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Fans of Billie Eilish are often surprised to hear that her mother may have had a role in Mass Effect 2. With video games more regularly catching the attention of the entertainment industry, players are starting to see familiar celebrities appearing in the gaming space more often. For both Billie Eilish fans and curious players, rumors of her mother appearing in a popular video game should lead to a deep dive into a past acting career.

Maggie Baird, Billie Eilish's mother, is an actress recognized for her performance in the indie film Life Inside Out (2013). She has also appeared in minor roles on television shows like The X-Files (1993), Jack & Jill (1999), Six Feet Under (2001), and Bones (2005). However, many do not know that Baird has also been in video games, questioning if she really appeared in the Mass Effect series as the topic circulates the internet now and again.

Billie Eilish's Mom...

Directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier (Dinner in America) from a screenplay by first-time feature writer Tom Dean, a film titled Carolina Caroline is currently in production – but rather than filming in North or South Carolina, it’s being made in Kentucky. When you first look at the cast list as reported by Deadline, you might be led to believe that this is a horror project, because in the lead roles we have genre icons Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner, who has been in the likes of Red, The Haunting in Connecticut, Jennifer’s Body, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Red State, The Walking Dead, The Cleanse, Alien Code, Ghosts of War, Smile, The Passenger; Mother, May I?; and the upcoming Smile sequel. But this one isn’t horror; it’s being described as a romantic crime thriller.

The story centers on a young woman (Weaving) who skips her small town — in...

Exclusive: Samara Weaving (Ready Or Not), Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) and Jon Gries (The White Lotus) have been set to star in romantic crime thriller Carolina Caroline, which is now filming in Kentucky.

The film follows the story of a young woman (Weaving) who skips her small town — in search of her estranged mother (Sedgwick) — alongside a charismatic con man (Gallner) on the run from the law. The duo leave a wave of crime and passion behind them as they hustle their way through the Southeast.

Written by Tom Dean and directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier (Dinner In America). Producers include Bee-Hive Productions’ Stephen Braun (Sacramento), Star Thrower Entertainment’s Tim & Trevor White (King Richard), The Wonder Company’s Eric B. Fleischman and Chris Abernathy (Sacramento) and Create & Complete Entertainment’s Chris Ward.

Verve Ventures, CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group are co-representing worldwide rights.

On Rishi Kapoor’s 72nd birth anniversary, his daughter Riddhima Kapoor shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram. She posted an old photograph of her father celebrating his birthday, surrounded by family and colorful decorations.

The image shows Rishi, dressed in a black T-shirt, about to cut a homemade cake with his granddaughter Samara on his lap, eagerly anticipating a slice. Riddhima’s message expressed her deep longing for Rishi’s presence, noting how much she wished he could have celebrated with his granddaughters, Samara and baby Raha Kapoor. She reflected on cherished memories and the enduring love for her father.

Riddhima wrote, “Happy birthday Papa (red heart emoji). How I wish you were here celebrating your special day with both your granddaughters. Your ‘bandari’ Sam is all grown up and baby Raha is the cutest – she is a mini You. Papa I will always cherish the memories we got to share.

Another day, another adaptation. Before I get into what happens in the first two episodes of Bad Monkey, I haven’t read the book. I guess with such a saturation of content in the world, it’s a little more fun to bring to life something that’s already out there rather than start from scratch. Bad Monkey starts off a little slow, and the show knows that audiences of today do not have the patience for something that doesn’t grab their attention in the first 5 seconds, so the narrator tells us to be patient in the middle of the thing to make sure we stick around. Ironically, I don’t think that was necessary, and maybe it’s me, but I didn’t think it needed to be so on the nose about how the story is playing out. The show is a dramedy thriller about a washed-up...

Breakout horror film Azrael debuted at SXSW, challenging genre norms with minimal dialogue and brutal action sequences. Director E.L. Katz's vision combines with writer Simon Barrett's recurring nightmare to create a unique, gripping story. Samara Weaving shines as the lead, showcasing her fearless performance in a post-apocalyptic world of survival and revenge.

