News

Winona Ryder rose to prominence immediately after making her film debut in 1986.Stranger Things/YouTube; Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/YouTubeAbigail Williams in 'The Crucible'mega

Winona Ryder plays the role of Abigail Williams in the 1996 film The Crucible. Directed by Nicholas Hytner and written by Arthur Miller, the film explores the Salem Witch Trials involving girls in a small community. Ryder's character, who had an affair with Daniel Day-Lewis' John Proctor, tries to get revenge on his wife by framing her.

The Crucible also stars Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell and Jeffrey Jones, to name a few.

Beth Macintyre in 'Black Swan'SearchlightPictures/YouTube

Starring as Beth Macintyre, also known as The Dying Swan, Ryder takes on the role and paves the way for Natalie Portman's Nina, a talented ballet dancer, in the film Black Swan. The 2010 flick also sees the rivalry between Nina and newcomer Lilly (Mila Kunis).

Following filming,...

Legendary film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were known for their passionate discussions about movies, whether they were raving about arthouse offerings like My Dinner with Andre or fiercely debating the artistic merits of Home Alone 3.

But what about TV?

Well, apart from that time that they reviewed an episode of Saturday Night Live during the episode, the famous duo didn’t really discuss TV shows. But that all changed thanks to one very special animated series: The Critic. Al Jean and Mike Reiss’ underrated primetime cartoon chronicled the life of a portly New York film critic and TV host Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz) who routinely trashed Hollywood blockbusters such as Scent of a Wolfman and Dennis the Menace II Society.

So, naturally, Siskel and Ebert took note of The Critic. They then took the highly unusual step of reviewing it on a 1994 episode of their show,...

Exclusive: On the heels of big box office success with Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, actress Winona Ryder has signed with with WME for representation in all areas.

In the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic, Ryder reprises her role as Lydia Deetz, who as an adult, is still haunted by experiences earlier in life with the mischievous ghost, Betelgeuse. With rebellious teenage daughter Astrid in tow, Lydia finds that a portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened once again.

A muse of Burton’s, who in addition to Beetlejuice, starred in his prior films Frankenweenie and Edward Scissorhands, Ryder’s co-stars in the sequel include Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega, and Catherine O’Hara. Following the film’s launch on opening night of the Venice Film Festival, it went on to the second-best September opening in history at $110 million, also registering as Burton’s second highest-grossing film ever, on the domestic front.

While he began his career telling jokes about frozen garbage pastries, Jim Gaffigan has since become a solid dramatic actor. Recently, he starred in the surreal indie dramedy Linoleum, and before that, he appeared in not one, not two, but three different Law & Order series, for five episodes total.

The TV procedural empire has frequently given comedians opportunities to take on more series roles, including Kathy Griffin, Martin Short and Gilbert Gottfried, who popped up in two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing an NYPD technical wiz opposite fellow guest star Adam Driver.

Gaffigan guest starred in two episodes of the original Law & Order, one episode of Law & Order: Svu and two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. And he played different characters in each one, thus destroying the believability of the Law & Order-verse.

The most prominent episode of the bunch for Gaffigan...

FX is heading back to Oklahoma. The network has picked up a drama pilot from creator Sterlin Harjo (“Reservation Dogs”) and star Ethan Hawke to series, Variety first reported and Gold Derby can confirm.

The series’ plot details are being kept under wraps, but it’s described as “a Tulsa noir about a guy (Hawke) who knows too much.” It’s a reunion of sorts for Harjo and Hawke, as the latter guest-starred in the second-to-last episode of Harjo’s FX comedy series “Reservation Dogs.” Harjo created the new series and directed the pilot and will serve as executive producer. Hawke will also serve as executive producer. Garrett Basch (“Reservation Dogs”) is also an EP.

The pilot, which was ordered in February with the working title “The Sensitive Kind,” filmed in Oklahoma in April and May. The pilot’s cast includes Keith David, Siena East, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tim Blake Nelson,...

Ethan Hawke must’ve enjoyed his guest spot on Reservation Dogs: The Oscar-nominated actor will star in a new drama, written and directed by Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo, which just earned a series order at FX, our sister site Variety reports.

The drama, which is titled The Sensitive Kind, is described as a “Tulsa noir” and will star Hawke as “a guy who knows too much.” A pilot was ordered in February, with a supporting cast that includes Keith David, Siena East, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tim Blake Nelson, Scott Shepherd, Tracy Letts, Kyle MacLachlan and Macon Blair.

More from TVLineBlue...

