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Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates first shared credits on 1998’s Primary Colors. But it almost started nearly a decade prior, as Thornton was given a role in 1990’s Misery. Sort of.

Thornton and Bates recently reunited, where he revealed to her that he almost landed a small role in Misery back in 1990 when he was still trying to make a name for himself. As it turns out, the idea was to have Sheriff Buster (played by Richard Farnsworth) have a deputy at his side. As Thornton tells it, though, it wouldn’t have amounted to much except some behind-the-scenes kickback. “Rob said right in the room, ‘You’re the guy. We can send everybody else home.’ I was very excited. And I got a call from Rob Reiner — not many directors would do this — he called me and he said, ‘Listen, I’ve been looking at the script and...

There are many Stephen King adaptations out there, but "Misery" holds the distinction of being based on a story that echoes the author's real-life traumatic experiences with toxic fans. The film follows Paul Sheldon (James Caan), a novelist who is nursed back to life by his biggest admirer, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), following a car accident, only to realize that she might not be as caring as she claims. The psychological horror movie captures the terror of its original source material with aplomb, and King regards it as one of the best adaptations of his work. But would he have liked it more with Billy Bob Thornton involved, given that King is a big fan of Taylor Sheridan's "Landman?"

That remains unknown, but it is true that Thornton was almost cast in "Misery." While speaking to Bates in a conversation for Variety's "Actors on Actors," the "Landman" star revealed...

Billy Bob Thornton reveals that he almost had a role in Misery. The psychological thriller, based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel, is largely considered a genre favorite and earned Kathy Bates an Academy Award for Best Actress. Directed by Rob Reiner, of Stand by Me and When Harry Met Sally…, the movie follows a dangerous encounter between author Paul Sheldon and devoted fan Annie Wilkes, who holds him captive after a car crash. Along with Bates, the cast of Misery includes James Caan, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth, and Frances Sternhagen.

During an Actors on Actors conversation for Variety, Thornton revealed to Bates how he was almost cast in Misery. As Thornton explained, he auditioned to play a deputy to Sheriff Buster and, despite landing the role, he was later informed by Reiner that his part would not actually make the movie. However, Thornton noted that Reiner still gave him an opportunity to film his scenes,...

Billy Bob Thornton, the actor best-known for films like Armageddon and Bad Santa, and shows like Fargo and Taylor Sheridan's Landman, has made a stunning reveal about the early part of his career. Before he wrote, directed and starred in Sling Blade, the film that would catapult him to stardom, and earn him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Thornton was set to appear in one of the best Stephen Kingadaptations. However, per Rob Reiner's decision as director, Thornton's scene was cut from the script of the horror classic.

Thornton spoke to colleague Kathy Bates during a retrospective on each other's careers for Variety. The duo revisited their collaborations on films like Primary Colors and Bad Santa, but per Thornton's claims, there could have been another. He could have starred in Reiner's adaptation of Misery, the film that earned Bates the Academy Award for Best Actress...

Billy Bob Thornton is sharing a surprising fact about his career.

The 69-year-old Landman actor spoke with Kathy Bates as part of Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, out now.

During their discussion, he revealed how he was almost in her classic film, Misery.

Keep reading to find out more…

“There was a time I went in and read for Rob Reiner for ‘Misery’…I swear to God. Originally, Richard Farnsworth, who played the sheriff, had a deputy. I saw Rob Reiner for it. And Rob said right in the room, ‘You’re the guy. We can send everybody else home.’ I was very excited,” he said.

“And I got a call from Rob Reiner — not many directors would do this — he called me and he said, ‘Listen, I’ve been looking at the script and been planning out what I’m going to do with this movie.’ He said,...

Billy Bob Thornton was almost cast alongside Kathy Bates in her Oscar-winning “Misery” role, something that Bates was unaware of until she sat down with Thornton for their Variety Actors on Actors interview.

“I swear to God. Originally, Richard Farnsworth, who played the sheriff, had a deputy. I saw Rob Reiner for it. And Rob said right in the room, ‘You’re the guy. We can send everybody else home.'”

But as the production went forward, the project evolved.

“I was very excited. And I got a call from Rob Reiner — not many directors would do this — he called me and he said, ‘Listen, I’ve been looking at the script and been planning out what I’m going to do with this movie.’ He said, ‘You can come up here and shoot this for the money or the insurance or whatever you need, but I’m just telling you,...

