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Jason Statham's The Beekeeper seemingly came out of nowhere in 2024 to be a cult action hit. Directed by David Ayer (Fury), the film stars Statham as Adam Clay, a.k.a. The Beekeeper, a member of a secret government group of assassins who seeks vengeance on a criminal empire run by corporate suits and even pollenticians. The film also stars Jeremy Irons, Josh Hutcherson, Taylor James, Jemma Redgrave, and Minnie Driver. Action fans love Jason Statham's high-kicking, over-the-top style of action. But a real Navy Seal wasn't as impressed with the movie and gave it a score for realism that's got to sting.

DJ Shipley is a former Navy Seal who sat down with Insider to watch close-quarters battle scenes from various action movies. The Beekeeper was one of the first films he was shown, and he immediately began dismantling the film. "Cqb is supposed to be formed in a team,...

The Beekeeper 2 is moving forward quickly, as the highly-anticipated sequel has now secured a theatrical distributor and an impending production start. Starring Jason Statham in the title role, The Beekeeper was a revenge thriller released in 2024 that quickly became one of the actor's highest-grossing solo action films. The Stath will return as the nation's lethal protector in a fast-moving sequel that has Amazon buzzing with excitement (and money).

According to Deadline, Amazon MGM Studios has officially acquired the worldwide distribution rights to The Beekeeper 2 in a hefty deal worth more than $50 million. The sequel will begin production this fall, which will be directed by Timo Tjahjanto (Nobody 2), who is taking over the reins after David Ayer helmed the first installment. Kurt Wimmer will return to write the screenplay for the upcoming sequel. Amazon MGM distributed The Beekeeper in 2024 to box office success, grossing $162 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.

Let’s be honest. The first thing that comes to mind when you hear that Jason Statham is gonna star in a movie is the fact that the action is gonna be good. And not without reason.

The Meg star has time and again proved his mettle before the world. A Working Man is a testament to his skill set. And director David Ayer believes that it has a lot to do with everything that started in 1998 with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

David Ayer and Jason Statham have reunited for A Working Man Jason Statham knows a thing or two about being a part of action flicks || Lionsgate UK

Director David Ayer has worked with many big names over the years, including the likes of Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, and Jon Bernthal, among other heavyweights.

No wonder he has a fond memory of working...

Jason Statham scored a huge hit with The Beekeeper in 2024, and his reteaming with director David Ayer for A Working Man seemed like a surefire repeat of that success, especially with action veteran Sylvester Stallone also in the mix. However, despite landing mixed reviews from critics but a staggering 91% Rotten Tomatoes score from audiences, the film’s box office looks to have downed tools and took a day off.

A Working Man stars Statham as Levon Cade, a former black ops soldier who is taking things easy as a construction worker. However, when his boss’s daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers, it doesn’t take long for that old Statham charm to break out… by which we mean, people are going to get kicked around a bit.

The film landed an initial critics score of 64%, but has since dropped to 55% on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. However, after opening with previews on Thursday,...

After waiting far too long for official confirmation, The Beekeeper 2 is now happening, with Jason Statham set to return as the mysterious former assassin Adam Clay in the action thriller follow-up. The Stath will join forces with The Night Comes for Us, The Shadow Strays, and Nobody 2 director Timo Tjahjanto, who has now taken to social media to possibly hint at the first details about the sequel...and the possible return of a crowd-pleasing character.

Taking to his official X/Twitter account, the action filmmaker shared an image from one of the best fight scenes in The Beekeeper, which sees Statham’s assassin come up against Lazarus (played by Taylor James), a South African mercenary who has experience killing Beekeepers and leads his own team of killers and hired guns. Following a brutal exchange of fists, which concludes with Statham getting the upper hand and seemingly killing the villain,...

Exclusive: Public relations firm 42West has elevated five longtime publicity pros in its Entertainment Marketing Division to VP. The list includes Taylor James, Kate Lowell, Kabeer Malhotra, Stacey Tesser and Nesma Youssef.

