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Amid a trailer highlighting the indie powerhouses behind Marvel’s forthcoming Thunderbolts*, star Florence Pugh — herself a born and bred indie darling of Midsommar fame — described the action flick as more akin to an “A24-feeling” picture.

Speaking to Empire in a recent interview, the actress — who will reprise her role as Natasha Romanoff’s sister, Yelena, the highly trained former assassin first introduced in Black Widow — said the film, about a group of misfits not really giving the Avengers a run for their money, has an entirely different style from typical MCU fare.

“It ended up becoming this quite badass indie, A24-feeling assassin movie with Marvel superheroes,” she noted.

Due in theaters May 2, the latest addition to the sprawling Disney-powered franchise is helmed by Jake Schreier, who shared an Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology for directing six episodes of A24/Netflix’s hit Beef, the all-cylinders-firing...

They say war is hell, and any number of cinematic depictions of war prove that maxim to be true. Although the so-called art of war has been fodder for all sorts of movies across the last 100 years,it's rare to find a lot of critics, let alone general audiences, fully aligned on the quality of a war film. Even war movies that many folks would consider to be among the best of the genre, such as Steven Spielberg's brutal World War II classic "Saving Private Ryan," can't claim to have unanimously positive reviews on aggregation sites like Metacritic.

That makes it all the more notable when you do find a film with a perfect score on Metacritic, no matter the genre. As you may already know, Metacritic is a bit more of a refined aggregation site than Rotten Tomatoes; it's not pulling in hundreds of reviews from random writers...

Awards season may have come and gone, but if you are still interested in catching up on some of the 2024 films you missed, then Max may be where you want to look in March. The platform’s streaming additions this month include not only a number of bona fide classics but also several of the best films released last year. Two of those movies are featured on the list below, along with several gems of different genres and decades that you could absolutely spend hours watching this month without ever regretting the time you gave them.

Here are TheWrap’s picks for the best new movies streaming on Max in March.

“Carrie” (United Artists) “Carrie” (1976)

Two years after it was published and launched Stephen King’s seminal literary career, “Carrie” got the adaptation it deserved, courtesy of director Brian De Palma. 1976’s “Carrie” follows its eponymous heroine (Sissy Spacek), a...

Queen Latifah started her music career in the late 1980s, beatboxing for the famed New York/New Jersey music collective the Flavor Unit. By 1989, she already had released her first single, "Wrath of My Madness," overseen by start producer Fab 5 Freddy. Her rap songs soon began getting a great deal of airplay, and she became a celebrity on "Yo! MTV Raps." Only a few years into her professional music career, Latifah branched out into acting, first appearing in Spike Lee's 1991 film "Jungle Fever." She was in mainstream Hollywood comedies like "House Party 2" and "Who's the Man?," while also appearing in dramas like "Juice" and "My Life." 

Latifah's star-making turn came in 1996, playing the role of Cleo in F. Gary Gray's "Set It Off," a hard-edged L.A. heist movie that also starred Jada Pinkett and Vivica A. Fox. From that point foward, she was a force to be reckoned with.

I’ve got some exciting news for anyone who loves a good laugh. Seth Rogen and his longtime creative partner Evan Goldberg have a new comedy series called ‘The Studio,’ and it’s already making a big splash. This isn’t just another project from the duo behind classics like ‘Superbad’ and ‘Pineapple Express.’ Nope, this one’s hitting the ground running with a flawless 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

So, what’s ‘The Studio’ all about? Picture Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, a guy who’s just landed the top job at a fictional Hollywood movie company called Continental Studios. It’s not all glitz and glamour, though. He’s stuck dealing with a chaotic team of executives, temperamental artists, and some seriously tough corporate bosses. The show dives into the wild world of filmmaking, where every decision could lead to a blockbuster win or a total disaster. It’s...

Although Stanley Kubrick was well-respected in his time, he didn't win as many Oscars as you'd probably think. Sure, he received Best Director nominations for "Dr. Strangelove," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange," and "Barry Lyndon," but he didn't win any of those. One of his most acclaimed movies, "The Shining," didn't even receive any Oscar nods at all.

Kubrick's only Oscar win was for Best Special Visual Effects for his 1968 sci-fi film, "2001: A Space Odyssey." The movie competed against "Ice Station Zebra," an espionage thriller starring Rock Hudson that released to mixed reviews and a middling box office performance. If the Academy had some sort of grudge against Kubrick, as some fans of his suspect, they still couldn't deny that "A Space Odyssey" deserved the win here; even more than half a century later, the movie looks fantastic.

