News

From the very first episode of “Game Changer” — in which players were confronted with a lie detector machine that was revealed to be under the control of their significant others — the show has played with making and breaking classic game show and comedy formats. The Dropout series has continually tried to “one-up” and “yes-and” itself over the course of its run. Looking toward Season 7 of “Game Changer” on an episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast, the show’s host and mostly gentle dom Sam Reich wasn’t sure how “Game Changer” was going to keep topping itself.

The answers to that worry are starting to come in, now that Season 7 has opened with “One Year Later,” wherein Reich gives players Vic Michaelis, Lou Wilson, and Jacob Wysocki one calendar year to complete a series of tasks, ranging from keeping a sourdough starter alive to getting the most followers on a...

Shane Gillis is back and ready to turn his business around in “Tires” Season 2, releasing June 5 on Netflix.

Following the success of their major marketing plan, Will (Steven Gerben) and Shane (Gillis) rush to grow their business professionally. The official synopsis reads: “Will, the nervous and unqualified heir to an auto repair chain, attempts to turn his father’s business around despite constant torture from his cousin and now employee, Shane.”

Gillis self-financed Season 1’s first six episodes before Netflix acquired the show as part of a deal including a stand-up special. The show is created by Gillis, Steve Gerben and John McKeever with a cast featuring Chris O’Connor, Kilah Fox and Stavros Halkias, including guest star Andrew Schulz.

Watch the first clip from Netflix below.

First Looks/Trailers

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” has unveiled the first look at its third season, which will also be the show’s last.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

If you are a horror fan, then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription, you might be wondering what’s in store for you in April 2025. Don’t worry. There is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month, and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in April 2025.

Fright Night (April 1) Credit – Columbia Pictures

Fright Night is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland. The 1985 film follows a teenager who knows that his next-door neighbour is a vampire, but when he tells people, nobody believes. So, he asks for assistance from a has-been horror film actor. Fright Night stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, and Roddy McDowall.

As hard as it is to digest, nice people also end up having relationship breakdowns. Very few films out there feature two nice people trying to make things work but are unable to. Although H Nelson Tracey’s debut feature film, “Breakup Season,” is not about making things work, it is a story about allowing people to be honest about their feelings and accepting that your lifelong dream of having a life together will not come to fruition.

At the onset, “Breakup Season” feels like a sweet holiday romance. Ben (Chandler Riggs) and Cassie (Samantha Isler) live in L.A. and after a cute montage that shows us the initial stage of their relationship, we meet them for the first time when they arrive in rural Oregon – Ben’s hometown where the two of them are supposed to spend the holidays with his family. Ben is extremely excited for this next stage of their relationship,...

You may question the mental state of co-directors/screenwriters Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansky as Rats!unfolds before your very eyes. Between crazed cops, shock humor, generous amounts of body fluids and, well, grotesque rats, this new indie film may end up to be the most absurd comedy of the year. To their credit (and favor), the filmmakers are in on the joke. This whacky comedy knows just how bonkers it is. (At least we hope it does.)

Originally from Austin, Texas, Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansky have been best friends and longtime collaborators who hit it off creatively on the set of that great cult classic film Lingua Franca. They’ve been collaborating ever since, and while their brand of humor may not jibe with general audiences — it’s an acquired taste — it’s only a matter of time before the duo winds up in an arena where their work can be seen regularly.

"She thinks that you are in possession of nukes and are planning to blow up Texas." Wait, what!? Yellow Veil Pictures has revealed an official trailer for a wacky, weird, indie comedy film titled Rats! set in Fresno, Texas. This initially premiered at the 2023 Cucalorus Film Festival a few years ago, and played at more fests throughout 2024 including Fantasia and Seattle and Calgary Underground. In Fresno, Texas, graffiti artist Raphael's arrest leads to his involvement in a chain of surprising events involving a sting operation, suicide, drug deals, criminal suspicions, weapons, a newswoman, and a plutonium deal gone wrong, creating chaos. Reviews add even more superlatives: "Chock-full of gross-out humor, emo haircuts, and a female cop who loves the c-word, Rats! is a shockingly touching coming-of-age story." Rats! stars Danielle Evon Ploeger, Luke Wilcox, Darius Autry, Khali Sykes, Ariel Ash, Jacob Wysocki, and John Ennis. Looks like a crazy...

