News

Patty Maloney, the 3-foot-11 actress who played the alien Honk on the Sid & Marty Krofft family show Far Out Space Nuts and Chewbacca’s son, Lumpy, on the long-lamented Star Wars Holiday Special, has died. She was 89.

Maloney had suffered several strokes over the years and died Monday in hospice care in Winter Park, Florida, her brother, Dave Myrabo, told The Hollywood Reporter. “For a little person growing up in a big world, she did everything she wanted to do,” he said.

Maloney did lots of work alongside the 3-foot-10 Billy Barty. The two appeared together in the Wizard of Oz feature Under the Rainbow (1981), starring Chevy Chase, and on episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Trapper John, M.D. and more.

Far Out Space Nuts, starring Bob Denver and Chuck McCann as bumbling maintenance workers turned accidental space travelers, aired for one season (1975-76) on CBS.

Not unlike an attentive bird who spots a smidgen of sustenance in a pile of cattle dung, director George Gallo and co-scripter Josh Posner’s new comedy retrieves a viable comic premise in the deservedly obscure and irredeemably wretched 1982 comedy “The Comeback Trail.” Unfortunately, their hugely enjoyable remake, in name only, was stuck in distribution limbo for the better part of five years, despite a stellar cast that includes Oscar winners Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman. At long last, the movie recently received an extremely limited U.S. theatrical run and is now available on digital platforms.

Speaking as someone who viewed a screener of the new and improved “Comeback Trail” back in 2020, and has puzzled over why it remained more or less shelved ever since, I am happy to report after a second viewing that the indie production is every bit as funny as I...

Y2K Final Trailer: "On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy."

Directed by Kyle Mooney Written by Kyle Mooney & Evan Winter Produced by Evan Winter, Jonah Hill, Matt Dines, Alison Goodwin, Chris Storer, Cooper Wehde

Y2K - In Theaters on December 6, 2024

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Listen Carefully: "Haida Street Films and Rbg Films are excited to announce the worldwide VOD debut of Listen Carefully, the latest feature from filmmaker Ryan Barton-Grimley. Barton-Grimley returns to the screen following the 2020 premiere of his previous feature Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers. Listen Carefully made its world premiere at Fantaspoa, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre and its North American premiere at Dances With Films.

The psychological thriller went on to screen at Macabro Mexico City, Fangofest Amposta and Scarefest Weekend, where Barton-Grimley was nominated for Best Actor.

"Worlds Within Worlds" introduces a compelling villain, showcasing Susan Storm's inner struggles and moral dilemmas in a gripping narrative. Fans of Fantastic Four can expect potential reboots, as X-Men '97 revival sparks interest in revamping classic animated Marvel series. Each episode of Fantastic Four: The Animated Series on Disney+ offers thrilling narratives, iconic clashes, and dynamic character dynamics.

The Fantastic Four animated series produced a litany of great episodes, but some were notably better than others. The animated Marvel series produced a total of 26 episodes across 2 seasons from 1994-1996. Despite being one of the most short-lived animated series produced during the iconic era, Fantastic Four boasts some of the most celebrated episodes from Marvel's shared animated universe.

Following the announcement of the X-Men '97 revival series, fans have been petitioning for a similar reboot of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. It is therefore conceivable that, as a result, Fantastic Four...

Chance the Rapper is detailing the moment he switched seats on a plane with not just anyone but iconic actor Martin Short.

The musician took to Twitter on Sunday to explain that he was recently on a flight with his daughter when they found out that their seats weren’t next to each other.

“I really ain’t wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together,” he recalled.

As they went to switch seats, he realized it wasn’t just an ordinary passenger, but Only Murders in the Building star: “We both said thank you, and as he stands up, I realize it’s The Martin Short!!”

The rapper added that his daughter, Kensli, “freaked out” when she saw the actor because “she’s obsessed with The Santa Clause...

In the latest random act of kindness among celebrities, Chance the Rapper shared the unlikely run-in he and his 7-year-old daughter, Kensli, recently had with Martin Short on an airplane. According to the rapper, a kind stranger gave up their seat on Chance's flight after the musician realized he and his daughter weren't seated together. It wasn't until after their interaction that Chance realized the "kind older gentleman" who offered up his seat was the "Only Murders in the Building" star!

"So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren't next to each other. I really ain't wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together," Chance explained on Twitter on Feb. 26. "We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realize it's The Martin Short!

Chance the Rapper was on the receiving end of a surprise act of kindness from Martin Short during a recent flight.

The musician was flying with his seven-year-old daughter, Kensli, when he ended up on the same flight as the Only Murders in the Building star and comedy legend.

