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When George Lucas returned to the Star Wars universe in 1999 with a brand-new trilogy, excitement soared. These three films—set before the original trilogy—explored the rise of the Galactic Empire, the fall of the Jedi Order, and the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. One of the most talked-about characters introduced was Jar Jar Binks.

But the prequels also sparked passionate debate among fans. One character, in particular, became a lightning rod for criticism: Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar Binks: A Misunderstood Star Wars Icon?

Introduced in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks was a bumbling Gungan from the planet Naboo. Lucas intended him as comic relief, but the reaction was far from unanimous. Instead, Jar Jar quickly became one of the saga’s most polarizing figures, drawing sharp criticism from longtime fans and professional reviewers alike.

Samuel L. Jackson...

I recall watching the original trilogy every morning on the weekends before The Phantom Menace was released when I was a kid. Now fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the next Star Wars film on the big screen, The Mandalorian and Grogu in May 2026.

Fans can enjoy the 11 films from the franchise on the big screen before Din Djarin and The Child make their silver screen debut. Each Star Wars movie has one scene that fans still adore, and that is seemingly more memorable than all the rest.

Star Wars A New Hope (1977) - The Falcon escapes the Death Star

In the original film, Han and Luke battle tie fighters in an effort to escape the Death Star. It set the tone for the way each space battle would be shot and edited and coupled with John Williams cue had a sense of adventurous suspense.

The Empire Strikes Back...

Jeff Goldblumhas starred in many films, but one of his most iconic projects has recently become a streaming hit. Before fans tune in to see him play The Wizard of Oz in Wicked: For Good later this year, they're flocking to HBO Max and turning Jurassic Park into a streaming hit once again, 32 years after it was originally released. Goldblum plays chaos theorist Ian Malcolm in this science fiction feature, which landed him a "Best Supporting Actor" nomination at the Saturn Awards, and starring alongside him were Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Richard Attenborough, and Samuel L. Jackson. It seems fans are revisiting this classic as Jurassic World Rebirth is at the tail end of its theatrical run.

Jurassic Park landed at 8th on HBO Max's Top Movies as of writing, worldwide, sitting between Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Until Dawn. Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton,...

HBO Max's documentary film Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story offers an intimate portrait of the late Christopher Reeve, who embodied one of cinema’s most iconic heroes while facing extraordinary personal trials.

Composer Ilan Eshkeri earned his first Emmy nomination this year, for Best Music for a Documentary Series or Special for his work on the film. He recently joined Gold Derby's Meet the Experts: TV Composers panel to discuss his work on the show. (Watch our full interview above.)

See ‘Super/Man’ directors on ‘real-life superhero’ Christopher Reeve: ‘He invented the superhero film’

Blending archival footage, candid interviews and a moving original score, the film traces Reeve’s journey from his breakout role as Superman to his life-altering accident and tireless advocacy for spinal cord research. Rather than focusing solely on tragedy, Super/Man celebrates resilience, legacy and the enduring power of hope on screen and beyond.

Gold...

Few film composers have reached the status and recognition that John Williams has and for good reason. Throughout his illustrious career, Williams has created some of Cinema’s most iconic pieces of music, synonymous with a number of widely popular Hollywood classics and blockbuster franchises. Within the first few notes of a John Williams piece, the film or franchise it is attached to is easily recognized. The music composed by Williams does not only serve the purpose of slapping a distinguishable theme on its music, but also immerses a strong sense of wonder and mystique into the audience. The music grabs a hold of our emotions and pulls us into a new world in such an effective way, few composers are capable of this. These five films and franchises feature arguably the best of Williams’ work throughout his career. Harry Potter The ‘Harry Potter’ films feature some of the most heartwarming,...

Image source 20th Century Studios

When Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for her role in the original 1961 version of West Side Story, she cemented her place in cinematic history. Six decades later, she returned to the beloved musical, this time in a brand-new role crafted specifically for her by Steven Spielberg, who also invited her to serve as an executive producer on his adaptation of the musical classic.

If you’re going to remake a legendary film, West Side Story is the blueprint for how to do it right. Released in 2021, Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story earned multiple Oscar nominations and wide critical acclaim, managing to honor the original while breathing new life into the story for a modern audience. Few directors in film history could have pulled that off, but Spielberg is undeniably one of them.

At the time of the film’s release, Rita Moreno...

