Film
R.I.P. Wilford Brimley, Cocoon and The Natural Actor Dies at 85
Wilford Brimley, the veteran character actor known for films including Cocoon, The China Syndrome, The Thing, and The Natural, who later became a national spokesman for diabetes awareness, has died at the age of 85. TMZ reports that Brimley had been in failing health in recent days and passed away Saturday morning (August 1st) at his home in Utah. Prior to pursing a career in acting, Brimley served in the Marines, and worked as a bodyguard for Howard Hughes, a ranch hand, a wrangler, and a blacksmith. In the late 1960s, at the urging of his friend Robert Duvall, Brimley began pursing work as an extra and stuntman in Westerns. Brimley’s big break came in the 1970s after landing a reoccurring role in the popular CBS television series The Waltons. By the end of the decade, he pivote...
Into the Wild Bus Finds New Home at Fairbanks Museum
Back in June, the rickety bus made famous by Into the Wild was airlifted out of Alaska’s Denali National Park due to public safety concerns. Now, the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has found a new and much more accessible home for the iconic vehicle: a museum in Fairbanks just two hours away. After the release of the 2007 film (itself based on Jon Krakauer’s book), Bus 142 became a popular tourist attraction. However, because of the vehicle’s remote location in Denali Park — a sprawling landscape of forest, tundra, and glaciers larger than the state of New Hampshire — visits to see it up close and personal often turned dangerous. In fact, just last summer, one woman died while attempting to reach the abandoned vehicle. Following the removal of the bus, a searc...
Courteney Cox Returning for Scream Reboot
Gail Weathers will be chasing headlines again in the forthcoming Scream reboot from Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Courteney Cox has signed on to reprise her iconic role for a fifth time. Cox joins her on-screen bae Dewey Riley, aka David Arquette, who confirmed his involvement in May. Although it’s expected that Neve Campbell will follow suit, the heroine of the blockbuster horror franchise has yet to officially commit. As previously reported, Ready or Not filmmakers Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will direct the fourth sequel. They’ll be working from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) and Guy Busick (Ready or Not). Even better, the original film’s screenwriter Kevin Williamson will serve as executive producer. Editors&...
Seth Rogen Says He Was “Fed a Huge Amount of Lies About Israel”
Seth Rogen pissed off North Korea with some truthiness in The Interview, and now he’s sparked similar backlash with recent comments about Israel. His remarks came during an interview on Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast, ostensibly about the actor’s forthcoming HBO Max movie, An American Pickle. The film sees Rogen portray a Jewish immigrant who finds himself in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. When he falls into a pickle vat, the brine preserves him for a century, emerging to meet his grandson (also portrayed by Rogen), a secular Jew of the modern age. As Rogen and Maron are both Jewish, much of the conversation centered around their own experience with Judaism and identity. While much of the discussion was comedic and nuanced, some of the remarks have stirred controversy. When the idea of reloca...
First Official Friday the 13th Board Game Now Available
Friday the 13th is a fickle franchise when it comes to rights. (We’ll let Friday 3 star Larry Zerner explain the legal mumbo jumbo.) That’s why we’re only just now getting an officially licensed board game featuring Camp Crystal Lake and Jason Voorhees. Enter Friday the 13th: Horror at Camp Crystal Lake, a new press-your-luck survival game from The Op that “puts you and your friends in the roles of camp counselors in a face-off with the hockey-masked murderer for an intense five ‘nights’.” The logline continues, “Endure the suspense and win by gathering the most valuable supplies or finding safety as others lose everything, with unexpected hitches the whole way!” Because, let’s be real, it wouldn’t be a true-blue Friday the 13th experience without some “unexpected hitches.” Of course, it a...
R.I.P. Alan Parker, Director of Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Commitments Dies at 76
Alan Parker, Oscar-nominated British writer and filmmaker of Fame, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, The Commitments, and Midnight Express, passed away on Friday. He was 76. The British Film Institute confirmed Parker had been battling a lengthy illness. Born into a working-class family in Islington, North London, Parker studied science at the Dame Alice Owen’s School before ditching the institution to work in the advertising field. After working his way through several agencies as a copywriter, Parker cut his teeth and made a name for himself directing several award-winning commercials. By the early ’70s, Parker had begun writing scripts and filming shorts. In 1973, he personally financed his first fictional film No Hard Feelings, a coarse love story against the Luftwaffe bombings of World War II th...
