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(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

There are plenty of classic Christmas movies out there. The likes of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" have been staples of the holiday season for decades (and they're likely to remain so for decades more to come). Being in the annual Christmas movie business is good business. Just look at what Hallmark cranks out every year around the winter holidays. But the real money is in making that one movie that winds up in the rotation annually, becoming part of the larger cultural conversation surrounding Christmas.

In 1989, Warner Bros. released the third installment in the "Vacation" franchise following National Lampoon's "Vacation" in 1983 and "European Vacation" in 1985. Wisely, with this third entry, the property went the Christmas route...

As a special holiday gift to The Film Stage podcast feed, listen to a new Box Office Bonanza! Here we talk about random box office weekends and where they fit into our lives. The movies, the memories! This episode features Dan Mecca, Conor O’Donnell, Mitchell Beaupre, Jordan Raup, and Cory Everett.

The box office weekend in question is July 21, 2000. The number one movie in the country was the Robert Zemeckis-directed, Clark Gregg-scripted, Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer-starring supernatural thriller What Lies Beneath. The number three movie was the second Pokémon feature film, Pokémon 2000. Gladiator was still in theaters, so was U-571.

But at the start, we mount a passionate defense of the new Zemeckis epic Here, which has now arrived digitally. After that, we talk about Martin Lawrence movies. We talk about how horrible Greg Kinnear’s character is in Amy Heckerling’s Loser. We talk...

When Amy Heckerling scored a teen comedy hit in 1995 with "Clueless" by working from the Jane Austen's 1816 novel "Emma," Hollywood figured there might be a potential goldmine in youth-skewing films based on classic works of fiction. Gil Junger certainly found this to be the case with "10 Things I Hate About You," his high school-set take on William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," while Robert Iscove scored a box office hit with his "Pygmalion" riff "She's All That." So it wasn't all that shocking when Roger Kumble found intrigue and no shortage of sex appeal via "Cruel Intentions," his scheming rich kids reworking of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' "Les Liaisons dangereuses."

Why did the film work so well? Columbia Pictures' willingness to release the film with an R rating allowed Kumble to push much further with the sensuality. He also had an absolute juggernaut of a young cast in Sarah Michelle Gellar,...

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Netflix has the biggest content library of any streaming service, and for that reason, many movies from the past are available on it. So, we thought about all the fans of old brilliant movies that are now characterized as classics and decided to compile a list of the best classic movies on Netflix that you should check out right now.

Scarface Credit – Universal Pictures

Scarface is a crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay by Oliver Stone. Based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail and its 1932 film adaptation, the 1983 film follows Tony Montana and his close friend Manny, who build a ruthless and successful drug empire in Miami. However as Tony’s power grows so do his enemies, but the biggest threat to his empire is his own paranoia. Scarface stars Al Pacino,...

Movies are empathy machines, as Roger Ebert once wrote. The best films allow us to experience emotions we may not have felt otherwise through a particular character’s story. But some movies conjure emotions that we’re actively seeking out. Happiness. Joy. Love. We call these “feel-good movies.” Everybody has their go-to stable of films they return to over and over again when they need a boost — or maybe just an escape.

If you’re looking to expand your horizons beyond whatever’s streaming on Netflix, or if you just need a pick-me-up Asap, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ve assembled a list of some of the best feel-good movies to watch when you’re feeling down.

20th Century “The Princess Bride”

One of the all-time great feel-good movies, Rob Reiner’s “The Princess Bride” endures as the platonic ideal of a romantic fantasy adventure. Carey Elwes stars as the devastatingly charming Westley,...

For a few years in the '80s, it felt like Phoebe Cates was everywhere in Hollywood. The child of an entertainment-focused family (her dad was a prolific producer of stage and screen), Cates made her on-screen debut in 1982's "Paradise," a controversial film that's best-remembered as a sort of off-brand "Blue Lagoon" story that featured Cates' underage character nude (the actress was 17 at the time of filming). According to Cates' costar Willie Aames, the nudity in question was filmed by body doubles, but the discourse surrounding the movie would inform Cates' place in pop culture before she even came of age.

Cates' most famous roles would come soon after, and by 1994, she would largely be retired from acting entirely. So why did Phoebe Cates leave Hollywood? The answer is hers to share, and interviews she and her family have given both during her on-screen career and after it ended have been pretty enlightening.

As far as movies based on SNL sketches go, A Night at the Roxbury probably had the least to work with. Wayne’s World, MacGruber and even It’s Pat had well-defined characters with reliable bits. The Night at the Roxbury guys, however, didn’t even have names, which is why Steve Koren, who wrote the breakout SNL sketch for those characters, was surprised when Clueless director Amy Heckerling wanted to make a movie about two idiots who aggressively danced up on women in night clubs.

