hearts of Darkness (listen to our interview) continues.

IFC Center

In the Mood for Love and In the Mood for Love 2001 continue; Dogtooth screens daily; Pulse, Cure, Clerks, Koyaanisqatsi, Tenebrae, and Ghost in the Shell show late.

Museum of Modern Art

A retrospective of Mexican actress María Félix continues.

In the past two years, Kiefer Sutherland has gotten the chance to work with two legendary directors at the tail end of their careers. 2023 saw him collaborate with late Exorcist helmer William Friedkin on what would be his final film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, in the role of the unstable Lieutenant Commander Queeg. After that, he'd then be picked by Clint Eastwood for a smaller role in his 2024 legal thriller, Juror #2, starring Nicholas Hoult. Though not completely confirmed to be Eastwood's final project, at 95 years old, he's unlikely to have many more turns in the director's chair. The prospect that the Million Dollar Baby Oscar winner might retire, however, was what drove Sutherland to pursue what could be his last opportunity to work with one of his idols with a letter and a bit of gratitude.

During a panel with his Young Guns co-star Lou Diamond Phillips at FanX's Atlanta Comic Convention,...

It’s unlikely that there will be another film in 2025 that is quite as divisive as “Eddington.” Ari Aster’s latest psychological drama is bound to inspire all forms of criticism for both its filmmaking aesthetics and narrative choices. 2020 was perhaps too close a time for audiences to make reasonable conclusions about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, but as always, Aster pushes viewers out of their comfort zone with an inflammatory, disturbing account of the divisions that formed. Although “Eddington” uses Covid-19 as its inciting incident, it’s interested in far more than just a debate about the efficacy of wearing a mask. Between racial protests, police authority, political corruption, corporate overreach, and the mainstream appeal of fringe conspiracy theories, Aster tackles nearly every topic that is likely to incite blowback.

To describe “Eddington” using traditional genre descriptions is not an easy task, as the film is deeply inspired by westerns,...

Joe Eszterhas, the legendary screenwriter of “Basic Instinct,” the 1992 thriller that defined femme serial killers in film and made an icon of Sharon Stone, has closed a $4 million deal to write a reboot for Scott Stuber’s United Artists banner and Amazon MGM Studios, TheWrap has exclusively learned.

The deal is the biggest spec script sale of the year so far, and commits Amazon to a $2 million payout against a potential $4 million to Eszterhas if the movie is made.

“To those who question what an 80-year-old man is doing writing a sexy, erotic thriller: the rumors of my cinematic impotence are exaggerated and ageist,” Esztherhas said in a statement to TheWrap. “I call my writing partner the Twisted Little Man and he lives somewhere deep inside me. He was born 29 and he will die 29 and he tells me he is ‘sky high up’ to write this piece and provide viewers...

Although there has been growing enthusiasm for rising horror auteurs like Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers, Mike Flanagan, and Coralie Fargeat, no filmmaker has elicited quite as extreme of response as Ari Aster. While Aster’s talent was evident from some of his early, disturbing short films, his work within features has raised the threshold for upsetting content. There’s certainly an art to being transgressive for the sake of attention, but Aster has woven in delicate stories about human fragility and developed consistent working relationships with some of the industry’s finest actors. It’s far too early to judge whether Aster is the heir apparent to filmmakers like Tobe Hooper or Wes Craven, but he has earned enough name recognition that any of his upcoming projects has become an event worthy of anticipation.

Aster’s aptitude for prolonged, uncomfortable sequences that get under the audience’s skin may now...

Stars: Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride, Dan Leis, Lloyd Adams, Lina Giornofelice, A.C. Peterson, Karen Robinson | Written and Directed by Joe Carnahan

Joe Carnahan has directed some really exciting films during his career including Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane; Smokin’ Aces; The A-Team and The Grey; and he also wrote and directed several episodes for the NBC television series The Blacklist. In 2002, just after producing, writing and directing Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane, he brought audiences his third film, Narc.

Narc is a neo-noir crime thriller directed and written by Joe Carnahan and starring Ray Liotta and the grandson of ‘The Great One’ Jackie Gleason, Jason Patric. This month Arrow Video have taken this film to an ultra-level with the physical media release in 4K.