"I'm not trying to get back together with you..." Buffalo 8 will release this indie film in art house theaters in November this fall. Breakup Season is the feature directorial debut of friend-of-the-site & filmmaker H. Nelson Tracey after many short films. This premiered at numerous film festivals earlier in 2024 and it's getting an actual theatrical release. A young man brings his new girlfriend to his rural Oregon hometown for Christmas to introduce her to his family, only for things to go terribly wrong upon arrival – they decide to break up. But she can't leave, so they're stuck together for the holidays. "Funny, dramatic, and bittersweet in equal measure. Breakup Season is an authentic look at early 20s love & heartbreak. Subverting traditional holiday conventions with a more grounded and relatable approach than typical [cheesy] holiday fare, the film explores the topics of family and breakups with sincerity." The film stars Chandler Riggs, Samantha Isler,...

High school is hard enough. Even popular kids feel uncomfortable in their own skin, go through heartaches, and detentions. But for the oddballs and misfits who dare to be different, high school is a whole new level of toughness. Azazel Jacobs understands this, and directed one of the most sensitive, unsettling character studies of a teenage boy who doesn't belong, and doesn't care to. Terri stars John C. Reilly as a vivacious oddball and groundbreaking educator, with an extraordinary Jacob Wysocki playing the titular character.

Indie streamer Dropout has set the full guest-star lineup for the second season of its Vic Michaelis-hosted comedic interview series “Very Important People.”

“Very Important People” features Michaelis as the host of a standard talk show series with a twist: all interview subjects receive makeovers before sitting down to chat and then must immediately invent a character to play during the interview.

Following the Aug. 14 announcement of the guest stars for the first eight episodes of “Very Important People” Season 2, which debuts Nov. 7, Dropout has confirmed that Episodes 9-16 will star Bobby Moynihan (“Saturday Night Live”), Nicole Byer (“Nailed It!”), Echo Kellum (“Arrow”), Corin Wells (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Alex Song-Xia (“Rick & Morty”) and Paul Robalino (“Smarypants”).

Additionally, “Very Important People” Season 1 guests Brennan Lee Mulligan (“Dimension 20”), Izzy Roland (“Sex Lives of College Girls”) and Lisa Gilroy (“Glamorous”) will return in new roles.

Left to right: Bobby Moynihan,...

As part of its rollout of new series and specials, Dropout began releasing “Dimension 20: Time Quangle,” a set of four international live shows recorded with the conceit that the cast would not know which character they’d be playing until they drew randomly via bingo balls — nor would dungeon master Brennan Lee Mulligan know what setting to put them in until he drew his.

The embrace of total on-stage improv was done in part, as Mulligan explained at the top of their Glasgow show, because of what the team of artisans, technicians, and editors do on regular episodes of “Dimension 20” to pull out the storytelling stops and create the series as it’s consumed online. Even when stranded in the vulture dimension (and/or the United Kingdom), art teams, editors, and animators deserve their due.

It’s worth looking closely at the margins of “Dimension 20” and at...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

A group of nobodies from the soon-to-be-closed Dave's Video World are pulled into a world of insanity when a magical VHS tape sucks them into the greatest action movie ever made in Dimension 20: Never Stop Blowing Up. This ragtag band of misfits must try to reunite with each other and adjust to the roles they play in this bombastic world. As they struggle to survive and find a way home, a larger plot at the heart of Never Stop Blowing Up begins to unravel, threatening everything they hold dear.

This Jumanji-inspired concept was influenced by countless iconic action movies, characters, and tropes, including Marvel, Die Hard, James Bond, The Fast & The Furious, and more. The cast included Dimension 20 intrepid hero Ally Beardsley, returning to the dome Ify Nwadiwe, Isabella Roland, Rekha Shanka, Alex Song-Xia, and Dimension 20 newcomer Jacob Wysocki.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Dimension 20: Never Stop Blowing Up brings an action movie twist to the Jumanji-inspired idea of a group of misfits being pulled into a magical world. A group of burnouts and nobodies at Dave's Video World are sucked into the VHS tape for the greatest, most insane, action movie ever made, Never Stop Blowing Up. As they try to get their footing in this bombastic and dangerous world, they must come together like never before to not only survive but to find their way home when a larger conspiracy at the heart of Never Stop Blowing Up is revealed.

The world and characters are inspired by classic action movies, characters, and tropes, with the players taking inspiration from Die Hard, James Bond, Fast & Furious, Marvel, and more. Brennan Lee Mulligan served as Game Master and conceived of the season as...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

A ragtag group of nobodies and losers working in Dave's Video World are pulled into the bombastic world of action movies when they are sucked into a magical videotape in Dimension 20: Never Stop Blowing Up. As the employees of Dave's Video World and the strip mall are thrust into different roles in this world they must adapt to their surroundings and try to find one another. With their only focus being survival and getting home, they'll soon find that a larger plot is afoot that puts everything they love at stake and threatens the world of the greatest action movie to ever exist.