But soon thereafter, Koren, along with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan who played and created the characters, got to work on the script that would become A Night at the Roxbury.

I recently spoke to Koren about how the original draft was inspired by Saturday Night Fever, how the Marx Brothers contributed to the film’s title and how they sought to include every slang term...

Steve McQueen’s upcoming WWII drama “Blitz” is many things — a harrowing documentation of Germany’s bombardment of London, a child’s perspective on war, an eclectic portrait of a diverse community under terrible strain — and while it may not be a full-on musical, music does play an integral part of its narrative, with lead star Saoirse Ronan showing off her stunning voice more than once throughout the film. Speaking to The Playlist for a recent interview, Ronan expressed her love for music and hope that soon, with the right collaborator, she’ll get to stretch her pipes once more.

“I’m not a singer, but I would love to be in a musical,” said Ronan. “I’d love to be in a film musical. I think that would be really fun. And I’ve decided that Greta [Gerwig] is going to write it.”

When asked if Gerwig knew she was undertaking this responsibility,...

What can we say about Chevy Chase on his 81st birthday that we haven’t already said before?

Here’s the good news: We don’t have to say it. After decades of burning down every bridge in sight, it was no problem to find 81 burns to light the candles on his cake. Below is a birthday portrait of the man of the hour, courtesy of the co-workers, directors and other unfortunates who’ve worked with Chase over the years.

1 Will Ferrell

“The worst (SNL) host was Chevy Chase.”

(Live From New York: The Complete Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live)

2 Buck Henry

“I thought Chevy shouldn’t have left (SNL). I thought it was really stupid.”

(Live From New York: The Complete Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live)

3 John Carpenter 4 Director Kevin Smith

“Chevy went on to claim he invented every funny thing that ever happened in the history of not just comedy,...

I’m 45 and Playing a Grandmother. Am I Done?

Dear Remy,

I’ve been an actress for over 20 years, and I’ve just landed a role in a new TV show. Sounds great, right? Except I’ve been cast as a grandmother. I’m 45. I’ve still got abs, Remy! I do hot yoga four times a week and could probably bench-press my 30-year-old co-star, but instead, I’m apparently spending my scenes knitting and reminiscing about “the good ol’ days.”

The actor playing my grandson is 30. Thirty! I could date him in real life (and believe me, I have dated in that age range—they just have so much more zeal!), but instead, I’m playing his dear old grandmama. I half expect my next scene to be me handing him a hard candy and telling him how I met Grandpa at Woodstock (spoiler: I was not alive during...

Ugh! As if!

In Sunday’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the comic host delved into one of the main talking points having come out of this month’s presidential debate: that of the GOP ticket’s parroting of a baseless racist dog whistle regarding the Haitian immigrant community in Springfield, Ohio.

Oliver began the segment by playing Donald Trump’s much-memed and discussed clip where he falsely claimed that Haitians were eating pets, a notion that running mate Jd Vance had circulated (and since walked back) and that originated in neo-Nazi groups.

In playing a video of Vance discussing the discredited conspiracy theory, the VP candidate is seen mispronouncing the Caribbean nation as “Haitia.”

Not missing a beat, the talk show host quipped, “First, there is only one Haiti-related mispronunciation we recognize in this house, and it’s Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, delivering the iconic line: ‘And so...

Her boyfriend has just cheated on her, leaving her wronged and distraught. Now on her own for the first time in who-knows-how-long, the girl will commit every act of rebellion she can think of: tattoos, belly button piercings… But being the victim to nearly every man she has encountered is too much, and she soon takes to the edge of an overpass, ready to end it all. Then, as the asshole ex approaches, she jumps… only to reveal it as a prank on the man who jilted her. And this was how Alicia Silverstone was discovered: dangling from a bungee cord and flipping off the viewer. Let’s find out: What Happened to… Alicia Silverstone?

But to truly understand what happened to Alicia Silverstone, we go back to the beginning. And the beginning began when she was born on October 4th, 1976, in San Francisco, CA. Alicia Silverstone fell in love...

One of the best things to happen in Hollywood in recent years is that Michael Keaton’s career got a major second wind (but don’t call it a comeback) after a somewhat lower-key period. While the extent of Keaton’s career downturn pre-Birdman has indeed been overblown (let’s not forget he was still a big enough star to play the villain in the RoboCop reboot months before Birdman came out), it can’t be denied that Alejandro González Iñárritu’s movie gave him a major boost. Since then, he’s appeared In some amazing films, including Spotlight, The Founder, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and The Trial of the Chicago 7. He has also done great TV work, such as the exceptional limited series Dopesick.

