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Ahead of the Academy Awards this weekend, a look back at legendary Oscars host Billy Crystal and his classic opening songs.

Conan O’Brien will hosting the 97th Oscars this weekend. It’s a pretty solid choice by the Academy after a slew of slightly dull (and even calamitous) ceremonies.

Even if O’Brien absolutely nails the gig, it’s unlikely he’ll be anywhere near as good as the best host of the modern Oscars: Billy Crystal. Crystal hosted the ceremony a total of nine times and made it look easy. His opening monologues have become iconic, thanks to his quick wit and cracking songs.

Crystal hosted the Oscars for the first time in 1990 and opened the show with a joke about the previous year’s opening act. “Is it me or are you just glad I’m not Snow White?” Crystal joked, referencing the awful sketch with Rob Lowe...

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This March, Max is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the highly anticipated return of the brilliant comedy series The Righteous Gemstones to the streaming release of Hugh Grant‘s terrifying horror film Heretic. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Max next month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 5 best films coming to Max in September 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Men in Black (March 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91% Credit – Sony Pictures

Men in Black is a sci-fi action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Ed Solomon. Based on the comic book The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham, the 1997 film follows Agent K and Agent J, two people from a top-secret agency that monitors the extraterrestrials on Earth.

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The musician-to-actor pipeline is nothing new, but few films are as notorious as Performance, the Mick Jagger vehicle that was so appalling to Warner Bros. that they shelved it for 18 months. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll are just the start — the gritty gangster flick has plenty of violence, too.

In the intervening half-century since its release it’s become a cult classic, and to certify its film buff bona fides,...

As far as crime movies go, 1990's "Goodfellas" remains the gold standard as one of the best mob movies ever made. The film offered a more humanistic perspective into the world of organized crime through the eyes of aspiring mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). With this focus, "Goodfellas" offered a look at how the dangers and vices of crime impacted domestic lives, influencing the entire genre. Fortunately, for fans of "Goodfellas," there are plenty of crime movies to check out that share similar themes and sensibilities.

From sagas spanning generations of mobster families to classic rises to illicit power, there are countless crime movies like "Goodfellas." Many of these movies even share major cast members and the behind-the-scenes crew, bringing another level to these visible similarities. While each of these crime films stand proudly on their own, they also share DNA with Martin Scorsese's 1990 enduring crime story. 

Here are the 15 best movies like "Goodfellas.

The late Hollywood star Ray Liotta once revealed that he turned down the offer to star in the hit TV crime drama The Sopranos. Released in 1999, the groundbreaking mafia series became a massive success and is widely regarded as one of the most influential TV shows of all time.

Ray Liotta in Unlawful Entry | Credit: 20th Century Fox

However, while the actor did eventually star in a prequel film of the show, Liotta admitted that he initially turned down the Emmy-winning series, admitting that his decision was largely driven by his own ego.

Ray Liotta explained why he turned down the offer to star in The Sopranos

Considered one of the greatest TV shows of all time, The Sopranos follows the life of Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mob boss, as he navigates the challenges of his personal life while dealing with organized crime.

Ray Liotta, known for playing the...

From no network wanting to run it, to now being one of the most highly acclaimed shows out there, The Sopranos truly revolutionised television. Its popularity knew no bounds, and James Gandolfini’s portrayal of Tony Soprano became a household name. He was a huge part of the show that perfectly brought forth psychological elements with a mix of crime drama.

Michael Imperioli and James Gandolfini as Christopher Moltisanti and Tony Soprano in The Sopranos | Credits: HBO

While the show deeply captivated audiences with its storytelling, Michael Imperioli’s comments about it might change something for the fans. For him, The Sopranos was much more than just a crime drama.

Michael Imperioli had some strong words for The Sopranos

The Sopranos had an interesting beginning. From being rejected by every major network to becoming one of the greatest shows of all time, it has surely come a long way. While...

Shutter Island is arguably one of the best thriller movies ever made and easily one of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s best collaborations. Based on Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same name, the 2010 film follows a Deputy U.S. Marshal who comes to the titular location to investigate a psychiatric facility after one of the patients goes missing.

Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island was released 15 years ago (Credit: Paramount).

The film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success. It also features one of the best twist endings in a thriller, complete with a hard quote that forces viewers to rethink the events leading up to the climax. As a result, it is no wonder fans haven’t forgotten the movie on its 15th anniversary and lauded Scorsese for his work. Here is why Shutter Island is remembered, including one of the hardest quotes of all time.

Shutter Island...

A Hawaii-set crime thriller, directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring an all-star cast, will see the filmmaker return to the mobster genre once again.

