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In 1994, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg -- three of Hollywood's biggest power players -- united to form a brand-new major motion picture studio called DreamWorks, something that hadn't been attempted in decades. The trio of execs had three stipulations: they wouldn't make any more than nine films a year, they would be allowed to make movies for other studios, and they would be able to go home in time for dinner.

For three years, the trio would wrangle contracts and make deals with various music, film, and television entities to make sure it was standing on solid ground and could handle being the outsize business entity they wanted it to be. In 1997, DreamWorks finally released its first three movies: "The Peacemaker," "Amistad," and "Mouse Hunt." The year after, the studio broke into feature animation with the bad-but-popular CGI insect film "Antz" and the highly acclaimed and very good "The Prince of Egypt,...

On Friday, Oct. 19, Variety partnered with the Santa Fe International Film festival to celebrate its 10 Screenwriters to Watch. All 10 recipients gathered at Santa Fe’s Lensic Performing Arts Center for a lively conversation about their path to screenwriting and the work that earned them their place on Variety’s annual list of the most promising up-and-coming scribes in the entertainment industry.

The panel began with a conversation about the films that first made them want to be screenwriters — and in some cases, exposed them to the idea that writing for film and television was a job they could pursue. Among their responses, “Fancy Dance” co-screenwriter Miciana Alise named John Huston’s “Annie” (“Carol Burnett just takes up the whole screen”), while her partner Erica Tremblay remembered “The Last Emperor” making a lasting impression; Noah Pink (“Eden”) said “Jurassic Park;” Tory Kamen (“Eleanor the Great”) and Nora Garrett (“After the Hunt”) agreed that “Juno,...

For the past three decades, DreamWorks has been seen as the studio that challenged Disney and, in some cases, won. If you are still in business after so many years and are still making movies, then you are clearly doing something right. Originally founded on October 12th, 1994, by three innovators with different motivations, the studio has gone on to make some of the biggest franchises in film history.

Who founded Dreamworks?

Originally conceived by former Disney executive Jeffery Katzenberg, he sought the aid of fellow entertainment executives Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. The three would found DreamWorks Skg with the purpose of becoming a major force in the entertainment industry. The studio’s first release was The Peacemaker in 1997 with other films like Amistad and Mouse Trap releasing that same year.

Things really began to take off in 1998 with action films like Saving Private Ryan and Deep Impact, as well...

Kathryn Crosby, an actress and singer known for films such as “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” and for her marriage to Bing Crosby, died Friday of natural causes. She was 90.

A native Texan, she was born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in 1933. She attended the University of Austin, during which time she occasionally landed background roles in films like “Forever Female” and “Rear Window.”

Upon graduation in 1955, she relocated to Los Angeles and began acting full time, landing her first credited role in that year’s “Cell 2455 Death Row,” a drama starring William Campbell and Robert Wright Campbell. It was on this film that she first used her stage name, Kathryn Grant.

The actress appeared 16 other films during the decade, most notably “Sinbad” (1958), the groundbreaking fantasy film with special effects by Ray Harryhausen. Grant co-starred as Princess Parisa opposite Kerwin Matthews as Sinbad. Though the film was a success, it was to...

Relax, relate, release. According to Variety, Netflix is developing a sequel series for the seminal sitcom A Different World. Details are scarce, but Variety says the project focuses on Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitney’s (Jasmine Guy) daughter. On the project’s ground floor is writer and executive producer Felicia Pride, whose impressive list of work includes Grey’s Anatomy and Queen Sugar. Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Reggie Bythewood join the effort as executive producers. Netflix will neither confirm nor deny the project’s status.

A Different World ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993 and revolved around a group of students at a historically Black university. The show focuses on their struggles and up-and-coming youths in a world trying to keep pace with their radical ideas and worldview. The show is a spinoff of The Cosby Show, with Lisa Bonet’s Denise Huxtable leading the cast.

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has revealed that the previously scrapped spinoff Ten Thousand Ships is being revived, and Eboni Booth is on board for the pilot.

The author took to his blog to congratulate Booth on winning a Pulitzer Prize for her play Primary Truth and dropped the news that she was working on the prequel series.

“She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with; when not writing and producing her prize-winning plays on- and off-Broadway, she has been kept busy by me and HBO, working on a new pilot for Ten Thousand Ships, a Game of Thrones spinoff about Nymeria and the Rhoynar,” Martin wrote. “We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles.”

Ten Thousand Ships...