However, Keaton’s pre- and post-Beetlejuice/Batman career tends to be overlooked when discussing his filmography, which is a shame as he was already a...

“Just another day” of wearing a hog head around the office for Chevy Chase.

“Some people ask me, what’s my day like?” Chase reveals in the latest installment of his sporadic, bizarre Instagram reels. The answer is even less exciting than you might think. To the tune of Thurston Harris’ “Little Bitty Pretty One,” Chase walks us through a typical day in his post-comedy career.

“Watch this,” he says as he signs Funko Pop boxes featuring himself in a Santa suit from Christmas Vacation. Those babies are going for $250 on Amazon, of which we can assume he receives a hefty cut. You can’t get one on his official website, but he’s offering signed Vacation trading cards for only $120.

https://www.instagram.com/chevychase/

“I also do ping-pong,” he says, now inexplicably wearing a pig mask.

https://www.instagram.com/chevychase/

Well, it’s sort of explicable — it...

August 9

Q: On this day exactly 50 years ago, August 9 1974, Richard Nixon became the first and only President to resign his office. Nixon also significantly brought Best Actor nominations to two actors who played him on screen. Who are they?

A: Anthony Hopkins was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for 1995’s Nixon. Frank Langella was nominated in the same category for 2008’s Frost/Nixon. Langella had previously won a Tony Award for the play on which that movie was based. Only one actor has ever won a Best Actor Oscar for playing a real life U.S. President. Daniel Day Lewis took his third Lead Actor Academy Award in 2012’s Lincoln. Raymond Massey was also previously nominated as Lincoln for Best Actor in 1940’s Abe Lincoln In Illinois. Nixon and Lincoln are the only real life U.S. Presidents to be responsible for multiple Oscar nominations for those who played them.

The fact that AO3 exists is prima facie evidence that we fans can get a little carried away sometimes. That can be a problem when our headcanon escapes into the wild, taking root in the minds of normies, and before you know it, a myth is born. At its most extreme, the head honchos have had to step in to clarify, once and for all, that no…

5 The Love Interest of ‘The Idea of You’ Wasn’t Based on Harry Styles

Speaking of fan fiction, The Idea of You has been advertised as such because author Robinne Lee once mentioned being inspired by a Harry Styles music video, but “I don't consider it fan fiction at all,” she said. “Harry was one of multiple people who went into creating Hayes Campbell,” including Prince Harry, Eddie Redmayne, some of her exes, and her husband. Honestly, more people need to write fan fiction about their own spouses.

Ya know that feeling when you watch something dumb, and even though you know it’s stupid, you can’t help but laugh and enjoy yourself? The 1980s are full of comedies like that. Yeah, we know they’re dumb and not especially clever, but whatever, man, every now and then, you’re in a bad mood, and you want to turn your brain off. That’s why they made seven Police Academy movies. No one thought they were good, but we watched them anyway because they were stupid in a pleasing way.

This brings me to this rare comedy-focused episode of The Best Movie You Never Saw, about a movie I loved as a kid that doesn’t super hold up forty years later, but it is still kinda fun – Johnny Dangerously. A gangster comedy in the vein of Airplane, Johnny Dangerously is probably a movie many younger viewers...

Space Cadet is a romantic comedy film written and directed by Liz W. Garcia. The Prime Video film follows the story of Tiffany “Rex” Simpson, a Florida party girl who has always dreamed of going to space and gets admitted into the NASA space program because of a fluke with much more capable candidates. She must prove herself to the NASA bosses using her heart, street smarts, and moxie. Space Cadet stars Emma Roberts in the lead role, with Tom Hopper, Poppy Liu, Sebastián Yatra, Kuhoo Verma, Desi Lydic, Gabrielle Union, Andrew Call, Sam Robards, and Dave Foley starring in supporting roles. If you like the comedic, romantic, and heartfelt moments of Space Cadet, here are some similar films you could watch next.

Legally Blonde (Max & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – MGM

Legally Blonde is a romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic from a screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith.

For those of us who have been here for a decade or two, it’s remarkable to consider both how much and how little the city of Los Angeles has changed over the years. There are still plenty of the old landmarks—the Hollywood Sign, Pink’s Hot Dogs, that dude who rollerblades around is white robes and plays guitar on the Venice boardwalk—while other, seemingly indestructible, institutions have tragically bitten the dust.

So! With local issues perpetually at the forefront of our mind this week, here now are ten films that remind us of life in Los Angeles during a very particular and only recently bygone era: the ’90s and early 2000s. These films are honest portrayals of what livin’ la vida loca LA-style is all about, whether they’re a glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, the realities of showbiz or struggles within SoCal’s toughest ‘hoods.

