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It’s not every day that you come across a director who has a certain visible fetish like Quentin Tarantino. The director’s infamous scenes of feet in his movies have often been a point of discussion among fans. However, there have been directors with a more bizarre fetish than Quentin Tarantino, but they have done pretty well to hide it.

Famous directors like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese also have a way of stylizing their movies with certain characters or plots, with the rule of “one-fits-all”. Naturally, we decided to rank them. Here is a list of famous directors who have even more bizarre fetishes than Quentin Tarantino, ranked.

John Williams is one of the most prolific film composers of all time, having created some of the most iconic scores of the past 60 years, winning five Oscars and becoming the gold standard of movie musicians. Ironically, though, the 93-year-old maestro recently admitted to his indifference and criticism of film music as a genre, telling a biographer “I never liked film music very much.”

In this Guardian interview with author Tim Grieving about Grieving’s upcoming biography of the composer, Williams broke down the craft that he’s contributed so much to. “Film music, however good it can be – and it usually isn’t, other than maybe an eight-minute stretch here and there,” he said, “I just think the music isn’t there.”

He continued, brushing off the appreciation for film music as the product of “remembering it in some kind of nostalgic way,” before adding, “Just the idea that...

Frank Price, a writer-producer who made the rare leap to studio executive and became the head of Universal and Columbia Pictures, has died at the age of 95, according to his son and former Amazon Studios head Roy Price.

Price’s four-decade rise from CBS story editor to the head of Universal Television and later Columbia has left an immeasurable impact on Hollywood, from helping to pioneer formats like miniseries and made-for-tv movies to overseeing the release of Best Picture Oscar winners like “Out of Africa” and “Gandhi” and some of the biggest zeitgeist-defining films of the 80s like “Ghostbusters” and “The Karate Kid.

“My father, Frank Price, passed away peacefully...

Steven Spielberg is often described as the greatest movie director of all time. His films have changed Hollywood and inspired generations of filmmakers.

But even someone like Spielberg admits he has made choices he wishes he could take back. In fact, he has spoken openly about two scenes in his career that still make him cringe.

The first regret goes back to his 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg himself has said that one particular scene should never have been made.

The inspiration for the movie came from a night he spent watching a meteor shower with his father. Spielberg once said, “If I ever get a chance...

Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful directors in Hollywood history, but even legends have regrets. Over the years, he has admitted there are two moments in his career that still bother him. Both involve scenes that he now feels should never have been changed.

Spielberg first spoke about one of these regrets when looking back at his science fiction hit Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Inspired by a meteor shower he once saw with his father, Spielberg wanted to tell a story about aliens who arrive peacefully instead of threatening the Earth. He said, “If I ever get a chance to make a science fiction movie, I...

For those who love the music of John Williams — which is to say, any self-respecting cinephile — there’s something to get excited about. The legendary composer will be celebrated this fall with a three-volume Sony Classical release collecting his greatest works to date, beginning with John Williams: The Anthology — Vol. 1 1969-1990, available now.

That first volume consists of 22 discs, collecting music from the original Star Wars trilogy, Jaws, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Superman, and 18 other films.

In his forward for the collection, director Steven Spielberg (who’s worked with Williams once or twice) writes:

“I...

For those who love the music of John Williams — which is to say, any self-respecting cinephile — there’s something to get excited about. The legendary composer will be celebrated this fall with a three-volume Sony Classical release collecting his greatest works to date, beginning with John Williams: The Anthology — Vol. 1 1969-1990, available now.

That first volume consists of 22 discs, collecting music from the original Star Wars trilogy, Jaws, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Superman, and 18 other films.

In his forward for the collection, director Steven Spielberg (who’s worked with Williams once or twice) writes:

“I...

Now in its third year, Netflix’s The Paris Theater has today announced the full lineup for its much-enjoyed Big & Loud screening series, available exclusively on IndieWire. Per today’s release, the screening series “will deliver four consecutive weeks of cinema’s most unforgettable sensory experiences with a jam-packed lineup of 70mm, Dolby Atmos, and audio-obsessive cinema.”

This year’s series will kick off August 29 and run through September 25, and will put Manhattan’s largest Atmos theater to the test with 41 films, including 13 films on 70mm, and 6 films presented with special Dolby Atmos sound mixes. Per Netflix, the series aims to offer “a completely immersive experience, with picture and sound that allows audiences to fully immerse in the worlds onscreen, reveals new details to even the most seasoned filmgoers, and brings the intricate, thoughtful sound design of some of cinema history’s most gifted film artists to life.”

