News

Charles and Sara Rippey’s love story ended after 75 years of marriage when an out-of-control fire engulfed their Napa Valley, California, home Sunday.

The Napa County-Sheriff’s-Coroner’s Office confirmed their deaths to People on Tuesday. Charles – who went by Peach – was 100, and his wife, Sara was 98.

The couple’s granddaughter, Ruby Gibney, told Ktvu that they were not able to escape their home as the fire caught up to their Silverado Residential Community home.

“The only thing worse would have been if one survived without the other,” she said.

Their son, Chuck Rippey, told NBC Bay Area that despite...

Shotspeare combines the greatest playwright in history with endless amounts of drunken amusement, creating a must-see comedic twist on classic literature. After years of successful performances in New York City and festivals around the world, Emery Entertainment, Inc. brings this laugh-out-loud show to the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza for a triumphant return engagement October 5-7 for five side-splitting performances. Tickets may be purchased through MetroTix at www.metrotix.com or by calling 314/534-1111. Additionally, tickets will be available at the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza box office one hour prior to show time. All seats are $55.

We Are Movie Geeks has a pair of passes to give away for the opening night performance of Shotspeare! That’s Thursday, October 5th at 8pm. Leave a message below letting us know what your favorite film based on a Shakespeare play is (mine is Forbidden Planet). It’s so easy!

Official Rules:

1. You Must Be In The St.

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 Kicks Off the Summer With a Sci-Fi Action-Comedy

After three weeks of dominating the box office, Universal’s The Fate of the Furious is going to have to give way to a new movie, and that’s because the first weekend of May means that it’s officially...The Summer Movie Season!!!!

Just like the last couple years, the summer movie season is kicking off with a new movie from Marvel Studios, and their sequel Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2 (Marvel Studios/Disney), reunites Chris Pratt as Starlord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista’s Drax, Michael Rooker’s Yondu with the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as Groot and Rocket Racoon, for the next...

Chuck Berry, the late father of rock ‘n’ roll, was an “astute” business man who took all of his contracts into his own hands, his lawyer says. As a result, his family will benefit from his massive fortune — at least a $50 million estate.

“He was very clear about his terms and very astute about the negotiations and he was always really good about adhering to the terms of his contracts,” Bob Baldori, an attorney and musician who worked with the music legend for at least 50 years tells People.

Baldori says that even after the star’s heyday in the ’50s and ’60s,...

Legendary musician Chuck Berry has died, police confirm. He was 90.

The St. Charles County Police Department in Missouri confirmed on Facebook that they responded to a medical emergency on Saturday afternoon where they found an unresponsive man.

“St. Charles County police responded to a medical emergency on Buckner Road at approximately 12:40 p.m. today (Saturday, March 18),” the police department said in a statement. “Inside the home, first responders observed an unresponsive man and immediately administered lifesaving techniques. Unfortunately, the 90-year-old man could not be revived and was pronounced deceased at 1:26 p.m.

“The St. Charles County Police Department...

Earlier this summer, one of the biggest mobile games of all time made the leap from the smartphone to the big screen when The Angry Birds Movie hit theaters. The animated adventure proved to be a box office hit, taking in $107.4 million domestically and $346.9 million worldwide, from a $73 million budget. Today we have word that the sequel Angry Birds 2 is already in the works.

The sequel talk isn't terribly surprising, given its box office performance and the fact that the movie is based on an already-successful property. Rovio, the company that developed and publishes the mobile game, held an earnings conference call yesterday, where CEO Kati Levoranta confirmed that a new Angry Birds movie is in the works. Here's what she had to say below.

"With the excellent performance of our games portfolio and the fantastic movie, the Angry Birds brand is flying high and we are seeing positive Ebit and cash flow development,...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Dead Rising video game series, and to celebrate a decade of creative slayings of the living dead, Capcom will release the franchise’s first three games on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this September, with gamers also having the option to download the original Dead Rising on Steam starting this fall:

Press Release: 2016 is the year of Dead Rising and what better way to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the series than to re-live the classic zombie outbreaks. Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record will be coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for digital download on September 13th, 2016 across North America and Europe. Dead Rising and Dead Rising 2 will get physical releases in North America on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and the original Dead Rising will also be available on Steam as a digital download. What a time to be undead!

Producer Migde Velazquez has been appointed Us representative and head of international operations to Rome’s Cinecittà Studios in Los Angeles.