On Sunday (27 February) night, Chance detailed their exchange on Twitter.

“So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren’t next to each other,” he wrote.

“I really ain’t wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together.”

He continued: “We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realise it’s The Martin Short!! So cool and Kensli freaked out cause she’s obsessed with The Santa Clause 3. What an awesome person!

Chance the Rapper was on the receiving end of a surprise act of kindness from Martin Short during a recent flight.

The musician was flying with his seven-year-old daughter, Kensli, when he ended up on the same flight as the Only Murders in the Building star and comedy legend.

On Sunday (27 February) night, Chance detailed their exchange on Twitter.

“So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren’t next to each other,” he wrote.

“I really ain’t wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together.”

He continued: “We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realise it’s The Martin Short!! So cool and Kensli freaked out cause she’s obsessed with The Santa Clause 3. What an awesome person!

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Invincible Iron Man #3While fighting a darker version of himself, Iron Man is forced to reveal a huge flaw in the technological masterpiece that is his armor. Tony Stark has always been his worst enemy when it comes to dealing with his own creations. Now the Iron Avenger has made fans aware of his greatest weakness.

Invincible Iron Man #3 by Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri sees Iron Man and his best friend, Rhodey aka War Machine, take on a doppelgänger of Tony Stark. As Tony continues to deal with the fallout of his past as a black-market arms dealer, a rogue Iron Man armor is used to kill Tony’s close friend, Zhong Wei. When Iron Man and War Machine infiltrate Stark Unlimited to investigate this clone armor, they find robot known as a Life Model Decoy (Lmd) of Iron Man/Tony Stark waiting to attack them.

Long before Charlie Cox became the Daredevil we all know and love with his excellent Netflix show (soon to be sort of revived as a Disney+ "Daredevil" series), Ben Affleck had a go at it. After "X-Men" in 2000 and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" in 2002, studios were keen to repeat their success and began churning out more and more cape-based fare that would ultimately lead to the deluge of superhero media we're currently enduring. But in the lead-up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's dominance, there were a fair few missteps, 20th Century Fox's "Daredevil" being one of them.

Written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, 2003's "Daredevil" didn't quite the heights of "X-Men" or "Spider-Man." Affleck admitted that he regrets the movie and it's generally seen as somewhat of a blunder. Prior to helming the film, Johnson had penned the frankly bizarre "Jack Frost," which saw former "Batman" star Michael Keaton...

Two years ago, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield was producing micro-budget horror movies such as “Dinosaur Hotel” and “Firenado” in between working for a British electricity supplier. Now, he is poised to become the helmer behind what may soon be one of the most profitable movies in the last decade in terms of budget-to-box office ratio.

Next week, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” his directorial debut, will open across 1,500 screens in the U.S., followed by 1,300 in Latin America, 100 in Canada and countless more in the U.K., Japan, Australia and Benelux. (Premiere Entertainment is handling international sales.) In Mexico, where the film was released on Jan. 29, “Pooh” hit number 4 at the box office in its first week, nestled between “M3GAN” and “Avatar 2,” taking in over 700,000.

Sure, those other films had already been out for some time, but “Pooh” was made for less than a hundredth of “M3GAN’s” 12 million budget.

Making a movie requires a lot of time, effort, and talent. But more importantly, making a movie requires a lot of money. No filmmaker wants their movie to flop, but none more so than studios whose very existence depends on their releases putting butts in seats. While studios have always put their bets on tentpole movies to produce good profit margins, because of the popularity of superheroes and other big-budget franchises, it seems that studios are putting less focus on smaller films that would ensure they wouldn't suffer too much due to their modest budgets (even if they failed). As budgets have gotten bigger, so too has the pressure for these films to not only break even but to break box office records.

Filmmakers face serious career problems when their movies flop with audiences, as a failure or, worse, a string of failures, could lead to a dream project being squashed.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's first true superhero Tony Stark aka Iron Man may not have the most memorable group of villains in comics, but a new piece of fanart serves as a reminder that many of his rogues are still worthy of the MCU. After helping to lead the charge as a founding Avenger for more than a decade, 2019's Avengers Endgame saw the tragic demise of Iron Man. While Iron Man's death helped bring a satisfying end to the McU's "Infinity Saga," there is a chance that Tony Stark and his remaining comic villains will be all but excluded from major upcoming MCU projects.

In an excellent work of art that shines a spotlight on Iron Man's roster of villainous characters, illustrator and animator Dave Bardin has brought the foes to life in his own distinctive art style. Bardin's designs, based on the artwork of legendary Marvel artists Jack Kirby,...