As Game of Thrones fans prepare for the season two premiere of House of the Dragon this Sunday, saga creator George R.R. Martin is giving a promising update on a potential new series.

Martin revealed that the Princess Nymeria prequel Ten Thousand Ships is alive again and making progress under a new writer — Eboni Booth, who won a Pulitzer Prize in May for her play Primary Trust.

“She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with; when not writing and producing her prize-winning plays on- and off-Broadway, she has been kept busy by me and HBO, working on a new pilot for Ten Thousand Ships, a Game of Thrones spinoff about Nymeria and the Rhoynar,” Martin wrote on his blog. “We’re all very excited about this one … though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for 10,000 ships, 300 dragons and those giant turtles.

During his Thursday appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Ryan Gosling dug deep and answered some questions from the host that normally wouldn’t be revealed.

Included in that was a query on whether he had ever asked someone else for an autograph.

“The first person I asked was The Ultimate Warrior, and he said no,” Gosling said, referring to the pro wrestler. “But the second person I asked — the first person to give it to me — was Ms. Angela Bassett.”

Gosling said the moment came just after he had seen the 1993 Tina Turner biopic, What’s Love Got to Do With It, for which Bassett garnered a nomination for a Best Actress Oscar. Gosling was in the lobby of the AMC Theatre where he’d caught the movie.

“It was one of the best performances I’d ever seen, and still is,” Gosling told Colbert. Bassett was standing...

Brian Helgeland was one of the writers working on a Game of Thrones spinoff that George R.R. Martin signed off on but one that HBO did not pick up.

In a new interview, Helgeland discusses why the tentatively titled 10,000 Ships series didn’t happen despite his saying his script “came out great.”

“I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original. That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead,” Helgeland said in an interview with Inverse.

The Man on Fire and L.A Confidential writer says his script, “was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia. Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria. Her country gets ruined and her people are forced to live on the water, which...

Brian Helgeland is a popular name in the industry for his works in films like Mystic River and L.A. Confidential. The latter even blessed him with an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The renowned screenwriter and producer was near to having his Game of Thrones spin-off series. However, the Ten Thousand Ships series never got a green light from HBO.

A scene from Game Of Thrones

The idea of Brian Helgeland’s Ten Thousand Ships was planned to be based on the mythological story of Moses. The structure and tonality of the story would have been very different from the main Game of Thrones series. Although Helgeland has stated that his script is still there and HBO can pick it if they want, it is highly unlikely due to the present political milieu of the world.

What was Brian Helgeland’s planned Game of Thrones spin-off series about?...

Despite the disappointment of its finale, Game of Thrones undeniably had a successful run, leading many to consider the possibility of spin-offs due to its immense popularity. Brian Helgeland, an Oscar-winning screenplay writer also entertained one such idea and recently discussed why his spinoff script failed to be chosen and the challenges it encountered in a recent interview.

Game of Thrones Brian Helgeland’s Game of Thrones Spinoff Idea was Based on Queen Nymeria!

Brian Helgeland elaborated on his involvement with a certain Game of Thrones spin-off which focused on expanding the world of Westeros. Based on Queen Nymeria, who is a legendary figure in the history of Westeros, Queen of Rhoynar, who later founded the kingdom of Nymeria. Although not a lot is known about her, she is known for her strength and leadership.

Suggested“In no way should it be compared to Got”: Bold Claim Of Shōgun...

All "Game of Thrones" fans know the words Valar Morghulis, a Valyrian saying for "All men must die." That phrase almost proved prophetic when it came to HBO's attempts to whittle down the many spin-off shows at various stages in development over the years. Although "House of the Dragon" survived the culling to earn a second season, several others -- the Jon Snow-centric series, an untitled prequel starring Naomi Watts (which actually filmed a full pilot episode before being scrapped), and even a show set in the slums of King's Landing, Flea Bottom -- were doomed to the chopping block.

One of the more fascinating concepts, however, involved a famous figure from Westerosi history known as Nymeria. Titled "Ten Thousand Ships", this, too, never coalesced and we've never known why. Luckily, the folks over at Inverse recently had the chance to sit down with writer Brian Helgeland, known for "A Knight's Tale,...

Brian Helgeland’s Game of Thrones spinoff, Ten Thousand Ships, is getting docked as HBO shelves the project before it can set sail. Helgeland, the director behind films like L.A. Confidential and A Knight’s Tale and screenwriter for the Tony Scott-directed crime drama Man on Fire, spoke with Inverse about the defunct project, saying it would have focused on Queen Nymeria, the warrior-queen who led the Rhoynar refugees to Dorne.