Velazquez will be tasked with Us and international sales of Cinecittà’s locations and production services as the iconic studio seeks to expand its profile in the Us.

She will also advise on European production strategies and tax credits.

Velazquez reports to Cinecittà Studios CEO Giuseppe Basso and will work closely with Apa’s Matt Birch, who has represented Cinecittà Studios in the Us for more than six years.

With more than 15 years of physical production experience, including 10 years as a line producer in the Us and Europe for American and UK productions, Velazquez’s credits include Third Person and Le Grand Tour (previously Top Gear) for Amazon.

“It is very important for us to have someone in the U.S. who can meet with our customers in advance to discuss their projects and guarantee that we...

Goat

Paramount and The Film Arcade have announced a September 23rd release date for "Goat," Andrew Neel's fraternity drama which was a hit at Sundance. Nick Jonas and Ben Schnetzer star in the film which will open on September 23rd in New York, Los Angeles, and other select U.S. cities along with a digital and on demand release on that date. [Source: EW]

Who Am I

David Goyer is set to direct a remake of Baran bo Odar's German film "Who Am I". The story follows a man who falls in with a group of hackers in Berlin who attempt to gain notoriety by disrupting the public order. Dan Wiedenhaupt ("The Solutrean") is penning the script for the remake. [Source: Deadline]

Euphoria

Charlotte Rampling ("45 Years") is set to join the cast of Swedish writer and director Lisa Langseth's "Euphoria" alongside Alicia Vikander and Eva Green. Vikander and Green play estranged...

'Eddie the Eagle' tells the story of Britain’s first Olympic ski jumper, Eddie Edwards, a lowly plasterer with Coke-bottle glasses who beat the odds to fulfill his dream of competing at the 1988 Winter Olympics. When I was first approached in 2002 about writing the screenplay of his life, I knew instantly it would make a great movie. (What I didn’t know was that it would have been quicker to train and go the Olympics myself, but that’s another story. “Two underdogs. One dream. 1,207 drafts…”) As madcap as Eddie’s real life exploits were, they still contained the core ingredients of any classic underdog sports movie: determined misfit, scant resources, whacky training methods, sporting authorities out to stop him at every turn, and – of course – a heart-tugging triumphant ending even though he came last in both events. The only thing missing from his amazing journey was that beloved staple of the genre,...

Inspired by true events, Eddie the Eagle is a feel-good story about Michael "Eddie" Edwards (Taron Egerton), an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself, even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach (played by Hugh Jackman), Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. From the producers of Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie the Eagle stars Taron Egerton as Eddie, the loveable underdog with a never say die attitude.

Earlier this week, we got to see the international trailer for Eddie the Eagle, which first focuses on the Olympic glory aspects of this true-life tale. The domestic trailer has arrived, and it delves deeper into Eddie's past, and what makes him the man he is today.

Yesterday, we got our first official look at the upcoming biopic Eddie the Eagle with six new photos featuring stars Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long for the first footage to arrive, with JoBlo Movie Trailers debuting a new international trailer. Eddie the Eagle is set to take flight in theaters April 1, 2016, going up against Open Road Films' Collide, Paramount's Rings and Pure Flix's God's Not Dead 2.

This biopic centers on the infamous tale of Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards (Taron Egerton), who became the first British ski jumper in Olympic history at the 1988 games. Despite finishing in last place in both of his events, he became an international celebrity following the games despite his poor performance. His performance at the games also lead to what became known as the "Eddie the Eagle Rule," which was put in place by the International Olympic Committee after the Calgary games.

Dilwale fever hit Cineworld Feltham in full force on December 1st, as thousands of excited fans got the opportunity to meet the cast of the year’s most awaited Bollywood blockbuster in the UK.

Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan, Kriti Sanon and Varun Dhawan the stars of Dilwale, releasing on December 18th, arrived in style in a white Rolls Royce and were greeted by frenzied cheers and screams from staunch fans outside the multiplex. While the stars worked their way down the red carpet, taking selfies and signing autographs, the host of the evening, Bend It Like Beckham and Eastenders star, Ameet Channa, entertained eager fans inside the foyer of the cinema.

Once inside, the stars took to the stage to thank fans for their support, before breaking out in a rendition of Dilwale’s hit tracks Gerua and Manma Emotion Jaage. Lucky fans were also treated to Shah Rukh Khan...