Reports of a new Martin Scorsese project have surfaced, and it looks as though the filmmaker is making a crime caper. According to Deadline, the veteran director will add a new movie about mobsters to a body of work that already includes Goodfellas, Gangs Of New York, Casino, The Departed and The Irishman.

This time around, Hawaii is the location, and Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson, stars of Jungle Cruise, and A24’s upcoming Mma drama, The Smashing Machine, reportedly brought the project to regular collaborators Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The pair must have liked what they heard because the whole package of story, director and stars is now being shopped around Hollywood and won’t be short of an interested party or two, we’d imagine.

Martin Scorsese is lining up a major new project, and it’s already shaping up to be one of the hottest packages in Hollywood. The legendary director is set to helm a crime drama starring Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Emily Blunt. The film, currently untitled, will be written by journalist and author Nick Bilton and is inspired by real events.

The story focuses on a powerful and ruthless Hawaiian crime boss in the 1960s and 70s, a figure reminiscent of Robert De Niro’s Jimmy the Gent from Goodfellas. This mob leader fought to establish dominance in Hawaii’s criminal underworld, battling mainland syndicates and corporate interests while striving to protect his homeland.

The film is described as a sweeping crime saga, marking another venture into the gangster genre for Scorsese, who previously explored similar themes in The Departed and Goodfellas.

This project brings together an impressive team of producers,...

HBO original series “The Righteous Gemstones,” Max original Spanish-language series “When No One Sees Us,” reality series “Paul American,” original film “The Parenting,” HBO original documentary series “Celtics City,” A24 films “Heretic,” “Sing Sing,” and “Queer,” 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship are all coming to Max this March.

Here’s a list of every movie, series, and sports event coming to the platform next month.

March 1

A Lost Lady (1934)

A Woman’s Face (1941)

Aew Special Events, 2020A (2020)

Aew Special Events, 2021A (2021)

Aew Special Events, 2022A (2022)

Aew Special Events, 2023A (2023)

Aew Special Events, 2024A (2024)

Along the Great Divide (1951)

Arrow in the Dust (1954)

Assassin’s Creed (2016)

Away We Go (2009)

Big Eyes (2014)

Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)

Carrie (1976)

Carrie (2013)

Child’s Play (1988)

Child’s Play (2019)

Executive Suite (1954)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Goodbye, My Fancy (1951)

GoodFellas (1990)

Jeopardy (1953)

Ladies They Talk About (1933)

Maggie (2015)

Massacre River (1949)

Men in Black (1997)

Men in Black II (2002)

Men in Black III (2012)

My Reputation (1946)

Night Nurse...

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Thursday’s Ghosts. Proceed at your own risk!

This week’s Ghosts brought about a big realization for Pete and marked a major milestone for series star Rose McIver.

More from TVLine<em>Ghosts</em> Casts Alexander Hamilton — Get a First Look at <em>Loot’</em>s Nat Faxon as Founding Father<em>Ghosts’</em> Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar Talk Double Possession, Big Jay Twist and That <em>iZombie</em> Nod (Video)Severance Recap: John Noble Hams It Up - and Is [Spoiler] Actually a Villain?

The actress made her directorial debut with the episode, titled “Ghostsfellas,” which revealed that the travel...

Robert De Niro has officially made his first big foray into television in the Netflix political thriller “Zero Day,” which premiered on Thursday. The Oscar-winning actor known for films like “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather Part II” said that the opportunity to jump into the TV space and meet showrunner Eric Newman came through a conversation with his agent.

“I was talking with my agent about doing something in New York, where I could be there for five or six months and the limited series was the way to go and he introduced me to Eric. And as I was reading the material and so on, I committed to it,” De Niro told TheWrap. “He had good people with him, Noah Oppenheim, Michael Schmidt, and the three of these guys put this really good script together. So I was lucky that it was a project that I didn’t...

Max has revealed the full list of featured programming coming to the streaming service in March 2025. Among the highlights are the arrival of a trio of A24 films: Heretic, the psychological horror film in which Hugh Grant terrorizes two missionaries who knock on his door; Sing Sing, the acclaimed drama about a group of incarcerated men who put on their own theatrical production; and Queer, Luca Guadagnino’s adaption of the William S. Burroughs’ novella of the same name.

This month will also see the premiere of the final season of The Righteous Gemstones, a new documentary on the Boston Celtics, titled, Celtics City, and the premiere of Paul American, a new reality series starring Jake and Logan Paul.

Find what other movies and shows are streaming on Max beginning in March 2025 below.

Titles Coming To Max In March:

*This list may not be comprehensive and is subject to change...

For an actor who played one of the most famous gimmicks in the realm of pro wrestling, Dwayne Johnson’s feats in the realm of acting have been quite underwhelming. This isn’t surprising, as in the past, the WWE icon has prioritized his brand image over the quality of his movies, contributing to several forgettable action features.