Helgeland speaks with Inverse and makes Ten Thousand Ships sound biblical in scope and story. He likens Queen Nymeria’s tale to the story of Moses, with survivors from a ravaged country setting sail for a new home.

“It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original,” Helgeland explained to Inverse about his spinoff. “That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet,...

Brian Helgeland’s illustrious Hollywood career includes winning an Oscar for writing “L.A Confidential,” directing Heath Ledger’s beloved 2001 comedy “A Knight’s Tale” and scripting films such as “Man on Fire” and “Mystic River.” It also could’ve included a “Game of Thrones” spinoff series had HBO moved forward on his pitch, which was titled “Ten Thousand Ships” and centered on Queen Nymeria.

“It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original,” Helgeland recently told Inverse about his spinoff. “That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. My script was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia.”

“Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria,” he continued. “Her country gets ruined and her people...

Stars: Russell Crowe, Kelly Greyson, Pacharo Mzembe, Marton Csokas, Tommy Flanagan, Karen Gillan | Written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage | Directed by Adam Cooper

Based on E.O. Chirovici’s novel The Book of Mirrors, Sleeping Dogs opens with a look at Roy Freeman and his apartment. It’s an apartment with notes taped everywhere, even on the TV Dinner he’s about to cook. They’re reminders, meant to help him cope with his Alzheimer’s while an experimental treatment he opted for starts to work. Neither the operation nor the notes prevented him from microwaving the TV remote, however.

He’s contacted by Emily Dietz from Project Clean Hands, a group devoted to freeing the wrongly convicted. They’re interested in the case of Isaac Samuel a death row inmate Freeman arrested and helped convict for the brutal murder of college professor Joseph Wieder.

I think they missed a great...

There have been some truly incredible cameos on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" over the years, ranging from all of the gang's spouses to director Guillermo del Toro, who is nearly unrecognizable as Pappy McPoyle. Often, the cameos come about because the main cast knew someone — del Toro worked with star Charlie Day on "Pacific Rim," for example — but sometimes, they really try to reach beyond their circle of friends and acquaintances. Sometimes it works, while other times they're totally out of luck. The season 4 episode "Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life" is a perfect example of both, because there are some wonderful cameos and one that just sadly didn't work out.

In the episode, Dennis (Glenn Howerton) wants to publish his erotic memoirs, but Frank (Danny DeVito) and Mac (Rob McElhenney) point out that the stories inside are totally make-believe and could open them up to litigation -- for example,...

After 26 years, there's actually a sequel to Nickelodeon's '90s comedy "Good Burger." Based on a sketch from "All That," the movie took the lovably dimwitted Good Burger employee Ed (Kel Mitchell) to the big screen and paired him with co-star Kenan Thompson for a zany caper about two competing burger joints. It has all the hallmarks of a classic screwball comedy from the 1980s, and believe it or not, it's still genuinely funny to this day. So how do you pick up the spatula again after so many years?

We spoke with "Good Burger 2" writers Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert and director Phil Traill leading up to the release of the sequel, which is now available on Paramount+, and we talked about returning to the franchise. Kopelow and Seifert actually wrote the original "Good Burger" sketches on "All That," so tapping back into the burger basics was easy,...

Prosthetics designer Barrie Gower is nominated not once but twice this Emmy season for his work on The Last of Us and House of the Dragon. It’s a big accomplishment for the previous Emmy winner — three times for Game of Thrones and once for Stranger Things — but it’s all part of a lifelong passion. “I’m one of those annoying people who knew very early on what I wanted to do for a career, in my early teens, really,” he explains.

Gower grew up in the north of England, where his father managed a cinema. “He’d take me to press screenings and showings of films … I got to meet [animator] Ray Harryhausen when I was 4 or 5 years old. I was a big fan of the Sinbad movies, the visible stop-motion characters.”

As he became a teenager, Gower was heavily involved in art — mostly drawings and sculpture. “I came across a magazine called Fangoria,...

Prolific Indian studio Maddock Films has three successful projects currently on, 15 more in the pipeline and is developing an ambitious film series based on the “Arabian Nights.”

Laxman Utekar’s comedy-drama film “Zara Hatke Zara Bachke,” a co-production with Jio Studios starring Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan, has emerged as the sleeper hit of the year grossing $11.1 million theatrically so far. Homi Adajania’s action drama series “Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo,” starring Dimple Kapadia, is a hit for streamer Disney+ Hotstar, while Arunima Sharma, Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal’s coming-of-age Prime Video drama series “Jee Karda,” starring Tamannaah Bhatia, is garnering positive reviews.