Hollywood stars Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates have been friends for decades after first appearing together in the 1998 film Primary Colors. However, the two nearly met much earlier, as Thornton was initially set to appear in the movie that won Bates an Academy Award.

Based on the Stephen King story, 1990's Misery starred Bates as Annie Wilkes, an obsessive fan who takes her favorite author (James Caan) captive, forcing him to rewrite the finale of his popular novel series. With Bates' win for Best Actress, the film remains the only King adaptation to have won an Oscar. Per Variety, Thornton recently revealed to Bates that he'd been cast for a role in Misery, something she hadn't even known until now. Unfortunately for Thornton, however, creative changes led to his character getting dropped.

"There was a time I went in and read for Rob Reiner for Misery," Thornton explained. "I swear to God.

It’s been quite a year for Kathy Bates and Billy Bob Thornton, who both lead hit shows. Bates stars in CBS’ “Matlock,” a reimagining of the ’80s drama, playing a scheming attorney who hides her true identity from her colleagues to obtain justice for her daughter. Meanwhile, Thornton transforms into the chain-smoking, ruthless oil company executive Tommy Norris on Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” on Paramount+.

While on completely different paths as actors, they’ve known each other for three decades, first teaming up on Mike Nichols’ “Primary Colors,” where Bates tried to learn from the legendary director, and turned to him for advice. “I said, ‘What can you tell me about working with an actor?’” Bates recalls asking Nichols. “And he said, ‘Just love them.’”

But as it turns out, the pair almost met before “Primary Colors” — on the set of Bates’ most famous, and Oscar-winning, movie.

Billy Bob Thornton...

In the 1990 Stephen King adaptation Misery (watch it Here), Kathy Bates’ character Annie Wilkes breaks author Paul Sheldon’s ankle with a sledgehammer and shoots another man in the back with a shotgun – but in King’s book, Annie cut off Sheldon’s foot with an axe instead of breaking his ankle, and stabbed the other man before running him over with her lawnmower. While appearing alongside director Rob Reiner at a special TCM Classic Film Festival 35th anniversary screening of the film, Bates revealed that she was disappointed Reiner toned down the violence for the film version.

Directed by Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman (which received rewrites from Reiner and and producer Andrew Scheinman), Misery has the following synopsis: After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover,...

Stephen King's Misery has become a free streaming hit after dropping on Tubi a few weeks ago. Users of the free streaming service are finding the 1990 adaptation to be a worthy psychological horror thriller that just has to be revisited. At the time of writing, Misery sits in third spot on Tubi's list of most popular films. Other titles currently vying for attention on the platform include the Wesley Snipes thriller, Murder at 1600, Patrick Swayze's 80s hit, Road House, and the demonically delightful Megan Fox horror movie, Jennifer's Body.

Written by American playwright William Goldman, and directed by Rob Reiner, Misery is based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The story follows a writer named Paul Sheldon, who's returning from his retreat where he wrote the end of a successful series of romantic novels centering around the fictional character Misery Chastain. Sheldon has...

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This February, Tubi is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the brilliant epic space opera film Dune: Part One to the classic sci-fi action film The Terminator. However, this article only includes the films coming to Tubi this month with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the ten best films coming to Tubi in February 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Licorice Pizza (February 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90% Credit – United Artists Releasing

Licorice Pizza is a coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The 2021 film is set in the 1970s in California’s San Fernando Valley, and it follows Gary Valentine, a teen actor who falls for Alana Kane, an older girl. Licorice Pizza stars Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie.

Leaving Las Vegas...

“The Straight Story” begins like many other David Lynch films. First with stars flickering in the night. Then shots of a small town somewhere in America’s Midwest — green lawns and red brick buildings with industrial fixtures filling the background. Angelo Badalamenti’s mournful, string-laden score draws us in, emphasizing the quaintness of the visuals, while also suggesting a deeper pain at the core of this place. But instead of the psycho-sexual nightmares discovered in “Blue Velvet” and “Lost Highway” or the metaphysical crises faced in “The Elephant Man” and “Twin Peaks,” what we find instead is — as the title suggests — a very straightforward story, albeit one that’s emotional heft is far beyond words spoken and narrative unfurled.

From “Eraserhead” to “Twin Peaks: The Return,” and perhaps even earlier with his short films, Lynch’s oeuvre has always been consumed with love’s unwieldy power, not just in the...