Pain & Gain | Credit: Paramount Pictures

However, since the Black Adam debacle, it appears Johnson is going back to his roots, and his potential collaboration with one cinema great might change the infamous narrative surrounding his acting chops forever.

The Martin Scorsese film can change the discourse surrounding Dwayne Johnson Martin Scorsese in Killers of the Flower Moon | Credit: Apple TV+

Dwayne Johnson has had a knack for working with directors for hire, which allowed him to be himself on the big screen. While it did work from a brand perspective, it...

Robert De Niro is set to make his TV debut in “Zero Day.” The Netflix series follows a former U.S. president who’s tapped to lead a commission tasked with tracking down the perpetrators of a devastating cyberattack responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, only to discover a vast web of lies and conspiracies.

The limited series, which premieres Feb. 20, comes from co-creators Eric Newman (“Griselda”) and Noah Oppenheim (“Jackie”). Lesli Linka Glatter is an executive producer and director of all six episodes. De Niro, Michael S. Schmidt and Jonathan Glickman also executive produce the series.

Below is a round-up of the star-studded “Zero Day” cast joining De Niro in the political thriller and where else you may have seen them.

George Mullen (Robert De Niro) Robert De Niro in “Zero Day” (Netflix)

George Mullen is a hugely popular but complicated former US president who’s pulled...

Emily Blunt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Dwayne Johnson are joining forces with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese for a new movie, and it’s shaping up to be a big one!

The trio of actors are set to star in a drama set in Hawaii. It’s been described as a blend of Martin‘s iconic movies Goodfellas and The Departed.

Keep reading to find out more…

Deadline exclusively broke the news about the project, noting that the team had brought on Nick Bilton for the script and that studios are actively interested in landing the movie.

Some details about the plot have been revealed. The story is about “a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, based on a real figure, who battled encroaching rivals for control of organized crime in Hawaii.” He then “[wages] a brutal war against mainland corporations and rival syndicates while fighting to preserve his ancestral land.”

The movie, which does...

“Goodfellas” in Hawaii? That’s the new package gaining steam in Hollywood, which sees Martin Scorsese direct Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Emily Plot in a period crime thriller set in the Aloha State.

Read More: Martin Scorsese Gushes About Robert Eggers & ‘Nosferatu’: “Amazing, Anything This Guy Does, Amazing”

Deadline reports that, yes, despite how ridiculous this idea sounds, the pitch is real, and it has Tinsel Town in an uproar.

Continue reading Martin Scorsese To Direct Hawaii-Set Period Crime Drama Starring Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio & Emily Blunt at The Playlist.

Martin Scorsese is looking to direct a new thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Emily Blunt. The film is described as Goodfellas meets The Departed, but set in Hawaii.

Scorsese and the three aforementioned actors, among others, would serve as the producers of the movie, with a script written by Nick Bilton (Netflix’s Biggest Heist Ever).

According to Deadline, “The film focuses on a turbulent time on the island paradise when an aspiring mob boss battled rival crime factions to wrest control of the underworld of the Hawaiian islands. It was a bloody battle, the kind of terrain Scorsese covered in both Goodfellas and The Departed … It’s based on the untold true story of a man who fought to preserve his homeland through a ruthless quest for absolute power.”

Johnson and Blunt, who’ve worked together on Jungle Cruise and the upcoming film The Smashing Machine,...

Director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio have made six movies together so far – Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) – and they’re always looking to get another collaboration off the ground. Recently, we’ve heard rumblings that they could reunite for a Frank Sinatra biopic or the true crime serial killer project The Devil in the White City. Now, there’s another Scorsese / DiCaprio project being pitched, as Deadline reports that Jungle Cruise and Smashing Machine co-stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are attached to star in a Scorsese-directed, Hawaii-set crime drama alongside DiCaprio.

Nick Bilton is set to write the screenplay for the film. Here’s what Deadline has heard about it: Imagine Robert De Niro’s Jimmy the Gent character from Goodfellas, but as a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, based on a real figure,...

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are attached to produce a new film based on an original idea from Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

The Hawaii-set crime caper, which is currently being shopped to studios and streamers, is drawing comparisons in the industry to “The Departed” and “Goodfellas.” Even in spirit, there are no deals in place and the viability of the project depends on a distributor, according to multiple sources familiar with the package, but the untitled drama is set to be written by author and journalist Nick Bilton, who helmed the 2021 HBO documentary “Fake Famous.”

Johnson and Blunt, who previously worked together on “Jungle Cruise,” brought the project to Scorsese and DiCaprio, and once they expressed interest, they all went to Bilton to ask him about writing.

