Film
Sean Penn Is in Ukraine Filming a Documentary on the Russian Invasion
Sean Penn is in Ukraine filming a documentary about the Russian invasion, according to a press release from the Office of the President of Ukraine (via Newsweek). The American filmmaker first landed in Ukraine in November 2021 to make a movie about Russian aggression. After briefly retuning to the US, he was back in Ukraine’s capitol city of Kyviv on Thursday to attend a press conference. For the project, he has reportedly interviewed local journalists, military leaders, and Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. According to a statement from the Office of the President, “The director specially came to Kyiv to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia’s invasion of our country. Sean Penn is among those who support ...
R.I.P. Sally Kellerman, M*A*S*H Star Dead at 84
Sally Kellerman, the veteran actress known for portraying U.S. Army Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in Robert Altman’s 1970 film M*A*S*H, has died at age 84, Deadline reports. She passed away at an assisted living facility in Woodland Hills, California from complications of dementia. Born in Long Beach, California, Kellerman grew up in Los Angeles and attended Hollywood High School. Soon after, she studied acting at Los Angeles City College, where she performed in a stage production of Look Back in Anger alongside Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell, and Robert Blake. Kellerman is perhaps best known for her turn as Major Houlihan in M*A*S*H (the film, not the television series), though she also appeared in several other Altman films, Brewster McCloud, Welcome to LA, ...
“Fake Ass”: Tom Holland Says One Spider-Man Had Costume Implants in His Spi-Derrière
Three Spider-Men got a bite from a spider, but only one got a butt from the costume department. As Spider-Man: No Way Home star Tom Holland revealed in his recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, one of the Spider-suits came with a “fake ass.” “I’ll give you a spoiler,” he said to the late-night host. “I’m not gonna tell you who, but one of us has a fake ass in their suit.” He also talked about the moment he noticed it, thinking, “‘Wo-o-w! Oh, hang on a minute. That’s not real!’” When it comes to who padded their Spi-derrière, there’s no way to know for certain. But that won’t stop us from spinning a web of speculation! At a fit 46 years old, Tobey Maguire is fairly well developed in that department, and may even be at the point in his life where he’s more focused ...
World’s Greatest Football Player to Star in Road Trip Comedy with World’s Greatest Actresses
What do you do after you’ve retired from a record-breaking football career? You make a movie about your own life, of course. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Brady is producing and appearing in a road trip comedy that unites iconic actresses Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field. 80 for Brady sees Tomlin, Fonda, Moreno, and Field portray a group of best friends who travel to Super Bowl LI in 2017 to see Brady lead the New England Patriots to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. According to THR, the film was inspired by a true story, so it must have a pretty juicy plotline to get its leading ladies to agree to take part. The film was written by director Kyle Marvin and Michael Covino, who are both executive producing alongside Jeff Stott. Brady developed the...
James Mangold to Direct Buster Keaton Biopic
Despite the delays to Indiana Jones 5, James Mangold isn’t wasting any time getting his next film lined up. Deadline reports that he’s teaming up with 20th Century Studios to direct a project about the life of filmmaker and comedian Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton. The biopic will be adapted from Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase, Marion Meade’s 1995 biography about the iconic actor, comedian, and filmmaker. According to Deadline, studio executives have fast-tracked the film and made it a top priority to find writers for the project. Keaton, who died in 1966, starred in a number of silent 1920s classics like The General, Sherlock Jr., and Seven Changes. He was known for his slapstick physical comedy, paired with a consistently deadpan facial expression that earned him the nickname “Th...
Bill Murray to Star in Aziz Ansari’s Debut Feature Film
Aziz Ansari is jumping from TV to the silver screen. The actor and Master of None co-creator is making his directorial debut with an as-yet untitled Searchlight Pictures, and he’s tapped Bill Murray to star in the lead role. Ansari will have lots on his plate for this project: In addition to directing, he’s writing the script, co-producing alongside Youree Henley, and acting in it. The project is based on American surgeon and New Yorker contributor Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, a 2014 nonfiction book about aging, end-of-life care, and striving for wellbeing over survival. Though not much is known right now about the film’s plot, Searchlight is banking on both Ansari and Murray’s background in comedy to help sell this examination of mortality. ...