Maddock also had a major success earlier this year with Ajay Singh’s Netflix original thriller film “Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga” proving a worldwide hit for the streamer.

The upcoming film slate includes:

An untitled film starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, written and directed...

The idea of the “movie star” is usually reserved for the uber-famous; Margot Robbie, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The occasional director like Jordan Peele or Christopher Nolan, filmmakers so well established they have their own font. But in the genre world, it’s different. As much as you might see a crowd turn out in force for the game-changing work of a John Carpenter, or a Michelle Yeoh, you’re just as likely to see lines around the block for Dick Smith, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Greg Nicotero, Phil Tippett or Tom Savini – Hollywood’s most lauded special effects and make-up artists. The physical creators of some of the most iconic characters in cinema history: our movie monsters.

Which explains Forbidden Worlds Film Festival’s entire strand devoted to ‘Creature Creators’; a series of films shining a spotlight on these visual effects ‘stars’. Charting a course from Willis O’Brien’s...

If there is one big, lasting legacy to "Game of Thrones," it's how it made fantasy popular and mainstream on TV. Sure, we've had plenty of fantasy shows and movies before — Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy made a ton of money and won a bunch of awards — but HBO's series made knights, dragons, and ice zombies appointment TV. All the sex, political backstabbing, council meetings, and trial by combats were window dressing to make audiences fall for the epic story of a kingdom in disarray as it discovered the return of magic.

Yet, as much as "Game of Thrones" pushed the boundaries of what fantasy could be in prestige TV, it reeked of "early '00s comic book movie" with its muted palette and designs. This helped sell the idea that this was not just a fantasy show like "Xena: Warrior Princess," but a prestige drama in the vein of "The Sopranos.

BBC America has announced new cast for Killing Eve ahead of the premiere of the fourth and final season of the acclaimed drama series. Camille Cottin, who recurred as Hélène in Season 3 of Killing Eve, has been promoted to series regular for the upcoming season. Additionally, Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts) and Robert Gilbert (The Tragedy of Macbeth) have joined as series regulars and Marie-Sophie Ferdane (I Am Not An Easy Man) will recur in the series starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer.

In Season 4, Eve (Oh), Villanelle (Comer), and Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) are in very different places. Following Eve and Villanelle’s exchange on the bridge, the former is on a revenge mission, while the latter has found a brand-new community in an attempt to prove she’s not a “monster.” Having killed Paul, Carolyn goes to extraordinary lengths to continue to chase down The Twelve and the...

Exclusive: CW Seed, the CW’s free, ad-supported digital network, has acquired non-exclusive streaming rights to 14 series from BBC Studios.

The second-window deal will bring more than 200 episodes and 150 hours of scripted library content to Seed, which launched as an on-demand service in 2013 and will add a live, linear channel later this winter. The announcement was made today by Rick Haskins, Evp of Marketing and Digital Platforms for the CW.

Among the shows already live on Seed are The Intruders, starring Mira Sorvino and Millie Bobby Brown; Atlantis, with Game of Thrones alum Mark Addy; The Secret of Crickley Hall, starring Thrones‘ Maisie Williams and Tom Ellis; Bedlam, with pop star Will Young; and a new take on Sinbad.

A wave of additional shows will be added in late January and roll out through the month of February. That roster includes James Corden’s Gavin & Stacey; The Fades, starring...

The Magic Sword

Blu ray

Kino Lorber

1962/ 1:85 / 80 min.

Starring Gary Lockwood, Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood

Directed by Bert I. Gordon

Fresh off producing and directing Tormented, a mildly lurid psychological shocker released in 1960, Bert I. Gordon pointed his next film in the direction of the Saturday matinee crowd, a select audience of thrill crazy adolescents who made box office bonanzas out of phantasmagorical entertainments like 7th Voyage of Sinbad. As with most (all?) of Gordon’s work, his eyes were too big for his stomach – the 1962 fairy tale called for Sinbad-sized thrills but Gordon was working with a fraction of Ray Harryhausen’s budget and a two week shooting schedule. If nothing else the director was determined to put up on the screen what was promised on the poster, “The Most Unbelievable Sights Ever Seen” but once again, Mr. Big came up short.

In the run-up to its...