Producers on the forthcoming film include Scorsese, Johnson, Blunt, DiCaprio, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette and Rick Yorn.

If the filmmakers seem ambitious,...

The potential next collaboration between Martin Scorsese and his longtime muse and lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio has just been revealed. Also, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is part of it for some wild reason.

According to an exclusive report from Deadline, the pitch for Scorsese's latest project following his Oscar-nominated film "Killers of the Flower Moon" has DiCaprio, Johnson, and Emily Blunt attached to star. Deadline also provided the pitch's "thumbnail description," which reads, "Imagine Robert De Niro's Jimmy the Gent character from 'Goodfellas,' but as a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, based on a real figure, who battled encroaching rivals for control of organized crime in Hawaii." The outlet also notes that the film will be written by Nick Bilton (a Vanity Fair editor who directed the 2021 documentary "Fake Famous") and says that the "film focuses on a turbulent time on the island paradise when an aspiring...

Martin Scorsese is looking to make a splash with a star-studded crime package set in Hawaii.

A new package that hit the town would star Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt. Scorsese would direct the feature from a script by journalist and author Nick Bilton.

The fact-based untitled movie is said to be in the mold of Goodfellas and The Departed and center on a mob boss vying for control of the Hawaiian islands in the 1960s and 1970s.

Scorsese, Johnson, Blunt, DiCaprio, Bilton, Dany Garcia, Lisa Frechette and Rick Yorn serve as producers.

Bilton is known for such previous projects as HBO’s The Idol and the Netflix series Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal.

The Hollywood Reporter reported last month that DiCaprio was in talks to star in a Scorsese-directed adaptation of Erik Larson’s best-selling book The Devil in the White City. The pair are known...

Exclusive: The hot package in town is a pitch for a Martin Scorsese-directed untitled drama that would star Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt.

The thumbnail description: Imagine Robert De Niro’s Jimmy the Gent character from Goodfellas, but as a ruthless Hawaiian crime boss, based on a real figure, who battled encroaching rivals for control of organized crime in Hawaii.

To be written by Nick Bilton, the film focuses on a turbulent time on the island paradise when an aspiring mob boss battled rival crime factions to wrest control of the underworld of the Hawaiian islands. It was a bloody battle, the kind of terrain Scorsese covered in both Goodfellas and The Departed. In 1960s and 70s Hawaii, this formidable and charismatic mob boss rises to build the islands’ most powerful criminal empire, waging a brutal war against mainland corporations and rival syndicates while fighting to preserve his ancestral land.

When Pete offers suggestions and ideas, it’s always with good intentions. That doesn’t mean it works out the right way, and we see more of that in Ghosts season 4, episode 13.

The most recent episode saw Jay’s restaurant open. It looked for a minute that it wasn’t going to happen. Flower was so convinced that the cult leader was right about the end of the world that happened to be on the same day as the restaurant opening. Flower thought she was doing good, but she needed to listen to everyone else around her first.

Now it’s time to move over to Pete. He acts in ways that he thinks are good, but they turn out to be a much bigger issue. In this case, it could affect Jay’s restaurant again.

Pete has a recipe for Jay in Ghosts season 4, episode 13

Pete gives Jay a recipe to use.

Picture: Vince Vaughn is the lead in Netflix’s Nonnas

Vince Vaughn will star in his first Netflix film role in the upcoming light-hearted comedy Nonnas. He will star alongside Joe Manganiello and Linda Cardellini, and the film will be released in May 2025. Here’s everything we know so far about Nonnas on Netflix.

Nonnas is an upcoming Netflix Original comedy film directed by Stephen Chbosky (Wonder) and written by Liz Maccie (Siren). The series is produced by Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane for Madison Wells and Jack Turner for Boat Rocker’s Matador Content.

Meanwhile, the executive producers are Scott Budnick and Ameet Shukla for 1Community, Alexis Garcia, Vince Vaughn, Jay Peterson, Todd Lubin for Boat Rocker’s Matador Content, Amanda Morgan Palmer and Stacy Calabrese for Madison Wells, and Produced In Partnership with Fifth Season

When is Nonnas coming to Netflix?

As part of Netflix’s ‘Next on Netflix’ event,...

Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther is hard to imagine with a White director at its helm. Apart from the controversies that it would have brought for Marvel Studios, it was only the right thing to do as Ryan Coogler had a personal connection to the subject matter. While Boseman agreed that a White director could’ve done the film, they probably wouldn’t have had the perspective that Coogler, a Black director, had.

Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther in Black Panther | Credits: Marvel Studios

Interestingly, even Coogler didn’t believe that he was qualified to do the film just because he was Black. Before filming Black Panther, Coogler visited Africa so that he could more accurately depict Wakanda in the film. Coogler is all set to make his threequel to the film, which would be his second film without Boseman who passed away in 2020.