A Family Affair is Netflix’s latest rom-com directed by Richard Lagravenese from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon. The Netflix film follows the story of Zara, a young woman with aspirations of becoming a film producer, but currently, she works as an assistant for a self-obsessed and childish movie star, Chris Cole. While Zara hates her job and boss, she still tolerates them, but things get worse when she finds out that her mother and boss are romantically involved. A Family Affair has an amazing cast, including Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, and Kathy Bates. So, if you loved the romance, banter, and hijinks of A Family Affair, here are some similar romcoms you could watch next.

The Idea of You (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

The Idea of You is a romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay co-written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt. Based...

Judge Reinhold is reflecting on one of the most iconic film sequences of the 1980s: his “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” masturbation scene.

The “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” actor told Vanity Fair that while the scene is “kind of creepy” out of context, it played to the dark humor of his character Brad, who is experiencing one of the worst days of his life. Reinhold admitted, though, that it was “awkward” to film the sequence with co-star Phoebe Cates.

Reinhold’s Brad imagines Cates’ character taking off her bikini top while getting out of the pool in a private moment. But then the door opens and she catches him mid-act. In fact, that single scene led an executive to deem the film “pornography” and threatened to shelve the Universal release.

“If you take that scene out of context, it’s kind of creepy. But to me, it was very...

Nicholas Meyer's 1982 sci-fi flick "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was the first major acting gig for Kirstie Alley. Up to that point, Alley had only appeared on the sci-fi sitcom "Quark" as well as a few game shows like "Match Game." Alley wasn't even wholly devoted to acting at that stage, treating it more like a side-hustle than a career. It wouldn't be until she started auditioning for "Star Trek II" that she decided to focus on acting exclusively.

The circumstances surrounding Alley's audition are rather tragic, sadly. In the middle of the process, her mom was killed in a car accident and her father was left seriously injured. She stayed next to her father's bedside and Paramount, rather surprisingly, let her take all the time she needed. She spoke to her comatose father every day, telling him all about how she wanted to be an actor now,...

Image Source: Amazon In the movie that made her a star, Clueless, Alicia Silverstone made the character of Cher Horowitz look effortless — almost as if Silverstone had been typecast in the role. But Silverstone, who was 22 when the high school comedy was released, said it wasn’t as easy as it looked. When the film was originally released, she admitted she was absolutely nothing like the character, but she was able to draw plenty of inspiration from writer/director Amy Heckerling’s acclaimed script. (Click on the media bar below to hear Alicia Silverstone) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Alicia_Silverstone_Clueless_like_Her_.mp3

Clueless is streaming on Paramount+ and is available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and most digital platforms.

The post Alicia Silverstone Shares A ‘Clueless’ Secret: She Wasn’t Like Cher At All! appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Besides being famous for never aging a day in his life, Paul Rudd is living proof that being a terrific actor and the nicest guy in show business are terms that aren’t mutually exclusive. A classically-trained actor, Rudd realized early on that comedy was his forte, and he soon found himself much in demand for television work. Not surprisingly, his feature film debut was in a comedy, Amy Heckerling‘s 1995 “Clueless,” which brought Rudd the best reviews of his still-growing career. More film work followed, mostly in comedy but occasionally in dramas, one of which, 1999’s “The Cider House Rules,” brought Rudd his first SAG Award nomination as part of that film’s ensemble cast.

With 2004’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” Rudd began a collaboration with filmmaker Judd Apatow that would change his career. Over the next decade, Rudd would co-star in six films that were either...

Exclusive: Independent Artist Group (Iag) is making a big push in lit with the hire of A3 Artists Agency’s Adam Kanter.

The company is looking to bolster its ranks with directors and writers with Kanter becoming Head of Motion Pictures at the company.

Kanter, who spent three years as Head of A3’s Motion Picture literary department and partner, will bring a slew of clients with him including Girls Trip’s Malcolm Lee, Get Smart’s Pete Segal and There’s Something About Mary’s Bobby Farrelly.

The move was just announced internally by Iag CEO Jim Osborne and EVP, Head of Content Development Kyle Loftus.

The move will see Iag, which was created after APA merged with music touring agency Artist Group International last summer, look to build out its director and writing clients, bringing in more agents and helmers and scribes.

The Motion Picture Department that Kanter will...

The American Film Institute has its sights set on Matthew Libatique.

The Oscar nominated cinematographer, who graduated from the institution in 1992, has been tapped to receive AFI’s Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal. It will be presented during the AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Nicole Kidman at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 27.