As has...

It's safe to say that 2025 has been a financially successful year for Warner Bros. Obviously, much of the talk of the town has centered around "Superman" thriving as a launchpad for the newly-established DC Universe, but films such as "Sinners," "Final Destination Bloodlines," and "F1" (which WB distributed in collaboration with Apple Original Films) have all performed extremely well for the studio. However, the hot streak of box office success kicked off in April when "A Minecraft Movie" dominated the box office, filling theaters with young people obsessed with the viral, ironic memes related to Steve (Jack Black) and, of course, the chicken jockey scene.

A lot can be argued about the overall quality of "A Minecraft Movie." /Film's review defended the film's merits, while other critics have dismissed its ambitions and humor as being too juvenile. However, there's no denying director Jared Hess brought his unique sensibilities to one...

To quote "Lawrence of Arabia," big things have small beginnings. Individually but especially in collaboration with each other, director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams are responsible for several sea changes in their respective fields. Spielberg not only helped institute the summer blockbuster but was instrumental in making genre films become just as prevalent and prestigious as melodramas or period pieces. Williams has been a key figure in getting music composed for the screen to break away from its marriage to the moving image and become desirable to listen to on its own. His pivot from jazz-based scores and Broadway-style arrangements to lush, heavily thematic, symphonic music made the score soundtrack album just as viable as a pop source cue soundtrack, and transformed the bulk of music for films into something that can and should stand on its own in addition to supporting the movie that it's for. Without these two artists,...

Netflix's Stranger Things is the ultimate homage to the 1980s. Chock full of nostalgia, the series is heavily inspired by iconic movies of the period, such as The Goonies, E.T., and so on. In fact, when creators Matt and Ross Duffer first pitched the project to Netflix, they put together a sizzle reel made up of clips from countless movies.

Stranger Things was originally titled Montauk, a reference to the real-life Montauk Project, which allegedly saw secret government experiments take place in New York during the '70s and '80s. The Montauk conspiracy was a big inspiration behind the show, but the title was eventually re-worked to become Stranger Things. It was also relocated to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.

The sizzle reel is definitely something to behold. Perfectly cut together, it captures the essence of what Stranger Things would eventually become. We're talking Spielberg-esque imagery,...

Jaws star Richard Dreyfuss was expected to appear at SharkCon this past weekend, but fans were left disappointed when the actor was unable to make his planned appearance. However, he had a very good reason for not showing up after sending a personal message from his hospital bed, where he was laid up with viral bronchitis, which prevented him from traveling to the event. In the message shared by the Con’s official page, the 77-year-old said:

“Hello fellow cons. I’m very, very sorry to tell you that I’ve been diagnosed with viral bronchitis. I’ve been told by my doctors I cannot fly, and I would have to fly five hours to get there. I’m terribly sorry because I had planned to be there and had been looking forward to it, but I’m unable to do so. I don’t want to get anyone else...

Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss was forced to cancel his appearance at SharkCon, taking place this weekend at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, due to his hospitalization with viral bronchitis.

In a video posted to the event’s Instagram page, the Jaws star can be seen laying in a hospital bed delivering the message, with his wife Svetlana Erokhin chiming in occasionally and the sounds of the vital signs monitor in the background.

“Hello, fellow cons. I am very, very sorry to tell you that I’ve been diagnosed with viral … viral … What is it?” Dreyfuss began, prompting Erokhin to offer the diagnosis of bronchitis.

“I’ve been told by my doctors I cannot fly, and I would have to fly five hours to get [to SharkCon]. I’m terribly sorry because I had planned to be there and had been looking forward to it. But I’m unable to do so.

“Jaws” icon Richard Dreyfuss was forced to drop out of this weekend’s SharkCon in Tampa, Fla., after he was diagnosed with viral bronchitis.

Dreyfuss delivered the news of his diagnosis and his exit in a video post shared to the SharkCon Instagram on Saturday.

He said, “Hello, fellow cons. I am very, very sorry to tell you that I’ve been diagnosed with viral…viral…What is it?”

His wife, Svetlana Erokhin, then clarified off-screen that Dreyfuss had been infected with viral bronchitis.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SharkCon (@shark_con)

Dreyfuss continued, “I’ve been told by my doctors I cannot fly, and I would have to fly five hours to get [to SharkCon]. I’m terribly sorry because I had planned to be there and had been looking forward to it. But I’m unable to do so. I don’t want to get anyone else sick,...