It's been half a decade since we last heard from Uruguayan director Federico Veiroj. In 2010 he followed his feature debut Acné with the small, elegiac and lovely A Useful Life, about an aging cinematheque programmer in Montevideo. If you, like myself, have often wondered when we’d get another cinematic novella from this observant, sensitive filmmaker, the answer is now: the director has returned with The Apostate, another modest and deceptively tidy character study of an out-of-sorts, out-of-time man. Gonzalo Tamayo, played with a sleepy-eyed, disheveled and lax handsomeness by non-professional Alvaro Ogalla, decides to apostatize from the Spanish Catholic church. After being raised (involuntarily, Gonzalo says) Catholic by his parents, failing at seemingly every stage of his education, pining for his beautiful cousin who’s already in a relationship, and running vaguely illicit-seeming errands for his never-seen father, Gonzalo seems sick of it all—and his act of rebellion...

Hungarian photographer Norbert Baksa has upset a lot of people worldwide after he used the current migrant crisis in Europe as inspiration for his latest fashion shoot. Titled "Migrant Chic," the series seems to show refugees fleeing—using barbed wire fences as backdrops and police brutality as motifs. The high-fashion images juxtapose luxury brands with a desperate landscape, as models wrapped in headscarves fight to escape the clutches of border patrol guards. One shot shows model Monika Jablonczky appearing nearly topless under a long floral jacket and taking selfies with a Chanel phone case as she leans against one of the wire-enclosed barricades. "We have...

The Sega Mega Drive's weirdest game? Ryan takes a look back at the incredibly strange Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure...

If there's another game with as convoluted and confusing history as Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure, I've yet to hear of it.

Vic Tokai's jaunty platformer essentially had four different lives, with the same game appearing in slightly modified forms on the Nes, Sega Master System and the Sega Mega Drive. To make matters even more befuddling, there were two Nes and Mega Drive versions, each tailored for different markets due to licensing issues.

For this writer, Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure may be the best of the lot. But before we delve into exactly why, let's head back to the year 1988, where the game's curious story first began.

The Quest For The Seven Wonder Herbs

It all seemed to begin with a Japanese child star named Kenji Sagara, better...

Stars: Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, June Diane Raphael, Britton Sear, Ella Anderson, Nick Frost, James Marsden | Written by Steve Conrad | Directed by Ken Scott

Daniel Trunkman (Vaughn), a hard-working but disillusioned salesman, decides to set up on his own and take on the big man – or more specifically his cut-throat former boss Chuck (Miller). Accompanied by two unlikely associates; Timothy McWinters (Wilkinson) and Mike Pancake (Franco), he travels to Europe to close the most important deal of his life. But what begins as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

Ken Scott, director of Starbuck and its Us remake Delivery Man, seems to have cornered the market in broad comedies with emotional heart. Delivery Man could have been just another gross out comedy about...

Big Brother's latest evictee Marc O'Neill certainly stirred things up while he was in the house, but his time was up last night as the public chose to boot him out.

Marc got on the phone to reporters this morning to chat about which of the housemates are boring, why he's standing by his friendship with Helen, and what he regrets about his time in the house...

There was a lot of shock from the housemates and the viewers when you were evicted. Are you chuffed people were so surprised?

"Yeah. It was good, but confusing as well. I don't know why they did vote me out if I didn't get negative stuff on social media, because that's all I can go by. But you know what, I had fun. I'm glad I went when I did. I was in there just to have fun, I wasn't in there to win,...

As we conclude our conversation, James Hawkinson correctly notes that HitFix doesn't do many interviews with cinematographers. While my departing colleague Kris Tapley actually has done a spectacular job interviewing big screen DPs for the site, Hawkinson is almost certainly the first TV cinematographer I've spoken with. If you're going to talk to one TV cinematographer, though, it's hard to think of a better candidate than Hawkinson, who has shot NBC's "Hannibal" since its pilot. No matter what Emmy voters may think, "Hannibal" is currently in its third season as one of the most breathtaking visual spectacles on TV. It's a world of richly saturated colors, subtle gradations of darkness, teasing tricks of focus and the ability to get equal beauty out of a flayed body, a tower of corpses or a dinner composed of succulent preparations of "human" flesh. There's really nothing close on TV, like a little weekly...

Twilight Of A Life and 7 Days In St. Petersburg sweep the Israeli competition at 17th Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival

Amanda Wilder’s Approaching the Elephant won the Best International Film Award at the 17th Docaviv, the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, which ran May 7-16. The award comes with cash prize of €4,500.