When creating the world of Never Stop Blowing Up, Game Master Brennan Lee Mulligan, was inspired by Isabella Roland's love of the action genre. The cast includes Ally Beardsley, one of the regular Dimension 20 cast members,...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Dimension 20: Never Stop Blowing Up follows a rag-tag group of nobodies from Dave's Video Store who are sucked into the world's greatest action movie. As each of them try to figure out how to embody their character and survive the dangers of this world they must work together to find a way home. As they learn more it becomes clear a bigger threat may be at play and the team will need to ban together to fight off the most terrifying villain they've ever faced.

Brennan Lee Mulligan leads Never Stop Blowing Up as the Game Master with a cast that includes intrepid hero Ally Beardsley, Dimension 20 veterans Ify Nwadiwe, Isabella Roland, Rekha Shanka, Alex Song-Xia, and newcomer to the dome Jacob Wysocki. Each player balances two characters as their Dave Video World character and their Never Stop Blowing Up counter part,...

Dropout’s “Dimension 20” is known for its genre mash-ups. Its “Fantasy High” and “The Unsleeping City” seasons transpose the concerns and archetypes of high fantasy into a John Hughes-esque high school movie and the urban legend that is New York City. “Mentopolis” takes the tropes of a film noir and crams it inside a single mind, a la “Inside Out,” while “A Crown of Candy” forces a “Game of Thrones” world of magical realpolitik to wield the weapons of “Candyland” in order to slake its sugar/bloodlust.

So there’s something comforting — and deceptively simple — about the series’ latest season, “Never Stop Blowing Up.” In the main, it is an ode to the absurdity of action movies, from renegade cops and powerful mobsters to master assassins and omnipotent hackers to James Bond-esque agents and racing drivers who solve worldwide conspiracies with the power of… cars. The mash-up comes...

Indie streamer Dropout has set the second season premiere date for its Vic Michaelis-hosted comedic interview series “Very Important People,” and revealed five new guest stars joining the lineup for Season 2.

“Very Important People” features Michaelis as the host of a standard talk show series with a twist: all interview subjects receive makeovers before sitting down to chat and then must immediately invent a character to play during the interview.

New cast members booked for an improvised interview in “Very Important People” Season 2 include John Early (“Search Party”) and Kate Berlant (“Don’t Worry Darling”), Danielle Pinnock (“Ghosts”), Chris Redd (“Saturday Night Live”) and Paul F. Tompkins (“Bojack Horseman”).

Left to right: Kate Berlant (Photo Credit: Sela Shiloni); Danielle Pinnock (Courtesy photo); Paul F. Tompkins (Courtesy photo); Chris Redd (Photo Credit: Chris Haston/NBC); John Early (Photo Credit: Michael Tyrone Delaney).

Dropout will launch the first episode of “Very Important People” Season 2 Nov.

Spoiler Alert for “Ratfish (Part 1)”: Coming out in 2019 after the success of unscripted content for Dropout, Game Changer was an instant hit on the platform. Now, six seasons later, host Sam Reich is still working to bring “consistently original” ideas to the show with no signs of stopping. “Every season, I feel like I fly a little closer to the sun,” says Reich. “And every season, the response I get from the audience is like, ‘This was the best yet,’ which is a very dangerous thing to tell me as I push it more and more, further and further.”

Hosted by Reich, Dropout’s Game Changer is a game show where the premise changes every episode and the contestants must learn the rules as they play. Among the assortment of games, season 6 has seen contestants search for buzzers in a simple trivia game-turned-scavenger hunt for “Beat the Buzzer”, trapped...

Oscar-nominated actor, producer and author Taraji P. Henson is set to return as the host of this year’s BET Awards. It will air live on June 30 on BET at 8 p.m. Et and will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

“I am thrilled to be returning as the host of the ‘BET Awards’ for the third time. I am also looking forward to celebrating my peers and the impact of our culture on entertainment,” Henson said in a statement.

Usher will be honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement BET Award, and set performers include GloRilla, Latto, Muni Long, Sexyy Red, Shaboozey and Victoria Monét.

“Taraji is a phenom, known for her vibrant personality and charisma, and we are excited to welcome her back to host Culture’s Biggest Night, ‘BET Awards,’ the ultimate celebration of Black creativity,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET.

Dropout has set a new series of live recorded comedy specials titled “Dropout Presents.” The series will launch on June 12 with Hank Green’s “Pissing Out Cancer,” taped at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles

Green is a YouTuber best known for the “Vlogbrothers” channel he runs alongside his brother, John Green, with whom he also produces educational shows such as “Crash Course.” He is also the author of the novels “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” (2018) and “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” (2020). Green was diagnosed with cancer in May 2023 and has thoroughly documented his experiences with the illness on the internet.

“There are good parts of cancer,” Green jokes in a trailer for “Dropout Presents.” “I was thinking I was maybe gonna get that Jeremy Allen White situation going on. I got the Mark Zuckerberg situation instead.”