Mark Damon’s Dcr Finance Corp. has signed a deal to provide $65 million in financing for a new version of “Sinbad” with production set to begin in early 2020, Variety has learned exclusively.

Dcr, a media financing fund headed by Damon, Adi Cohen and Jordi Rediu, will unveil details to potential buyers at the American Film Market, which opens Nov. 6 in Santa Monica, Calif.

The funds will be mostly spent in Georgia through partners Len Gibson and Wayne Overstreet, of Go Media. The overall budget is expected to be around $120 million. Enrico Ballarin, whose credits include “Star Wars: Episode II” as a unit manager, will executive produce. “Sinbad” will be directed by Francesco Lucente, who also wrote the screenplay.

Dcr announced a deal in August with Atlanta-based Go Media Productions to join a private placement as a lead investor and provide up to $150 million in exchange for the investment being channeled...

Model of Skeleton from Jason and the Argonauts, c.1961 by Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013). Mounted on wooden base. Collection: The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation (Charity No. SC001419) © The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation Photography: Sam Drake (National Galleries of Scotland)

Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Earth Vs. Flying Saucers… these are all incredible classic films that featured the stop-motion work and creature designs of legendary artist and filmmaker Ray Harryhausen.

I grew up watching these films! I love these movies, and I was always fascinated by the creatures and monsters in them that Harryhausen brought to life! The skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts and from his Sinbad series, the Minaton from Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, and Medusa from Clash of the Titans. The onscreen visuals of these creatures played a big part of why I fell in love with movies.

Peter Mayhew, who became known to fans worldwide as the lovable Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars galaxy of films, has died. He was 74. The actor died on Tuesday in his North Texas home with his family by his side. His official Twitter account shared the news on Thursday, reports hollywoodreporter.com. Mayhew had undergone spinal surgery in July in an effort to improve his mobility.

The London native played Chewbacca in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return Of The Jedi (1983), Revenge Of The Seth (2005) and The Force Awakens (2015).

Mayhew had done some minor acting -- he played a minotaur in the Ray Harryhausen fantasy Sinbad and the Eye Of The Tiger (1977) -- and was working as a hospital orderly when he tried out for the part of Chewbacca. He got the role based on his physique, as writer-director George Lucas was in desperate need of someone who would...

This week the multiplex presents another retelling of a familiar, romantic legend. You may be wondering whether we’re going to endure another revival of Robin Hood since the stench of that abomination from two months ago has finally cleared from theatres (last week it garnered several well-earned Razzie nominations). No we’re not going to that exact time frame, for this new film starts a bit before, then jumps (leaps and bounds really) to the present day. It’s somehow a reboot and retelling of the story of Arthur, complete with knights, wizards, dragons, and that magical sword Excalibur, of course. And this time it’s a lad of thirteen or fourteen years, Alex, who is The Kid Who Would Be King.

This adventure starts with some backstory, namely a spiffy animated prologue rendered in the style of old pen and ink illustrations which whittles down the Arthurian legend to the basics,...

Twenty new TV shows have debuted across the five English-language broadcast networks thus far this season — to very varying degrees of success. Not all of them can be insta-hits: For every “Manifest” there is an “I Feel Bad,” unfortunately.

TheWrap has identified six freshmen series that are already in danger of being canceled — before or after their initial runs even end. Sorry ABC, you’re the twofer.

See what’s already on the bad side of the bubble below.

Also Read: 20 New Fall TV Shows Ranked by Premiere Viewers: From 'The Conners' to 'Charmed' (Photos)

Series: “All American”

Net: The CW

Order: 13 episodes + 5 scripts

18-49 rating: 0.2

Viewers: 647,000

NFL alum Spencer Paysinger has a cool life story and the critics dig his biographical show — but viewers aren’t exactly blitzing their televisions to tune in. A “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes got the CW football series a backorder of five scripts.

Former MD of Disney India, Siddharth Roy Kapur has revealed an eclectic range of films to be produced by his production company Roy Kapur Films.

“Saare Jahaan Se Achcha,” to be directed by Mahesh Mathai (“Bhopal Express”), and written by Anjum Rajabali is a biopic of Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space. An A-list cast will be announced by the end of the year ahead of a production start in February. The film is a co-production with Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP.

Vinil Mathew (“Hasee Toh Phasee”) will direct “Sinbad,” a thriller inspired by merchant navy officer Audumbar Bhoi, whose ship was attacked by Somali pirates, from a script by Sudip Sharma (“NH10”). Casting is underway.