In wintry Detroit, narcotics cop Nick Tellis is recovering from an undercover operation gone wrong. In the hopes of being assigned a quiet desk job,...

For a certain type of film fanatic, who also happens to be a physical media enthusiast, this is the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, Barnes & Noble’s 50% off Criterion Collection sale is upon us. This biannual tradition (the next sale happens in November) is the perfect opportunity to splurge on some of the very best home video releases around – for half the price, no less.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Criterion Collection, they started off as a laserdisc company, at the time known for their impeccable taste and commitment to extensive special features and commentary tracks, years before DVDs would make supplemental material commonplace. As the company continued to DVD, Blu-ray and now 4K Uhd discs, the principals that made them so special in the first place have remained. Every Criterion release is an event. And the Barnes & Noble sales are an essential part of the Criterion experience.

Joshua Rubin: Original "28 Years Later" Treatment: "18 years ago, I was asked to develop a concept for the final chapter of the 28 Days Later trilogy. I'm finally sharing my original treatment...

For those new to the blog, this is Joshua Rubin, video game writer and founder of Strange Land Comics. But long before comics and video games, I had built a decade-long career as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

It was back in 2007 when DNA Films in London — the producers of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days/Weeks saga — invited me to brainstorm a final chapter to the series.

It was one of those rare gigs where I got to go all-in — not pitching a sequel, but a true ending. Bigger in scale, deeper in theme. A film that could expand the world and still feel intimate and raw, like the first one did.

Now, almost two decades later, a new 28 Years...

Hell of a Role Al Pacino recently took on the role of a Catholic priest confronting the Devil himself. The (for lack of a congruent term of what he brings to any role) gravitas of Pacino anchors Father Theophilus Riesinger, the German-born Capuchin priest who famously endured a grueling four-month battle to reclaim Schmidt’s soul from demonic control. Set in 1928 Iowa and steeped in the scorched bones of American demonology, ‘The Ritual’ follows two priests- one devout but fractured, the other wavering in faith- tasked with exorcising a woman gripped by violent possession. This isn’t just another fictional horror tale. The film is based directly on Begone Satan!, the 1935 pamphlet detailing the real-life exorcism of Emma Schmidt, a documented case so harrowing it has long haunted the fringe between folklore and faith. The same material inspired William Peter Blatty’s ‘The Exorcist’ and, eventually, William Friedkin’s landmark 1973 film.

Samuel L. Jackson is not just one of the most prolific actors around, but he's also one of the most beloved. Before Dwayne Johnson tried to turn himself into "franchise viagra," Jackson was actually helping build properties from the ground up, being a part of so many that he's become the highest-grossing actor of all time. His cameo as Nick Fury in "Iron Man" helped set the Marvel Cinematic Universe's decade-long pop cultural domination in motion, and it was all because Marvel Comics used his face without permission. Of course, Jackson is more than a mere blockbuster machine, having also starred in many acclaimed lower-budget, director-driven films (ranging from "Pulp Fiction" to "Do the Right Thing").

Part of Jackson's appeal is that he shows up everywhere. He's a working actor unafraid to offset his big-budget turns and prestige roles with fun popcorn movies like "Snakes on a Plane" or the...

Lalo Schifrin, the Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer behind the “Theme From Mission: Impossible,” has died at the age of 93.

The composer’s son Ryan confirmed his father’s death to the Associated Press, adding that Schifrin died Thursday due to complications from pneumonia at his home in Los Angeles.

The Buenos Aires, Argentina-born Schifrin, the son of an orchestral violinist, had an early start in music, training on the piano at the age of six. However, upon entering college, Schifrin opted to study law, but his musical roots ultimately took hold.

The Mission: Impossible theme is one of the most iconic (and hummable) pieces of cinematic music. Sadly, it’s been announced that the man behind the classic tune, Lalo Schifrin, is dead. He was 93.

Schifrin told the New York Post in 2015 that it took him just three minutes to create the Mission: Impossible theme, and he did it without seeing any footage from the show. “Orchestration’s not the problem for me. It’s like writing a letter. When you write a letter, you don’t have to think what grammar or what syntaxes you’re going to use, you just write a letter. And that’s the way it came,” Schifrin said. “Bruce Geller, who was the producer of the series, put together the pilot and came to me and said, ‘I want you to write something exciting, something that when people are in the living room and go...