After Thanksgiving, my mind begins to wander. I start dreaming of all of the exciting things that the coming weeks will bring. Specifically, diving into all of my Christmas horror favorites. It’s time for Black Christmas(s)! It’s time for Silent Night Deadly Night! It’s time for Krampus! Food, gifts, family and merriment are great, but as I’ve explained before, all of that stuff hasn’t been hitting me in the same way recently. Horror movies have really stepped up to fill that gap and allow me to enjoy the holiday on my own terms.

Over the past few years, another film has joined my list and if I’m being honest, has become one of my most anticipated watches every December. The immortal classic, Jack Frost. I was first introduced to it on The Last Drive-In in 2019 and it became an immediate favorite. The ridiculousness...

With Christmastime comes the seasonal reruns of classic film and television classics to cable and streaming. Some of the most famous television specials are from the Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment company which made the stop-motion and 2D animated classics that starred figures like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus. These short films helped develop many young children's sense of the holiday season and are remembered fondly.

Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass were a talented directorial pair who created most of the lengthy filmography and had a hand in nearly all the specials and feature-length films. Their Christmas films were renowned for the strong and unique stories that managed to inject old stories with new ideas and twists. Heroes and villains square off in their films that often see the fate of winter or Christmas at stake. Some characters are cowards while others are heroes and...

While the 2016 horror-comedy Better Watch Out went under the radar upon its release, the darkly hilarious Christmas chiller is one of the best holiday horror movies ever. Even though Christmas is associated with good cheer, merriment, and gift-giving, the holiday has always had a dark side. A few years before 1978’s endlessly influential slasher Halloween, director Bob Clark’s seminal release Black Christmas established many of the elements that would go on to define the sub-genre’s formula in decades to come.

One of the most controversial slasher movies ever, Silent Night Deadly Night, launched an entire franchise off the back of its “killer Santa Claus” premise, while Gremlins proved that even family-friendly horror movies could center on the holiday season in a subversive and playfully dark way. However, one of the best holiday horror movies in recent years didn’t earn as much controversy as Silent Night Deadly Night...

Find out where to watch the fourth installment of the classic Santa Clause Christmas films, The Santa Clauses.

The first Santa Clause movie came out way back in 1994 and sparked a trilogy of highly successful holiday films starring the hilarious Tim Allen as a divorced father thrust into the role of Santa one Christmas Eve night.

Now, viewers young and old can find the magic of Christmas all over again on Disney+, this time with tons of fun references and twists.

Watch The Santa Clauses on Disney+

The Franchise So Far

The story began way back in 1994 with the loveable single dad Calvin Scott discovering Santa Claus had fallen off his roof on Christmas Eve, sparking a trilogy of beloved children’s films as Scott, played by the ever-hilarious Tim Allen, finds out that he and he alone can take Santa’s place and save Christmas.

The Santa Clause 2 meets...

At the rate that adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" are made, there will likely come a time in every aging Hollywood actor's life when they're called upon to play Ebenezer Scrooge, whether in film or on TV. As a live show with a season that spans Halloween, Christmas, and Easter — among other holidays — "Saturday Night Live" is just as willing as Hollywood to go back to the "A Christmas Carol" well. In just the last decade, SNL has put out both 2013's "A Christmas Past" and 2017's "Scrudge." On the latest episode, co-host Martin Short, who has already graced our screens as Christmas icon Jack Frost in 2006's "The Santa Clause 3," summoned his holiday spirit again to helm the role of Scrooge for the sketch show's latest interpretation of Charles Dickens' classic novel.

The pre-taped sketch drops us in what should be the most lighthearted and cheerful moments of the "A Christmas Carol" tale,...

This week’s “Saturday Night Live,” which featured Steve Martin and Martin Short returning to Studio 8H as co-hosts, was one of the most anticipated episodes of the season for comedy geeks. It was Martin’s 16th time hosting the show (you know you’re an “SNL” legend when you have qualified for the 5-Timers Club three times over), and he wasted no time before using a video montage to playfully mock Short for having only hosted 3 times.

The “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars got right to work on their monologue, delivering a series of one-liners that gently poked fun at current pop culture trends but saving the bulk of their efforts for self-deprecation.

“We’re like Harry and Meghan,” Short said. “Nobody is rooting for us, but you’ll tune in to watch anyway.”

“Working with Martin Short is like World Cup soccer,” Martin said. “I just can’t get into it.

Click here to read the full article.

Steve Martin and Martin Short brought their A-game to their joint Saturday Night Live opening monologue, reading each other eulogies and surprising viewers with an appearance from their Only Murders in the Building co-star Selena Gomez.