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The "Seinfeld" season 7 two-parter "The Cadillac" is mostly remembered for being (to borrow the titling parlance of a '90s sitcom competitor) the one where George (Jason Alexander) goes on a date with Marisa Tomei (playing herself). But the title of the episode has nothing to do with that storyline!

Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) has just gotten back from an extremely well-paying comedy gig. We don't see the number on the check but it makes Kramer (Michael Richards) jump. So, Jerry decides to do something uncharacteristically nice. His father Morty has dreamed of owning a Cadillac but never been able to afford one. So Jerry flies down to Florida with a surprise gift for his dad. But this being "Seinfeld," even these good intentions lead to trouble.

Morty is his condo association's president. The new Cadillac makes his fellows think he's embezzling money.

It was Alfred Hitchcock's last movie, and this is your last chance to stream it on Netflix. Family Plot, Hitchcock's final stint in the director's chair, is leaving Netflix at the end of July. The suspense thriller with a pseudo-supernatural twist stars Bruce Dern and Karen Black. An adaptation of Victor Canning's 1972 novel The Rainbird Pattern, Family Plot reunited Hitchcock with screenwriter Ernest Lehman, who had previously penned North by Northwest for the director. The two clashed over the screenplay: Lehman wanted a darker film, while Hitchcock preferred it to be more comedic.

It was also the only time that Hitchcock worked with another Hollywood legend: John Williams composed the score for the film. Hitchcock encouraged the composer to take a light touch with the score, telling him, "Mr. Williams, murder can be fun." While the film is not considered to be one of Hitchcock's masterpieces, critical...

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,...

Everyone loves a good shark movie. Ever since Jaws hit theaters and broke box office records in 1975, it’s been a reliable horror movie genre. Case in point: Netflix’s Under Paris has become one of the streaming service’s most popular non-English language film of all time (and a sequel is now in the works). While everyone knows Jaws is by far the best shark movie ever, there are loads of other movies out there that should make you just as afraid to get in the water. We’re gonna need a bigger boat as we travel these dangerous waters of shark films.

Z​ombie (1979)

O​k. Already I’m cheating, but I mean . . . come on. This has one of the best shark scenes in cinematic history. During an early scene of the movie, a woman decides to go for a swim in the lovely Caribbean waters when a tiger shark appears.

He probably wouldn’t have said it at the time, but 2020 was the right year for “Washington Black” composer Cameron Moody to start studying music in college. He’d been in love with it since playing Jedi with his older sibling and identifying early how John Williams’s “Duel of the Fates” transforms that fight sequence in “The Phantom Menace.” Being stuck in lockdown and having to log onto Zoom classes at 6 am every Monday was the unforeseen tradeoff of getting to solve the puzzle of how a chord is voiced or how a texture is built to give all of us the feeling that “Duel of the Fates” does.

Those annoyingly early NYU Zoom classes also offered Moody the opportunity to meet working composers. Sometimes, these folks would give the class clips of their work ahead of time, and then use their class time to workshop students’ best efforts to score those scenes.

Image Source: Warner Bros When Superman (1978) first soared into theaters, audiences truly believed a man could fly. By the time Superman III arrived, fans were already questioning the direction of the franchise. Then came Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and suddenly, its predecessor didn’t seem so bad. Released on July 24, 1987, this fourth installment marked Christopher Reeve’s final appearance as the Man of Steel. While the film didn’t win critical acclaim (though it earned its share of Razzie nominations), it has secured a permanent spot in the “so bad it’s good” category of superhero cinema. A Plot with a Purpose… If Not Perfect Execution Christopher Reeve co-wrote the story for Superman IV, aiming to address the serious issue of nuclear disarmament. In one of the film’s most memorable sequences, Superman gathers the world’s nuclear weapons in a giant net and hurls them into the sun.

In the annals of hallowed movie scores, John Williams boasts the Holy Trinity of Jaws, Star Wars, and Superman. And woe be unto any composer that strives outdo those immortal soundtracks — particularly if they try to put their own stamp on one of the reigning gods of movie music.

That's a risk that John Murphy and David Fleming were both well aware of when James Gunn persuaded them to collaborate on the score for his relaunch of the Man of Steel's feature film franchise. Past Superman revivals have handled the challenge in different ways. John Ottman's score for 2006's Superman Returns didn't mess with success, preserving the Williams title anthem with little to no changes. But Hans Zimmer left the "Superman March" out of his score for 2013's Man of Steel — one of many controversial departures that movie made from the template established the Christopher Reeve films.

James...

