Film
Coachella 2022: Danny Elfman Plays Songs from The Simpsons, Edward Scissorhands, and More
Danny Elfman took the stage at Coachella on Saturday for a festival set unlike any other. The rare appearance by the legendary composer — which he introduced as a “strange little show” for the crowd — included a plethora of songs from films he’s scored, as he led a full orchestra through highlights from Edward Scissorhands (“Ice Dance/The Grand Finale”) and 1989’s Batman to a medley from The Nightmare Before Christmas (“Jack’s Lament/This is Halloween/What’s This?”) and a rocking version of The Simpsons theme song — by which point he was shirtless. Elfman also dusted off a number of Oingo Boingo tracks, including “Insects,” “Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself),” “Only a Lad,” “Dead Man’s Party,” and closer “Who Do You Want to Be.” Related Video Joining on stage was an impressive backing...
Susan Sarandon Cast as Villain in DC’s Blue Beetle Movie
DC Film’s first Latino superhero is set to do battle with Queen Narissa. Susan Sarandon has been cast as the lead villain, Victoria Kord, in the upcoming Blue Beetle adaptation. As The Wrap reports, Sharon Stone was originally tied to the role, but Sarandon has officially closed the deal on the part. The comic book adaptation will see Sarandon’s Kord teaming with Raoul Max Trujillo’s Carapax the Indestructible Man to battle the titular hero, aka Jaime Reyes, played by Cobra Kai breakout Xolo Maridueña. The cast also includes Harvey Guillén, Belissa Escobedo, and Bruna Marquezine. Angel Manuel Soto is onboard to direct the film from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. Originally set for an HBO Max debut, the project has since been bumped up to a theatrical release. Advertisement Related...
Viggo Mortensen Preps His Organs for Display in Trailer for David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future: Watch
David Cronenberg has returned with a new sci-fi horror movie, and it brings a whole new level of creepiness from The Fly director. Titled Crimes of the Future, it takes place in a time when many humans have Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, causing the growth of new body organs. Watch the teaser trailer below. Viggo Mortensen stars as Saul Tenser, an avant-garde performer who shows off the metamorphosis of his organs with the aid of his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux). Kristen Stewart portrays Timlin, an investigator from the National Organ Registry who’s hot on their tail. In the teaser, Mortensen is shown inside a womb-like bed that detects the arrival of new organs as an ominous voice says, “It is time to stop seeing. It is time to stop speaking. It is time to listen.” Then, the clip pans o...
Safdie Brothers Producing Andy Kaufman Documentary
A documentary on the late, great Andy Kaufman is finally in the works. Emmy-nominated filmmaker Alex Braverman will direct a forthcoming deep dive into the comedy legend’s life, up until a battle with cancer cut it short in 1984 at age 35. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the feature project has just started production, with Josh and Benny Safdie executive producing via their company Elara Pictures. Kaufman’s life was previously memorialized in the 1999 biopic Man on the Moon, in which Jim Carrey portrayed the Saturday Night Live star. That film, in turn, was examined in the 2017 doc Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, which mostly centered around Carrey’s method acting approach to bringing Kaufman to life. This currently untitled project, however, will mark the ...
David Bowie Documentary Moonage Daydream Picked Up by Neon, Universal, HBO
Back in November, news broke that director Brett Morgen was making the first-ever fully authorized David Bowie documentary. Now, the film — dubbed Moonage Daydream — has been acquired for release by Neon, Universal, and HBO Documentary Films (per The Hollywood Reporter). Neon will release Moonage Daydream in the United States, and IMAX screenings of the film are expected to follow. Universal is handling the picture’s international release, while HBO holds cable and streaming rights. Described as a “feature-length experiential cinematic odyssey,” Moonage Daydream is narrated by Bowie himself and features never-before-seen footage, performances, and music. Beyond his illustrious music career, the documentary will also delve into Bowie’s work in dance, painting, sculpture...
Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Guilty in Forcible Touching Case
Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching after being accused of assaulting three different women in 2018 and 2019, The New York TImes reports. Gooding, 54, was arrested in 2019 after a 29-year-old woman said he had groped her breast without consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Manhattan. Surveillance footage captured the incident, showing him putting his hand on her leg and chest. Another video clip saw her confronting him about it, which led to security intervening. Following that incident, two more women came forward with allegations of unwanted contact. One, a server at TAO Downtown, said that in 2018 he pinched her buttocks at the club. Another alleged that he forcibly and inappropriately touched her that same year at LAVO N...