What must've sealed the movie's win in this category...

Catherine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn joined Seth Rogen at the premiere of their new Apple TV+ series The Studio during the 2025 SXSW Conference and Festival at The Paramount Theatre on Saturday (March 8) in Austin, Texas.

The show premieres later this month and finds Seth, who cocreated and directed the series, playing a movie-obsessed studio executive.

Keep reading to find out more…

Costars Chase Sui Wonders, Ike Barinholtz, Alex Gregory and Dewayne Perkins were also present for the premiere. As were cocreators Evan Goldberg, Frida Perez and Peter Huyck. We’ve got photos of everyone in the gallery!

In the series, Seth plays “Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films,” according to Deadline.

The recent death of Gene Hackman has prompted many cinephiles to revisit their favorite films featuring the two-time Academy Award-winning actor -- though, really, regardless of what's going on in the world, any movie lover worth their weight in celluloid is never far removed from watching a Hackman flick because the man made so many classic, rewatchable pictures. The most valuable thing we can do as film buffs right now is to turn younger cinephiles on to the man's multitude of brilliant performers, because some of these kids were born after his 2004 retirement from acting.

For those just becoming acquainted with Hackman, it's important to understand that there's no ideal way to watch his movies. You can throw a dart at Hackman's filmography, and even if you hit a lousy movie like "Loose Cannons" or "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," you're at least going to get Hackman being an...

"The Simpsons" is one of the best TV shows in history, and certainly one of the most influential. It's an American institution that changed both animated comedy and animation on TV forever. It also set a standard for how to build a lived-in fictional television universe, creating a large ensemble of side and background characters (like Harry Shearer's Dr. Marvin Monroe) that make Springfield feel like a living place.

For over 35 years, "The Simpsons" has delivered half-hour episodes of television that are heartfelt, outrageous, and hilarious. The show has also commented on and lampooned both contemporary sociopolitical issues and pop culture in all its forms, whether it's anime, indie film darlings, or classic horror stories. Indeed, it seems no movie, TV show, or book out there is safe from being parodied by "The Simpsons," just as there's seemingly nary a famous person who can avoid eventually paying a visit to Springfield.

Seth Rogen celebrated the world premiere of his Apple TV+ series “The Studio” at SXSW on Friday, March 7. He writes, directs, and executive produces the show, which parodies the inner workings of Hollywood. Rogen portrays fictional studio executive Matt Remick, who is the newly appointed head of the embattled Continental Studios.

“It was directly inspired by all the people we work with and all the years and years we’ve spent making studio films,” he told IndieWire. “We’ve primarily worked within the studio system and so we’ve become close friends with a lot of these people and we’ve seen how hard it is for them. A lot of them genuinely like movies and are real movie people.”

“The fact that they have a job where they’re constantly put in a position where they have to disappoint their idols and ruin things that maybe could be great — it’s very comedic,...

Seth Rogen brought his Hollywood satire The Studio to opening night of the SXSW festival on Friday, as he revealed the surprising inspirations and meetings he had before shooting.

The Studio stars Rogen as the newly appointed head of the fictional Continental Studios, as he attempts to keep things afloat financially while also trying to create artistic, prestige films.

“I was making The Fabelmans actually, and I was kind of just really inspired by how personal a movie Steven [Spielberg] was making; I also was rewatching The Larry Sanders Show because it was still kind of the midst of the pandemic, and I was very inspired by that,” Rogen told The Hollywood Reporter on the Austin, Texas, red carpet of how he conceived the show alongside his co-creators. “That’s something I grew up loving and so I thought that maybe we could make something that was very personal based on...

Plot: A studio exec (Seth Rogen) who finds himself promoted to the top slot at the studio has to juggle his wish to make great films with the pressures of his new job.

Review: What professions are most often depicted in movies and TV? Certainly, doctors, lawyers, cops (and criminals). To that, I’d add the Hollywood exec. Pretty much ever since they started making movies, Hollywood has been doing films about their business, with many of them classic tales, like the first two versions of A Star is Born (the latter two took on the even sexier music industry instead), Singing in the Rain, The Last Tycoon, The Player, Swimming With Sharks, and – on the small screen – the too quickly cancelled Action, and Entourage among others.

Yet, it can’t be denied that those earlier versions, even if they were at times scathingly critical, also adhered to the romance of the business.

Game recognizes game.

At the South by Southwest Film and Television Festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday night, The Studio co-creator, writer, director, and star Seth Rogen said Oscar winner Martin Scorsese told Rogen and co-creator, director, and writer Evan Goldberg that they swear too much.