In 2019, Sooni Taraporewala (“Little Zizou”) will direct “Ballet Boys.” The fact-based story follows two Mumbai slum boys, one a Hindu and the other Muslim, who shoot to global prominence after being discovered by an Israeli dance instructor.

By Lee Pfeiffer

When it comes to publishing top-end film books nobody does it better than Titan. The company has its pulse on every movie geek’s desires and their recent title “Harryhausen: The Movie Posters” should leave fans of the late, great special effects genius Ray Harryhausen drooling over the superb representations of his films. Author James Holliss wisely leaves the text to a minimum to allow the wonderfully-reproduced graphics exemplify the sheer excitement and wonder of the sci-fi and fantasy films associated with Harryhausen. The book presents a mind-boggling number of rare international movie posters and assorted oddities relating to the promotion of his films. Titan has published the book in an appropriately large size hardback format that allows the stunning graphics to be fully appreciated.

One becomes aware of just how important of a role the classic movie posters played in selling these films to the public,...

Joseph Baxter Oct 1, 2018

Netflix will utilize an experimental choose-your-own-adventure style episode in the upcoming fifth season of Black Mirror.

Black Mirror has always walked on the cutting edge of suspense, brandishing its signature style of technology-centric horror stories. However, Netflix is using the upcoming fifth season of the acclaimed anthology series as part of a planned slate of interactive programming.

Netflix is getting deeper into the interactive television medium –allowing viewers to make decisions that affect the outcome of the programs – with a slate of specials, which are expected to be launched before the year’s end, according to a report by Bloomberg. While details are scarce, the report cites that Black Mirror Season 5 will feature – in a technology experiment apropos to the series – a choose-your-own-adventure style episode, allowing audiences to interact with the course of likely-freaky events unfolding onscreen.

The streaming giant first dabbled with interactive television back in...

Author: Euan Franklin

You can’t overstate the influence of Ray Harryhausen on Hollywood cinema. His stop-motion animation inspired the most exciting fantasies of Peter Jackson, James Cameron, John Landis, and (most obviously) Nick Park from Aardman Animation. He worked on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958 and returned to the mythical hero 15 years later (after spending the ‘60s working on Jason and the Argonauts and One Million Years B.C.) with a different cast and crew in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, which marked his first credit as a producer.

In Golden Voyage, Sinbad (John Phillip Law) and his crew intercept a homunculus flying above their ship. It carries a magic tablet, and Sinbad wears it around his neck as a boastful reward. When he visits Marabia, Sinbad meets with the golden-masked Grand Vizier (Douglas Wilmer) who tells him that the tablet is a third of an overall whole. It...

Damned Nation is the latest action-packed film from Cute Little Buggers (2017) director Tony Jopia. I got a chance to ask Tony a few questions about how he plans continue the story, what we can expect in the future and how fans can keep updated regarding the future of Damned Nation.

Damned Nation is an action packed short which gives us an introduction to an apocalyptic future. Why did you decide to complete a short film, and will you be looking to continuing the story as a feature film or a series?

We wanted to make it as enjoyable as we could. Just because it’s a short it doesn’t mean we can’t fill it with all the ingredients that make a fab action movie, in this case it’s all contained within a shorter amount of time. The overall idea is much bigger but unfortunately, we only had...

Marama Corlett stars in Blood Drive as ruthless killer Aki, a synthetic being created by the ironically named Heart Industries. She is fairly new to our screens, but before becoming an actress was a professional ballet dancer. Marama has Maltese and New Zealand heritage, and was born in Valletta, Malta, but moved to London to pursue her dancing career. She now calls London home. She had small roles in 2014 movies Maleficent (with Angelina Jolie) and Guardians of the Galaxy, however she is probably best known for playing Rina in the TV series Sinbad, a role for which she had to...read more...

Brit production powerhouse Working Title has tapped Andrew Woodhead as the new managing director of its TV division. Woodhead was previously an exec producer at Kudos, working on the likes of Spooks and the UK version of Law & Order. He also served as exec producer on Sky Atlantic’s Fortitude and Sky 1's Sinbad. He also produced Abi Morgan's BAFTA-winning single film White Girl. Recently, he has been developing his own projects, including an adaptation of The Man Booker…...

Here’s some Sense8ational news to start off your weekend: Netflix has renewed its globe-trotting, mind-bending thriller for a second season.

The streaming giant let the cast announce the news early Saturday via Twitter.