The Criterion Channel’s at its best when October rolls around, consistently engaging in the strongest horror line-ups of any streamer. 2024 will bring more than a few iterations of their spooky programming: “Horror F/X” highlights the best effects-based scares through the likes of Romero, Cronenberg, Lynch, Tobe Hooper, James Whale; “Witches” does what it says on the tin (and inside the tin is the underrated Italian anthology film featuring Clint Eastwood cuckolded by Batman); “Japanese Horror” runs the gamut of classics; a Stephen King series puts John Carpenter and The Lawnmower Man on equal playing ground; October’s Criterion Editions are Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Hunter, Häxan; a made-for-tv duo includes Carpenter’s underrated Someone’s Watching Me!; meanwhile, The Wailing and The Babadook stream alongside a collection of Cronenberg and Stephanie Rothman titles.

Otherwise, Winona Ryder and Raúl Juliá are given retrospectives, as are filmmakers Arthur J. Bressan Jr. and Lionel Rogosin.

At the height of her fame in the nineties and noughties, veteran actress Winona Ryder said she missed out on “a lot of parts,” including a starring role in the Charlie Kaufman cerebral romantic drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which went to Kate Winslet), due to excessive tabloid and paparazzi attention.

“It was such a brilliant script and [director Michel Gondry and I] were at this little restaurant and people kept coming up to me and there was a random paparazzi guy outside, which was kind of unusual for me, but I just remember [Gondry’s] face, and trying to convince him that this isn’t normal, and I know it’s not normal,” she said in a recent cover story with Esquire.

The casting meeting was just one of many opportunities the two-time Oscar nominee said she lost out on because of a media circus surrounding her personal life, including her romantic relationships,...

Francine Maisler, longtime collaborator with Aaron Sorkin and Steven Soderbergh and casting director for “The Revenant,” “The Big Short,” “Little Women,” “Dune” and “The Bikeriders,” says she’s always been obsessed with performance.

“I’m always looking and seeing and my eye is taken with things,” she says.

“I love the theater,” she told an audience at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this week, recalling being “mesmerized” by actors onstage long before she had the inkling to follow her career path.

Sorkin has said, “Francine has an eye for talent like no one I’ve ever met,” to which Maisler jokes, “We fight all the time.”

The longtime New Yorker started her career working for the Actors Equity union before moving into casting and professes she’s neither competitive nor did she ever dream of going bigtime. But after a few films in which “I just kind of kept...

Steve Zahn has joined Glen Powell in the upcoming Hulu comedy series “Chad Powers,” Variety has learned.

The series was originally picked up at Hulu in February. Powell will star in the series in addition to co-creating and co-writing the pilot with Michael Waldron, with both serving as executive producers. The show is based on the Chad Powers character created by Eli Manning for his Epsn+ docuseries “Eli’s Places.” Manning wanted to learn more about the walk-on process for college football, so he donned a wig and prosthetic makeup so he could go undercover during the Penn State football tryouts.

The official description for the series states, “When bad behavior nukes hotshot Qb Russ Holliday’s (Powell) college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers.”

Zahn will play Jake Hudson, described as “the charismatic head coach of a flagging college football program.

It's hard for fans who remember the original NBC airing of Friends to believe, but "The One Where The Show Turns Thirty" is almost here.

Friends was a ratings juggernaut from its 1994 premiere and ended its ten-year run with the fourth most-watched series finale in television history.

That would have been an impressive note for any show to go out on, but Friends went on to enjoy a charmed (and lucrative) afterlife in syndication for another decade before becoming a recent surprise hit with a whole new generation on Netflix.

So why haven't we seen another sitcom make a similar impact in the past thirty years?

Friends was a reflection of its specific cultural moment, which also laid the foundation for our current comedic landscape, and there hasn't been an equivalent upheaval since.

Friends Is a Victim Of Its Influence

If the show seems amusing but nothing special to indifferent viewers today,...

Exclusive: Ben Stiller and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell have been confirmed to star in Andrew Haigh’s true crime story Belly of the Beast as mk2 films, UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance and Village Roadshow Pictures board sales for a Cannes launch.

Rumors of their involvement in the project surfaced at the beginning of the year and now the sales partners have unveiled the full details ahead of rolling out it to buyers in the South of France next week.

Bafta nominee Haigh will direct the film, which he and Alexis Jolly adapted from Jerome Loving’s nonfiction book, Jack and Norman: A State-Raised Convict and the Legacy of Norman Mailer’s ‘The Executioner’s Song.’