Steven Spielberg is the highest-grossing director with $10.7 billion in worldwide box office (not adjusted for inflation), with James Cameron right behind at $8.7 billion, basically one "Avatar" movie. The top-grossing actors include Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Zoe Saldana, and Chris Pratt each in the $14 billion range (unadjusted). Pretty darn impressive ... but film composers scoff at such meager numbers, probably while twirling their batons.

The highest-earning film composers don't just match these figures; they far exceed them. Movie composers get their due credit, as their work is frequently one of the most enjoyable and enduring parts of the films we love. But while we talk a lot about composers, it's not often that the conversation turns to what really matters in Hollywood -- the money they make for movie studios. We're going to change that right now. You have seen their movies. You definitely know their work. Now...

Four Emmys. Three Oscars. Two Grammys. One-half of a legendary songwriting team who made an enduring impact on the soundtrack of Hollywood.

Alan Bergman — whose collaboration with wife Marilyn resulted in dozens of indelible songs performed from everyone from Frank Sinatra to Barbra Streisand to Michael Jackson, and soundtracked everything from In the Heat of the Night to Severance — died Thursday at the age of 99. (Marilyn died in 2002.)

The Bergmans formed a formidable lyric-writing duo, teaming with several of the greatest composers of the 20th century, including Quincy Jones, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Henry Mancini, and Marvin Hamlisch.

They received the Trustees Award from the Grammys in 2013 and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980; the couple also received the organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 1997.

Here are 10 must-hear classics from their award-worthy songbook.

“Nice ‘n’ Easy” (1960)

Cowritten with Lew Spence, the swinging lead single...

Alan Bergman, the award-winning songwriter who helped craft Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” and Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind,” had died at the age of 99. The lyricist racked up a myriad of accolades for music he created in a songwriting duo with his wife Marilyn Bergman, who died in 2022 at the age of 93.

Bergman’s representative Ken Sunshine confirmed Bergman’s death, noting that he experienced respiratory issues in recent months, “but continued to write songs till the very end.”

Throughout his career, Bergman’s...

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that lyricist Alan Bergman, who worked with his late wife Marilyn on numerous hit songs for the screen, passed away on Thursday at his Los Angeles home at the age of 99. He is survived by their daughter, Julie Bergman, and a granddaughter. Marilyn passed away in 2022 at 93 years old. In their 50+ year career together as songwriters, Alan and Marilyn Bergman collaborated frequently with many artists, including Dave Grusin, John Williams, Quincy Jones, James Newton Howard, Michel Legrand, Johnny Mandel, Cy Coleman, Henry Mancini and Marvin Hamlisch. Among many other accolades, the pair won three Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and one Cable Ace...

Alan Bergman, the lyricist whose collaborations with his wife Marilyn were behind the Oscar-winning songs “The Way We Were,” and “The Windmills of Your Mind” as well as such beloved TV theme songs for such series as Good Times, Maude and Alice, died on Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles. He was 99.

His death was announced by a family spokesman, Ken Sunshine. (Marilyn Bergman died in 2022.)

According to Sunshine, Bergman suffered from respiratory issues in recent months, but continued to write songs till the very end. His daughter Julie Bergman was present at the time of his death.

For most of the three decades starting in 1970, the husband-and-wife team scored 16 Oscar nominations. A partial list of their notable songs includes:

“I Knew I Loved You” (music by Ennio Morricone) recorded by Céline Dion for the Morricone tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone (2007) “The Windmills of Your Mind...

Alan Bergman, the Oscar-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning songwriter whose lyric-writing partnership with his wife Marilyn lasted more than six decades and produced such hits as “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “The Way We Were” and “In the Heat of the Night,” has died. He was 99.

Bergman died on Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles, per the New York Times.

Marilyn Bergman, who died in January 2022, was the first woman president and chairman of the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a leading performing-rights society for music-makers. Alan soldiered on even after her death, continuing to put words to music.

The Bergmans, who penned hundreds of songs, mostly for movies and TV, bridged the traditional Great American Songbook era of Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin with the more modern pop sensibility of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Their poetic touch, combined with...

Director James Gunn didn't hide his reverence for Richard Donner's 1978 original when he was putting together his Superman reboot. The movie, starring David Corenswet as the iconic superhero, debuted last week to mostly positive reviews and an enthusiastic fan reception. Gunn's Superman retained the goofy tone of the original, which famously featured the late Christopher Reeve in the lead role, and paid homage to it by reusing the memorable theme music composed by John Williams. In less than a week of release, the new Superman has overtaken the original at the domestic box office.