42West’s Entertainment Marketing Division, headed by presidents Tom Piechura and Scott Feinstein in New York and Annalee Paulo in Los Angeles, develops and executes publicity campaigns for films, TV, podcasts, filmmakers, production companies, film festivals and more.

“Kabeer, Kate, Nesma, Stacey and Taylor are an integral part of our bicoastal team and have been the foundation of our success of 42West’s Entertainment Marketing Division for many years,” said Piechura, Feinstein and Paulo. “With their incredible expertise, solid industry relationships and never-ending commitment, they each excel at strategizing and driving first-rate campaigns for our clients. They are proven leaders and we are thrilled to launch this well-deserved new chapter in their careers.”

James joined 42West in September...

Exclusive: Rising producer Anna Dragoo has joined the recently launched production company Objectively Good Media as Head of Development.

Dragoo comes to Ogm after a year and a half as an executive producer at OB42, where she established and oversaw the U.S. production division, producing for an exclusive roster of award-winning directors including Carlos López Estrada, Sean Wang, and Sandy Honig. In her new role, she will spearhead the production of feature films, TV shows, and podcasts for Ogm that amplify emerging talent with distinct perspectives and compelling narratives.

Most recently, Dragoo was an exec producer on the film I Love You, Bye, directed by Taylor James and starring Meg Stalter, Rainn Wilson and Benito Skinner. She started in television at Digital Ranch Productions, which developed and produced shows for the Discovery and History Channels. To date, her portfolio of over 150 projects includes scripted films, documentaries, music videos, commercials,...

Hulu is ready with an entertainment-packed August this year. The upcoming month will see the return of some of Hulu’s best original shows including Only Murders in the Building and also new hit movies like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Just like every month, Hulu is ready to overload with you great content including new and old movies and TV Shows. So, we’re here to tell you about the 10 best movies and TV shows coming to Hulu in August 2024.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (August 2)

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a sci-fi action film directed by Wes Ball from a screenplay by Josh Friedman. The 2024 film serves as a standalone sequel to the 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes and it is the fourth entry into the Planet of the Apes reboot film series and the tenth film in the overall film franchise.

The Beekeeper is an action-packed thriller that follows the story of Adam Clay, a former special forces operative turned beekeeper, who is caught in a web of deceit and vengeance. The cast is led by Jason Statham in one of his best recent action roles. Supporting stars include Emmy Raver-Lampman and Josh Hutcherson.

The Beekeeper boasts an impressive ensemble cast led by action star Jason Statham, starring as Adam Clay, a former member of the secretive Beekeeper organization. Directed by David Ayer, the action-thriller begins when Clay's close friend falls victim to a phishing scam, prompting him to come out of retirement and seek revenge. As he delves deeper, he uncovers a more sinister plot behind the scammers. Despite its relatively thin plot and character development, The Beekeeper's reviews have praised its expertly staged fight sequences and engaging dynamics, particularly between Clay and Agent Verona Parker.

The film was a massive box office success,...

The Sudanese drama Goodbye Julia is continuing its impressive awards run, earning the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature over the weekend at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California.

Mohamed Kordofani directed the story set in the context of the secessionist movement that led to the establishment of the independent nation of South Sudan in 2011.

“We commend the festival for its impressive selection of narrative features and unanimously select Goodbye Julia as the best film,” jurors wrote. “An outstanding first feature from Mohamed Kordofani, anchored by two stellar performances from Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak, Goodbye Julia provides a glimpse into a culture and region that’s underrepresented and underexplored in contemporary cinema.”

The jury, comprised of Rosa Bosch (Begin Again Films), Tyler Coates (The Hollywood Reporter), Rebecca Fisher (Magnolia Pictures), Jason Hellerstein (Sideshow), and Julie Huntsinger (Telluride Film Festival), awarded a Special Mention to Hesitation Wound, describing...

The 27th Sonoma International Film Festival (March 20-24), as always, leaned into wine and food with the sold-out opening night U.S. premiere of Thomas Napper’s “Widow Clicquot” (Vertical Entertainment), starring Haley Bennett as the woman who saves the legendary winemaker’s legacy. The wine country film festival drew its highest audience attendance to date with a robust film slate programmed by artistic director Carl Spence (working with Executive Director Ginny Krieger), in his second year, including upcoming specialty fare like Luc Besson’s “DogMan” (Briarcliff Entertainment) starring Caleb Landry Jones in an incendiary performance, and Sony Pictures Classics’ raucous comedy “Wicked Little Letters,” starring Olivia Colman, along with a smattering of yummy wine and food events.