Before diving into each other’s eulogies, the comedians took a second to reminisce about their past SNL hosting gigs, with the Dec. 10 episode being Martin’s 16th time hosting the show and Short’s third.

“You see, we are like Harry and Meghan,” Short said, referring to Netflix’s new docuseries from the couple. “No one’s rooting for us, but you’ll tune in to watch anyway.” Martin then went on to joke about how working with Short for him is like watching the World Cup, he just can’t get into it.

When Short told Martin he adores working with him and wishes they could do it forever,...

Disney's latest installment of the nostalgia wave taking over Hollywood takes the form of a sequel series to The Santa Clause trilogy. The Tim Allen-led show was released on Disney+ on November 16. With its finale less than a week away, it's a good time to look back on every property in the franchise.

Being a sequel series, The Santa Clauses takes elements from the original trilogy to tell a new story. While fans are split on whether the show does justice to the movies, there are several references and nods to the films that make the watch worthwhile.

Falling Off A Roof

In The Santa Clause, Scott Calvin becomes the jolly old man in a red suit when the previous Santa falls off the roof of Scott's house. This franchise never planned to be a trilogy, and while The Santa Clause 3 is regarded as the worst of the bunch,...

It’s time for a new episode of our Best Horror Party Movies video series, and with this one we’re celebrating the holidays by taking a look back at the 1997 killer snowman movie Jack Frost (watch it Here)! To find out how we would build a party around Jack Frost, check out the video embedded above.

Directed by Michael Cooney from a screenplay he wrote with Jeremy Paige, Jack Frost has the following synopsis:

As notorious serial killer Jack Frost is being driven to his execution, the truck carrying the murderer encounters a bizarre accident that transforms him into a mutant snowman. Sheriff Sam Tiler, who caught the psychopath originally, has remained concerned about his return, and it seems that his fears were well-founded. Before long, bodies pile up, all killed in gruesome wintry ways.

The film stars Christopher Allport, Stephen Mendel, F. William Parker, Rob Labelle, Shannon Elizabeth,...

With the unprecedented success of Terrifier 2, Art the Clown cemented his place as a horror icon of the modern age. While the Terrifier franchise has become synonymous with Halloween, Art actor David Howard Thornton is slashing into Christmas with The Mean One, an unauthorized horror parody of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

The indie film is directed by Steven Lamorte (Never Leave Alive) and written by Flip Kobler – best known for penning such direct-to-video Disney sequels as The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World, and Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas – and his son, Finn Kobler.

Nearly 20 years after an unidentified intruder dressed as Santa Claus kills her mother, Cindy You-Know-Who (Krystle Martin) returns to the small town of Newville with her father (Flip Kobler) to sell their family home. Cindy is skeptical about returning, but her therapist...

Tim Allen dons the big red suit again in the newest addition to The Santa Clause franchise, The Santa Clauses. Out now on Disney+, the series continues the saga of Scott Calvin navigating life as Santa with his family. This time around, Calvin/Claus isn't battling an evil clone of himself, or Jack Frost, but hoping to find a replacement for the big job.

The franchise has become a Christmastime staple since the original's release in 1994. With two sequels, there are plenty of heartwarming quotes that continue to instill that holiday cheer.

"I Think That I'm Going To Go Into The Family Business." Charlie, The Santa Clause (1994)

Charlie's role through the first film may have been seen as the naive child, but his steadfast belief in Scott's purpose means he's all in on this new adventure.

Related: 10 Things Only True Fans Of The Santa Clause Know About The Movie

Charlie...

It’s the Christmas season and a staple of the holidays is sitting down with the family for a wholesome movie. While some avid fans like to take this time to rewatch some festive classics, such as Jack Frost or The Holiday, others tend to check Netflix or the Hallmark Channel to see if they have created anything just as unique. Unfortunately, not all their holiday movies have landed with the audience, as they have received a few low scores on IMDb.

They are accompanied by several other holiday movies, such as The Santa Clause 3: Escape The Clause, which have all been remembered for reasons their creators did not intend. If the family or friend group wants to get started roasting movies instead of chestnuts, then these are the perfect candidates for their scorches.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause - 4.7 Available To Stream On Disney+

They say...

In a year full of Pinocchio adaptations, 1996’s Pinocchio’s Revenge stands the test of time as a dark, disturbing update to the living wooden boy narrative.

“I wish you were a real boy. Then I wouldn’t be all alone.”

Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio was first published in 1883 and for more than a century it’s proven to be an evergreen text that’s fascinated so many diverse storytellers and filmmakers. Disney’s animated Pinocchio is getting close to celebrating its 100th birthday, but audiences have no lack of options when it comes to Pinocchio adaptations. There’s 1996’s unintentionally-terrifying The Adventures of Pinocchio with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Roberto Benigni has been responsible for two separate Pinocchio movies, and 2022 alone has marked the release of two new feature-film adaptations: Robert Zemeckis’ live-action Pinocchio and Guillermo del Toro’s somber stop-motion take on the classic tale. Pinocchio...

Netflix is culling a large quantity of titles from its service in December.

While the next 31 days will bring plenty more movies and TV shows for users to enjoy, several things that may have been on your watchlist will suddenly disappear.

To minimise surprise, we have compiled a full list of everything being taken down this month.

Find the full list of every movie and TV series coming to Netflix from now until the end of the year here.

Nb: The Independent compiled this list with help from What’s on Netflix.

1 December

Airplane!

American Pie 2

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile

American Reunion

American Wedding

Amistad

Bad Santa 2

Barbie in Princess Power

The Blue Lagoon

Changeling

Child’s Play 3

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

The Cleanse

Constantine

The Crow

The Danish Girl

Deliver Us from Eva

Dune (1984)

Executive Decision

The Express

Far and Away

Four Brothers

Free Birds...

Stars: Ella Starbuck, Dan Robins, Bar Ties, Lucinda Nicole, Elspeth Foster, Lewis Sycamore, Stephen Staley, Alex Quinn | Written by Craig McLearie | Directed by Ian David Diaz

The first thing you notice about Conjuring the Genie 2 is the opening credits. Now that might sound like a weird thing to say but a lot of these direct to AVOD releases from Proportion Productions/Jagged Edge Productions – who co-produced this film (even though both are owned and operated by Scott Jeffrey) – feature what look to be temp credits… plain fonts on black screen(s) and often times have a totally different on-screen title to what the film is listed under on places like Amazon Prime Video and even YouTube! So to see a film that has clearly had some thought put into the appearance and the stylistics, of the credits is – hopefully – a sign of good things to come.

Unlike the last film,...

Netflix is culling a large quantity of titles from its service in December.

While the next 31 days will bring plenty more movies and TV shows for users to enjoy, several things that may have been on your watchlist will suddenly disappear.

To minimise surprise, we have compiled a full list of everything being taken down this month.

Find the full list of every movie and TV series coming to Netflix from now until the end of the year here.

Nb: The Independent compiled this list with help from What’s on Netflix.

1 December

Airplane!

American Pie 2

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile

American Reunion

American Wedding

Amistad

Bad Santa 2

Barbie in Princess Power

The Blue Lagoon

Changeling

Child’s Play 3

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

The Cleanse

Constantine

The Crow

The Danish Girl

Deliver Us from Eva

Dune (1984)

Executive Decision

The Express

Far and Away

Four Brothers

Free Birds...

Netflix is culling a large quantity of titles from its service in December.

While the next 31 days will bring plenty more movies and TV shows for users to enjoy, several things that may have been on your watchlist will suddenly disappear.

To minimise surprise, we have compiled a full list of everything being taken down this month.

Nb: The Independent compiled this list with help from What’s on Netflix.

1 December

Airplane!

American Pie 2

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile

American Reunion

American Wedding

Amistad

Bad Santa 2

Barbie in Princess Power

The Blue Lagoon

Changeling

Child’s Play 3

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant

The Cleanse

Constantine

The Crow

The Danish Girl

Deliver Us from Eva

Dune (1984)

Executive Decision

The Express

Far and Away

Four Brothers

Free Birds

Geostorm

The Great Outdoors

High Plains Drifter

How High

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

In Bruges

The Incredible Hulk...

Warning: Spoilers for The Santa Clauses below!The Santa Clauses includes a key detail to explain why Charlie Calvin would not take his father's place as Santa. In the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) comes to the major decision of retiring as Santa Claus after 28 years of delivering toys to children around the world. This makes it necessary for Scott to select a successor to take over as St. Nick in his absence, with The Santa Clauses episode 2 seeing him approach his grown son Charlie as his first choice.

Despite being offered the job as Santa directly by his father, Charlie (played by The Santa Clause cast regular Eric Lloyd) declines, citing the need of raising his own family as an adult and feeling the North Pole would not be the best location to do so. Though Scott understands and respects Charlie's decision, the great enthusiasm...

Warning: Spoilers for The Santa Clauses episodes 1 & 2

With The Santa Clauses, Disney has made a few changes to the franchise to reflect its 2022 setting. Set 16 years after the events of the third and final film in Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause trilogy, the new Disney+ series sheds reveals what Scott Calvin has up to since his last big screen outing. It would seem that while he’s still active as the modern-day Saint Nick, certain aspects of the world aren’t what they once were.