The movie has grossed $155 million domestically and $314 million worldwide. This puts it ahead of the $134 million domestic and $300 million worldwide hauls of Donner's original. Of course, these numbers are unadjusted for inflation, but that's standard practice in tabulating box office performance. What this means, in simple terms, is that the original was watched...

“Superman” may have already hit theaters, but that doesn’t mean David Corenswet is done having fun.

The actor, who portrayed the Man of Steel in James Gunn’s “Superman,” appeared on Brittany Broski’s “Royal Court” Monday to talk about acting, comedy and “Star Wars.” The delirious 25-minute interview shows Corenswet in goofy and exuberant form, arriving in a regal getup, complete with a sword on his back. And when things got a little too wild and Broski assured the actor they could cut that part, Corenswet laughed and said to leave it in because “Superman” is already in theaters so “it doesn’t even matter.”

“That was the most fun,” the “Superman” star said on X. “Now release my 10 minute hot take on Casino Royale, you cowards. Or I shall write to Lady Brittany personally!”

You can watch the full interview below.

The “Royal Court” appearance shows off...

Though the mechanical shark on the set of Jaws often refused to function, John Williams conjured a theme for it that worked like gangbusters. And while the primordial dun-duns he landed on to signal the great white’s presence may be so simple that Spielberg assumed his maestro was having a laugh when he first heard them, the genius driving Jaws’ score is no joke.

"There’s this wonderful sense of the pistons of a machine going."

Take that main theme, a bassy, two-note tuba ostinato rooted in the stabs of Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho and the orchestral drama of Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite. What strange alchemy allows this basic semitone to give Jaws’ shark such power? “What you have to understand is, because these two notes, E and F, are so close together, they sort of clash,” explains fêted composer — and John Williams superfan — Hans Zimmer, speaking to Empire...

In a cinematic landscape filled with grit, gloom, and brooding antiheroes, James Gunn swoops in like a ray of Kryptonian sunshine with Superman—a bold, heartfelt, and wholly refreshing take on the Man of Steel that reminds us why we fell in love with superheroes in the first place.

From the moment the opening credits roll, it’s clear Gunn isn’t just rebooting Superman—he’s recharging him. The film strikes a perfect balance between awe-inspiring spectacle and deeply human storytelling, delivering a Superman who feels both larger-than-life and entirely relatable. It’s a love letter to truth, justice, and (yes) a brighter tomorrow.

At the heart of it all is David Corenswet, who dons the iconic red and blue with sincerity, strength, and just the right dash of charm. He’s not trying to out-brood previous versions or reinvent the cape—he simply is Superman. With piercing idealism and grounded humility,...

Nicholas Hoult plays the perfect megalomaniac, Lex Luthor, in James Gunn’s “Superman.”

As Superman’s arch-nemesis, the powerful owner of LutherCorp, he can’t stand that people look up to the Man of Steel and not him. With billions of dollars at his disposal and tech masterminds at his service, Luthor sets out to banish Superman from Earth forever.

For co-composer John Murphy, Luthor’s theme was one of the first he wrote. “James will send me the script and I’ll start writing main themes for the movie, and he’ll use those demos to shoot the movie too,” Murphy explains. It’s how the pair have collaborated ever since “Suicide Squad” and “Guardians of the Galaxy 3.” This time around, Gunn wanted to nail Luthor early in the process.

“There are actually two themes. There’s the main theme, which is established when Ultraman (Tom Welling) flies back to the LutherCorp headquarters,...

There is little that’s new to say about Jaws: it’s one of the greatest films ever made, but its production was famously troubled. In the five decades since its release, all those involved have told their stories until they’re as well scrubbed and sanded as any boat captain could wish, so any _Jaws-_head will have heard or read much of this film’s content before. That said, if you are a completist or just want to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary, this is an affectionate and thorough look at the elements that made Jaws endure.

Director Laurent Bouzereau has a long history of ‘making of’ documentaries and films on film; he even made a Jaws documentary previously, for the 20th anniversary LaserDisc in 1995. He’s worked with Spielberg for years and made last year’s moving Music By John Williams about his composer, so...

Fans may be split on how they feel about certain films within the franchise. However, one aspect that the majority of fans agree on is the depth and amazing range of the music and scores of each and every one of the films.

The Star Wars movies of the franchise have a rich history of music, and we're ranking them from worst to best!