Six more specials will debut on Dropout as part of “Dropout Presents” throughout the year. All were recorded in L.

Indie streaming platform Dropout, formerly known as CollegeHumor, is vying for a spotlight at this year’s Primetime Emmys with an ambitious campaign to secure its first major nominations. With a passionate and niche audience, Variety has learned exclusively about Dropout’s top contenders submitted for Emmy love, including the innovative game show “Game Changer” and the unique interview series “Very Important People.”

“Game Changer,” a standout series hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, turns the traditional game show format on its head. Each episode introduces a new game, but the twist is that the three comedian contestants are clueless about the rules until the game begins. The blend of improv comedy and fierce competition has not only captivated audiences but also spawned three successful spinoffs: “Dirty Laundry,” “Make Some Noise” and “Play It by Ear.”

Two of the season’s funniest episodes, “Sam Says 3” (featuring Jacob Wysocki’s epic...

Heading into Cannes Yellow Veil Pictures has boarded worldwide sales and will handle North American distribution on Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansky’s stoner comedy Rats!

Inspired by the DIY filmmaker scene that came out of Austin, Texas in the 1990s the feature centres on Raphael, who after being busted by an overzealous police officer becomes embroiled in the world of drug kingpins, ecoterrorists, mallrats, and proto-soundcloud rappers.

Set in 2007, Rats! Is set to a score of Epitaph Records bands like From First to Last, The Blood Brothers, and Thursday, as well as an original song by Ka5sh featuring Lil B The BasedGod.

Remember Unfriended? The creepy and provocative horror film that brought the genre to the modern digital age by showcasing the entire feature through Blaire's (Shelley Hennig) laptop screen. The gimmick is ultimately what sold this found footage movie; however, beyond the heavy use of social media and supernatural high jinks is a film with a deeper meaning that makes the 2014 feature a valuable presence in the world of horror. To recall, Unfriended catches up to Blaire, Mitch (Moses Storm), Jess (Renee Olstead), Adam (Will Peltz), Ken (Jacob Wysocki), and Val (Courtney Halverson) on an online group Skype session. Suddenly, they're joined by a user known only as Billie227; however, the account is under the name of Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman), their classmate who committed suicide, and the night this all takes place is the one-year anniversary of this tragic incident. Blaire and her friends are forced to confront their...

This article contains references to bullying, suicide, and sexual assault. Readers discretion is advised.

After several teenagers on Skype are tormented by a supernatural entity, the ending to the 2015 horror movie, Unfriended, is just as dark as the rest of the story. Blaire Lilly (Shelley Hennig), her boyfriend Mitch Roussel (Moses Storm), and their friends, Val Rommel (Courtney Halverston), Ken Smith (Jacob Wysocki), Adam Sewell (Will Peltz), and Jess Felton (Renee Olstead) are confused as to why someone named billie227 is part of their group chat - which sets up the paranormal twist. While there are many films that use the screenlife format, Unfriended still stood out thanks to the cast's performances and writing.

Similar to the terrifying movie Host, Unfriended has an eerie tone, and the bleak and brutal conclusion wraps up every character's story and offers proper explanations for every plot point. The characters are unlikable on purpose,...

Exclusive: Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) and Samantha Isler (Molly’s Game) are set to lead the Christmas-themed dramedy Breakup Season, marking the feature debut of writer-director H. Nelson Tracey.

The indie going into production this month in La Grande, Oregon follows a young man (Riggs) as he brings his girlfriend (Isler) back to his rural Oregon hometown to meet his family for the first time, over the course of the holidays. The introduction doesn’t go as planned.

Pic also stars James Urbaniak (The Fabelmans), Jacob Wysocki (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), Brook Hogan, Carly Stewart, and Kailey Rhodes. Stephen Mastrocola, Rafi Jacobs, and Liana Montemayor of the L.A.-based Static Films will produce alongside Tracey. Also producing is Christopher Jennings, co-founder of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival, whose residency program is where the script was developed.

“I first visited La Grande, Oregon in the fall of 2019 for the annual Eastern Oregon Film Festival,...

Thanks to the runaway success of The Blair Witch Project in 1999, found footage movies quickly became the hottest thing in horror. By relying on camcorders, surveillance footage, and other unlikely camera sources, filmmakers could not only add some verisimilitude to their stories but could also do it on the cheap. But just as quickly, found footage became the most hated subgenre, as fans and critics decried its rigid constraints, laughing at the ridiculous ways characters justified recording when they should be running.

Just as the subgenre died, a new and more relevant approach emerged: desktop movies taking place entirely on computer screens, using webcams, streaming video, and recordings to tell their stories. Not only do desktop movies offer more variety in visual style, but they also better reflect our actual lives, as we spend a lot of time staring at computer and phone screens.