The new horror movie Azrael made its debut this week at the 2024 South by Southwest Festival, generating plenty of conversation despite its own sparse use of language. The tale springs from writer Simon Barrett recurring nightmare, accentuated by the time director E.L. Katz spent mid-pandemic watching Eastern European and Soviet film classics. Azrael, which challenges the horror genre with its nearly completely non-verbal storytelling, stars scream queen Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) alongside Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.

The apocalypse has long since seen the downfall of Earth's societies, and a young...

Gore Verbinski's blue-soaked, melancholic "The Ring" incited a wave of J-horror stateside upon its release in 2002. A new century always brings new horror rules, and for the early part of this century, those rules mandated imported ghosties with tragic, complex backstories. Unlike most horror remakes, especially J-horror remakes, Verbinski's "The Ring" is arguably stronger than Hideo Nakata's original, no small feat given Nakata's status as one of this generation's premier Japanese horror auteurs. Post-millennium anxiety, digital unease, and swelling domestic discontent coalesced into more than hospitable conditions for "The Ring" to not just succeed, but succeed remarkably. $249 million worldwide isn't bad by any metric.

Beyond Verbinski's assured control of the material, the cast of new and familiar faces helped augment "The Ring's" most enduring scares. While Naomi Watts might be front and center, Daveigh Chase's contributions as chief baddie Samara Morgan cannot be overstated. With a dense,...

I’ve never been especially afraid that Janicza Bravo’s inimitable “Zola” might pave the way for more films based on Twitter threads; in the time since one of history’s biggest losers began to delegitimize the platform just because he’s so bad at using it, not once have I found myself wondering: “But where are we going to get our movies!?”

If anything, I expected BuzzFeed Studios’ “Dear David” — adapted from a viral, months-long thread that a former employee of the internet-famous content mill wrote about the ghost haunting his Queens apartment — to inspire some nostalgia for the days when the website formerly known as Twitter was still a wellspring of new media creativity, and not just a toxic cesspool of hate and misinformation. Alas, this low-rent, no-energy, seen-it-all-before genre wank left me absolutely terrified of returning to an era when micro-blogged cries for help could last for...

The Evil Dead franchise is beloved for its satire, wit, and gore, and even the most recent addition, Evil Dead Rise, has been well-received. The Ring franchise stands out as all the movies are good and still hold up years later, thanks to compelling characters and a balance of slow-burn tension and jump scares. The Insidious movies terrify viewers with their use of the uncanny valley and strong storylines that keep audiences engaged and scared from start to finish.

While most horror movie franchises decrease in quality over time, some franchises simply have no bad movies. Since the boom of slasher movies in the 1980s, successful horror movies have spawned multiple franchises with a high number of sequels. Some of the longest-running horror franchises include Dracula, Puppet Master, Halloween, and Friday the 13th. Although these movie franchises may have interesting concepts and villains to begin with, they often decline over time,...

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One of the issues at the heart of the WGA strike continues to be mini-rooms and the impact they’ve had — and could continue to have — on television shows. But, as WGA members who spoke with TheWrap note, the rooms have an emotional impact on writers, too.

A mini-room is a practice in which a television creator assembles a writers’ room to create multiple scripts — sometimes even an entire season’s worth — for a show, often before the title has even been greenlit. With these scripts in hand, a network or streamer will make a decision as to whether or not the show is good enough to go on.

In our latest strike roundtable, “Roswell, New Mexico” writer Danny Tolli — speaking alongside Dylan Guerra (“The Other Two”), Elaine Loh (“Gossip Girl...

Cinespia is extending its 22nd annual screening run for a haunted series of films this October. In addition, Cinespia will be coming to LA’s Orpheum Theatre for the first time ever this Halloween.

Among the films screening will be “Halloween” (1978) starring Jamie Lee Curtis, 2002’s cursed videotape film “The Ring,” the fifth installment of the Harry Potter franchise “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and the 1968 satanical psychological film “Rosemary’s Baby” starring Mia Farrow.