“We told Martin Scorsese to say, like, ‘See, I should have sold this to f--king Apple,’” Rogen said after the two-episode world premiere of The Studio. “He's like, ‘You guys say, f--k too much.’”

In the Apple TV+ comedy series, the Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker — famous for his R-rated features, including The Wolf of Wall Street, where the F-word is uttered more than 500 times – plays himself. Scorsese is one of several famous faces to appear in the Hollywood satire, including Charlize Theron, Steve Buscemi, Sarah Polley, Greta Lee, Olivia Wilde, Anthony Mackie, Ron Howard, and Nicholas Stoller.

“We wanted to paint a real,...

It was the response a studio head would love. On Friday night at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, Apple TV+ premiered the first episodes of its new Hollywood comedy The Studio to several rave reviews from attendees.

The result should not surprise historians of the annual Austin event. The Studio co-creator, director, writer, executive producer, and star Seth Rogen has enjoyed many successful launches at SXSW, including Knocked Up, Neighbors, Sausage Party, Long Shots, and Good Boys.

“The Studio is the best new TV series since the first season of Hacks. It is so clever and funny and well directed and perfectly acted. I can’t wait for everyone to see it,” wrote Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh.

Inverse editor Hoai-Tran Bui called The Studio, “Entourage, but for Film Twitter (positive). Really enjoyed seeing this with a crowd, whose laughter was so loud, I missed 20% of the dialogue.

It’s fitting that creative partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg chose to premiere their Apple TV+ series “The Studio” — a scathingly accurate satire of the modern film industry — at South by Southwest, a festival at once adoring of film culture and deeply irreverent about Hollywood.

“I think a lot of people wonder why so many bad films are made in Hollywood,” Rogen said in the Q&a following the two-episode premiere, which played to waves of roaring laughter from the audience at the Paramount Theater in Austin. “But what people should wonder is how any good films are made in Hollywood. So that’s what we’re trying to show here.”

Rogen plays Matt Remick, who is suddenly promoted into the job running the fictional Continental Studios (think Sony Pictures mixed with Warner Bros. and a dash of Paramount). While veteran actors and fellow SXSW attendees Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn,...

Hollywood satirizing itself always brings with it a strangely ouroboric connotation—an excruciating, try-hard attempt to make themselves cooler by lampooning themselves in front of their audience. To a certain extent, the lampooning could work if the media exploring said sentiment has a discerning point. The Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-created show The Studio (Season 1) seems to be vacillating between two entirely conflicting points.

As the show begins, we are introduced to Matt Remmick (Bryan Cranston), who is appointed the head of flailing Continental Studios by its new owner Griffin Mill (Bryan Cranston), who also gives him his first mission statement—to revive the IP of Kool-Aid by producing a movie akin to the success of “Barbie,” which would put Continental Studios on the map. But that is a hard pivot from what the cinephilic perspective of Remnick wants Continental Studios to be making—serious, art-house movies, which Mill...

Movies about movies have been a storied Hollywood tradition for decades now, and TV shows about movies have been catching up in recent years, exposing the chaotic reality behind what we see on the silver screen. But as HBO learned the hard way with last year’s swiftly cancelled comedy The Franchise, showbiz stories don’t always connect with viewers. And that may end up being the case for Seth Rogen’s new Apple TV+ comedy The Studio — premiering Wednesday, Mar. 26; I’ve seen the first four episodes — which offers some fun moments and cool celebrity cameos… but may be...

The creative geniuses Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are set to deliver the laughs in their latest Apple TV+ series, The Studio. Rogen, who co-created the show, also stars in the lead role of Matt Remick. The star-studded affair stars, alongside Rogen, Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, and Chase Sui Wonders. The ten-episode series will have people laughing with a behind-the-scenes look at the film industry.

The Studio Review

The Studio focuses on the struggles of a newly appointed head of fictional Continental Studios, Matt Remick, who is attempting to save the company in an industry undergoing social and economic changes. Remick struggles with creating the movies he wants under pressure from his boss, who wants him to make crazy, out-of-this-world movies.

Matt Remick wants to make auteur films that deliver on a small scale but have a lasting impact. However, upon finding out Amy (O’Hara) had been fired as the studio head,...

So far in 2025, I’ve seen shows about doctors in urgent care, cannibals stranded in the woods, superheroes battling the forces of evil, vast governmental conspiracies that go all the way to the top. None has stressed me out half as much as Apple TV+’s The Studio, a comedy about the relatively lower-stakes world of moviemaking.