The medal is awarded annually “to an alumnus of either the AFI Conservatory or the [AFI Directing Workshop for Women] who best embodies the qualities of the late director: talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality filmmaking.” Schaffner, who died in 1989, won a best director Oscar for Patton in 1970. Recipients of the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal include David Lynch, Edward Zwick, Amy Heckerling, Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, Patty Jenkins, Paul Schrader, Janusz Kamiński, Caleb Deschanel, Lesli Linka Glatter, Rachel Morrison, Melina Matsoukas, Siân Heder and others.

The honor comes as Libatique has earned raves for working on Bradley Cooper...

It's time to rent a Family Truckster, cue up Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road," and hope our wife doesn't catch us checking out a mysterious hot babe in a sports car -- because it's time to rank all of the films in the "Vacation" franchise. Part family drama, part romantic comedy, part slapstick showcase, and 100 percent a showcase for Chevy Chase to prove why he's Chevy Chase and we're not, National Lampoon's "Vacation" series is home to some of the best bits in American comedy cinema.

Whether they're staying at home for the holidays, pressing their luck in Vegas, traveling cross country, or flying overseas, the Griswolds have set the bar hellishly low for family vacations (which means the only place to go is up for the rest of us). Sure, some of the jokes have seen better days, but the longevity of the series lies with the relatable family...

If you like movies about empty-headed dips and their resentful families, then National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies certainly have you covered. Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, is an exemplar -- perhaps the Ur-example -- of a clueless dad obsessed with fulfilling the typical American suburban dream despite a general lack of wit or competence. Clark claims to be an expert in everything, assuring his family that everything will be fine, and yet he displays no acumen or skill, and his family repeatedly witnesses him fail. We sympathize with Clark, however, as many of his failings are the result of bad luck; Clark isn't very good at traversing the daily onus of trivial nonsense, but the world seems cosmically hellbent on punishing him for his incompetence. 

The "Vacation" movies began their life as a short story called "Vacation '58," written by John Hughes and first published in the celebrated "National Lampoon...

At the age of 29, the actor already has four Oscar nominations – but which performance deserved a trophy the most? Ahead of the release of her new sci-fi thriller Foe, we rate her greatest roles

Pre-teen Ronan seems almost shockingly girlish now, but already commands attention as Michelle Pfeiffer’s precocious daughter in her film debut. Amy Heckerling’s underrated romcom is sheer wish fulfilment for older women like me, with Pfeiffer’s fortysomething career woman getting it on with goofy younger guy Paul Rudd.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of the most influential movies of the eighties. It was the first classic teen comedy of the decade, but unlike many other teen-focused flicks, it aspired to be a realistic depiction of what teens go through. In fact, the movie was based on a book by a young Cameron Crowe (who adapted the screenplay) who went undercover as a teen and wrote about his experiences. The movie tackled teen sex, pregnancy, abortion and drugs without any of the doom and gloom the topic would have been presented with had it been made by just about anyone else at the time.

Directed by Amy Heckerling, the movie featured an incredible cast of future stars, including Sean Penn as the stoner icon Spicoli, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates (whose nude scene became one of the most rewound moments of the VHS era), Forest Whitaker,...

Margot Robbie says 'Clueless' inspired her wardrobe in the 'Barbie' movie.The 32-year-old actress stars as the title character in the upcoming movie from Greta Gerwig and revealed that they turned to Amy Heckerling's 1995 classic 'Clueless' for inspiration.Margot told Architectural Digest: "We were saying that the wardrobe in 'Clueless', like, the bar was set so high, and we would really like to do something that is as cool as that."Each day, her outfit is already magically here in her wardrobe. She opens the doors, all she needs to do is look at it, gives a spin, and then it’s on her body and she walks off, and her outfit for the next day is sitting in the wardrobe behind her."Meanwhile, Margot previously revealed she doesn't remember having her own Barbie doll but was obsessed with the famous Dream House.

Paul Rudd. Despite being in the entertainment industry for over three decades, he has managed to remain relevant and consistently deliver remarkable performances. In this article, we’ll explore the various roles that defined his acting journey, and the reasons behind his enduring appeal. So, buckle up as we take you through the fascinating world of Paul Rudd!

Paul Rudd. Depostiphotos Introduction to Paul Rudd

Born on April 6, 1969, in Passaic, New Jersey, Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer. He grew up in a Jewish household and attended the University of Kansas, where he studied theatre. Later on, he furthered his acting education by attending the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts, followed by the British American Drama Academy in London.

Rudd’s professional acting career began in the early 1990s, with initial appearances in television shows such as “Sisters” and “The Moment of Truth.” However, it...

“Hurt but not defeated.” That’s the direction filmmaker Martha Coolidge gave to her star Nicolas Cage as they shot the pivotal breakup scene in the ’80s classic “Valley Girl.” In a filmed conversation from 2003 between the two for the film’s twentieth anniversary, Cage told Coolidge that he has “used that direction ever since” in all of his work.