The observational documentary about three students of one of the few “free schools” in the Us, where all classes are voluntary and rules are determined by vote, and adults and children have an equal say, world-premiered at the 2014 True/False Film Festival.

The special jury mention went to A German Youth, the first feature film of renowned experimental film-maker Jean-Gabriel Periot. The France-Germany-Switzerland co-production is an account of the Baader-Meinhof Group and the tense political situation in West Germany in the 1960s and ’70s, completely built from archive materials, and had its world premiere in Berlinale’s Panorama this year.

Camilla...

Warner Bros. Interactive is breathing new life into the adventure of Talion and Co. after the publisher today unveiled Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition, which is launching for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC sooner than you think.

Bundling together all of the Dlc, challenge modes and cosmetics that have made their way into the game since the critically-adorned RPG first released late last year, this definitive edition will make its bow on May 5 and May 8 in North America and Europe, respectively. Priced at $49.99, here’s a rundown of the bonus content included in the Goty release.

Story Packs: The Lord of The Hunt and The Bright Lord

Skins: The Dark Ranger, Captain of the Watch, Lord of the Hunt, The Bright Lord, Power of Shadow and Lithariel Skins

Runes: Hidden Blade, Deadly Archer, Flame of Anor, Rising Storm, Orc Slayer, Defiant to the End, Elven Grace,...

Paul Newman’s salad dressing enterprise is common knowledge, but did you know about these 25 businesses run by Hollywood stars?

What do big-time movie stars get up to in their spare time? While their fictional counterparts might enjoy chopping wood or getting hosed down by friendly females (more on that here), actors themselves have a tendency towards wacky entrepreneurial ideas and hefty industrial investments.

Looking at our findings from some rigorous research (read: Googling), it seems that you can divide famous actors into a handful of groups – those who are trying to do something good for the world, those who are trying to break into internet megabucks and those who like opening restaurants.

Without further chit-chat, here’s a breakdown of which stars are behind which brands which you may or may not know and love…

1. Kevin Costner – Ocean Therapy Solutions

Here’s a brilliant one to start off with...

Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, and Ryan Gosling will be taking on roles in The Big Short, a film adaptation of Michael Lewis' book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. The book follows the story of the creation of the housing and credit bubble of the early 2000s, leading up to the financial crisis, which lasted from 2007 to 2010. Along with the casting news comes the announcement that screenwriter Adam McKay will be leaving his usual comedic wheelhouse (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) to pen the script and possibly direct. [Vanity Fair] Selena Gomez has been cast alongside Paul Rudd in the adaptation of Jonathan Evison...

Exclusive: Skins and Gossip Girl actress Sofia Black-D’Elia has been cast opposite Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, and Toby Kebbell in Ben-Hur, which Timur Bekmambetov is directing for MGM and Paramount Pictures.

The historical epic chronicles the blood feud between Judah Ben-Hur (Huston) and Messala that erupts when Messala (Kebbell) condemns his childhood friend to slavery and certain death aboard a Roman warship.

Black-D’Elia will take the role of Tirzah, Judah’s sister who becomes quietly political when the Roman Empire takes control of Jerusalem. She is imprisoned alongside her mother and both contract leprosy before Judah returns home to free his family and avenge them all.

Produced by The Bible’s Mark Burnett, Keith Clarke, Jason Brown and Sean Daniel for The Sean Daniel Company, and Joni Levin for Point Blank Productions, the remake will hew more closely to the 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ...

John Hurt, Samantha Morton and Tahir Rahim are set to star in the heist thriller TV series "Panthers" from CanalPlus, Sky Atlantic, Haut et Court and Warp Films.

Based on an idea from journalist Jerome Pierrat, the story is inspired by the infamous Pink Panthers gang, a group responsible for high-profile jewel heists all over the world. The group is suspected to be behind a major heist during the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.

Jack Thorne ("Skins") will pen the six-episode series which opens with a diamond heist and follows the goods as they move throughout Europe. We see the story unfold from different perspectives including government officials and war criminals along with people from the worlds of organized crime and high finance.

Morton plays an insurance expert, Hurt her boss, and Rahim a French-Algerian policeman who are all on the hunt for the missing jewels.

Johan Renck ("Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead") will helm.

Batman™:Arkham Knight Set for June 2, 2015 Release With Two Collector’s Editions

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman™: Arkham Knight is scheduled to release worldwide beginning June 2, 2015. Also revealed, are two collector’s editions – Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition and Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile Edition. Both will be available in limited quantities at launch in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition will also be available in Europe, Australia and New Zealand for PC.

Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition will include:

-Custom Art Book – 80 Page, Full Colour Art Book Showcasing the concept art of Batman Arkham Knight

-Limited Edition SteelBook™ – Unique SteelBook™ case and game disc

-Comic Book – Limited Edition DC Comics Batman: Arkham Knight #0 Comic Book

-Exclusive Character Skin Pack – Three Unique...

Rocksteady made a lot of fans happy when they revealed Batman: Arkham Knight back in March and told fans the upcoming next-gen only Batman game would be hitting later this year. Then we got the sad news that the game would be missing it's holiday release and would instead be hitting sometime in 2015. Today, Warner Bros. and Rocksteady have finally revealed exactly when we'll be playing the new game...and we've still got a ways to wait. Come inside to check out the new date!

Well folks, get your 2015 calendar out and mark down June 2, 2015. That's the day that Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady's conclusion to their Batman trilogy of games, will be hitting the Xbox One and PS4. While I'm very excited about finally having a new release date for the game, I admit I'm kind of shocked at how far away it is. When they initially announced the delay...

Mick Jagger recently opened up about losing his longtime girlfriend L’Wren Scott while promoting his James Brown biopic Get On Up.

Mick Jagger On L'Wren Scott's Death

Jagger, 70, admitted that the last year has been difficult for him after losing Scott, who committed suicide back in March. "I'm doing Ok," Jagger told Rolling Stone. "It's difficult. Very hard year.“

The rocker, who had been with Scott for 12 years, admitted that it was working with his band – The Rolling Stones – that enabled him to get through the tragic loss. “I got back into it with touring with the Stones in Europe and doing other things, including doing this movie,” Jagger revealed. “ [I've gotten] a lot of support and I really appreciate that."

In the immediate aftermath of Scott’s death, Jagger had taken to Facebook to share his confusion as to how and why Scott took her own life. “I am...

Gillian Anderson attended the opening night gala premiere of Sold at the London Indian Film Festival on Thursday (July 11).

The Fall star was welcomed by a group of dhol players, as she took to the red carpet at the Cineworld Haymarket in central London.

Directed by Jeffery Brown, Sold, tells the story of Laxmi (Niyar Saikia), a young Nepali girl who is sent away by her family to work as a domestic servant in Kolkata, only to find she has been trafficked into a brothel.

Anderson plays the Us photographer who learns of Laxmi's plight and helps local agencies spearhead a dangerous mission to rescue her.

Describing her experience of the film, Anderson said: "Working on this sensitively-told film and with young women who have themselves experienced the unbelievable trauma of abduction and trafficking has opened my eyes to the horrors these young people face on a daily basis, as...

The 2014 Emmy Nominations were announced today, with Game of Thrones and American Horror Story picking up quite a few nominations in top categories. The Walking Dead also picked up nominations for visual effects and sound editing. The official list is below and the winners will be announced live during the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 25th.

Drama series

“Breaking Bad” (AMC)

“Downton Abbey” (PBS)

“Game of Thrones” (HBO)

“House of Cards” (Netflix)

“Mad Men” (AMC)

“True Detective” (HBO)

Comedy series

“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)

“Louie” (FX)

“Modern Family” (ABC)

“Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

“Silicon Valley” (HBO)

“Veep” (HBO)

Miniseries

“American Horror Story: Coven” (FX)

“Bonnie and Clyde” (A&E)

“Fargo” (FX)

“Luther” (BBC America)

“Treme” (HBO)

“The White Queen” (BBC America)

TV Movie

“Killing Kennedy” (National Geographic)

“Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (HBO)

“The Normal Heart” (HBO)

“Sherlock: His Last Vow” (BBC America)

“The Trip to Bountiful...

By Christina Kallas

The comparison with a novel or with watching a very long movie is a good one for yet another reason: serialization means that you cannot watch the episodes in whichever order they reach you. You have to watch the whole season as if you were watching a 12-hour movie. Terence Winter, creator of Boardwalk Empire and one of the writers for The Sopranos) talks about how the effort still goes towards ensuring that each episode may stand alone, as if it were a mini-movie. So when you just happen to watch this one it still has its own beginning, middle and end, and it makes sense. But it’s like one chapter in a book. To really appreciate it you have to watch the whole series, as you would read a book.

Actually, it is quite intriguing to think about the effect that long cinematic narrative has on our sense of story.