The late David Lynch was always best known for his fascination with the grotesque. Although Lynch never considered himself a surrealist, his films often stretched into the surreal, presenting a dark, bent version of reality where only dream logic applies. His debut feature, "Eraserhead," he once described as "a dream of dark and troubling things." Many celebrated his controversial 1986 neo-noir "Blue Velvet," a film that is full of murder, kink, and aggressive sexuality. He deconstructed soap opera dynamics with his somnambulistic TV series (and subsequent feature film version of) "Twin Peaks," went on a lusty crime spree with "Wild at Heart," and made a shadowy contemplation of shifting identities with his porn-inflected 1997 flick "Lost Highway."

Then, in 1999, Lynch did the strangest thing he could have possibly done. He made a G-rated biographical movie for the Disney company.

For "The Straight Story," Lynch eschewed his usual obsessions with sex, death, and violence,...

Between 1976 and 1990, there were 11 Stephen King adaptations that hit theaters, and most of them were pretty good. The 1980s gave us such classics as Stand By Me, The Dead Zone, Christine, and The Shining, and while they're remembered fondly today, there was one film during that time period that stood head and shoulders above the rest: 1990's Misery. Based on the novel of the same name, the film starred James Caan as Paul Sheldon, an author held captive by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Directed by Rob Reiner, Misery was a hit both critically and commercially, and now, after being unavailable to stream for a while, it's found a new home where you can watch it for free.

Per Tubi, Misery will hit the streaming service on Jan. 31, making it perfect viewing for the cold winter month of February. Hitting theaters on Nov. 30, 1990, the psychological horror masterpiece...

David Lynch is one of the most prolific — and certainly singular — American directors of the last 50 years, and his death was met Thursday with innumerable tributes and memories from collaborators like Kyle MacLachlan (“Twin Peaks”), Naomi Watts (“Mulholland Drive”) and Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”).

And while his body of work speaks for itself, the outpouring of support and grief and celebration of Lynch’s life showed just how many people he touched in his decades as one of Hollywood’s most unique voices.

Below, TheWrap has rounded up a number of memorable moments of Lynch throughout the years, including taking “Wild at Heart” to the Cannes International Film Festival in 1990 with stars Laura Dern, Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd and Isabella Rossellini; celebrating Dern’s Hollywood Walk of Film induction with Mark Ruffalo in 2010; and working to film “The Straight Story” in 1998.

Read on for a full gallery of...

David Lynch, the visionary filmmaker who died Thursday at 78, months after revealing he had been diagnosed with emphysema as a lifetime smoker, was such an essential figure in the history of cinema that he had his own adjective: Lynchian. The term describes works that share characteristics with some of his most memorable creations.

Lynch’s work was unmistakable. “I loved David’s films. Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and Elephant Man defined him as a singular, visionary dreamer who directed films that felt handmade,” Steven Spielberg, who cast Lynch to play John Ford in The Fabelmans, said in the aftermath of his friend’s death. It’s a sentiment shared widely on social media over the last several hours.

In movies like 1986’s Blue Velvet, 1997’s Lost Highway, and 2001’s Mulholland Drive — not to mention the 1990s ABC TV drama Twin Peaks — Lynch portrayed a mundane America of seemingly pastoral splendor undercut by stupefaction and terror.

“And you better hope nothing happens to me. Because if I die… you die.”

Of all the female killers in the annals of film, few are as iconic or celebrated as Annie Wilkes. Brought to life by the incredible Kathy Bates, this fearsome nurse is the central antagonist of Rob Reiner’s 1990 film Misery. Stephen King’s source material introduces the character as a monstrous idol, but Reiner takes his time unravelling Annie’s sadistic cruelty. Trapped in her guest room, writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a little put off by the somewhat corny woman who claims to love his series of romance novels, but it’s not until his latest release kills off Annie’s favorite character that the true nature of her psychopathy comes to light.

In the latest episode of The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults kick off...

Denzel Washington has won two Academy Awards in his career after earning a total of ten nominations. For the film Glory, he earned his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. After that 1990 win, Washington put in his best efforts to win another Oscar. During this period, he almost gave up on his Oscar dream after coming so close to winning the Best Actor twice.

Denzel Washington in a still from Training Day | Credits: Warner Bros.

Washington recently opened up about his feelings during this period, sharing that he was a bit cold towards the Academy. His luck turned around with the 2001 film, Training Day, for which he won the Best Actor award. He became the second Black actor after Sidney Poitier to win the Best Actor Oscar.