12. Attack of the Clones by John Williams

It pains me to put anything of John Williams last on any list. However, there is not too much of note with this score. A lot of it recycled themes from The Phantom Menace. Noteworthy theme: Zam Wesel and her assassin's theme.

11. Star Wars: The Clone Wars by Kevin Kiner

Introduces Star Wars to Kevin Kiner, who would score the series of the same name and Rebels. Great use of the guitar in the score, but nothing of too much note.

On any list of the most admired composers working in film today, Alexandre Desplat would be either at the top or very close to it. That’s not just for the quality of the work — although, as his list of 11 Oscar nominations and two wins would indicate, there is that — but the expanse of styles and sheer breadth of his filmography, whether he’s doing ear-ticklingly eccentric scores for smaller-scale pictures or satisfyingly symphonic ones for the blockbusters.

The French scorer is about to undergo a Hollywood composer’s rite of passage, which some would say is overdue, conducting his first full night of music at the Hollywood Bowl this coming Tuesday night. It will finally answer the longstanding question: Who would win in a fight —”Godzilla” or “The Queen”? But seriously, having the music of monster movies and royal dramas on the same bill will make for a full-service...

It’s easy to forget that the vast majority of Superman movies have struggled to move the needle. While the original Richard Donner Superman put comic book movies on the map, the Christopher Reeve-led sequels were bad. While Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is fondly remembered, the stories behind the scenes of the next two movies turned into a powder keg in the discourse. Superman Returns is not without its own controversies.

Directed by person non grata Bryan Singer and starring Kevin Spacey before he was accused of sexual harassment, many have chosen to ignore a title they were not too fond of to begin with. However, with the release of James Gunn’s Superman, it’s time to revisit the movie that is the closest we’ve seen to Gunn’s vision.

Superman Returns Plot

After spending five years investigating what happened to Krypton, Kal-El (Brandon Routh) returns to Earth.

by Chad Kennerk

Images courtesy of National Geographic.

Just when you thought it was safe...

National Geographic’s Sharkfest is spotlighting the ocean’s most infamous and maligned predator with more than 25 hours of content, including a look into the legacy of Jaws. From National Geographic, Amblin Entertainment and Nedland Media, Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story honours the cinematic landmark but also delves into how Jaws reshaped the movie business and the public perception of sharks. As the icon resurfaces in cinemas and continues to make waves, it’s time to get back in the water and take a closer look at the film that still terrifies and inspires half a century later.

Renowned filmmaker and best-selling author Laurent Bouzereau has spent decades chronicling the untold stories behind cinema’s greatest moments, from documentary films about the life of Faye Dunaway to the legacy of Natalie Wood and the music of John Williams.

It's Friday night. You have your popcorn, your favorite drink, and the greatest film of the Star Wars prequels queued up on the TV in your living room. The moment you hit play, you'll be transported to another universe, one that takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It never gets old. There's a reason for that.

As good as the Star Wars prequel films are, there's one of the three movies that truly stands out above the rest. Maybe it's nostalgia; maybe it's the music. Maybe it's both those things and more. Revenge of the Sith is a Star Wars film like no other, and that's what makes it the best of the prequels.

Star Wars fans waited literal decades to find out what really caused Anakin Skywalker to betray the Jedi and fully embrace the dark side of the Force. Say what you want about the story,...

You will believe that a man can fly... to the Academy Awards.

After months of pre-release hype, James Gunn's highly anticipated Superman relaunch — which introduces David Corenswet as the Man of Steel — is landing in theaters on July 11. Fan reactions from early screenings have been largely out of this world, while critics' takes range from the enthusiastic to the Kryptonite-tinged. Attention has also been laser-focused on the film's opening weekend box-office prospects as a harbinger for both the future of the DC Comics cinematic universe and superhero cinema in general.

Gunn himself addressed the box-office question in a recent GQ interview, saying: "[People] hear these numbers that the movie’s only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it’s just complete and utter nonsense. It doesn’t need to be as big of a situation as people are saying."

When it comes to the awards race,...

"You're gonna need a bigger boat." Fifty years later, those words still send shivers down our spines, and this summer, they’ll sound even more terrifying in IMAX. Universal Pictures is throwing a massive party for Jaws’ 50th anniversary, and it’s daring you — yes, you — to get back in the water. Starting August 29, Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1975 thriller will be re-released nationwide in stunning 4K, with select screenings in IMAX, RealD 3D, 4Dx, and D-box — in case you want to actually feel the boat tipping and the shark chomping.