Birthdays are just the beginning. #sense8 is reborn. https://t.co/tmMV66gKhm

— Netflix Us (@netflix) August 8, 2015

At the show’s TCA panel last month, executive producer J. Michael Straczynski told reporters that he was “still awaiting word” about a pickup, adding, “We’re cautiously optimistic, but, ultimately, it’s Netflix’s call.

Netflix did not have Sense8-tional news for fans of the twisty freshman thriller at the Television Critics Association press tour on Tuesday.

Many assumed the show’s TCA panel would kick off with a Season 2 renewal announcement. Instead, executive producer J. Michael Straczynski told reporters that he’s “still awaiting word” about a pickup, adding, “We’re cautiously optimistic, but, ultimately, it’s Netflix’s call.”

RelatedFuller House: Olsen Twins ‘Teetering’ on Deal to Join Netflix Revival

Sense8 — which also counts Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) among its executive producers — follows a group of eight individuals from around the globe,...

Turns out, Merlin is a Knight.

ABC’s Once Upon a Time has cast British Sinbad alum Elliot Knight in the recurring Season 5 role of Merlin, whom viewers know holds the answer to expunging the Darkness from the world forever — and thus can save Emma from her new fate.

RelatedOnce Upon a Time Casting Rumple’s Mom — Dare We Hope for Karen Gillan?

Additionally, our sister site Deadline reports, Portuguese actress Joana Metrass has landed the recurring role of Guinevere, the queen to King Arthur (to be played by Liam Garrigan).

As previously reported, Sinqua Walls (Teen Wolf) is set...

If you had any doubt that Sense8 was partially the product of Matrix directors Andy and Lana Wachowski, the first episode of Netflix’s trippy thriller likely put that uncertainty to rest.

Co-exec-produced by The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski (Murder, She Wrote, Babylon 5), the mysterious drama — which hit the streaming giant on Friday — centers on eight individuals across the globe who are connected by a strange vision.

Before we get your thoughts on the series premiere, here’s a brief recap of what went down in the debut hour:

RelatedSense8: 3 Intriguing Clues About Netflix’s Genre-Defying...

The world of Doctor Who has changed greatly in the space of just 10 years. The cast and crew have almost completely been replaced since 2005, including a number of new actors to play the errant Time Lord and his companions.

But what has happened to the class of '05? Where are Rose and Mickey now? What is the writer of 'Dalek' up to? And where can you see more work from the director of 'Rose'?

Here it is then, your guide to the main players of Doctor Who series one.

The Cast

After his three-month on-screen stint as the Doctor, Christopher Eccleston's career continued in much the same vein, taking in theatre, interesting television roles and the odd blockbuster.

Post-2005, the Northern actor went Stateside to take on the role of invisible man Claude in the Us series Heroes. From there, he popped up in a very amusing Doctor Who-esque cameo as Dr.

It's been a whopping 14 years since Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone made its big screen debut.

A lot has changed since then - most notably the child stars which the movie franchise made famous.

Now - after the internet was astonished to see what Harry Potter's Neville Longbottom looks like now - Digital Spy has donned our sorting hat to see what the now-muggles look like today...

1. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley

Post-Potter, Harry Melling has had parts in Merlin, Just William and Garrow's Law. Last year, he also performed a one-man play in New York called peddling and starred opposite Scarlett Johnson, Patsy Ferran and Felix Scott in The Angry Brigade.

2. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom

We nearly lost our Snitch when we saw the transformation Matthew Lewis has had since his days as Neville Longbottom. He's gained a beard, good looks and also a role in BBC Three comedy Bluestone 42.

"Strike Back" executive producer James Dormer is set to adapt a new action drama series based on the ancient Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf" for British broadcaster ITV.

The thirteen-episode series, which ITV has greenlit, is set in the mythical Shieldlands and described as a "western set in the Dark Ages of Britain's mythic past". Both humans and fantastical creatures populate this world which will actually be filmed in England's North East.

Tim Haines ("Primeval," "Sinbad") and Katie Newman ("Primeval: New World") will executive produce, Stephen Smallwood ("Ripper Street," "The Day of the Triffids") will produce. Filming is slated to begin in April, but there's no casting locked down as yet.

Source: Variety...

U.K. TV network ITV has announced plans for a ten episode action-adventure TV series based on Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". Filming is slated to begin in January.

Young James Bond novelist Charlie Higson will write and executive produce the adaptation which shifts the action to 1930s London and focuses on Robert Jekyll, the grandson of the original doctor, on a quest to discover the nature of his curse.