The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...

Truth be told, I had little to no interest in seeing The Beekeeper. While I love action films, I felt burnt out by Jason Statham’s most recent run of movies, including The Meg 2, Operation Fortune, and Expend4bles. My chief complaint about Statham was that he always played characters that were too perfectly tailored to his persona and that his fight scenes had become predictable, with him rarely facing off with an opponent that seemed like a credible threat. Thus, I had no qualms about assigning the review to one of our other critics, Tyler Nichols, who did a great job with his (positive) write-up. To be clear, don’t consider this a “review”. It’s more an an editorial.

So why did I bother seeing The Beekeeper if I thought I’d hate it and had no intention of reviewing it? Simple – I was bored on Saturday afternoon.

Jason Statham has a whole new batch of scumbags to take apart in his latest action film The Beekeeper (read our review Here), which is set to reach theatres this Friday, January 12th – so check your local listings and you might even get to catch an early screening tonight. In anticipation of the film’s release, we’ve gotten our hands on an Exclusive featurette that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s stunts and fights, and you can watch that in the embed above.

Directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad) from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium), The Beekeeper shows what happens when one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers.

Statham is joined in the cast by Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Umbrella Academy), Bobby Naderi (Black Summer...

If you were concerned there wouldn’t be enough unsubtle apiculture metaphors for meting out justice via hellacious ass-whooping in The Beekeeper, you can relax. Even if director David Ayer remains in his usual mode of glowering self-seriousness, whenever Jason Statham snarls about “protecting the hive” or “smoking out the hornets” or “killing the queen,” you get an inkling of how much fun this violent revenge thriller might have been in more playful hands. Still, watching the bullet-headed action star take down squads of government agents and thuggish mercenaries alike, mostly while unarmed, is fun enough. Probably even more so in Imax.

In a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer that’s nothing if not literal, Statham plays Adam Clay, a retired field operative from a top-secret national security force designed to step in and restore order whenever some nefarious criminal situation gets out of hand. Even though he’s no longer a “Beekeeper,...

Bee-related puns and metaphors are the order of the day in David Ayer’s The Beekeeper. For all the specificity in these half-hearted stabs at humor and thematic resonance, including a groan-worthy reference to a certain soliloquy from Hamlet, the world of the film is unduly nebulous. It’s not unlike a partially completed sketch whose occasional flashes of color only serve to remind us how incomplete and lazily constructed the rest of it is.

Take the film’s hero, Adam Clay (Jason Statham), a simple beekeeper trying to enjoy his early retirement by making honey in the barn of the older woman, Eloise (Phylicia Rashad), who takes care of him. Clay’s affinity toward the woman, who’s ostensibly just his landlord, is easy enough to overlook, and his extreme reaction to her suicide after she’s scammed out of her retirement money and $2 million of charity money she...

Exclusive: Megan Stalter (Hacks), Kanoa Goo (The Rookie), and Rainn Wilson (The Office) will topline Ily, Bye, a new short marking the narrative debut of veteran music video helmer Taylor James (Jason Mraz’s “I Feel Like Dancing”), which has wrapped production.

The short written and directed by James follows Siobhan (Stalter), a quirky, socially anxious mess who can’t seem to keep a job. Thanks to the help of her best friend Gary (Goo), she scores an interview with his boss, Mr. Litchfield (Wilson). But when her call to schedule the interview goes to voicemail, Siobhan panics and leaves a series of unhinged messages. Not wanting to lose the interview, she embarks on a chaotic mission to delete the voicemails herself. James jokes that he decided to start from scratch and pursue his dream of filmmaking “after being forced to retire” from his career as a professional backup dancer...

Muna are dressing for revenge in the music video for their new single, “One That Got Away.”