R.I.P. Gilbert Gottfried, Comedian and Voice Actor Dead at 67
Gilbert Gottfried has died at the age of 67. According to a statement released by his family on Tuesday, Gottfried passed away after a “long illness.” “In an addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children,” the statement reads. “Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.” Related Video Gottfried was known as a comedian’s comedian, whose brash, crude persona and unmistakable voice — equal parts shrill, obnoxious, and bombastic — stood in hilariously stark contrast to his slight 5’5″ frame. Advertisement A native of Brooklyn, Gottfried began playing open mics in New York City at the age of 15, and was eventually recruited by Saturday Nig...
Johnny Depp’s Defamation Trial Against Amber Heard Begins with Explosive New Claims
The trial for Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard began on Tuesday, April 12th in Virginia. Deep sued Heard in 2019 for $50 million over her Washington Post op-ed in which she referred to prior allegations against her ex-husband, while also saying she had become “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Although Heard did not refer to Depp by name or go into any details of the abuse, Depp’s attorneys have accused her of fabricating the claims in order to derail his career and advance her own. That allegation led to Heard filing a $100 million countersuit of her own. And after losing a libel lawsuit against The Sun in November 2020, the trial represents a second opportunity for Depp to refute Heard’s allegations of abuse. Jurors in Fairfax, Virgin...
Paul Verhoeven Says James Bond Franchise Is “Scared of Sex”
If there’s one thing we know about Paul Verhoeven, it’s that he’s certainly not shy of putting sex at the center of his films. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Basic Instinct and Showgirls director criticized No Time to Die, the latest film in the James Bond franchise, for scrapping any sex scenes involving 007 himself. While 2006’s Casino Royale — which marked Daniel Craig’s first portrayal as Bond — didn’t include any explicitly sexual content, Verhoeven commended the film for at least alluding to some more salacious behavior. Now, he says, Hollywood blockbusters are “scared of sex.” “Sex is the essence of existence!” Verhoeven said. “There was always sex in Bond! They did not show a breast, or whatever. But they had some sex.” Advertisement Related Video As Craig ret...
When Is The Batman Available to Stream?
From Twitter to Letterboxd to your office’s water cooler, everybody can’t stop talking about The Batman, the newest iteration of the caped crusader to hit the big screen. The smash hit has blown up both at the box office and in conversation, spawning endless Twitter threads and think pieces. The newest retelling spawns from a similar vein of Warner Bros.’ 2019 dark, dramatic smash hit Joker (though not a sequel.) The Batman follows Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) and Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) working together to expose the darkness that lies beneath the streets of our beloved Gotham. Anxious to watch it from home? Here are the details on how to stream The Batman and the cinematic universe to which it belongs. When Will I Be Able to Stream The Batman? Following in stride with Warner...
Will Ferrell Joins Cast of Barbie Film
Director Greta Gerwig has announced a doll-icious addition to her upcoming adaptation of Barbie. As Deadline reports, iconic comedian Will Ferrell has joined a cast that stars Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as the world’s most popular yet insanely-proportioned doll. Plot details haven’t been unboxed as yet, and there’s no word on if Ferrell will be playing a doll, a human, the voice of the Malibu Dream Home, or something else entirely. But we do know that the script comes from Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and that America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon, and Simu Liu have all signed up for the cinematic playdate. Alexandra Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, and Alexndra Shipp also co-star. Production on Barbie began last month in the UK ahead of a targeted 2023 rel...
Carrie Brownstein to Direct New Annie Murphy Film Witness Protection
Carrie Brownstein is set to direct Annie Murphy in MRC Film’s upcoming comedy Witness Protection, Deadline reports. Unsurprisingly, Witness Protection follows Murphy she enters a witness protection program. Her character has grown used to defining herself based on her romantic relationships, but as she starts over in an unknown place where her identity must be kept secret, she struggles to figure out who she really is alone. The film reunites Schitt’s Creek star Murphy with writers Rupinder Gill and David West Read, who served as writers and producers on the sitcom. Becky Sloviter, Elysa Dutton, and Leslie Morgenstein serve as producers for the project, which doesn’t yet have a release date. Advertisement Related Video Brownstein may have made a name for herself as the ...