Exciting as the subgenre certainly is,...

Michael Madsen, Rob Morrow and Jay Mohr have joined the cast of the indie drama feature Max Dagan from writer-director Terre Weisman. It follows Max Dagan (Zachary Gordon) as he works to earn his dying father a compassionate release from prison. In desperation, Max seeks the help of Alaina (newcomer Lindsey Dresbach), the daughter of the man his father killed.

Kirk Fox, Jeffrey Ross, Rob Brownstein, Lisa Roumain, Jacob Wysocki, and Eugenia Kuzmina round out the cast.

“Attracting such talented actors with this script, adapted from my novel, is a testament to this original story that has been over a decade in the making.” said Weisman. “I’m truly honored to collaborate with this incredible cast.

The producers are Terre and Mitch Weisman of Creative Balance Films; Rafi Jacobs, Stephen Mastrocola and Liana Montemayor, under their newly formed banner Static Films; and Barry Katz through Barry Katz Entertainment.

Cameras began...

Remember Unfriended? The creepy and provocative horror film that brought the genre to the modern digital age by showcasing the entire feature through Blaire's (Shelley Hennig) laptop. The gimmick is ultimately what sold this found footage movie; however, beyond the heavy use of social media and supernatural high jinks is a film with a deeper meaning that makes the 2014 feature a valuable presence in the world of horror. To recall, Unfriended catches up to Blaire, Mitch (Moses Storm), Jess (Renee Olstead), Adam (Will Peltz), Ken (Jacob Wysocki), and Val (Courtney Halverson) on an online group Skype session. Suddenly, they're joined by a user known only as Billie227; however, the account is under the name of Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman), their classmate who committed suicide, and the night this all takes place is the one-year anniversary of this tragic incident. Blaire and her friends are forced to confront their darkest...

You've just said goodbye to Felicity Smoak Queen on Arrow, but that is hardly goodbye from Emily Bett Rickards.

Rickards is taking on a role unlike any we've seen her in previously in Funny Story, a movie coming to theaters, digitally, and On Demand May 24th.

Walter Campbell (Matthew Glave) is an aging heartthrob struggling to keep up appearances -- especially with his estranged adult daughter, Nic (Jana Winternitz).

Arrow Review: You Have Saved This City

In an attempt to reconnect with his family, he invites himself to crash her vacation in Big Sur.

Offering a ride to her friend Kim (Emily Bett Rickards), they bond in unexpected ways that are sure to ruin the lives of everyone in their path.

Are you excited to see Rickards tackling someone a little less reserved that Felicity?

If you're unfamiliar with the name Matthew Glave, you should recognize his face from Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce,...

Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, and Tracy Letts will headline French Exit, a surrealist comedy that Azazel Jacobs is directing. The pic, which will be presented at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, is based on the international bestselling book of the same name by Patrick deWitt, who also adapted the screenplay. deWitt is the author behind The Sisters Brothers, which was recently adapted into a film starring John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Thorsten Schumacher is financing and producing the film, via his Rocket Science label, along with Elevation Pictures. Rocket Science and Wild Bunch are handling international sales, beginning in Cannes, while CAA Media Finance reps the U.S. rights.

The pic follows 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite Frances Price (Pfeiffer), whose plan to die before her money ran out doesn’t pan out. Her husband Franklin has been dead for 20 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she...

In a pre-Cannes Film Festival announcement, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts have signed on to star in the comedy “French Exit.”

Rocket Science and Wild Bunch are handling international sales, beginning in Cannes. CAA Media Finance is representing the U.S. rights. The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival opens on May 14.

Azazel Jacobs (“Terri”) is attached to direct from a script by Patrick deWitt (“The Sisters Brothers”), based on his international bestselling book of the same name that was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Thorsten Schumacher’s Rocket Science is financing and producing the film, with Elevation Pictures also producing.

Pfeiffer will portray a 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite whose husband has been dead for 20 years. With his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymously in a modest apartment in Paris, accompanied by her directionless...

"Although I don't know quite what's going on, I'm having a great time, Lulu." Universal + Content Group have unveiled the first official trailer for a bizarre, funky, indie comedy titled An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, then also played at the Rotterdam and Galway Film Festivals. This is the second film by Jim Hosking and the follow-up to his uber-weird The Greasy Strangler from a few years ago. Aubrey Plaza stars as Lulu Danger, whose unsatisfying marriage takes a turn for the worse when a mysterious man from her past comes to town to perform an event called "An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn; For One Magical Night Only." The eccentric cast includes Jemaine Clement, Emile Hirsch, Craig Robinson, Matt Berry, Maria Bamford, Sky Elobar, and Jacob Wysocki. This is all just way too weird for me, but I...