For their encyclopedic, eye-popping new narrative and visual history, Godzilla: The First 70 Years, authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski had a rare opportunity: unfettered access to the Toho archives. Having previously teamed up for Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa, the first biography of the legendary filmmaker, the duo unearthed a treasure trove of concept art, sketches, photographs, and behind-the-scenes stories about the King of the Monsters, from the iconic Showa Era films (1954-1975) up to 2023's Godzilla Minus One, which earned the franchise its first Oscar win.

In the excerpt below, the authors reveal how a kid raised on Steven Spielberg and George Lucas was selected to transform Godzilla into a formidable awards monster. Here's the story of how Takashi Yamazaki came aboard Godzilla Minus One — a film the authors describe as a "unique rewriting of Godzilla’s origin story [that] received critical acclaim worldwide...

The dino DNA is back in theaters with Universal Pictures' Jurassic World Rebirth, which reinvigorates the Jurassic Park film franchise started in 1993 by Steven Spielberg. But after just one weekend in theaters, Rebirth has passed up one of Spielberg's most acclaimed films at the box office: the film has now grossed more than the iconic director's 1977 UFO classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

As of this article's publication, Jurassic World Rebirth has grossed $322 million at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo, including . This places it firmly in the top 400 films of all time, and also surpasses Close Encounter's total global total of $306 million. However, it should be noted that this figure is not adjusted for inflation; $306 million in 1977 dollars is worth about $1.6 billion today. If taking that into account, then Rebirth technically still has far to go.

This is likely no big issue for Spielberg,...

Following its opening weekend,Jurassic World Rebirthhas overtaken the total gross of a Steven Spielberg sci-fi classic. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the latest installment in the Jurassic Park franchise stars Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett, the leader of an expedition into a dangerous equatorial region to recover dinosaur DNA for a medical breakthrough.

Johansson is joined in the Jurassic World Rebirth cast by Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, and Mahershala Ali, among others, and the film's screenplay hails from original Jurassic Park writer David Koepp. After birthing the franchise with his seminal 1993 blockbuster, Spielberg serves as an executive producer on the new film.

According to new data from Box Office Mojo, Jurassic World Rebirth's worldwide box office haul after its first full weekend in theaters stands at $318 million. This means the film has already surpassed Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1997), which has a worldwide gross of $306 million and...

A common criticism often thrown at Steven Spielberg is that although his films display immense talent and incredible craftsmanship, they’re viewed as too sentimental and overly sappy with their emotions. As a teenager trying to rebel against the common film code, I found myself agreeing with the fact that although Spielberg was incredibly talented, I found his films utterly manipulative and extremely sentimental.

To say that changed when I first viewed “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) as a Senior in high school is an understatement: not only was I hit with this overwhelming sense of sadness and joy, I found myself blown away at the fact that, as a young adult, a film meant for children was able to render me into a puddle of nothingness. Gone was the thought that Spielberg was the most overrated American filmmaker. It had been replaced with complete admiration for his craft. All because of a puppet.

Steven Spielberg Ditched Jaws 2 (Photo Credit – Wikipedia)

Steven Spielberg changed cinema forever when Jaws hit theaters in 1975. It turned beach trips into second thoughts for millions and gave birth to what we now call the summer blockbuster. Now, with its 50th anniversary this year, people are once again diving into the film, not just the original but the sequels too.

Why Jaws 2 Was Made Without Steven Spielberg

Among the sequels, Jaws 2 stands out. It is not because it was great, but because it’s the least bad. It brought back Roy Scheider’s Chief Brody, another shark, and a new director, Jeannot Szwarc. However, the most famous name from the first film was missing as Steven Spielberg didn’t return, and there’s a lot more behind that than some simple refusal.

The iconic director became a force in Hollywood when Jaws exploded at the box office and took home Oscars.

The Jurassic franchise that Steven Spielberg got rolling with his 1993 classic Jurassic Park has a new installment heading out into the world, Jurassic World Rebirth, and while audiences head out to theatres to see more dinosaur action on the big screen, Spielberg himself is busy working on a mysterious event film that’s set to reach theatres on June 12, 2026. Very little is known about this upcoming movie other than the cast (it stars Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), Colin Firth (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Colman Domingo (Euphoria), Eve Hewson (Hedda), Josh O’Connor (Challengers), and possibly Wyatt Russell (Thunderbolts*)), the fact that Spielberg wrote the script with Jurassic Park and Jurassic World Rebirth screenwriter David Koepp, and that it’s rumored to be some kind of a UFO adventure. But last Thursday, Universal Pictures unveiled a grand new screening room that’s named after Spielberg, and the director took the opportunity to show...