Disney+'s The Santa Clauses directly acknowledged how different the world is in 2022 from what it was when Tim Allen's Scott Calvin first donned the red suit and hat in the original 1994 film. One of the ways it accomplished this was through Scott’s meeting with the elves about the Christmas list. According to Betty, it’s no longer deemed appropriate for Scott to refer to kids as “naughty,...

Given that 16 years have passed since the previous installment of the Santa Clause franchise, audiences may be curious about when on the timeline The Santa Clauses is set. The Disney+ limited series serves as a swan song for Tim Allen's Scott Calvin, who was introduced in the 1994 movie The Santa Clause as a toy salesman forced to become St. Nick after causing his predecessor to fall off a roof. The Santa Clauses now Scott struggling to fulfill his responsibilities after years of overseeing Christmas. But just how many years has it been?

Having begun with the original Santa Clause movie in 1994, the franchise has spanned nearly three decades, providing a fairly extensive exploration of Scott Calvin's career as Kris Kringle. The 2022 release of The Santa Clauses on Disney+ comes about following the longest gap between installments in the holiday franchise, both in real-time and in-universe. The show is set 29 years after The Santa Clause,...

Tim Allen wishes he'd had more screen time with Martin Short in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Allen first brought accidental Santa Scott Calvin to life in 1994's The Santa Clause and reprised the role in 2002's The Santa Clause 2 and 2006's trilogy finisher, The Santa Clause 3. The third film saw Allen's character struggling to balance his new family with Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell) and his responsibilities as Santa, which left him susceptible to Jack Frost's (Martin Short) manipulations. Though The Santa Clause 3 scored much lower with critics than its predecessors, Short's character was a refreshing addition to the franchise.

During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Allen spoke about his feelings surrounding the third installment in The Santa Clause franchise. The actor regrets the film's direction, saying it "overshot the runway" and that the upcoming Disney+ series should "explain that one away and bring it back down to magic.

Disney+ released the official trailer for The Santa Clauses, showcasing Tim Allen's return to the titular role. Allen became knit in the fabric of holiday films after The Santa Clause in 1994. The actor portrayed suburban dad Scott Calvin who accidentally scares Santa off his roof on Christmas Eve. When Kris Kringle disappears, Scott is forced to head to the North Pole to take the reins as Father Christmas. Allen's timeless performance transformed the one-off holiday movie into a franchise, with Disney producing The Santa Clause 2 in 2002 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause in 2006.

After 15 years, Allen will once again don the red hat in Disney+'s brand-new series, The Santa Clauses. He is once again joined by his Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell), eldest son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), and fan favorite Bernard the Elf (David Krumholtz). The end of the last film saw Mr. and Mrs. Claus welcome a son named Buddy,...

Tim Allen is busting out his white beard. The actor stars as Saint Nick himself in the first trailer for Disney+ series “The Santa Clauses.”

The show serves as a follow-up to the “Santa Clause” Christmas series, which released three films between 1994 and 2006. Allen starred in each film as Scott Calvin, a toy salesman who accidentally causes the death of Santa Claus and is roped into becoming the holiday icon’s successor. Later sequels saw Scott gain a Mrs. Claus in Carol Newman (played by Elizabeth Mitchell) and battle Jack Frost (Martin Short). Although the sequels received increasingly negative reviews as the series went on, all three movies were box-office successes and are now seasonal classics.

“The Santa Clauses” sees Allen and Mitchell reprise their roles, as well as Eric Lloyd as Scott’s son Charlie and David Krumholtz as Bernard, the head elf of the North Pole. The limited series finds Scott,...

News that the V/H/S found footage series will be releasing its latest sequel, V/H/S/99 on October 20, 2022 is a genuine Halloween treat for some horror fans. WIth a wide variety of films to choose from, the Halloween season is one of the best times of the year for horror devotees. Some of the greatest horror films of all time are actually set at Halloween, which makes watching them during this time a fun and somewhat immersive experience.

But of course, the horror genre is a very diverse one, with sub-genres upon sub-genres to choose from. Not every horror movie is necessarily a perfect fit for Halloween. Instead, there are horror films that simply feel out of place in this setting. In order to get a better look at which films aren't suitable for the spookiest time of year, some Redditors have highlighted the movies they believe don't work at Halloween.