Per the official synopsis the feature will tell the timely and true story of the unlikely friendship between notorious literary titan Norman Mailer (Stiller) and his protégé, Jack Henry Abbott (Farrell).

Bolstered by Mailer’s mentorship,...

Exclusive: Emmy and DGA Award-winning actor, director, writer and producer Ben Stiller has signed with WME in all areas.

Stiller’s breakthrough came with his Emmy-winning sketch comedy program The Ben Stiller Show (1992-1995), which helped launch the careers of Judd Apatow, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk.

Among his TV credits and accolades, Stiller won the DGA Award for directing all 7 parts of the Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora, which he also executive produced, receiving Emmy nominations in the Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series categories.

The multihyphenate recently concluded work on the second season of the Apple TV+ series Severance, which he directs and executive produces. For the first season of the series, he won a Peabody Award and was nominated for two Emmys plus PGA and DGA Awards.

His prolific acting career has included roles in major film franchises such as Night at the Museum,...

In March 2020, during the first days of the Covid pandemic, IndieWire launched an Instagram Live series. The idea was to hold a causal conversation with talent about their creative process and how they spend their free time, a discussion that took on a very different meaning against the uncertain backdrop of the lockdown. IndieWire instinctively turned to Ethan Hawke to launch the series and set the tone; and at a time when most creatives understandably went dark, Hawke was hungry for the conversation.

Later that summer, the actor-writer-director gave a Ted-Ed talk, “Give yourself permission to be creative.” Even if you haven’t watched the nine-minute talk, you’ve seen it: Excerpts, four years later, still flood most social media feeds on a daily basis.

In the most viral clip, Hawke, discussing what happens to people when they suffer a great loss, said, “Did anyone feel like this before? What is happening to me?...

Renee Zellweger has now won twice at the Academy Awards. Her first victory was for Best Supporting Actress in “Cold Mountain” (2003) and then 16 years later as Best Actress victory for “Judy” (2019). Where does the Judy Garland biopic fall in with the rest of her filmography? Tour through our photo gallery of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

The Texas-born actress began her career in commercials and bit parts in films like “Dazed and Confused” and “Reality Bites” plus lead roles in less than acclaimed films such as one of the many Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. She managed to turn that career trajectory around and earned three consecutive Oscar nominations in 2001, 2002 and 2003 for “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” “Chicago,” and “Cold Mountain” respectively. She would win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for that latter Civil War drama.

In retrospect and even before that, it was winning the lead in the film...

Ned Benson’s sophomore feature, The Greatest Hits, is a romantic drama following a young woman who travels back in time anytime she hears a song to the last time and place she heard it with her late boyfriend. It’s a charming film with an incredible soundtrack that will delight any musicophile, not that you would expect any less.

We at FandomWire spoke with Benson and the film’s composer, Ryan Lott (frontman of Son Lux and Oscar nominee for his work on Everything Everywhere All at Once), about their work on the film. Keep reading to find out what they had to say.

The Greatest Hits Interview

In The Greatest Hits, more so than many other films driven by music, the soundtrack essentially functions as a character. We asked the team behind the film where the song choices came into play — whether it was during the writing process or later in production.

So what can be said about Andy Dick that the paparazzi and nearly every Judge from West Virginia to Los Angeles hasn’t already said? He was once a rising star in the comedy world with lovably nerdy characters on hit TV series before his demons grabbed a hold of him and took him down an over 25 year path of endless headlines with his name often times preceding the word “arrested.” In those years, he has compiled more Mug Shots than Head Shots and went from Star on the Rise to Registered Sex Offender. Yeah, I don’t know how else to say this other than: Wtf Happened to Andy Dick?!

But as always we must begin at the beginning and the beginning began on his birthday, December 21, 1965 in Charleston, South Carolina. After graduating high school in the suburbs of Illinois, Andy would study at the famed Second City and...

Hollywood star Winona Ryder became an iconic star of the 1990s after starring in movies like Edward Scissorhands and Reality Bites. However, the actress faced a downturn in her career in the early 2000s, and her blooming career began to lose its grace. However, she made a comeback as she landed the role of Joyce Byers in the Netflix series Stranger Things.

Winona Ryder in a still from Edward Scissorhands

Winona Ryder has played several non-conventional roles in her time. These roles allowed her to gain a strong foothold in the industry and also set her apart from other female co-stars of that time.

SUGGESTEDThat Time Winona Ryder Was Fined $10,000 And Forced Into Drug Counseling After Prolific Shoplifting Spree

According to the BBC, Winona Ryder was detained on suspicion of shoplifting on December 12, 2001, in Beverly Hills, California. And that incident further contributed to her extended hiatus from the industry. Meanwhile,...