It’s the blockbuster that created the summer blockbuster, now swimming back to theaters in more formats than ever before. And yes, there’s a brand-new 50th anniversary trailer, and no, your goosebumps aren’t going away anytime soon.

Jaws has been re-released many times before, but this is the big one. The re-release marks half a century since Spielberg...

The gang on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" love riffing on popular culture, both onscreen as their characters and in the episodes themselves. From the bonkers Bruce Willis-inspired antics of the season 3 episode "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" to a way less classy take on the classic noir "The Postman Always Rings Twice" that involves a whole lot of diarrhea poisoning, elements of pop culture have been riffed on throughout the long-running series. There's one episode, however, that almost feels like a pop culture Easter egg hunt, and that's the glorious "The Gang Goes to a Water Park" from season 12.

"The Gang Goes to a Water Park" has it all — a great nod to Steven Spielberg's seminal feature film "Jaws," references to one of the most infamous horror novels of the 21st century, an extended riff on an oft-forgotten Nicolas Cage movie, cameos from some very famous TV showrunners,...

Five decades ago, Steven Spielberg changed cinema forever with a malfunctioning mechanical shark and a two-note musical motif that still makes beachgoers nervous. Laurent Bouzereau’s “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story” arrives as both celebration and archaeological dig, examining how a troubled production became the template for modern moviemaking. Bouzereau, whose documentary expertise spans from “Music by John Williams” to countless Spielberg retrospectives, brings the perfect sensibility to this project—part film historian, part cultural anthropologist.

The National Geographic production benefits from extraordinary access, featuring candid conversations with Spielberg himself alongside a murderer’s row of contemporary filmmakers who grew up in Jaws’ shadow. What emerges in these lean 90 minutes isn’t just another making-of documentary, but a fascinating study of how artistic accidents can reshape entire industries.

The film traces Peter Benchley’s novel from conception through its transformation into cinema’s first true summer blockbuster, revealing...

When Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Crichton's bestselling sci-fi/horror novel hit theaters on June 11, 1993, the entire motion picture medium was forever changed. James Cameron had given us a tantalizing taste of how seamlessly computer-generated imagery could be integrated into a motion picture via "The Abyss" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," but no one was prepared for Spielberg and his visual FX team (which included Cameron collaborator Dennis Muren) to blast the technology seemingly decades into the future by creating photo-realistic dinosaurs. That moment where Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum get their first look at a living, breathing brachiosaurus induced a new kind of awe in moviegoers, and it remains a blessing and a curse that Spielberg was the man at the helm.

The blessing is that the bar was raised so dizzyingly high for photoreal CGI that, in the immediate wake of the film's blockbuster success,...

Is The Empire Strikes Back really the best Star Wars movie, or is that just nostalgia talking? Depending on who you ask, the greatest entry in the galaxy far, far away varies greatly (The Last Jedi's placement on this list shocked me).

Love them or hate them, the critics have spoken, and Rotten Tomatoes has the receipts. Below, we’re ranking all 11 live-action Star Wars films by their Tomatometer scores. Some picks might surprise you, while others have aged into classics that critics and audiences alike weren’t so sure about the first time around.

From A New Hope to The Rise of Skywalker, here’s how the entire slate of live-action Star Wars films stacks up.

1. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) – 94%

The film that started it all still hits like a cultural meteor. Critics praise its pioneering visual effects, John Williams’s iconic score, and...

When Jurassic Park opened in 1993, it marked a historic leap for visual effects and was rewarded as such at the Academy Awards the following years, where it won three Oscars including one for Best Visual Effects.

Thirty-two years later, visual effects and the film franchise that Jurassic Park spawned look quite different. The six movies that followed Park racked up a total one nomination and zero wins.

But could the relatively stripped-down Jurassic World Rebirth be the movie that breaks the Ice Age of a cold streak that's been around since 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park? The reviews certainly lower expectations for any surprise above-the-line noms, but there are a few categories where the franchise could show signs of life.

Best Visual Effects

It's the category where the series has been the strongest, accounting for half of its four total nominations. If Rebirth has any hope of an Oscar nomination,...

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures Brace yourself to get back in the water again; it’s hard to believe that 50 years have gone by since Steven Spielberg’s Jaws first made everyone nervous before swimming! To mark this big anniversary, the original summer blockbuster is returning to theaters nationwide. Universal Pictures is bringing Jaws back in stunning 4K, with extras like 3D, 4Dx, plus D-box for extra thrills. It’s really not just for people who have only watched it at home. Now is your chance to see Jaws like how it once stunned crowds, if you never saw it on a big screen or you just want to feel that terror one more time. For many fans, seeing Jaws like this is an experience that will be unmatched by watching it in any other way, leaving people very wary of the water. Released on June 20, 1975, Jaws wasn’t just a...