In a statement, Muna’s Katie Gavin described the new pop-rock gem as “just rubbing your hot ass in the face of someone who messed up their chance of being with you,” adding, “It’s a bit vengeful and mean, but also fun. Fuck it. Once I sent Naomi [McPherson] and Jo [Maskin] the demo they really took the cockiness in the lyric and vocal performance and carried it to the extreme with the production of the track.

Muna have unveiled their latest single, a funky pop bop entitled “One That Got Away.” They initially debuted the song at Coachella this past weekend, and they’ve now released its cinematic music video. Watch below.

Grounded by a booming kick-snare beat and a pulsing electro bass line, the song becomes a vehicle for the trio’s dancey pop style. In a statement, the band’s Katie Gavin said: “This song is just rubbing your hot ass in the face of someone who messed up their chance of being with you. It’s a bit vengeful and mean, but also fun. Fuck it.”

Continuing, Gavin explained how she and her bandmates — Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson — collaborated on the single: “Once I sent Naomi and Jo the demo, they really took the cockiness in the lyric and vocal performance and carried it to the extreme with the production of the track.

Sigrid Thornton and Aaron Pedersen.

Screen Australia has announced $4 million worth of production investment for one film, two television series and three online projects. They include a film adaptation of book Penguin Bloom, starring Naomi Watts and produced by Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories; a second season of ABC series Mystery Road; Nine’s Seachange reboot; and Roborovski, a Vr project from Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Dev Patel.

Penguin Bloom, to be directed by Glendyn Ivin, is based on the book by Bradley Trevor Greive and has been adapted for the screen by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps. It follows the true story of a family from Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Watts is Sam Bloom, a young mother who has a near-fatal accident that leaves her unable to walk. As her family struggles to come to terms with their new situation, an injured magpie chick dubbed “Penguin” enters their lives and helps them to cope.

Louisa May Alcott adaptation ‘Little Women’ is another of the titles offered to buyers.

Pure Flix/Quality Flix is screening four new features in Cannes to offer to buyers – works-in-progress Little Women and Indivisible, along with recent Us releases God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness, and Samson.

Indivisible screens in the market on May 14, and recounts the story of a Us Army chaplain whose faith is tested when he returns home from combat. Madeline Carroll, Sarah Drew, Jason George, Skye P. Marshall and Eric Close star.

Little Women is based on the Louisa May Alcott classic novel about...

Discovered by Paul Verhoeven, who launched his global career with performances in Turkish Delight (1973) and Soldier of Orange (1977), Dutch actor Rutger Hauer seared himself into cinema history with the “Tears in the Rain” speech (which he wrote himself) in Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner.

He is in Berlin to promote Pure Flix's biblical action drama Samson, in which he plays Manoah, the father of the legendary strongman (played by Taylor James).

Hauer, 74, spoke to THR about his favorite roles, why films today “lack balls” and his take on the Blade Runner sequel.

Have you...

Berlin sales roster includes latest instalment in God’s Not Dead franchise.

Pure Flix/Quality Flix arrives at the Efm in Berlin with four new titles led by the imminent release Samson.

Vice-president of international sales Ron Gell will kick off talks at the market on Samson, which Pure Flix launches in the Us on Friday (February 12) on 1,000 screens.

The film is styled as the story of the world’s first superhero and follows the life of the child born with supernatural strength in ancient times who grows up to lead his oppressed tribe against the mighty empire of his day.

Taylor James, Billy Zane, Jackson Rathbone, Rutger Hauer, Lindsay Wagner and Caitlin Leahy star in Samson, which screens in the market on February 16 and 18.

Pure Flix/Quality Flix will also screen the latest instalment in the God’s Not Dead franchise, God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, featuring a cast of...

Sneak Peek more new footage, plus images from "Samson", the upcoming biblical feature starring Jackson Rathbone, Billy Zane, Taylor James, Rutger Hauer and Lindsay Wagner, opening February 16, 2018:

"...after losing the love of his life to a cruel 'Philistine' prince, a long-haired young man with supernatural strength defends his people, sacrificing everything to avenge his love, his people and his faith..."