The jeen-yuhs Cast and Crew Take it Back to S.O.B.’s For Q&A Event: Recap
It was family business for the cast and crew behind jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy at Sound of Brazil (S.O.B.’s) in New York City on Monday, February 21st. Over two hours, a panel of artists featured in the documentary, led by the project’s braintrust Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, gathered to share their memories beyond the film, full-circle moments, and the lasting impact of Ye on their careers now. The night began with a poetic parallel, as fans eager to go back to The College Dropout era poured into the SoHo dancehall where Ye held his first headlining show in 2003. QR codes lined the walls with offers for an exclusive $225 hoodie that commemorated both the documentary’s release and S.O.B.’s 40th anniversary this year. The merch was only for sale that night. The event started wi...
Daniel Radcliffe is “Weird Al” Yankovic in First Photo from Upcoming Biopic
Daniel Radcliffe is set to star as “Weird Al” Yankovic in an upcoming biopic about the legendary musician, comedian, and parodist. With filming now underway, Roku has shared the first photo of Radcliffe in character. The film, aptly titled WEIRD: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story, was written by Yankovic himself alongside Eric Appel, who will also serve as the film’s director. The biopic “holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle,” promises a press release. “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend ...
Christopher Nolan Shares Moody First Look at Oppenheimer
Death and destruction never looked so good: Christopher Nolan has shared a first look at Cillian Murphy as the father of the atomic bomb in the upcoming movie Oppenheimer. The hotly-anticipated film has also added Kenneth Branagh to an already stacked cast. Nolan’s follow-up to 2020’s Tenet follows J. Robert Oppenheimer both before and after he helped develop humanity’s most terrifying weapon. The first look finds Murphy staring down the camera, mouth holding one of the cigarettes that would eventually kill him, and eyes as haunted as they might have been after the first successful detonation of an atomic bomb, when Oppenheimer said, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Emily Blunt stars as his wife Kitty Oppenheimer, and Nolan has also recruited Robert Dow...
Oscars 2022: The Academy Cuts 8 Awards From Live Broadcast
The Academy knows that people complain about the Oscars being too long, so it’s cutting eight awards from this year’s live broadcast. Instead, the awards for Best Documentary (Short Subject), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action), and Sound will be announced and recorded at the Dolby Theatre an hour before the Oscars’ live telecast begins, and then edited into the live show. In a letter addressed to its members, Academy President David Rubin clarified that the eight cut categories would be presented at the actual Oscars, not at a pre-show or on the red carpet. Instead, the award ceremony — set for March 27th — will simply begin an hour earlier than previously scheduled to allow for the recording. “To...
Fred Hechinger Cast as Chameleon in Sony’s Marvel Film Kraven the Hunter
Sony is continuing to make use of its Universe of Marvel Characters. According to Deadline, the studio has cast Fred Hechinger as Chameleon in the upcoming Kraven the Hunter. The White Lotus breakout will star alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the title role, as well as Russell Crowe in an undisclosed role. Word is that much of the Kraven cast will be made up of the classic Spider-Man villain’s family (with Crowe likely playing his father), and that fits with Hechinger joining as Chameleon. In the comics, Chameleon is Dmitri Smerdyakov, Kraven’s half-brother. He’s a master of disguise and impressions, skills that allow him to assume the identity of nearly anyone he encounters. Some versions of the character have depicted him with scientifically enhanced powers and technology...
25 Years Later, David Lynch’s Lost Highway Remains an Underappreciated and Nightmarish Neo-Noir Gem
David Lynch is rightly considered among the most impenetrably bizarre and allegorical filmmakers of his generation; however, there’s always a resolutely singular sense of authorship and intention to his work (even if he’s literally the only person who knows what he’s trying to say). That’s as true of 1977’s pioneering Eraserhead and 1986’s revered Blue Velvet as it is 1999’s comparatively conventional The Straight Story and 2006’s maligned Inland Empire. It’s certainly also valid for what’s perhaps his most unjustly disparaged creation: 1997’s Lost Highway. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this week, Lost Highway arrived in the midst of a career slump for Lynch. Neither 1990’s Wild at Heart nor 1992’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me earned the same kind of accolades as his 1980s run of films...