From episode to episode, I squirmed and groaned and held my breath. Between chapters, I had to steel myself to keep going. There were moments I could hardly see the screen at all — sometimes because I was peeking through my fingers, but mostly because I was laughing too hard. The Studio’s strain of cringe humor won’t be for everyone; even as it mellows in the second half of the season, it remains too intense to wind down with or throw on in the background. But for those willing to get on its frazzled wavelength,...

The trailer for Seth Rogen‘s new series has been released!

Apple TV+ has debuted the first trailer for the upcoming series The Studio, in which the 42-year-old actor plays a movie-obsessed studio executive.

While the cast also includes Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui Wonders, tons of celebs will be making cameos in the series!

Keep reading to find out more…In the series, Seth plays “Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films,” according to Deadline.

“With their power suits masking their neverending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe.

Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos is following in a storied American showbiz tradition of top TV executives making cameos on shows set by predecessors like Brandon Tartikoff. Surprisingly, the series that marks his acting debut is not on Netflix but on rival Apple TV+.

Sarandos is popping up in Seth Rogen’s upcoming showbiz-themed comedy The Studio, in which the Neighbors star plays Matt Remick, the new head of a Hollywood movie studio. We won’t spoil Sarandos’ interaction with Remick beyond teasing that it involves a chance encounter at the Golden Globes.

“After 25 years in Hollywood, secretly what I was really hoping for was to be discovered for the silver screen,” Sarandos told Deadline. “Of course it was my friend Seth Rogen who saw my ‘certain something’ and cast me. He has also promised an FYC campaign for my guest appearance — so it was an offer that I could not refuse.

Anthony and Joe Russo's new film "The Electric State" will arrive on Netflix on March 14, 2025 (you can watch the trailer here), and it comes with a lot of baggage. Adapted from a picture novel by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, "The Electric State" takes place in an alternate dystopian version of 1990s American where corporate mascots wander the landscape as intelligent robots. There was a recently-failed robot uprising, and now all the robotic mascots now wander a wasted, walled-off landscape, exiled from humanity. Millie Bobbie Brown plays Michelle, a young woman who has to venture into the robot wasteland in search of her long-lost brother. 

The Russo brothers are perhaps best known for the work within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they oversaw the blockbusters "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame," one of the most successful films of all time. "The Electric State...

After starring in two of the buzziest series of 2025, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan are both teaming up for Netflix film “The Whisper Man,” an individual with knowledge of the project told IndieWire.

Scott, who leads Emmy-winning series “Severance,” will star as a widowed crime writer who works with his estranged father, a retired police detective (Robert De Niro), to find his abducted 8-year-old son. The duo soon realize that the case has a connection with a decades-old *** committed by a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.” The film is based on Alex North’s New York Times bestselling novel.

Monaghan is set for an undisclosed role. She currently appears in “The White Lotus” Season 3.

“The Whisper Man” was first reported with De Niro starring in February 2025. James Ashcroft will direct the film, with Ben Jacoby (“The First Omen”) and Chase Palmer (“It”) adapting the script.

Anthony Russo,...

Many first spied Sharon Stone when she made her wordless big-screen debut in 1980, billed as Pretty Girl on the Train, in Woody Allen’s “Stardust Memories.” She does leave an impression while blowing a kiss from behind a train window. As Stone has said, “I gave it my best shot to melt that sucker.”

She would come to define a ‘90s brand of *** symbol, one who was more in control of her fate in films and not afraid to enjoy *** as well as dabbling in lethal behavior. Her signature performance remains 1992’s “Basic Instinct,” as a bisexual psychopath with likely murderous intent. It is hard not to acknowledge that the quality of her films has been up and down, resulting in nine Razzie nominations, including three wins. But she compensated when she poured her soul into Ginger McKenna, a booze-addicted, me-first ex-hooker married to Robert De Niro’s...

Jerry Lewis was the comedic legend who starred in dozens of films, remaining active until his death at 91 in 2017. But how many of those titles, many of which he also wrote and directed, remain classics? Let's take a look back at 15 of his greatest movies, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1926, Lewis initially gained attention as one half of the team Martin and Lewis, opposite future Rat Packer Dean Martin. The combination of Martin as the lady-killing straight man and Lewis as the spastic goofball started as a night club act and a radio program. They appeared in 17 films together before their breakup in 1956.

He went on to star in, direct, and write a series of slapstick comedies laced with hints of sentimentality. In titles such as "The Bellboy" (1960), "The Ladies Man" (1961), "The Nutty Professor" (1963), and "The Patsy" (1964), Lewis played a lovable, rubber-faced dork who won our hearts while grating on our nerves.