Chadwick Boseman explained why...

James Gandolfini’s The Sopranos was an influential television series that marked the beginning of the Second Golden Age of television. After Gandolfini’s Soprano family patriarch, one other character whom fans loved the most was Michael Imperioli’s Christopher Moltisanti. The two actors struck a friendship on the set of the show and the duo’s bond proved a little challenging for the makers of the series.

Michael Imperioli and James Gandolfini in The Sopranos | Credits: HBO

Imperioli revealed that during the filming of one scene, they were both so out of control that the crew feared for the actors’ safety on the set. Despite their little nuisances, both Gandolfini and Imperioli proved to be exceptional performers and garnered a huge fanbase for their respective roles.

James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli caused the crew of The Sopranos to fear for their safety Michael Imperioli and James Gandolfini as Christopher...

James Gandolfini’s portrayal of Tony Soprano in HBO’s The Sopranos cemented his legacy as one of television’s greatest actors. A slow burn across six seasons, fans got to witness an extraordinary breakdown of character when it came to Tony Soprano, in the end.

The Sopranos cast. (Credit: HBO).

One scene, in particular, completely personified this transformation. However, its sheer brutality meant that HBO executives were initially hesitant, yet show creator David Chase refused to back down.

The scene occurred in season 1, episode 5, College, in which Tony Soprano takes his daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to various college open days while tracking a known FBI informant.

David Chase fought for this scene to be included in The Sopranos James Gandolfini in a still from The Sopranos | Credits: HBO

The scene in question was the moment Tony Soprano, a charismatic antihero, transformed from a troubled but relatable family man into a cold-blooded killer.

Public speaking and delivering great speeches are frightening enough under normal circumstances. And on top of that, if you’re delivering a speech on a global platform on the biggest night in Hollywood, that holds a lot of pressure and nervousness. But not to worry, because often the speeches most remembered are those that end in disasters.

So today, let’s check out every artist who might have won hearts and empathy with their Oscar wins, but failed to strike the right balance of charm and humility with their acceptance speeches. Join us as we dive into 10 of the worst Oscar acceptance speeches ever in Academy history.

10. Melissa Leo — Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter (2010)

Playing the role of Alice Ward, the mother of professional boxer Micky Ward, and his brother Dicky, Melissa Leo delivered a phenomenal performance in the 2010 biographical sports drama, The Fighter. So her Oscar win for...

Martin Scorsese's 1990 crime masterpiece "Goodfellas" is one of the finest gangster movies ever made and has the award shelf to prove it. Still, despite its impressive six Academy Award nominations, the most esteemed awards of the industry largely avoided the mob epic -- except for one particular golden statuette.

Joe Pesci held the fort at the 1991 Academy Awards ceremony with his Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar win for his amazing turn as the volatile Tommy DeVito, the wildest card in a movie full of wild cards. He became an Oscar-winning actor with his signature cool intact. However, unlike his character -- who, as his iconic "I'm funny how?" scene shows, is extremely verbose at most times -- the actor chose to keep his speech short and sweet, uttering only five words as he took the stage to receive the golden statuette. "It's my privilege. Thank you," Pesci said before exiting the stage.

They say that luck is where preparation meets opportunity, but sometimes, even the most prepared can find themselves standing at a crossroads, ready to walk away from something that could change their lives forever. Michael Imperioli, the actor who played the unpredictable and ambitious Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos, knows this better than anyone.

It’s hard to believe that the show, which is often dubbed the greatest TV series of all time, almost lost one of its key players before it even started. But Imperioli was never one to blindly chase fame; he wanted something more.

Michael Imperioli in The Sopranos | Credits: HBO

What would have happened if he had chosen a different path? If, instead of embracing the role of a hot-headed, aspiring scriptwriter, Imperioli had walked away from the role that defined him? Well, the world of The Sopranos was not about to let him go that easily.

Is there any star working today with a career as varied as Marion Cotillard? Anyone who has moved as effortlessly between Hollywood blockbusters — Inception, Dark Knight, Public Enemies — and indies (The Immigrant and Macbeth), from slapstick action comedy like the Taxi films — the French pre-Fast and the Furious car racing franchise that first made her a star — to auteur dramas like Rust and Bone, Annette, and Two Days, One Night?

“I just read scripts and, no matter the genre, if it’s a comedy or a drama, when I feel I can bring something to the movie, that’s when I choose to be part of it,” Cotillard says, speaking via Zoom from her home in Paris. “I don’t plan anything [but] I feel very lucky that I can go between totally different worlds.”

The world Cotillard enters in The Ice Tower, which has its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb.