Lalo Schifrin, the composer of some of the most iconic themes in TV and movie history, has died at the age of 93. Active for over seven decades, Schifrin composed scores for films like Bullitt, Dirty Harry, and Cool Hand Luke, but may be most remembered for his indelible theme to the Mission: Impossible TV series, a thrilling piece of music that instantly conjures up images of espionage and suspense. Variety reports that Schifrin died of complications of pneumonia.

Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 21, 1932. The son of a violinist, Schifrin was interested in music at an early age; at 20, he moved to Paris to study at the Paris Conservatory, while playing piano in jazz clubs at night. He returned to Argentina, where he began scoring films before relocating to the United States; he considered the 1964 Jane Fonda thriller Joy House to be his first success.

It's generally accepted that the summer movie season as we know it today began 50 years ago with the release of Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." Studios were already obsessed with blockbusters thanks to the runaway success of films like "Love Story" and "The Godfather," as well as the proliferation of multiplexes (which meant screen numbers were exploding all over the world). But when "Jaws" blew past "Gone with the Wind" to become the highest grossing movie of all time, it was game on.

This gold rush mentality led studios to prioritize sequels to their previous hits, even though this approach invited critical scorn. "The Godfather Part II" was one thing, and, sure, "French Connection II" made sound story sense since Charnier got away at the end of the first one, but a follow-up to "Love Story" felt obscene. So, when a studio trotted out a sequel, they knew many influential critics...

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William Peter Blatty's 1990 horror film "The Exorcist III" was based on his own 1983 novel "Legion," a follow-up to his 1971 hit novel "The Exorcist." Although both books featured common characters, it's a different kind of story, staged more like a combined police procedural, bleak serial killer thriller (based very closely on the Zodiac murders), and supernatural mystery. Blatty wrote and directed the 1990 film adaptation, thinking that it, too, would only be tangentially related to "The Exorcist" and possess a similar genre-bending approach.

"The Exorcist III" wasn't a big hit in 1990, but it has undergone a substantial re-evaluation over the years, and some cineastes now consider it to be almost as good as William Friedkin's 1973 film adaptation of "The Exorcist." Kinderman is played in the film by George C. Scott (replacing Lee J. Cobb from Friedkin's movie), and the sequel...

With the death of director William Friedkin sending shockwaves through the film world, as everyone pays tribute to his classics The French Connection and The Exorcist, now is a good time to look back at one of his most underrated movies, the 1977 classic action thriller Sorcerer!

The 1970s were probably the last decade when the film industry had many honest-to-goodness auteurs. Directors who made movies on their own terms without compromises; not just the ones making little indie art films, but the guys in charge of sizable projects with the backing of major studios. Filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Brian De Palma came of age during this era, and were responsible for movies that would resonate for decades. Another name you can add to that list is William Friedkin, who during that period made two instant classics and one misunderstood masterpiece.

The classics...

The biggest name in horror now has the rights to one of the most successful horror franchises ever.

Blumhouse has acquired the prospective rights to “Saw,” meaning the opportunity to bring Jigsaw back to life with new “Saw” films is back in the hands of Atomic Monster and James Wan, who directed the original “Saw” film from 2004.

The controlling stake in the “Saw” franchise was owned by producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg, who, after 20 years, are handing over the reins to Wan and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, whose Blumhouse merged with Atomic Monster back in 2024. Leigh Whannell, who co-created and wrote the original “Saw,” is also in the Blumhouse universe and has directed both “The Invisible Man” and “Wolf Man” for the horror banner.

Koules and Burg are moving on after the recent passing of executive producer Jason Constantine, who died earlier this month. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Can anyone deny that the 1970s were absolutely legendary when it came to action movies? I don’t think so. This was way before anyone even dreamed of CGI, so filmmakers had to get creative with practical effects, death-defying stunts, and good old-fashioned storytelling that would make your heart race.