Seth Rogen wants to make great television with his upcoming Apple TV+ show The Studio, out March 26. But doing so means his character Matt Remick has to be saddled with the desire to make great movies, while also being hyper-aware of the pressure that comes with leading a film studio. In the latest trailer for the series, Remick’s trial-and-error takes place in front of an eclectic group of Hollywood figures, from Greta Lee and Martin Scorsese to Olivia Wilde and Ice Cube.

“I’m honored, obviously, to be one...

Apple is taking a bite out of Hollywood this spring thanks to the comedy series The Studio.

On Friday, Apple TV+ released the first official trailer for the meta-comedy from co-creator, -writer, -director, -executive producer, and star Seth Rogen. “I am so excited about watching this trailer,” Rogen's character, Matt Remick, says in the opening moments of the teaser.

The Studio features Rogen as "the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it's...

Seth Rogen is taking aim at Hollywood itself in the first trailer for his and Evan Goldberg’s upcoming Apple TV+ comedy, “The Studio.” The series, which is produced by Lionsgate Television, will premiere exclusively on the streamer on March 26.

“The Studio” follows Matt Remick (Rogen), an executive for Continental Studios who originally got into the business because of his genuine love of film. But when he’s promoted to become head of Continental, the day-to-day stress quickly transforms his dream job into a waking nightmare.

“I’m honored, obviously, to be one of the people who gets to choose which movies get made and which ones don’t,” Matt says in the trailer. “And I got into all this because, you know, I love movies. But now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them.”

“The job is a meat grinder,” his mentor Amy (Catherine O’Hara) sagely responds.

Being the head of The Studio is a dream come true for Matt Remick… until it morphs into an absolute nightmare.

Apple TV+ Friday released the full trailer for its forthcoming comedy headed by Seth Rogen and Catherine O’Hara. The clip highlights Matt’s biggest fears of the gig, as he worries that his new post might actually involve ruining the things he loves most: movies. He yearns to make great art, but things quickly devolve, as heaps of guest stars — Greta Lee, Olivia Wilde, Adam Scott and more — cycle in and out of the unfolding chaos. (Watch below.)

More...

Leonardo DiCaprio is still unconfirmed for Damien Chazelle’s Evel Knievel biopic, but The Brutalist’s Adrien Brody is also reportedly in negotiations to co-star.

Following the dismal box office performance of 2023’s Babylon, director Damien Chazelle publicly wondered if he might be in ‘director’s jail’, despite making an absorbing film about the golden age of Hollywood. Whichever way you look at it, though, Babylon was a sizeable commercial failure for Paramount, and Chazelle duly set about writing a much more modestly-costed follow-up project, set in a prison.

Somewhere along the way, though, another project bubbled up when Leonardo DiCaprio showed some interest in it. and Chazelle suddenly found himself looking at a greenlight for another high-budget project: a biopic of American daredevil, Evel Knievel. DiCaprio reportedly entered negotiations, Paramount are said to have fast-tracked things and reports suggested that the whole thing could go before cameras this summer.

Oscars 2025 concluded with terrific fan fervor and grand wins recently. Although there have inevitably been a few disappointments and protests regarding the winners, that isn’t really something to write home about.

Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can | Credits: DreamWorks Pictures

In any case, the Oscars are obviously hailed as the industry’s biggest Award ceremony. Hence, the questions arise, what new horizons would be opening up for the winners in their career? Well, it seems like the answer to that came sooner than expected this year.

Fans would be glad to know that one winner from the Oscars 2025 is set to collaborate with another Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio for his Evel Knievel biopic soon enough as per recent reports.

An Oscars 2025 winner is all set to collaborate with Leonardo DiCaprio in the upcoming Evel Knievel biopic

Adrien Brody recently bagged his second Best Actor Academy Award at the Oscars 2025. As a result,...

Turns out, when you’ve won Best Picture, most of the time, the only place you can go after that high is down.

Opening this weekend at the box office is “Mickey 17,” the first film from director Bong Joon Ho since his film won Best Picture for “Parasite” back in 2019. “Parasite” was something of a unicorn, an international film that crossed all borders and became a $259 million global commercial hit and an awards circuit sensation. Even with Robert Pattinson helping his cause, that’s going to be a tough benchmark to surpass. Warner Bros. is projecting a $40-50 million global opening weekend.

The difference this time is director Bong is working with a major studio, Warner Bros., rather than indie distributor Neon, and “Mickey 17” will open wide on 3,400 screens domestically, whereas “Parasite” at its peak only hit 2,000.

But when a director’s movie wins Best Picture, does their next one perform better?...