Denzel Washington Gave Up On Oscars After Loss To Kevin Spacey Denzel Washington in a still from The Hurricane | Credits: Universal Pictures

Denzel...

Denzel Washington wasn’t too pleased to lose the Best Actor Oscar to “American Beauty” star Kevin Spacey — so much so, in fact, that he felt bitterness over his “Hurricane” loss for years to come.

The actor (who later won the top Oscar for “Training Day”) revealed in an interview with Esquire published Tuesday that the resentment of the situation lasted “for about 15 years.”

The topic arose mid-interview while discussing his filmography. That’s when he recalled the night he lost to Spacey at the 2000 Academy Awards.

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for ‘American Beauty.’ I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me,” Washington explained. “Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it. Maybe I felt like everybody was looking at me.

Denzel Washington is looking back on how he felt after losing the Best Actor Oscar to Kevin Spacey in 2000. The Gladiator II star, who had already won one Oscar and earned three other nominations before that ceremony, was nominated again for playing Rubin Carter in 1999’s The Hurricane.

He competed against Spacey for American Beauty, Russell Crowe for The Insider, Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story, and Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown. In the end, Spacey took home the award, though Washington did win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama that year.

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for American Beauty,” Denzel remembers. “I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me. Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it.

Denzel Washington is recalling his reaction to losing the best actor Oscar to Kevin Spacey in 2000.

The Gladiator II actor, who had already won one Oscar and scored three other nominations before that year’s ceremony, received another nomination for his role as Rubin Carter in 1999’s The Hurricane. He was up against Spacey for American Beauty, Russell Crowe for The Insider, Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story and Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown; however, the Academy Award ultimately went to Spacey (Washington won the Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture drama that year).

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for American Beauty,” he recalled to Esquire magazine. “I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me. Not that it was this way. Maybe that...

Denzel Washington revealed to Esquire magazine as part of a new cover story that he got bitter after losing the best actor Oscar to Kevin Spacey in 2000. Washington was already a three-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner when his performance as Rubin Carter in “The Hurricane” landed him in the Oscar race for best actor opposite Spacey (“American Beauty”), Russell Crowe (“The Insider”), Richard Farnsworth (“The Straight Story”) and Sean Penn (“Sweet and Lowdown”). Washington won a Golden Globe for his performance, but the Oscar went to Spacey.

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for ‘American Beauty,'” Washington said. “I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me. Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it. Maybe I felt like everybody was looking at me.

Sylvester Stallone was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and had many acclaimed roles in action hits, franchise sequels, and underrated thrillers. While this was a decade defined by Stallone's feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger, these two icons pushed each other forward to star in increasingly outrageous cult favorites throughout this incredible decade in filmmaking. During this time, Stallone often one-upped the stakes of his long-standing rival by branching out into comedies, neo-noirs, and continuing to make his own work as a writer, director, and star of some of the biggest hits of this era.

Many of the best Stallone movies were released during the 1980s, as this was a prime time for the popularity of his characters like Rocky Balboa and John Rambo. Stallone had plenty of underrated movies during this time that, only with the power of hindsight, have come to be regarded as cult classics and misunderstood fan favorites.

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Don’t Move is a crime thriller film co-directed by Adam Schindler and Brian Netto from a screenplay co-written by Tj Cimfel and David White. The Netflix film follows the story of a grieving young woman who recently lost her son. One day she is kidnapped by a seasoned serial killer and given a paralytic agent which will soon render her paralyzed but until then she has to do everything she can to save her life. Don’t Move stars Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock in the lead roles with Moray Treadwell and Daniel Francis starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the intensely thrilling experience, heart-pumping horror, and compelling characters in Don’t Move here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Run Sweetheart Run (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

Run Sweetheart Run is a mystery horror...

If there's one thing movie adaptations of the works of Stephen King consistently manage to get right, it's the various villains that define his stories. The legendary author Stephen King is responsible for the inspiration behind some of the most famous movies of all time, especially within the horror genre. The best Stephen King movies are able to not only accurately portray the heinous villains written about in his original tomes, but completely redefine them with visual language and brilliant performances.

What's fascinating about King's villains is just how varied they are. While many of his stories focus on supernatural, unknowable entities that take out their hatred of humanity with frighteningly straightforward means, other times, his villains are chillingly true-to-life. Regardless of if they're tearing through scores of victims with blood and gore or manipulating others to the brink of insanity, the antagonists of Stephen King's jaw-dropping bibliography make for unforgettable movie monsters.