We’re talking about an era where actors actually performed their own stunts, explosions were real, and car chases involved actual cars flying through real streets. These movies didn’t need fancy computer graphics to blow your mind – they had raw talent, incredible cinematography, and stories that grabbed you by the collar and never let go.

From gritty cop dramas that redefined what heroes could look like to martial arts masterpieces that introduced Western audiences to a whole new world of action, these 15 films aren’t just nostalgic throwbacks – they’re masterclasses in filmmaking that today’s blockbusters are still trying to live up to.

Originally published April 17; updated June 17 at 12:15 p.m. Pt

The most frightening zombies to ever appear on the big screen are back on Friday, and faster than ever. But can they run all the way to the 2026 Oscars?

Set almost three decades after 28 Days Later (2003) and 28 Weeks Later (2007), the first two films in Alex Garland's horror franchise, 28 Years Later is scheduled for theatrical release on June 20. Garland is back as the writer and Danny Boyle, who directed the first flick, returns to direct. (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directed and cowrote the sequel.) Watch the trailer below.

Garland recently told Business Insider that sequels have become less profitable through the years, and that the Marvel behemoth is partly to blame. "I think sequels are seen as diminishing returns," he said. "I don't wanna sort of throw shade as it were, but Marvel has something to do with this,...

The Exorcist Curse: Deaths, Fires & A Director’s Obsession(Photo Credit –YouTube)

The Exorcist did not just terrify audiences but it turned its own set into the stuff of cinematic legend. You see, long before social media turned “cursed films” into algorithm-chasing rabbit holes, stories surrounding its production became whispered warnings among filmmakers and horror fans alike.

The film’s reputation, after being released in 1973 under the direction of the unpredictable William Friedkin, goes way beyond its satanic subject matter. It’s not just the scenes of levitating beds and spinning heads that keep it alive in conversation, but rather what happened behind the scenes is going to send shivers down your spine, even to the extent that you may not want to watch the movie at all.

Behind the Scenes of The Exorcist – A Production Shrouded in Misfortune

The Exorcist marked a turning point in horror from the beginning.

Hell of a Role Al Pacino recently took on the role of a Catholic priest confronting the Devil himself. The (for lack of a congruent term of what he brings to any role) gravitas of Pacino anchors Father Theophilus Riesinger, the German-born Capuchin priest who famously endured a grueling four-month battle to reclaim Schmidt’s soul from demonic control. Set in 1928 Iowa and steeped in the scorched bones of American demonology, ‘The Ritual’ follows two priests- one devout but fractured, the other wavering in faith- tasked with exorcising a woman gripped by violent possession. This isn’t just another fictional horror tale. The film is based directly on Begone Satan!, the 1935 pamphlet detailing the real-life exorcism of Emma Schmidt, a documented case so harrowing it has long haunted the fringe between folklore and faith. The same material inspired William Peter Blatty’s ‘The Exorcist’ and, eventually, William Friedkin’s landmark 1973 film.

William Friedkin's horror classic "The Exorcist," based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, opens in the deserts of northern Iraq, where the elderly Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) finds a mysterious, demonic sculpture. The statue depicts an animal-headed creature with angel-like wings, and a serpent between its legs. The statue is very concerning. Merrin knows that this demonic discovery will spell out evil somewhere in the world. Merrin will remain absent for the bulk of "The Exorcist," only called in to help when his vision comes true. In Washington, DC, a young girl named Regan (Linda Blair) has become bodily possessed by a demon claiming to be the Devil himself. The elderly priest will have to team up with Father Karras (Jason Miller) to remove the demon from the girl's body. 

Of course, relating details of "The Exorcist" seems like a churlish exercise, as it's one of the...

Mike Flanagan is a modern-day horror master and the man behind some of the scariest contemporary horror movies and series like Hush, The Haunting of Hill House, and Doctor Sleep. The filmmaker serves as showrunner, director, and editor of many of his works, and has been a leading voice in the genre.

Flanagan was already one movie old when he made his breakthrough film Oculus. It starred Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, and Katee Sackhoff in lead roles. Flanagan’s wife and frequent collaborator Kate Siegel also contributed in a supporting role. Sackhoff revealed that though she loved the part, she had a panic attack while on the set of Oculus.