Stars: Sarah T. Cohen, Nicola Wright, Stephen Staley, Kate Sandison, Rochard Kovacs, Amanda Vixx, Kelly Rian Sanson, Lauren Staerck, Keith Eyles, Sylvia Clegg | Written by Craig McLearie | Directed by Liana Failla

Jack Frost opens with a prologue that sees Lesley take on Jack Frost and win… time running out for the frosty one to get back his dismembered hand – an appendage that will make him whole once more and allow him to walk the earth again after, as we’re told in the introduction, he was dismembered by Santa back in a time when myths and legends were all too real and his body parts scattered across the globe, taken care of by the descendants of the big red one… A brief jump forward 50 years to the present day and Lesley is now a curmudgeonly Grandma who doesn’t celebrate Christmas for fear of Jack Frost returning. Only this year...

Stars: Nicola Wright, Richard Kovacs, Harry Moxley, Lila Lasso, Kelly Rain Sanson, Charlie Esquire, Giedre Jacket, Gillaim Broderick, Mike Kelson, Mirella Camillo, Stephen Staley | Written by Craig McLearie | Directed by Adam Cowie

The original Dragon Fury, which we reviewed back in the summer of 2021, was something of a departure for producer Scott Jeffrey. It saw the prolific producer turning his hand to a monster movie rather than an all-out horror film – tapping into that great British tradition of dragons roaming the British Isles. And now a mere 15 months later we’ve got a sequel… Dragon Fury: Wrath of Fire, or Dragon Fury 2: Return to the Mountains as it appears on the screen; picks up after the events of the first film, with that movie’s survivor, Vanessa (Nicola Wright), in hiding after being threatened by the government. However, a group of researchers find her and soon convince her to go back to the mountains,...

Don’t get me wrong, streaming is great. You can’t complain about the convenience of pulling up a movie without having to leave your bed. But there’s one thing that we’ve lost in our post-rental store age: cool movie covers. Sure, Netflix will display algorithmically designed thumbnails, and trailers for movies play above Redbox kiosks. But gone are the days of the crinkly Disney clamshell or the lenticular image of Jack Frost shifting from a smiling snowman to a Shannon Elizabeth-attacking beast.

As that last point indicates, no genre is hurt more by the end of the rental store than horror. No longer did those looking for depravity need to leave their homes to visit shady cinemas in Times Square or dusty drive-ins. Now, they could go to the rental store and plan their own double-feature. To appeal to those amateur programmers, production companies commissioned incredibly eye-catching VHS covers,...

On November 1st, Uncork’d Entertainment will be releasing The Killing Tree, a movie that looks to me like it’s going to be earning a cult following. Check out the trailer in the embed above to see if this looks like a movie you’ll be watching this holiday season.

The Killing Tree is getting a Digital and DVD release on November 1st.

Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the filmmaker who is currently in post-production on the horror film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, from a screenplay by Craig McLearie, this movie was originally shot under the title Demonic Christmas Tree. It has the following synopsis:

On Christmas Eve, a scorned widow casts an ancient spell to resurrect her executed husband. However, when the spell goes wrong, the husband is brought back as an Evil Christmas Tree. Hell-bent on getting revenge on the one who caused his execution, the body count keeps...

Consider it an early Christmas gift.

Disney+ on Saturday announced at the D23 Expo that The Santa Clauses — a limited series revival of the beloved Santa Clause film franchise starring Tim Allen — will premiere Wednesday, Nov. 16, with its first two episodes.

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The Santa Clauses finds Scott “on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he can’t be Santa forever,...

Britain produces cop shows with an abandon that defies our present moment’s global supply shortages. Just this week, ITV launches two new procedurals – Ridley and The Suspect – while the BBC brings back its hit surveillance drama, The Capture, for a second season. It is a national addiction on a scale usually reserved for tea consumption, football hooliganism and insincere apologies. Within this obsession, The Capture represents the genre at its classiest and, though it might upset some patriots at our state broadcaster to say so, at its most American.

Holliday Grainger – surely one of the most charismatic actors to remain predominantly constrained to the small screen – returns as Rachel Carey, now promoted to Dci and working within the bubble of Correction. Correction, as The Capture’s first series exposed, is hi-tech audiovisual manipulation software, used for the planting of digital evidence by the authorities. As such, viewers can be fairly confident that,...

What’s all this boo-hooin’ about? David Krumholtz coming back as Bernard the Elf in Disney+’s upcoming “The Santa Clauses” limited series!

Krumholtz joins his fellow movie alums Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell in the series, who are returning as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus and Carol Newman/Mrs. Claus respectively. Of course, it’s been several years since we’ve seen Bernard the Elf, so whether he’s still working in Santa’s workshop remains to be seen. Details on Bernard’s storyline are not yet known.

Bernard has become a fan favorite over the years, despite his gruffness. And that’s something that Krumholtz has always appreciated. In a 2019 interview, the actor noted that “It means the world to me. I appreciate any kind of reaction [to] anything I do. You know, really! You’re supposed to make people feel things, whatever those things are.”