The best sports movies usually have very little to do with the actual competition. The game being examined is used as a metaphor for the hardships of life and how we get up after being knocked down. 1984's The Natural, directed by Barry Levinson, is based on Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name and is the quintessential example of a movie about sports that ostensibly comes across as a movie about life choices. Robert Redford leads a stellar ensemble cast, including Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, and Richard Farnsworth.

In the years since this column’s debut, ’90s horror movies have actually found a sizable and heartwarming amount of rediscovery and reappreciation. Physical media has resurrected and restored numerous films to the point where even derided efforts like my beloved I Still Know What You Did Last Summer can get a celebratory 4K upgrade. With this new outlook, horror culture is starting to better redefine the historical landscape of the decade. The conversation is no longer enveloped by the shadow of Ghostface.

But, Misery offers a unique issue when it comes to embracing a movie. An issue made more complex and wonderful by Misery being one of the greatest popular stories to occur in our lifetimes.

A bold claim? Of course, but the evidence is on my side. The novel by Stephen King is often cited among his top standalone achievements in fiction. I had never read the novel...

When it comes to lone acting Oscar nominations, the category with the fewest examples is Best Supporting Actor. After two consecutive years of there being no new additions to that subgroup, Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) became its 54th member in 2023 after having been largely ignored by other awards bodies over the preceding weeks. He directly followed Tom Hanks, who is the only other entrant from the last five years.

Within the last decade, this club has only grown by seven, with those who preceded Hanks and Henry being Robert Duvall, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, and Christopher Plummer. 2018 marked the fifth instance of two men accomplishing the feat at once, thus tying the category’s record for most bids of this kind in a single year. Contextually, the corresponding Best Supporting Actress record is three, while that of both lead categories is four.

As it happens, the Best Supporting...

After taking a look back at House II: The Second Story (a favorite of mine since childhood), House of 1000 Corpses (which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year), and the awesomeness of Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, JoBlo’s own Lance Vlcek continues his The Best Scene video series by digging into what he feels is the best scene from the classic 1990 Stephen King adaptation Misery (watch it Here). Lance’s choice for the best scene in this one is the leg breaking scene… Yeah, if you’ve seen Misery, you know exactly what we’re talking about. And you can hear all about it in the video embedded above.

Directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman, based on a novel by Stephen King, Misery has the following synopsis: After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, who...

Since the second Academy Awards ceremony in 1930, 73 people have received acting Oscar nominations for their debut film performances, yielding a total of 15 breakout wins. Conversely, the list of actors who have earned recognition for their final movie appearances is much smaller, featuring only 18 general and two successful examples. Those who belong to this club gained entry in a variety of ways, with some having voluntarily quit acting altogether, others having specifically stepped away from film performing, and a few having sadly not lived long enough to bask in the glory of their farewell nominations.

Since film acting retirement can never be absolutely permanent while a performer is still alive, only deceased individuals can correctly be counted as official members of this group. Although most currently living retired actors did not pick up Oscar nominations for their latest films anyway, the academy did smile upon one – Daniel Day-Lewis – on his declared way out.

Harrison Ford didn't consider Indiana Jones dying as an ending for Dial of Destiny. The film revolves around Indy and his goddaughter searching for an artifact that could alter the outcome of WWII. Ford and director James Mangold share similar sentiments about Indy's ending.

Harrison Ford has revealed that he never even considered one potential ending for Indiana Jones in James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Released on June 30, 2023, the final film in the franchise takes place in 1969 and sees Indy and his goddaughter attempt to locate an artifact before it can be used to change the outcome of World War II. The movie has made over $381 million worldwide since its release.

In a clip from ComingSoon.net, Ford shared that he never envisioned a version of the fifth installment that would have seen Indiana Jones die. For Ford, even the film concluding with Indy "stay[ing] in...

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may not have broken any records when it comes to its performance at the box office, but the belated sequel has seen Harrison Ford claim his own record-breaking accolade. Despite many critics ridiculing Ford’ appearance as Indy in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 15 years ago, Ford has returned for one final outing, and it is “old Indy” that has seen Ford claim his own Disney record.

Harrison Ford once joked about what it would be like to still be playing Indiana Jones when he was 80, and now he has had the chance to find out. In doing so he has also become the oldest actor to ever lead a Disney movie, taking over a 24 year old record set by Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story, a David Lynch movie based on a true story. At the time Farnsworth was 79 years old,...

With Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Harrison Ford broke an unusual Disney record. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was delayed so long, the press surrounding the fourth entry constantly jabbed fun at Ford's age. Little did those writers know that the star would return one last time 15 years later for the fifth entry Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This installment finds Indiana team with his morally dubious goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) as they chase after Indiana Jones 5's titular time travel MacGuffin, which is also being sought by Mads Mikkelsen's Nazi villain Voller.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's previews made constant reference to the opening sequence, where a de-aged Ford fights Nazis on a train. While the de-aging tech used during this sequence is impressive, and some of the best it has looked, it still has a waxy,...

A new episode of the Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? video series has just been released, and with this one we’re digging into the 1990 Stephen King adaptation Misery (watch it Here) – the film where Kathy Bates earned her Best Actress Oscar. To find out all about Misery, check out the video embedded above.

Directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman, Misery has the following synopsis:

After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover, where her obsession takes a dark turn when she discovers Sheldon is killing off her favorite character from his novels. As Sheldon devises plans for escape, Annie grows increasingly controlling, even violent, as she forces the author to shape his writing to suit her twisted fantasies.

Bates plays Annie...

Robert Aldrich gives the Cavalry Western a rough going-over in this brutal, unforgiving horror-western. Burt Lancaster gets in a fine late-career action turn as well. The pursuit of an Apache raiding party becomes guerrilla war in the desert, the kind of conflict that cements racial hatred forever. Aldrich and Alan Sharp’s answer to the ‘mud & rags’ western of the early 1970s carries on the director’s anarchic streak. This is how the West was won?

Ulzana’s Raid

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date January 21, 2020 / 29.99

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Richard Jaeckel, Bruce Davison, Jorge Luke, Joaquín Martínez, Lloyd Bochner, Karl Swenson, Douglass Watson, Dran Hamilton, Gladys Holland, Aimee Eccles, Tony Epper, Nick Cravat, Richard Farnsworth, Dean Smith.

Cinematography: Joseph Biroc

Film Editor: Michael Luciano

Original Music: Frank De Vol

Written by Alan Sharp

Produced by Carter DeHaven

Directed by Robert Aldrich

After all of the bloodletting...

Screenwriter Jeb Stuart joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Die Hard (1988)

The Fugitive (1993)

Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Detective (1968) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dirty Harry (1971) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary, Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Rear Window (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s review, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

North By Northwest (1959)

The Trouble With Harry (1955)

Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Wait Until Dark (1967) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Switchback (1997)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Getaway (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

The Thin Man (1934)

Another 48 Hrs (1990)

Commando (1985) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Long Riders (1980)

The Warriors...

Alvin Straight is not the twisted David Lynch character audiences expected… he’s a well-adjusted old Iowan with the same kinds of regrets that most people have. Taken from a true story, Alvin can’t drive and hasn’t much money, but he undertakes an eccentric Odyssey that in different circumstances might get him committed. And there’s the rub — his ‘impossible’ 5 mph trek across Iowa becomes a voyage of affirmation. Lynch is no cheater: we may expect bloody disaster but he instead gives us a statement about common decency and goodwill from his own Midwestern roots. This one movie will lower your blood pressure by 10 points.

The Straight Story

Region Free Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 61

1999 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date August 25, 2021 / Available from / 39.95au

Starring: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Dan Flannery, Everett McGill, Barbara Robertson, James Cada, Sally Wingert, Kevin P. Farley, John Farley, John Lordan, Russ Reed, Harry Dean Stanton.

Let’s toast Sir Anthony Hopkins for making history as the oldest nominee ever to compete for a Best Actor trophy and also now is the oldest champion. The 83-year-old Welshman won for his role as an elderly patriarch in the throes of increasingly debilitating dementia in “The Father.” He beat the nomination record held for 21 years by Richard Farnsworth, who was 79 when he was recognized for his lead performance in 1999’s “The Straight Story.” He also took over the Best Actor record of oldest winner from Henry Fonda (“On Golden Pond”).

Hopkins previously won the Best Actor prize for his portrait of the diabolical Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” and would go to be nominated as a male lead as a reticent butler in 1993’s “The Remains of the Day” and as the disgraced 37th U.S. president in 1995’s “Nixon.” Hopkins also competed in the supporting category twice,...

The 2021 Oscar nominees for Best Actor are Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”), Gary Oldman (“Mank”), and Steven Yeun (“Minari”). Boseman (31/10) is favored to win by our odds, followed in order by Hopkins (39/10), Ahmed (4/1), Yeun (9/2), and Oldman (9/2).