Sloppy seconds, anyone?

In a surprising move, Facebook is reportedly reviving Loosely Exactly Nicole — an under-appreciated comedy canceled by MTV earlier this year — for a second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series is among many projects the social networking site has planned to beef up its roster of original content.

RelatedMTV’s Shannara Chronicles Moving to Spike TV for Upcoming Season 2

Loosely Exactly Nicole starred comedian Nicole Byer (Party Over Here) as herself, chronicling her irreverent misadventures in love and life as she attempts to make it big as an actress in Hollywood. The series also featured Jacob Wysocki...

Three episodes were provided prior to broadcast.

The last thing TV needs right now is another group of mid-twentysomethings navigating the hellish underworld of Tinder hookups and crappy jobs in a big, scary, unforgiving metropolis that’s sooner to chew them up and spit them out than allow for such feeble grabs at humor as calling Channing Tatum “Channing Potatum, because he looks like a sexy potato.” And yet, MTV is giving us just that with Loosely Exactly Nicole, a new half-hour semi-autobiographical series based on comedian Nicole Byer’s experiences of attempting to break into the industry as a plus-sized black woman.

Her new show has moments of insight in that regard, but it treats them with kid gloves on the run to the next vagina joke or exuberant monologue about the importance of wigs. There’s glimpses of wit and fleeting moments of clever joke set-ups, but they...

facebook

twitter

google+

We return to the 2015 horror Unfriended, and how it and other films explore the dark side of social media...

Nb: The following contains spoilers for Unfriended

Unfriended is one of those horror films that becomes less effective the noisier it becomes. Released across America by Universal last year, the film's a twist on the old teen-slasher format, so of course there’s lots of screaming, stalking and violent death. But these scenes of bloody pay-off are a distraction from Unfriended’s quieter moments - for its here the movie's true power lurks.

At a time when the found-footage genre is in desperate need of reinvention, Unfriended finds an ingenious twist on the old first-person, shaky-cam sub-genre. The entire movie takes place on the flickering laptop screen of its protagonist, Blaire (Shelley Hennig). We’re subjected to an initially dizzying array of opening and closing windows, as Blaire...

Title: Unfriended Universal Director: Levan Gabriadze Writer: Nelson Greaves Cast: Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halverson, Moses Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki Running Time: 83min , Rated R (Violence, Language, Mild Sexuality) Special Features: None On DVD, BluRay and Digital Download on July 28th It is the one year anniversary when teenager Blaire Lily (Shelley Hennig of Teen Wolf) killed herself and it was all caught on video and uploaded to the internet. The reason behind her suicide has been linked to another video that was uploaded prior that caused her to be the ridicule of the entire school. A group of friends- Laura (Heather Sossaman) , Mitch (Moses Storm), Ken  [ Read More ]

The post Unfriended Blu-Ray Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Teens face a supernatural cyberspace threat in Unfriended. If you missed the Skype-centric horror film in theaters, don't despair—Universal Studios Home Entertainment is releasing it on Digital HD this July and on Blu-ray and DVD in August:

Press Release: "Universal City, California, June 9, 2015 – For a group of teenage friends, a devastating fate lurks on the other side of a computer screen in Unfriended, the first in a new generation of found-footage thrillers coming to Digital HD July 28, 2015 and Blu-Ray™, DVD and On Demand August 11, 2015, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Unfriended is a startlingly contemporary nail-biterfrom two modern masters of mayhem, executive producer Jason Blum (The Purge, Ouija, Sinister) and producer Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wanted).

What starts as a seemingly innocent online prank produces a sequence of events that spirals out of control. During a routine group video chat, high-school friends are terrorized by an unseen figure.

For a group of teenage friends, a devastating fate lurks on the other side of a computer screen in Unfriended, the first in a new generation of found-footage thrillers coming to Digital HD July 28, 2015 and Blu-Ray, DVD and On Demand August 11, 2015, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Unfriended is a startlingly contemporary nail-biter from two modern masters of mayhem, executive producer Jason Blum (The Purge, Ouija, Sinister) and producer Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wanted).

What starts as a seemingly innocent online prank produces a sequence of events that spirals out of control. During a routine group video chat, high-school friends are terrorized by an unseen figure. The anonymous intruder implicates each of them in the death of an acquaintance, revealing damning secrets and transforming trusted allies into wary adversaries. Forced into a sordid “game,” the teens try to figure out who is behind the mysterious threat, but all signs...

Reviewed by Jesse Miller

MoreHorror.com

‘Unfriended’ (2015)

Synopsis: Six high school friends with a dark secret receive a Skype message from a classmate who committed suicide a year ago after someone uploaded a video of her online.