Ben Stiller puts a major part of his time into his career as a director these days and he has some amazing projects in his portfolio. Stiller directed acclaimed films like Tropic Thunder and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He also served as the director and executive producer of the AppleTV+ series, Severance. However, there were a few scripts he had to turn down for reaching such height in his filmmaking career and some of them turned out to be huge successes.

Tropic Thunder director Ben Stiller turned down a script that turned out to be a massive success

Out of these films, one film could’ve won him his much-deserved Oscar back in the ’90s itself. Stiller was just two feature films into his directorial career when the Oscar-winning script of Good Will Hunting was sent to him. The Zoolander actor unfortunately turned down Ben Affleck and Matt Damon...

[et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="section" _builder_version="3.22" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" _builder_version="3.25" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="3.25" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.7.3" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]Video Version of this Article /et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.7.3" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]

Video: Hollywood Insider YouTube Channel

Oscar Snubs: 10 Actors Denied Their Worthy Oscar Best Actor and Best Actress Awards (In No Specific Order) Ethan Hawke

With four nominations and a league of amazing films under his belt, it is both a shame and a surprise that we haven’t seen an oscar in Ethan Hawke’s hands. Wearing many hats, Hawke is known for directing and writing alongside his acting career. My first introduction to Ethan Hawke was Reality Bites, also starring the intriguing Winona Ryder and Ben Stiller.

Quite a poignant film for these trying times, as the theme revolves around young adults trying to forge their path in a world where entry-level jobs are unpromising--even with a degree it seems bleak to find a respectable career coming out of college. A greasy-haired Ethan Hawke is the ultimate 90’s grunge heartthrob, a coffee-house guitarist filled...

As far as Hollywood comedies go, Ben Stiller’s name is synonymous with some of the funniest films in the industry. His unique brand of humor and dialogue delivery has gained him a loyal fan base while also making him one of Hollywood’s A-list stars. Stiller also proved that he is an accomplished director with blockbuster films like Reality Bites, The Cable Guy, and Zoolander.

Ben Stiller in Night at the Museum

As is the case with many celebrities in the industry, the Meet the Parents star has also missed out on the opportunity to be part of a few prestigious films, some of which have gone on to attain cult status in Hollywood. In particular, Stiller expressed his deep regret on rejecting the offer to direct the Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting featuring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

SUGGESTEDBen Stiller Helped Jim Carrey Deliver One of His Darkest Roles...

Somebody stop me! Alamo Drafthouse is taking a trip back 30 years to the Clinton-era and the year 1994 for a two-month long repertory slate of classic film screenings. And IndieWire can exclusively reveal the full lineup of films as part of the Alamo Time Capsules 1994 series.

Beginning the week of March 1 and running through the end of April, Alamo Drafthouse locations across the country will screen 29 different films all released in 1994.

Among them are some blockbusters and fan favorites, including “Pulp Fiction,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Mask,” “Interview With a Vampire,” “Forrest Gump,” “Little Women,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” and the live-action “The Flintstones.” There’s some cult classics like “Clerks,” “Drunken Master II,” “Reality Bites,” and “The Crow,” some art house darlings like “Chungking Express” and the “Three Colors” trilogy, and there are even some obscure deep cuts such as the bizarre Martin Short film “Clifford” or a special “Gore Cut...

Ethan Hawke must’ve enjoyed his guest spot on Reservation Dogs: The Oscar-nominated actor has signed on to star in a FX drama pilot written and directed by Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo, our sister site Deadline reports.

The drama, which is titled The Sensitive Kind and just earned a pilot order from FX, is described as a “Tulsa noir” and will star Hawke as “a guy who knows too much.”

More from TVLineTVLine Items: Rhoa Return, Bargain Block Renewed and MoreNight Court to Bring Back Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as the Wheelers, Along With Another Big Bang VeteranThe...

Tom Johnson, a writer and stand-up comic with credits including “The Daily Show” and “The Jeselnik Offensive,” has died at the age of 55.

In a statement Friday, his family said he died at his home “Peacefully and unexpectedly” on Jan. 14. No cause of death has been made public.

“Growing up,” the family wrote in their statement, Johnson “had an insatiable curiosity. He was talented in all of the arts: a gifted artist who could draw in vivid detail, played the guitar and trombone, and acted in plays throughout college at the University of Missouri. He loved the band Kiss and enjoyed dressing up like the lead singer for Halloween.”