“We’re excited to reveal our haunting lineup for the Halloween season,” said John Wyatt, Cinespia founder, in a statement. Cinespia, presented by Amazon Studios, is one of the longest running outdoor theater experiences in Los Angeles. “This marks Cinespia’s debut at the renowned Orpheum Theatre, and we can’t wait to conjure up unforgettable cinematic experiences for all in attendance.”

See below for the full October schedule.

Oct. 14th – ‘Halloween’ (1978) at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Exclusive: Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins will team with Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell in Locked, a remake of the Argentinian action thriller 4X4, for Zq Entertainment and Raimi Productions. David Yarovesky is set to direct. He and Sam Raimi collaborated recently on Nightbooks. Michael Arlen Ross (Oracle) wrote the script. The original was written and directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (Official Competition).

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Locked is an intense, character-driven thriller about a thief who breaks into a luxury SUV,...

Scream fans are theorizing that franchise newcomer Samara Weaving could be Ghostface's first victim in Scream 6's iconic opening kill scene. In 1996, Wes Crave brought a new kind of terror in Scream as the Ghostface killer slashed his way onto screens. Each of the franchise's four sequels has since successfully navigated Scream's wickedly meta-formula to establish one of the most beloved horror franchises to date.

Each new Scream installment comes with both a brand new gang of victims and a memorable opening kill scene, and now Scream fans believe they already know who Ghostface's very first victim will be in Scream 6. Scream fans discuss how Weaving's presence in Scream 6's trailer and promotional footage hints that the star will not make it past the movie's opening scene. This theory mostly stems from a particular clip of Weaving's character Laura, in which she is seen talking on the phone,...

Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of Communications Officer Uhura on Star Trek broke barriers when the show first aired in the 1960s, but the character went without a first name for decades. On a military-style ship like the Enterprise, it was common for characters to be referred to only by their last names, but it seemed as if most major characters had their family and given names revealed in The Original Series. Uhura wasn't the only character to be without a first name for a long time, but hers was one of the series' most glaring oversights considering how many episodes she appeared in prominently.

Her first name was adopted from the Swahili word "Uhuru" which meant freedom, and in many ways, her character exemplified that when appearing in the racially diverse show in 1966. Uhura's most important episodes put the empowering young officer at the forefront of the story, and it was...

While the Evil Dead Rise trailer makes it clear the reboot will be a bloody affair, the movie has already missed out on one infamous Evil Dead franchise record. The Evil Dead movies are gory. Since the series began with director Sam Raimi’s seminal 1980 cult hit The Evil Dead, the series has committed to visualizing new, increasingly gruesome, and often ridiculous ways to murder, mutilate, and render unrecognizable the bodies of its victims.

As a result, the Evil Dead movies often run into trouble with moral guardians. Both The Evil Dead and 2013’s reboot Evil Dead were cut or banned (or both) by censors, an infamous achievement the new franchise installment Evil Dead Rise can’t boast. Although Evil Dead Rise could be the most extreme horror movie in the series, the reboot still earned an R-rating without any extra cuts, unlike its infamous predecessors. Fortunately, changing censorship norms...

By now it’s safe to say that Naomi Watts is a bona fide Scream Queen. After more than a decade in small roles or B movies, the British actress finally found widespread acclaim in 2001 with David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. She followed this up with a star-making role in Gore Verbinski’s The Ring, and sky-rocketted to international fame. Watts has worked steadily since then, winning coveted parts like Ann Darrow in Peter Jackson’s King Kong, Oscar Nominated roles in 21 Grams and The Impossible, and franchise fame in the Divergent series.

Born in England, Watts and her brother moved around the UK with her Welsh mother before relocating to Australia at the age of 14 where she broke into acting. Despite this international upbringing, Watts is most known in the horror world for starring in American remakes of acclaimed foreign films. Her role in The Ring was just...