Five decades after the anxiety and trauma of directing Jaws, Steven Spielberg can finally enjoy the movie as a movie.

After being honored at the dedication ceremony for Universal's new Steven Spielberg Theater, Deadline's Pete Hammond spoke with the director about his iconic body of work and whether Spielberg's ever gone back and watched some of those films leisurely. In response, Spielberg admitted that he recently sat down to watch Jaws on its fiftieth anniversary, offering a new perspective on the genre-defining horror movie that changed young Spielberg's life.

"I don't watch my movies, but I was alone, nobody was with me, and I ran a really good print of Jaws on the 20th of June. I wanted to see the movie on the day it originally opened [in 1975] and see if I could get through the movie, get to the end of the movie without reliving the nightmares of making the movie.

When complimented about his new film “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” the soft-spoken filmmaker Gareth Edwards replied, “It’s not a bad karaoke number.”

For a director who has taken on a Star Wars film (“Rogue One”) and the rebooting of an original movie monster (“Godzilla”), the British director has demonstrated a knack for finding his own way into established IP and putting his distinct stamp on a franchise. But that wasn’t the case with “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” as Edwards explained when he was a guest on an upcoming episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast.

“I get asked by people, ‘How did you get your own voice in the film? And I was desperately trying not to,” said Edwards “[Steven] would, I’m sure, hate the idea that I thought of it like this, but you’re sort of doing your best impression of Spielberg. It’s an impossible task, at best.

You’re going to want to get out of the water for this one. We knew this summer would be a big one for fans of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws thanks to the iconic film celebrating its 50th anniversary, but one streamer is making the thriller bigger than the shark itself. According to What’s on Netflix, all four titles will be making their way to Netflix on July 15. This means that not only can you celebrate the milestone moment of one of cinema’s biggest features from the comfort of your own home, but you can do so by way of a bingeable watch party that allows you (and maybe even some friends) to see the story through from start to finish.

You’d essentially need to be living under a rock (no offense) if you don’t know the synopsis of at least the first Jaws. But, luckily,...

‘The Life of Chuck’ Contains Multitudes ‘The Life of Chuck’, based on Stephen King’s 2020 novella, director Mike Flanagan crafts a reverse-chronological odyssey through the life of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). It is an elegiac meditation on memory, mortality, and moments of transcendence. The story begins at the end- amidst Chuck’s final moments and a world seemingly unraveling- then winds backward through three interwoven acts that explore his adulthood, childhood, and the threads that connect them. Tom Hiddleston leads a powerhouse ensemble, including Mark Hamill as Chuck’s loving but complicated grandfather Albie, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Marty Anderson, a kind and reflective teacher, and Karen Gillan as a tirelessly busy nurse- perhaps the film’s quietest reflection of our current climate of collective burnout and emotional fatigue. Tom Hiddleston plays Chuck with a kind of weary grace- a quiet, inward ache. His post-Marvel trajectory has been refreshingly unpredictable,...

Everyone can name the highest-grossing film of 1977 -- George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" -- as it kicked off a high-profile sci-fi franchise that persists to this day. Other big hits from that year included Steven Spielberg's alien abduction thriller "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (a movie inspired by Spielberg's real-life fascination with alien life) and John Badham's downbeat disco drama "Saturday Night Fever" (a film that John Travolta trained "Rocky"-style to prepare for). One of the more notable yet less-discussed success stories of 1977, however, was Hal Needham's laidback beer-run action-comedy "Smokey and the Bandit," a film that raked in roughly $127 million at the box office against a $4.3 million budget. That's like a $23 million movie earning $677 million in 2025.

"Smokey and the Bandit" is a playfully rebellious film about a Southern sports car owner, nicknamed Bandit (Burt Reynolds), who is tasked...