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, David Corenswet as Superman and Director James Gunn in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Superman,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio Copyright:© 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Grab your popcorn and maybe even dig out those old capes, because the buzz around this new Superman movie is seriously next-level. People are already calling it potentially the most powerful one yet, and honestly, who isn’t excited to see how they’re gonna shake up a legend we all know so well? Many of us still remember that pure awe when the late Christopher Reeve first took flight back in 1978. The vibe in those old theaters was just magic, right? Even without all the fancy tech we’ve got today, the excitement was real, and John Williams’s music? That score just soared higher than a bird! We watched that movie again and again.

When director Gareth Edwards stepped into the world of Jurassic World Rebirth, he didn’t come armed with a sequel plan or spin-off ideas. From the very beginning, Edwards knew he didn’t want Rebirth to kickstart another multi-movie saga. He told ScreenRant that he made this film like a standalone story.

Maybe there’s something in there. But no, we tried to make this movie like a single standalone. When I look back on sequels, trilogies that I love, what they all have in common is that the first movie was on its own, and then it became a high-class problem of how do we now make the others? I’ve genuinely never talked about it with anybody.

And guess what? The Rotten Tomatoes score kind of proved him right. With a lukewarm 53% critics’ score, Jurassic World Rebirth didn’t exactly roar at the box office. But that reaction...

With Jurassic World Rebirth in theaters now, its soundtrack is coming to vinyl from Mutant.

Composed by Academy Award winner Alexandre Desplat, the score is pressed on 2xLP colored vinyl.

“Continuing in the legacy of composers like John Williams, Don Davis, and Michael Giacchino, Alexandre Desplat brings the action-packed Jurassic World: Rebirth to life with equal parts bombast and tenderness,” says Mutant co-founder Mo Shafeek. “Beautiful piano melodies give reprieve from thundering percussion in this beautiful and essential addition to the Jurassic franchise.”

Due out on October 3, the album costs $40. A double-cd version, priced at $20, will be available the same day.

The seventh installment in the dinosaur franchise is directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp.

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the return of Superman! The world’s greatest superhero is primed to make a major comeback on the big screen this summer in James Gunn’s Superman, reviving the radiant optimism of Metropolis’ shining light just when the world needs it most. And before Gunn’s film soars into cinemas, there are plenty of Superman and DC Comics movies to get you ready for Kal-El’s return. Superman’s screen legacy spans decades of cinema, with stories to thrill and inspire and entertain – from the very first superhero blockbuster, to wholesome family adventures, to restored pieces of Hollywood history, as well as heart-swelling documentaries and more.

Here are five films to watch while you wait for Superman’s long-awaited return. Look up!

Superman: The Movie

The original big-screen incarnation of Superman remains a total classic. Richard Donner’s film...

This week sees the release of Jurassic World: Rebirth, and it seems like it’s being met with a bit of a shrug from fans, even if it’s still going to make a solid amount of cash—these movies always do. Jurassic Park has become a franchise for Universal, and a profitable one at that. Yet, none of the films have had the magic the first one did. But what magic was that? I’m glad you asked.

You see, younger audiences may not appreciate it now, but Jurassic Park gave us Dinosaurs. The new Jurassic World movies are full of CGI dinosaurs, but we had never seen them convincingly portrayed on the big screen before. At best, we’d seen—admittedly impressive—stop-motion versions such as those made by Willis O’Brien and Ray Harryhausen, but Spielberg’s Jurassic Park truly brought them to life in a way no one could have ever imagined.

Karl E. Held, a Tony Award-nominated Broadway producer whose wide-ranging career in the performing arts spanned more than four decades, died on June 23 in New York City. He was 63. The cause was a heart attack suffered shortly after attending a performance at Carnegie Hall. A native of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Held split his time between New York City, Hollywood, and his beloved hometown. As both a performer and independent producer, he worked with some of the most renowned artists and institutions of our time. His impressive roster of collaborators included Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, the Spoleto Festivals, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Seiji Ozawa, John Williams, Frank...

Karl E. Held, a longtime arts advocate who was a producer on the Tony Award-nominated 2009 Broadway production of Ragtime and most recently on the Off Broadway hit Kowalski, died of a heart attack June 23 in New York City shortly after attending a performance at Carnegie Hall. He was 63.