So far, Mark Greaney’s novel The Gray Man has had a tortuous journey toward the silver screen. Way back in 2011, an adaptation by Adam Cozad (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) had achieved inclusion on the Black List – at which point James Grey (The Immigrant) signed on to direct it. By 2012, things were looking up when Brad Pitt began seriously considering the high profile lead role. Grey and Pitt were unable to pull it together, though, and the rights to the property lapsed – leaving the way clear for a new creative team to take a crack at it. Enter powerhouse producers Joe Roth and Palak Patel (Maleficent), who snapped up the rights for Sony Pictures, and quickly sought the agreement of writing-directing team Joe and Anthony Russo to add the project to their ever-growing slate.

The Gray Man is the story of an assassin and former CIA operative, who finds himself...

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” may not be the Russo Brothers’ first film but with the reception they’re getting from Hollywood, it might as well be. All it took was a $96 million opening weekend to break the sibling-filmmakers out of the comedy and sitcom ghetto—“Community” and “Arrested Development,” notwithstanding—they’d been a part of for most of their career and now they’re some studios’ top choices for new franchises. Variety reports Sony Pictures has picked up the rights to Mark Greaney’s “The Gray Man” for the Russos to write and direct. The novel is part of a four-part series that the studio wants to blossom into a franchise (duh). As a producer told the trade, “We think this could be the next ‘Bourne Identity’ movie series.” Like that successful series, “The Gray Man” also follows a former CIA operative-turned-ultimate assassin, only this time he’s...

The long-gestating adaptation of Mark Greaney’s thriller novel The Gray Man has changed hands. The story follows a former CIA operative and current assassin who must fight his way across Europe, past special forces teams, in order to save the life of his handler. The project was set up several years ago with James Grey directing and Brad Pitt attached to star, but it languished in development hell as Grey and Pitt became busy with other films. The rights recently lapsed, producers Joe Roth and Palek Patel subsequently swooped it up, and now Sony Pictures is in control of the property and Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been attached to write and direct. Hit the jump for more on The Gray Man movie, which is being planned as the first in a potential franchise. The folks over at Variety report that Joe and...

The UK’s biggest and best celebration of pop. culture, McM London Comic Con returns to ExCel London on 23-25 May for a long weekend packed with special guests, sci-fi, movies, videogames, comic books, eSports, online video, anime and cosplay. Here’s a taste of what will be on show.

Special Guests

Special guests meeting fans, presenting panels and signing autographs at the show include: Orphan Black star Dylan Bruce (Arrow, 24: Conspiracy, Unstoppable). Falling Skies’ Drew Roy (Secretariat, Hannah Montana), Connor Jessup (Blackbird), Seychelle Gabriel (The Spirit) and Luciana Carro (Battlestar Galactica). Game Of Thrones’ James Cosmo (Braveheart, Highlander), Julian Glover (Star Wars, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade) and Josef Altin (Eastern Promises). Nikita, Kick-Ass and How I Met Your Mother star Lyndsy Fonseca. Once Upon A Time’s Meghan Ory (Intelligence) and Beverley Elliott (Unforgiven). Henry Winkler, famous for playing iconic character The Fonz on Happy Days.

Larry Lamb has signed up to present a new Channel 5 documentary series about Rome.

Rome: The World's First Superpower will see the EastEnders actor explore Rome's rise from a city to an empire.

The self-proclaimed Roman history enthusiast will look into Rome's major figures including Romulus and Julius Caesar, and will discover how the small city was able to conquer the world for nearly 100 years.

Lamb will travel across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in the four-part series, visiting major sites and finding artefacts and documents from Roman life.

The presenter said: "From exploring Roman sewers and slums to epic battlefields, from the ancient walls of Rome inside a busy train station to diving among the still-intact ruins of villas in the playground of the rich - this series is showing me Rome in a way I only ever dreamed of."

Executive producer John Farren said: "It's the...

Next month, Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) will return to television with Fox’s 24: Live Another Day, a 12-episode update of the acclaimed espionage thriller series. Set four years after the explosive events of 24‘s eighth and final season, Live Another Day finds Jack laying low in Europe, still hounded by the CIA. When he catches wind of a planned terrorist attack in London, the former agent leaps into action, determined to prevent global chaos even as his pursuers draw closer.

Fox has unveiled a decidedly cinematic trailer for the series today, which reveals a lot more about the set-up for Live Another Day, as well as new additions to the cast. Check it out below:

For newcomers to the series, season eight saw Jack slaughter high-ranking members of the Russian government who were involved in a shadowy conspiracy. In Live Another Day, the CIA is clearly still holding a...