Will Evel Knievel be revving his engines this summer?

That is a question facing Paramount as it looks to close a deal with Leonardo DiCaprio to star in a biopic as the motorcycle daredevil who became famous for jumping over cars, fountains and canyons. Damien Chazelle, who last directed Babylon and has a first-look deal with Paramount, is due to helm the feature.

The deal-making has been going on for months, since late last year at least, and while that process plays out, eyes are on other roles. Adrien Brody, who just won a best actor Oscar for his work on The Brutalist, may be one of those waiting in the wings.

While there is no offer for a role, Brody is said to have met with Chazelle for the part of Shelly Saltman, the author and sports promoter who was viciously attacked by Knievel with an aluminum bat.

Chazelle...

Two well-dressed adversaries sit opposite each other in a crowded diner, with the ostensible hero framed to the left and the villain to the right. They talk about their work lives, commiserate a little about how neither of them really fits into the traditional ideal of having a "regular-type life," and ultimately warn each other to stay in their own lane. There's a veneer of friendliness to their interaction, but it obscures their actual feelings about each other -- and maybe even a whiff of homoeroticism. There's talk about their true natures, and a sense that they share a level of dedication to their jobs that's resulted in strained relationships. If these characters were hacky screenwriters, they might be prone to quote Belloq from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and literally say aloud the phrase, "We're not so different, you and I." There's a sense that even though they're on opposite sides of the law,...

Mickey 17, Warner Bros.’ expensive auteur sci-fi feature from Parasite Oscar winner Bong Joon Ho, finally arrives in theaters this weekend with a global outlook around $45M.

The Robert Pattinson movie carries a net production cost after UK tax credits of $118M before P&a. It will take turnstiles in overdrive for Mickey 17 to break even which, sources say, exists between $240M-$300M.

On the upside, U.S. tracking has improved for Mickey 17 from the teens to the point where a $20M+ domestic opening could be possible. Original sci-fi is a hard nut to expand an audience for; typically, it’s a cold genre aimed at older men. The gist of the campaign has been making Pattinson’s space cog worker — an “expendable” who sacrifices himself only to be “reprinted” or reborn again — relatable to general moviegoers. The comp among sci-fi movies is Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 Oscar winner Arrival,...

In 2023, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature — the Mexican-born filmmaker’s third Academy Award since first winning in 2018 for “The Shape of Water.” As del Toro held this statue once more, a reporter asked him what the award would say if it had Pinocchio’s speech ability. The director answered in Spanish, “It would tell me he’s Indio Fernández.”

His quip references the long-rumored connection between the statuette and Mexican director/actor Emilio “El Indio” Fernández, who allegedly modeled for the Oscar statue’s design during his stay in the United States — just before becoming one of the most notable filmmakers of Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema. Del Toro holding this piece of cinematic history is alluringly symbolic, especially given the filmmaker’s prolific Hollywood status 30-plus years after his debut “Cronos.” It wasn’t until Alfonso Cuarón’s 2014 Best Director win...

People like to say, “It’s never too early” to do something, but that’s not always true. For example, it’s too early to predict next year’s Academy Awards before this year’s Academy Awards. But the 2025 Oscars are over, so now it’s time to start making predictions about what films will contend for the Oscars next year.

It’s already looking like the 98th Academy Awards will have a stronger field than the 97th. Blue chip filmmakers are returning from long breaks with exciting casts in tow. Each Safdie brother has their own A24 sports drama. There’s a new Avatar movie. It’s going to be an exciting, unpredictable year.

Here are 25 films likely to contend for 2026 Academy Award nominations in many different categories, not just Best Picture. Some of them are locks, some are long shots, and some will peter out entirely, replaced in...

One of the most iconic characters in the world of cinema is Tony Montana, the violent protagonist of Brian De Palma’s 1983 crime epic Scarface. Al Pacino transformed the future of gangster films through his outstanding portrayal of the drug lord.

Through his performance, Pacino brilliantly portrayed Montana as both an ambitious and powerful criminal whose story ended in self-destruction. With a thick Cuban accent, in his white suits, and with many memorable lines, Montana tells a complicated story of aspiration and the dark side of the American Dream.

Al Pacino in Scarface | Credit: Universal Pictures

However, the iconic character had a different real-life story, which shaped the movie’s creation. Are there historical grounds that say Tony Montana came from actual real-life incidents? Do his actual life events exceed the events shown in the movie? Well, the truth proves to be far more interesting than you would have expected.