Katee Sackhoff felt overwhelmed by the intensity of her role in Mike Flanagan’s Oculus Katee Sackhoff in a still from Oculus | Credits: Relativity Media

If there is one thing that Mike Flanagan excels in and stands out among other horror filmmakers of his generation,...

Nebraska director Alexander Payne will receive the Pardo d’Onore at the Locarno Film Festival.

The American filmmaker will be presented with the honorary leopard on Friday, August 15. He will also present his 2011 pic The Descendants and 2013 title Nebraska and participate in a public discussion.

Payne, a writer-director also behind the likes of Sideway and The Holdovers, has won two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and been nominated for Best Director on three occasions.

After studying filmmaking at UCLA, Payne wrote and directed politically-charged comedy Citizen Ruth, starring Laura Dern, in 1996. It premiered at Sundance and led to a run of seven influential films, which have starred the likes of Paul Giamatti, Reese Witherspoon and Jack Nicholson.

“Alexander Payne is an erudite auteur with an encyclopaedic cinephile knowledge,” said Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival. “Gifted with an unerring sense for the bittersweet facets of human comedy,...

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The "The Twilight Zone" episode "Gramma" is a strange one. Based on the short story by Stephen King and written by Harlan Ellison, "Gramma" tells the story of an 11-year-old boy named Georgie (Barret Oliver from "The NeverEnding Story" and "D.A.R.Y.L.") who has been tasked with looking after his infirm grandmother while his mother (Darlanne Fluegel) goes out for the afternoon. Georgie feels he is equal to the task, even though he is notoriously terrified of Gramma. Gramma does nothing more than lay in bed all day, occasionally calling out for a cup of tea. 

While alone with Gramma, Georgie begins to recall weird details about their family, recalling that she might have had some stillborn children. We hear Georgie's inner monologue throughout the episode as he nervously ponders everything he sees. After accidentally dropping Gramma's tea, Georgie finds a crack in the floor.

Benicio Del Toro stars as Zsa-Zsa Korda in director Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, a Focus Features release.

Credit: Courtesy of Tps Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved. Over the course of his career, Benicio del Toro has worked with some high-profile directors, like Steven Soderbergh, Oliver Stone, William Friedkin, and Guy Ritchie, to name just a few. His new film, The Phoenician Scheme, marks his second collaboration with Wes Anderson (the first being 2021’s The French Dispatch). After Anderson wrote the film’s lead role with del Toro in mind, del Toro quickly committed to The Phoenician Scheme, He spoke about the things that have drawn him to Anderson as a director. (Click on the media bar below to hear Benicio Del Toro.) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Benicio_Del_Torro_Wes_Anderson_.mp3 The Phoenician Scheme is now playing in theaters.

The post Why Benicio Del...

Mike Flanagan, the modern horror auteur famous for Netflix hits like The Haunting of Hill House, and Stephen King adaptations like Doctor Sleep, has now been chosen to direct the upcoming reboot of The Exorcistfranchise, per our predictions for a replacement. Flanagan landed the gig in 2024, and the untitled project was set for release in March 2026. However, Flanagan himself has now said that it won't be possible to release the Blumhouse-produced film next March. Universal Pictures has also removed Flanagan's Exorcist film from their 2026 slate.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming revival of the classic horror franchise will take longer than expected. Universal has reportedly replaced Flanagan's Exorcist project with another untitled Blumhouse movie. The news was also confirmed by Flanagan himself, who went on Tumblr to reply to user "hhhhhggfddsaaa" (great name) who asked him, "Hi, Mike. Hope you're having a good day. I just wanted to ask a quick question.

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we return to one of our earlier subjects: Ryan Gosling! Our B-Sides are The Ides of March, Gangster Squad, Only God Forgives, and First Man. Our guest is our dear friend Cory Everett, creator of Cinephile: A Card Game!

We talk about Gosling’s television career as a young man, his quick rise to stardom, and surprise nomination for Half Nelson fairly early on in his run. He’s been searching for his lifelong directorial muse. There’s been Derek Cianfrance, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Damien Chazelle. Will he ever find the one?

There’s that iconic Rachel McAdams kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, the acceleration of his “coolness” after the success of The Notebook all the way through the release of Drive,...