For the fifth time in 10 years, the Best Actor lineup includes more newcomers than veterans. Ahmed, Boseman, and Yeun not only share the commonality of being first-timers, but also represent the most diverse group in the history of this category. Boseman follows Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Daniel Kaluuya as the fourth Black man to vie for this award over the last decade. After Ben Kingsley, Ahmed is only the second actor of South Asian descent ever recognized here, while Yeun is the very first East Asian nominee.

The late Boseman has also made history as the fifth actor to posthumously compete for this prize.

In 1968, 80-year-old Edith Evans broke new ground as the first octogenarian actor to compete for an Oscar. Since then, the academy has nominated 17 other performances given by thespians in their 80s, but prior to this year, none had been recognized in the Best Actor category. With his bid for “The Father,” Anthony Hopkins (83) has finally broken the lead male record set by 79-year-old Richard Farnsworth (“The Straight Story”) in 2000. He is the seventh-oldest acting nominee in Oscar history.

At the upcoming Academy Awards, Hopkins faces off against Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Gary Oldman (“Mank”), and Steven Yeun (“Minari”) in the race for Best Actor. Hopkins previously won the award for “The Silence of the Lambs” in 1992. Oldman is also a past winner in the category for “Darkest Hour” (2018), while the remaining three are all first-time contenders at the Oscars.

“The Father,” which originated...

Let’s toast Sir Anthony Hopkins for making history as the oldest nominee ever to compete for a Best Actor trophy. The 83-year-old Welshman is currently up for his role as an elderly patriarch in the throes of increasingly debilitating dementia in “The Father.” He beat the record held for 21 years by Richard Farnsworth, who was 79 when he was recognized for his lead performance in 1999’s “The Straight Story.”

SEE17 best Anthony Hopkins movies, ranked

Hopkins previously won the Best Actor prize for his portrait of the diabolical Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” and would go to be nominated as a male lead as a reticent butler in 1993’s “The Remains of the Day” and as the disgraced 37th U.S. president in 1995’s “Nixon.” Hopkins also competed in the supporting category twice, as the sixth U.S. president John Quincy Adams in 1997’s “Amistad” and...

Refresh your screen for updates as this post is in progress. It's always fun to look at new records or trivia after nominations. So let's go!

Acting

• Anthony Hopkins is now the Oldest Best Actor nominee ever at 83 years of age and the first octogenarian ever nominated in leading actor. Previously the oldest nominee record in the category was held by Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story (1999) who was 78.

• Chadwick Boseman becomes the first black actor to be nominated posthumously.

• Maria Bakalova is the first Bulgarian actor ever nominated.

• Riz Ahmed is the first actor of Pakistani descent to ever be nominated as well as the first Muslim actor nominated in the lead category...

Anthony Hopkins made history on Monday with his Oscar nomination for “The Father” in the Best Actor category — he became the oldest Best Actor nominee ever at 83.

The previous record-holder, Richard Farnsworth, was 79 when he was nominated for “The Straight Story.”

Hopkins was nominated in the category alongside Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Gary Oldman (“Mank”), Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and Steven Yeun (“Minari”).

“The Father” was directed by Florian Zeller and follows a man (Hopkins) who refuses assistance from his daughter as he ages, but soon begins to doubt his loved ones and even his own reality. The film also stars Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss and Olivia Williams.

Anthony Hopkins previously won Best Actor in 1992 for his role in “The Silence of the Lambs.” He has been nominated four other times — in 1994 for “The Remains of the Day” in the Best Actor category, in 1996 for “Nixon” in the Best Actor category,...

In this delayed and elongated awards season, the Oscar nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards are finally here. Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas announced the full list of nominees in all 23 categories on Monday morning.

Eight films this year were nominated for Best Picture, those being “The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” David Fincher’s “Mank” led all films with 10 nominations, including for Best Actor Gary Oldman, Best Supporting Actress Amanda Seyfried and Fincher for Best Director.

This year, the Academy also nominated a record nine nonwhite actors, including stars like Viola Davis, Andra Day, Chadwick Boseman, Riz Ahmed and Steven Yeun. And finally Anthony Hopkins, now 83 years young, has become the oldest ever nominee in the Best Actor category, beating out Richard Farnsworth’s previous record of scoring a nomination at...

The best actress race is full of veterans this year, with the likes of Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ellen Burstyn all vying for Oscar attention. Joining the list is Sophia Loren, one of the most prolific actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, in Edoardo Ponti’s “The Life Ahead.”