The series is said to "exude mystery, fantasy, horror and sci-fi" according to a statement. Higson says: "So many superheroes with secret dual personalities have been brought to life thanks to Jekyll & Hyde. He’s one of literature's most important and influential characters and it’s a privilege to be rediscovering him."

Colin Teague ("Being Human," "Sinbad") will helm the project which begins shooting in India in January ahead of moving to...

"New job, first day, slightly nervous…"

Yesterday (January 6) marked the start of filming on Doctor Who's eighth series since its comeback in 2005, with fans getting their first on-set glimpse of new lead Peter Capaldi earlier today.

Capaldi's casting is, Who showrunner Steven Moffat tells us, "a big declaration of intent" for the long-running sci-fi series - a "statement of [its] importance" - but how much do we actually know about the new Doctor and his upcoming adventures?

Both Moffat and Capaldi's co-star Jenna Coleman agree that the 55-year-old actor will be "so different" to his 31-year-old predecessor Matt Smith, with the show's head writer promising an "old beast" with a "snarl".

"We've got used to two brilliant iterations of the younger, more puppy-dog Doctor and [David Tennant and Matt] have both been superlative," Moffat said in November. "But now it's time for the old beast to snarl at you for a bit!

"Sometimes you...

We talk to actor Dimitri Leonidas about working with George Clooney in The Monuments Men, and screenwriter Jonathan Asser about his forthcoming prison drama Starred Up

• See more of 2014's rising stars here

Dimitri Leonidas: 'It was surreal, being on set with people like George Clooney'

Dimitri Leonidas is scarred by the memory of his worst audition. It was for the lead part in a new production of Peter Shaffer's Equus a couple of years ago. He thought it had gone really well, and when his agent told him he'd got the part he understandably spent the weekend celebrating.

"Then I met up with a friend who said: 'What do you mean, you've got it? Alfie Allen's doing it.'"

There'd been some confusion: Leonidas had actually been auditioning to be the understudy. "It was just too heartbreaking," he says, smiling.

He can afford to laugh about it now.

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Orla Brady, who guest stars in this Christmas’ The Time of the Doctor, has spoken about her role as the mysterious Tasha Lem – and has busted a few rumours about her being a young Madame Kovarian. The Irish actress, who’s appeared in Sinbad, Mistresses and a recent Poirot tale, The Labours of Hercules, reveals

The post Orla Brady on Tasha Lem, the Silence and Capaldi appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Drew Boynton is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

She’s mysteriously “from the Doctor’s past” and is “a descendant of humans”, but who is Tasha Lem? In a recent interview the actress who plays her, Orla Brady (Fringe, Sinbad), tries to explain her character without spoiling the surprises of Christmas. Although she watched Doctor Who as a child, she had not seen it since.

The post Tasha Lem: Friend Or Foe? appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Interview Louisa Mellor 12 Dec 2013 - 07:00

Here's our full-length chat with Orla Brady, who plays the mysterious Tasha Lem in The Time Of The Doctor...

Contains no spoilers if you've kept up with the promotional pictures and trailers, but if you want to go in to The Time Of The Doctor cold, come back on Boxing Day...

We cherry-picked a few salient quotes from our extended chat with the wonderful Orla Brady (Fringe, Mistresses, Sinbad) here, but below is everything we could fit into half an hour about Doctor Who.

The screen and stage actress tells us about filming Matt Smith's farewell episode, how perfect Peter Capaldi is as the Doctor, and how Brady, a recent convert to sci-fi, swotted up on Who lore in order to fully understand the role of Tasha Lem in The Time Of The Doctor...

There’s exactly a fortnight to go until The...

Interview Louisa Mellor 12 Dec 2013 - 07:00

We chatted to Doctor Who guest star Orla Brady about her role in the Christmas Special The Time of the Doctor, and what to expect…

Contains no spoilers if you've kept up with the promotional pictures and trailers, but if you want to go in to The Time Of The Doctor cold, come back on Boxing Day...

We’ve seen her regal appearance in the promo pictures, and glimpsed her in action in this trailer, but the mystery of Tasha Lem, a character “from the Doctor’s past” around whom part of The Time Of The Doctor revolves, remains. We know she's "a descendent of humans" with "a touch of alien" who is part of an ongoing mythology involving Matt Smith's Doctor and Trenzalore, but the rest? We'll have to wait and see.

Carefully negotiating any spoilers, we chatted to actress Orla Brady (Fringe,...