As the iconic ’80s spin on “Romeo and Juliet” celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 29, and Cage returns to the big screen with his latest film “Renfield” — in which he plays the centuries old Prince of Darkness himself, Count Dracula, recovering from the latest attempt on his life with his familiar Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in New Orleans — it’s clear that the impact of her words still resonate in the performances of the idiosyncratic actor.

He was just 17 years old when he auditioned for the role that would change his life.

Besides being famous for never aging a day in his life, Paul Rudd is living proof that being a terrific actor and the nicest guy in show business are terms that aren’t mutually exclusive. A classically-trained actor, Rudd realized early on that comedy was his forte, and he soon found himself much in demand for television work. Not surprisingly, his feature film debut was in a comedy, Amy Heckerling‘s 1995 “Clueless,” which brought Rudd the best reviews of his still-growing career. More film work followed, mostly in comedy but occasionally in dramas, one of which, 1999’s “The Cider House Rules,” brought Rudd his first SAG Award nomination as part of that film’s ensemble cast.

With 2004’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” Rudd began a collaboration with filmmaker Judd Apatow that would change his career. Over the next decade, Rudd would co-star in six films that were either...

(Welcome to Best Actor Ever, an ongoing series where we explore the careers and performances of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen.)

There is not an actor in the history of moving pictures who has been more egregiously taken for granted by her industry than Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Critics have always had her back. The New York Times' Janet Maslin got it from the jump when she singled Leigh out as "the only thing worth seeing" in her film debut "Eyes of a Stranger." The better-than-average 1981 slasher film set the tone for Leigh's career in that she plays a victim. Her character is a blind-deaf mute whose condition was brought on by being kidnapped and raped at an early age. The 19-year-old Leigh projects sweetness and innocence, but this young woman is all serrated edges. Because she isn't just a victim. She's a survivor.

Roger Ebert was also an early admirer of Leigh,...

Norman Steinberg, the Emmy-winning screenwriter who teamed with Mel Brooks on Blazing Saddles and My Favorite Year and wrote for the Michael Keaton-starring Mr. Mom and Johnny Dangerously, has died. He was 83.

Steinberg died March 15 at his Hudson Valley home in upstate New York, his family announced.

Steinberg also wrote Yes, Giorgio (1982), starring Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti in his feature acting debut, and co-wrote Funny About Love (1990), directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Gene Wilder and Christine Lahti.

The Brooklyn native and former lawyer won his Emmy very early in his career, for his work on a Flip Wilson variety show.

His TV résumé also included developing Marlo Thomas’ 1974 landmark kids special, Free to Be … You & Me (he brought Brooks in on that); serving as a writer and executive producer on the first two seasons of CBS’ Cosby; and creating the short-lived CBS sitcoms Doctor, Doctor and Teech.

Clueless came out in 1995, and since then, it’s become an iconic part of American culture. In fact, it remains so beloved that Alicia Silverstone, who played the starring role of Cher in the film, brought back the character for a commercial during this year’s Super Bowl. Before Clueless became a movie, it was almost created as a TV series instead. But the studio executives passed on the idea because they thought it was missing one important element.

‘Clueless’ was almost a TV show called ‘No Worries’

The brilliant @AmyHeckerling we all love! #Fbf #Clueless pic.twitter.com/35Jvsj1CT2

— Alicia Silverstone (@AliciaSilv) March 3, 2023

Amy Heckerling, the writer and director of Clueless, had a goal: to create an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel Emma with a positive, happy teenage main character. As she explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she thought about this project when she...

We are totally buggin’ out over the possibility of a “Clueless” remake.

Et’s Rachel Smith spoke to Stacey Dash and Elisa Donovan at ’90s Con over the weekend, where they opened up about the likelihood of getting the gang back together for another look at the ’90s classic.

“That would be up to Amy,” Dash said of the decision being down to the film’s director, Amy Heckerling.

“Everybody seems to think that we have some sort of opinion or idea,” Donovan added. “I certainly feel like there is a real desire from fans and the public to see that.”

As for what a remake of the iconic film would look like, Donovan and Dash said they’d like to see the cast as adults.

“I mean, I think seeing them as adults and in their lives as grown-ups and with children or without children would be pretty hilarious,...

In 1995, a movie debuted that was destined to become an iconic part of the culture. Clueless remains so recognizable that even almost 30 years later, star Alicia Silverstone was able to reprise her role as Cher in a commercial that was shown during the 2023 Super Bowl. Paul Rudd was also, of course, part of the cast of Clueless, as Cher’s ex-step-brother and love interest, Josh. But originally, he thought a different role was a better fit for him.