Not since Paul Schrader’s ill-starred “Exorcist” entry “Dominion” in 2004 has an exorcism-centric thriller taken itself quite so seriously as “The Ritual.” Based on a real-life case, like director David Midell’s prior “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain,” this more fantastical drama is a relatively restrained effort less interested in standard horror effects than the events’ psychological impact on their participants. Nonetheless, its integrity and able performers only do so much to elevate a reluctant genre movie that emerges as rather dreary — not unlike “Dominion,” albeit minus theological discussions. With Al Pacino and Dan Stevens topping the cast, XYZ Films’ release should lure in some genre fans. Still, their disappointment may be salved only by the thought that this is a definite genre improvement over the abysmal “The Exorcist: Believer” from two years ago.

Midell’s feature is billed as being based on “the true story that inspired ‘The Exorcist,...

Al Pacino is one of the most esteemed actors, whose acting credits include multiple masterpieces. The actor received no less than nine Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, whether in leading or supporting roles, and won one for 1992's Scent of a Woman.

Pacino's illustrious career includes over 60 acting credits, with countless critical hits. However, his latest film, The Ritual, is not one of them and it has brought him an unfortunate career first. The horror, which is based on the same possession story as The Exorcist, is set to hit theaters on June 6, andThe Ritual debuted with an extremely 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Ritual is inspired by the 1935 book, Begone Satan!. It has David Midell at the helm, who directed based on a script he co-wrote with Enrico Natale. The possession horror is based on a true story, and follows two priests Theophilus Riesinger (Pacino) and Joseph...

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A young priest who’s recently suffered a personal tragedy and is struggling with issues of faith teams up with an older, veteran priest to perform an exorcism on a young girl who’s been exhibiting disturbing signs of demonic possession. The younger priest is skeptical, believing that her manifestations could be the result of psychological disturbance. The older priest is resolute, determined to once more do battle with the Devil.

No, I mean it, stop me.

Because clearly no one has stopped The Ritual, yet another attempt that tries and fails to exorcise our memories of the classic, gold standard of the genre, William Friedkin’s 1973 The Exorcist. As if to compensate for the fact that their film is trafficking in the same sort of hokiness as such recent, similarly themed efforts as The Pope’s Exorcist and The Exorcism (both starring Russell Crowe,...

Fans of The Exorcist might feel their stomachs turn a bit upon learning that Mike Flanagan’s planned film could take longer to hit theaters than expected.

The filmmaker took to Tumblr to respond to a fan’s question regarding whether his new movie in the franchise was still moving forward. The Hollywood Reporter reported last year that Flanagan would be writing, directing and producing a new project in the Exorcist universe for Universal Pictures that was scheduled for release on March 13, 2026. A cast has not yet been announced.

Flanagan explained in his post that his first priority is his Carrie series for Amazon MGM Studios that adapts Stephen King’s 1974 novel. “Production hasn’t started, we need to finish Carrie first,” Flanagan wrote. “No way it’s coming out next March. Nothing to worry about though.”

On Wednesday, Universal removed the film from its 2026 release calendar and replaced it with an untitled Blumhouse movie.

Fans of the acclaimed Exorcist franchise will sadly not get the highly anticipated reboot anytime soon. Originally scheduled for March 13, 2026, Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist will unfortunately be delayed, as confirmed by the filmmaker himself via Tumblr. Over a year ago, it was announced that Flanagan was writing, directing, and producing “a radical new take” on the horror sequel with the genre producer, Blumhouse, and Morgan Creek. The sequel's announcement followed David Gordon Green's 2023 film The Exorcist: Believer, which was poorly received with only negative reviews from critics.

Flanagan’s The Exorcist reboot is utterly unrelated to Believer and will provide a unique perspective for viewers. The film currently has no revised release date yet, as production hasn’t even started, according to the director. Apparently, he wants to wrap up his current Carrie project, the upcoming Prime Video series revival, before progressing with The Exorcist. In his words:...

Physical media culture is alive and thriving thanks to the home video tastemakers hailing everywhere from The Criterion Collection to Kino Lorber and the Warner Archive Collection. Each month, IndieWire highlights the best recent and upcoming Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K releases for cinephiles to own now — and to bring ballast and permanence to your moviegoing at a time when streaming windows on classic movies close just as soon as they open.