On Sunday night, “Anora” director Sean Baker made Academy Awards history by winning four Oscars in the same year for the same film, collecting gold statues for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing.

How did Baker do what other legendary directors, whose films have won twice as many Oscars, could not? How unique is it that he wears so many hats? And is there anything to be gleaned from his four wins as the Oscars continue the trend of increasing the premium on auteur-driven filmmaking?

A director winning Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay is not unusual. If Baker didn’t win Best Original Screenplay category this year, another director would have: Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), Jesse Eisenberg (“A Real Pain”), Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”), and Tim Fehlbaum (“September 5”).

A director winning Best Picture has also become common. Of the 10 nominated films for Best Picture this year,...

Sean Baker had a history-making night at the Oscars, winning Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director, and Best Picture for "Anora," while star Mikey Madison took home the statue for Best Actress for her performance as Ani. As a result, Baker had four opportunities to speak to the world at large through his acceptance speeches, and he came prepared. He encouraged audiences to watch movies on the big screen since independent theaters need support now more than ever, at the same time promoting the importance of independent cinema and telling unique stories. He also, given the subject of "Anora," opened his night by thanking the *** work community.

"I want to thank the *** worker community. They have shared their stories. They have shared their life experience with me over the years. My deepest respect. Thank you — I share this with you," he said. Madison echoed the sentiment in her own acceptance speech,...

Exclusive: Convergence Entertainment will produce and fully finance Wall of White, a narrative adaptation of the documentary by Jared Drake and Steven Sig. They will produce with Randall Emmett and Martin Scorsese, latter of whom sparked to the documentary based on the bestselling book by Jennifer Woodlief. Mark Gogolewski will be exec producer. They are out to directors and eyeing a late 2025 start date.

Wall of White tells the tale of the tragic and heroic events of March 31, 1982, when an avalanche buried the Alpine Meadows ski resort in California; it trapped eight people and killed seven of them. The drama will be told from the vantage of lone survivor Anna Conrad, and the heroic first responders who risked their lives in a grueling search and rescue effort and a race against time. The disaster reshaped avalanche forecasting, response protocols and safety measures at ski resorts worldwide.

“Jared and Steven crafted an extraordinary documentary,...

Wherever you call home, it’s hard to be invested in cinephile culture without a mind towards its health. It was hardly some casual choice when Sean Baker took time during an Oscar-acceptance speech to plea for greater attendance––with each year every purchase at an Anthology, Spectacle, or Maysles feels more and more like an investment in the future, or perhaps a protest vote against our present. And few fight so valiantly as La Clef Revival Collective, a Parisian group who’ve earned praise from Martin Scorsese, Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter, Justine Triet, Leos Carax, Adèle Haenel, and Céline Sciamma (the latter of whom sits on their board).

When La Clef, a Parisian theater initially open since 1973, faced severe risk of closure in 2019, the Revival Collective and aforementioned filmmakers joined forces to save the space. They are seeking $400,000 between now and April to fund renovations,...

After a long battle to secure one of Paris’ last independent cinemas, the organizers behind La Clef are bringing their efforts to New York. They are launching a film screening and fundraising tour across the city, aiming to connect with fellow cinephiles and raise the final amount needed to complete renovations.

La Clef, located in Paris’ historic Left Bank district, has been closed since 2019 when its former owner put the building up for sale. A collective of volunteers, filmmakers, and activists occupied the space, refusing to let it disappear. What started as a grassroots protest turned into a full-fledged movement to reclaim the cinema as a community-driven venue for independent film.

Last year, the group known as Cinéma Revival purchased the building after securing €2 million in funds. This was made possible through thousands of small donations, along with contributions from filmmakers including Wang Bing, Céline Sciamma, and Leos Carax. The effort also received high-profile backing,...

Day of the Fight marks the directorial debut of acclaimed actor Jack Huston who also penned the screenplay. Huston is reunited with his Boardwalk Empire co-star and friend Michael C Pitt in this handsomely crafted drama about a once-renowned boxer (Pitt) as he takes a redemptive journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison.

The film boasts a notable an impressive ensemble cast that also features Nicolette Robinson, John Magaro, Steve Buscemi, Ron Perlman, and legendary actor and frequent Martin Scorsese collaboprator, Joe Pesci.

We chatted to Huston about his film and the close relationship he has managed to mentatin woth felow Boardwalk empore cast mate, Pitt. We also spoke abouit his own ambitions and the films that have inspired his work.

The film is out in on general release on Friday March 9th. 

The post Actor Jack Huston on his...

Paris’ La Clef cinema is heading to New York.