‘Clueless’ was 1 of Paul Rudd’s first big roles

Today marks 25 years since the movie "Clueless" premiered in theaters?

The iconic teen movie remains relevant years later! pic.twitter.com/LAxOADtcoE

— Affinity Magazine (@TheAffinityMag) July 19, 2020

The popular movie was a modern take on the Jane Austen novel Emma. It was directed by Amy Heckerling, and it featured a very talented cast.

The plot was centered on Cher, a teen from Beverly Hills,...

Paul Rudd has been a beloved actor for nearly three decades, with his breakthrough role coming in the 90s teen classic Clueless. His performance as Josh Lucas in the movie set him on course to appear in several comedy classics. However, if Rudd had his own way, he would’ve starred in the film as a different character. He was initially more interested in one of the other attendees of Bronson Alcott High School, but Rudd was talked out of auditioning for that role for reasons he couldn’t really argue with at the time.

Paul Rudd played a sensitive heartthrob in ‘Clueless’

At the beginning of Clueless, Josh and Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) have next to nothing in common. He’s a slightly pretentious college student. She’s a class-obsessed popular girl who can talk her way out of nearly any high school problem she faces. They were also former step-siblings,...

“I once thought that there were no second acts in American lives,” F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, in his notes on The Last Tycoon. To which Cher Horowitz in Clueless would say: “Ugh, as if!”

Nearly 30 years after she spoke those iconic lines, we are witnessing the second act in the career of Alicia Silverstone.

Her Super Bowl ad for shopping platform Rakuten, where she slipped back into Cher’s yellow tartan skirt to recreate the Clueless debate scene, went viral (as did her first TikTok appearance, again as Cher, spoofing the “as if!” scene with her son Bear), returning Silverstone to the top of the pop culture conversation.

In the independent film world, Silverstone has never been hotter. With roles in The Lodge —the 2019 Sundance chiller from Goodnight Mommy directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz — and Jennifer Reeder’s new meta-horror film Perpetrator, which premiered in the Panorama section...

Super Bowl commercials are often a haven of reunions and nostalgia grabs. In years past, they’ve seen the likes of Matthew Broderick return to play himself, similar to his famous Ferris Bueller character. Recently, Zach Galligan reunited with Gizmo for a commercial. Last night, Alicia Silverstone stepped back into her Cher attire for a Clueless tribute for a Super Bowl commercial for Rakuten, Deadline reports.

The Big Game TV Spot depicted Cher Horowitz in her former debate class, being interrupted by her rival, Amber, which sees Eliza Donovan back in the film role as well. The spot mirrors a similar scene in the 1995 Amy Heckerling comedy in which Cher gives a presentation in Mr. Hall’s debate class against the opposing party represented by Amber. In the twist for the TV spot, it’s not the same class, but a modern-day school class.

Cher cheekily states that she “used...

Alicia Silverstone reprised her Clueless role for a Super Bowl Lvii commercial. The actor slipped into her yellow plaid outfit for a TV spot promoting the Rakuten service. Check out the throwback in the video posted above.

The ad starts with Silverstone as Cher Horowitz saying that she “used to be pretty clueless about shopping” in a scene reminiscent of the 1995 film comedy taking place in Mr. Hall’s debate class. To recreate the scene from the Amy Heckerling-directed movie, Cher even had her nemesis Amber, played by Elisa Donovan, next to her.

Another callback from the film takes Silverstone into Cher’s rotating closet picking out clothes, a scene at Rodeo Drive and a location in front of the Horowitz’s Beverly Hills mansion that includes the iconic white Jeep. From the looks of it, Cher hasn’t gotten any better at driving and things keep popping up “out of nowhere.

Alicia Silverstone is Cher Horowitz once again. The actor reprised her iconic role in a “Clueless”-themed ad for Rakuten that ran during the Super Bowl.

The commercial opens with Silverstone walking to the front of a crowded high school classroom. While Supergrass’ period-appropriate 1995 alt-rock hit “Alright” plays in the background, she then turns to the students and addresses them, monologuing about the benefits of the shopping app Rakuten. It’s a scene reminiscent of the classroom debate from Amy Heckerling’s 1995 comedy — and that’s just one of the many callbacks featured in the ad.

Cher’s spinning closet also makes a cameo, as does Rodeo Drive. Another shot, in which Silverstone sits in the driver’s seat of a white Jeep that’s just crashed into a delivery van, makes it clear that — even 28 years later — Cher’s driving skills haven’t gotten much better.

The 30-second spot...