"Steven Spielberg Presents" signaled something to moviegoers and TV watchers of all ages in the 1980s and 990s. It meant what we were about to watch bore the highest designation a movie could receive: Steven Spielberg's cinematic stamp of approval.  After all, this was the guy who terrified us with "Jaws," inspired us with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," put us at the edge of our seats with "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and made us cry tears of delight at "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," among other incredible feature films. Sure, he also bored most of us to tears with "1941," but you may feel differently about it. Point is, the dude knew how to make a crowd-pleasing movie better than anyone back in the day, so if Spielberg was willing to present something, you knew it had to be good.  

Spielberg has produced a lot of movies, but we're...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"He's such an intelligent, creative partner, and brings such great ideas to the set that we just spark each other. I love working with Tom Cruise." Those are the words of director Steven Spielberg speaking in the production notes for his 2005 sci-fi blockbuster "War of the Worlds." An adaptation of the famed H.G. Wells story of the same name, it was the second collaboration between Cruise and Spielberg in just a few years.

"It's a dream come true for me to be able to work with Steven Spielberg," Cruise added. "I grew up watching his movies, studying them. I often tease him that I know his movies better than he does!"

It seemed like a match made in heaven. The biggest actor...

Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated next film has revealed its first bit of footage, and it sounds like it promises a thrilling new adventure from the acclaimed director. Set for release in June 2026, the untitled feature will be Spielberg's first since The Fabelmans in 2022.

Most details about the feature are a closely guarded secret, though it has been reported that it will be a sci-fi feature that harkens back to the director's previous work in the genre. It will star Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Wyatt Russell, Colman Domingo, and Colin Firth.

Variety was present at a special event in Los Angeles where Universal unveiled a new screening room named after Spielberg. At the event, the very first footage from the director's upcoming film was revealed, offering peeks at Blunt, O'Connor, Domingo, and Eve Hewson in character and in action. Per Variety, the footage went like this:

Spielberg introduced a...

Richard Dreyfuss is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jawsby selling some exclusive merchandise from the iconic movie to fans. Jaws was released in 1975, becoming what many call the first summer blockbuster and changing the landscape of Hollywood forever. Along with becoming the highest-grossing movie ever at the time, it was also nominated for Best Picture and launched Steven Spielberg as a massive filmmaking talent. Half a century later, Jaws is still celebrated as one of the greatest movies of all time.

Richard Dreyfuss added to the brilliance of the shark attack movie with her performance as oceanographer Matt Hooper, one of the heroes who hunts the deadly Great White in the movie’s climax. With so much excitement surrounding the movie’s 50th anniversary, Dreyfuss is looking back on Jaws by selling some signed merchandise from the movie. On his personal website, Dreyfuss shared a video announcing the sale, which includes posters,...

Like many boys growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s, Steven Spielberg loved James Bond, the debonair, globe-trotting spy for Her Majesty's Secret Service, and the films starring the dashing Sean Connery. Spielberg told IndieWire that " the only franchise I cared about and wanted to be part of was James Bond," and it was his "pie-in-the-sky dream to make a little movie that would get some notoriety, and then [Bond producer] Cubby Broccoli would call me and ask me to direct the next James Bond picture."

In his early work, Steven Spielberg got to flex his action and thriller genre muscles for the television series "Columbo," which had twisty plots, and his television movie "Duel," which had high-stakes car chases. These were the ideal showcases of his abilities to helm a James Bond movie, but it still wasn't enough to hear from Broccoli. Instead, it was Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown...

Jawsrepresented a huge leap forward in Steven Spielberg's career, but the director was disappointed at the time that he didn't receive an Oscar nomination for his work. Jaws remains one of Spielberg's best movies, even though he was just 27 years old at the time. It also made history at the Oscars, becoming one of just a handful of horror movies which have been nominated for Best Picture. The genre has historically been overlooked by the Academy, but the quality of Jaws was hard to ignore. However, the Academy's admiration for Jaws didn't extend to a Best Director nod for Steven Spielberg.

In the National Geographic special Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Story, Spielberg revealed his true feelings when he learned that the Academy had passed him over for a Best Director nomination.

"When a film is on the cusp of being considered for awards, it’s not so much...

Exactly twenty years ago today, War of the Worlds hit theaters on June 23, 2005, with a dream team behind it—Steven Spielberg directing, Tom Cruise leading, and Dakota Fanning delivering one of her most haunting child performances. Based on H.G. Wells’ legendary novel, this sci-fi thriller promised a nail-biting, panic-stricken alien invasion chaos.