Also Read:

Tim Allen...

David Krumholtz is here to sleigh.

The actor, who played fan-favorite Bernard in the first two Santa Clause movies, is set to reprise his role in Disney+’s forthcoming sequel series, now titled The Santa Clauses (plural). He joins fellow vets Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell, who are returning as Scott and Carol Calvin, and franchise newcomer Kal Penn.

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The director of Over The Edge and The Accused takes us on a journey through some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Student Teachers (1973)

Night Call Nurses (1972)

White Line Fever (1975)

Truck Turner (1974)

Heart Like A Wheel (1983)

The Accused (1988)

Over The Edge (1979)

Modern Times (1936)

City Lights (1931)

Manhattan (1979)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

North By Northwest (1959)

Moon Pilot (1962)

Mr. Billion (1977)

White Heat (1949)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Three Musketeers (1973)

The Four Musketeers (1974)

Superman (1978)

Superman II (1980)

The Three Musketeers (1948)

Shane (1953)

The 400 Blows (1959)

8 ½ (1963)

Fellini Satyricon (1969)

Richard (1972)

Millhouse (1971)

The Projectionist (1970)

El Dorado (1966)

The Shootist (1976)

Woodstock (1970)

Payback (1999)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Billy Liar (1963)

Ford Vs Ferrari (2019)

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Bad Girls (1994)

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Giant (1956)

The More The Merrier (1943)

The Graduate (1967)

The Victors (1963)

…And Justice For All (1979)

Citizen Kane (1941)

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn...

Tim Conway, the agile comedian who was a core member of the “The Carol Burnett Show” troupe and starred in a string of Disney film comedies in the 1970s, died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 85.

A rep for Conway tells Variety he died from water on the brain.

Over his long career, Conway was nominated for 13 Emmys and won six. For “The Carol Burnett Show,” he was nominated six times as a supporting performer in a variety or comedy series, winning in 1973, 1977 and 1978. He was also nominated as part of the writing staff for the show, drawing three nominations and winning in 1978. In addition to those four Emmy wins, he won in 1996 for outstanding guest actor in a comedy, “Coach,” and in 2008 for guest actor in a comedy for “30 Rock.”

“I’m heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being,...

For Sunday’s Oscars 2019 ceremony, producers had a difficult decision of which film industry people would make the cut and who would be left out of the “In Memoriam.” For the segment, Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic performed music by Oscar winner John Williams.

Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.

SEEDirector Stanley Donen, dead at 94, was light on his feet and a movie musical heavyweight

Stanley Donen would have certainly been included, but he died on the weekend after the segment had been finalized (look for him on the 2020 show). Here is list of some of the people included in the Memoriam tribute for the ceremony (Academy members are indicated with ** by their names):

Susan Anspach (actor)

Bernardo Bertolucci (director)

Yvonne Blake (costume designer)**

Paul Bloch...

While Academy Awards producers have strived for a much shorter ceremony this year, the annual “In Memoriam” segment will definitely remain. In fact this moment on Sunday’s 2019 event should be extra classy since Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic will be performing as part of the tribute.

Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. But which ones will be featured in the short segment? There are generally outcries each year from family members upset about people being left out. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.

Virtually certain to be part of the montage are Oscar-winning directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Milos Forman, Oscar-nominated actors Carol Channing, Albert Finney and Burt Reynolds, director and actress Penny Marshall, executive producer and entertainment icon Stan Lee and many more.

SEEDana Carvey, Mike Myers, Queen Latifah, Barbra Streisand...

One of the saddest and most important segments of the SAG Awards each year is the In Memoriam segment. For the 2019 event, it turns out to be even sadder for family members of certain long-time members of the Screen Actors Guild. Which actors and actresses were not even featured in this portion of the program on Sunday night? Check out this list below:

Marty Allen (actor)

Charles Aznavour (actor)

Kaye Ballard (actor)

Dushon Monique Brown (actor)

Joseph Campanella (actor)

Roy Clark (actor/singer)

Vic Damone (actor/singer)

Daryl Dragon (host/musician)

Louise Latham (actor)

Robin Leach (host)

Stan Lee (executive/host)

Katherine MacGregor (actor)

Robert Mandan (actor)

Peggy McKay (actor)

Tim O’Connor (actor)

Roger Perry (actor)

Douglas Rain (actor)

Ken Swofford (actor)

Clint Walker (actor)

Nancy Wilson (actor/singer)

Louis Zorich (actor)

SEE2019 SAG Awards: Full winners list in the 6 film and 9 TV categories

For the ceremony hosted by...