Exclusive: Derry Girls star Louisa Harland is leading RTÉ’s adaptation of Marian Keyes’ The Walsh Sisters, which has unveiled cast including Debi Mazar.

Harland will play the troubled Anna Walsh and is joined by BAFTA nominee Máiréad Tyers, who led Disney+’s Extraordinary and has been cast as Helen. Making up the rest of the Walsh family are Stefanie Preissner, who plays Maggie and is also writing most of the show, Danielle Galligan (House of Guinness) bringing oldest sister Claire to life and rising talent Caroline Menton, who takes on sister Rachel.

Adding a dose of Hollywood to the line-up is Mazar, who plays Chaquie and is coming off the back of her starring role as Medusa in Netflix’s Kaos. Past credits include Entourage, Goodfellas and Little Man Tate. She is joined by Irish American actor Aidan Quinn (This is My Father). Quinn has been tapped to play...

Robert De Niro’s “Goodfellas” reunion is now an official Tribeca event.

De Niro, who cofounded the festival and organization with producer Jane Rosenthal, leads the upcoming mob true story “The Alto Knights” in dual roles: De Niro portrays real-life mafia dons Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, with “Goodfellas” screenwriter Nick Pileggi penning the script.

IndieWire can announce that Tribeca members will be the among the first audiences for the feature, which will have its U.S. premiere March 15 as part of the membership program. “The Alto Knights” debuts in theaters March 21.

“The Alto Knights” is more than just a “Goodfellas” reunion for De Niro: he also is back with director Barry Levinson, who he previously collaborated with on the HBO TV movie “The Wizard of Lies” (2017) and the 1997 political satire film “Wag the Dog.” Levinson also produced “The Sopranos” and “The Wire.”

“The Alto Knights” centers on the 1950s rivalry between Genovese and Costello,...

Digital babies. Altered vocals. Deceased actors back from the grave. A list of major films that have used AI in their making:

Nb: The following contains an unavoidable spoiler for Alien: Romulus. Do skip that entry if you haven’t seen the film yet.

As the past few months have proven, AI is becoming an increasingly controversial topic both inside the film industry and without. As companies like OpenAI talk excitedly about the next generation of Artificial Intelligence replacing millions of jobs over the coming years, Oscar hopeful The Brutalist has sparked a backlash over its use of AI to adjust its actors’ performances.

The consternation has been such that the Academy is reportedly thinking about making it mandatory for filmmakers to disclose their use of AI when submitting their movies. The film industry, in essence, is racing to keep up with an area of technology that has only risen...

Recasting a character is always a tricky proposition. Sometimes, it's just not working out, and you go in a different direction, but when you're dealing with a franchise character, you risk angering longtime fans who have emotionally invested in a particular actor's performance. That was the case when "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" replaced Aunt Viv, recasting Janet Hubert with Daphne Reid, and people still talk about that situation decades later.

There are also instances when an actor dies while filming something meant to be ongoing. In early 2025, it was reported that, despite fan investment in Chadwick Boseman's performance, Marvel is considering recasting T'Challa ahead of "Black Panther 3." In fact, writer Jeff Sneider reported that the role had already been offered to someone new, but they decided not to take the risk. "They turned it down, not wanting to jeopardize their career momentum by stepping into Boseman's gigantic shoes,...

You ever watch something so weird, so wildly unhinged, that you walk out of the theater grinning like a lunatic, half-convinced you just hallucinated the whole thing? That’s The Monkey—a gloriously deranged fever dream of cruel deaths, deep-seated childhood trauma, and cackling absurdity. Imagine Twin Peaks if it was directed by John Waters, but with a murderous toy monkey at its core. Osgood Perkins has officially lost his mind in the best way possible, delivering the best Stephen King adaptation in decades.

“..so weird, so wildly unhinged, that [you’ll] walk out of the theater grinning like a lunatic”

It all starts when twin brothers Hal and Bill (played as children by Christian Convery and as adults by Theo James) stumble upon their father’s old toy monkey in a closet. The thing looks like it’s been pulled straight from a cursed auction listing, complete with piercing glass eyes...

Javier Bardem’s upcoming Spanish-language drama “El Ser Querido” from multiple Goya Award-winning writer-director Rodrigo Sorogoyen is heading to the EFM with the English title “The Beloved,” with Goodfellas launching the project to buyers.

The film — also starring Victoria Luengo (“The Room Next Door”) — is a drama about an acclaimed film director and his daughter, a struggling actress. After years of estrangement, they make a movie together, and are forced to confront a troubled past neither of them has wanted to face. Sorogoyen wrote the screenplay.

The film is being produced by Sorogoyen’s Madrid production label Caballo Films, with Movistar Plus+ and Le Pacte co-producing. The latter will release the movie in France.