His death was announced by a spokesperson for Kowalski. Gregg Ostrin’s comedy, about the first meeting between Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando, ran in January and February at Off Broadway’s Duke on 42nd Street. Producers recently announced their intentions to move Kowalski to Broadway.

Karl Edward Held was born on June 7, 1962, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1990 he joined Emmy Award-winning producer Roger Englander and Freddie Gershon of Music Theatre International to create an acclaimed video series capturing the conception and creation of Broadway shows with their original creators.

The virtual reality rhythm game Maestro, where players conduct a virtual orchestra, has expanded its content and platform availability. The game has introduced a new downloadable content (Dlc) pack featuring music from Star Wars and has also been released on the PlayStation VR2 platform.

The new Star Wars content pack includes the track “Duel of the Fates” by John Williams, from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Accompanying the music is a new in-game cosmetic item: a miniature lightsaber that players can use as a conducting baton. This Dlc is available for the Quest, SteamVR, Pico, and the new PSVR2 versions of the game.

Coinciding with the Dlc, Maestro has launched on the PlayStation VR2. A “Complete Collection Bundle,” which includes all available content packs, has been released for the PSVR2. This bundle is also being made available on all other platforms where the game is sold.

Developed...

It's been three years since Jurassic World: Dominion, the successful-but-well-liked trilogy capper, and in the timeline of movie studios, that's practically an eon. So the dinosaurs are once again walking the earth, this time with stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey.

The seventh installment in the Jurassic series finds director Gareth Edwards and original Park adapter David Koepp attempting a more back-to-basics approach — to mixed results, according to critics, who have just begun to weigh in.

"Jurassic World: Rebirth serves as a reset of sorts, bringing back not a single one of its former cast members, but instead allowing screenwriter David Koepp to restore what worked so well about the original film," write Variety's Peter Debruge.

But to what extent those efforts were successful is where the reviews are divided. Some, like The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney, can appreciate a strong cast, even if they're working with...

James Gunn brought over a unique detail directly from Smallville into his own upcoming Superman film to pay homage to the Tom Welling-led TV series. Smallville is one of the most beloved projects ever created that centers around the Man of Steel. Superman is already expected to include small details from past iterations of Superman (the John Williams score from the original 1978 film was already incorporated into the music for the new movie), so it is no surprise that Gunn is using a rather important piece of Smallville instead of maintaining complete accuracy from DC Comics.

In James Gunn's upcoming Superman film, which will be the first live-action project in the new Dcu, Lex Luthor's corporation will officially be called LuthorCorp instead of LexCorp. Many fans will be more familiar with LexCorp Industries as the name of Luthor's business, which is what the corporation was known as in the...

Early on in Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh film in the Jurassic Park series, a New York billboard depicting T-Rexes in the wild is being whitewashed, the creatures getting airbrushed — well, roller-painted — out of history. While it’s a plot point — we are now in a fictional world rapidly losing interest in dinosaurs — it could also serve as a metaphor for the franchise itself. For, after the Colin Trevorrow era, Gareth Edwards’ film is wiping the slate clean. New characters, new species, new mission, new locales, same reliance on the original John Williams theme for instant wonder. The result, despite the fresh start, adds very little that is novel, but emerges a brisk, uneven, mostly enjoyable romp.

For all the new newness, Rebirth courses with an infectious love of Spielberg’s original. Edwards and original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp have lots of fun playing with the staples of the series: jungle treks,...

Jurassic World Rebirth proves this legendary franchise still has teeth—and more importantly, a beating heart—thanks to the assured direction of acclaimed British filmmaker, Gareth Edwards.

Edwards, known for his ability to blend massive spectacle with grounded human stories (as seen in Rogue One and Godzilla), brings the same sensibility here. His talent for scale and atmosphere elevates the film’s intricate action set pieces, which range from nerve-racking pursuits through jungle undergrowth to thrilling dinosaur encounters staged with a meticulous precision.

Penned by David Koepp, a returning architect of the Jurassic Park and The Lost World universe, the script for Rebirth immediately benefits from his intimate understanding of Michael Crichton’s vision. Koepp skilfully navigates the delicate balance between scientific awe and the grave repercussions of unchecked genetic power. Yes, the central premise—a covert mission spiralling into a catastrophic dinosaur rampage—is entirely predictable. However, Koepp masterfully...