It smashed the box office, earning a staggering $606M globally on a $132M budget—that’s an undeniable blockbuster hit. Critics largely applauded it too, with a respectable 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. And yet, audiences weren’t sold. With just a 42% audience score, War of the Worlds became Steven Spielberg’s least beloved film. So what went wrong? Let’s break down.

Why did Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds fail to connect with audiences?

On paper, War of the Worlds is undoubtedly a blockbuster hit featuring Steven Spielberg’s masterful direction, Tom Cruise’s star power,...

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for “Elio,” now playing in theaters.

Disney Pixar’s latest animated feature, “Elio” centers on a young orphan boy who is desperate to be abducted by aliens.

The premise of the film igave the creatives a perfect opportunity to pay homage to great sci-fi classics, including “Alien” and John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” But the one film directors Domee Shi (“Turning Red”) and Madeline Sharafian (“Burrow”) referenced a lot was “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Shi explains, “We reference that movie a lot because it’s also about a guy who’s in love with space.” She adds, “We loved how that film gave the aliens a big drum roll and with the tone, you didn’t quite know were they friendly? What are their intentions? And we liked that aura of mystery for the Communiverse.”

Disney Pixar’s 28th feature was also...

Bruce turns fifty this year, and to celebrate, we’re getting the Jaws 50th Anniversary 4K! The beginning of my love of the movies and my aspiration for a deeper understanding and respect for the art of cinema can be traced back to two essential films: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Both films made it to my ranking of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, and both remain pivotal examples of masterful filmmaking all these years later, but Jaws maintains an unrivalled level of re-watchability.

Jaws plot

When a great white shark makes the waters surrounding the beaches of a New England tourist town its home, local Police Chief Martin Brody is tasked with making the beaches safe again in time for the Fourth of July. With the help of Quint, a hardened fisherman and self-proclaimed shark hunter, and Matt Hooper, a marine biologist and shark expert,...

For moviegoers of a certain vintage, Elio, Pixar’s latest addition to its stellar-level animated output, will feel comfortably, nostalgically familiar. Centering as it does on a starry-eyed preteen dreamer, Elio pays respectful homage to family-oriented 70s and 80s Amblin or Amblin-inspired science-fiction films, among them Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, The Last Starfighter, Explorers, and Flight of the Navigator. Throw in semi-explicit nods to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Galaxy Quest, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, not to mention Carl Sagan’s groundbreaking PBS miniseries, Cosmos, and the wholesomely endearing result will all but bring a tear to the eye and a tug of the heart for nostalgists of a certain age and inclination. Elio, however, is more...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Jaws, the Steven Spielberg adventure thriller that revolutionized the film industry in the 1970s, is turning 50 years old. That's five decades of numerous titles and recognitions for the Raiders of the Lost Ark director whose name is synonymous with successful forms of entertainment. But despite his early achievement with 1975's Jaws, Spielberg had to earn his medals, and this included recognition from the Academy itself. Jaws was a huge commercial hit in the '70s, and many believed that it was a sure bet that the young director was going to be nominated for Best Director the following year. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, and 50 years later, Spielberg says that he was "surprised" at the snub.

Only a few years after Jaws, Spielberg would earn his first nomination as Best Director for his work in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And almost 20 years had to pass for him to win an Oscar for Best Director.

Even the advanced sci-fi world of Star Trek couldn’t escape controversial issues like sexism, which reportedly led actress Teri Garr to walk away from the show. Garr made a guest appearance as Roberta Lincoln in just one episode of the series, titled Assignment: Earth.

However, her experience on set was far from ideal. According to reports, series creator Gene Roddenberry made a bizarre comment about the length of her skirt during filming, which contributed to her decision to distance herself from the franchise.

Why did Teri Garr walk off from Star Trek: The Original Series?

Late actress Teri Garr had a brief stint in the expansive Star Trek universe when she appeared in The Original Series as Roberta Lincoln in the Season 2 episode Assignment: Earth, a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off series that never came to fruition.

Her character served as a secretary to Gary Seven, an agent...

Steven Spielberg Tried 3 Times To Direct A James Bond Film—And Got Denied Every Single Time (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg is one of the most prolific and acclaimed directors across the globe. From iconic blockbusters such as E.T., the Indiana Jones Trilogy, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, and Schindler’s List, to modern masterpieces like West Side Story and The Fabelmans, the 78-year-old filmmaker has built an unparalleled cinematic legacy. But did you know that the legendary director had a long-standing desire to direct a James Bond movie? Surprisingly, he was turned down—not once, not twice, but three times. Read on to find out why his Bond dream never came true.