Bardem earned a Golden Globe nomination this year for his turn in Netflix’s limited series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez.” He was last seen in “Dune: Part Two” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” live-action remake,...

Barry Keoghan and Riley Keough have entered into negotiations to star in the English language drama ‘Butterfly Jam’ from Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov.

The drama centres on a tight-knit U.S. community of Circassian immigrants and a complicated relationship between a father and son, in which the son imbues his father with qualities he doesn’t actually possess.

Also in news – John Malkovich, Mark Ruffalo & Parker Posey set for Martin McDonagh’s ‘Wild Horse Nine’

The movie, which is based on a story penned by Balagov, is his first English-language feature.

Pascal Caucheteux’s Why Not Productions is joining Alexander Rodnyansky’s Ar Content to produce the film. Executive producers are Michael Kupisk for Ar Content, Pauline Lamy for Why Not Productions and Livia Van der Staay from Goodfellas.

The post Barry Keoghan & Riley Keough eyed for drama ‘Butterfly Jam’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

At the outset of 1993, there wasn't a more bankable movie star than Kevin Costner. Dating back to Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables" in 1987, Costner had starred in at least one blockbuster every year. He possessed an earnestness and practical facility that recalled Gary Cooper, but he could place a sexy, ornery spin on the ball if need be (particularly as minor league catcher Crash Davis in Ron Shelton's masterful "Bull Durham"). He was such a winning presence onscreen and as a Hollywood concept in general that his Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences peers enthusiastically declared his "Dances with Wolves" the Best Picture of 1990 over Martin Scorsese's undeniable "Goodfellas." He also snagged the Best Director trophy, which felt like a statement of principle from the Oscars: let's make movies big and sweeping and morally upright again.

After the success of "The Bodyguard" in the fall of 1992, Costner had it all,...

Jennifer Esposito’s Fresh Kills does not unfold in the bluster and bravado one might expect from a mafia narrative. Instead, it invites us to peer into the quiet, suffocating corners of a world where family ties, rather than the criminal enterprise itself, become the true source of anguish.

Set against the grim backdrop of Staten Island—a place as decayed and overcast as the lives it holds—the film traces the lives of two sisters, Connie and Rose, caught within the gravitational pull of their father’s shady empire. What seems like a film about mobsters quickly reveals itself to be something far darker: a meditation on the corrosion of the soul when familial loyalty trumps moral reckoning.

Esposito, in her directorial debut, does not give us the gritty world of Goodfellas or The Sopranos, where men do battle in an underworld of violence. She gives us a quieter...

Ke Huy Quan’s Oscar win for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” as many awards narratives do, made for an unparalleled joyous celebration of a talent done dirty by an industry that had been a part of his life for decades. A minor fixture of the 1980s before he’d even hit puberty, the roles became scant into adulthood, sending Quan into a behind-the-scenes role as a stunt choreographer until Daniels picked him out for the role of a lifetime. But we already heard all of this ad nauseam the last time Quan was rightfully in the spotlight; now, just under two years after winning that Oscar, it’s time to see how all that rightful celebration has been channeled towards the exact opportunities that Quan had been unfairly lacking before his return to the frontlines.

Aside from a forgettable voice role in the already forgotten “Kung Fu Panda 4,...

Robert De Niro is to star in 'The Whisper Man'.The 81-year-old film legend has boarded the cast of Netflix and Agbo's adaptation of Alex North's crime thriller novel.James Ashcroft is set to direct the film with Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer adapting the screenplay.'The Whisper Man' tells the story of a widowed crime writer who, when his eight-year-old son is abducted, looks to his estranged father - a retired former police detective - for assistance.However, they discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as 'The Whisper Man'.Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot and Michael Disco are to produce for Agbo for what marks the sixth picture in the company's partnership with Netflix.Production on the flick is expected to start this spring.Russo-Otstot, Agbo's chief creative officer, said: "Agbo is excited to be embarking on our 6th...

Exclusive: Goodfellas has unveiled one of its biggest European Film Market slates ever featuring upcoming films by Cristian Mungiu, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Saeed Roustaee, Claire Denis, Mario Martone and Raoul Peck.

The company is also handling a trio of Berlin Film Festival titles: Lucile Hadžihalilović’s Golden Bear contender The Ice Tower with Marion Cotillard; Burhan Qurbani’s No Beast. So Fierce. in Berlinale Special; and a fresh acquisition, Bálint Dániel Sós’ Growing Down.

The latter film, which premieres in the new competitive Perspectives section aimed at first films, revolves around a widowed father of two who is tested by fate when he becomes the only witness of a serious accident involving his stepdaughter caused by his youngest son.