The Oscar-winning Italian actor landed her gold statuette for “Two Women” (“La ciociara”) in 1962, which made her the first actor to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language film. She put up one more nomination in 1965 for “Marriage Italian Style” (“Matrimonio all’italiana”) and if she manages a nomination for “The Life Ahead,” a new record could emerge. In 2021, it will mark 56 years since her last nomination, and if nominated, she will break the record currently held by Henry Fonda as the longest gap between acting nominations. Fonda was nominated in 1941 for “The Grapes of Wrath” and he won the Oscar in 1982 for “On Golden Pond,...

The year continues to provide plenty more surprises — and flies on the heads of politicians — and over the last week we saw “Dune” from Warner Bros. exit the calendar year, something that was very much expected around these parts. While many on the internet want to decry “the end of cinema” and that the film year is “canceled,” it’s time to start expanding your cinematic palates.

In terms of what it means to awards, an interesting observation is how young and “novice” the best director field seems this year. Traditional Oscar years have always had a good amount of the “Og masters” of cinema in the mix like Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, which brought the average age of the nomination pool up considerably. In the current contenders for best director, Aaron Sorkin would be the oldest of the top five predicted lineup, at 59, for “The Trial of the Chicago 7.

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber, is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

Yesterday would have been the 100th birthday of Richard Farnsworth. You might have seen some tributes on Twitter, most of them recalling Farnsworth’s Oscar-nominated performance in David Lynch’s The Straight Story - the actor’s last film. Today I’d like to turn to something earlier, a gorgeous Canadian Western called The Grey Fox.

It’s the kind of movie that feels undiscovered even as you’re watching it - even now that it’s been beautifully restored and rereleased by Kino Lorber. It’s not that it was ignored upon release, really; Farnsworth got a Best Actor - Drama nomination at the Golden Globes and it swept the Genie Awards. But its quiet, slow, rainy charm lends it an air of the forgotten,...

Rob Reiner's Misery is largely hailed as one of the all-time best Stephen King horror film adaptations. The film currently boasts a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score, a 7.8/10 IMDb rating, and a 75/100 Metascore. In addition, the film earned star Kathy Bates an Academy Award for Best Leading Actress, marking the first time a woman won such an award for a horror movie.

Related: Misery: 10 Differences Between The Book And The Film

Also starring James Caan, Richard Farnsworth, Lauren Bacall, and Frances Sternhagen, Misery tells the story of famed romance novelist Paul Sheldon (Caan), who suffers a car accident in the snowy woods of Colorado. Rescued and nursed by a woman named Annie Wilkes (Bates), Paul soon learns his so-called biggest fan is a sadistic psycho murderer. As the film nears its 30th anniversary this fall, here are 9 behind-the-scenes facts about the Making of Misery.

Chicago – Both the Music Box Theatre and the Gene Siskel Film Center have continued their at-home screenings, due to the physical theaters staying closed for now. Below are the updates to their current offerings.

Music Box Theatre Presents Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, I Am Not Your Negro, Whose Streets?, The Grey Fox, Mysteries Of Lisbon, Mystery Of Chess Boxing, Mr. Topaze and Sometimes Always Never

One Night Only: June 12th, 2020

Photo credit: MusicBoxTheatre.com

The Music Box Theatre will get a percentage of the proceeds from any screening. Click site link below for details.

Scheduled: Now until the theater re-opens.

Description: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, I Am Not Your Negro, Whose Streets? is three Magnolia Studios documentaries that are biographical (Morrison & James Baldwin in I Am Not) and activist. One price can get all three and a portion of the box office will go towards a Small Business Relief Fund.

Disney+ is an oddity in the streaming landscape. While it took over pop culture last fall with Baby Yoda and “The Mandalorian,” that blockbuster series was very much the exception for its content model thus far: this is a platform that relies almost entirely on its studio’s back catalogue of classic films. There won’t be another original live-action series of the stature of “The Mandalorian” until, well, “The Mandalorian” Season 2 later this year (assuming its post-production still continues as planned).

As for its classic film titles, Disney+ maintains a family-friendly focus, so many of the company’s more mature titles produced under its Touchstone banner, let alone its 20th Century Fox archive, don’t appear on the service. Even still, Disney+ touted the depth of its content offerings in the leadup to its November 12 launch with an epic Twitter thread of hundreds of beloved (or at least on-brand...