First Attempt: Spielberg Impresses Roger Moore But Lacks Experience

According to an earlier report by Screen Rant, Spielberg met Roger Moore in Paris in the early 1970s. The late English actor played the iconic...

Not only is Ryan Coogler earning comparisons to Steven Spielberg, his latest film, Sinners, is also overtaking the great filmmaker's biggest hits at the box office. Sinners recently passed the lifetime global haul of Schindler's List, and it has now overtaken the global haul of Close Encounters of the Third Kind — an all-time classic that was released shortly after Spielberg broke out with Jaws. Sinners has completed a full month of release in theaters worldwide, and although its performance in domestic theaters has been extraordinary, the movie has fallen noticeably short in overseas markets.

Sinners' global box office haul currently stands at $340 million; of this total, $260 million has come from domestic theaters, which means that the movie has grossed around $80 million from international markets. It's among the highest-grossing films of the year, and one of the top five horror movies of all time at the global box office. This week,...

Pixar's "Elio" is coming to theaters this summer, taking the film's titular 11-year old boy on a sci-fi adventure that he's been desperate to embark upon ever since learning about the limitless potential of space travel and life on other planets. Feeling out of place on Earth and maybe a bit of a burden on his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña), Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) manages to eagerly send a message into space and ends up abducted by aliens and inducted into the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide mistaking him for the leader of Earth. Despite this misunderstanding, Elio feels like he's finally found a place where he belongs, especially when he meets a young alien sort-of-slug kid named Glordon.

When directors Domee Shi (of the delightful "Turning Red") and Madeline Sharafian (story on "Turning Red" and "Coco") brought "Elio" to life, it...

When moviegoers fall madly in love with a film, at a certain point it's not enough just to watch it over and over again. They need to devour every morsel of trivia and every behind-the-scenes anecdote. They dive deep into the origins of the production, and speculate as to how the film might've played if different actors had been cast or a different director had been hired. They might even take the next step and tap out fan fiction, which can be quite profitable as E.L. James proved when her "Twilight" erotica became a publishing phenomenon called "Fifty Shades of Grey."

For those who don't have an S&m-infused novel about their favorite characters in them, the next step in heightening one's personal fan experience might be to visit the actual filming locations. If your favorite movie happens to be James Cameron's "Ghosts of the Abyss," I would strongly advise against this,...

It’s been three years since Steven Spielberg’s last movie was in theaters, but one of his more recent classics is experiencing quite a run of streaming success. Before he teamed up with Rachel Zegler for West Side Story, Spielberg helmed Ready Player One, the dystopian sci-fi thriller starring Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) and Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon). Ready Player One arrived on Max not long ago, and the film wasted no time climbing the streamer’s charts, sitting at #4 at the time of writing. Andor’s Ben Mendelsohn also stars in Ready Player One, along with Mission: Impossible veteran Simon Pegg. The film earned scores of 71% from critics and 77% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and it grossed $607 million at the global box office against a $175 million budget.

Steven Spielberg made his directorial debut more than 60 years ago on Firelight, the 1964 sci-fi thriller starring Robert Robyn and Beth Weber,...

In the distant future of the 24½th century, a black duck dressed in a bright green shirt with an oversized red cape is summoned to an outer-space headquarters and given his mission. The world’s supply of shaving cream atoms is running out and only he, Duck Dodgers (played by Daffy Duck), can save the day — along with some help from his Eager Young Space Cadet (Porky Pig).

Over the next seven minutes, Dodgers bungles his mission and instead ends up in a war with Marvin the Martian that results in the destruction of the very thing Dodgers was after in the first place. But while the disastrous ending of Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century was fairly typical for Daffy Duck, nothing else about the cartoon was. The 1953 short, directed by Chuck Jones, is one of the most singularly memorable cartoons in the entire library of the original 1,000 Looney Tunes shorts.

Alexandre Desplat hopes he will not be "embarrassing" the Jurassic Park/World franchise with his 'Rebirth' score.The 63-year-old composer has taken over conducting duties from Michael Giacchino as he has quit the series after three films; 2015's 'Jurassic World', 2018's 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' and 2022's 'Jurassic World Dominion'.However, despite Alexandre having two Academy Awards for Best Original Score to his name - 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' in 2015, and 'The Shape of Water' in 2018 - he is feeling pressure to impress Steven Spielberg, who directed the original 'Jurassic Park' flick.He told Entertainment Weekly: "I hope that when he hears the score, he'll be happy, and that I won't be embarrassing the franchise with what I wrote. "John Williams' wings are flying above us, so I do hope Spielberg enjoys the score. "We'll see. Maybe I'll be fired!