The summer movie season is upon us, with “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” smashing records and luring audiences back to theaters for blockbuster spectacle and family-friendly fare. As the weather improves, you may not feel like going out to a movie or staying at home to watch one, and after a dreary East Coast winter and spring, you wouldn’t be faulted for preferring to get out and smell the roses rather than stare at a screen.

Horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan recently shared an update about the production of his upcoming reboot of 1973's The Exorcist. Flanagan has written and directed several acclaimed horror films and TV shows, including The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher. Having established himself as a horror master, Flanagan has generated plenty of excitement for his movie based on William Friedkin's The Exorcist.

Responding to an inquiry on Tumblr, Flanagan revealed that his Exorcist movie hasn't entered production yet. Right now, after adapting Stephen King's The Life of Chuck, Flanagan is working on adapting King's Carrie as a series for Amazon Prime Video. Though Mike Flanagan's Exorcist movie was originally scheduled to premiere on March 13, 2026, Flanagan said that the film won't be completed by then. Fortunately, he claimed his Exorcist film is still very much alive, saying there's "nothing to worry about.

As we learned with the Screen Actors Guild strikes of 2023, the life of your average working actor isn't all glitz and glam. Actors at all levels are expected to work round-the-clock hours, surrounded by dozens of people led by sometimes egotistical directors. They forego food, sleep, even bathroom breaks to get that perfect take. Though the final product we see onscreen may look perfect to us, the making of the films and TV we love sometimes comes at the expense of the actors' sanity.

Actors are human, and despite years of formal training, even they have breaking points. Some breakdowns are completely reasonable, others, well, let's just say "dramatic" would be a charitable interpretation of them. Stars from renowned classic cinema to beloved sitcoms have stormed off set for surprising reasons, for the better and worse of the media they starred in.

Here are 15 actors stormed off set while filming a movie or TV show.

What exactly is a supernatural horror film? The defining word there, supernatural, refers to things and events beyond our scientific understanding, but that's far broader a definition than it might sound. Vampires and werewolves, zombies and witches, cursed objects and nightmares bleeding into the real world -- they're all beyond our grasp and therefore supernatural. Heck, all eight "Leprechaun" movies and all but the first two "Friday the 13th" films fit the bill, too.

Narrowing down the best supernatural horror films becomes a daunting task given that lens, so we're going to drill down a little deeper. For our purposes here, we're going to focus on a more generally accepted view of the supernatural, namely, things that are attributable to an ethereal source and mostly unseen. Think ghosts, demonic entities, vengeful spirits, and the like. Of course, even this slimmer definition leaves the door wide open with literally hundreds of worthy contenders,...

Who knew The Penguin owes a debt of gratitude to Popeye Doyle?

As production designer Kalina Ivanov tells Gold Derby, Matt Reeves, the director of 2022's The Batman and an executive producer on The Penguin, informed her that the "inspiration" for his vision of Gotham City was The French Connection, William Friedkin's 1971 neo-noir crime thriller starring Gene Hackman as the unorthodox cop Doyle, which won five Oscars, including Best Picture. "That is something I held very dear in my heart," Ivanov says, "because I really wanted to make a new version of The French Connection." See exclusive sketches, concept art, and set photos from The Penguin in our gallery above.

Colin Farrell reprises his villainous role of Oswald "Oz" Cobb/the Penguin in the HBO limited series, after having a supporting role in The Batman. Following the events of that motion picture, The Penguin chronicles the character's rise to power in Gotham's criminal underworld,...

The Exorcist is possessing Meczo Toyz‘s Mds Roto Plush line with Regan MacNeil.

The 18″ doll features sculpted parts on a soft plush body and comes packaged in a die-cut window box.

Regan is outfitted in her blue nightgown and has hauntingly life-like features that capture her demonic expression – yellowed eyes, cracked skin, and a devilish grin.

Priced at $97.99, its due out in December.

Linda Blair was only 14 years old when she starred in The Exorcist alongside Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Lee J. Cobb.

The 1973 masterpiece is directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, based on his own 1971 novel.