Organizers behind the popular venue, one of Paris’ most enduring rep houses, are heading to New York this week to host a series of film screenings at cinemas across the city to connect with fellow cinephiles and raise funds for their ongoing redevelopment project back in Paris.

La Clef has been officially shut since 2019. The cinema was saved from permanent closure last year after Cinéma Revival, a group of local volunteers and longtime patrons of the cinema, purchased the building, which had been put on the market by its previous owner. The campaign to save La Clef was an almost five-year battle and began with a bold community occupation of the building, which grew into an international movement involving film industry figures, lawyers, activists, and government officials.

The group bought the building with €2 million raised through an online fundraising campaign. €400.000 was...

Robert Pattinson definitely did not want to freestyle-dance for Lynne Ramsay’s “Die, My Love.”

Pattinson told GQ in a video (below) alongside “Mickey 17” writer/director Bong Joon Ho that he almost had a “mental breakdown” amid filming a dance sequence with his co-star Jennifer Lawrence. Pattinson pleaded with Ramsay to have the scene be removed from the script, or be choreographed instead.

“I did this movie with Lynne Ramsay, and she’s a really good dancer. And Jennifer Lawrence is a really good dancer. They just find it so easy. They’re like, ‘Just dance, it’s just music playing, just dance,'” Pattinson said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to have a mental breakdown when this happens. We need to either choreograph it or cut it.’ And they’re like, ‘No, just dance, stop being all freak.’ It came to the day, and I was sweating so much,...

The streamer has only grown by a few hundred thousand subscribers since February 2024.

Fox doesn’t offer an inside look at its streaming service Fox Nation all that often. The company is preparing to launch a new streaming service that will offer Fox Sports content and more, but Fox Nation isn’t going anywhere. Speaking at an investor conference in recent days, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch revealed that the conservative news and lifestyle service Fox Nation has grown to somewhere between 2 million and 2.5 million subscribers.

Key Details: Fox Nation first hit 2 million subscribers in February 2024. Murdoch says new documentaries backed by Martin Scorsese and Kevin Costner have helped the streamer grow. Fox’s new streamer is not designed to pull viewers away from the traditional cable bundle. 7-Day Free Trial $5.99+ / month fox nation

Murdoch’s revelation that Fox Nation is now sitting somewhere between 2 and 2.5 million customers shows the streamer...

Fox is aiming to launch its new streaming service by the start of the NFL and college football seasons later this year, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on Monday.

Murdoch, speaking at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media, and Telecom conference in San Francisco, said “the aspiration” is for the unnamed streaming service to hit the “mid-single digit millions of subscribers range.”

His comments come a month after Fox announced it would be launching a new subscription-based streaming service by the end of 2025. Murdoch, on the company’s most recent earnings call, said the service will be priced “relatively low” and offer “existing content and existing brands.” The yet-to-be-named platform will provide a “holistic” offering of Fox programming, he added, including sports, TV shows and news.

Fox’s jump into the crowded SVOD space comes after the company — as well as partners Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ditched plans for a sports...

The Oscars saw history last night with the tying of one of Walt Disney’s Oscar records but Walt still holds a big one in Academy history!

The Oscars are always notable for some fun records and achievements being made. The 2025 ceremony saw a few, such as Best Actor winner Adrian Brody, setting the record for the longest acceptance speech at five minutes and forty-five seconds.

In the Best Animated Feature category, Pixar's Inside Out 2 lost the award not to the favored The Wild Robot but the indie feature Flow in what many saw as the biggest upset of the night.

The ceremony was good, and host Conan O’Brien kept it going. However, Disney got some embarrassment as the live Hulu stream of the event was interrupted by the server crashing mid-way through. Worse, the live feed cut off at the scheduled time of 10:30 Est, right before the announcement of Best Actress.

At Fox Corp., executives are counting more heavily on streaming subscribers.

The media company, which has been slower to invest heavily in stand-alone streaming properties than many of its rivals, sees a potential market of 5 million subscribers for a new direct-to-consumer broadband outlet it hopes to launch in tandem with the next NFL season, according to Lachlan Murdoch, the company’s CEO. The executive, speaking at an investor conference, also revealed that subscribers to Fox Nation, a streaming service affiliated with Fox News Channel, had lured between 2 million and 2.5 million subscribers since its launch in 2018.

Murdoch cited Fox Nation documentary series backed by actor Kevin Costner and director Martin Scorsese as being instrumental to luring subscribers to the service, which he said “has grown” over the past 12 months. The service tends to attract viewers who are significantly younger than those who watch traditional Fox News programming, and has focused more intently on lifestyle programming.