20th Century Fox have released a teaser trailer for what they hope will be one of the biggest hits of next year, Snoopy & Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie. Known simply as Peanuts in the Us, the film is being produced by Blue Sky Studios, whose recent hits have included Rio and the four Ice Age movies. Steve Martino, who directed the fourth chapter, Continental Drift, is at the helm.

Charles M Schulz’s school-age Peanuts crew have been American icons for over half a century. There have been regular TV specials in the States since 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, but this will be their first big screen outing for 35 years. The first Peanuts movie, A Boy Named Charlie Brown was released in 1969. Another three movies followed, concluding in 1980 with Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (and Don’t Come Back!!), which saw the gang travel to Europe, where Snoopy enjoyed a...

Plot isn't what matters to Wes Anderson – his movies care more about lush palettes and playfulness. Seitz's collection of essays and interviews with the director reveals a rare film-maker who isn't afraid to take risks

In Wes Anderson's 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums, an insensitive father fails to appreciate his daughter's childhood attempt at writing and staging a play. There's no narrative, he complains, and as for characters, "What characters? It's a bunch of little kids dressed up in animal costumes." You might be tempted to dismiss Anderson's films in similar terms: the stories don't always add up to much, and while we know we're watching grownups (played by major Hollywood actors such as Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston and Ralph Fiennes), they often behave more like children dressed in their parents' clothes.

This quality of Anderson's cinema is captured in Max Dalton's paintings for a lavishly illustrated recent book,...

The Muppets gang is in for a wild ride when they join forces with Toyota this year, blending Toyota’s exciting ‘Let’s Go Places’ spirit with Muppets mayhem. The collaboration celebrates the upcoming Toyota Highlander launch and the Muppets’ all-new big-screen adventure “Muppets Most Wanted,” in theaters two months from today – March 21, 2014.

Disney’s Muppets will hit the road with Terry Crews, star of the Golden Globe®-winning Fox series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” in Toyota’s new commercial for the all-new 2014 Toyota Highlander. The 60-second spot, entitled “Joyride,” will make its broadcast debut during Super Bowl Xlviii on Sunday, February 2.

“Our game-day spot shows how Toyota Highlander puts the ‘fun’ in function,” said Jack Hollis, vice president of Toyota Division Marketing at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “Toyota vehicles are built to last and can even endure the most boisterous Muppets, a former NFL player as well as...

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare looks so gloriously strange that we just cannot wait to dig and soil ourselves. Wait... that pun didn't exactly come out right... Um... yeah... new trailer. Check it out!

From the Press Release

Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare is coming to Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system on February 25 in North America and starting February 27 in Europe.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare is a 3rd person shooter like no other. It is the only game where you shoot peas from your face, invade the skies as a garlic drone and… get to play as a zombie with a dolphin gun! Crazy Dave also wants you to know that plants will have all-new reinforcements – Ice Pea, Hot Rod Chomper, Future Cactus and Mystic Sunflower - characters outfitted with special abilities, new gameplay mechanics and cool costumes.

EA and Popcap have announced that the release of Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare has been delayed from it’s original February 18th launch date, but thankfully you won’t have too much longer to wait:

“Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare is coming to Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system on February 25 in North America and starting February 27 in Europe.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare is a 3rd person shooter like no other. It is the only game where you shoot peas from your face, invade the skies as a garlic drone and… get to play as a zombie with a dolphin gun! Crazy Dave also wants you to know that plants will have all-new reinforcements – Ice Pea, Hot Rod Chomper, Future Cactus and Mystic Sunflower – characters outfitted with special abilities, new gameplay mechanics and cool costumes.

More Brainzzzzz… A...

Hungry for Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare ? Well, you're gonna have to wait just a bit longer for it to get here. One week longer to be precise. Read on for the new date and much more! In the interim save up your seeds!

From the Press Release

Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare is coming to Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system on February 25 in North America and starting February 27 in Europe.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare is a 3rd person shooter like no other. It is the only game where you shoot peas from your face, invade the skies as a garlic drone and… get to play as a zombie with a dolphin gun! Crazy Dave also wants you to know that plants will have all-new reinforcements – Ice Pea, Hot Rod Chomper, Future Cactus and Mystic Sunflower - characters outfitted with special abilities,...