“Tom had a huge heart and cared deeply about taking care of others. He launched the careers of countless successful comedians. His work ethic was impeccable. He was fair, kind, talented, inclusive, and funny as hell. He was a voracious reader,...

Just a few short hours before the first wave of films hit the big screen to kick off the milestone 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers offered high praise for what Robert Redford and his team started here in Park City.

“Sundance is a vital, vital part of the entertainment ecosystem, and I think it’s undervalued in that way,” said Jason Blum as he took the stage inside the Filmmakers Lodge on Thursday morning to moderate Sundance Scoop, a press conference and conversation that set the stage for this year’s fest. “Without Sundance, the United States would not be where it is in entertainment, and I really think not enough people make that connection.”

To be fair, Blum is the ultimate Sundance insider. He’s been attending the festival since 1992. One of his first major screenings was Ben Stiller’s...

In the wake of the dual Hollywood strikes, the 2024 theatrical release schedule is in a bind, even streamers are desperate for product. Sundance, save us.

Eighty percent of this year’s film lineup is for sale, some even made on SAG-AFTRA interim agreements during the actors strike. That means there’s a lot up for grabs, and Sundance Film Festival Director and Head of Public Programming Eugene Hernandez anticipates a frenzy.

“There’s an enthusiasm (among buyers), everyone is showing up to connect with and consider films for distribution,” he said at Thursday morning’s opening news conference.

“We have assembled a program that includes movies that deserve to be and to find their audiences. Films are ready for their audiences,” added Hernandez.

Related: Sundance Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews

“We have a slate that is ready to meet its audience,” he said.

“I think Sundance...

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably found yourself reminiscing about the good ol’ 90s – a decade of flannel shirts, dial-up internet, and, of course, those epic cult classics that shaped our pop culture sensibilities.

I’m excited to take you on a colorful journey down 90’s lane as we explore the gems that captured my heart, inspired our fashion choices (no shame in admitting it), and transported us to a time when mixtapes were the ultimate gesture of affection.

So, dust off that neon fanny pack, untangle your Slinky, and let’s dive in!

1 “Clueless” (1995)

Cher’s World, We’re Just Living in It

As if we could forget the iconic Cher Horowitz, the epitome of Beverly Hills fashion and cluelessly endearing antics. “Clueless,” with its impeccable one-liners, extravagant wardrobes, and hilarious commentary on high school life, is a film that still brings smiles to our faces.

Exclusive: Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman is set to make its world premiere Monday night at the Toronto Film Festival. Pine won’t be in attendance, choosing to stand in solidarity with his fellow actors amid the SAG-AFTRA strike. The film’s producer, Stacey Sher, says that not only is Pine proud to do so, she thinks the character at the center of his story would be on the same page.

“Chris comes from a family of actors who have struggled and he understands, especially given the time we are living in, Darren (the character Pine plays in Poolman) would of been out there on the picket lines making sure people were hydrated,” Sher says. “We all felt the film belonged at TIFF and so honored to be here because it is an audience festival. It is a place where things that are optimistic can connect with people as well.

"A Royale with Cheese." Who wants one? Or two? McDonald's is going all out with a new promotion. Even though we usually despise any shameless marketing, especially when it's for extremely unhealthy fast food, this is is just too good to ignore. McDonald's has debuted a 60-second trailer along with their poster for a new "As Featured In Meal" deal. So what are they offering? "A collection of fan-favorite menu items that have made iconic appearances throughout film, television and music." Huh, okay. The trailer features some of the most iconic appearances - including The Fifth Element, Reality Bites, "The Office", Fallen Angels, The Longest Yard, and of course the "Royale with Cheese" in From Paris with Love. I have to give them props for fully embracing the hilariousness of finding every single McDonald's reference in any film from any country, including ones that kind of make them look bad,...

Janeane Marie Garofalo is an American actress, comedian and former co-host on Air America Radio’s The Majority Report. She is best known for gracing the audience on stage with her unique mix of deadpan cynicism and sense of heartfelt conviction.

Janeane Garofalo Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

Janeane Garofalo was born on September 28, 1964 (Janeane Garofalo age: 58) in Newton, New Jersey. Her mother, Joan Garofalo, was a secretary employed in the petrochemical industry, who died of cancer when Garofalo was 24 years old. Her father, Carmine Garofalo, is a former executive at Exxon.

Garofalo comes from Irish and Italian ancestry. She was raised in numerous places across the United States, including Madison, New Jersey; Ontario, California; and Houston, Texas. She graduated high school in Texas, but has publicly announced her distaste for growing up in Houston, primarily because of the great emphasis placed on prettiness and sports in high school,...