Steven Spielberg is a man who needs no introduction. With his career spanning six decades, his films' impact on the industry and in modern popular culture cannot be overstated. From the biggest blockbusters such as "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park" to the smaller character-driven films such as "The Color Purple" and most recently, "The Fabelmans," fewer filmmakers have accomplished his level of influence in so many genres of cinema. With 23 Oscar nominations and 3 wins, and a filmography that has grossed $10.7 billion at the global box office making him the highest-grossing film director of all-time, there is almost nothing he cannot accomplish.

In his decorated career, Steven Spielberg has also had his share of unrealized projects. One of those projects includes an adaptation of the sci-fi novel "Robopocalypse," which was to be written by "Cabin in the Woods" co-writer/director Drew Goddard and had Chris Hemsworth and Anne Hathaway attached to star.

There’s a famous incident where television host James Lipton shocked Steven Spielberg by suggesting that the musical communication in the director’s 1977 classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind was actually a reference to Spielberg’s father having been a computer scientist attempting to reach out to his concert pianist wife. Flabbergasted, Spielberg thanked Lipton for this incredibly personal insight after revealing that he only realized the connection once it was pointed out to him.

I was reminded of this story after reading an interview where Osgood ‘Oz’ Perkins opened up about his complicated family history and how it informed his 2025 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey. Contrary to Spielberg, Perkins seems well aware of the personal issues that color his work, but looking back on his older projects, I soon realized that many of the ideas influencing in his recent output were already present in his filmography...

My trilogy of awful projects starring Mateusz Kosciukiewicz is finally complete. To be clear, I don’t have any personal vendetta with Mateusz. I don’t know the guy personally, and vice versa. It’s just that everything I see him in turns out to be one of the worst pieces of media in existence. I don’t know if the problem lies in my taste or Mateusz’s choice of screenplays, but this sure is an interesting phenomenon. My tryst with the Polish actor started with a movie called Kiss Kiss, which was basically a mixture of every sexist trope and stereotype we’ve encountered throughout the history of cinema, with Mateusz giving an irredeemably awful performance. Then there was Hound’s Hill, where Mateusz was actually good, but everything around him was downright atrocious. And now, here we are with Project UFO, which is one of the most boring miniseries of the year,...

The question of whether we are alone in the universe has eternally intrigued humanity despite years of scientific advancement. As a result, it isn’t a surprise that celebrities like Tom Cruise and Joe Rogan have also pondered over it, expressing their views that we aren’t alone.

While there has been debate regarding alien presence on Earth in the past, a set of declassified CIA files has once again fueled the fire of curiosity online. According to a new report, the declassified files suggest alien activity in the Soviet Union during the Cold War era.

The UFO from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Credit: Columbia Pictures).

The newly declassified files also seem to reveal that the aliens turned soldiers into stone, with many taking it as a confirmation of aliens being present among us. The news will certainly thrill Cruise and Rogan, who have vocally supported the idea,...

Some cliche somewhere said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ This has proven to be the case for me and especially when it comes to fan art. I have always sought out great fan art and have wanted to share it with as many people as possible. “Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net” is the outlet for that passion. In this column, I will showcase the kick-ass artwork of some great artists, with the hopes that these artists get the attention they deserve. That’s the aim. If you have any questions or comments, or even suggestions of art or other great artists, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Mark Levy

Duel by Matt Ferguson

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by Logan Tanner

Hook by Sarah Atwa

Indiana Jones And Raiders Of The Lost...

I'd like to think I'm immune to hyperbole when it comes to watching movies. I'm hardly tempted to get swept up in the hype of an intoxicating film festival atmosphere or the buzz surrounding an early premiere. Even my so-called "Letterboxd curve," the aggregated metric of how generously (or harshly) users of the popular social media site tend to rate what they've seen on a scale of a half to five stars, bears this out. You know that famous Devil's Tower monument from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" -- steep on both sides, but perfectly flat in the middle? That's exactly the type of curve I have, which one only gets when most logged entries fall between two or three stars and rarely land on either extreme end of the spectrum. In other words, it takes a lot for a movie to earn either breathless praise or contemptuous hate from me.