Justified Season 5 Episode 2: The Kids Aren’t All Right

Every new season of Justified is like getting a block of sandstone you chip away at, knowing you’ll unearth a treasure, a precious fossil or gem perhaps. But it requires patience to get that treasure out and hours of work. The season premieres are usually front-loaded with information; they are usually followed by some stand alone episodes containing more of that stone being chipped away – a little here, and a little there. Episode 502 continues that annual trend as our attention is diverted slightly from what transpired in “A Murder of Crowes” to follow up on one of our favorite recurring characters: Loretta McCready (played by Kaitlyn Dever, who never fails to impress).

You might remember her as the young girl Mags Bennett took in during season two, after her sons killed Loretta’s father. We also got to see...

If you were perhaps a little hesitant about 24’s upcoming resurrection as a Fox limited series, a fantastic bit of casting has come up that could mean great things for 24: Live Another Day. If you happened to miss out on the absolutely adorable and hilarious action/comedy, Chuck, then perhaps you managed to see the last couple of seasons of Dexter. Whichever series you’re most familiar with, they both share the talents of one Yvonne Strahovski. And now 24 will also be able to take advantage of this wonderful Australian actress. She’s just delightful.

Set four years after the 24 series finale, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is still a fugitive from justice, now hanging around Europe. The limited series is set and filmed in London, which is where we will meet the character played by Strahovski. According to Deadline, she’ll be taking on the role of Kate Morgan,...

24: Live Another Day is to air on Sky1 in the UK.

The broadcaster has acquired the UK rights to the new 12-part limited series, which sees Kiefer Sutherland reprise his role as Jack Bauer and is set in London.

Sutherland said: "24 has always had such a global sensibility. But to be able to tell this intense 24-style story with the beauty of Europe's history and architecture as the backdrop is going to be fascinating.

"Hopefully, by the time you're finished watching an episode, you'll feel like you've been there... on the edge of your seat."

Live Another Day is the first season of 24 since the show's original run ended in 2010. The new run will see Sutherland's former government agent Bauer hunted by a CIA agent, played by Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski.

Series veterans Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe), William Devane (James Heller) and Kim Raver (Audrey Raines) will all return to the show.

Chuck’s favorite CIA gal Yvonne Strahovski will be bringing that CIA experience to Fox’s “24: Live Another Day.” The Aussie actress has joined the cast of the limited series, and will play Kate Morgan, described as “a brilliant but impulsive” CIA field operative in London, where most of the show will be set. Hopefully she won’t be nearly as bipolar as a certain other blonde CIA agent fighting terrorists on TV. “24: Live Another Day” will pick up 4 years after the events of the “24″ series finale, with ol Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland again) still on the run, this time having found himself in Europe, working in a bakery somewhere. Just kidding on that last part. But wouldn’t it be funny if he was, though? Go in for the bread, leave with a broken neck! Anyhoo, the show will shoot on location in London for a 2014 bow.

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 12 Dec 2013 - 05:49

The year of Baggins, Potter and Spider-Man also had a wealth of lesser-known movies. Here’s our pick of 2002's underappreciated films...

At the top of the box office tree, 2002 was dominated by fantasy and special effects. Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers made almost a billion dollars all by itself, with Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets taking second place and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man not too far behind.

In many ways, 2002 set the tempo for the Hollywood blockbuster landscape, which has changed relatively little in the decade since. A quick look at 2013‘s top 10, for example, reveals a markedly similar mix of superhero movies, with Iron Man 3 still ruling the roost at the time of writing, followed by effects-heavy action flicks and family-friendly animated features.

As usual in these lists, we're looking...

When Steve Van Zandt's Lilyhammer premiered on Netflix in February of 2012, few people realized it marked the beginning of a brand new era of television. Although the show originally aired in Norway, it was the first time that Netflix offered exclusive content. The experiment worked, paving the way for hugely acclaimed shows like Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards and the long-awaited fourth season of Arrested Development.

See Arrested Development's Funniest Running Jokes

"Netflix completely shook up the world," says Van Zandt. "They've been willing to invest...

Gossip Girl ended its six-season run with a five-year flash-forward, in which Nate was considering a mayoral run, Chuck and Blair had a young son named Henry, Lily and Rufus had found happiness with other people, and Serena and Dan finally said “I do.” However, Gossip Girl promised, “You may be rid of Dan Humphrey, but you’ll never be rid of me. There will always be someone on the outside wanting to get in. Who I am now … that’s one secret I’ll never tell.” And so the cycle continues.

But Vulture recently spoke to Kelly Rutherford (Lily...