While Paul Rudd's role as Phoebe's boyfriend, Mike Hannigan, in "Friends" may have secured him the status of the nation's favorite boyfriend, it was his role in Amy Heckerling's "Clueless" that earned Rudd the mantle of "heartthrob." Based on Jane Austen's "Emma," Rudd's role as the mild-mannered, smart and snarky Josh was designed as a counterpart to Mr. Knightley, who starts as a kind of cheeky antagonist to the titular Emma Woodhouse before discovering his true feelings. The film follows Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a popular Beverley Hills high-school student with a penchant for matchmaking. She makes it her mission to provide a new student a makeover ... and eventually discovers her feelings for her former stepbrother (played by Rudd).

The ageless actor has been charismatic since his first major motion picture role — Josh has an easy-going charm, he's ambitious and compassionate — not to mention the actor playing him is devastatingly good-looking.

For a new Super Bowl ad for cash-back shopping platform Rakuten, Alicia Silverstone slipped into a yellow tartan skirt to reprise her star-making turn in Amy Heckerling’s iconic 1995 comedy Clueless. But when it comes to the big game, it turns out Silverstone is just as adorably oblivious as Cher Horowitz.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever watched the Super Bowl in my life,” the actress tells THR by phone from Amsterdam, where she’s shooting a movie. “If I didn’t have this commercial for Rakuten, I wouldn’t know when the Super Bowl was.”

No doubt countless Clueless fans are glad she got that sorted out so they can see her opposite Elisa Donovan’s Amber in the well-known (and much quoted) debate scene. “It was nothing short of surreal,” Donovan told THR of getting the gang back together for the spot that was developed by Rakuten’s in-house marketing team,...

Alicia Silverstone has returned to her film roots 27 years after Clueless hit theaters and changed the fashion world. In honor of Super Bowl Lvii, the shopping site Rakuten chose one of the 1995 film’s most iconic scenes to recreate in an ad. Not only did Alicia return to embody Cher Horowitz, but Elisa Donovan also donned her fashionable best to play Cher’s rival, Amber Mariens. Here are the details.

Alicia Silverstone in 1995’s ‘Clueless’ | CBS via Getty Images ‘Clueless’ started a fashion revolution

Clueless was a film that captured the essence of 1990s glam fashion. The New York Times wrote that grunge fashion dominated the industry during that period. This was replicated in the film by several characters, including Brittany Murphy’s Tai. The bright, bold colors worn by the lead female characters caused a sensation due to their take on a typical schoolgirl uniform, punched up a notch.

Writer Alex Tse discusses a few of his favorite films with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rrr (2022)

Watchmen (2009)

Superfly (2018)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

Independence Day (1996)

Clueless (1995)

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)

The Goonies (1985)

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984)

Infested (2002)

Straw Dogs (1971) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary, Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Joe Dante’s review

Altered States (1980) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

Return Of The Ape Man (1944)

Major League (1989)

The Sting (1973)

Angels In The Outfield (1951)

Rocky (1976)

Slap Shot (1977) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Eight Men Out (1988)

Heavy Metal (1981)

Fritz The Cat (1972) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Killer Snakes (1974)

Zodiac (2007)

Se7en (1995)

Dirty Harry (1971) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary,...

Alicia Silverstone reprises her most iconic role for a special Super Bowl appearance.

The “Clueless” star is back as Cher for Rakuten’s high school-inspired ad, complete with a mock debate over the merits of online shopping.

“I used to be pretty clueless about shopping,” Silverstone as Cher says in the commercial alongside arch-nemesis Amber (Elissa Donovan). But Cher doesn’t even wait for Amber’s “re-brutal” rebuttal as a montage of Cher’s revolving closet and crashed Jeep Wrangler show just how easy it is to shop thanks to Rakuten.

“Project Runway” winner and current host Christian Siriano even reimagined the iconic yellow plaid suit for the updated take on “Clueless.”

“Um, hello, dream project. I recently got to reimagine The outfit from ‘Clueless’ for my good friend @aliciasilverstone for the upcoming Big Game @rakuten commercial,” Siriano wrote on Instagram. “(My fav place to score cash back by the by.

The Super Bowl hasn't actually happened yet, but as is tradition these days, we're already getting a good look at many of the biggest commercials that are set to run during the game. Does this take pretty much all of the joy and surprise out of actually experiencing them live without any warning? Yes. Are some of them still a lot of fun? Also yes.

Among the batch of early releases is a commercial for the online cash back program Rakuten, which works as an extension on your computer or an app on your phone that helps you get coupons and cash back when shopping. Rakuten went all out for their Super Bowl commercial with a scene that features one of the most recognizable characters in teen movie history: Cher Horowitz from "Clueless." Alicia Silverstone is reprising the role she played 28 years ago, alongside Elisa Donovan, who played antagonist Amber in the film.