Goodfellas will begin pre-sales on Romanian director Mungiu’s first English-language picture Fjord, with Oscar nominee Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) and Cannes Best Actress winner Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World...

Why is Robert De Niro taking every role that comes his way? ( Photo Credit – Flickr )

Robert De Niro, at the age of 81, shows no sign of slowing down, whether by choice or financial necessity. The legendary actor, whose name is often synonymous with Hollywood’s golden age of gangster films, is diving headfirst into yet another mobster role, but not just for the love of the craft.

According to RadarOnline, De Niro is working tirelessly, taking on every project that lands on his desk just to keep up with an eye-watering alimony bill to his ex-wife Grace Hightower.

Breaking

Robert de Niro:

I know that nothing in this country or in this life will ever be the way I want it to be, and I no longer feel pain because of it. pic.twitter.com/595ArteAbN

— Tevbo☀️Sonnenbrand (@spleendistanbuI) November 6, 2024

Robert De Niro’s Costly Divorce and Lavish Spending...

(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.)

Horror movies may not often get a whole lot of respect, critically speaking. For whatever reason, they are often treated as a lesser form of entertainment. It's only the rarest of rare genre offerings that can go on to become embraced both critically and commercially, with Jordan Peele's "Get Out" serving as a shining example from relatively recent times. That's an outlier though. One undeniable truth though is that these movies are a reliable backbone for Hollywood studios, delivering consistent profits against relatively low investments. Good movies, bad movies, it often doesn't matter.

Hardcore horror fans will tell you that the number of bad movies far outweighs the good in any given year. It's about searching for that diamond in the rough.

Lorraine Bracco played the role of the defensive but empathetic Dr. Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos. Tasked with giving therapy to a mafia boss, Dr. Melfi has to maintain her composure and not judge the moral ethics of her client’s line of work while also helping him. Her on-screen co-star James Gandolfini played the boss Tony Soprano.

Bracco’s performance in The Sopranos was highly appreciated at the time. She received Primetime Emmy nominations four times, with thrice for Outstanding Lead Actress. She also received a Golden Globe nomination thrice. However, Bracco mentioned that playing Dr. Melfi was one of the most difficult roles in her career.

Lorraine Bracco had to change a lot of herself while playing Dr. Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos Lorraine Bracco in The Sopranos | Credits: HBO

Before playing Tony Soprano’s therapist in The Sopranos, Lorraine Bracco starred in Goodfellas as Karen Hill, the...

The Sopranos is arguably the most influential television show of all time with the crime-drama series proving the gold standard for modern prestige television. Created by David Chase, the series follows mob boss Tony Soprano as he seeks therapy while balancing his violent professional life with a relatively normal family life.

The Sopranos is one of the best TV shows of all time (Credit: HBO).

In the series, actress Drea de Matteo played an important supporting role, appearing as Adriana La Cerva in all six seasons. However, de Matteo revealed in an interview that she was almost rejected from the series during the earlier stages and the reason might surprise some fans. Here is what de Matteo had to say about almost missing out on The Sopranos role.

The Sopranos star Drea de Matteo was almost rejected from the series

Created by David Chase, The Sopranos premiered in 1999 and quickly...

Imagine a world where The Sopranos wasn’t the same. Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas almost stole away one of the show’s greatest casting choices after James Gandolfini. Yes, things could’ve gone very differently, and not in a good way.

Martin Scorsese | Image by Harald Krichel, licensed under Cc By-sa 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

While Goodfellas is iconic in its own right, the thought of this actor missing from The Sopranos is like pasta without the sauce — unfathomable. Luckily, fate (and some solid decision-making) stepped in to keep this legendary role right where it belonged.

How Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas almost cost us the perfect Sopranos cast Lorraine Bracco with James Gandolfini in The Sopranos | Credits: HBO

In an ironic twist, Goodfellas star Lorraine Bracco almost missed out on her iconic role in The Sopranos. After playing Karen Hill in Martin Scorsese‘s masterpiece, Bracco thought she was done with mafia wives.

Barry Sonnenfeld joins Film Stories with a clickbait-free, longform podcast special – from the Coen Brothers to Get Shorty, and beyond.

With his brilliant new book – Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time – Barry Sonnenfeld joins Film Stories for a long, funny and candid conversation about his work.

The chat covers his director of photograpy days for the Coen Brothers, shooting the last two weeks of Goodfellas, and then moving onto directing. From his debut with The Addams Family, to the challenges of Get Shorty with Gene Hackman and John Travola, and a whole lot more.

Quite the chat, this. A little bit of fruity language too.

You can find Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time right here.

The post Podcast | In conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld: Coen Brothers, The Addams Family, Get Shorty, books, wearing two watches, a whole lot more appeared first on Film Stories.