John Carpenter’s Halloween And Two of Its Sequels Returning to Drive-In Theaters
Sadly, Michael Myers won’t be returning in Halloween Kills this October, but he will be back at drive-ins across America. As Bloody Disgusting reports, John Carpenter’s 1978 original and two of its sequels are being dusted off for the holiday. Which sequels? 1981’s Halloween II or 1983’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch? Wishful thinking. Instead, they’re bringing back 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and 1989’s Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Fans of the series will no doubt recognize this lineup from past years; in fact, the print of Halloween is the one that Dean Cundey remastered and restored a couple of years ago. Nonetheless, it’s always nice to see The Shape on the silver screen. And the best part is you don’t even have to wait. Already, several locations...
Pixar Announces New Film Luca
Pixar has announced its next film: Luca, set to hit theaters on June 18th, 2021. While plot details are being kept vague for now, Pixar describes the film as “a coming-of-age story about a young boy in Italy, who shares in adventures on the Italian Riviera with his newfound best friend. But a dark secret about his true identity seeks to threaten that bond.” Luca is being directed by Enrico Casarosa, who is drawing inspiration from his own upbringing. “This is a deeply personal story for me, not only because it’s set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship,” Casarosa explains in a statement. “Childhood friendships often set the course of who we want to become and it is those bonds that are at the heart of our story in ...
Jordan Peele and Issa Rae Team Up for Universal’s Sinkhole
Jordan Peele is keeping things spooky. As Deadline reports, the Oscar-winning mastermind behind Get Out and Us is teaming up with Insecure star Issa Rae on a curious new genre film for Universal called Sinkhole. Based on Leyna Krow’s short story, the film surrounds a young family that moves into a dream home, only one of the amenities is a gaping sinkhole in the backyard. And said sinkhole tends to fix broken things — possibly people even. As with anything Peele touches, there’s an inherent social commentary within the story. As Deadline notes, the subplot of Sinkhole carries a “commentary on the human condition through the lens of female identity.” Universal nabbed the rights to the story for a seven figure deal, beating out more than 10 studio bidders, which makes this something a coup. ...
Shudder’s Host Brilliantly Adds Paranormal Activity to Our Pandemic: Review
The Pitch: Tired of Zoom calls? Bored of the same ol’ small talk? How about a seance to spice up your quarantine? Such is the conceit of Rob Savage’s Host. This swift, 56-minute capsule of terror follows a group of friends who tap into some paranormal activity amidst our ensuing pandemic — and, yes, we do mean ours. The whole thing was shot entirely during lockdown, and the all-too-palpable reality of Covid-19 surrounds these unfortunate souls, only it’s the last thing they need to fear. No Upcoming Meetings Today: Like Dave Franco’s The Rental, the concept here alone demands a watch of Host. This is ingenuity at its finest, and its origin story is almost as exciting as the film’s brazen execution. What started out as a Zoom prank gone viral — Savage tweeted video of himself investigating ...
Beyoncé’s Black Is King on Disney Plus: How to Watch, Release Time, and Everything You Need to Know
On Friday, July 31st, Disney+ will debut the new visual album from Beyoncé, Black Is King. The film is something of a reimagining of Disney’s live-action The Lion King remake, which was released in theaters a little over a year ago. Beyoncé starred in the film as the voice of Nala, in addition to providing original music for the companion album The Lion King: The Gift. It’s those songs that will make up the bulk of Black Is King’s soundtrack, while Bey and her accompanying cast play out the classic story in a whole new way. So what else do we know about Black Is King, and how can you watch it? Read on for all the details and insights. How Can I Watch Black Is King? The movie will debut exclusively on Disney+. While the platform no longer offers free trials like its...
Jon Cryer Details Early Back to the Future Script With Atomic Connections to Indiana Jones
Back to the Future, Pretty in Pink, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Back to the Future turns 35 this year. To celebrate, Amblin Entertainment is releasing a new box set sporting a 4K restoration with a number of goodies and pinball machine parts. One of the big sells to the set, however, is never-before-seen footage featuring the likes of Ben Stiller and Jon Cryer auditioning to play Marty McFly. Yeah, this is definitely heavy stuff. So heavy that news of the footage has since caught the attention of Stiller and Cryer. Stiller humbly admitted that Michael J. Fox was “never in jeopardy”, ultimately contending that he “blocked out this memory.” However, Cryer’s reaction was a little different; in fact, he hit 88 miles per hour on his own memory banks, detailing an earlier ...