Directed by: Levan Gabriadze

Written by: Nelson Greaves

Starring: Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Will Peltz

When I caught the trailer for Unfriended, the idea that stood out to me was the concept of telling a story solely using a computer screen, rather than just having a shaky cam to tell the story.

Here, the film’s teenagers use iMessage, Skype, Spotify, Facebook – even a torrent program gets a nod, already giving the film a unique feel. I mean, it’s desktop pretty much looks like mine, only cleaner. So, the concept of using these programs to tell the story and how it relies on the audience to scan for things like conversations or weird occurrences is pretty clever.

Director: Levan Gabriadze; Screenwriter: Nelson Greaves; Starring: Shelley Hennig, Will Peltz, Moses Storm, Renee Olstead, Heather Sossaman, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson; Running time: 83 mins; Certificate: 15

Unfriended is a horror film set entirely on someone's social media feeds that unfolds solely on one laptop screen. Whatever next? Attack of the Killer Emojis? Nightmare on Elm Street: Meme Warriors?

Such presumptuous cynicism about a film best described as 'streaming footage' is understandable given the abundance of abysmal 'found footage' horror flicks in recent times. Yet these fears are quashed by the skillful execution of a surprisingly fresh storytelling form. For Unfriended is innovative, scary and smart, capturing the neuroses and pressures on today's youth within the claustrophobic confines of the digital age. It does for Skype what The Blair Witch Project did for forests.

Through a screencast of high school student Blaire's (Shelley Hennig) laptop, we witness her online interactions with her...

Universal Pictures released their new horror/thriller film, "Unfriended," into theaters this weekend, and all the top, major critics have submitted their reviews. It turns out that they were pretty mixed about it, giving it a an overall 60 score out of a possible 100 across 28 reviews at the Metacritic.com site. The film stars: Courtney Halverson, Jacob Wysocki, Will Peltz, Shelley Hennig, Renee Olstead, Moses Jacob Storm, and Heather Sossaman. We've supplied some blurbs from a couple of the critics,below. Alonso Duralde at TheWrap, gave it an ok 76 score, saying: " Unfriended commits to its idea and continually finds new ways to creatively exploit it, building the tension as each character reveals his or her own dark deeds, thus justifying the brutal vendettas visited upon them." Claudia Puig from USA Today, gave it a 75 grade, stating: "Blowing this small-screen cyber horror tale out to the big screen makes for fresh and fearsome fun.

Computers have become an integral part of our lives, but movies still haven’t come up with an interesting way of depicting their use. The character hunched over his or her laptop has replaced the character poking away at a typewriter as the dullest “action” that can happen in a movie. Writer Nelson Greaves and director Levan Gabriadze light upon an innovative, if obvious, solution to the problem in the cyber-horror flick Unfriended: their movie is one 80-minute shot of the protagonist’s computer screen. The computer is no longer just an aid to the plot; it is the medium through which not only the characters, but the audience, experience the plot.

Unfriended follows a group of high-school friends as they participate in a Skype chat over the course of a night. As far as horror archetypes are concerned, the gang’s all here. We’ve got Adam (Will Peltz...

If you.ve ever seen a movie or TV show about Hollywood, chances are you know what a typical audition looks like. An actor gets called into a room where they must perform and try to impress a group that usually includes the project.s director, producers, and casting director. This wasn.t how things worked behind the scenes of the new horror movie Unfriended, however. Instead, the film . which is entirely set on a single computer screen . took a bit of inspiration from its stylistic approach, and not only had performers audition through webcams, but also set groups of them up in chats to test and see how well they could play off one another. I learned this interesting bit of trivia about Unfriended when I recently had the chance to interview stars Jacob Wysocki and Courtney Halverson, who play friends Ken Smith and Val Rommel, respectively, in the...

Unfriended

Written by Nelson Greaves

Directed by Levan Gabriadze

USA, 2014

Unfriended is the most ingenuous ‘contained thriller’ to come along in some time. Sadly, it doesn’t work nearly as well as a horror film, relying on the same tired jump scares to punctuate its well-constructed suspense. Director Levan Gabriadze makes everything refreshingly barebones and tech-savvy for maximum realism. The timely nature of its subject matter, cyber-bullying, and its clever premise keep Unfriended entertaining, even if we don’t logoff completely satisfied.

One year ago, High School junior Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman) killed herself after an embarrassing YouTube video resulted in relentless hazing. Now, on the anniversary of her death, six of her friends are terrorized during a Skype chat by a malicious browser claiming to be Laura. If any of them logoff without Laura’s permission, they all die. It’s an elegant premise, but can it sustain our attention for 80 minutes?...

Unfriended is a pretty intense cyber-thriller that is sure to scare teens straight with its anti-bullying theme.