One of the biggest events in the world is coming in July and the only way to stream it without a live TV streaming subscription will be on Peacock. The 2023 Women’s World Cup will be played in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to Aug. 20. The NBCUniversal service will stream every match of the event in Spanish for the entire month. The United States Women’s National Team is scheduled to play three games during the group stage, facing off against Vietnam on July 21 at 9 p.m. Et, Netherlands on July 26 at 9 p.m. Et, and Portugal on Aug. 1 at 3 a.m. Et.

Toward the end of the month, Peacock will drop all 10 episodes of the highly anticipated adaptation of the beloved video game “Twisted Metal.” In the series, which premieres on July 27, Anthony Mackie is a motor-mouthed amnesiac milkman who is offered a chance at a better life,...

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features guitarist Nathan December.

Nathan December lived a dream life back in the Nineties, even though very few people knew his name. It started when...

Explore the terrifying world where fact meets fiction as we delve into spine-chilling horror movies based on true stories. Horror has always been a captivating form of entertainment, but there's an extra layer of terror when the horrors depicted on the screen are rooted in real-life events. In this spine-chilling article, we dive into the nightmarish realm where fact meets fiction, exploring eight bone-chilling horror films that draw inspiration from true stories.

Prepare to discover the chilling tales behind these movies and the real-life horrors that influenced them. From demonic possessions to infamous murderers, these films blur the line between fiction and reality, providing a hair-raising experience for horror enthusiasts.

Warner Bros.

Regarded as one of the scariest films of all time, The Exorcist is based on the chilling real-life exorcism case of a young boy known as Roland Doe. The film follows the demonic possession and subsequent exorcism of a young girl named Regan.

No matter what else he felt, no matter what else was going on, above all Chris Pratt needed to keep a level head. He was Star-Lord, after all. The leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. And James Gunn was going to need him.

The week before, on July 20, 2018, Pratt and the rest of the cast were thrown into despair when Gunn, his close friend and filmmaker of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, had been fired as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after conservative personalities, rankled by his outspoken liberal views on Twitter, resurfaced decade-old tweets in which he joked about rape and pedophilia.

Now Pratt was at church, looking for solace. The sermon that day involved the story of the Israelites circling the walls of Jericho for seven days. On the seventh day, the Israelites shouted, and the walls crumbled down — a tale of perseverance.

Like all the emo and pop-punk bands that blew up during the ascents of those genres in the aughts, Fall Out Boy have had their share of growing pains in the process of building a name outside of a scene. As they got bigger, they focused more on the pop element of their sound, careening into the natural fit of R&b for singer Patrick Stump’s massive vocals, arena rock, and the type of March Madness-core mess of electro-rock that would define 2018’s Mania.

For their eighth album, So Much (for) Stardust,...

With Michael B. Jordan making his directorial debut with Creed III this weekend, we wanted to know what film by a first time Actor turned Director has been your favorite? Some came out of the gates with Oscar Glory (Kevin Costner/ Robert Redford) while others found a passion they haven’t looked back from (Ron Howard/ Sofia Coppola). If you don’t see your favorite listed, please let us know what (and who) it is in the comments section.

Update: I have rightly been called out for listing Braveheart as Mel Gibson’s first film when he actually directed a film prior to that called The Man Without a Face in 1993. So I guess the results are slightly skewed, but really, wasn’t Braveheart the first Mel Gibson directed film we all saw?!

Favorite Film by a First Time Actor Turned DirectorThat Thing You Do! (1996) (Tom Hanks)Ordinary People (1980) (Robert Redford)In a World…...

Fall Out Boy revealed the track listing for their upcoming album Friday, and fans were surprised to see that Ethan Hawke is featured on “So Much (For) Stardust,” which drops March 24.

Hawke appears on a song titled “The Pink Seashell feat. Ethan Hawke,” and as bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz explained in 2020, it’s inspired by a moment in Hawke’s 1994 film, “Reality Bites.”

“There’s this bit in the movie ‘Reality Bites’ where Ethan Hawke’s character talks about seeing his dad after he found out he had cancer. They’d talk about life and he gave Ethan’s character a pink seashell to help explain things,” Wentz told NME.

Also Read:

How Ethan Hawke’s Love for Paul Newman Started at Church and Came to Cannes

“He realized the shell is empty and maybe life is pointless. ‘It’s all a random lottery of meaningless tragedy in a series of near escapes,...

Rlje Films, Shudder and AMC+ have partnered and fully financed the highly anticipated thriller The Apology, we had recently learned. The film will be released by Rlje Films on December 16 in theaters and streaming on Shudder and AMC+ the same day.