'Samson', meaning 'man of the sun' was the last of the judges of the ancient 'Israelites' in the 'Book of Judges' from the 'Old Testament'.

The biblical account states Samson was given immense strength to fight his enemies allowing him to kill a lion with his bare hands...

...slay an entire army with the jawbone of an ass...

...and destroy a temple of the Philistines.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Samson"...

"Remember the prophecy..." PureFlix has unveiled a trailer for the new religious propaganda movie called Samson, an epic cinematic version of the Samson and Delilah story from the bible. Normally we wouldn't post trailers for these kinds of religious films, but I'm making an exception for this because it has such a wildly fun cast - Billy Zane as King Balek, Jackson Rathbone as Rallah, plus Rutger Hauer & Lindsay Wagner as Samson's father & mother, Manoah and Zealphonis. The movie stars newcomer Taylor James as the Hebrew hero, with Caitlin Leahy as Delilah. This movie looks crazy epic with huge VFX and big sets, even though it was independently financed. The story follows a young Hebrew with supernatural strength who defends his people, sacrificing everything to avenge his love, his people, and his God. Yeah, sounds fun. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Bruce Macdonald & Gabriel Sabloff's Samson, direct from...

Sneak Peek new footage, plus images from "Samson", the upcoming biblical feature starring Jackson Rathbone, Billy Zane, Taylor James, Rutger Hauer and Lindsay Wagner, opening February 16, 2018:

"...after losing the love of his life to a cruel 'Philistine' prince, a long-haired young man with supernatural strength defends his people, sacrificing everything to avenge his love, his people and his faith..."

'Samson', meaning 'man of the sun' was the last of the judges of the ancient 'Israelites' mentioned in the 'Book of Judges' in the 'Old Testament'.

The biblical account states Samson was given immense strength to fight his enemies  and allow him to perform eventful feats, including the killing of a lion with his bare hands...

...slaying an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple of the Philistines.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Samson"...

Sneak Peek new images from "Samson", the upcoming biblical feature starring Jackson Rathbone, Billy Zane, Taylor James, Rutger Hauer and Lindsay Wagner, opening February 16, 2018:

"...after losing the love of his life to a cruel 'Philistine' prince, a long-haired young man with supernatural strength defends his people, sacrificing everything to avenge his love, his people and his faith..."

'Samson', meaning 'man of the sun' was the last of the judges of the ancient 'Israelites' mentioned in the 'Book of Judges' in the 'Old Testament'.

The biblical account states Samson was given immense strength to fight his enemies  and allow him to perform eventful feats, including the killing of a lion with his bare hands...

...slaying an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple of the Philistines with his bare hands.

Click the images to enlarge...

Christian Cinema in Cannes

Industry vet Ron Gell is working Cannes with Pure Flix, the faith-based international sales agent and U.S. distributor. He has done very well with “The Case for Christ” screening at the Marche. Among its buyers are U.K.-Kaleidoscope, Australia/ New Zealand-Crossroads, Germany-Great Movies, Latin America-California Filmes, Poland-Rafael Films, Philippines-Rafaella Films, So. Korea-cbs, Africa-cmd. “The Case For Christ” has grossed more than $14m in North America since it opened last month. Mike Vogel, Erika Christensen, L. Scott Caldwell, Faye Dunaway, and Robert Forster star in the adaptation of Lee Strobel’s bestseller about an atheist reporter who sets out to debunk Christianity as a cult.

Pure Flix is also showing early footage from “Samson”. Billy Zane. Taylor James, Billy Zane, Rutger Hauer, Lindsay Wagner and Caitlin Leahy star in the Biblical story of a child born with supernatural strength who grows up to...

Finally.

After weeks off the air, One Tree Hill returns with a new episode on Monday, January 18. While The CW is hyping that date as the series premiere of Life Unexpected, another major development will also take place:

Taylor James returns to Tree Hill!

Watch a preview of the episode, "Weeks Go By Like Days," below; followed by a trio of images from the upcoming installment.

Weeks Go By Like Days Promo

As always, fans can - nay, should! - browse through our One Tree Hill quotes section to be reminded of some of this show's best one-liners.