Sure, we’ve all seen the wave of found footage flicks that has come out in the past decade or so, starting with The Blair Witch Project (which, Fyi, still holds up). Since it’s release, audiences have been bombarded with the sub-genre of films… some good, some terrible, such as the never-ending supply of Paranormal Activity movies. This is where Unfriended broke the mold. The film modified the handheld cam look, and upgraded it to a laptop. Think about it. What are teens up to when they are at home on a school night? They’re talking to their friends in group chats, posting on Facebook, and texting with their smartphones. It’s never been easier for kids to have access to whatever it is that they want. Unfortunately, this is also...

Face to Face: Gabriadze’s Topical Mutation of Technological Terror

How effectively chilling it is may be arguable. But there’s no denying that Levan Gabriadze’s English language debut Unfriended manages to be clever and somewhat topically meaningful in the age of cyberbullying on social media apps that have chained humans unwittingly to being constantly recorded, in some sense, at nearly every waking moment. Produced by Timur Bekmambetov, the film premiered as Cybernatural (too kitschy for the cool kids) at the 2014 Fantasia Film Festival, its fascination with and deliberate technological framing manage to meld found-footage aesthetics with the attention span of the real-time generation. Screenwriter Nelson Greave’s plot feels kind of similar to Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s creepy 2001 internet ghost film Pulse (which got a Us redo in 2006), but manages to keep an adept, impressive focus on all the action taking place from the perspective of one character’s home screen.

Universal Pictures’ Unfriended opens in theaters this Friday, and in celebration of the films release Wamg was invited to participate in the Blumhouse panel at WonderCon in Anaheim, CA last weekend. Shelley Hennig Moses, Jacob Storm, Will Peltz, Renee Olstead, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson, Jason Blum and Nelson Greaves joined a room of fans and convention attendees to talk about their new cyber-thriller. Check it out below.

Ushering in a new era of horror, Universal Pictures’ Unfriended unfolds over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier.

For More Info:

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/UnfriendedMovie/timeline

Official Website : http://www.unfriendedmovie.com

Twitter : https://twitter.com/unfriendedmovie

Unfriended connects with theaters this Friday

The post Unfriended Panel Wondercon 2015 appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

"Unfriended" is a very silly film. "Unfriended" is also a very clever film. For a very silly film. And that combination of clever and silly will most likely make "Unfriended" a small sensation of sorts among the audience it is clearly chasing. It made me laugh when a group of teens paused mid-conversation to explain to one another what a "troll" is, because every person in that conversation would 100% already know that word. It's clearly a nod to the idea that my parents might see "Unfriended," and they wouldn't know, so someone has to explain it. The makers of "Unfriended" shouldn't worry, though, because there's little or no chance my parents would ever see this movie. While this is being released by a studio, it's actually a pick-up, an independent film that started life on the festival circuit with the title "Cybernatural." Director Levan Gabriadze and writer Nelson Greaves were...

Los Angeles - According to Courtney Halverson, the second season of "True Detective" is still so "secretive" that "even I don't know what's going on." The actress was on hand in Hollywood this week to talk about her upcoming horror film "Unfriended" -- which plays out like it was shot entirely in a Skype chat room -- but she's also getting revved up for fans to see what this next season of the hit HBO show has in store. "It has been the most amazing ride. We're still filming, so I'm looking forward [to] everyone seeing it soon," she told HitFix. And Halverson's "Unfriended" co-star Jacob Wysocki claims to know all those spoilers ahead of time, dang it. Check out our Skyped-out chat above and stay tuned for more interviews from the "Unfriended" cast this week. Season 2 of "True Detective" bows on June 21 and also feature Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams.

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new horror film “Unfriended” from horror producer Jason Blum (“Paranormal Activity,” “The Purge” and “Insidious” series) and visionary filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”)!

“Unfriended,” which opens on April 17, 2015 and is rated “R,” stars Shelley Hennig, Moses Jacob Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson and Heather Sossaman from director Levan Gabriadze and writer Nelson Greaves. Note: You must be 17+ to win and attend this “R”-rated screening.

To win your free “Unfriended” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases...

Ushering in a new era of horror, Universal Pictures’ Unfriended unfolds over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier.

After Universal executives saw a test screening of Unfriended terrify a test audience, the studio acquired the thriller that was developed and conceived by visionary filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Directed by Levan Gabriadze, Unfriended is written by Nelson Greaves and produced by Bekmambetov and Greaves, as well as Jason Blum for Blumhouse Productions.

The film stars Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson, Heather Sossaman.

Unfriended hits theaters April 17.

Wamg invites you to enter for a chance to win passes (Good for 2) to the advance screening of Unfriended on Wednesday, April 15th at 7pm in the St.