Modern master of horror Mike Flanagan is currently developing the next installment in The Exorcist saga, due out on March 13, 2026.

The post ‘The Exorcist’ Possesses Mezco Toyz with Regan Roto Plush Doll appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Billy Williams, the esteemed British cinematographer who shared an Oscar for shooting Gandhi and also was nominated for his work on the Glenda Jackson-starring Women in Love and Henry Fonda’s final film, On Golden Pond, has died. He was 96.

Williams’ death was announced in British Cinematographer magazine. No details on the cause of death were provided.

“With deep sorrow, we bid farewell to Billy Williams — an outstanding British cinematographer, laureate of the ‘Golden Frog’ for exceptional achievements in the art of cinematography at the Camerimage Festival in 2000,” tweeted the official X account of Camerimage, the Poland-based film festival dedicated to cinematography.

Williams also served as the director of photography on John Milius’ The Wind and the Lion (1975), Stuart Rosenberg’s Voyage of the Damned (1976), Martin Brest’s Going in Style (1979) and Peter Yates’ Suspect (1987).

The London native received an early career break when he was hired for Ken Russell...

Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter will headline Legend’s June 2025 slate, as the classic war film makes its debut on the free-to-air genre channel. Scheduled for its first airing on Saturday 28 June, the five-time Academy Award winner will anchor a month of premieres that spans decades and genres, from prestige Hollywood dramas to high-concept science fiction and British cult films.

Originally released in 1978, The Deer Hunter stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, and is widely regarded as one of the most significant American films of the 20th century. Set before, during and after the Vietnam War, the film traces the psychological and emotional impact of conflict on a group of steelworkers from Pennsylvania. Cimino’s ambitious and often divisive work won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars and remains a key title in any examination of American post-war cinema.

Legend’s line-up throughout June...

Ryan Coogler's Sinnershas become the biggest success story of the 2025 box office. Against major franchise entries such as Jared Hess' A Minecraft Movie and the recent MCU installment, Captain America: Brave New World, Sinners has proven a more-than-worthy opponent, finishing top of the box office rankings for every day in its opening two weeks. Across the most recent box office weekend, Sinners finished in third place behind the inevitable successes of Final Destination Bloodlinesand Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, with just $600,000 separating Sinners from the latter.

In total, Sinners has now earned an astonishing $316 million globally, split between $240 million domestically and $76 million from overseas markets. This is likely much higher than any higher-ups, including Coogler himself, could've expected, with the film now officially one ofthe highest-grossing horror movies of all time, having just surpassed the iconic William Friedkin's The Exorcist. Thanks to this sustained success, Coogler himself has now surpassed...

After a month of release in theaters worldwide, Ryan Coogler's Sinnershas generated more than $300 million at the box office. It's among the highest-grossing horror movies of all time, and has now overtaken perhaps the most iconic film that the genre has ever produced. This past weekend, Coogler's film shot past the lifetime domestic haul of the late William Friedkin's The Exorcist, which shattered records upon release in 1973. It was the highest-grossing horror film in history at the time of its release, and remains one of the most successful films ever made. Adjusted for inflation, its lifetime haul is around 10 times that of Sinners.

We're talking $3 billion here, which is an incredible, Avatar-level achievement. But box office tabulation, as a rule, is never based on adjusted figures. Which means that Sinners' $240 million haul (in 2025 dollars) is greater than the $230 million that The Exorcist made over five decades ago. The...

Working in Hollywood means dealing with some real shady characters: sleazy producers, money-hungry studios, guys who dress up as Jack Sparrow in front of Grauman’s Chinese, etc. But some of them turn out to be real monsters, even — especially — if they were only lurking in the background.

5 Austin Powers’ ‘Random Task’ Was Convicted of Torture and Manslaughter

Joe Son was an Mma fighter and wrestler who had been featured in a handful of action movies before appearing as Random Task in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and subsequently disappearing from the spotlight, apparently because he had so much crime to do. After being compelled to give a DNA sample when he was arrested for vandalism in 2008, he was convicted of torture for a 1990 incident in which prosecutors maintained he kidnapped, beat and raped a woman. During his time in prison, he was convicted of beating a cellmate to death,...