Watch the official trailer below to start the holiday season off on a dread-filled note.

Directed and written by Alison Star Locke, in her feature film writing/directing debut, The Apology stars Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad,” Sully), Linus Roache (My Policeman, “Homeland”), and Janeane Garofalo (Wet Hot American Summer, Reality Bites).

In The Apology, twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, recovering alcoholic Darlene Hagen (Anna Gunn) is preparing to host her family’s Christmas celebration with her best friend Gretchen (Janeane Garofalo). Late Christmas Eve, Darlene’s estranged ex-brother-in-law, Jack (Linus Roache) arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret. Soon, Darlene finds herself caught between reason and ruthless instinct.

There’s nothing as tempting as IP: Just ask the studio streaming titans of today, who are diving deep into their film catalogs to reboot and reimagine hit films from decades past.

Just one summer since slasher “I Know What You Did Last Summer” found new life as an Amazon Prime Video series, and it seems that all our favorite “old” movies are finding new life on streamers and networks alike.

CBS announced shortly after canning a slew of shows that a reboot of the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis film “True Lies” will head to the network soon.

NBCUniversal also recently announced on May 12 a “re-framing” of Ben Stiller’s beloved 1994 burnout dramedy “Reality Bites,” which originally starred Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. The series is set to debut on Peacock, along with a bevy of other Universal titles being transformed for the small screen.

And that’s...

Rlje Films, Shudder and AMC+ have partnered and fully financed the highly anticipated thriller The Apology, we’ve learned today. The film will be released by Rlje Films on December 16 in theaters and streaming on Shudder and AMC+ the same day.

Directed and written by Alison Star Locke, in her feature film writing/directing debut, The Apology stars Anna Gunn, Linus Roache, and Janeane Garofalo.

In The Apology, twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, recovering alcoholic Darlene Hagen (Anna Gunn) is preparing to host her family’s Christmas celebration with her best friend Gretchen (Janeane Garofalo). Late Christmas Eve, Darlene’s estranged ex-brother-in-law, Jack (Linus Roache) arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret. Soon, Darlene finds herself caught between reason and ruthless instinct. Trapped together by a dangerous storm, a battle of wits escalates to a violent game of revenge.

“The Apology is like nothing else...

It’s a little over a month since Ben Stiller returned from Ukraine. It was there, as part of his work representing the Un Refugee Agency, that Stiller was granted an audience with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, currently defending his country from a war of Russian aggression. It isn’t often that Ben Stiller is starstruck, but he marveled at Zelenskyy’s path, from comic actor to unflinching war premier. “I was really taken by the resilience of the people of Ukraine, and of the President,” he says now. “His incredible sense of how he has risen to the moment and offered his people leadership and true resolve to get through this awful situation.”

It would be churlish — insulting, even — to draw a comparison between a man fighting for the survival of his country and one who has just directed several episodes of a popular new television show. But leadership — particularly...

Ben Stiller wishes he could sever any memory of auditioning for one 1992 comedy.

The Emmy-nominated “Severance” director revealed during a Q&a panel for the AppleTV+ series that he tried out for “My Cousin Vinny” in a role that went to Ralph Macchio. (It was revealed earlier this year in a Rolling Stone oral history of the film that Stiller was considered for Macchio’s role.)

“I tanked my third callback for ‘My Cousin Vinny’ to play the friend,” Stiller said. “It still bothers me. You go in as an actor and you do your thing and you sometimes feel really good about it and it just doesn’t work.” The conversation was moderated by Kumail Nanjiani.

“My Cousin Vinny” landed Marisa Tomei an Oscar win for starring opposite Joe Pesci in the Jonathan Lynn-helmed film. Macchio starred as the defendant on trial, who is the cousin of Vinny...

The world wasn’t calling out for yet another Predator movie but 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg finds mileage in a light-footed prequel led by Native Americans

There’s an obvious lack of creative necessity to Hollywood’s overwhelming churn of prequels, sequels, remakes, reboots and revisions, more so by the minute, as studio-owned streaming services plunder back catalogues for more ways they can exploit known properties. Upcoming TV shows based on Fatal Attraction, Alien, Grease, Mr and Mrs Smith, The Lord of the Rings and Reality Bites and films based on The Killer, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Crow, White Men Can’t Jump, Road House, Scarface and The Bodyguard are all so commercially inevitable that it’s almost hard to be angry, each new announcement deserving little more than a resigned shrug. It’s business, not pleasure.

So on the rare occasion that this practice offers up something...

At 51, Ethan Hawke has lived many creative lives. “Dead Poet’s Society” made him a star at 18; at 24 he became a Gen X icon with “Reality Bites.” He was 25 when “Before Sunrise” kicked off the iconic romantic trilogy that would follow him for the next 18 years and make him a screenwriter with “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight.”

He became a director a long time ago — he made “Chelsea Walls” in 2001 — and two decades later, his identity lies in being a creator as much as an actor. Showtime series “The Good Lord Bird” made Hawke a showrunner in 2020 and in his new HBO Max docuseries, “The Last Movie Stars,” Hawke turns his focus to the elusive careers and romance of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward — although the subject may as well be himself.

“I’ve definitely made the turn from being an old young person to being a young old person,...

Actress Winona Ryder aka 'Joyce Byers' in the supernatural TV series "Stranger Things", is the new ‘face’ of designer Marc Jacobs posing for the “J Marc Bag” campaign, photographed by Harley Weir:

Notable films Ryder has appeared in include “Heathers” (1988), “Beetlejuice” (1988)…

…“Edward Scissorhands” (1990), “Reality Bites” (1994) and “A Scanner Darkly” (2006).

Ryder was also nominated for two ‘Academy Awards’ including ‘Best Actress’ for “Little Women” and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for “The Age of Innocence”.

Click the images to enlarge…

<...

Actress Winona Ryder aka 'Joyce Byers' in the supernatural TV series "Stranger Things", is the new ‘face’ of designer Marc Jacobs in the posing for the “J Marc Bag” campaign, photographed by Harley Weir:

Notable films Ryder has appeared in include “Heathers” (1988), “Beetlejuice” (1988)…

…“Edward Scissorhands” (1990), “Reality Bites” (1994) and “A Scanner Darkly” (2006).

Ryder was also nominated for two ‘Academy Awards’ including ‘Best Actress’ for “Little Women” and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for “The Age of Innocence”.

Click the images to enlarge…...

Winona Ryder’s acting chops are not the only contribution she makes to Stranger Things. The Eighties icon also makes sure the scripts stay true to the era.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Ryder’s costar David Harbour said she gives feedback to creators Matt and Ross Duffer on the scripts to keep the 1980s accuracy in check, and the Duffer Brothers have modified the scripts after she fact-checks them.

“She’d tell them, ‘This song actually came out in ’85, and you have it in ’83,’” Harbour said. “She knew all of these minute,...

Kind blue eyes. That’s the most striking part of the poster for The Black Phone, the latest Blumhouse horror movie from director Scott Derrickson. Filling the poster is the face of the Grabber, a kidnapper and child murderer who terrorizes a Denver suburb in 1978, covered with speckled gray paint. A mask covers the Grabber’s jaw, giving the killer an unsettling permanent grin, while a top hat and wide glasses accentuate his upper face. But it’s those eyes that stand out the most, somehow kind and sad, despite their ghastly surroundings, making the Grabber all the more terrifying.

In that one image, we see the secret to Ethan Hawke’s late-career turn toward horror. After establishing himself as one of the greatest leading men from Generation X, Hawke developed a reputation for playing sensitive and vulnerable characters, given to fits of thoughtful melancholy. But with movies such as The Purge,...

Actress Winona Ryder aka 'Joyce Byers' in the supernatural TV series "Stranger Things", is the new ‘face’ of designer Marc Jacobs in the posing for the “J Marc Bag” campaign, photographed by Harley Weir:

Notable films Ryder has appeared in include “Heathers” (1988), “Beetlejuice” (1988)…

…“Edward Scissorhands” (1990), “Reality Bites” (1994) and “A Scanner Darkly” (2006).

Ryder was also nominated for two ‘Academy Awards’ including ‘Best Actress’ for “Little Women” and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for “The Age of Innocence”.

Click the images to enlarge…

400...

A reframing of the Gen-x hit film Reality Bites is in the works as a series at Peacock from original screenplay writer Helen Childress, who will also executive produce.

The series is centered on the driven, idealistic Lelaina Pierce and her three best friends as they leave college and try “adulting” in the 1990s; as the world around them is on the brink of a seismic shift, they struggle to hold onto who they are, and to each other.

Jenna Bans, Danny Devito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and Casey will serve as executive producers. The project reunites Devito, Shamberg, and Sher who were producers for the Reality Bites film which starred Winona Ryder, Ben Stiller, and Ethan Hawk.

Childress is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum & Morris. Devito, Shamberg, and Sher are all repped by CAA.